Audio Equipment

[Pradeep]

Did you have someone else make it for you?

I was thinking of building this one:

http://www.rawacoustics.com/item__APEX_C_Center_channel_kit_,802.html

 

[Stereodude]

That is yours I take it? considering the image was taken hours ago...

No, it's not mine. It's a prototype of an Onix Reference 200 center channel that will be sold exclusively in the US by AV123.

 

[Buck]

Well, I just purchased a pair of these:

RS450

They will replace my ailing rear speakers.

 

[Pradeep]

Very nice Buck. What are you using for fronts/center?

 

[Buck]

Embarrassingly, these two speakers will be, by far, the most superior in my setup. The fronts are old Magnavox bookshelf speakers (I only have room for small book shelf speakers in the front) and the center is a Klipsh. The center speaker was a gift for some web work. Although it is a few years old, as a center, it does quite well for movie watching because of its bright sound. This contrasts nicely with the bookshelf speakers that seem to have a narrow frequency range and my 10" active subwoofer that can shake down the house.

When I listen to music, I use all front/rear left/right speakers. That is why the one rear blew out. It wasn't designed as a stereo speaker, if that makes sense. Anyway, those rosewood beasties should look nice and sound superb. I may just want to turn around the other way now!

 

[Stereodude]

Well, I just purchased a pair of these:

RS450

They will replace my ailing rear speakers.

Uh oh... Another Rocket owner...

You'll love 'em!

 

[Stereodude]

You could have gotten in on some of these specials Buck and gotten a full 5.1 or 7.1 setup...

http://www.av123.com/specials.php

 

[Buck]

Some of those deals are nice, but I can't afford to spend that much money. Plus, I have no where to put more Rocket speakers. They won't fit in my book shelf, and the floor won't work either. But, I look forward to my new pair!

 

[Stereodude]

Some of those deals are nice, but I can't afford to spend that much money. Plus, I have no where to put more Rocket speakers. They won't fit in my book shelf, and the floor won't work either.

Wimp!!!

You could mount RSS300's on the walls, and stuff "bigfoot" somewhere. You're not supposed to let something silly like room layout or money dictate what you buy, or where you put it. That's just not the American way!

 

[Buck]

HA! :lol:

What I'd really like is a pair of RS1000s facing me with a Rocket Twin UFW-12 tucked away so that my entire block of condos can have the privilege of hearing Boston's Walk On medley. It'll also help scare the termites away.

 

[ddrueding]

New project....

One of the places I teach tango is at a church downtown. We rent their 6000 sq. ft. ballroom, and they provide quite possibly the worst stage speakers ever. To top it all off, the room (roughly 60'x100'x30' ceilings) has very serious reverberation/echo issues.

If I had a budget of, say, $1000; could I get some speakers/amp/stands that would work? All audio is from a pair of laptops with external sound cards, so those are the only inputs I need.

 

[Pradeep]

That's a rather large room.

Perhaps something from here:

http://www.danleysoundlabs.com/

Thye have a lot of experience with larger venues.

But it will be over $1000.

 

[ddrueding]

Pradeep,

Their smallest speaker is 2,000W; and is recommended in arrays of 4. I think they are a little big for my needs.

Though their 40kW subwoofer looks very cool. 105dB @ 250 meters.

 

[Pradeep]

Whilst they make take up to 2000W, you will notice that they are all extremely efficient designs. I.e it doesn't take much power at all to get extremely high volumes. They do make a couple of active speakers (amps built-in) which should pair up with your sounds cards. Some of their speakers are quite directional, i.e. you can "point" the sound so that it somewhat limited to a certain area.

http://www.danleysoundlabs.com/danley_manor.htm

Obviously a larger system than you contemplate but shows what is possible.

 

[e_dawg]

Without knowing how feasible this is in your situation, my first inclination is to address the acoustic problems of your room first, then tackle the speakers. As bad as you think those speakers are, the room typically has a greater impact on sound than your speakers. IMO, no matter how good your speakers are, a really live, resonant room with poor acoustics can still make them sound like crap.

