B&W 683 Quad 909 Quad 99 pre-amp

[jamesdaman]

Hi there thought id post and say i just bought a whole new system. Im running the 683's with Quad 909 Power Amp and Quad 99 pre-amp with The Chord Company epic cable. I have to say the sound is very impressive, clean clear and rather deap in my 15x15 bedroom hehe im runng everything through my computer and my 40" samsung lcd. Ill try and post a pic of it all soon

[Briz vegas]

Don't mind the 909 myself. Should sound great with the 683. You must be using the PC as your source. I think you will find that there is alot more magic waiting to be had if you use a good DAC.

[jamesdaman]

Hmm interesting maybe that should be my next investment. I will buy the 99 cd player at some point but its another £1000 haha

[Briz vegas]

If I remember correctly you can use the Quad CD player as CD player or as a DAC via its digital input - you get the best of both worlds - well worth the investment.

Quad gear is actually more affordable in Australia - I think its part of our trade deal with China where they are manufactured - we get good deals on the B&W PV1 subwoofer for similar reasons.

[jamesdaman]

well thats rather awesome, recon im gonna get the cd play in a few months then lol after ive payed all this off first tho. I got a pretty good deal for my kit so im pretty happy

[jamesdaman]

thought id update and say i now what the cyrus cd8se and psx-r. I want alittle more from my system, anyone have any advice?? maybe a simple interconnect upgrade??

[emig5m]

Don't mind the 909 myself. Should sound great with the 683. You must be using the PC as your source. I think you will find that there is alot more magic waiting to be had if you use a good DAC.

PC as a source should be as good as anything as long as you're bitstreaming digitally and not using the PC's on board DAC, no? That's how I do it for everything including BluRay (I have the only soundcard that can currently bitstream HD codecs). Yes, if you're using the PC as a DAC then, yukky.... unless you're using one of the higher end sound cards with upgradeable op-amps/DACs etc... But with lower end gear like I use best to stay away from analog inputs and stay in the digital realm for as long as possible. :rofl:

[emig5m]

well thats rather awesome, recon im gonna get the cd play in a few months then lol after ive payed all this off first tho. I got a pretty good deal for my kit so im pretty happy

I recommend using a digital out from the PC to a good DAC (or does your Pre have a good DAC or is it a analog only pre?) Just make sure you're not re-sampling and set your digital output to the same as your source file. This way you can store all your music and have any song, playlists, etc.. just a click a way. Much better than messing around with CDs IMO. Heck I even rip my BluRays and DVD's to 2TB western digital drives so EVERYTHING is just a 'click' away and all played from the same source piece (HTPC).

If you're going to go separates I recommend the Emotiva CD player. You REALLY get your money's worth with this company for electronics. They have a DAC coming out or in the making, but like I said, I use a lower end Pre/Pro which is fine for digital but I doubt the analog inputs will be any good, even with a nice separate DAC.... (Oh... XMC-1 please come out soon!!!)

[jamesdaman]

i actualy sold the pc awhile ago as it didnt get much use and it was a high end gaming machine. Now i use the cyrus cd8se and the psx-r. my interconnect from he cd to pre is a chameleon silver plus and from pre to power is just the quad link. Maybe if i get a better interconnect from the cd to pre then put the chameleon from pre to power???

[Briz vegas]

Try isolation and room treatment if you have not given it a go.

Power cords and speaker cable are worth a bash but if the room is giving you harsh highs and a thin sound then you are tackling the wrong thing first. Your source, in theory, should sound amazing if in a well sorted system.

Another post of my isolation for my CD player isolation feet and constrained layer platform working well together.

[jamesdaman]

Ok what sort of thing can i do to my room, the room my system is in is my bedroom as this is where i like to chill and just listen to music. Funny you say the highs are harsh and the sound can be abit thin. One area i seem to lack is bass, from what my dealer said i should no way be lacking in bass with the system i have. The bass is there and you can hear it but not really feel it. The other thing is i find i have to have my system reasonably loud to get the best from it, which can be a pain and alittle fatiguing.

[Briz vegas]

It seems nothing is ever simple when trying to tune a system. Having mates or a shop that can lend you gear is great as you need to experiment.

I got a warmer balance buy putting a table cloth on the front wall (ie material -any sort of wall hanging), it got better adding 2 old seat cushions, then better again with 4 locally produced (aussie) acoustic panels.

Power cords improved the bass, as did a decent power strip, and better speaker cable I have a really good Jas power strip made to my local hifi dealers spec - the other one I had coloured the sound. Some power strips can make a hifi sound thin and harsh.

Nothing is simple however, if you change something in the setup it is likely to have more than one implication on the sound. You basically need to be prepared to play around alot and do a bit of research.

Disclaimer - everyone is different - what I like may not be what you like.

[jamesdaman]

im borrowing an isotek box at the moment with chord company power chords, i also use the epic speaker cable which im told is very good. Im going to sort the room out and ill try post some pictures just to see what you think. Im also unsure of this isotek box, i cant even put my power amp is it as it compresses the sound. Ive been waiting for the orion to come in at my deal for 6 weeks now and still ive heard nothing. I also think i may have to invest in some decent racking for it all

[mechadsey]

Would the Squeezebox be considered a good DAC?

[jamesdaman]

No idea, never listen to it?