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

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

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Coopmv

Quote from: Jay F on July 03, 2011, 10:07:57 AM
I always like the conrad-johnson look, Stuart.

I already have 2 CJ amps but they are both solid state. 

Coopmv

Quote from: Daverz on July 03, 2011, 12:38:00 PM
They are very nice to deal with over the phone.

I'm using their M-180 monoblocks in my main system (shown here with the cover off).



It's not going to win any beauty contests, but the build quality is very high.

A tube pre and tube amps put out a lot of heat, so I've been thinking of something like a Wyred4Sound or Bel Canto integrated, which would run cool because of their class D amplification, for the summer months (it can get up to 110F here).  Unfortunately, I don't have any way to hear any of this equipment before buying.

Maybe I should just go to the beach instead.

I have been using a SS amp/tube preamp combo for a few years.  Hooking up a tube CDP to this combo leads to some fabulous sound.

Daverz

#822
Quote from: Coopmv on July 03, 2011, 12:45:18 PM
I have been using a SS amp/tube preamp combo for a few years.  Hooking up a tube CDP to this combo leads to some fabulous sound.

What SS amp?

I do have a Bryston 3B-SST, a 150W solid state amp.  But last time I hooked it up I was rather disappointed with the sound compared to the Rogues.  The Bryston does give you more treble detail, but, oddly, sounds less transparent.  Before that I had a big BAT VK-250SE solid state amp (same power rating as the Bryston, but with a massive power supply that would dim the lights in the rest of the house when turned on), but I traded that in for the Rogues.  The BAT actually ran nearly as hot as one of the Rogues.

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

Coopmv

Quote from: Daverz on July 03, 2011, 01:07:10 PM
What SS amp?

I do have a Bryston 3B-SST, a 150W solid state amp.  But last time I hooked it up I was rather disappointed with the sound compared to the Rogues.  The Bryston does give you more treble detail, but, oddly, sounds less transparent.  Before that I had a big BAT VK-250SE solid state amp (same power rating as the Bryston, but with a massive power supply that would dim the lights in the rest of the house when turned on), but I traded that in for the Rogues.  The BAT actually ran nearly as hot as one of the Rogues.

SS=Solid State

Coopmv


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

Daverz

Quote from: Coopmv on October 09, 2011, 01:23:13 PM
Bill,   These speakers look as heavy as an upright piano ...   :o

50 kilos in dilithium crystals alone.

Daverz


Coopmv


Todd




After six years and several electronics upgrades, I decided it was time to retire my Joseph Audio RM25s for something better.  But speaker prices have always bothered me more than any other component.  They are almost all ripoffs, with most speakers using OTS drivers and electrical components.  The few companies that do it all, like Dynaudio, Monitor Audio, B&W, KEF, and Focal all strike me as a wee bit pricey for what you get, KEF excepted, though some Dynaudios do use the wonderful sounding Esotar2 tweeter.

After some looking, I found Salk Sound, and ordered a pair of Song Towers as a test.  The speakers, which sell for $1800 base (though cost more in Bubinga finish as pictured, which is what I opted for), have more expensive components than some speakers, including the Josephs, that sell for $4K+.  They have garnered some good reviews, so I figured why not.  I'm going to use them in my main system to see if Salk delivers, and if so I'm going to go further up the range and will move these to my bedroom system.  If they don't meet my expectations, I'll still move these to my bedroom system and I'll probably opt for nicer Josephs, though the new Perspective is really just a Seas Delling kit all decked out in a pretty cabinet.  Perhaps the best thing about Salk is they will customize any speaker any way I want.
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Daverz

Quote from: Todd on October 09, 2011, 05:57:34 PM
Bubinga finish as pictured,

Unusual to find such a gorgeous finish near that price.

In the US most of the brands you mentioned would be inflated in price by exchange rates and the importer's cut (mostly the latter, really). 

Have you auditioned PSB speakers?

