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

[mahler10th]

Woofers can act independently if they have dedicated terminals. A standalone box like a subwoofer will have its own terminals. Bigger speakers typically have multiple sets of terminals allowing for each of their units to be driven independently (e.g. my planar speakers are 2-way and have separate pairs of terminals for the bass panel and the ribbon tweeter).

Many thanks Petrarch.  The 'box' has five outputs for the speakers, five inputs for sound in and two inputs for standard stereo input, and an off on switch.     Are these audio 'inputs' the 'terminals'?

[petrarch]

Many thanks Petrarch.  The 'box' has five outputs for the speakers, five inputs for sound in and two inputs for standard stereo input, and an off on switch.     Are these audio 'inputs' the 'terminals'?

No; the terminals would be in the speakers themselves--it is where you connect the cables.

Here are a couple of examples -

My old ML Vantages:



My current AA Amphitryons:

[bigshot]

There are two types of subwoofers, powered and unpowered. If a regular speaker connection goes to the sub, it's an unpowered sub. If a rca line out goes to the sub, there's an amp in the sub itself. Better subs are self powered. If you're planning on upgrading your existing 5:1 system, I'd suggest prioritizing by replacing the mains first, then the sub and center channel, and the rears last.

[mahler10th]

Thanks you all for your help in this matter.   
I'm going to source some more new hardware as a result, and will post my results here as things tick along.

[NJ Joe]

Picked this up today to put on the floor behind my desk at work.  Logitech S715i.  Portable, remote included, and excellent sound for the money. 

[Fëanor]

Recently I set up dedicated computer to use for scanning my 50 years worth of photo slides and negatives -- this'll keep me out of trouble in my retirement.  However there was no way to listen to music at this workstation, so I looked for a some economical computer speakers.

The limit of what you spend on computer speakers is rather high these days. I would ideally have like a pair of Audioengine 5+, (HERE); nice, but just too expensive for me for this application. So I went for a 2.1 setup, the Eagle Arion ET-AR504LR, (HERE), which I got for $50.



These are fairly decent speakers which, with its subwoofer, is capable of the full normal music frequency range, i.e. down to 40 Hz.  However it was clear to me that their frequency response isn't perfectly smooth.  Fortunately I am able to use the Electri-Q equalizer, (HERE), with in my Foobar2000 music player program, (HERE). The result is very nice and very listenable over extended periods of time.

[Mirror Image]

Now I get why you love Delius.

Didn't even see this! Ha!

[Coopmv]

Recently I set up dedicated computer to use for scanning my 50 years worth of photo slides and negatives -- this'll keep me out of trouble in my retirement.  However there was no way to listen to music at this workstation, so I looked for a some economical computer speakers.

The limit of what you spend on computer speakers is rather high these days. I would ideally have like a pair of Audioengine 5+, (HERE); nice, but just too expensive for me for this application. So I went for a 2.1 setup, the Eagle Arion ET-AR504LR, (HERE), which I got for $50.



These are fairly decent speakers which, with its subwoofer, is capable of the full normal music frequency range, i.e. down to 40 Hz.  However it was clear to me that their frequency response isn't perfectly smooth.  Fortunately I am able to use the Electri-Q equalizer, (HERE), with in my Foobar2000 music player program, (HERE). The result is very nice and very listenable over extended periods of time.

A good boombox from the good old analog days cost a bit more than this unit ...     

[71 dB]

I started to feel like upgrading my 15 years old Denon DCD-735 CD-player.

It has served me well but lately it started to have an issue with the disc tray so
that the tray closes immediately after opening it.

I have always wanted to try NAD's CD-players so I ordered NAD C 565BEE. 

[Coopmv]

I started to feel like upgrading my 15 years old Denon DCD-735 CD-player.

It has served me well but lately it started to have an issue with the disc tray so
that the tray closes immediately after opening it.

I have always wanted to try NAD's CD-players so I ordered NAD C 565BEE. 

I wish you the best luck.  I am a member of an audio forum and quite a few forum members have been having problems with NAD CD/universal players.  I used to be a fan of NAD until a few years ago before it started to make all its products in China ...

[71 dB]

I wish you the best luck.

Thanks! I have had the player for 3 days now. The sound quality is jaw-dropping.  Amazing three-dimensional detailed sound that isn't "digital" or cold but natural and warm.

