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unknown posted:Anyone know of a good and reasonably priced 2.0 stereo amplifier/receiver? I'm splitting up my old 5.1 system and looking to put the old main speakers (Floor standing Energy speakers from 20 years ago that sound amazingly crisp) on the computer in a different room. So really don't need anything other than a simple amp/volume control... For what value of "reasonably priced?" There's Chinese tripath amps for $50, cheap receivers on ac4l for $150 or full featured stuff like the NAD D3020 for $400
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Sep 11, 2015 18:45
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 09:50 |
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A Good Dad. Seriously, that's a really nice system. I demoed those speakers a while back and they're pretty drat good. Now you just need a sub 
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Sep 14, 2015 18:49
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I know the average American has a open plan living room with a 30' vaulted ceiling but I don't really get how multiple subs became such a thing. I have a moderately large living room and my one small 10" sealed sub rattles the windows
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Sep 14, 2015 21:37
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I was going to joke about those speakers being the cheapest thing I've ever seen but it turns out they have an $80 set as well 
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Sep 16, 2015 21:48
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If that's all the budget you have maybe take a good browse through your local craigslist, I'm trying not to be too snotty but I don't think Audessey should be a major concern at that level of equipment.
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Sep 16, 2015 22:35
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The Andrew Jones ELAC speakers are out now, and apparently people really like them. The sweet spot seems to be the $279/pair B6 bookshelf. The only real downside I see to them is no mounting hardware for surround channels and they might be a little hard to drive at 87dB down to 6 ohms but people from fancy audiophile websites have been raving about them for months so they might be worth a look. The subwoofers don't look like anything special for the price though.
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Nov 12, 2015 20:43
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You wouldn't really get echoing from speakers being bad, it must be higher up the chain than that.
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Dec 1, 2015 00:43
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GobiasIndustries posted:Hmm, interesting; the sound from movies comes out perfectly from the Klipsch set he's got plugged into the audio out on his motherboard so I just assumed it was the speakers fault. Would the first place to troubleshoot that be a Windows setting or someplace in the receiver settings? I know exactly crap-all about Windows audio so I can't help you there but keep in mind speakers are a passive device, they only do what they're told to. I suspect the problem starts at the somputer though since it's rare for receivers to screw up something like that unless you have a sound field set to "stadium" or something like that on the receiver. ssjonizuka posted:I actually have a buddy potentially offloading the following: a pair of Energy Veritas V-6.3 tower speakers and a matching V-5.2c center channel speaker in piano black.
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Dec 4, 2015 21:15
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Those aren't the most sensitive speakers so that amp isn't really doing you any favors.
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Dec 5, 2015 18:20
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I love my Sonos for music but I wouldn't bother building a surround system with it. The playbar and sub alone is $1400.
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Dec 19, 2015 01:20
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KillHour posted:I can't speak to that issue in particular, but in my experience, Onkyo has fantastic customer support and will replace failed hardware even outside of warranty. I would have no reservations buying from them. There was a point several years ago when that "fantastic" customer support was a single guy and you had to catch him when he was at his desk.
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Jan 7, 2016 02:16
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Goetta posted:Yeah I'm starting to talk myself into replacing the speakers with that I think Most dedicated amps will cost the same as a surround receiver since audio-only stuff is now "specialty" gear. What's your budget?
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Jan 12, 2016 20:07
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KozmoNaut posted:Elac is coming out with a new series of Andrew Jones-designed speakers, positioned above the Debut series. There's a UB5 bookshelf ($500), a EF5 floorstander ($1000) and a UC5 centre channel (price TBD). There will probably be a subwoofer at some point, too. I like the idea of coaxial speakers, I might check these out. It's cool to see how enthusiastic Jones sounds about his work.
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Jan 15, 2016 22:10
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Do you mean "simplest" as "easiest to use" or "fewest components?" There's a big difference between the two.
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Jan 15, 2016 23:12
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jonathan posted:I've watched sitcoms where someone somehow introduced a mammoth amount of 20hz bass drone and likely had no idea because the mix was done on normal studio monitors or introduced downwind in the chain.
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Jan 22, 2016 17:25
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A center channel speaker isn't a magic solution for a lovely mix, some movies just aren't done well.
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Feb 2, 2016 17:44
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The UB5s are 4 ohm speakers which can be pretty iffy on most lower-end receivers.
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Feb 19, 2016 08:46
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The NHTs are good speakers, they'll be a lot more forgiving as far as placement without a rear-firing port.
