Beginners Only....The "old the "new"

[Clive]

If you were to take the plunge or if you were to up grade, what units in your setup you would like to keep (speakers, VCR, Laserdisk) and what items would you say "It's time to go" and why?

I do remember why I took the plunge 9 years ago my setup was

Teac prologic receiver
Sony CD player
Sharp VCR (Mono)
Sony double tape deck W/ pitch control
2 Audio source Speakers
2 AudioSphere speakers

[David Meek]

Ooops, sorry Uncle. Didn't see the "beginners only" in the title - delete if you'd like.

[Clive]

Okay! Done. :T

[Bitece]

Coming and going

Adding a theater to a home we're moving into on Monday.
Here's whats going:
Yamaha Rv800 receiver
Samsung DVD player
Sony Microsoft Ultimate TV Satellite Receiver (SATW60)
Cambridge Soundworks Basscube 12" sub
Cambridge Center Channel Plus speaker
Bose Acoustimass Cube surround speakers
Here's what's coming:
Rotel 1068 pre/ 1075 amp
Denon 2910 with SDI mod
DVDO HD Ultra+ scaler
Toshiba MT8u projector
Klipsch Academy center channel speaker
4 AE IB 15" drivers for an IB subwoofer (includes Behringer 2500 amp and DSP1124 equalizer)
Klipsch Heresy II speakers for surrounds
Here's what's staying:
Klipsch Forte speakers as mains
Looking to add:
H.H. Scott vintage tube amp for 2 channel
Turntable-- Music Hall MM-5
Harmony universal remote
IR repeater system
Definitely required:
Sanity check!

[Patt]

Hi Bill,

Looks like you stepping up big time with the upgrades over the previous system. I heard Rotel is a good mate to Klipsch and that Scott tube amp should provide plenty of satisfaction for 2 channel.

A well thought out system for sure. :T

[Clive]

What motivated you to choose those specific components and what screen will you go with?

[chuckg]

If forced to spend some cash right now - I would replace my JBL S-center with an S38 so that I have an exact match for LCR.

Given some time and space, I'd use the plate with the mid and tweet from the S-center and the 8" and crossover from an S38 to make an upright, in line center channel.

After that I'd get a couple more S38 speakers for my surrounds, and move my ancient JBL Pro IIIs to the surround back.

[Clive]

Sweet!

[Scriffer]

Right now I've got:

Theater
Onkyo - TXSR 600 6.1 channel amp
Polk RT towers
Polk RT Surrounds
Polk CS(?) center channel x 2
Polk 10" sub
Mitsubishi P.O.S. dvd player

2-Channel
Sophia Electric S.E.T. Music Baby 10w x 2 channel tube amp
Sapphire SB bookshelves
Sourced from an ipod [/shudder]

For my purposes, the theater setup is fine, minus the dvd player. It will be a long time (ie. until well after I finish college) before I have the money or the inclination to go hard core for theater.

I'm thinking for now, I'd like to focus on two-channel just for the novelty. I think I've got a great little amp in the Music Baby, but those Sapphires are clearly not cutting it. Does anyone know of a high-efficiency pair of speakers (preferably above 93-95 db) that I can either pick up on a budget or build? (Sidenote: I'm not a fan of Klipsch historically, but if people here are believers, I can reconsider.)

I have basic knowledge on the electronics, and I know people who can help with fabrication. Thanks for all the help.

[Clive]

For your ears only!

Hi Scriffer welcome. More often than not we'd suggest that people should audition (especially) speakers to satisfy your own tastes.
There are big budget speakers which require additional amplification to drive them such as Nautilus B&Ws (see B&W forum) or Dunlavy..... Electrostatic like Martin Logans or you may find enjoyment in some averge budget speakers like paradigm, definitive Technology, Polk Audio and such.

Start at the top work your way down. Bring your own CDs make sure you know what is used to drive the speakers you're listenning to. Make sure the specs of the amp/s are comparable to that which you own.

Others may chine in here. I'll be watching this thread for your results and suggestions.

Enjoy :T

[Scriffer]

Thanks for the welcome Clive.

