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Audiophile GAF

Speaker grills on or off?
I keep my on when they do not play, but when I listen i keep them off - I've been doing that for 15 years and my brother thinks I'm crazy but I had a few speakers during those years and every single one sounded better to me with a grill off, I mean more trebles mids and whatnot. I think even if the cloth is sound transparent it can still absorb a bit of those frequencies- but hey, thats just me.

BTW the rare bass drivers are here -them ones I've hunted down 25/55/1 (25cm/55watts/1 ver).
Wh9eHH4.jpg
TurckRJ.jpg

The cone is rotting - but them magnets are bigger and in better shape than those on my 25/55/2 woofers and the coils are untouched. There are parts available so I will redo those woofers and I will use the original coils- with new cones I was hoping to not touch them.

Still I couldn't resist, chose the least rotting woofer, put it in the box... and well those things are monsters it was listed by the manufacturer in the 1987/1988 as 32hz drop capable woofer in the closed enclosure.



Blasted some Shingo Annen on those- and well, I've been blown out of the socks.



Shingo again.



Shingo + Potliquor



NF ZESSHO



A lot of mids too besides the drop - it's like a different woofer. Check the Jamiroquai rocking hard. The current revival of the brand did actually broken my woofers -didn't use proper coils in repairs. So my tech will redo all four of them with the proper coils. He actually shipping back all the Yamaha NS-670s drivers already- the repairs are finished, waiting for a delivery guy tomorrow :messenger_sunglasses:.




NF ZESSHO again. Man, those thing can pump.



Hmm. I'm feeling like I am spamming here - but the performance on this woofer...
 
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Day 5 with the Metrum Acoustics Jade.

What a thing. The Mystic Gohan of DACs.

An accurate depiction of the gap in performance from my previous DAC.

6eDRdV0.gif
I love the comparison, dude. DB always - too bad I can't add two reactions it would have been LOL + strength. I've been looking to upgrade sometime in the future my own DAC from Nuforce uDAC-3 to something more capable- heard a lot of good things about Schiit Audio stuff, too bad its like hard to get in Poland.
 
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Speaker grills on or off?
I keep my on when they do not play, but when I listen i keep them off - I've been doing that for 15 years and my brother thinks I'm crazy but I had a few speakers during those years and every single one sounded better to me with a grill off, I mean more trebles mids and whatnot. I think even if the cloth is sound transparent it can still absorb a bit of those frequencies- but hey, thats just me.
k1UDeKv.jpg

Also I didn't put grills on those extra vintage speakers - it was a thick but kinda oldschool cloth like on those oldschool Fenders for them guitars - that being said I thought it absorbs sound quite a bit.
Maaan, best trebles I have ever heard of those two regular tweeters it wasn't soft domes but man it was getting this hiss around the 14000-15000 Hz like those old gramophones but those had a hella lot of presence, like it had the best soundstage I have ever heard, period.

Those are extra vintage Polish speakers the date stamp is 1971, the woofers have cloth surrounds- and were made in collaboration with Japanese Pioneer...

Those two 16cm woofers in closed enclosure did wonders too, because of the depth of the enclosure - check out them boys
qUYQZnr.jpg

This is the rare AlNico version on rubber surrounds - I wanted this set instead of Yammies but my tech was strongly against it because it was expensive and surrounds looked like they could break apart at any moment and there isnt any spare parts for those woofers... And making the cast for those surrounds would cost me as much as 2x to 3x I spent on NS-670s - so I was kindly nudged in a different direction.
 
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I love the comparison, dude. DB always - too bad I can't add two reactions it would have been LOL + strength. I've been looking to upgrade sometime in the future my own DAC from Nuforce uDAC-3 to something more capable- heard a lot of good things about Schiit Audio stuff, too bad its like hard to get in Poland.
Schiit audio is also hard to come by in The Netherlands. I always regard American hi-fi gear as good bang for your buck. You could say the same for Chinese gear now but that's an entirely different topic.