Even something as simple as those movable curtain or velour on metal tube partitions. Or hanging rugs or blankets on the walls. Something soft or upholstered to absorb the standing waves before they reflect off the walls. You can't do anything about the ceiling or the floor (unless you can convince them to carpet the hall), so you have to focus on the walls. All you need to do is partially cover / block 2 walls (one on each axis).

I don't know if you can build some foldable sound absorbers and leave them there between classes, but if you can that might be a good approach.

Some DIY acoustic treatment ideas from one of the original cheapskate (as in, he doesn't like paying $$ to buy things retail for something he can build himself for a fraction of the price) DIY audio guys on the net:

http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/a.htm

 

[ddrueding]

e_dawg,

Thanks for the info and suggestions. I've spent the last hour reading about the DIY panels...very interesting.

Unfortunately, we have no storage space at the location and we all drive hatchbacks. So anything sufficiently large would be impractical.

 

[e_dawg]

Just found that one of the biggest upgrades you can make to your sound is to clean your ears. Seriously.

Went to the doctor yesterday because my eustachian tubes felt plugged up. It's not uncommon for that to happen to me around this time of the year due to allergies. But upon inspection, he found that I had copious amounts of wax buildup that was causing some of the problems and wanted to clean my ears out first.

In came the nurse with a big syringe and a bowl of warm water. After giving my ears what amounts to a pressure wash, I could see half a dozen small pieces of wax in the rinse water that were gumming up my ears.

Lo and behold, I could hear much better through my right ear, and the left side was better, but not as good in comparison to my right ear. I still feel that my eustachian tubes are somewhat congested (although better than before), but what a difference in my hearing. Even quieter things (like typing and mouse clicks) seem noticeably louder now and high-frequencies come through startlingly (and sometimes excessively) clear. I am taking an antihistamine, decongestant, and flonase to reduce the inflammation and congestion.

If you haven't had your ears cleaned in a while, I recommend asking your doctor to take a look and see if you need cleaning next time you go for a checkup. Some people need regular cleanings, some people will never need it. It depends. If you're the kind that does, it will make a noticeable difference to your hearing.

 

[ddrueding]

I'd be tempted, but my hearing is already appreciably better than my GFs, so I need to talk loud and wach movies loud regardless.

 

[P5-133XL]

I would really like to get rid of speaker-wire: Any recomendations for amplified speakers with multi-channel transmitter/reciever setup?

 

[LiamC]

Just bought some Richter PM-401's. Coupled with an Onkyo TX-SR503. First time I've bought audio in a while.

http://www.richter.com.au/framed.htm?http://www.richter.com.au/rp01.htm

My intent was for DVD surround, and to listen to music. Damn that was hard. Booming surround and clear speech had music much too "bright". The setup is a reasonable compromise. Layered production such as Monaco/New Order sounds tremendous. So does acoustic/folky stuff, though a little bright. Think REM's Automatic for the People. Now I've just got to wire the rear surrounds...

 

[ddrueding]

ow I've just got to wire the rear surrounds...

I've been too lazy to do that for the last several months. I got a 7.1 system and the rear/side 4 speakers are still sitting on top of my front L&R channels.

 

[timwhit]

I listened to the Anthony Gallo Reference 3.1 speakers yesterday. They were absolutely amazing. If I had $3k to spend on a pair of speakers, they would be at the top of my list.

 

[ddrueding]

Those are really beautiful speakers.

 

[timwhit]

I'm considering the Harman/Kardon AVR 445 receiver. Does anyone have any opinions? I can get it for around $570 shipped.

 

[e_dawg]

Looks hot. Should be decent for sound quality. h/k is a cut above the mass market consumer stuff like Sony, Pioneer, JVC, Kenwood, Sherwood, et al.

 

[timwhit]

How about compared with the Onkyo TX-SR674?