As much as I would like it, B&W's and the like aren't even close to what I can afford right now. I think the maximum I can spend is about $750, so I'll probably have to go through ebay. The big thing for me is value. I know I can't get all-out audiophile sound on that budget, but I'm just looking for a starting point.

The basic specs on my amp are:
10 watts x 2 channels, push/pull Class A
-95 db signal/noise ratio

I think the amp is strong enough to push some floor speakers, provided the sensitivity is high enough. (I'll be honest, I want something that can pretty much scream on any kind of music, mostly blues and classic rock.) By the numbers, the Klipsch RF-5's and 35's seem like the way to go, and I've been told that horn tweeter balances well with the warmth of most tube amps.

Is this a reasonable starting place? I'm wide open to suggestions.

Thanks much.

[Clive]

Could you check your specs again on the Amp wattage before I reply 8O

:T :T :T :T

[Scriffer]

From www.sophiaelectric.com

Power: 10 watts x 2 Push and Pull class A circuit
Input: One set of RCA input
Output: Russian Military 6P1T x 4(with special treatment for low noise)
Input/Driver tube: NOS 5670 (USA)
Frequency: 6Hz-80KHz +/-3 dB
or 10Hz - 50KHz +/-2 dB
12Hz - 45KHz at 0 dB
Signal/Noise Ratio: -95dB
Distortion: less than 1% at full power
Hum: not measurable (less than 0.3mV)
AC Power: 120V/60Hz or 235V/50Hz
Required break in time: 50-100 hours

FWIW, all reviews for the amp stressed efficiency in speaker-matching because the amp clips pretty bad at high levels.

Thanks for the help.

[Clive]

The basic specs on my amp are:
10 watts x 2 channels, push/pull Class A
-95 db signal/noise ratio

I think the amp is strong enough to push some floor speakers, provided the sensitivity is high enough. (I'll be honest, I want something that can pretty much scream on any kind of music, mostly blues and classic rock.)
Is this a reasonable starting place? I'm wide open to suggestions.

Thanks much.

Based on the little research I just did, the Music baby is not the kind of amp that will "SCREAM" or even ROCK THE HOUSE. However, it does seem to be a very tight and accurate amplifier for music lovers of Jazz, Opra/strings and blues.

The amp clips?............tells you a story. I would look into something with more muscle if it were. Bryston, Crown, QSC, Behringer etc.They'll screem

N.B. Whatever you do I'd still hold onto that amp :drool:

My 0.02c

[Scriffer]

Perhaps Scream was a poor word choice, judging by the "holy crap" factor on the brands you recommended. :-) Maybe "sing" would be a little more appropriate.

Also, the clipping was reported only with speakers with sensitivities under 89db from all reviewers. I figure a stronger speaker would eliminate that problem all together.

What about the Omega HempTone8's? 95 db, 8 ohm, with a single driver. They're a little out of my price range, but with some patience, I might be able to find a deal.

And finally, what does N.B. mean? (please forgive the newbie)

[DS-21]

I'm not exactly an audio beginner - I've been DIYing home and car speaker systems for about 11 years - but I started assembling my first HT only last August.

What I'd keep in my current system:

Subwoofers: twin JBL 2235H's in low-Q vented boxes. 110dB at 20Hz with 400 watts without hitting xmax is all I need, and you can't beat a paper cone, large vc, low inductance, efficient woofer for articulation and focus.

Surround side/back speakers: KEF Q Compacts, with a 5.25" coincident driver that features an undercut polepiece with Faraday ring, a very open spider-ventilating cast basket, and a metal-dome tweeter that sounds for all the world like a Hiquphon with an extra third of HF extension. Maybe if my next room is 5000 cubic feet I'll upgrade all surround positions to proper 8" or larger dual concentrics (Tannoy, Radian, or B&C, most likely) but in my current room these are more than sufficient and blend very well with the mains.

Audio electronics: Apple Airport Express, Samsung HD815 DVD, Panasonic XR-55 receiver, AudioControl Phase Coupled Activator Series-3 subharmonic synthesizer/infrasonic filter, twin NHT A1 monoblocs. Until Panasonic or someone else releases a highly efficient receiver with Audessey MultiEQ that decodes new formats my current gear doesn't digitally support, I've no compulsion to upgrade. I didn't spend much - my AVR cost less than each drive unit of my LCR mains, for example - but it performs at least as well as the huge stack the Marantz and Adcom separates it replaced while being much better for the environment. Ditto my weak-by-modern standards sub amps, which do ~200watts each into 8ohms, operating in Class G. I'd rather have efficient speakers than gratuitously waste energy.