I've been snuggly with a Fostex DAC in my audiophile grade system for seven years. I use the term audiophile because I used a budget DAC with a Primaluna stocked with Russian tubes. My speakers by Omega also cost roughly in the same ballpark.

In this time span of listening I could figure out what kind of music that I prefer and in the meantime create synergy between my gear. But to be honest most of the time it was changing the position of the speakers.

So yeah, you sometimes get lucky and sometimes it sounds off prompting you to interchange equipment to keep finding the sweet spot that you never knew existed. I did that until I made the big move and I can really appreciate the big and subtle differences now.

The next big change for me is moving everything to a bigger room. The soundstage absolutely massive and it's trying to escape my room.
 

BossLackey

Member
Been rocking a pair of DT 770s for the last few years on my PC, but looking to get a Schiit stack soon.

Then I can get some headphones in the $500 range and be done for like 5 years or so before upgrading.

How much of a difference can I expect with a beginner range DAC/AMP stack compared to running my headphones off my mobo (decent chipset, but still)?
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
Been rocking a pair of DT 770s for the last few years on my PC, but looking to get a Schiit stack soon.

Then I can get some headphones in the $500 range and be done for like 5 years or so before upgrading.

How much of a difference can I expect with a beginner range DAC/AMP stack compared to running my headphones off my mobo (decent chipset, but still)?
Depends on the mobo. They've gotten better over the years. I've got the modi & magni at my desk and both were a decent upgrade but the headphones were the biggest upgrade. I actually went with the DT 1990 Pros. They work well with the Schiit gear.
 

BossLackey

Member
Depends on the mobo. They've gotten better over the years. I've got the modi & magni at my desk and both were a decent upgrade but the headphones were the biggest upgrade. I actually went with the DT 1990 Pros. They work well with the Schiit gear.
Current mobo sounds great, but can't quite drive the 80 ohm headphones to the fullest. I'm really expecting the AMP to do a lot of work compared to my current setup, so the DAC may just be a small bump for signal quality.

I would love a pair of 1990s. Beyond (I'm sure) sounding great, I absolutely love the way they look (and I would like to try some open backs). However, I think I might go with another brand just to branch out a bit. I don't have the experienced ear that I'd like. I wish there was a place you could just listen to a ton of different headphones (besides a convention).
 
Been rocking a pair of DT 770s for the last few years on my PC, but looking to get a Schiit stack soon.

Then I can get some headphones in the $500 range and be done for like 5 years or so before upgrading.

How much of a difference can I expect with a beginner range DAC/AMP stack compared to running my headphones off my mobo (decent chipset, but still)?
Had DT 770s and man those are pretty weird headphones. Returned mine within 14 days no hassle. I found their soundstage extra artificial. I could easily overdrive them on my amp. Those are absolutely not the headphones I would go back to at all - but that's my opinion.

I absolutely love Ultrasone's though- those headphones drop as low as 10Hz, you can easily drive them with almost anything because of the low ohms. And they have natural soundstage because of S-logic patent which tries to imitate the soundstage of loudspeakers and they do that in a natural way, there's like a metal board with holes between the drivers and the ear pads, it pushes the sound to the back of your ears through your earlobes and then the sound goes into your ear canal, not before then so they get it so natural... I'm feeling like I'm putting on my loudspeakers on my head- Ultrasone Pro 900/Pro 900i are easily the best cans I have ever heard and those things pump up bass on any device. Monsters.



Ultrasone Pro 900 on Yammie A-960II, no ear pads. Driving them hard, couldn't overdrive them. The cam is like 50cm away with zoom and it still picked up bass- don't have the original uncompressed file unfortunately 😑. But, yeah, monsters is an understatement tbh... And soundstage after the warming up process- blows you away, they open up like crazy.
 
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Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
Current mobo sounds great, but can't quite drive the 80 ohm headphones to the fullest. I'm really expecting the AMP to do a lot of work compared to my current setup, so the DAC may just be a small bump for signal quality.

