Speakers

I thought this was an interesting read over at an AV forum: Best Sounding Speakers According to Scientific Tests - Audio Video Revolution Forum Random and blind testing with members of the general public choosing their favorite speakers without knowing anything about them (ie cost or looks).

I'm just about done building the Leach amplifier (~100Wrms / channel). I was hoping to get some suggestions for first speakers to match with it, probably in the price range $200-400. All I've got now are some no-name bookshelf speakers. Some floor-standers might be nice, but I really don't know too much about speakers. Thanks, Evan aka bperboy Here's one channel completed. I haven't finished building the other channel yet. Forgive the messy wiring; I will tidy it up nearer to the end of the project.

Hey guys, I've been away from HC for about 2 months (I miss you rascals ) due to some major home renovation and because I took up 12 weeks of industrial attachment as part of my Eng degree graduation requirement. Anyway, I wanted the get opinions from you guys about using solid cement/concrete blocks for speaker stands. You see, since my house is undergoing renovation anyway, there are a lot of bricks and cement just lying around. I figure I'd just ask the construction guys to make me a stand like the one below: The pic above is not mine; it

Alright so I'll probably be able to get these beauts sooner than I thought I was eventually going to get one of the "great" 300B amps, either the Frankenstein MKII or Cardinal X2. But for the time being I need a more affordable solution since the speakers will set set me back quite a bit. I've received this design for a 45 amp from a gentleman on SH: I believe as little as 2 watts should be fine with these speakers, but every time I've heard them I recall the 300B blocks putting out 8 watts.

Hey guys, Well I am trying to start my research into speakers...again. Last time I went into it kind of half assed, and it actually didn't turn so bad last time. Picked up some moth cicadas that mated with my old moth s2a3 and I thought they were pretty great for the price and the fact they were single drivers - very coherent, beautiful midrange, nice full tone, but obviously lacking the low end registers. I would say down to 50 it was pretty solid. the omega hemps had the bass but they were somewhat sharp on the high end and had nowhere near the midrange magic of the cicadas. Budget is probably under a $1000 (unfortunately). Maybe I could swing a littler highe…

Well, as I transition out of headphones and into speakers, I'm starting to think about the possibiities with the home theater so a bit of help/advice would be most welcome. I'd like to replace my old receiver and add some nice speakers for both 2 channel listening when the mood strikes me and if possible, use those as the front channels in a home theater speaker setup(I think this is the best way to go but correct me if I'm wrong). Is there a receiver that will do justice to the speakers and be compatible with the latest technology or do I really need to think dedicated amplification? At this point, I just don't think monoblocks or uber amplification will be in the car…

These should go well with my Arcam C31/P1 monoblocs... pity about the price, though. I'm currently running Acoustic Energy Aegis Two floorstanders. http://www.pmc-speakers.com/products/consumer/twenty/twenty26 I heard the older FB1i at a dealer paired with Arcam electronics and it was a great match. Initial reports from the Bristol show last weekend seem to be enthusiastic. I'll take mine in Amarone.

So I find myself listening to a lot of tunes while browsing the internets, either through streaming radio (archive.org, grooveshark, etc) or foobar, all through my $11 logitech speakers, since I don't always feel like strapping on headphones. I'd like to upgrade my speakers, but not to anything too fancy. I'm looking at a few options: Audioengine 2's - just run straight from whatever DAC I am using, either using their own volume pot or using the DACs volume if I end up buying an XDA-1. Paradigm Atom - powered by my Beta22 once it gets all ship shape and up and running. My concern here is if the Beta has the juice to push the Atoms, which specify a minimum of 15 watt…

New KEF LS50s - https://www.shop.us.kef.com/speakers/flagship-hi-fi-speakers/ls50.html Who is buying them first?

I am reserving this space for impressions about Paradigm's new Special Edition speakers. I'll try to audition them in the next month or so...

