Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

MikeH said:
upscaleaudio.com

Technics x Lamborghini SL-1200M7B Special Edition Direct Drive Turntab

Technics for Automobili Lamborghini SL-1200M7B As the go-to choice of DJs the world over, the SL-1200 Series offers the SL-1200M7B, a collaboration between Technics and Automobili Lamborghini that brings together the brands’ concepts and sound-making initiatives. This exciting variant comes with...
upscaleaudio.com upscaleaudio.com

This exciting variant comes with a vinyl record featuring the engine sounds of flagship Automobili Lamborghini cars, a slipmat, and stickers with exclusive designs
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Should’ve gotten this instead of the G
 
Jbraswell said:
Received the new MD catalog.
Wow! There's a TON of cool gear in this edition.View attachment 224801
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A fun flip, and a hell of a cover! Haha. Definitely noticing a difference in turntables this year - more direct drive in general, and more of that aesthetic for sure. Technics certainly seems to be driving the market now that they're firmly back in biz.
 
Andy said:
Hi, how’s everyone doing? It’s been a while since I’ve been able to engage with the site properly.

I need some advice. I’m looking to get a hi fi, for my girlfriend’s house, the idea will be to move some records over there bit by bit.

She has squarish living room but not an ideal space to have speakers in a good listening position. 2 walls with doors, one with a fireplace and the other a near full length window. I was thinking maybe some small bookshelves speakers that I could move around and play with positioning a bit and wouldn’t be too imposing. Maybe some super dentons and get a sub at a future date if it was needed.

I’ve got a big living room with tall ceilings and an odd shaped room. A Musical Fidelity MS3i, Arcam phono stage. Old audiolab hidden away acting as a DAC, a fairly old Blusound node and a technical 1200g. B&w 683 s2. Mostly listen to records tv and streamed radio.

The system can sound amazing, generally sounds great but I’m sure like anything can be improved (probably a lot).

Apologies for the rambling pre-amble but thought context might help.

The question

Would a digital amp with Dirac sound as good, or better than the Musical Fidelity class A/b? I don’t really see any comparisons to different types of gear.

I was looking at the NAD M10 v3, which has Dirac, maybe for my place and take the MS3i to my girlfriends or vice versa.

I’ve been reading that a lot of modern amps sound the same but Dirac can make a huge difference. Is this the case? Do I need a Dirac amp? Can dirac help with poor speaker placement or listening position? Can act as an eq?

What would the NAD sound like compared to maybe the new Musical Fidelity A1? Would I be disappointed with a digital amp after always having class A? Or, would the digital NAd make records sound better?

If I was to get a Nad, would a sanded sized one like the c399 or the 3050 be better than the m10?

Confusing where to start
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Ok so straight up I can't speak to the differences between the Musical Fidelity and NAD amps because I haven't directly compared any of them. I know the 3050 is very well regarded by both members on here and reviewers in general so I don't think you can go wrong there. It really depends on how much you feel you need to replace all your other boxes in order to house them in one place. The NAD M10V3 has a lot going on in terms of its basically an all in one system which can be handy for reducing the amount of boxes you've got doing things in your system, but also won't necessarily sound better than a bunch of decent separates doing the same thing (and will also go obsolete much faster than a dedicated 2 channel amp like the 3050). It's also nearly double the price. However with the optional bluos module installed the 3050 has similar functionality minus I think the video input featured on the M10. I would obviously TRY to listen to a few of those amps somewhere before you buy. Or perhaps if you can't do that maybe you can demo from somewhere with a 30 day return policy.

Our own @Ed Selley loved the M10 V1. Gave it a 10 out of 10 on AV forum for what it's worth. So I don't think you can go wrong there assuming they didn't bork anything up in the newer hardware revision.