I would love a pair of 1990s. Beyond (I'm sure) sounding great, I absolutely love the way they look (and I would like to try some open backs). However, I think I might go with another brand just to branch out a bit. I don't have the experienced ear that I'd like. I wish there was a place you could just listen to a ton of different headphones (besides a convention).
Yes, amp should be a nice improvement then. I’d go with another brand too—not because of the headphones but because I’m just curious about different approaches and sounds.

I’ve never done much comparison on just a DAC so I have no opinion there.
 
Didn't know they have soundbars for PC gaming these days...

RAZER LEVIATHAN V2
iu


Creative Katana V2
Ka4.png


Wonder how good the sound quality is for the money. The Katana V2 has Super X-Fi tech that only works with certain Creative headphones.

hero-mobile-sxfi-theater.jpg
Looks like pure certified dog shit to me. Save up your money for a proper AVR, three front speakers, and a subwoofer. Don’t buy home theaters in a box. They invariably suck. Tiny speakers = tiny/narrow/distorted sound.
 

Ulysses 31

Member
Looks like pure certified dog shit to me. Save up your money for a proper AVR, three front speakers, and a subwoofer. Don’t buy home theaters in a box. They invariably suck. Tiny speakers = tiny/narrow/distorted sound.
Not my experience with soundbars when I compare them with higher end headphones like the Sennheiser HD 800 or Denon D9200.

What I posted is mainly for PC desktop speakers though and not theatre like movie watching, not even I am that hardcore to get an AVR just for my gaming rig. :messenger_winking:
 
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Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member

MoFi Records claimed its expensive reissues were purely analog reproductions. It had been deceiving its customer base for years.​


