What audio system do you have, or plan on getting?

Started by Bonehelm, May 24, 2007, 08:52:55 AM

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Bogey

#460
The Wharfedales I have may still be my best choice for my current price range.

I have the 9.1's.  Ran me about $300. 



Jumping to $600 right now may be a bit of a stretch for me.  My father continuously goes to auctions though and I will have him  keep a lookout.  He grabbed a Pioneer receiver and a couple decent Sony shelf speakers for me the other day for use at work.  Total cost was only $30.
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

DavidRoss

Quote from: Bogey on May 17, 2009, 08:34:50 AM
The Wharfedales I have may still be my best choice for my current price range.

I have the 9.1's.  Ran me about $300. 



Jumping to $600 right now may be a bit of a stretch for me.  My father continuously goes to auctions though and I will have him  keep a lookout.  He grabbed a Pioneer receiver and a couple decent Sony shelf speakers for me the other for use at work.  Total cost was only $30.
I've not heard the Wharfedale's, but Robert Reina--Stereophile's modestly priced speaker specialist--liked them very much, comparing them favorably with the Epos and with earlier iterations of the Paradigm Atoms and a step-down Infinity Primus.  http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1105wharfedale/  If you already have them and are satisfied, then you probably cannot do appreciably better in that price range.  Don't worry.  Be happy.
"Maybe the problem most of you have ... is that you're not listening to Barbirolli." ~Sarge

"The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." ~Margaret Thatcher

Bogey

Quote from: DavidRoss on May 17, 2009, 08:42:21 AM
Don't worry.  Be happy.


Done.  I am finding that my Marantz paired with these is pushing them very nicely.  The obsession to make the Sansuis blend with them may have been my biggest problem to begin with....that and the Realistic amp I had did not function well and left these Wharfedales virtually "unlistenable".
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

Herman

Like you seem to be saying now, I don't see what the problem is. Just stick to what you like best, forget about the Sansuis, and don't go to audio shows (or dealer rooms) if you can't spend (say) twice the amount you want to spend. Spend it on music.

Valentino

I've fallen in love with these Swedish blondes here, Guru QM10:



If I was to have something small, I'd take something that was designed for placement very close to a reflective front wall, these would be my choice. But I don't plan to get them, so this is off topic.
We audiophiles don't really like music, but we sure love the sound it makes;
Audio-Technica | Bokrand | Thorens | Cambridge Audio | Logitech | Yamaha | Topping | MiniDSP | Hypex | ICEpower | Mundorf | SEAS | Beyma

Bogey

Quote from: Herman on May 17, 2009, 08:53:07 AM
Like you seem to be saying now, I don't see what the problem is. Just stick to what you like best, forget about the Sansuis, and don't go to audio shows (or dealer rooms) if you can't spend (say) twice the amount you want to spend. Spend it on music.

That would have been like telling me to stay away from the Sears Christmas Wish-Book when I was 7.... :D  Yup, they were selling cables for more than my entire workroom set-up.
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

Harry

Quote from: DavidRoss on May 17, 2009, 08:42:21 AM
I've not heard the Wharfedale's, but Robert Reina--Stereophile's modestly priced speaker specialist--liked them very much, comparing them favorably with the Epos and with earlier iterations of the Paradigm Atoms and a step-down Infinity Primus.  http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1105wharfedale/  If you already have them and are satisfied, then you probably cannot do appreciably better in that price range.  Don't worry.  Be happy.

For the money this Wharfedale speaker will serve you well Bill. I had this speaker for testing purposes, and it did excellent with classical music.
Coupled with a clean amplifier this speaker performs very well.

Bogey

Quote from: Harry on May 17, 2009, 09:04:21 AM
For the money this Wharfedale speaker will serve you well Bill. I had this speaker for testing purposes, and it did excellent with classical music.
Coupled with a clean amplifier this speaker performs very well.

That is what I have just discovered.  Just need a notch of volume to it when the Sansuis are taken off line and then all is wonderful sound.
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

Bogey

It has proven to me first hand how much an amp can change the sound.  Still learning at this end folks.
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

DavidRoss

Quote from: Bogey on May 17, 2009, 09:07:14 AM
It has proven to me first hand how much an amp can change the sound.  Still learning at this end folks.
Aren't we all, Bill, aren't we all.  (Hmmm, guess not, come to think of it, since some seem already to know it all, making it impossible for them to learn...poor dears.  :'( )

Herman offers good advice.  The law of diminishing returns kicks in with a vengeance and it's progressive, requiring you to spend two or three times as much for each diminishing increment of audible improvement.  If the sound is adequate that you can close your eyes and just listen to the music without the equipment getting in the way, then if it's music you love you'll probably find more satisfaction by buying more software, not hardware--unless you have a surfeit of disposable income, like those dot.com millionaires with $50,000 systems playing Dark Side of the Moon on infinite repeat.
"Maybe the problem most of you have ... is that you're not listening to Barbirolli." ~Sarge

"The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." ~Margaret Thatcher

Bogey

My dad has always said the same, David.  To make noticiable improvements, plan on large leaps of cash to get to each.  I heard my first six figure set up last fall and you are right.  If you have the money, it does make a difference.  However, after experimenting a bit and finding the right combo, I am very happy with the sound I have. 