In terms of Dirac, yes this will absolutely without a doubt make a big difference in challenging rooms and if it's lined up properly it will not sound digital in any way. It works so well in fact that I've been using it in my main system through a goddamn 8 year old AVR since 2016 and it's the only part of my system I haven't replaced yet. Which is bonkers because my cart now costs more than my amp, but Dirac does such a good job regulating my room that it's very hard for me to part with it. You have minute control over every aspect of the sound and can make changes anywhere along the spectrum to raise or lower entire sections of the frequency curve all the way down to individual frequencies. You can also easily disable it through the amp if you want to go full analogue, I would assume this feature is available on most all amps is installed on. When running in my system it basically feels like the walls and windows in my space have been removed and all I'm getting is pure music expanding out in every direction. The stage is massive on good pressings. The music will start about 15 feet behind my speakers somewhere in my neighbors front yard and will expand in a dome over my house and end somewhere in my other neighbors back yard behind me. The music comes at me from every direction. I know that sounds insane but it really does make that much of a difference in challenging rooms.
Now the caveat here is its not the most user friendly of systems to use so it takes some practice to really know the ins and outs of it. However they have really improved functionality over the past few years so it's a lot easier to use for the average person than it was 8 years ago. I mean hell if @Nee Lewman can figure it out you should be fine.

KIDDING! LOVE YA PAL

No but seriously he did it you'll be fine.

Lemme know if you have any other questions about it that I can help with.

Cheers
 
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HayesWeighsIn said:
A fun flip, and a hell of a cover! Haha. Definitely noticing a difference in turntables this year - more direct drive in general, and more of that aesthetic for sure. Technics certainly seems to be driving the market now that they're firmly back in biz.
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I thought there were some beautiful belt drive tables also.

Technics does seem to be putting so many variations out that they offer something for just about anyone.
Seems to be drawing a lot of people.
 
Mather said:
Ok so straight up I can't speak to the differences between the Musical Fidelity and NAD amps because I haven't directly compared any of them. I know the 3050 is very well regarded by both members on here and reviewers in general so I don't think you can go wrong there. It really depends on how much you feel you need to replace all your other boxes in order to house them in one place. The NAD M10V3 has a lot going on in terms of its basically an all in one system which can be handy for reducing the amount of boxes you've got doing things in your system, but also won't necessarily sound better than a bunch of decent separates doing the same thing (and will also go obsolete much faster than a dedicated 2 channel amp like the 3050). It's also nearly double the price. However with the optional bluos module installed the 3050 has similar functionality minus I think the video input featured on the M10. I would obviously TRY to listen to a few of those amps somewhere before you buy. Or perhaps if you can't do that maybe you can demo from somewhere with a 30 day return policy.

Our own @Ed Selley loved the M10 V1. Gave it a 10 out of 10 on AV forum for what it's worth. So I don't think you can go wrong there assuming they didn't bork anything up in the newer hardware revision.

In terms of Dirac, yes this will absolutely without a doubt make a big difference in challenging rooms and if it's lined up properly it will not sound digital in any way. It works so well in fact that I've been using it in my main system through a goddamn 8 year old AVR since 2016 and it's the only part of my system I haven't replaced yet. Which is bonkers because my cart now costs more than my amp, but Dirac does such a good job regulating my room that it's very hard for me to part with it. You have minute control over every aspect of the sound and can make changes anywhere along the spectrum to raise or lower entire sections of the frequency curve all the way down to individual frequencies. You can also early disable it through the amp if you want to go full analogue, I would assume this feature is available on most all amps is installed on. When running in my system it basically feels like the walls and windows in my space have been removed and all I'm getting is pure music expanding out in every direction. The stage is massive on good pressings. The music will start about 15 feet behind my speakers somewhere in my neighbors front yard and will expand in a dome over my house and end somewhere in my other neighbors back yard behind me. The music comes at me from every direction. I know that sounds insane but it really does make that much of a difference in challenging rooms.
Now the caveat here is its not the most user friendly of systems to use so it takes some practice to really know the ins and outs of it. However they have really improved functionality over the past few years so it's a lot easier to use for the average person than it was 8 years ago. I mean hell if @Nee Lewman can figure it out you should be fine.

KIDDING! LOVE YA PAL

No but seriously he did it you'll be fine.

Lemme know if you have any other questions about it that I can help with.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Thanks. Definitely think I’ll buy something with a 30 day return. I think I need to try it out, definitely sounds pretty cool.

The small one box solution, looks like a great idea to have at the girlfriends. But I suppose the 3050 does pretty much everything the M10 does but definitely a bit cheaper.