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Feb 25, 2016 00:41
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I wouldn't be surprised if Onkyo bought Pioneer Electronics specifically to get over the "Onkyo receivers all die" reputation. My receiver is getting a little old but still running like a champ and unlike a disturbing number of modern receivers the HDMI-CEC seems to actually work. The consolidation and number of features most manufacturers are cramming into modern affordable receivers is definitely above their level so reliably support in software and since the market is shrinking I don't think anything under $500 is going to be very reliable. I think when I get a new one I'm going to look for a deal on a higher-end one like another Sony ES or a refurb NAD/Cambridge Audio. That or if WiSA speakers actually take off I'll probably look into that.
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Mar 8, 2016 21:14
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aunt jemima posted:The Sumiko S.0 is designed for exactly this use case, sounds (and looks) great, and runs $500 new. There's the REL T-Zero for that much as well but if it was my $500 I'd just get a SB-1000 and deal with the extra cubic inches. There's nothing wrong with running a more capable sub at 2/10 volume.
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Mar 11, 2016 18:50
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KillHour posted:Also, it was still less than half the cost of the B&W. I still kinda want to take them back and exchange, though. Have you heard the new 685/686? Not as pricey as the CM1. If it was me I'd probably just wait a few months and save up for what I really wanted.
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Apr 4, 2016 19:01
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I just noticed what looks like a good deal, the Cambridge Audio Aero series is on closeout on Audio Advisor, including what looks like a pretty capable subwoofer for $400. I've not heard these but I've read some very complimentary reviews.
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May 9, 2016 18:30
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Hashtag Banterzone posted:Nevermind, my HTPC is just a tiny bit too big as well, so I'm returning the media center instead. This is like the #1 problem with most stands, they're designed to hold a cable box and maybe a game console, things like receivers [and all the associated cabling] probably don't even enter their minds while designing them.
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Jun 2, 2016 18:21
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BigFactory posted:You can probably get an ugly Aiwa from the 90s on eBay for $20. I'm probably being generous by guessing those ubiqiutous dorm stereos have 10%THD.
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Jul 4, 2016 19:05
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ShaneB posted:I'm looking at getting about 2k or so of equipment for my office, in the form of active speakers and a DAC. Around a PC, should I care about balanced connections, or are traditional fine? I figure if it's not excluding great gear balanced seems more fool-proof. Most decent active speakers will have a good DAC anyway, I'm thinking of stuff like the KEF X300 or Audioengine HD6. That said I'm not a believer that a super fancy DAC will do much more than a cheapish one. If I had that budget I'd probably do something like a NAD 3020 and KEF LS50. It sounds like you're thinking about high-end studio monitors, in an office you're not really going to need to worry about balanced vs. unbalanced.
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Aug 17, 2016 19:38
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ShaneB posted:I'm looking at the Dynaudio X14a, to be precise. Ah, so you need a DAC/preamp with volume control. The NAD 1050 or Cambridge DACMagic Plus have balanced and normal outputs.
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Aug 17, 2016 22:45
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A lot of people have their center cranked up a few dB, and honestly the mixing on a lot of movies and TV is bad and no amount of equipment can fix it. Newer encoding formats like AC4 have a dedicated dialog track but we're not there yet. Plus a lot of content is mixed down to stereo anyway. Basically a center channel isn't going to completely solve the problem.
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Oct 14, 2016 03:50
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If you're willing to spend some cash a Sonos Connect will do that plus it's designed to play well with local/NAS storage instead of being an afterthought. Sonos supports all the major streaming services too.
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Oct 15, 2016 08:14
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Mr. Crow posted:Also this is obviously a personal thing but any recommendations on a home theater stand? I've had this little awkward glass that's too small for my TV for years and I need to get a properly fitted one, preferably with center speaker space with my TV sitting on top. I've had a Salamander Designs Synergy twin 20 for years and really like it. They get pricey once you start adding accessories but they're well made and super adjustable. Different price bracket than IKEA and the like though a twin with space for a speaker is $700 and a triple 20 is around $950.
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Dec 1, 2016 17:56
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SpeedFreek posted:I have mostly vintage equipment, I know how inflated the ratings of newer products are. Why I'm here is to ask if anyone has any experience or knowledge on what I should be looking for or if I should just make the plunge and get separates.
