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

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

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DavidW

Thought so you need a place for that center channel then.  I think you need to think about replacing that table with an entertainment stand, either that or the speaker goes to the side of the tv.

Bogey

It does have two cabinets that open in the center and wiring holes in the back.  That may fit the center speaker. 
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

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

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

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

George

Classic, Bill!!!  ;D  :D  ;D


(The Mr. Mom reference. Love that movie!!)

Dancing Divertimentian

Quote from: Bogey on June 16, 2010, 06:29:22 PM
Look out!

http://hometheatermag.com/floorloudspeakers/revel_ultima2_salon2_speaker_system/

;D

I actually have a soft spot for Revel...I've owned a pair of stand-mount speakers from them for about five years now and continue to marvel at their range and clarity.

Classic stuff.
Veit Bach-a baker who found his greatest pleasure in a little cittern which he took with him even into the mill and played while the grinding was going on. In this way he had a chance to have the rhythm drilled into him. And this was the beginning of a musical inclination in his descendants. JS Bach

Bogey

Quote from: Dancing Divertimentian on June 16, 2010, 07:53:49 PM
;D

I actually have a soft spot for Revel...I've owned a pair of stand-mount speakers from them for about five years now and continue to marvel at their range and clarity.

Classic stuff.

Sweet!
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

DavidW

Ah shucks if Donwyn has one, now I can't make the obligatory "Harry has it in his exercise room" joke! :'(

Dancing Divertimentian

Quote from: DavidW on June 16, 2010, 08:27:08 PM
Ah shucks if Donwyn has one, now I can't make the obligatory "Harry has it in his exercise room" joke! :'(

Thanks for sparing me, David. ;D

It's kind of an occupational hazard on this thread to be seen near Harry anyway so I'm already geared up (no pun) for the slam to my psyche. ;D
Veit Bach-a baker who found his greatest pleasure in a little cittern which he took with him even into the mill and played while the grinding was going on. In this way he had a chance to have the rhythm drilled into him. And this was the beginning of a musical inclination in his descendants. JS Bach

drogulus

#751
     
     I don't think there's a problem-free solution for the center channel if it's to be used in a hybrid system. Most good centers are side-mounted double woofer versions of the fronts.

     I use an older version of these in my 2.1 system:

     

     PSB Alpha B1 Monitor

     The matching center speaker is this:

     

     PSB Alpha C1 Center

     In a music only system I'd just use 3 or 4 or 5 Alpha B1s with a sub. It's always preferable to use identical speakers for all channels. But since I would use my system for both music and movies a center speaker that mounts either above or below the monitor would be the only practical choice.

     Something like this might be good:

     

     SVS S-Series SBS-02

     It has the PB10-NSD sub included. For $1,000 you probably can't do much better for a complete 5.1 set. In a small room that sub will be a killer.
     
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Bogey

Quote from: Daverz on October 30, 2010, 05:56:35 PM
Lyrita is usually excellent.  Get Boult's Bax and Holst discs.

Also EMI, RCA, and Decca recordings from the "Golden Age of Stereo" (late 50s - 60s).   There was an EMI series called Artist Profile that was all Golden Age stuff all excellently transferred.

The problem with this Moeran disc as a test disc s that it always sounds pretty fabulous no matter what.  I use it mainly for hearing what's going on in the midbass.

For more extensive testing, I actually like to use recordings that are kind of marginal in some way, just to see what the equipment does or does not for them.

Brought this quote over fro the listening thread.

Your last part of your quote lined up nicely with what my dad and I believe.  A few weeks back we attende for the third year in a row this:

http://audiofest.net/2010/index.php

Most of the systems start at $50K and move up from there (to $250K, I believe).  Almost everyone was running a pre-amp with two mono amps as well.  What we noticed is that each dealer had certain cds that they played for sampling their system.....ones that sounded the "best" for their equipment.  However, we have learned to bring our own music that we enjoy hearing and seeing what the equipment will do with it.  They are more than happy to play our stuff because they get so tired of listening to what the company recommends.  So your last point is extremely important.  Test what you listen to and bring in a wide range of music to test.

On a side note, we noticed that more than half of the dealers were running downloads from a laptop into their system....this was a huge change from the previous year where it was only a few dealers doing this.  Many discussed that they finally thought that the downloaded music sounded just as good as the cds and even vinyl (nooooooooooooooooo)!  Do you believe this is true, or do you think that they are just trying to get younger buyers to fork over big money for high end stuff?

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

drogulus


     Yes
Quote from: Bogey on November 06, 2010, 06:01:15 AM
  Do you believe this is true, or do you think that they are just trying to get younger buyers to fork over big money for high end stuff?

     No, I don't think it's true that they finally thought something or they're trying to get young people to buy something. I think they are trying to get young people to buy things on the basis of sound differences they believe exist, the same differences that the downloads on the laptops give the lie to. They think both, or neither, or whatever. I guess you could say they are "accommodationists". I don't think they're lying, they just don't think through that far. Why should they? Life is good, let's not mess it up.

    I think this hifi stuff is fun. It doesn't cease to be fun when the magical beliefs are excised.* I'd love to have a big fearsome sound system, and if I had the money I'm sure I'd spend many thousands on it.

     * Or just stop working.
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petrarch

Quote from: Bogey on November 06, 2010, 06:01:15 AM
Many discussed that they finally thought that the downloaded music sounded just as good as the cds and even vinyl (nooooooooooooooooo)!  Do you believe this is true, or do you think that they are just trying to get younger buyers to fork over big money for high end stuff?

Downloaded music can definitely sound as good or better than CD or vinyl. Get a good hi-res non-lossy well-recorded download, play it through a streamer and DAC that can handle the sample rate and bit depth and off you go. That said, a good high-end CD player or turntable will still have a marginal advantage if the rest of your system is good enough and you care for that extra level of quality, though it is totally in the realm of diminishing returns.
//p
The music collection.
The hi-fi system: Esoteric X-03SE -> Pathos Logos -> Analysis Audio Amphitryon.
A view of the whole

Bogey

 ;D

Any-who, another of the vendors also discussed how nice it was to switch tracks quickly for folks popping in and out of the rooms (150+) in order to accommodate their tastes more easily....however, not much rock and roll played unless you brought it with you.

Oh, and just a side note:  One of the dealers discussed how their system was upgraded with the $2,000 set of cables that they were using.  These things looked like pythons coming out of the back....along with the ceramic holders that lifted the cables off of the ground. >:D
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

George

Quote from: petrArch on November 06, 2010, 09:21:01 AM
Downloaded music can definitely sound as good or better than CD or vinyl.

Indeed, though people generally download MP3 quality files. If they get some nice lossless files, they can sound at least as good as the original CD. I know mastering engineers who have told me that the ripped files sound closer to the master tape than the CD.

drogulus

   
Quote from: Bogey on November 06, 2010, 10:08:26 AM

Oh, and just a side note:  One of the dealers discussed how their system was upgraded with the $2,000 set of cables that they were using.  These things looked like pythons coming out of the back....along with the ceramic holders that lifted the cables off of the ground. >:D

     I'd have little suspension bridges with miniature depressed people jumping off into a lake with tiny robot fish. How good would that sound?
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Bogey

Quote from: drogulus on November 06, 2010, 12:15:04 PM
   
     I'd have little suspension bridges with miniature depressed people jumping off into a lake with tiny robot fish. How good would that sound?



I knew this would reel you in!  :D  Some of the rooms had systems at the high end, but they were not representing the components, just the cables.  Robots are cool....they did not have any of those.  Maybe next year. ;D
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

drogulus

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