The HiFi thread

hifiandmtb said:
If you want to keep abreast of the latest hifi developments, only Mr Darko is worth listening to:

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I like the look of that gizmo that adjusts the output to compensate for the space. Unless you can afford a dedicated listening room a normal living room is always going to be compromised. Mine certainly is.
 
Yep. Hifi ain’t cheap.

I manage to live with my setups for a decade then make big changes.

John Darko from the vid lives, reviews & broadcasts from Berlin but he’s an Aussie (if you hadn’t already worked that out).
 
Now started researching phono preamps.

tubeboxs2.jpg

Pro-Ject Box S2 looks good for the price (<600). Anyone got something similar in their setup?
 
steve jobs' pancreas said:
For sure, all my stuff was second hand with the exception of the cd / DVD player (a denon 2910) which is ancient but still kicking.
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Zing !!! My denon avr looks like it's carking it, for movies now all I have left is pro logic (no hdmi inputs and the optical died years ago) now that's becoming intermittent. CDs are hit and miss with the sub sometimes being engaged and sometimes not. If I'm gonna listen to Tool's Lateralus I want that sub.

I paid $150 for the avr some 7 years ago, not too bad.

Seems I've found a suitable replacement for $150, guess I'll take the punt.
 
got a new house with a room 4x5m decent configuration with two very small windows behind the setup and solid plaster walls left and right, empty open wall in front of speakers, carpet flooring. Not a bad start compared to my last house which was hard surface and glass all round.

Anyway I have some bookshelf B&W 685s2 currently paired to an average amp. What's the consensus on what system to get that won't break the bank. Use is purely for music - not looking to blow heads off, just need enough power for decent clarity in a larger space. Un until now my little speakers have worked well for the small spaces. No screen in that room.

Option 1: Be frugal now that you have a mortgage.
Use existing speakers, buy some stands for it and buy a basic amp like marrantz PM5005 or similar.

Option 2: Need more power!
Get some floor standers (need to do more research on these) and jack up the amp specs. Budget here would be $3k but I'm sort of leaning towards not needing the juice.

Option 3: Go little.
Spend it on headphones and bicycles.
 
slowandold said:
Option 1: I have a pair of 685s' paired with a Cambridge Audio Topaz SR20. Pretty basic system but works well.
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I have that exact setup in mind. Hard to go past the 685s unless you need big power.
link1896 said:
option 5, baby klipsch horns. rockon!
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I once visited a mate who was house sitting and he asked me what these strange panels were. I walked upstairs and boom a pair of martin logan electrostatic speakers full setup with a library of vinyl to boot. The amp was beasty too but I forget what it was. This thing sounded beautiful despite the owner not adhering to acoustic treatment of any sort in the room. Me and my other mate just sat there listening to vinyl rest of the afternoon.
 
Option 1. Our setup has been the same for ages. Just a Cambridge Audio CD player I picked up in 2007, some Oz made Krix Lyrix floor standers that date from the turn of the century and made in Melbourne Aspen Naksa 100 amplifier with a stepped attenuator as a volume control. The amp still retails for much less than 2 grand in a case...but Hugh is not your typical retailer! The 85 watt version would be very fine with those B&W's.
 
What would the brains trust tackle first in this equation?

I’m looking for a little more punch in my living room, bass particularly is getting lost. Speakers seem to be particularly hungry or don’t deal well with reflective surfaces. Living room is glass, stone and timber, with only a sheer curtain and a cat for absorption. Obtrusive soundproofing will not wash with the boss. Room is ~8x7m, speakers on the longer wall.

NAD C368 into B&W 684 floor standers via decent, but 12-14m long, shielded cables. Source, hard drive/ internet radio mostly or project turntable/ tascam CD.

Amp is rated at 80w, speakers are asking for 25-150w.

  1. Buy the 150w version of the amp
  2. Subwoofer
  3. Replace speakers with something less demanding
  4. Soundproof the hell out of the room as discretely as possible
  5. Get another cat as the only aesthetically pleasing method of introducing some soft furnishing
 
80W is plenty if you run a powered sub. Use decent cable without being silly and buying shit recommended by 7 out of 9 audiophile tosspots. Get another cat.
 
Has rca pre out so another option could be adding a power amp. No specific sub out but has 2 sets of speaker terminals which you can assign low/high pass to.
 
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