/AG/ - Audio General

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Use this file to test your speakers: http://www.harbeth.co.uk/library/mp3files/Alan_Shaw_Derek_HughesV2BBCJune07_%28C%29_HarbethUK.mp3

bumping because these threads sometimes have potential

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>>58338050
I just bought a Edifier r2730db (pic related)
>230€
>136W
>(RMS): 2x 40W (Low), 2x 14W (Mid), 2x 14W (High)
>29,2 x 21,8 x 39,2 cm ; 14 Kg

They are not small at all, they are almost as tall as my monitor, but I desired speakers that I could listen to classical music, without distorting the true sound of the instruments.
The next step would would be buying something 500€+ or 1.000€+, but then it would not really be something I can place next to my monitor. Also I dont want to waste money.

>>58339410
they look cute, lovely front loaded retro design in a smallish box, yet triamped and digital inputs
pretty amazing for a computer speaker manufacturer

>>58338379
>http://www.harbeth.co.uk/library/mp3files/Alan_Shaw_Derek_HughesV2BBCJune07_%28C%29_HarbethUK.mp3
Is this not a recorder test?

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Are sound cards that much of an upgrade nowadays with the new 200-series motherboards? It seems like they kind of faded out of existence.

What are some are your favorite 2.0 power amps generally found under $500 used or new? Looking to get an XDA-2 (or 1) and I'm just not sure what I want to pair it with. Honestly considering a Pioneer VSX-D1S just for 4.1, but I don't know if I want to go through with that.

>>58338050
I have a similar pair of fishers to the one in OPs pic. They are great.

>>58339883
Forgot to mention speakers, pair of Boston Acoustic t-1000 series 2 and probably going to get a Bic Acoustech PL-200 or something with similar features.

What do I need to hook up some studio monitors to my setup. Right now I'm running my audio interface directly into my AV receiver, which in itself is just a cheap RCA set, which hooks up a pair of speakers and a sub. Can I just replace the two speakers I have now, or do I need a whole new set of equipment?

>>58340090
just hook them directly to the interface

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>>58339666
?

>>58341448
i have a pearwood one, its nice and you don't imagine sucking on a black cock

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>>58341515
soprano?

>>58341448
>recorder
microphone, testing how true/natural the sound is.
If you listen to the recording it talks about how they (manufacturers) change the settings of the recording to suit the trend.

>>58339803
200-series what? What do you want to upgrade?

Fist time buying a home theater /AG/

Is the Bose lifestyle 650 a good option?

>>58341747
No if you want sound quality.

Almost nothing from Bose is good as far as sound goes. They only have cool portable speakers and great ANC headphones, the QC35.

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>>58341685
Nono: Them using a 'good' mic in a freefield environment means they should sound like they're standing in your room. Also, they claim spoken word is a better source for testing sound reproduction than music.

>>58341799
Can you suggest other theaters or brands in the same price range?

>>58341833
To be honest these all-in-one home theater setups are just shit. They are shoddy excuses of loudspeaker design in every respect. Part of this is just my audiophile self being frustrated at the garbage sold in every market to people who don't know any better but you will not get a good home theater setup or even good sound in a room with some simple place and forget setup. Brands are usually a bad place to start. Budget, current gear you have and needs are more useful.

>>58339883
I'd say to get an Emotiva amp if possible. otherwise, ADCOM, NAD, etc are all good

is there a reason why you're not looking to pair your XDA with another Emotiva?

Aside from audiogon, audio mart and avsforum what are the other websites to find used audio gear on in the United States?

>>58342417
only others I can think of (aside from CL obv), is AudioKarma and similar forums, where they have dedicated boards for selling/buying shit

>>58338050
got some apple air pods their so good
running my ASIO sound drivers with them, so crisp, and the response time in the sub is amazing

Best speakers for my computer for around 200-250€? I've been looking at the audioengine a2 but not sure about the bass quality.

>>58342496
Is CL good for stuff like used hi-fi?

