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Partially related to this shopping query in another thread and partly just curiosity: I have a 55 wpc stereo receiver and I want to run a pair of 2-channel speakers with 88 db sensitivity at apartment-filling volume. Now, the rule of thumb seems to place 50 WPC as the minimum power needed to run 88db speakers comfortably without distortion/clipping- though having more available power is obviously better. Would throwing a powered subwoofer into the mix help the power situation at all? I know that it would obviously help take care of the range (a speaker that can't reach <60Hz can't reach <60Hz, period), but would having a sub take the lower frequency load off the stereo speakers squeeze more volume out of them and more tolerance from the receiver? Would it be an appreciable difference? (Basically, I'm thinking about a pair of B&W 685 with a sub, but I don't want to replace my existing 55 wpc receiver. The B&Ws can go all the way down to ~50Hz, but I'd probably set the sub crossover at 80Hz.) trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 19:36 on Dec 7, 2012 |
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Dec 7, 2012 19:13
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powderific posted:If you're that worried about output with that speaker/receiver combo, maybe you should consider some more sensitive speakers over those B&W's? $80 off retail hardly seems like a once in a lifetime, have to take it deal if they're not a good fit for what you want. Well, it's not just the $80 off. Hell, I'd probably end up buying them full price elsewhere. I've listened to them before and liked what I heard and I think they look really snazzy too. 
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Dec 7, 2012 20:01
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Flipperwaldt posted:For that to happen your amplifier would have to have a(n adjustable) highpass filter filtering the lower frequencies out of the signal going to the speakers. As your receiver doesn't seem to be "subwoofer aware" so to speak, the signal going to the speakers will be the same, regardless of whether an active subwoofer is connected somehow or not. Good point on the highpass filter- the receiver is an early '90s stereo Nakamichi deal. No separate sub out. The idea would be to run the speaker outs to a sub with line-level ins/outs and then run the L/R from the sub. The sub itself has an adjustable filter- but the receiver wouldn't be doing any of that signal management. As for your question- no, I'm only ballparking here based on my experience with the setup in another space. I'm currently running it with a pair of 92db speakers I picked up at a Goodwill. They get quite loud and I have no doubt that they'd fill the new place with sound easily. Unfortunately, loudness is more or less their only virtue, as they don't sound particularly spectacular- and they're enormous. I haven't been able to try it at the new place yet. The receiver used to be my dad's and I have a whole childhood's-worth of experience with how loud it can get. I can't remember what speakers he was using but he never had any trouble filling the house with music until he eventually replaced it with a 5.1 setup sometime in the late '90s. I dug around online and found the service manual It lists the continuous output at 55wpc and dynamic at 75, at 8 ohms. That should actually be more than capable enough for most applications, in that case.... 
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Dec 7, 2012 20:43
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longview posted:88 dB_SPL is probably 1W at 1 meter, 50W is 17dBW, meaning at 1 meter your single speaker will deliver 105 dB_SPL, which is quite loud. With distortion at 75W it won't play much louder, at ~107 dB_SPL. Thanks for this. That's basically the situation as I understood it based on this thing, but you put it in much more concrete and understandable terms.
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Dec 10, 2012 03:18
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japtor posted:I heard Best Buy does electronics recycling so I guess that'd be an option, maybe call before to make sure. Otherwise just look up electronics recycling places around you and see if they'll take it. Your local dump/waste transfer station should have a receptacle for electronics.
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Apr 14, 2013 01:07
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CapnAndy posted:My local one definitely does, I've used it in the past. Just wanted to make sure there was no specialized service I should run it through, or any part of that was somehow useful to somebody. You might want to check in first, just in case they won't take anything that big. I don't know what Best Buy's policies are but I do know that some retailers won't take anything bigger than a phone/portable device for recycling. Or, I guess, take the radio over and just be prepared to take it elsewhere (like Goodwill) if they won't let you drop it off there.
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Apr 14, 2013 02:18
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Toshimo posted:My father's birthday is coming up and I'm looking to replace his aging (read: older than my college age brother) AM/FM radio that he listens to the ballgames on at work. This is literally his only use for it and it just needs to have a good antenna and decent audio quality. Any recommendations in the sub-$100 realm? Honestly, if his reception's that bad then maybe a better bet would be for him to stream the game online. He wouldn't even need to necessarily listen to something other than his station- at this point, I think every half-decent radio station in the country (particularly the ones that carry major sporting events, and basically every ESPN Radio affiliate) has an online feed. There are a ton of iOS and Android apps, as well as websites, that aggregate and stream those with minimal fuss. If he's got wifi- or at least an Internet connection- at work, then that's probably going to be a much easier, more reliable, and possibly less expensive way to listen to whatever station he wants than to try to get an OTA setup that works through his building and geographic location.
