Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

Hey @Corycm , we were talking the other day about how you’ve added dampeners. Was the bass aggressive with the b&w’s right away? The bass on the ELACs is definitely opening up and given @AnthonyI ’s experience, I got about twenty hours before these things are fully burnt in.
 
Lee Newman said:
Hey @Corycm , we were talking the other day about how you’ve added dampeners. Was the bass aggressive with the b&w’s right away? The bass on the ELACs is definitely opening up and given @AnthonyI ’s experience, I got about twenty hours before these things are fully burnt in.
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I needed them up front because they were way too punchy right out of the box. Once they broke in they stated to mellow - I stepped down the dampers twice, but now I run them without. The bass mellowed out and started playing nice once they broke in. Sounds nice and integrated now.
 
trickyseven said:
@Lee Newman how far from the wall are you running the ELACs? Mine were pretty close, maybe 6 inches, and I've been experimenting with moving them farther away for a more balanced sound
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6 inches at the corner closest to the wall. I think they sound great right now. I was just curious if the bass was gonna get out of control like Hatbird experienced at first.
 
Hey all I'm looking for advice on entry level bookshelf speakers. I have a small home office (12' x 10', vaulted ceiling) and my current set up sounds pretty good to me, but my current speakers are missing some of what I'm looking for. I mainly use this for listening to vinyl, but also have it hooked up to my PC to play FLAC files (using optical input).

Setup:

Rega P3-24 w/AT 440mlb
Marantz PM6005
Rotating between 2 sets of speakers: B&W 685 S2, and Klipsch RB 61 II


I run the Rega through the phono stage of the Marantz which sounds better than most of the budget phono pre's I've had.
I have a Schiit Mani that I use for a second TT, but my main focus is to get the output from the Rega sounding good.

I mainly use the B&W 685 S2, these are the most detailed speakers I've had and the soundstage is excellent. Problem is these do not go low at all (Freq Response is 52h-22khz so not surprising). I know bookshelf spkrs in general do not go low, but these really do not have much bass at all. I don't want to use a sub so I know the only way to change is to upgrade spkrs.

I'm not a fan of Klipsch since they seem more geared towards HT, but I got the RB 61 II super cheap so they've become a back up spkr. I use them occasionally when I want a different sound. They're not bad, they aren't super detailed but I feel like they're ok all around.

What I'm looking for is something that would have similar detail to the B&W's but would go just a bit lower (if that even exists). I want to keep budget at $500, I prefer to buy used speakers since you get more bang for the buck.

These are other speakers I've had before:
- Wharfedale Diamond 10.2 (In hindsight, these probably sounded the best out of the ones I've had)
- Elac Debut B6, and the B6.2 (Did not like these at all, very dull sounding. Too much mid, not enough highs)

I was thinking of trying one of the following, but it's hard to make a choice since I don't really have a way to demo them:
- Focal Chorus 706
- KEF Q350 or the older KEF Q300
- Dali Zensor 3
- MartinLogan Motion 35XT

On the other hand, I was thinking anything in this price range might be a lateral move and I'd have to spend more to find what I'm looking for (ie. like going >$1000). I haven't listened to other brands so really not sure if it's worth it, wanted to get thoughts from those who might have gone this route already. Any help appreciated, thanks!
 
So, I was definitely finished with my setup for a while, then I heard a REL demo and I broke down and added this little guy in the corner. Any helpful tips on dialing this thing in are appreciated. I’m using the Speakon high level connector and I’m at about 1 o’clock on Hi Lvl volume and crossover settings, and am clueless on if the 0 or 180 phase is better?? Positioning is probably 1 foot from corner wall.... I’m spinning the ‘Waiting for a Superman’ side of the Lips ROTM, which sounds gloriously boomy at the moment, just trying to optimize and find the sweet spot.AC909BF0-2FB0-4D5B-BD21-5E5F94277092.jpeg
 
debianlinux said:
Currently running a NAD 3020PE. I was led to believe that the Phono stages on these are quite good and that there was no real benefit to replacing ti with anything modest (say PHO-8 or below). Is there consensus here on that take?
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I cant comment on the PHO-8 but have had a bunch of sub-$250 phono pres. Ive had a couple NAD amps before (3020 and 3155) and the phono stages were really good. I tried a few external phonos with it and I preferred the sound of the internal phono each time. The one thing that the externals did better is S/N ratio, so they were quieter.
 