I haven't done any speaker shopping for a few years, but beside Vandersteen, the only other brand I liked at the time was Aerial.   Well, and some Quad electrostatics that were just way too big for my place.  But I never heard KEF.   I gave up on B&W; they seem quite overrated (I was auditioning the 803/804 models).  Magnepan's (3.6?) sounded disastrous in the shop, but that might have been the dealer's fault.


jlaurson

Quote from: Daverz on October 09, 2011, 07:33:09 PM
  But I never heard KEF.   I gave up on B&W; they seem quite overrated (I was auditioning the 803/804 models).  Magnepan's (3.6?) sounded disastrous in the shop, but that might have been the dealer's fault.

B&W prettiefies the sound too much for me. It sounds wonderful and after two minutes I become suspicious and after ten minutes I feel cheated on.

My thing right now is Thiel, especially the small but powerful SCS4. A steal in the US, compared to the prices of other speakers that match it (or lose out to it). Very neutral, extremely precise (which makes it very explosive and punchy) and only a little 'stiff at the hips' when it comes to non-classical, groovy music where it just isn't able to take the leash a little looser.  Looks terrible in Natural Cherry, but excellent in the Dark Cherry and Black Ash finishes.

Coopmv

Quote from: The new erato on October 09, 2011, 09:36:13 PM
Me too.....

No new equipments in the near term for me, as I have shelled out $25K so far this year in vet care for my three dachshunds and the two boys did not make it while the girl is so far battling cancer successfully.  The Euro debt crisis has not helped as my portfolios have taken some major hits ...     :( 

Coopmv

Quote from: Daverz on October 09, 2011, 07:33:09 PM
Well, and some Quad electrostatics that were just way too big for my place.  But I never heard KEF. 

KEF and Quad are now both Chinese companies.  Who knows how the Chinese are running their operations today.  At any rate, I refuse to pay top dollar for gears made in China and this is a personal philosophy.  There are still many excellent US-made speakers at good price points and I see no reasons to look beyond our shores, the same goes for electronics ...

Todd

#837
Quote from: Daverz on October 09, 2011, 07:33:09 PMHave you auditioned PSB speakers? 

I gave up on B&W; they seem quite overrated



I've tried some PSBs, but not the Synchronys.  I'm not sure they have the sound I am looking for, and they have metal dome tweeters, which I'm not generally a fan of, though the Focal Beryllium models have an amazing high end (but a disappointing low end).  B&W is an interesting company.  Their really cheap speakers like the older DM301s (my son now uses my old pair) are remarkable performers at the $300-ish range and can play insanely loud for such a small speaker.  But after a couple cheap models, you have to go up to the 802s before good sound returns.  The 803/804/805s are poor performers at their price point, but when the midrange is in the synthetic compartment of the highest end models, everything sounds good.  The speakers are too big, too ugly, and still too expensive for what you get, though.  As to Maggies, I heard some in a showroom and they sounded bad, and a friend of mine has some, and they sounded, well, bad, so it just may be Maggies.  That's my guess.

Over the past three years or so I've sampled not only most of the speakers available in the local area, but I also drove to the nearest bigger city to hear more speakers.  I was not impressed with what I heard.  I tried the lauded Wilson Sophias, and found the highs very detailed but very harsh, the mids not worthy of the price, and the bass surprisingly weak for a speaker that is supposed to have great bass.  Of course, the other two run-ins with Wilsons I had were not so good.  The Watt Puppies had a cartoonishly large soundstage with oversized bass instruments, and the old CUBs are literally the worst sounding speakers I have ever heard.  I do not exaggerate one bit when I say I would rather listen to $10 computer speakers.  The lovely Sonus Faber Homage (both Amati and Stradivari) floorstanders, like pretty much all Sonus floorstanders, had heavily colored, woody bass, and were and are way outside my price range.  I don't know what the new, post-Franco Serblin Sonuses sound like, but who wants a Sonus not designed by Franco Serblin? 