Mike Esposito still won’t say who gave him the tip about the records. But on July 14, he went public with an explosive claim.
In a sometimes halting video posted to the YouTube channel of his Phoenix record shop, the ‘In’ Groove, Esposito said that “pretty reliable sources” told him that MoFi (Mobile Fidelity), the Sebastopol, Calif., company that has prided itself on using original master tapes for its pricey reissues, had actually been using digital files in its production chain. In the world of audiophiles — where provenance is everything and the quest is to get as close to the sound of an album’s original recording as possible — digital is considered almost unholy. And using digital while claiming not to is the gravest sin a manufacturer can commit.
There was immediate pushback to Esposito’s video, including from some of the bigger names in the passionate audio community.
Shane Buettner, owner of Intervention Records, another company in the reissue business, defended MoFi on the popular message board moderated by mastering engineer Steve Hoffman. He remembered running into one of the company’s engineers at a recording studio working with a master tape. “I know their process and it’s legit,” he wrote. Michael Fremer, the dean of audiophile writing, was less measured. He slammed Esposito for irresponsibly spreading rumors and said his own unnamed source told him the record store owner was wrong. “Will speculative click bait YouTube videos claiming otherwise be taken down after reading this?” he tweeted.
But at MoFi’s headquarters in Sebastopol, John Wood knew the truth. The company’s executive vice president of product development felt crushed as he watched Esposito’s video. He has worked at the company for more than 26 years and, like most of his colleagues, championed its much lauded direct-from-master chain. Wood could hear the disappointment as Esposito, while delivering his report, also said that some of MoFi’s albums were among his favorites. So Wood picked up the phone, called Esposito and suggested he fly to California for a tour. It’s an invite he would later regret.
That visit resulted in a second video, published July 20, in which MoFi’s engineers confirmed, with a kind of awkward casualness, that Esposito was correct with his claims. The company that made its name on authenticity had been deceptive about its practices. The episode is part of a crisis MoFi now concedes was mishandled.
“It’s the biggest debacle I’ve ever seen in the vinyl realm,” says Kevin Gray, a mastering engineer who has not worked with MoFi but has produced reissues of everyone from John Coltrane to Marvin Gaye.
“They were completely deceitful,” says Richard Drutman, 50, a New York City filmmaker who has purchased more than 50 of MoFi’s albums over the years. “I never would have ordered a single Mobile Fidelity product if I had known it was sourced from a digital master.”
Record labels use digital files to make albums all the time: It’s been the industry norm for more than a decade. But a few specialty houses — the Kansas-based Analogue Productions, London’s Electric Recording Co. and MoFi among them — have long advocated for the warmth of analog.
“Not that you can’t make good records with digital, but it just isn’t as natural as when you use the original tape,” says Bernie Grundman, 78, the mastering engineer who worked on the original recordings of Steely Dan’s “Aja,” Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic.”
Mobile Fidelity and its parent company, Music Direct, were slow to respond to the revelation. But last week, the company began updating the sourcing information on its website and also agreed to its first interview, with The Washington Post. The company says it first used DSD, or Direct Stream Digital technology, on a 2011 reissue of Tony Bennett’s “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” By the end of 2011, 60 percent of its vinyl releases incorporated DSD. All but one of the reissues as part of its One-Step series, which include $125 box set editions of Santana, Carole King and the Eagles, have used that technology. Going forward, all MoFi cutting will incorporate DSD.
Syd Schwartz, Mobile Fidelity’s chief marketing officer, made an apology.
“Mobile Fidelity makes great records, the best-sounding records that you can buy,” he said. “There had been choices made over the years and choices in marketing that have led to confusion and anger and a lot of questions, and there were narratives that had been propagating for a while that were untrue or false or myths. We were wrong not to have addressed this sooner.”
Mastering engineer Brad Miller founded MoFi in 1977 to cater largely to audiophiles. The company boomed during the 1980s, but by 1999, with vinyl sales plummeting, the company declared bankruptcy. Jim Davis, owner of the Chicago-based Music Direct, a company that specializes in audio equipment, purchased the label and revived MoFi. During the recent vinyl resurgence (vinyl sales in 2021 hit their highest mark in 30 years), MoFi’s specialty releases sell out quickly and can be found on secondary markets at much higher prices.
Marketing has been a key element of the MoFi model. Most releases include a banner on the album cover proclaiming it the “Original Master Recording.” And every One-Step, which cut out parts of the production process to supposedly get closer to the original tape, includes a thick explainer sheet in which the company outlines in exacting detail how it creates its records. But there has been one very important item missing: any mention of a digital step.
The company has obscured the truth in other ways. MoFi employees have done interviews for years without mentioning digital. In 2020, Grant McLean, a Canadian customer, got into a debate with a friend about MoFi’s sourcing. McLean believed in the company and wrote to confirm that he was right. In a response he provided to The Post, a customer service representative wrote McLean that “there is no analog to digital conversion in our vinyl cutting process.”
Earlier this year, MoFi announced an upcoming reissue of Jackson’s 1982 smash “Thriller” as a One-Step. The news release said the original master tape would be used for the repressing, which would have a run of 40,000 copies. That’s a substantially bigger number than the usual for a One-Step, which is typically limited to between 3,500 and 7,500 copies.
Michael Ludwigs, a German record enthusiast with a YouTube channel, 45 RPM Audiophile, questioned how this could be possible. Because of the One-Step process, an original master tape would need to be run dozens of times to make that many records. Why would Sony Music Entertainment allow that?
“That’s the kind of thing that deteriorates tape,” says Grundman.
“That’s the one where I think everyone started going, ‘Huh?’” says Ryan K. Smith, a mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in Nashville.