 

[Mercutio]

I'm a big fan of Onkyo/Integra equipment and that particular unit has pretty much every feature you'll actually use built into it. Net-Tune is kind of OK but since my receivers are all hooked up to PCs that I don't ever turn off.

Another nice thing is that most Onkyo receivers carry a two year factory warranty.

 

[Pradeep]

One thing that you may or may not care about is if the receiver can playback/decode multi-channel audio via HDMI, or whether it only switches the video/audio. This would be especially relevant if you have a PS 3 or other HD playback device that only outputs multi-channel HD audio via HDMI.

 

[mubs]

Looks hot. Should be decent for sound quality. h/k is a cut above the mass market consumer stuff like Sony, Pioneer, JVC, Kenwood, Sherwood, et al.

Till a few years ago, Sherwood (actually it's Korean parent) used to build the stuff for HK, and some other well known brands.

 

[Pradeep]

I won't say no to this bad boy:

http://www.audioholics.com/news/tra...es/sherwood-newcastle-r-972-hdmi-1-3-receiver

 

[timwhit]

After doing some research and talking to a bunch of different people at audio stores, I decided that HDMI switching is pointless to spend money on, especially since I don't have any HDMI devices currently. I also heard good things about Denon receivers from a lot of audio stores, even if they didn't sell Denon.

I wasn't planning on buying anything this quickly, but my 9 year old Sony crapped out on me while I was watching a movie, so I decided to pull the trigger.

I went with the Denon AVR-1907. Got it for less than $350 2-day shipped, so I feel like I got a pretty good deal.

 

[timwhit]

A friend of mine recently purchased a very lightly used pair of Rega R5 loudspeakers for ~$700 (Retail is ~$1250). They are a very impressive set of speakers.

I went with him to a number of audio stores throughout Chicago listening to speakers, and these really were a notch above anything in the $1000 range.

 

[Wavemaker]

This US$179 ~ $199 USB Turntable could be a convenient tool for certain people...

http://www.zzounds.com/item--IONITTUSB10

 

[e_dawg]

Spent the afternoon auditioning components and speakers for a potential new 2 channel audio setup. Looked at the following:

Amps

NAD c372
Roksan Kandy L.III
Cambridge Audio 540R
Parasound Halo P3 + A23 pre/power combo

CD Players

NAD c542
Roksan Kandy CD
Cambridge Audio 840c up-sampling
Parasound D3 CD/SACD/DVD-A/DVD-V

Speakers

Totem Arro
Totem Sttaf
psb T45
Monitor Audio RS6 Silver

Didn't get a chance to listen to the Cambridge Audio 640a.

For those of you who don't know, NAD and Cambridge Audio are two of the leaders in the mid-priced audio segment along with Arcam and Rotel.

Comments on the electronics

* Roksan Kandy combo: quick, clear, dynamic, detailed, analytical, bass weight and warmth not as good as NAD, cool and a little bright

* NAD c372 & c542 combo: powerful, authoritative amp, nice bass weight and power, good warmth, not as quick and clear as Roksan combo

* Parasound P3 + A23 + D3 combo: powerful, dynamic, quick, authoritative bass, clean and clear from the bass through the mids and treble, maybe a little too bright with the MA speakers, nice big 3D soundstage, sexy design

* Cambridge Audio 540R + 840c / 640c combo: not as quick and clear as the Roksan or Parasound combos, about the same or slightly better than NAD... bass weight and power okay, but not as good as Parasound and NAD, soundstaging wasn't as big and 3D as Parasound... 640c not as refined, detailed, or smooth as 840c

Comments on the speakers

* Totem Arro: a little bass shy, not enough weight and warmth

* psb T45: nice image focus, but the soundstage was not very big... could be poor positioning and ancilliary equipment

* Totem Sttaf: nice speaker... dynamic, quick, natural sound, a little bright, good imaging / soundstaging, but expensive

* Monitor Audio RS6: Wow. Dynamic, quick, natural sound, a little bright, good imaging / soundstaging, very nice design, but not as expensive

After all the auditions, I pretty much settled on the Monitor Audio RS6 over the Totem Sttaf as my speaker choice. I was also leaning towards the Cambridge Audio 640a + 640c combo for electronics... but the Parasound Halo combo wouldn't let me forget it.