Hey- So I want to enter the world of speakers, and the Quad 22Ls that tkam has for sale have caught my eye. Of course they are visually very attractive, and all the reviews I've read say they are a good neutral speaker at their pricepoint, and even a better deal used. Basically I would just want a speaker that is decent across all genres, and doesn't really try to do anything except portray what is on the recording pretty well. My initial application would be in a small quasi-office room where my headphone rig is. I forget the room's exact measurements, but I sit 8 feet from the wall, and so would be 5-6 feet from the speakers. Far from ideal, yes, but eventually I…

I've got a great pair of speakers in the Alon Lotus SE's. They do so much right and are untouchable (IMHO) in the used under $2k category but I have been chasing the horn dragon since attending VSAC a few years back. Best sound at the show for me was a toss up between the GoTo horns and the modded Altec Voice of the Theaters that Exemplar was running. The presence was downright scary and they were super fast. Well I've owned the Klipsch Heresy speakers and they did not do much for me. They were fun but showed their age with lack of extension and detail. This was after a cap upgrade and tweeter upgrade. They were good for the $$$ but not keepers. So I am pondering a …

I have found myself once again looking at studio monitors to use on my desk (to replace the Audioengine A5 which replaced the Quad 12LA when they broke). I keep going back to Adam, Dynaudio, Focal... I noticed today that BH Photo has them for $750/pair right now. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/696917-REG/Dynaudio_Acoustics_BM_5A_MKII_BM_5A_MKII_7.html That seems like a very good price and I have wanted to try a pair of Dynaudio for a while. I am tempted to get them but I noticed they only have XLR input. Right now, I use the GS-1 as my volume control. I assume the sound, balanced, straight from the ECD-1 would be better but I am not so sure if using th…

Yesterday I made the trip to hang out with a friend I made this year. It was mainly to hear my NIN- The Fragile vinyl since my analog setup still isn't up I should have taken down more details of his setup, but briefly the speakers were the latest Avantgarde Duo 2.1s, his vinyl setup was a modded VPI Aries3, with I believe SET amps powering the mids/tweeter. The Duos have self powered woofers. Digital front end was some Naim gear (didn't listen to it much). It was in a dedicated speaker room which seemed really well setup. I wish I brought my camera. I've heard his system a few times but this is the longest listening session I've done, I was there for around 8 or 9 ho…

Well Mikhail told me I would have some kind of balanced preamp as a loaner if my Maestro was not done before turkey-day. I get home today and here's a box with the Transparency SS balanced preamp in it. It detroys the Musical Fidelity cold out of the box. just so much more of everything. Not on the level of my Ayre K-1xe, but close. Not quite the detail or air in the top end. Better bass, and midrange is a little fuller with the SP. Overall a very smooth and relaxed preamp. A little soft on top, awesome midrange, and great bass. I can live with this until my Maestro gets here. Some photos in system and the mandatory vinyl shot. Photos attached of: The current system..…

http://www.svsound.com/speakers/ultra-series Basically this is a (A) talk me down or ( dew eet thread. So as I indicated elsewhere I passed the CPA exam, people around the office keep asking what I'm going to do to celebrate. I was thinking about buying some speakers for the HT, the SVS Ultra Towers. Why towers instead of bookshelves, since I've been so happy with bookshelves plus sub? Well, if I'm not happy running the towers full range, I can always cross them over at 40 or 60 and throw a sub back in the mix, effectively making them bookshelf speakers again, but I have the benefit of BAD ASS looking towers. I really can't get over how awesome those things lo…

I have a pair of Dared 300B quasi mono blocks that output 13 watts. They have 2 12AU7's as the input and Sophia Princess Mesh as the output. I am going to be using these as nearfield listening sessions in the bedroom when the wife is clanging pans in the kitchen and my son is being chased by cops with the constant sound of a siren in his room (not a good time to listen to my living room speaker setup which I am very happy with). I will be using an Exemplar Modded Oppo BDP-5 as the source. Anyone have experience with both, besides Tyll's setups at Canjam, and can offer some insight?