The MoFi controversy has not just exposed tensions between rival record makers. It’s heightened a rift between Fremer and Esposito.
For decades, as LPs were replaced by CDs and iPods, Fremer, now 75, was a lonely voice pushing to keep them alive.
“Michael’s considered the guy, like the guru, so to speak,” says Dale Clark, 54, a photographer and longtime record collector in Ohio.
But Fremer, now a writer for the online magazine the Tracking Angle, has been bickering with Esposito for months. He was furious that MoFi invited Esposito to Sebastopol and wrote an email to Jim Davis on July 17 to protest.
“You have lost your minds,” Fremer wrote. “Mistakes happen that can be corrected. In this case you have chosen to elevate [an inexperienced non-journalist] to work your way out of a predicament instead of a seasoned journalist and I’m not referring necessarily to me. I could name a half dozen others.”
Esposito never claimed to be a journalist.
He’s a record geek who grew up in foster homes after his father was murdered when he was 11. (His mother, he says, has had drug and alcohol problems.) Over the years, Esposito, who didn’t finish high school, has sold sports collectibles and started a chain of mattress stores. In 2015, he opened the ‘In’ Groove in Phoenix. His regular videos, in which he unboxes reissues and ranks different pressings, have made him a popular YouTube presence with almost 40,000 subscribers. He says he felt he owed it to his customers to pursue the MoFi tip.
“I sell to the people I sell to because they trust me,” Esposito, 38, told The Post. “And if they don’t trust me, they can go anywhere else and buy those records.”
Esposito wants record companies to do a better job labeling recording sources. Some already do. Intervention and Analogue Productions provide details on records or their websites; so does Neil Young.
“The problem is ‘analog’ has become a hype word, and most people don’t know how records are made,” says Esposito. “And you can very factually say this record was sourced from the original analog master tape and you’re not lying. But that doesn’t disclose to the consumer what’s going on between the beginning of it and the final product.”
There were no ground rules laid out for Esposito’s July 19 visit. He paid his airfare, and Wood met him at the airport. In the car, Wood confirmed what Esposito had reported in his video.
“They didn’t come off to me as if they were trying to hide anything,” Esposito said.
At MoFi’s headquarters, Esposito looked at tapes and machinery the company uses to master its records. He also saw vintage packaging and advertising materials for past releases, including mock-ups for Beatles reissues. Then he took out his Panasonic camcorder and asked Wood if it was okay for him to set up and do an interview with the three mastering engineers he had met. No problem, they said.
The result is an hour-long conversation that is equally fascinating and confusing. Esposito is not a trained interviewer, and engineers Shawn Britton, Krieg Wunderlich and Rob LoVerde are not trained interviewees. At times, the conversation is stilted and meandering. There are also occasional moments of charm as they connect about their shared passion for music.
Whatever Esposito’s approach, there is no doubt that without him, MoFi’s process would have remained a secret. The engineers, who had stressed the use of tape and working “all analog” in the past, didn’t hesitate to reference the company’s embrace of Direct Stream Digital technology.
Davis, the owner, not only didn’t invite Esposito but also didn’t learn about the visit until after Wood had extended the invitation. He tried to get to Sebastopol for the tour but said that a long line at a rental car check-in left him arriving at MoFi headquarters only after Esposito was finished.
By then, the damage was done. Last week, Wood was asked whether he regretted the interview with the engineers. He broke down.
“I regret everything, man,” he said.
Davis also did not appreciate the interview. Music Direct’s stereo equipment business brings in revenue of more than $40 million a year, and MoFi earned about $9 million last year. But the record company has just a handful of full-time staffers and no crisis-management plan. He doesn’t blame the engineers for what happened
“I mean, it was not a well-thought-out plan,” says Davis. “Let’s put it that way.”
The fallout of the MoFi revelation has thrown the audiophile community into something of an existential crisis. The quality of digitized music has long been criticized because of how much data was stripped out of files so MP3s could fit on mobile devices. But these days, with the right equipment, digital recordings can be so good they can fool even the best ears. Many of MoFi’s now-exposed records were on Fremer and Esposito’s own lists of the best sounding analog albums.
Jamie Howarth, whose Plangent Processes uses digital technology to restore sound and whose work has earned praise for Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen reissues, wishes MoFi had come clean years ago and proudly told its customers that their prized records sounded best because of the digital step. He understands why it didn’t. It was terrified of being attacked by analog-or-bust audiophiles.
“One of the reasons they want to excoriate MoFi is for lying,” says Howarth. “The other part that bothers them is that they’ve been listening to digital all along and they’re highly invested in believing that any digital step will destroy their experience. And they’re wrong.”
Wood says that MoFi decided to add DSD not for convenience but because its engineers felt they could help improve their records. He remembers hearing MoFi’s reissue of Santana’s “Abraxas” in 2016. “My mind was blown when we got the test pressings back,” he said.
Wood says MoFi takes great care in capturing the digital file. It won’t simply accept a link from a record company. If a master tape can’t be couriered to Sebastopol, MoFi will send engineers with their equipment to capture it. Having a file allows them to tinker with the recordings if they’re not pleased with a test pressing and make another. He says he is disappointed in himself for not being upfront but that, from here on out, MoFi will properly label its recordings. A revised One-Step card has already been crafted for upcoming releases featuring Van Halen, Cannonball Adderley and the Eagles.
And Randy Braun, a music lover, Hoffman message board member and lawyer in New York, hopes that, in the end, the MoFi revelation will prove what he’s been saying for years, that the anti-digital crowd has been lying to itself: “These people who claim they have golden ears and can hear the difference between analog and digital, well, it turns out you couldn’t.”