>>58344137
ehh, like anything you'd buy off there, use caution and do your research

I've bought quite a few things off Kijiji and haven't ran into any problems (except the few I should've notice e.g. slight cracks in woofers, etc)

sometimes CL is even better, since most people on there don't know what their shit is worth. I've found some gems on there for very little money, all because the seller didn't care enough to research (near mint Klipsch RS-42s for $20, a few other pairs of speakers for cheap, a bunch of $10 amps)

again, it's up to you to make sure the shit is working

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Ordered the TEAC LS-H265 today (for less than $100)

I only have a TA2024 chinese amp I bought a few years ago to run it. How bad did I fuck up? It's the Muse i15w.

PS: I live in a house with very thin walls in a very quiet neighborhood, so I already know the speakers are way overkill for my usage. It will mostly be for low volume music and occasional movies.

>>58344208
>small amp powering small speakers with low volume music
I'd say you fucked up 5/10. the fuckup is you asking if you fucked up. now fuck off

jk ;^)

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>>58341576
I want to listen to those one day.

Also, my cute little headphone amp arrived today, input signal comes in over usb, power from a wallwart. It's got an pretty obvious hiss, which I kind of didn't expect since it's a digital signal and my crappy previous method of connection only had some noise if I turned the music off and cranked the volume.
Would a DAC solve the problem?

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we groovin to the 80's aesthetic now boyz

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>>58344964
I love shit like that.

>>58344964
>>58345135
>tfw love for vintage gear is being over powered by desire for higher outputs and more connectivity options like bluetooth
old shit looks nice, but it's so expensive compared to a modern equivalent

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>>58345135
This one tempts me, but its so high price and I think I saw a picture of it that looked absolutely humongus.

But that sunrise coloring!

>>58345186
Nah if you search ebay you can find some good ones sometimes for less than 80$.

Those little tiny amps you get for your desktop seem to cost that or more.

should i buy an amp that can do analog and home theater for now then buy something that can do analog and music listening after?
or should i just start up with an amp for analog/music and a home theater one by itself?
i will eventually need two won't i?

>>58345224
if they're $80 then they're probably badly maintained

>>58345288
>i will eventually need two won't i?
assuming your home theatre receiver is decent, it should be fine for both stereo listening (2 channel) as well as surround sound

most 5.1/7.1 home theatre receivers have dedicated 2.1 modes for music

just get one good receiver and it'll do both fine

>>58339803
Nothing about the Z270 specification involves a better DAC, that's up to motherboard makers, and the Z270 you saw on linustechtips is about as high-end as they come
You still could benefit from an external DAC, still better signal/noise ratio, hardware controls, and the right inputs/outputs

>>58342652
>ASIO
>Bluetooth
Don't lie on the Internet son

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>>58345186
>>58345199
Hmmmm. The guy I bought my sub from has a little shop on the local second-hand site, he buys, fixes & resells old hifi gear, like pic related.
I still regret not buying his set of Cambridge R50s a year ago, but they were too big for the place I was living at that time ;_;

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>>58345343

>>58345343
That looks cool

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>>58345367

>>58345390
https://www.2dehands.be/audio-video-tv/audio-apparatuur/versterker-en-receiver/-sansui-c-77-b-77-karaktervolle-318885756.html

>>58345290
I bought one in perfect mint condition recently for 50$ plus shipping. You just gotta be patient. You have to reallly want a model and just search for it often though. There is way too many vintage receivers on ebay to dig through all day.

God I hate receivers
Just looking at them pisses me off

>>58345446
*autistic screeching* -_0_-

>>58345446
>God I hate receivers
>being this much of an anti-receivite
soon you'll be saying they should have their own sub-category so they don't get lumped in with amplifiers

>>58345343
>>58345411
yeah that's true. I like old gear, as I said, but I've yet to find a "steal", and it's just so hard to judge a good quality old receiver, and the difference between normal ware&tear and abuse

>>58345493
>but used receiver
>it's broken
>"Well is it supposed to be broken?"

