Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

My next upgrade, whenever that may be, will be my speakers, and I want to start getting some brands/models in mind to try and potentially scope out a deal. Anything you guys would recommend in the ~$500 range? My setup is listed below

U-Turn Orbit Plus/2M blue - Darlington Labs MM6 (coming soon) - Sony STRDH590

Might not buy for awhile but I want to see what I might potentially be on the lookout for. Currently using a trusty pair of Pioneer BS41's I've had.....well for too long.

Edit: I should also add that im looking for bookshelf speakers I can fit on a Kallax. Nothing floorstanding.
 
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DJSJ said:
My next upgrade, whenever that may be, will be my speakers, and I want to start getting some brands/models in mind to try and potentially scope out a deal. Anything you guys would recommend in the ~$500 range? My setup is listed below

U-Turn Orbit Plus/2M blue - Darlington Labs MM6 (coming soon) - Sony STRDH590

Might not buy for awhile but I want to see what I might potentially be on the lookout for. Currently using a trusty pair of Pioneer BS41's I've had.....well for too long.

Edit: I should also add that im looking for bookshelf speakers I can fit on a Kallax. Nothing floorstanding.
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I've heard good things about the Klipsh rp600m, though I have no direct experience with them. Steve Guttenberg claims they are magical, and they're in your price range.

www.klipsch.com

RP-600M Bookshelf Speakers

The RP-600M powered bookshelf speakers deliver incredible acoustics to fill your home with loud, clear sound & robust bass. Shop today!
www.klipsch.com www.klipsch.com
 
wokeupnew said:
Haha that’s exactly my situation. I’ll probably break into more of my punk/weird stuff records more than once every blue moon with headphones.

Sweet - thank you!

Edit - went with the Beyerdynamic DT770s - 80 ohms. I’ll report back when I get them with how they’re working. Thanks for the recommendation!
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These just came in yesterday. Tried them out for a little bit but I won’t really get to use them until next week Monday since I don’t really listen to much headphone music on the weekend.

I saw some folks recommended letting some music play through the headphones at a high volume to “break them in”. Does that actually do anything or should they be mostly fine out of the box?
 
wokeupnew said:
These just came in yesterday. Tried them out for a little bit but I won’t really get to use them until next week Monday since I don’t really listen to much headphone music on the weekend.

I saw some folks recommended letting some music play through the headphones at a high volume to “break them in”. Does that actually do anything or should they be mostly fine out of the box?
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Yes it does something. If you're prepared for somehwat disappointing sound from patch to patch and schizophrenic sound signatures I suggest breaking them in with actual listening. When it really starts to come into it's own you'll know and you'll have learned a lot about break in for headphones that can't be conveyed with language.
 
debianlinux said:
Yes it does something. If you're prepared for somehwat disappointing sound from patch to patch and schizophrenic sound signatures I suggest breaking them in with actual listening. When it really starts to come into it's own you'll know and you'll have learned a lot about break in for headphones that can't be conveyed with language.
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Good to know - thanks!
 
So first night with EVO 100 / Absolute combo and I'm impressed. The dynamics are a big step up from the Strata. Much more punch as a result too. Resolution is slightly higher, and the depth is way better. The stage is a tinsy bit tighter and the high mids are a tad more congested.

I would currently choose the EVO for sure.

I'm not sure how to gauge expectations for burn-in improvement considering the Pre is pretty much burned in already, but if this is the "I made a mistake" phase, then I can safely say none were made.
 
I was looking up a for a refresher how to connect my REL powered sub to the amp with their high level connect. I noticed while reading along that REL suggests having two subs if one is using monoblocks. How necessary would that be sound wise? Are certain things going to get lost because it was panned right and your sub is hooked to the left block etc?
 
VMPKJ said:
I was looking up a for a refresher how to connect my REL powered sub to the amp with their high level connect. I noticed while reading along that REL suggests having two subs if one is using monoblocks. How necessary would that be sound wise? Are certain things going to get lost because it was panned right and your sub is hooked to the left block etc?
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I might get this garbled this a bit, but I'll try. The frequencies coming from the sub are much less directional than the higher frequencies coming from your main speakers. As a result, it will be far far less noticeable to tell that the sub bass is coming from the left or right sub. (I have two smaller REL subs hooked up as you mention, and haven't noticed any panning of the sub frequencies) The purpose of dual subs can serve as a means to counter nulls and voids in your room you might have if using one sub. Also, if you are space challenged to fit one larger sub, a couple smaller subs can mitigate their smaller size, and possibly provide more agile bass as a result as well.
 