I've never bought a MoFi record before so I don't have an opinion on their record quality but it is quite shitty to deceive your customers. I think digital can have a cleaner, more pristine sound and I honestly don't mind it at all. Vinyl for me has never been solely about the quality of the sound. I've lamented before that quality of records can vary greatly, especially on newer albums.

Overall, I do think he digital and analog worlds are both incredibly enjoyable when the recording, mixing, and mastering are done well. There is a certain appeal to some of the old recordings on vinyl, which is a sound that is not really replicated in today's industry.

Anyway, if something sounds better to you, then just enjoy it and remember marketing is mostly bullshit no matter the item being advertised.
 

Ulysses 31

Member
So I got this for desktop speakers(replaced the Creative Carrier I used before) and I'm very pleasantly surprised how well they sound and how loud it can get without any distortion. It's not audiophile quality of course.

iu


Where it does reach audiophile quality (IMO) is when you use high-end headphones like the Denon D9200 or Sennheiser HD 800. This thing can drive those better than the Creative AE-9 I was using before without having to mess with impedance settings.
 

teezzy

Banned
After a decade of service... seems like my Yamaha HTR 3065 has bit the bullet.

They were messing around with the power lines outside and welp, now this won't turn back on

Looks like it's time for me to upgrade...


Thinking Yamaha RX V385 might be my new unit of choice, but the Sony STR DH590 seems comparable.

Hmmmm 🤔
 

Reallink

Member
After a decade of service... seems like my Yamaha HTR 3065 has bit the bullet.

They were messing around with the power lines outside and welp, now this won't turn back on

Looks like it's time for me to upgrade...


Thinking Yamaha RX V385 might be my new unit of choice, but the Sony STR DH590 seems comparable.

Hmmmm 🤔

FWIW, the official refurbished Denon X1600H with the full 3 year warranty is only $50 more. Definitely a step up from that Yammy and Sony, much better calibration suite, more features, and likely a better AMP and DAC section based on bench tests of the other X-600H series.
 
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Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
I'm sticking with Yamaha
My old receiver was a Yamaha. I got it used. It worked okay but the remote was broken on some buttons, including the volume. When I switched to the Marantz I have now, I was a bit surprised how different the sound was on my speakers.
 

MoFi Records claimed its expensive reissues were purely analog reproductions. It had been deceiving its customer base for years.​






I've never bought a MoFi record before so I don't have an opinion on their record quality but it is quite shitty to deceive your customers. I think digital can have a cleaner, more pristine sound and I honestly don't mind it at all. Vinyl for me has never been solely about the quality of the sound. I've lamented before that quality of records can vary greatly, especially on newer albums.

Overall, I do think he digital and analog worlds are both incredibly enjoyable when the recording, mixing, and mastering are done well. There is a certain appeal to some of the old recordings on vinyl, which is a sound that is not really replicated in today's industry.

Anyway, if something sounds better to you, then just enjoy it and remember marketing is mostly bullshit no matter the item being advertised.
I too have never bought a mofi record. I mostly buy old pressings. Dutch/Netherlands/Holland old pressings are extra high quality and unexpensive. My hidden gems. I recommend to try those.
 
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Some Holland pressings:



Bob Marley



Ippu-Do - I scored this in Poland. Not on discogs. Sounds jaw dropping. Was surprised it was Dutch pressing.. I was so sure it was Japanese.