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would you buy these 60,000$ speakers?

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>>58345540
I would buy them for my RX-7

>>58345540
I wouldn't buy those for 5$

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>>58345606
I hope its a convertible

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>>58345653
I was implying I would hook them to my exhaust so they could pressurize the intake air, they're clearly just turbos with speakers on them to make wooshy noises

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>>58345493
What do you mean by abuse? you mean cosmetically? or should I be worried about internals being too "used up"

would it be dumb to buy an old amp/receiver and then using it as a poweramp?

I like my old receiver, but it was rated at like 30W/channel new, so it's probably worse now

>>58342364
I wasn't avoiding emotiva amps, just don't really know what to look for on the emotiva front. If you'd like to recommend and specific models that are 100w/channel or more I'd be glad to hear them.

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>>58345540
ugly af

>get better speakers
>old amp sounds like ass
>get new amp
>old speakers sound like ass

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I posted this in a previous thread but I'm looking for more opinions

>Marantz 2325
>Klipsch Cornwalls
>Want a turntable
>Have up to $1000 to spend
>Vintage look preferred but will look at anything old and new

>>58348272
I replied before, but I'll give it another shot. by vintage, do you mean something with a wood finish?

can you post your local audiomart/audiogon/craigslist? might be a good way to see what's around

>>58348723
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/search/sss?sort=date&query=turntable

Vintage look being something that looks like it belongs next to the Marantz mainly

>>58348769
http://www.usaudiomart.com/search.php?show_other_marts=N&keywords=&cat_id=31&price_min=&price_max=&province=&zipcode=55454&radius=25&sortby=distance_asc

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>>58345540
Dont be jelly guys

>>58345835
an old amp and vintage high end speakers will outperform most of the crap mentioned here

>>58349270
ehhh, I think it depends on your definition of performance

amps
>power
>signal to noise
>neutrality

speakers
>accuracy
>response
>efficiency

most modern designs of both are better than old ones. sure, a $500 pair of new bookshelves vs a $500 pair of used speakers, the vintage ones would probably sound better, but that's depreciation, not vintage being better

>>58349595
its simply a better value to buy older gear.
The quality of todays audio gear is laughable.
I paid $1500 for my matrix 801's
probably the best speakers ever made for the money
Amp designs have not gotten better
how is highschool going?

>>58349887
>its simply a better value to buy older gear.
this point has not been argued once in the thread, and in my specific reply, I agreed with that assertion

>Amp designs have not gotten better
no, but manufacturing processes, labour, and technology has improved. you can buy a $60 amp made in China that would rival the quality of a $50 (in 1970s) Sears receiver, due to class-T amps, cheap labour, and automation. and with shit like Apple airplay, bluetooth, and all that shit, noone wants "just" a receiver anymore, meaning prices have to decrease to keep up demand. don't even get me started on tube amps

>how is highschool going?
excellent response

>>58349270
depends, but most likely

>>58349887
most of the gear that's survived is usually of higher quality that had been well maintained by people who knew what to obtain for high fidelity

>>58350318
there are some regulars here who have purchased better quality old amps for less than $100 because it was assumed that "this tech is old so it must be outdated", except that a good amp, well maintained, is better than most of the higher priced new gear of the "consumer grade" that's sold for $600-$1200 at BestBuy

>>58349595
>modern designs better than old ones
an underpowered expensive modern amp with advanced connectivity has great connectivity but will be nice and connected and weak-sounding because it is underpowered and uses low end components (but the faceplate looks nice), compared to a high-end older amp which costs a couple hundred but which is compatible, in terms of audio fidelity, to audiophile tier amps that are new, except these newer, quality amps cost $1500 or more

pic related: most people wouldn't know what to do with this thing if they saw one at Goodwill, but i found one like this two years ago for $8 (except it was beat to hell on the outside) -- all it needed was a power cord repair -- gave it to my brother to power his old Thiels which he got for $50 at a yard sale; if you went to find something compatible with his current gear with new technology you would wind up spending at least three thousand

also, why are these threads always filled with cheap garbage like lepai when you can find better quality for $30 on any craigslist