Being quite a bit more expensive, I was forced to reconsider things. Since the Cambridge Audio, NAD, and Roksan CD players weren't any better than the Music Hall player I have at home, I decided against buying a CDP and will use the Music Hall I have dedicated to my headphone system.

Now I can afford the Parasound pre/power combo and the MA RS6 speakers.

 

[ddrueding]

Mid-priced. Right.

I assume that means anything short of insanity?

I'm still enjoying my cheap Onkyo system.

 

[e_dawg]

Well, mid-priced meaning under $1,000 per component usually, which is still within the realm of reasonable. You can get a very nice 2 channel audio system for $3,000, or a very nice home theatre system for $6,000, the big TV, A/V receiver, and 5.1 speaker system representing the bulk of the extra $.

Anyways, I think Merc and company have already alluded to the insanity associated with audiophiles and this kind of stuff. I used to consider myself an audiophile who successfully kicked the habit... maybe I'm just recovering, and suffering a temporary setback

 

[Stereodude]

Why don't you go budget on an integrated amp? http://www.emotiva.com/bpa1.html

 

[timwhit]

I auditioned the RS6 also a few weeks ago when my friend was looking at speakers. I found them to be kind of weak on bass. So, unless you are planning on adding a sub-woofer, they might disappoint you. Personally, I don't want to have to have a sub on when listening to music.

 

[e_dawg]

I auditioned the RS6 also a few weeks ago when my friend was looking at speakers. I found them to be kind of weak on bass. So, unless you are planning on adding a sub-woofer, they might disappoint you. Personally, I don't want to have to have a sub on when listening to music.

I know what you mean... I thought I could have used a bit more bass myself, I don't feel that I would need a sub or that it is lacking in bass... in fact, I find it to be pretty neutral and accurate in its frequency response. A tad brighter spectral balance than I usually prefer, but the overall freq resp is very flat. Certainly much better bass than the NHT 1.3A's I used in the past.

It also depends on the listening environment and equipment used at the time. The auditioning room may be bigger than a typical living room and the electronics may have been voiced to be clear and bright and lack bass (e.g., tried the Totem Sttaf with the Roksan Kandy and NAD systems... they seemed too light in the bass with the Roksan, but had noticeably more and heavier bass with the NAD).

To add some fuel to the fire here, some of the professional reviewers feel that the bass is a strength of the RS6, and at one point, perhaps even a little excessive:

At first, I thought the Monitor Silver RS6 sounded too aggressive, with far too much emphasis in the bass. Although it sounded big and the highs were crystal clear, the bass was muddled, and the presentation lacked depth. As usual, I experimented with placement and found that in order to eliminate the overpowering bass and hear convincing three-dimensional sound, I needed to position the speakers farther from the room boundaries.

The RS6 presented the least colored replication of the lower range of the double bass that I've heard from a speaker at this price point. [...]

I was able to hear each individual vocalist in the choir as a three-dimensional being surrounded by air—but I was most impressed with the realism of the organ-pedal notes. I eagerly await JA's measurements to see how low the unassuming RS6's bass actually extends. [...]

Of all the wonders this loudspeaker produced in my living room, which impressed me the most? First was the bass. I was impressed by the dynamics and the bass extension of which the small-footprint RS6 was capable.

 

[e_dawg]

Why don't you go budget on an integrated amp? http://www.emotiva.com/bpa1.html

Wow, that looks like quite the deal! I'll keep that in mind for other applications (it would be perfect to hook up to a PC to drive real speakers instead of PC speakers), or for friends / family recommendations.

Basically, I fell in love with the sound of the Parasound P3/A23 + MA RS6 + modded Music Hall CD25 combo. I don't think you could change my mind now unless you put some Krell monoblocks or a Cary tube amp in front of me.