Masami Tsuchiya from Ippu-Do was in Japan along with Mick Karn for a while- so you can hear the influence, I guess.

I think some of them beat their FLAC files on Apple Music and Tidal.

I also have 10cc and some old James Brown records like Hot and Jam 1980s which are USA pressings and those are too extra good. Better than Masters available on Tidal, that's for sure... That or my Nagaoka MP-110 cart is just so good :messenger_grinning_sweat:.

Was thinking about scoring some Shure Hi-track cartridge too, those are apparently really good with proper stylus and have good compliance with Dual turntable arms- those were mounted stock on vintage Dual tts by the manufacturer ->
index.php


And I have a correction to make, my Miharu Koshi record is German pressing, I got it mixed up. I have yet still to hunt down the Parallesime record thou.



So good :messenger_loudly_crying:. Produced by Haruomi Hosono, 1984 track.
 
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teezzy

Banned
Hmmm this AVR sounds good right out the box

I'm probably a fake audiophile or something because I didn't even use the YPAO equalizer thing

Not sure if I ever even did that with my last Yamaha

I should figure out how to run wires for my surround speakers... through the walls? Under the floor boards? I've never quite known how to handle this sorta thing... used to hide em under a rug. I no longer have that rug

Maiden Voyage Maiden Voyage get your booty in here 🤓
 
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teezzy

Banned
Amphony Wireless Speaker Kit with two Wireless Amplifiers (New Model), Makes Surround Speakers Wireless, 2x80 Watts, 300ft range, Connect to any Audio Source, Better-than Bluetooth Digital Wireless https://a.co/d/csL0DLd

Hmmmm....might be the best solution for my Polk R10s
 
Hmmm this AVR sounds good right out the box

I'm probably a fake audiophile or something because I didn't even use the YPAO equalizer thing

Not sure if I ever even did that with my last Yamaha

I should figure out how to run wires for my surround speakers... through the walls? Under the floor boards? I've never quite known how to handle this sorta thing... used to hide em under a rug. I no longer have that rug

Maiden Voyage Maiden Voyage get your booty in here 🤓
If your avr does multipoint ypao, you should definitely try that and and see if you like it better. Even if you have single point ypao, it’s worth doing in my opinion. For wiring, I run my surround and overhead speakers above my since I have drop ceiling tiles. If you don’t have that, I would advise running the wiring along the floorboards.
 

teezzy

Banned
If your avr does multipoint ypao, you should definitely try that and and see if you like it better. Even if you have single point ypao, it’s worth doing in my opinion. For wiring, I run my surround and overhead speakers above my since I have drop ceiling tiles. If you don’t have that, I would advise running the wiring along the floorboards.

What is it exactly?
 

marquimvfs

Member
I'm not an audiophile, but I enjoy good quality music. Can you guys recommend me some beginner gear to enjoy using a pc? I live in Brazil, so the equipment must be available here. I'm also interested in buy the cheapest possible equipment, obviously not anything that will impact in sound performance. Thanks in advance
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
I'm not an audiophile, but I enjoy good quality music. Can you guys recommend me some beginner gear to enjoy using a pc? I live in Brazil, so the equipment must be available here. I'm also interested in buy the cheapest possible equipment, obviously not anything that will impact in sound performance. Thanks in advance
Don't you guys tax the living hell out of anything not at least partially worked on within the country? If so, budget will be really important.
 

teezzy

Banned
interested in buy the cheapest possible equipment

The cheapest equipment is what you already own. If thats not enough see what you can find second hand. Ask friends, relatives, thrift/pawn shops, etc

Don't be afraid of old gear. Most people would be shocked how little speaker design has changed over the decades

You get the most bang for your buck with old stuff
 

teezzy

Banned
81Qjy8zce4L._AC_SX425_.jpg


Really can't overstate the amount of love I have for the W-King D10

After a month's usage, I'd feel comfortable stating that I've really run it through the ringer with all genres and even podcasts. Thing never fails to deliver.