Room treatments: Nothing specifically audio, but heavy curtains and bookshelves to the side of and behind the listening position.

Wires: I'm not deaf, deluded, or financially vested in the wire industry, so I realize how inconsequential they are. Still, for the record the "interconnects" in the system are a mix of pre-Mitek buyout (i.e. made in Winder, GA) Esoteric Audio, Parts Express Dayton RCA/optical, and DIY stuff using MIL-spec twisted-pair silver-plated copper wrapped in teflon that I found surplus, terminated with PE's Dayton WBT-knockoff RCA ends. "Cables" are a combination of "in wall" speaker wire from PE, chosen because it has a white jacket, and Philips-branding shotgun 16AWG from Wal-Mart, chosen because it was $10/50ft and included four pin terminals at that price. Speaker wires are either terminated with those Wally World pins, the cheap nickle-plated single bananas from PE, or the dual bananas that came with each sub amp. Everything is single-wired, except for the subs. Though it's not needed, they get a 2-conductor 14AWG wire (11AWG total) per terminal.

What I'd Upgrade

LCR mains: Currently DIY with Tannoy 2046 8" dual concentric drivers and custom crossovers. (Used in their System 800 studio monitor and other places.) Not that they're not absolutely spectacular, but...I recently bought a pair of Tannoy contractor speakers with 12" paper cone duals - similar to Tannoy's current non-Kingdom domestic flagship, the TD12, but with a deeper cone and 60deg directivity rather than 90deg - that I'm using in my study, and it's just unreal how good they are. After a few xover mods to better suit the room, they throw a huge image that's still (when it's encoded into the recording) absolutely pinpoint-specific, but more importantly they convey the harmonic density of music - "fullness", maybe - better than every speaker system I've heard but one. (That one used BMS dual-concentric compression drivers on 25" wide horns, 15" Beyma woofers, and a 55cm Cabasse driver for the sub, actively crossed-over and expertly voiced.) To top it off, they have a PERFECT bass rolloff for HT, with a cubic foot sealed enclosure yielding a Qtc of 0.577 and an F3 of 80Hz. So ideally my mains in the near future will be Tannoy 3134's, perhaps with LCY ribbon supertweets or even better that untouchable Acapella ion horn tweeter....

My monitor: Microcenter/Powerspec/Winbook 30" LCD. I'm not ashamed to say that I bought it for the following reason only: it was the biggest flat panel monitor priced at a level I could justify given my use patterns. With my heavily-corrected vision picture quality just isn't an issue. And it does work well enough, but bigger is always better...

My music server: 500mHz Apple Powerbook G4 (original TiBook, ca. 2001) with a stack of Firewire optical and hard drives attached, running OSX "Tiger". This computer still works perfectly for everything I do, but what I really want is a Powerbook with 500GB onboard storage (maybe in three years, when I'll want 1.5TB...) and a Superdrive. Assuming this one doesn't fail I'm going to wait for the Intel-based Powerbook to be released (hopefully early next summer) before buying a new computer, though.

Not to say that's all I'd do. For example, if a couple Aura 1808's or JBL W15GTi's fell into my lap, I'd happily upgrade my subs....

[Clive]

Hi Jay (DS-21) You're "Assembly since last August" is a lot more than most would have done for starters. Sound like a great system and a well thought out future. Congrats......thanks for sharing :T

[Clive]

Ben

N.B. is a <latin> phrase which stands for "NOTA BENE" <english> "NOTE WELL"
It is used to empasize an impotant point :W

Please forgive the "Holy Crap" suggestions. ops: However, from what was gathered from your writings, units like the B&Ws and the Amega HempTone8s
as you always placed it as being "Out of your price range".

Anyways, what we do know.....you want to keep the amp and your budget is $750.00 for a pair of higher quality speakers.

Suggestions?