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Dec 5, 2016 18:36
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sink posted:Hi! Any advice is greatly appreciated: I'm looking to buy a set of 2 bookshelf speakers and a receiver for listening to music and the occasional podcast only. My budget is around $2000. For 2 grand you've got a ton of options, for your needs a speaker with around a 6" driver will probably work nicely. As far as the streaming part that's where it gets complicated. When you said 98% Spotify I was thinking of a Sonos Connect or Connect Amp since you would just need that and speakers but your "must work with weird linux things" requirement makes it more difficult. Most stuff like Sonos or DTS Play-fi support [most other audio manufacturers] support Spotify fine, are good at local/NAS storage and have good file type support but aren't great with "here's a stream" when it's not from an established service. You might need to do some research on that. Your scenario is kid of what the current crop of streaming speakers is specifically for, like 2 Sonos Play 5s or 2 Play 3s and the sub, the Naim mu-so, etc. are in that range and would be super convenient for your 98% spotify use since there's no need for extra electronics or worrying about running speaker wire. If you want to do separate components it's probably best to just get a decent receiver [anything over a couple hundred will probably sound fine] and an outboard streaming box, the companies that make receivers are really bad about updating old models for any reason. The Sonos connect, Bluesound Node 2 or if you want to go full homebrew the Opensqueeze Solo spring to mind. You could always thrown on a chromecast for spotify. Some bookshelf speakers to look at: KEF Q100/Q300 Dali Zensor 1/3 B&W 685/686 Ascend Acoustics Sierra 1 Aperion Verus bookshelf
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Dec 20, 2016 20:07
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How do you like the Zensors for non-test-tone signals?
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Jan 24, 2017 20:20
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CEC can work great, I have a 2009 Sony receiver and it works perfectly with my PS4, TV, Apple TV and Blu Ray player [but not my Tivo but that's because they're idiots]. I think it's completely stupid that the current Harmony has a 3 source buttons vs. 6 smart home control buttons, I know you can remap/long-press stuff but it's still not a good solution for something pitching itself specifically to control a lot of devices.
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Jan 26, 2017 23:45
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KozmoNaut posted:They claim it's tuned to match smaller ported speakers, but A) not all speakers have the same woofer/port tuning, and B) I think it's meant solely to wow gullibe reviewers and users with how much "fuller" the sound from the Sprout is, when compared with other amps. I've always suspected that a lot of the sound differences in amps was down to purposeful tuning by the manufacturers.
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Feb 2, 2017 21:03
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Sonos is not for surround sound. Sure it'll support it but that's not what it was designed for. You're better off getting an actual system and plugging a Connect box into it.
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Apr 11, 2017 22:47
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Fog Tripper posted:It is designed to be wireless speakers that transmit WiFi audio. They already are smart enough to be set up as separate stereo channels and frequency when a sub is added. At the very least Connect should be able to tell it what surround channels and frequencies to transmit as the soundbar does. The only reasoning I have heard that soundbar can tell the other speakers how to do 5.1 (or 7.1 for that matter) and not the Connect is business model. Keeping 2 channels in sync over a wireless connection is a lot easier than 5 or 7. If you absolutely must have wireless surround sound that's what WiSA is for although actual hardware seems to be trickling out very slowly. The jump to Atmos/DTS-X in the high end of the market took the wind out of their sails I think. Sonos is clearly not interested in making a real surround processor, they just released hardware that only has an optical input in 2017. They definitely could but they're probably not going to. I just wish they would do something to allow integration into home theater without using a Connect box like a $50-100 Apple TV app that only works if you already have other Sonos hardware or licensing compatibility to a receiver brand or something.
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Apr 12, 2017 17:23
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Fog Tripper posted:The sad thing is, the receiver I use with my Connect does up to 7.1. The theater I am setting up will be wired and my Sonos speakers are pretty much just for music in the other various rooms.
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Apr 13, 2017 15:46
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If I was going to build a 2 channel system I'd probably look at the NAD C338 or Cambridge Audio SR20. Those TEAC things are in my opinion severely overpriced. Speaking of which if I was really going to push the boat out I'd get a Naim Uniti Star but that's only if I got a giant surprise bonus at work or something.
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Apr 25, 2017 16:35
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BigFactory posted:I wonder if NAD realizes that putting an all black unit on an all black background isn't the best way to market their product. I had to tilt my monitor just to see the thing. Their name means "testicle" to a good portion of the English-speaking world, marketing is obviously not their strong suit. I've found that Crutchfield had the best product photos especially compared to manufacturer websites.
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Apr 25, 2017 22:22
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 09:50 |
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Sonos has announced partnerships with Amazon for Alexa support but nobody's really played with it yet. It's supposed to be in beta soon but their product development cycle isn't exactly the quickest. Assuming it works OK you could replace the kitchen and sitting room setups with that, Sonos can find FLACs on a server and play Pandora just fine.
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May 17, 2017 22:20
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