It has been pointed out to me by some posters here, that generally higher-end speakers are not so forgiving with poorly recorded music much of what seems to be 70 - 80's era rock.
Room treatments aside (and without cutting holes in my walls to vent my speakers outside as some have suggested). I am looking for some advice from others about what speakers have worked well with this situation?
Currently running
Roon Nucleus through a W4S 2v2SE Dac tethered to CODA CSiB V1 configuration
(150 w @ 8 ohm)
integrated amp.
$3,000 ceiling, give or take.
Second question: Is there a decent quality speaker switch that I could hook up to my amp to simply toggle between two sets of speakers? My amp has 2 speaker outputs on the back but no A/B switch to change from one set of speakers to the other.
I see there inexpensive switches offered that have limited power ratings (eg: 100 watts per channel). Are these sufficient for doing the job? Will these switches have a negative effect on sound quality? Thanks.
How about just using tone controls? That is enough.
If you have Roon, you can create different DSP presets, and switch back and forth.
Of course, there are audiophiles who love having different speakers and love them for different reasons, I'm just offering you advice you are free to ignore.
Thank you for your suggestion Eric I'm unsure about DSP and how it works, let alone how to create "Presets" I struggle enough these days with all the newer technology.
At one time I ordered a USB mic and downloaded Roon EQ Wizard. I couldn't make hide nor hair out of it. I returned the Mic...
You don't need to get that fancy. You can use Roon as basic tone controls too. :)
Right click on the output device (lower right on Roon), select DSP, and then click on Parametric EQ. The first and last dots are the shelving EQ, those act pretty much like tone controls. Set the lower one around 100 Hz, the upper around 5 kHz, then adjust up and down to taste.
From a usability perspective though, you might like the Schiit Loki. I mean, you can do it all with Roon for $0, but if you want hands on tone controls and don't have them, this will work:
Full disclosure: That's an associate link I will make a dollar or two if you use that link. Personally I'd use Roon but Loki has plenty of fans here. :)
Garbage in, garbage out; a high resolution system only demonstrates the quality of the source. As always, all systems, not just audio, are only as good as their weakest link.
The root of the issue is twofold and has a basis not in garbage but practical economics... much of the music you speak of was oriented to radio and particular low power factory radio with not much bass and not much power for bass, hence not so much bass in the recordings, but many home stereos of the time, consoles,, receivers etc had tone and loudness controls and somewhat more power. Turntables of this period, mass market had lousy bass tracking ability, another reason to cut bass. get some tone controls and move on. McIntosh makes some very well made and engineered preamps with tone controls
Finally, have a bit of time to play with Roon, so by the "Lower One" you refer to in the Parametric EQ, that would be "Q" so set that to 5. Then the "Upper One" the "Frequency" at 100. How about the middle one "Gain" where do you suggest this to be set? Before bugging you I did Google this, but not a lot of information on this so it seems. Thanks for the suggestion & the help! Paul
What I mean by lower and higher is the first and last band. Each band has a frequency, a Q and an amplitude (db). The graph identifies each band by a dot, which you can click and drag. You can also select the band by the drop down menu just below the chart.
When you first see the Parametric EQ, the lower (Band 1) is a shelving filter. Leave the Q for the shelving filters at 1. Set the first filter to a Frequency around 100 Hz to 200 Hz. That will be your bass knob. Adjust it’s effects by changing the gain.
Band 5 I think is the other default shelving filter. Use it to be your treble knob. Same idea, set the Frequency to say 3-5 kHz, leave the Q at 1, and adjust the effect by varying the Gain.
Eric, I see you also recommend Monitor Audio speakers frequently (do you work for Audio Advisor?) What're your thoughts on their Gold 200 model for my aforementioned set-up?
Hey! No, I've never worked in home audio. I used to work in motion picture sound though. :) Now I work in cloud based IT.
I like Monitor Audio because they are neutral and laid back and a good value. I had the Silver 6, now have a pair of slim lines in my bedroom. My personal speakers are custom made, and if you have followed any of my blog postings you'd see links to them and their design.
Here's a good article on how the Loki works, it may help you understand what the you are doing with Roon:
I also recommend custom speakers from Fritz a lot. :) I’ve met him, and we chat on the phone, but I have no financial interest in his company. Not even a beer.
We just both like the same parts, and I find he's undercharging for his speakers a great deal, so we hit it off.
Buy a decent subwoofer, I prefer a sealed enclosure like the SVS line starting with SB. I think the 2000 series is on sale now. You can turn it on and off as needed. I also have bought some used that work great for music like the older Yamaha YST line. I have two subs in my system to cover those lower frequencies better. Try this, I swear it will change your life. I even added an older Bose passive sub on my second system. I know Bose is a four letter word, but it worked great to round out some small bookshelves speakers.
Thanks hshifi, Oddly enough I was running a pair of Goldenear ForceField 4 (10") subs which I sold. It seems, at least for 2 channel listen, my Martin Logan Spires with a frequency response of
29–23,000 Hz ±3dB along with the 10" woofer already on board, produced more than sufficient base. I am considering downsizing to either bookshelf or smaller floor stander which may lead me back to subs?
Theoretically anything added is a detrimant to SQ. EQ and switches ,feedback etc.. I have a 5 way in the shed and it sounds fine there. You can get a cheap one that’s good enough to AB speakers. If you blast them it might not handle it. Since each pair will have their own cables just terminate with banana plugs for quick change once you settle.
I agree that with that genre your best and most cost-effective way to polish the turd is to use some form of EQ rather than trying to find equipment that somehow colors crappy recordings to make them sound good. The other benefit is that when you find the rare 70s-80s rock album that’s well recorded — SRV’s Couldn’t Stand the Weather comes to mind — you can bypass the EQ and listen to it on its own merits. And I agree MA makes some solid all-around speakers if their sound appeals to you. I’d also throw out that LSA is selling their new speakers at a big discount (and sometimes with good speaker cables included) here on A’gon and offer a 30-day trial that is very helpful — their 20 Signatures in particular may be worth a look in your case. Best of luck.
Hey, thanks soix. Those LSA’s Look very interesting. I see you promote them a lot. Have you heard them yourself? And just curious, is there any affiliation here?
No affiliation, and I don’t promote anything here but rather just recommend products I truly believe are worth consideration by an OP. I haven’t heard the new LSA speakers but am very impressed with the two respected guys who designed them from a clean sheet and that they reportedly targeted the Joseph Audio Pulsars and Perspectives — speakers I hold in very high regard — as a performance bogey but wanted to achieve that level of performance at a much more approachable price. From the initial reviews I’ve read it seems they may have largely succeeded, which is why I recommend them and would strongly consider them myself if I was in the market for speakers. That you can try them at home IMO is a huge plus. Hope that answers your question.
Hey Soix, the JA Pulsars really do seem to stand out as a superior product, but as you suggest, a little pricey to say the least. The Statement's do look interesting though. I was wondering if you were aware of this product at all: http://bacheaudio.com/products/ His Tribeca-001's seem to have some good reviews (the white one, second picture down). Supposedly he is going to change the Dayton woofers for Eton Symphony's which is suppose to offer a huge SQ improvement?
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