Hi I am fairly new to this and Was wondering if anyone could give some input on these products: -Audioengine P4 Bamboo Passive Speakers -Audioengine N22 Amp -Dayton Sub 8/10/12 Would these run well together? If there are any other better options please share. I'd appreciate all the info I can get. Drake

Any thoughts on the Outlaw Audio M2200 amps? Outlaw Audio They are class G amps, and I know Barry Diament at SH forums really likes them with Maggies. And they're cheap and easy to resell. Model 2200 Technical Specifications * Power Output (FTC Continuous RMS): - 200 watts @ 8 ohms, 20 Hz 20 kHz, < 0.05% THD - 300 watts @ 4 ohms, 20 Hz 20 kHz, < 0.05% * Short Term Dynamic Power Output: - 300 watts @ 8 ohms * THD Signal to Noise: 100 dB (unweighted) * Input Impedance: > 10K Ohms * Gain: +27dB (1.7V sensitivity) for full output * Input Connectors: RCA Jack * Output Connectors: Fi…

The midrange driver on one of my B&W 802 stop moving. i listed it at ebay but decided to pull it out and make it a project to fix it. Madisound suggest replacing the capacitor which i did and to my surprise, it did work and it sounds damn good. now i am in a process of replacing all the capacitors since they are about 30+ y/o (the bad speaker first to compare the sound between original and modified). i am installing different brands of capacitor (mostly poly cap some electrolitic) to match the value and fit the tight space. I bought some Mundorf Supreme and Clarity Cap for the tweeter and midrange section and will install them soon. The base is a little l…

I picked up the Alons a few weeks back and drove 7 hours round trip to pick them up. They are a dream speaker for me in the under $3000 used price range. They are probably only about 90db efficient but the woofer is 14ohms and the designer had 300b and up SET designs in mind when he put these out. The Signatures were made in very small runs and include AlNiCo magnet speakers all the way around. I had the standard Lotus SE speakers for the better part of a year and while great these are better in every respect. The standards are pretty amazing at $1000 to 1500 they go for used and should be more. Well After a bit of searching on our forum it looks like my amp of choice…

So I built the Jonokuchi for my office and it's working quite well. It's a very respectable headphone amp and currently I have it driving a small pair of JVC speakers that came from a defunct mini system. But as always, I want MOAR! But there's a counterproductive requirement, which is that they have to be small, really small. The JVC's are about 4" wide, 5" tall and maybe 8" deep. My space can support something slightly larger with width only being able to be pushed about 1" larger, depth is more flexible but probably doesn't need to be. Being the non-speaker expert that I am I figured I'd ask the masses here and see what suggestions folks could come up with. …

Hi everyone. One of my tweeters for my 400i PSB speakers is blown out. I was wondering where a good place would be to try and find a replacement tweeter. I honestly never did try and find a replacement tweeter before so this is new territory for me. I sent an email to PSB in hopes of purchasing one from them if they have one, which seems unlikely after doing some research on the net. I put a WTB ad in audiokarma as well. It seems that a website called Madisound Speaker Components | Assisting speaker builders for more than 25 years. used to sell the replacement, but they don't offer it anymore. I will try and call my local authorized PSB dealer to see if they do…

I turned on the amp after about a week and a half of work being done on the house and attached is a short clip of what I heard. Recorded with the iPhone mic about 2 inches away from the driver but its a pretty close representation of the issue. 1. I turned it off after 10 minutes of warm up and it still making the same noise. 2. Turned it on again and let it warm up for 15 minutes. Still the same noise. Biased the tubes. Still the same noise. 3. The noise is equal in both channels from what I can tell. 4. The noise if constant with two different sources. 5. All tubes are lit except for 12ax7s. I don't see anything in them but I don't know if this…

Over at Audio Circle. Supposed to be the next great thing in class D. At $700 for ready-to-tighten (no soldering required) 1200 w x2 stereo balanced amp, I am going to get in on the group buy. http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=153645.0