julesodies
Member
I'm looking to buy a speakerset but why should I get a 2.0 set instead of a single speaker?
Jeah you're right. Totally forgot about that stereo effect during music .For Gaming: Surround sound instead of Stereo.
For Music: A lot of musics use LEFT-RIGHT panning, which is awesome and adds a great effect to the music.
Hope it is okay to ask this here. I'm looking for a good pair of speakers that are 2.1 for my PC and use optical cable. Don't want to break the bank, just something that's good enough. Any recommendations? Thanks and sorry for the bump, but I can't make threads or didn't know where to ask.
Thanks. Looks good to me.
Thanks. Looks good to me.
Edit: fits my theme too.
So I have dynaudio on my computer and I went searching around for some simple 2.0 computer speakers for my girlfriend, and all the cheap stuff at stores ( < $150 ) sounded terrible to me. I don't have money to buy something crazy expensive though. I would just get the audio engine a2+, which are ideal because they also have a DAC, but people online seem to think they are really lackluster compared to a5+, so I know I'd feel buyers remorse. Are there other common suggestions for under like 300?
Also what is going on with Bose speakers that make them sound so weird? I don't even know if they sound "bad", just really weird, like the sound is going through a subtle effects pedal.
I used to use the M200MKII, had them for ~7yrs or so, really great speakers and sound signature for the price. Couldn't say better things about them.Has anyone heard the swan m200 speakers or any swan speakers?
Has anyone heard the swan m200 speakers or any swan speakers?
Yeah, those are getting great reviews from all places.JBL LSR305 can be had for around $200 for the pair, great speakers but they're pretty big, make sure you have the space.
At that price point I'd rather go for the JBL 305s. Why? Because from all reports it's a wash and while the Adam tweeter is awesome (it totally is), the JBL totally wins in the bass department. As in, faster, more precise, more powerful. And in that price region, you will need all the bass precision you can get.Anyone heard the Adam F5's? I think I might want those over the Swans because they're front ported. Will take awhile to save for them though, lol.
I have been using the Gemme Audio Tantos since 2011 as well, I'm afraid to try another pair of speakers. They are too good. Have changed my DAC since then, and recently ordered a solid state pre-amp, to take over from my tube pre-amp. Tube gear is ultimately too much hassle, and I use my stereo as my HT as well, tubes are too good for regular TV, just wanted a high quality solid state gear that can stay on all day.
Most likely impedance interaction thanks to the attenuators. Depends on source and target impedance. Let's say my Icepower dropped to 9k input impedance in the highs and depending on where I put the attenuator the highs rolled off nicely. There is a reason for active preamps as I've learned.I agree that tube gear is too much of a hassle. After a while, you sit back and start wondering if the sound quality is degrading because the tubes are getting old. Some of those tubes can be very expensive. What DAC did you get? I'm thinking about trying out the Yggdrasil.
Strangely enough, one of the biggest improvements in sound was going from some attenuantors that stood between the DAC and amp to using the preamp functionality of the new headphone amp I got.
http://philharmonicaudio.com/
Their TOTL speaker cabinets are all handcrafted by Jim Salk himself. Plus I promise that while your Tanto may be good, those are amazing. They are very small and it seems to be a pure passion project of two old rats in the HiFi biz. Envious I can't get them in Europe (or rather, S&H&tax etc will explode the price).
Try to catch them at a HiFi meet, every impression has been glowing.
I got the PS Audio Perfectwave MK2, and yes you do wonder that with tubes, unless the amplifier is self biasing...I mean I'd have no way to know if the tubes need to be changed unless the sound is seriously degraded or it starts to hiss.I agree that tube gear is too much of a hassle. After a while, you sit back and start wondering if the sound quality is degrading because the tubes are getting old. Some of those tubes can be very expensive. What DAC did you get? I'm thinking about trying out the Yggdrasil.
Strangely enough, one of the biggest improvements in sound was going from some attenuantors that stood between the DAC and amp to using the preamp functionality of the new headphone amp I got.