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>>58350954
forgot pic

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>>58338050
has anyone here actually spent serious money on a system talking over 5 figures if you have post them

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Hello,

>be me
>have active monitors
>have dt770 headphones
>always need to plug in headphones into monitors
>this is shit

I guess I need a USB audio interface to get rid of that shit, right? Would be nice if I don't have to plug in and out that headphone anymore.
Is there anything cheap and (kind of) good you would recoomend? I don't want to spend much money tbqh

>>58350954
i have an old onkyo receiver i got for free on craigslist powering my b&w matrix 801's
speakers are most important. Then the source. Power amp quality does not really vary as much.

All of you fgts are using the shitty dac in your computers anyway. Using a decent dac makes a huge difference.

>>58351099

Why did you spend all that money on audio, yet your house looks like absolute shit.

>>58352413
nigga has an Air conditioner from the 1970's

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>>58344510
Anyone?

>>58344510
I think it's most likely the amp part that creates the noise, I don't think a different source would make a difference, but you can try to plug any other line level signal to it (your computer, a CD player, whatever) to bypass the USB DAC part and listen what the amp does

God amazing speakers from an old radionette lamp radio (speakers made by SEAS).
Sensitivity is about 92db. Mids and highs are godly. One problem though - 40-100hz range is about -20db.

Any bass driver recommendations, about 90db sensitivy. Planing to build new cabinets and made three-way speakers

>>58353300
typo: got

>>58353300
seas makes great woofers as well
alternatively there's scan-speak, but they're normally a little more on the pricy side

>>58352413

He's a time traveler who took his gear back to the 70s

>>58352413
renting its really cheap

I have my voll's plugged into the amp that they come with. I have clamped the speaker wire into the speakers/amp.

When there is no audio playing and the amp is turned on there is constant whitenoise, a constant low humming playing.

Is this normal? If not, how can I resolve it? I think I may have done a dodgy job plugging in the speaker wire. I didnt use a plug or anything, clamped it straight in. Could this be the problem?

>>58354769
>Could this be the problem?
no
>there is constant whitenoise, a constant low humming playing
which one, or both?
white noise is a problem with your amp, hum is a problem with the grounding/power
try unplugging all sources and check again

>>58344510
>Falling for the tube meme, but not even actually buying a real tube amp just a solid state amp with led lit tubes.

>>58354800
it would be a hum. I think I'll get some bannana plugs and see if that fixes the problem. I should be using those anyway right?

is sound card neccesary?

>>58354855
no, totally irrelevant
again, unplug the sources and see if it still hums
if yes then it's your power supply
if no then you have a ground loop in between your amp and a source, avoid that with a hum killer /ground lift or by trying different power outlets

>>58354882
depends

>>58351439
>Power amp quality does not really vary as much

show me the onkyo

>>58350954
>also, why are these threads always filled with cheap garbage like lepai when you can find better quality for $30 on any craigslist
because most people are asking what to buy with a budget of $100 for amp+speakers and they want new only

I use a used NAD surround sound receiver, but that's because I couldn't find any used vintage gear in better condition and/or at a better price. the real value, I think, is 90s/early 2000s. stuff that looks like ass now (due to shiny plastic being the big thing then), and because it's neither new or vintage, just "old and used". that's where the best price:performance will be, like your Bryston

>>58355250
why?

>>58354840
Didn't "fall" for it, my friend bought one for shits n giggles; and it actually makes a difference I like for some good quality recordings, so I got one myself. I don't know the exact mechanics but it's a solid state & tube combo, they are not just for decoration.
And even if they are, I like the sound, so idgaf.

>>58352584
Cheers, I'll try that first. My friend also bought the same one, and eh has the older model, so I can compare some stuff.