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Jun 14, 2013 06:56
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This might be a dumb question, but how do old 5.1 AV receivers split a purely analog R/L signal into center/front/surround? I've got a late '90s-vintage 5.1 receiver that I grabbed out of my parents' attic. I'd like to use it with my HDTV setup and have no need or desire to spend money on a new or particularly decent receiver (if you've seen me in some of the other audio threads, then you might know that I've got a pair of dedicated hi-fi stereo setups that I sink all of my time and money into, so the purpose of this is purely to make movies/games sound better than from the TV speakers and it will never be used to play any music). Looking at the back of this thing, I notice that the only inputs it has are R/L RCA, even for surround-capable components like DVD. I suppose I can run a 3.5mm-to-RCA splitter from the TV to one of the inputs, but I'd like to have legit surround sound if I can.
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Aug 25, 2013 19:54
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jonathan posted:Not much difference. A 2 channel amp has 2 channels of output (And sometimes a subwoofer output with bass management). You won't really gain anything by going with a 2 channel amp. Even if the 2 channel amp outputs more power, you have to remember that doubling the watts only gives an extra 3db. Weeeeell, it depends on the actual power output of his receiver. A lot of surround sound receivers with advertised massive power outputs only really produce a small fraction of that per speaker, whereas that overreporting tends to be much less prominent with more hi-fi related stuff like 2-channel. And generally speaking, you're better off with having a power source rated higher than the max for a given set of speakers than the opposite in order to prevent clipping. And even though doubling wattage only gives a 3db gain, it commensurately minimizes the incidence of distortion at a given volume (particularly with low-sensitivity speakers) and arguably produces better sound (inarguably at relatively high volumes). Call it audiophile bullshit, but my 120 WPC 2.0 receiver sounds better than my 55 WPC 2.0 receiver, which sounds better than my parents' 5.1 receiver with the same speakers. Now whether that benefit is worth buying a brand new 2-channel amp or looking at vintage stuff or even going the separates route is another can of worms entirely. I might be being more pedantic here than anything. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 06:46 on Sep 6, 2013 |
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Sep 6, 2013 06:37
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the posted:I want a speaker system that I can connect to via bluetooth to play music, but I don't want to look like some stupid pill shaped thing or something with chrome all over it. I think Tivoli audio makes some, but honestly, your best bet for a "demure" looking system would be to just pick up a receiver with that capability and plug some bookshelf speakers into it. I'm sure there are others out there too but all of the ones I can think of look flashy/gimmicky. What kind of devices are you planning to play music from? If you're using iOS devices or iTunes as your PC music player then you can easily get a used Airport Express for like 60 bucks (or a refurb from Apple for $75) and plug that into any stereo you want for easy connection over your home wifi network. I have one plugged into the Aux. feed of my '70s receiver and it works stupid well. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 07:48 on Nov 29, 2013 |
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Nov 29, 2013 07:46
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I know you'd rather go for an all-in one, but what about (really nice looking) self-powered speakers? A set of Audioengine A5+ will kick the poo poo out of both the Bose and the Tivoli (heck, even the much smaller A2's might do that too) and you can easily plug any kind of digital music player or other input device into them without a receiver. You could even make them wireless with one of a bevy of different products and still spend hundreds less than you would on either of those all-in-ones. What I'd do about the CDs is either get a dirt cheap standalone CD player (they're really thin nowadays) and stick it in one of the kitchen cabinets, or run a wireless connection from your home theater using something like this. On the whole, I'd say that something like a pair of Audioengines is going to be a way better balance between aesthetics/space saving/minimalism and sound quality than any all-in-one. Even if you just shove them into a corner with a home theater CD player between them (don't do that, it'll look like rear end), a pair of A5's is going to take up less room than a Bose Wave will. On top of that, you can easily blend them into your existing decor. Put them on a shelf or on top of a sideboard with some cookbooks and picture frames between them and they'll blend a lot more easily than a monolithic media center will.
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Dec 9, 2013 21:10
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krnhotwings posted:I have a pair of floorstanding speakers that I'd like to isolate from the floor so that the vibrations don't bother the person living below me. I've read around and some say to use granite slabs, concrete slabs, spikes... and various other suggested solutions. Any solid and cost-effective vibration isolation/reduction tips? If you're not averse to the looks, cinder blocks sandwiched between boards (to prevent the rough edges of the blocks from scratching the floor/the bottoms of your speakers) from places like Home Depot are dirt cheap to put together. I made great stands for my HPM-900s (bigass speakers) out of double-wide cinder blocks for less than $10 total.