Most likely impedance interaction thanks to the attenuators. Depends on source and target impedance. Let's say my Icepower dropped to 9k input impedance in the highs and depending on where I put the attenuator the highs rolled off nicely. There is a reason for active preamps as I've learned.
Oh yeah, really curious about the upcoming Elac amp. If the sound is as I expect it and with those features on top, THE stereo amp to have.
Btw, got XTZ 99.25 LCR. Already broken in and the nagging problem with the mids I heard in the beginning (silent voices sounded a bit muffled) is all but gone. Absolutely brilliant speakers. Very transparent but natural sound with a bass resolution to die for. The way this authentically renders the body of instruments is amazing. Only active does it better. For 1000 an exceptional bargain. Or rather, a fair price when you come back to earth from the world of 3k bookselves where most people look at you funny if you even mention it. ;-)
Yep, well aware of Salk...I mean there are plenty of direct to customer companies that intrigue me, I just meant I'm very sure most speakers won't be able to match the Tanto's bass, if everything else. They are just right without being overwhelming for NYC apartments. Of course there are better speakers...but will they match my room?
Also definitely wanna try Omega speakers and Devores, and Magicos and so on...
I got the PS Audio Perfectwave MK2, and yes you do wonder that with tubes, unless the amplifier is self biasing...I mean I'd have no way to know if the tubes need to be changed unless the sound is seriously degraded or it starts to hiss.
The PS Audio can be used as a preamp, as it has a digital attenuator...so if you only have digital source, you can get something like that. Or the Wyred4Sound DACs. I also have an analog front end, so I actually need a dedicated preamp.
M50W and M200mkiii are really great speakers and excellent bang for buck.I have the Swans M50W 2.1 set. I'm not a hugely informed audiophile or anything, but I am incredibly pleased with them.
Oh no, the Perfectwave MK2 is ridiculously good, I don't think there can be much better. At this point, it's very difficult to distinguish anything higher end. In fact I had the HRT streamer+ prior to this, which was like a $350 DAC, and it was a world beater.If you are wondering about a DAC upgrade, it seems like the Yggdrasil are all the rage these days. It makes me wonder myself.
Oh no, the Perfectwave MK2 is ridiculously good, I don't think there can be much better. At this point, it's very difficult to distinguish anything higher end. In fact I had the HRT streamer+ prior to this, which was like a $350 DAC, and it was a world beater.
As for speakers, it's a package right? There are certain qualities I enjoy such as pace, rhythm, and openness. I'm not too much into overtly resolving speakers either, as long as the soundstage is wide, imaging is precise and I can visualize the artists performing at the stage or in the studio in their relatively different positions...it's all good. Though the Tantos are very precise, you can hear all the heavy breathing, sharp intakes of breath, hands sliding on the guitar strings etc. Pretty amazing at times.
You should definitely try out the Yggdrasil with the 15 day return policy.In your case, the only reason I'd change equipment is if you just want to test out a different sound signature. After all the praise I've heard from this Yggdrasil, I'm just curious to if it sounds as nice as has been speculated... plus I have a tube DAC and I'm interested in comparing a solid state to it, especially since I worry about degrading sound quality and don't want to have to keep paying money for tubes. From what I remember from my old Audio GD Dac, it had a stronger base, but this dac has more warmth and more realistic sounding voices. I am a bit concerned that I will lose some warmth if I go to the Yggdrasil and get some hyper detailed, but 'icy' sound, which I'm not a fan of.
You should definitely try out the Yggdrasil with the 15 day return policy.
If you like that warmth/musicality, I'd definitely check out Japanese companies like Luxman and Accuphase:
I've been hankering for Japanese gear for a long time, but they are uber-expensive, specifically amps and preamps.
But Luxman has some surprisingly affordable DACs.
https://www.musicdirect.com/dac/luxman-da-250-dac
Both DACs you mentioned sound pretty intriguing. But the Kitsune dac seems too niche. For DACs I'd prefer a big name so if I don't like it, I could sell it off. The Yggdrasil does seem nice though from reviews, only downside being its not DSD capable (which isn't major - files are so huge, I don't think it'll be a mainstream format).On one hand, I'm very curious as to how the Yggdrasil will sound given all the hype. On the other hand, I'm hesitant because I am finally getting a smooth and lovely sound with my headphone setup. I see a yggdrasil on the used market. Thinking about getting it. I've read countless impressions on how awesome this dac is supposed to be. Really thinking about getting it. Nevermind, just checked the listing. It was just sold... until next time lol
There's this other DAC around that price range getting a lot of hype... The Holo Spring DAC level 3. I guess it might be better to wait and see how the comparisons between the two pan out.