>>58352584
>>58355580
Hm, just checked again, the noise is gone. I've had em play for about 15 hours.

has hi-fi ruined music for you? I find myself listening to primarily well mastered and "clean" songs, rather than songs I actually enjoy. messy songs like rock and roll are hard to listen to now

Is it ever worth it to get electrostatic speakers like the ones manufactured by Martin Logan? I assume that amplification will be more expensive as well as having a small sweet spot.

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>>58355820
Only thing I do is skip certain songs in the car because they sound so much better on my home system. Overall, it has severely increased my musical enjoyment.

>>58355860
>Only thing I do is skip certain songs in the car because they sound so much better on my home system.
is this a normal thing?
>walking home/in car
>really good song comes on (usually Pink Floyd or Fleetwood Mac)
>turn it off so I can listen to it when I get home instead

>>58355828
get quad esl 63 if you want to do it right

>>58355903
Not the same anon but it's horrible trying to listen to distorted classic music with bad soundstage in a car. Simpler music like alternative rock or electronic is fine.

>>58355820
yes it has its annoying

do you guys think I could use a blue snowball to test my room's acoustics? i dont know what properties the mic needs to do that

>>58356552
no it has to be a 'real' omni condenser to have no proximity effect (no combined cardioid capsules to form the multipattern like in the blue mics), and an as small as possible diaphragm diameter
also it needs to be factory calibrated with a plot or you need to reference it against another mic beforehand
something like the beyerdynamic mm-1 is affordable and completely fine for most users

>got new (used) speakers 2 weeks ago
>disappointed, very little bass considering each speaker has two 8" woofers
>got another (used) pair a week ago
>pretty impressed
>finally get around to A+Bing them
>the first pair sound good, but the lack of low-end is very apparent
when I sell the first pair, I might have to hide a sub somewhere, or at least pick bass-free music to demo them with. it's amazing how little genuine bass there is, and I'm not even a nignog

>>58357021
I recently sold a pair of garbage speakers with no bass and playing this on them made them sound pretty acceptable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGmIL2gtieU

What are they? And what did you replace them with?

>>58357021
driver size is only a part of the story
it's all about the cabinet design

What is the best way to connect my receiver to my PC? I have a 3.5mm to RCA cable but I'm a noob and don't know what's a meme and what's not. I just want hi-fi sound

>>58338050
Beyerdynamic DT 770 or ATH M40x for watching movies?
or any other suggestions?

>>58357083
yeah but even then, the speakers the first pair were supposed to replace were virtually the same size (old pair was about an inch shorter), but it only had a single 8", and put out more low-end

>>58357104
That should work, add a DAC if you have a hiss or noise.

>>58357122
I guess some manufacturers just hate linearity

>>58357064
Paradigm 9s (not the 9se, but similar). replaced with Athena AS-F2 (http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/645/#uxoPU0O6RRrlofFs.97). they're pretty well reviewed, and for the price, I couldn't find anything even remotely close

the Paradigms were $100, the Athenas $150

>>58357405
well, I had heard my friend's Paradigm 9se mk2, and they sounded pretty good, so I figured their predecessor would some good too, and they do, aside from their lack of anything below 60Hz

>>58357441
a 60Hz rolloff is pretty weak for anything using one or more 8" drivers, yeah
maybe they traded it for spl

>>58357461
well, the 60Hz is just my ballpark estimate, based on bookshelf speakers I've heard that use less/smaller drivers

it has punchy bass, not deep bass. either way, it's more of an inconvenience. at the bare minimum, I'll keep them as a backup off in the corner somewhere and maybe to get $100 for them

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>>58355820
I know that feel. Being an audiophool is really hard.
Join that up with someone who had music theory in school.

There you have the worst combination for enjoying music, and do it with others. Since the soundquality, storage-system or musical structure becomes more important to listen to.

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>>58355407

a power amp can have a significant effect on audio fidelity depending on the speakers

hard to believe you are getting the most out of a pair of matrix series 2 speakers using a dinky 25wpc onkyo amp, versus a well-powered 200wpc onkyo like pic related