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Dec 11, 2013 09:29
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krnhotwings posted:I can't say that I like the looks of cinder blocks, but I'll definitely consider it since it's a cheap solution. Mine honestly don't look bad at all, and I'm normally really anal about aesthetics.  
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Dec 11, 2013 21:55
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Hob_Gadling posted:Maybe also give the the headphone thread a go? They know a ton about cans: Yes! We can definitely help out there.
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Dec 12, 2013 00:23
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MMD3 posted:Can someone tell me if this desktop amp: Good question. The N22 is designed to be used with these guys here which are quite similar aside from the 4 ohm rating. So yes, it should be plenty sufficient assuming you didn't want to play them at ear-exploding levels. For desktop/small room use you should be golden.
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Jan 7, 2014 02:43
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Does it have to be a digital tuner? Vintage receivers ('70s era) are gorgeous, relatively inexpensive on Craigslist, built like tanks, and they generally have really powerful (though analog) AM/FM stages- you know, from back when having a powerful radio in the house was important to people. The vast majority also have Aux inputs so you can plug in just about any kind of modern device too. I have a (loving massive) 1979 Yamaha CR-2040 and a (much much smaller) Pioneer SX-690 from '78 and they both get ridiculous radio reception, even without external antennae- not that I really give a poo poo about that, though.
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Jan 16, 2014 21:13
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Don't be ridiculous. A responsibly used and placed sub isn't going to be any more annoying than any other general apartment sound. Millions of apartment dwellers have subwoofers and they don't cause problems. I'm sorry that you had lovely neighbors, but that's just what they were.
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Jan 20, 2014 20:24
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^burtle posted:I have an old Sony HTC-260 soundbar and sub that I finally talked my wife into using with our main tv in the living room. It retails as the soundbar and sub but if I could get my hands on a second sub, is it possible to pair it to the bar for two subs? It pairs through a transceiver card in the sub I believe not the normal bluetooth channeling. No, I’m afraid you’ll need a real receiver to do that. Edit: that came off way shittier than intended (cooking+phoneposting). You’d need either a receiver that can do multiple subs or set up something involving a splitter to send the same bass signal to both subs, or rig up like a low-pass dealie of some sort (For instance if you had a stereo receiver and two subs with speaker-level connections you could run the speaker outs to the subs and then connect each sub to its corresponding speaker). Why exactly do you want two subs? For stereo or to get more bass? Also why does your wife hate audio equipment? trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 06:09 on Dec 17, 2020 |
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Dec 17, 2020 06:00
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Olympic Mathlete posted:Because more subs = betterer. Buddy, I know exactly why somebody would want two subs (the answer—aside from “evening out dips” and “more bass”— is stereo, yes it is absolutely perceptible and important). I meant why the OP in particular was going through the trouble of trying to add a second sub to an integrated soundbar dealie.
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Dec 21, 2020 23:46
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They also look better- the black oak is the worst looking, admittedly, and the walnut isn’t super great either with the gold tone drivers, but you can find the piano black finish at the price of the two cheaper versions now in a lot of places, and the piano black is legit nice. But I’ll contend that Klipsch’s current black oak finish that they use in all of their low priced gear is one of the worst looking and feeling finishes I’ve seen on a contemporary speaker, I swear you run your hand across some of the lowest priced Klipsches and they feel like old wood that’s been left in a wet shed I wish they’d just pull whatever finishes Jamo or Audioengine are using.
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Dec 22, 2020 02:22
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How much thump? Subwoofer thump? Bigass speaker thump? You can get a 2.ch receiver with Bluetooth for <$200 (or <$150 or $100) which leaves you $300-400 for speakers/sub. You could do a lot with that depending on whether you buy used/build/new, size, finish, etc. You could realistically do new budget floorstanders or budget bookshelf speakers + PSW10 or similar. Pretty much anything with real speakers will blow away a boombox tho.