On a side note:
What is the deal with preamps?  Are they a decent investment in sound?  Would my system benefit from one?
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

DarkAngel



Coming in late to this thread, but here is main audio system

The Rega Saturn CD player in picture has been replaced by Cambridge 840 CD player which I like a bit better
The Musical Fidelity 308 integrated amp has been professionally modded to improve sound
Headroom MAX headphone amp, Sennheiser HD650 & HD600 headphones
Tyler Taylo monitor speakers with 12" HSU VTF3 sub

Fëanor

Quote from: Bogey on May 17, 2009, 09:46:41 AM
... 

On a side note:
What is the deal with preamps?  Are they a decent investment in sound?  Would my system benefit from one?

Preamps aren't inherently better sounding than the front-end's of integrated amps, or receivers for that matter.  What a preamp can do is offer flexibility, especially the flexibility to upgrade parts of your system independantly of each other.  And that includes the ability to look for what you want or like for each of the separated components.

For example, having a preamp and power amp combo has enabled me to select a tube preamp with a solid state power amp, (a very popular combination by the way).  Since my preamp is a "line stage", i.e. without a phono preamp, I theoretically saved some money not buying phono stage of the same quality as my line stage, (instead I bought a really cheap phono for the very rare time I still listen to my extremely small LP collection).

Still, I'd be quite happy to trade my current preamp and power amps for a choice integrated like this Pass Labs INT-150 ...

DavidRoss

#473
Quote from: Bogey on May 17, 2009, 09:46:41 AM
What is the deal with preamps?  Are they a decent investment in sound?  Would my system benefit from one?
The basic functions of a pre-amp are (1) to boost low level source signals, (2) to isolate those low level signals from amplifier contamination, (3) to provide switching functions among sources, (4) to manipulate the signal if desired via tone & balance controls etc.  

Value depends upon your resources and needs; many integrated amplifiers (pre-amp and power amp in one chassis) nowadays offer very good performance at significantly lower cost than comparable separates.

Your receiver includes a pre-amp, a power amp, and a tuner built on one chassis.  There's no doubt that--unless you do a horrible job at system matching--separates would offer better sound quality, but at significantly greater cost, complexity, and space requirements.

A brief explanation of preamplifier functions is here.

edit--Fixed link
"Maybe the problem most of you have ... is that you're not listening to Barbirolli." ~Sarge

"The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." ~Margaret Thatcher

Herman

Quote from: Bogey on May 17, 2009, 09:46:41 AM
What is the deal with preamps?  Are they a decent investment in sound?  Would my system benefit from one?

The advantage of preamps is they are physically separated from the power amp, which would make for noise reduction &c (except for those folks who stack their amps on top of each other). Financially you're talking a whole different ballgame, so best don't even think about it right now.

Jay F

Quote from: DavidRoss on May 17, 2009, 10:41:27 AM
A brief explanation of preamplifier functions is here.

"The URL is not valid and could not be loaded."

Tell me this, David (or anyone), if you would be so kind. Does using a pre- and power amp combo always make for better soundstaging compared with using a receiver or integrated amp?

DavidRoss

Quote from: nicht schleppend on May 17, 2009, 10:50:47 AM
"The URL is not valid and could not be loaded."

Tell me this, David (or anyone), if you would be so kind. Does using a pre- and power amp combo always make for better soundstaging compared with using a receiver or integrated amp?
No.
"Maybe the problem most of you have ... is that you're not listening to Barbirolli." ~Sarge

"The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." ~Margaret Thatcher

Jay F


Coopmv

#478
Quote from: DavidRoss on May 17, 2009, 10:41:27 AM
The basic functions of a pre-amp are (1) to boost low level source signals, (2) to isolate those low level signals from amplifier contamination, (3) to provide switching functions among sources, (4) to manipulate the signal if desired via tone & balance controls etc.  

Value depends upon your resources and needs; many integrated amplifiers (pre-amp and power amp in one chassis) nowadays offer very good performance at significantly lower cost than comparable separates.

Your receiver includes a pre-amp, a power amp, and a tuner built on one chassis.  There's no doubt that--unless you do a horrible job at system matching--separates would offer better sound quality, but at significantly greater cost, complexity, and space requirements.

A brief explanation of preamplifier functions is here.

edit--Fixed link

Don't even bother with the tuner if you do not listen to FM much since the tuner that comes with any receiver these days is the manufacturer's afterthought.  In spite of all the talk of digital tuner that plays digital broadcast the last few years, the closest thing we have is SiriusXM and I am not a subscriber.  I do have two of the best tuners that have ever been made.  They are both close to 30-years old.  The top photo is the Revox B760 while the bottom photo is the Tandberg 3001.




DavidRoss

Quote from: nicht schleppend on May 17, 2009, 11:02:00 AM
So, soundstaging would be more the result of the speaker you choose?
Generally speaking, yes.  Loudspeaker placement in the room, acoustic qualities of the room, listener position, loudspeaker design, and whether or not the recording was properly miked and mixed are the biggest variables, but amplification does have some effect.  (For instance, an amp with poor channel separation is unlikely to image well).  The most wowie-zowie soundstage imaging I've ever heard has been with small "bookshelf" speakers (i.e. Rogers LS 3/5a) with almost no diffraction, placed well out from front and sidewalls (3-4') in a near-field listening position in a moderately damped room.  Probably the biggest mistake most people make is in placing speakers too close to the front wall.  Considerable experimentation with positioning distances and toe-in is usually required to dial them in. Here 's another Stereophile article on that subject.
"Maybe the problem most of you have ... is that you're not listening to Barbirolli." ~Sarge

"The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." ~Margaret Thatcher