The "problem" with the Josephs is that they balance everything so well, that it has been hard to find a speaker in a sane price range ($10K or less) that outperform them noticeably in every regard.  Sure I can find speakers that do bass a bit better, or perhaps the highs, maybe midrange clarity, but never all of them together.  For the most part I was happy, until this past summer when I upgraded my main amp, and then finally the speakers' weaknesses started to come out.  The highs can now sound a bit rough on some recordings, and the resolution of the whole system is limited most by the speakers now.  But when I see the price of the Joseph Perspective – $12K for a (crossover) modified Seas Delling kit, where the drivers and crossover can be purchased separately for $1400 – I balk.  After doing some looking at DIY sites, it's amazing how cheap some components are.  For every $1K a pop Esotar2 tweeter, there are five or more $35-$45 tweeters being put in high end speakers.  I heard a decent pair of Aerials a year to two ago, and they were around $11K if memory serves, but component prices were at most $2K.  I have no problem with the companies involved making money – and they aren't exactly giant firms for the most part, so they aren't making a lot – but it just bugs me to see something that I could conceivably build with one of my brothers-in-law costing so much.  At least it's not as bad as the pricing for Avalon speakers, which do sound good, but have an even more outrageous markup, even accounting for the crazy expensive Accuton drivers they use. 

When I found both Salk Sound and Tyler Acoustics, I was intrigued.  Here are companies that use top of the line OTS drivers – a lot of Seas Excel drivers, Hiquphon tweeters, Accuton drivers (!), as well as others – and build beautiful cabinets, and who will customize the speakers as much as the buyer wants, which also means tweaking the crossover to accommodate the changes to the extent possible.  Now I can get $2K in components for a bit over $4K.  Much more reasonable.  Of course, great components do not guarantee good sound, but it was Dick Olsher's praise for the Salks that finally convinced me that the company has its stuff together.  That, and Jim Salk's no BS feedback.  When I emailed the company, he was the guy who answered.  When I inquired about a crossover upgrade, he suggested I not buy it since he could not hear a difference.  When I asked about a regular high gloss finish, he recommended against it in a detailed response.  And on top of all of that, his firm sends a copy of measurements for each speaker when they ship.  Again, none of this means they will sound good, but it makes me think they have a pretty good chance of sounding good.  (Salk's experience in the recording studio also makes me think they may sound good.)  And they're American made.  I'm no economic nationalist, but I do like spending money on products made here when it makes sense to do so.  If they don't work, I can always spend more on Josephs, which I know sound good. 
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Daverz

Quote from: jlaurson on October 10, 2011, 05:05:14 AM
B&W prettiefies the sound too much for me. It sounds wonderful and after two minutes I become suspicious and after ten minutes I feel cheated on.

My thing right now is Thiel, especially the small but powerful SCS4. A steal in the US, compared to the prices of other speakers that match it (or lose out to it). Very neutral, extremely precise (which makes it very explosive and punchy) and only a little 'stiff at the hips' when it comes to non-classical, groovy music where it just isn't able to take the leash a little looser.  Looks terrible in Natural Cherry, but excellent in the Dark Cherry and Black Ash finishes.

I did try Thiel.  The model would have been whatever they had for about $4k several years ago (may have been the 2.4).  I liked them overall, but they did seem notably tipped up in the upper midrange, which warms strings up nicely, but I thought it might be tiring after a while.  Also I simply refuse to step foot in the local Thiel dealer, Sound Company in San Diego, so I haven't heard their newer models.

I also tried some Sonus Fabers (Grand Piano, I think), and while they were very pleasant to listen to, they had the very colored bass as Todd described.

Fëanor

#839
I'm back into multi-channel sound after an equipment failure a couple of years ago deprived me of the ability to play m/c SACDs.

I very recently got a Sony BDP-S580 that can play SACDs and deliver a hi-rez signal via HDMI to a receiver. You can select whether the signal is to be passes as DSD or PCM.  My receiver will handle only PCM, but the good news is that receiver's full DSP capability, (time delay, equalization), can be applied to the input PCM stream. The result is great even though my equipment is just low-mid range in price.

Multi-channel sound from a properly set up system will give you an approximation of live concert hall sound that stereo simply cannot ever do.

See my configuration ...