Cheesefry said:
So, I was definitely finished with my setup for a while, then I heard a REL demo and I broke down and added this little guy in the corner. Any helpful tips on dialing this thing in are appreciated. I’m using the Speakon high level connector and I’m at about 1 o’clock on Hi Lvl volume and crossover settings, and am clueless on if the 0 or 180 phase is better?? Positioning is probably 1 foot from corner wall.... I’m spinning the ‘Waiting for a Superman’ side of the Lips ROTM, which sounds gloriously boomy at the moment, just trying to optimize and find the sweet spot.View attachment 20266
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Maybe bri... uh, I mean ask the OL to fiddle with the controls until the sub disappears from your listening spot.
 
imajindat said:
I cant comment on the PHO-8 but have had a bunch of sub-$250 phono pres. Ive had a couple NAD amps before (3020 and 3155) and the phono stages were really good. I tried a few external phonos with it and I preferred the sound of the internal phono each time. The one thing that the externals did better is S/N ratio, so they were quieter.
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Good to hear Nad included a good phono stage. I'd stick with it unless you figure it's responsible for a problem.
 
debianlinux said:
Right, no issues but preparing to buy new speakers and was just examining the chain as a whole to make sure I am going in the most efficient direction.
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New speakers would probably make a bigger impact. I'm finding myself tempted by the Dirty Weekends myself, but then I would need an amp to drive them.
 
Cheesefry said:
She’s super thrilled about the purchase🤣.....I may have to ask my daughter.
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I sense a difference in priorities. Yeah, maybe find someone in a better mood to help. Unless it has a remote and you can adjust it without getting up. But anyway, my usual technique is just to tweak it until it sounds right.
One place to start with a sub is to look up the minimum frequently for your mains and set the sub's upper cutoff (or low-pass filter, depending on how they label it) to the same frequency, but don't be afraid to move it once you hear it.
 
apholden said:
I sense a difference in priorities. Yeah, maybe find someone in a better mood to help. Unless it has a remote and you can adjust it without getting up. But anyway, my usual technique is just to tweak it until it sounds right.
One place to start with a sub is to look up the minimum frequently for your mains and set the sub's upper cutoff (or low-pass filter, depending on how they label it) to the same frequency, but don't be afraid to move it once you hear it.
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Haha, she’ll enjoy the low end eventually, she just won’t know why it sounds so great. That’s perfect, kinda forgot to reference the cutoff of the towers, I’m on it now! Will keep tweaking, I appreciate the advice!!
 
should i go with a multibit schiit dac like the modi multibit or can i just stick with a delta-sigma DAC like the standard modi or fulla... because multibit is supposed to sound better (though i only have flac files and 320kbs streaming) and i am unsure about having multiple plus in because i dont have a lot of power sources
 
I have a Fulla 2 and a Bifrost Multibit / Valhalla2. They both sound awesome, but I admit I can't hear a whole lot of difference between them. Maybe if I A/B tested them, I might notice something, but does a difference matter if that's what it takes to notice it? I suspect a Fulla will serve you well.
 
Looks like a few vintage components are going to be coming my way. My wife's grandfather is moving and getting rid of a bunch of things. I already got his record collection (which is the exact record collection would look like for a 96 year old), next I'll be getting:

BIC Turntable (I think a 940?)
Sansui 6060
1 Jensen LS-3 speaker (just one, for some reason).

I may also be acquiring my father-in-law's old Technics SL 23 and his Sansui receiver (possibly a 661). I'm mostly interested in the receivers to see how they compare to my old Kenwood.

Finally, and I don't need this at all, but I just saw that an estate sale occurring this weekend will have a pair of very nice looking Klipsch Heresy 2. I keep telling myself I don't even want to look, but that would be a super interesting get.
 
Mather said:
Yeah I mean I went nuts BUT that was mainly because I have a likely limited time period to acquire as much as I can at 50% off MSRP, I've only got the deal as long as the cousin is working at his current job. So I went crazy with end game purchases because I may never get this chance again... Have a look at BIS though, they punch well above their weight. And with the exchange rate I'd be willing to bet you could get a lot of cables for "decent" prices...
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I have no doubt that they’re amazing but having spent €900 on all of my van den hul interconnects back in January Im not going back to that well again! I’ll keep them in mind for speaker cable when I eventually get myself some new speakers!
 
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