Cheers
 
Mather said:
Ok so straight up I can't speak to the differences between the Musical Fidelity and NAD amps because I haven't directly compared any of them. I know the 3050 is very well regarded by both members on here and reviewers in general so I don't think you can go wrong there. It really depends on how much you feel you need to replace all your other boxes in order to house them in one place. The NAD M10V3 has a lot going on in terms of its basically an all in one system which can be handy for reducing the amount of boxes you've got doing things in your system, but also won't necessarily sound better than a bunch of decent separates doing the same thing (and will also go obsolete much faster than a dedicated 2 channel amp like the 3050). It's also nearly double the price. However with the optional bluos module installed the 3050 has similar functionality minus I think the video input featured on the M10. I would obviously TRY to listen to a few of those amps somewhere before you buy. Or perhaps if you can't do that maybe you can demo from somewhere with a 30 day return policy.

Our own @Ed Selley loved the M10 V1. Gave it a 10 out of 10 on AV forum for what it's worth. So I don't think you can go wrong there assuming they didn't bork anything up in the newer hardware revision.

In terms of Dirac, yes this will absolutely without a doubt make a big difference in challenging rooms and if it's lined up properly it will not sound digital in any way. It works so well in fact that I've been using it in my main system through a goddamn 8 year old AVR since 2016 and it's the only part of my system I haven't replaced yet. Which is bonkers because my cart now costs more than my amp, but Dirac does such a good job regulating my room that it's very hard for me to part with it. You have minute control over every aspect of the sound and can make changes anywhere along the spectrum to raise or lower entire sections of the frequency curve all the way down to individual frequencies. You can also easily disable it through the amp if you want to go full analogue, I would assume this feature is available on most all amps is installed on. When running in my system it basically feels like the walls and windows in my space have been removed and all I'm getting is pure music expanding out in every direction. The stage is massive on good pressings. The music will start about 15 feet behind my speakers somewhere in my neighbors front yard and will expand in a dome over my house and end somewhere in my other neighbors back yard behind me. The music comes at me from every direction. I know that sounds insane but it really does make that much of a difference in challenging rooms.
Now the caveat here is its not the most user friendly of systems to use so it takes some practice to really know the ins and outs of it. However they have really improved functionality over the past few years so it's a lot easier to use for the average person than it was 8 years ago. I mean hell if @Nee Lewman can figure it out you should be fine.

KIDDING! LOVE YA PAL

No but seriously he did it you'll be fine.

Lemme know if you have any other questions about it that I can help with.

Cheers
Click to expand...
Can you use the Dirac like an eq? Could you tone down quite bright speakers with Dirac, or does it really just work for correcting the room issues?
 
Andy said:
Can you use the Dirac like an eq? Could you tone down quite bright speakers with Dirac, or does it really just work for correcting the room issues?
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You can absolutely use it like an eq. You set a target sound curve for your speakers and then you can adjust individual frequencies and ranges to tone down brightness, bump up mids or bass etc... It's like a super EQ.
 
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Andy said:
Can you use the Dirac like an eq? Could you tone down quite bright speakers with Dirac, or does it really just work for correcting the room issues?
Click to expand...
For reference here's a couple of pics of what I am doing to the sound in my room. This is an older curve from a different set of speakers but that thin pink line is what the speakers are doing in the room uncorrected, and the thicker pink line is the corrected curve. i create the curve and adjust it to tailor it to how I want the system to sound. You can use default curves that are included with the program or create your own.

Screenshot_20220803-234807_Gallery.jpg

And this chaos is showing all the speakers in my surround sound setup corrected across the spectrum, including the sub. Once again, taken at a different time with a different curve, just an example. These two pics were a few years apart.

20210213_162905.jpg
 
Mather said:
Ok so straight up I can't speak to the differences between the Musical Fidelity and NAD amps because I haven't directly compared any of them. I know the 3050 is very well regarded by both members on here and reviewers in general so I don't think you can go wrong there. It really depends on how much you feel you need to replace all your other boxes in order to house them in one place. The NAD M10V3 has a lot going on in terms of its basically an all in one system which can be handy for reducing the amount of boxes you've got doing things in your system, but also won't necessarily sound better than a bunch of decent separates doing the same thing (and will also go obsolete much faster than a dedicated 2 channel amp like the 3050). It's also nearly double the price. However with the optional bluos module installed the 3050 has similar functionality minus I think the video input featured on the M10. I would obviously TRY to listen to a few of those amps somewhere before you buy. Or perhaps if you can't do that maybe you can demo from somewhere with a 30 day return policy.

Our own @Ed Selley loved the M10 V1. Gave it a 10 out of 10 on AV forum for what it's worth. So I don't think you can go wrong there assuming they didn't bork anything up in the newer hardware revision.