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Jan 5, 2021 21:44
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Residency Evil posted:What if I already have a subwoofer? I have a Hsu VF2-Mk5. It’s about the size/scale of your room. KEF sells single LS50s to be used in HT setups, so they clearly don’t think they’re inappropriate for the use case. Still, for that kind of HT setup, if I had the space, I’d go with floorstanders+ a sub. Are these only going in a 2.1 arrangement? Will there be a center channel? If so, that’s going to have a much bigger effect on the overall performance in HT surround mode. It’ll be the “limiting reagent” so to speak. In that case, having an LS50 center matched to LS50 R/L will mesh better and probably extract more value from the speakers than pairing a tiny center channel with two big floorstanders that will be held back. Ultimately that would be decided by the amount of space under your TV, etc.
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Jan 6, 2021 18:48
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KillHour posted:I can't believe Monoprice hasn't made "Sonos but cheaper" yet. Yamaha has one, right? MusicCast?
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Jan 7, 2021 04:44
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On the other hand those 12”, glossy SVS subs are probably the most aesthetically “pleasing” ones you’re gonna find and they get deeper than most. If you can do basic woodworking you could also build your own box/get an unassembled kit off of, say, Parts Express and finish it however your wife likes. I’ve seen some really nice veneered/laminated/painted/solid oak, etc. subs assembled for not much money.
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Jan 28, 2021 21:21
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Ak Gara posted:I'm aware of the benefit of dual sub's ability to deal with nulls and peaks but is there any truth to dual subs not increasing depth vs a single larger one. Such as, if a single 10 inch rolls off at 30hz, 2 of them, while louder in the frequency they're designed for will still roll off at 30hz? Yeah, they’re not gonna go any deeper. You could always do twin 15” 
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Jan 28, 2021 22:15
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SubjectVerbObject posted:Having multiple subs would be a no go due to price unless I went down in quality. Additionally it would be hard to find a place for a second one, and connect a wire to it. Hardwood floors with not a lot of furniture against the walls. Just get one good sub now and then decide in a year or whatever if you want a second. Like, having one sub beats having zero subs, regardless of what you end up adding later. You don’t need to have some weird ritual of only watching the Mandalorian with the optimal amount of subbage. That’s what Fury Road is for.
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Jan 28, 2021 22:18
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I’ve noticed that a lot of (most?) AV and stereo receivers with two sub outs either have them summed (mono) or unspecified. Can you set them to stereo in a receiver’s settings? I listen to a lot of music with heavy panning and R/L bass and my ideal setup is twin subs set up front to extend the bass of the front speakers. I know, I know “but sub bass is so big it’s nondirectional”- you can absolutely perceive directional bass if it’s aggressively panning from side to side, etc. You feel the air move, these trigger directional sensory cues despite not going straight for the ears. I suppose you could use pre outs/amp 2 outs, if available, with a low pass filter (like the one built into the sub), right? Say your sub has speaker pass through (you have like an old stereo amp with no sub outs). Could you run one speaker line through each sub and leave the other disconnected? Could you run the sub from Speaker B terminals?
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Jan 29, 2021 00:44
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Ak Gara posted:Without spending 10 loving grand how could I get something like those amazing blue VU meters from McIntosh? No amp, just an empty rack mount shell with a cool VU meter, that would be awesome. https://youtu.be/rqFNrWEImEA
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Jan 29, 2021 10:46
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Vintersorg posted:Are the M-Audio AV 40 speakers still looked at in high regard? I've had mine for 10 years now and don't really have too much issue with em. Just curious. No. Once upon a time they were a good game/the best game in their tier, but the market has made several moves since then. M-Audio has always been a budget pro/prosumer gear company first and foremost. Speakers aren’t really their thing—so while other companies have rolled out different types of desktop audio product, M-Audio has mainly released stuff like MIDI keyboards
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Feb 3, 2021 01:09
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codo27 posted:I feel so stupid asking this. Is there any such thing as rip protection on audio CDs? I still buy them but I just had both Traveling Wilburys CDs come from amazon and volume 1 just will not rip, tried several PCs. Here I am now trying to find a drat torrent. This is gonna be like the fiasco with my Dark Souls 2 preorder which was the final nail in the physical game coffin for me. Some CDs have it, yes. Pretty rare though, in my experience.
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Feb 12, 2021 00:53
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there was a type of cd copy protection that was very vaunted until it was revealed that coloring around the rim with a sharpie would apparently defeat the copy protection. no clue how much of that was true vs urban legend tho
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Feb 12, 2021 14:10
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If you’re willing to replace the cable, there’s a ton of aftermarket, and one official, cables available for cheap
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Feb 16, 2021 03:20
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^^^I have a B2, it’s really great for what it is. Really high quality fit and finish and great sound (it’s just two A2s stuck together). I also have an inexpensive Anker portable “2.1” battery speaker that I paid like $22 on sale for and it’s excellent for what it is too.