I seem to prefer the normal 44.1 kHz/16 bit mode over the upsampled 96 kHz/24 bit and 192 kHz/24 bit which sound more "digital" and colder.
The reconstruction filters are harder to tell apart but filters 1, 2 and 5 seems to work better in my system than filters 3 and 4.
The optical input is nice. I connected my TV set to it and got great sound quality for TV programs.

Great CD-player and well worth the 599 euros I paid for it. 

I am a member of an audio forum and quite a few forum members have been having problems with NAD CD/universal players.  I used to be a fan of NAD until a few years ago before it started to make all its products in China ...

I read something about the player not reacting due to a bad patch of connectors. I believe those connectors are easy to replace. NAD products were assembled in Taiwan before China.

[Kontrapunctus]

My next purchase will most likely be this new Marantz AV 8801 pre-amp/processor:





It will replace my current Sony AVR, which I'm using as a pre/pro.

[bigshot]

Most solid state amps sound the same... perfect. Flat response, no distortion. The main difference between amps is power and features.

[Coopmv]

Thanks! I have had the player for 3 days now. The sound quality is jaw-dropping.  Amazing three-dimensional detailed sound that isn't "digital" or cold but natural and warm.

I seem to prefer the normal 44.1 kHz/16 bit mode over the upsampled 96 kHz/24 bit and 192 kHz/24 bit which sound more "digital" and colder.
The reconstruction filters are harder to tell apart but filters 1, 2 and 5 seems to work better in my system than filters 3 and 4.
The optical input is nice. I connected my TV set to it and got great sound quality for TV programs.

Great CD-player and well worth the 599 euros I paid for it. 

I read something about the player not reacting due to a bad patch of connectors. I believe those connectors are easy to replace. NAD products were assembled in Taiwan before China.

All my NAD equipments were made in Japan, the UK and Denmark.  I gave my only Chinese-made CD player to my sister, not sure if it is still working ...

[Coopmv]

My next purchase will most likely be this new Marantz AV 8801 pre-amp/processor:





It will replace my current Sony AVR, which I'm using as a pre/pro.

I cannot deal with this number of RCA jacks ...

[Daverz]

Most solid state amps sound the same... perfect. Flat response, no distortion. The main difference between amps is power and features.

I can understand where this is coming from, but SS amps do not sound the same to me.  I've never been able to improve the sound of an amp I don't like by simply telling myself that they all sound the same.

[The new erato]

I can understand where this is coming from, but SS amps do not sound the same to me.  I've never been able to improve the sound of an amp I don't like by simply telling myself that they all sound the same.

I agree. If you do believe that SS amp souds the same except for power you are making a big mistake that could be easily rectified by listening to two different amps with similar power output in your rig. I'm not a HiFi nut and couldn't care less about cables and oher assorted esoterica, but I have had my share of kit over the years (currently having 3 amplifiers in daily use, a Rotel integrated and SS power amps from Conrad-Johnson and Nakamichi) and believe me, the differences are plainly obvious. 

[71 dB]

All my NAD equipments were made in Japan, the UK and Denmark.  I gave my only Chinese-made CD player to my sister, not sure if it is still working ...

My old NAD 302 amplifier (my first amplifier bought back in 1993) is "designed and engineered" in England and "custom manufactured to NAD specifications" in Taiwan. My AV-amplifier (NAD T762) is "custom manufactured to NAD specifications" in the people's republic of China. The new CD player is "designed and engineered" in Canada and "custom manufactured to NAD specifications" in China.

I gave my only Chinese-made CD player to my sister, not sure if it is still working ...

I wish I was so rich I could just donate a NAD CD player to my sister... 

Why don't you ask if the China-made player is still working?

[Daverz]

Speaking of NAD, their new M51 DAC is very tempting:

http://nadelectronics.com/products/masters-series/M51-Direct-Digital-DAC

[71 dB]

Most solid state amps sound the same... perfect. Flat response, no distortion. The main difference between amps is power and features.

My NAD 302 and NAD T762 do not sound the same. T762 has significantly more control at lower frequencies and the differencies do not end there.

One source of differencies between amplifiers is the output impedance that determines damping factor together with the load (speakers + wires). An amplifer that has more control at bass frequencies may simply have lower output impedance at bass frequencies meaning higher damping factor and better control. Since NAD T762 is 3-4 times more powerful amplifier (in stereo mode) than NAD 302, it has probably been engineered to have lower output impedance at lower frequencies.

Whatever the reasons are, amplifiers don't seem to sound exactly the same.