There's two equalizer settings. One with a much more commanding low end, and another which accents the tweeters. Between the two, this speaker will handle anything you throw at it.

The W-King D10 absolutely punches above its weight class and can easily hold its own against any JBL or Sony which cost twice as much. For $120... man, I can't recommend this enough
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
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Really can't overstate the amount of love I have for the W-King D10

After a month's usage, I'd feel comfortable stating that I've really run it through the ringer with all genres and even podcasts. Thing never fails to deliver.

There's two equalizer settings. One with a much more commanding low end, and another which accents the tweeters. Between the two, this speaker will handle anything you throw at it.

The W-King D10 absolutely punches above its weight class and can easily hold its own against any JBL or Sony which cost twice as much. For $120... man, I can't recommend this enough
Part of it, for me, is also the visual of the system. This does not spark joy, it makes me think of edgy teenagers.
 

marquimvfs

Member
The cheapest equipment is what you already own. If thats not enough see what you can find second hand. Ask friends, relatives, thrift/pawn shops, etc

Don't be afraid of old gear. Most people would be shocked how little speaker design has changed over the decades

You get the most bang for your buck with old stuff
Thanks for the advice, but I'm not afraid of second hand gear. I'm having some problem with my headphones right now, that's the reason for the subtle upgrade. I have an old late 80's/early 90's Gradiente receiver below my second monitor just to drive my headphones, without any speakers connected. My headphone is a Sony mdr-zx110, it sounded reasonably good when connected to the receiver, but very silent connected in everything else, and i always thought they were a little uncomfortable. So, given the decent enough receiver, I'm looking for some speaker and headphones recommendations. I also have some problems with noise coming from the motherboard, given the fact that I'm using the onboard analog conector. I guess I need a DAC or an offboard sound card. My primary source of music are my physical CDs and Deezer, I don't rip or download everything to my computer anymore. I also game on the same machine.
 
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Reallink

Member
It uses your ypao mic to take 8 different measurements at different spots. Your avr would tell you if it does it or not when your select multi point ypao or single point.
He mentioned the RX-385, which is believe has the lowest tier YPAO. Think it's single point measurement with no R.S.C. Probably won't do much in terms of frequency response correction, but still very useful for setting the channel levels and distances.

Hmmm this AVR sounds good right out the box

I'm probably a fake audiophile or something because I didn't even use the YPAO equalizer thing

Not sure if I ever even did that with my last Yamaha

I should figure out how to run wires for my surround speakers... through the walls? Under the floor boards? I've never quite known how to handle this sorta thing... used to hide em under a rug. I no longer have that rug

Maiden Voyage Maiden Voyage get your booty in here 🤓

The equalization part of it may or may not be better (you should be able to toggle on or off after the fact), but you definitely want to run it to set the speaker distances and level match all the channels. For wiring your rears, you may be able to jam a thinner gauge up under your baseboards if it's carpeted without quarter round. Excepting that, they also make nearly flat speaker cable that sticks to the wall (or presumably baseboards) for painting.
 
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Currently have an Onkyo TX-NR696 receiver with 7 Polk Signature Series speakers. Sub is a Klipsch Reference R-10SW that makes me glad I didn't go with 12" because it's overkill and I can't do its full potential living in town. Learned that when the cops banged on my door one night.

For headphones just a Bose QC35 that I use with a DAC to make them louder. Not big on wearing headphones though.

 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
Currently have an Onkyo TX-NR696 receiver with 7 Polk Signature Series speakers. Sub is a Klipsch Reference R-10SW that makes me glad I didn't go with 12" because it's overkill and I can't do its full potential living in town. Learned that when the cops banged on my door one night.

For headphones just a Bose QC35 that I use with a DAC to make them louder. Not big on wearing headphones though.
Lamo at the cops thing. I've got a massive sub I got on the cheap. My only real next upgrade would be there for probably the next 10 years. I'd love a little sub at my desk too but I'm not willing to spend money on that any time soon.

The DAC itself won't amplify the sound.
 
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