In terms of Dirac, yes this will absolutely without a doubt make a big difference in challenging rooms and if it's lined up properly it will not sound digital in any way. It works so well in fact that I've been using it in my main system through a goddamn 8 year old AVR since 2016 and it's the only part of my system I haven't replaced yet. Which is bonkers because my cart now costs more than my amp, but Dirac does such a good job regulating my room that it's very hard for me to part with it. You have minute control over every aspect of the sound and can make changes anywhere along the spectrum to raise or lower entire sections of the frequency curve all the way down to individual frequencies. You can also easily disable it through the amp if you want to go full analogue, I would assume this feature is available on most all amps is installed on. When running in my system it basically feels like the walls and windows in my space have been removed and all I'm getting is pure music expanding out in every direction. The stage is massive on good pressings. The music will start about 15 feet behind my speakers somewhere in my neighbors front yard and will expand in a dome over my house and end somewhere in my other neighbors back yard behind me. The music comes at me from every direction. I know that sounds insane but it really does make that much of a difference in challenging rooms.
Now the caveat here is its not the most user friendly of systems to use so it takes some practice to really know the ins and outs of it. However they have really improved functionality over the past few years so it's a lot easier to use for the average person than it was 8 years ago. I mean hell if @Nee Lewman can figure it out you should be fine.

KIDDING! LOVE YA PAL

No but seriously he did it you'll be fine.

Lemme know if you have any other questions about it that I can help with.

Cheers
Click to expand...

I’ll be interest to hear your unprocessed 2 channel take if you get the pre and power you’ve been talking about.
 
Joe Mac said:
I’ll be interest to hear your unprocessed 2 channel take if you get the pre and power you’ve been talking about.
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Well me too. I can tell you that if I kill the DIRAC and digital circuits and go all analogue on my current amp it sounds fucking terrible so I'm not entirely sure what to expect. But I will be moving it downstairs to a larger room with more room for the speakers to breath so that should help ..
 
Mather said:
Well me too. I can tell you that if I kill the DIRAC and digital circuits and go all analogue on my current amp it sounds fucking terrible so I'm not entirely sure what to expect. But I will be moving it downstairs to a larger room with more room for the speakers to breath so that should help ..
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I use Audyssey in my movie room. It's kind of just another variation of the Dirac.

I think traditional 2 ch is apples and oranges type of sound. Sounds like separates are in the tea leaves now?
 
Jbraswell said:
I use Audyssey in my movie room. It's kind of just another variation of the Dirac.

I think traditional 2 ch is apples and oranges type of sound. Sounds like separates are in the tea leaves now?
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Yeah I had Audessey before, it worked well for home theatre however I'm not sure if it's changed but when I had it you couldn't adjust anything it was just a measure then set it and forget it system. Couldn't actually EQ or change anything. It makes all the decisions for you. Maybe it's different now, not sure.

Yes I think with the decision to ultimately move the music system to the basement that will just allow me to have the room to do whatever I like. So yeah I think hybrid tube Pre (probably Audio Research LS28 or 28SE or Ref 5/SE), something with like 4000+ tube hour life so I don't have to worry about it, and then some sort of good solid state power amp. Probably be end of year before I can reasonably do it as I'll have to get a whole new media cabinet down there to accommodate this. Current one isn't big enough for an HT AVR plus 2 separates and the TT and stage plus PS5 and Series X.
 
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Mather said:
For reference here's a couple of pics of what I am doing to the sound in my room. This is an older curve from a different set of speakers but that thin pink line is what the speakers are doing in the room uncorrected, and the thicker pink line is the corrected curve. i create the curve and adjust it to tailor it to how I want the system to sound. You can use default curves that are included with the program or create your own.

View attachment 225124

And this chaos is showing all the speakers in my surround sound setup corrected across the spectrum, including the sub. Once again, taken at a different time with a different curve, just an example. These two pics were a few years apart.

View attachment 225125
Click to expand...
That’s super cool
 
I still really love the idea of converting the back garage into a listening room but it's just going to be far too expensive to do it right. It would have to be temperature controlled 365 days a year and in Toronto Canada that means going from like plus 35 C to minus 25 C. The heating and cooling costs would be insane on their own. Not to mention having to put on a winter coat and boots in order to trudge outside in the winter. Also no plumbing in there and no reasonable way to run it without digging up the entire backyard. Sucks but it'll have to wait for Mather to suddenly become independently wealthy.
 
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