Both DACs you mentioned sound pretty intriguing. But the Kitsune dac seems too niche. For DACs I'd prefer a big name so if I don't like it, I could sell it off. The Yggdrasil does seem nice though from reviews, only downside being its not DSD capable (which isn't major - files are so huge, I don't think it'll be a mainstream format).
I got my SS pre-amp on Friday, mated very well. So quiet and musical. Excellent soundstage and clarity, and the balance is spot on. I was having issues with my tube pre-amp and balancing the channels, I had to resort to manually trimming the channels to match levels. Too much hassle.
I got the Ayre K5xeMP:Nice, glad to hear the SS amp was worth it. Which one did you get and did you lose anything significant going from tubes to SS? I'm thinking the bass on SS should at least be stronger.
That's great, I'd be very interested in hearing your impressions. Actually don't be surprised as a whole if the detail level is in another league.Went ahead and ordered the Yggdrasil. I'm very curious as to how it will perform. I'm sure the bass will be a deal better than the Kora.
So I was able to do some extensive A/B as I received the XLR cables for the preamp. So I hooked the Ayre up from my DAC to my power amp with XLR cables, and my DAC to my old tube pre amp to my power amp using RCA cables. And once I played something, it was easy to switch between them by muting one preamp and un-muting the other.
This brings me to what we were discussing before. My tube pre was giving me a lot of hassle with low level noise, distortions and channel imbalance. I was rotating tubes, all of them but couldn't figure anything out. Finally last night I the distortion was so awful, I mean if I turned the volume down to zero, sound was still coming out of the speakers...so I switched out the big voltage regulator tube with something else I had sitting for a long time, and everything went back to perfect. It was a bad tube all along.
Few initial observations. With no music playing and volume turned up very high, the tube pre white noise level is very high, at normal listening levels, this isn't noticeable. However, at normal listening levels, with no music playing, if you can pretty close to the speakers, you hear a constant white noise. With the SS pre, volume at the highest setting, no music playing, you do get a constant drone, but its not very loud. At normal listening levels there is no detectable white noise, and with your ears right against the tweeter, you hear a very low level of hiss which is undetectable a few inches away from the speaker. Essentially this is a noise-less pre.
WIth music playing, and here is what I found surprising and my results will surprise you. The SS pre had better transparency, like I alluded to earlier, instruments were clearer, separated, voices seemed to just float in the middle space...essentially crating a bigger soundstage and holographic image. The bass itself was more controlled. This made the actual music a lot more well rounded, and musical and enjoyable to listen to.
The tube pre sounded more muddled and the bass notes were not as clearly distinguishable. When talking about this type of equipment these adjectives do not do the equipment any justice, as it was say 4% muddled in comparison to something that sounds utterly amazing, so it still sounds amazing! However the loss of detail, and this is where I found something interesting, the voices seemed to be biased a bit towards the left, I checked the balance and everything, the balance was fine based on my power amps VU meters, the soundstage just shifted a bit. There was that bit less clarity and detail and thus less musicality and it just wasn't as engaging. But keep in mind, this is only in direct, instantaneous comparison. I'll do some more comparison later and re-confirm my observations.
IIRC you have a Plinius class A right? That's a nightmare scenario for me...get a huge ass amp shipped to get it fixed. It sounds like some of the capacitors might have quit playing nice. See if you have any local audio techs around you, and may be get a friend to help you just drive it there.I'm having a problem with my speaker amp right now... Right side sounds lower and hazier than the left, so I'm going to have to find somewhere to get that repaired. not looking forward to shipping something so heavy.
Relaxed, pleasant and detailed sound. No harshness and no fatigue.any thoughts on the Audioengine HD6?