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Feb 25, 2021 02:44
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Laserface posted:Is the B1 not a speaker that plugs in and has Bluetooth? That's what you asked for. It's the B2 https://audioengineusa.com/shop/wirelessspeakers/b2-wireless-speaker-2/
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Feb 25, 2021 04:21
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anybody have any thoughts about the various class D kits that are out there? Mainly the Hypex/DIYclassD kits and the ICEpower stuff that’s available through such as Parts-express, etc? Are they worth looking at for monoblock/poweramp duty or is it better to go with a prebuilt solution like- for example- XTZ’s amps, or even something like one of those Crown pro amp dealies that have the internet all fired up these days? How do Hypex amps compare to ICE, given that it seems like it’s always been a thing that they’re 1.5-2x the price?
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Feb 27, 2021 21:31
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forest spirit posted:My sister is a stick and poke tattoo artist and during the lockdown she wants to try something new and do ASMR recordings of her sessions (right now just people in her bubble) - from my understanding what she's going to be recording (needle going into skin, hand manipulating needle) isn't going to be optimal for recording. this is a question better aimed at Musician’s Lounge (and maybe the sex Megathread, IDK)
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Feb 27, 2021 21:55
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saltoftheearth posted:Price is no object and let's pretend I'm getting something this week. Happy with the Arcam AV40 I got a few months ago, it's just going in for repairs a second time now. run all of your speakers off of tube monoblocks
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Mar 1, 2021 06:19
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Wachter posted:I've been given some free Tannoy Mercury M1 speakers. I have no idea how good these are but I want to use them in a low-effort, low-cost vinyl setup that I can upgrade depending on how deep I go down that rabbit hole. I think I'm set on the Audio Technica 120 and its built-in pre-amp for now, but when I want to add the ability to stream from my phone to the setup, what's my best option? do you have an amp/receiver? Before you pull the trigger on a 120 there are arguably better turntables for similar money, some that don’t have preamps. Depending on your amp you may not need a turntable with its own pre or an external. What’s your total ideal budget? What kind of sources do you want? Bluetooth/Airplay/internet direct? CD player? Tapes? TV/Console/video?
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Mar 3, 2021 00:40
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Wachter posted:Yeah sorry, I was actually looking at the cheaper Denon PMA600NE because of its dedicated analogue mode, but I didn't know if this was a gimmick. Everything being recommended is good. The Denons, the Yamaha RN303, Cambridge Audio, NAD, etc. All good. Pick whatever has the playback options you want and fits your aesthetic sense. If you don't like the modern black+LCD look, Yamaha also has a line of integrated amps (for you I'd recommend the AS-501) that trade some built in connectivity options for (supposedly) much nicer sounding internal components and a really attractive IMO vintage look. You can get them in black and silver, which you really can't say about the other options. You'd have to add a bluetooth receiver for anywhere from $20-$70 depending on features but that's pretty minimal in my book. The Project Debut Carbon is good, but it's fiddly IMO (not too fiddly, but it is fiddly) compared to a lot of the competition. Again, look at ProJect, look at Audio Technica, (probably also look at the Pioneer PLX500), maybe look at Fluance and Uturn if they sell in your area, it's all good. Competition at the <$1000 is very fierce, nobody on this list makes an outright bad product.
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Mar 3, 2021 21:04
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Also- I'm gonna throw in a plug for IOTAVX since you appear to be British, and they're a small UK company doing direct-to-consumer business. I think the only thing it doesn't also have built in is wireless/bluetooth, but again--you can choose from a bunch of external gear at this point. For ~$400 you get "only" 50 WPC which is still going to be plenty for your needs (also don't overthink the difference between like 50/65/85/100 WPC at your price point, a 100 WPC-boasting amp that costs $300 isn't really a huge positive in my book when thinking about what corners needed to be possibly cut to make that power rating vs, say, a 65 WPC amp at the same price, or even a more premium 65 WPC amp that costs 2 or 3 or 5x as much. Hegel makes 50 WPC amps that cost like four grand. Anyway if you still find it making too little power (doubtful, but maybe you upgrade your speakers to something super inefficient one day) it has a sibling power amp that stacks underneath it and plugs in, doubling the power to 100 WPC. They're both pretty narrow boxes so the stack looks quite smart and striking IMO. Definitely a bit more interesting and off the beaten path than going with Yamaha, Denon, etc. I believe they do home tryouts.
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Mar 3, 2021 21:28
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