Splunders said:
I might get this garbled this a bit, but I'll try. The frequencies coming from the sub are much less directional than the higher frequencies coming from your main speakers. As a result, it will be far far less noticeable to tell that the sub bass is coming from the left or right sub. (I have two smaller REL subs hooked up as you mention, and haven't noticed any panning of the sub frequencies) The purpose of dual subs can serve as a means to counter nulls and voids in your room you might have if using one sub. Also, if you are space challenged to fit one larger sub, a couple smaller subs can mitigate their smaller size, and possibly provide more agile bass as a result as well.
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So an improvement more than a need with monoblocks? The REL site mentioned it specifically in conjunction with monoblocks.

Makes sense, but Essentially my sub is connected to both channels now. I'm guessing with monoblocks you are not connecting across the two.

Edit: I just looked at a REL video and that is the issue. You can't connect using their high level connect with monoblocks because you can't jumper across the amps. In order to use high level you'd need a second sub.
 
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So here is a question! I recently just moved into a new bigger apartment and my listening space is way more ideal than my last spot in many ways. Less glass next to the speakers, a more symmetrical room, taller ceilings, wider room BUT the noise isolation for my down stairs neighbors in worse, apparently they can make out words from a song at below my normal listening level which is a huge bummer. I’ve been saving up to upgrade my Klipsch R-51PM to Wharfdale Linton 85s but am worried that these will not work in my space due to the noise isolation but this is working off the assumption that bigger better speakers just mean that they’re going to be way louder. At my current listening level will I theoretically get more accurate information from bigger speakers than with smaller speakers? I find that I listen louder on my Klipsch because that’s when I feel like a lot of the detail reveals itself. I’m hoping that I can stomach lower listening levels with better speakers because I won’t have to pump the volume to get what I’m looking for. What do we think?
 
Ghost said:
So here is a question! I recently just moved into a new bigger apartment and my listening space is way more ideal than my last spot in many ways. Less glass next to the speakers, a more symmetrical room, taller ceilings, wider room BUT the noise isolation for my down stairs neighbors in worse, apparently they can make out words from a song at below my normal listening level which is a huge bummer. I’ve been saving up to upgrade my Klipsch R-51PM to Wharfdale Linton 85s but am worried that these will not work in my space due to the noise isolation but this is working off the assumption that bigger better speakers just mean that they’re going to be way louder. At my current listening level will I theoretically get more accurate information from bigger speakers than with smaller speakers? I find that I listen louder on my Klipsch because that’s when I feel like a lot of the detail reveals itself. I’m hoping that I can stomach lower listening levels with better speakers because I won’t have to pump the volume to get what I’m looking for. What do we think?
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I suspect you will be more satisfied with the Wharfdales at lower volume than you are with the Klipsch, even at the higher volumes. And this isn't likely to be about size as much as about efficiency and overall quality. I'm not familiar enough with the technical terms (or their meaning, for that matter), but I have experienced this phenomenon of better speakers sounding very good at low volume. I recently purchased Harbeth c7es-3's and they sound very, very good at low volumes. In fact, although I like to crank my music, I often listen at low volumes when my wife is at home and I'm kind of grateful for that because there are ways in which I hear 'more' that way. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to make the switch, because those Wharfdales should sound better regardless--they'd have to, right?
 
VMPKJ said:
So first night with EVO 100 / Absolute combo and I'm impressed. The dynamics are a big step up from the Strata. Much more punch as a result too. Resolution is slightly higher, and the depth is way better. The stage is a tinsy bit tighter and the high mids are a tad more congested.

I would currently choose the EVO for sure.

I'm not sure how to gauge expectations for burn-in improvement considering the Pre is pretty much burned in already, but if this is the "I made a mistake" phase, then I can safely say none were made.
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It’ll get better with time for sure. If you like it now, you’ll love it later.
 
Ghost said:
So here is a question! I recently just moved into a new bigger apartment and my listening space is way more ideal than my last spot in many ways. Less glass next to the speakers, a more symmetrical room, taller ceilings, wider room BUT the noise isolation for my down stairs neighbors in worse, apparently they can make out words from a song at below my normal listening level which is a huge bummer. I’ve been saving up to upgrade my Klipsch R-51PM to Wharfdale Linton 85s but am worried that these will not work in my space due to the noise isolation but this is working off the assumption that bigger better speakers just mean that they’re going to be way louder. At my current listening level will I theoretically get more accurate information from bigger speakers than with smaller speakers? I find that I listen louder on my Klipsch because that’s when I feel like a lot of the detail reveals itself. I’m hoping that I can stomach lower listening levels with better speakers because I won’t have to pump the volume to get what I’m looking for. What do we think?
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One of my favorite things about the Lintons are that you don’t have to crank them up for them to sound good. They sound really good at all volumes, from very low to quite high.
 
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