And crazy.
Feel like I'm outta my mind....
Been through this forum, and don’t know where to start. Y’all are a pretty wild bunch!
Looking to go to a 2.2 setup, but have no idea where to begin. Haven’t seen anyone review speakers wholly, or in their entirety so far.
Old guy; ears are about 85-90% from the grinders and diesels.....LOVE the feel of sound - hence 2.2. Current dealio is dual 10" drivers and a 1" silk dome in each tower (no-name, about 275WPC on 8 ohm), and a 100W 10" front-firing sub. Missing lots of vocals though...... Looking for a full, rich-sounding set, or set(s) of towers.
Power is available through twin Carver M400a’s at 500WPC, and twin Carver M400t’s. Would love to have dual, and responsive subs to cover the low bits - let the ’a’’s handle the mids, and the t’s can get up high. Pretty sure I have the power to bi-amp on 20A breakers.....(electrician - (NOT electronics-guy!), amongst better things.) Source is usually CD, from the few thousands lying about here...
KEF Q950?? Polk R700?? Monitor 300?? SVS Pinnacle? Paradigm Premier? Monitor?
Any generalities that can start pointing me in a decent direction? Budget is simply....."let’s not get stupid...."
Metal is priority. Rock second, opera third, classical fourth. Just lookin’ for thoughts. Anything to start some ideas......
33 responses Add your response
I’d go for these highly-regarded Monitor Audio Silver 300 7G towers and a pair of SVS SB1000 Pro subs that at only 13” square will still get you down to an honest 20Hz (-3dB), includes very helpful integration software and offer a 45 day, risk-free trial including shipping both ways. Best of luck. |
+1 @soix. Have Monitor Audios in a second system. They will play LOUD, CLEAN, and DEEP. |
Welcome. I’m an old guy as well. But have been actively improving my system for fifty years. Choosing the right speakers is non-trivial. But from what you have said, my first impression is definitively B&W speakers driven by MacIntosh electronics. The combination supports driving sound and bass that hits you in the chest. Spend as much as you can. But go to a dealer and listen.
The best way to get on track is a book by Robert Harley: The complete guide to high end audio. This explains the principles and language used. This would then allow you to read Stereophile, The Absolute Sound, and HiFi+ articles and interpret what they mean. It is hard to get much meaningful info from here without an extensive history with high end audio. Whether you want a short cut or want to learn deeply about the subject, you must hear some of these products. Take three different $10K speakers… they will sound very different. They will all sound very different again depending on the electronics you use to power them. But from what you said, B&W speakers and McIntosh electronics if you want a real short cut. |
@the_general Like the Mac (lots of power) recommended side of things. For speakers might go Magico, Focals, and Reven Salon2’s too. That book @ghdprentice mentioned will elevate and inform you; maybe even get you to full bird. Be careful as You’ll be able to talk endlessly about efficiency ratings and passive crossovers to your intolerant friends and family. Round these parts friends and famdamily love the music just not hearing about what’s making it sound so good. |
Hmmmmm! Lots to think about! Appreciate the thoughts....it could very well be that I just really like the look of it on the shelf...
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Pre-amp to sublime audio active crossover. (or equalizer then to xover) sublime acoustic active crossover has low out (yes … l/r rca) mid/high out. (yes .. l/r rca) 2x tekton 2x10 self powered at 300w. Fed from the 2 sub outs from the xover. low outs to the m400 to lows on biamp speakers. mid/high outs to m400a to mid/high on bi-amp speakers. I run bi amp tekton Double Impact SE with single berylium center tweeter + the 2 tekton 2-10 subs. You can order the active crossovers at the crossover frequencies and slopes you want. To change is just swapping a small board. Different/extra boards are like $12 so playing with different crossover points won’t break the bank. https://sublimeacoustic.com/products/k231-stereo-3-way-active-crossover
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I love the idea of active crossovers and bi-amping......will definitely refine my search to include it.... |
@the_general With all due respect sir, I had a Carver Cube driving DCM Time Windows back in the day and as someone else mentioned, just about any decent modern amp will run circles around it. For instance a baby sized Parasound Zamp V3 might tickle your fancy. To me, those Carver Cubes never had any wow factor. For subs, my vote would be for SVS. Great performers and very high value. Sounds like Klipsch or JBL speakers may be a great match for you. Good luck with your searching. |
I’m no spring chicken, and my hearing is around 14k, so I’m in the same boat I have tower speakers with built in sub woofers, plus two SVS Ultra 13 subs with the upgraded plate amps 1,200 watts, 4000+watts peak all controlled from my smartphone and using the SVS app I used DIRAC to dial everything in and just love the viseria impact! I drive my speakers with a very powerful D class amp I also have a tube amp and tube pre amp that I use along with my Magnepan 7’s You may also consider getting a streamer as you’ll discover so many new artists! Enjoy your search and if you end up with good towers, like Goldenear and two sub woofers, you’ll love it!!!
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2.2 is absolutely the way to go. Without getting stupid or too stupid here is where you should start. Get a pair of Harbath P3's and put then on stands the get two Martin Logan 210 balanced force subwoofers and a MiniDSP SHD to run everything. This will out perform the vast majority of systems out there. Do not be fooled by their size. The limiting factor is always the tweeter power handling ability. The Tweeter in the P3 can and is used in much larger speakers. Small speakers are special because the enclosure is so small it disappears sonically leaving a pristine image. This system will have no trouble doing 110 dB in a medium sized room. Rock to your hearts content. |
If you’re going with dual subs (I think you should, as they eliminate any lumpy inconsistent base response throughout a room, unless it’s the size of an auditorium) then I suggest using high sensitivity speakers. Dual subs generally eliminates the need for low lower sensitivity speakers, which dig deeper in bass response . IME using high sensitivity mains and dual subs (properly crossed over) unloads the mains and allows you to enjoy much better effortlessness in sound, resulting in much cleaner and dynamic sound! |
Hi, I've had a lifetime's worth of speakers - more recently Sonus Faber, Quad, Canton, Magico (S1 2), Ktema, Monitor Audio Gold 300, etc. Fed up with them all in no time: the small Magico 'bite' and edginess, much the same for the MA 300s (no bass), while the Cantons 3Ks were simply boring and the Quads didn't like the humidity here. Of course, much of this has to do with system matching, but both myself and a now retired hifi dealer that I am great friends with have tried a huge array of gear. And not coincidentally, we have both ended up with speakers from far-off Lithuania: AudioSolutions - the Figaro Ls in my case. No, they're not American or British, and they're not made in China; but they really 'dance'. Great tonality, sweet mid range, tremendous bass and as good a soundstage as the rest of the system allows. No, they're not world-beaters, but they are great for everything from Tool to Tord Gustavsen and Alice Sara Ott, and don't cost two arms and three legs. Put that down to a combination of old-fashioned, but also traditional, paper cones and very complex (and very dense) cabinet design. They are heavy and need a bit of room to breathe, but are a rare find in a world of insane hifi prices. Next step up would be Magico S5s, but I'm damned if I'm going to pay more than three times what I paid for my Figaros for a fractional gain. For what it's worth. |
Wow! This might be the best discussion I’ve ever been a part of! What a great bunch of folk here! I feel like I’m really, really, really outta my league, but the google searches are a pile of fun! I really like Johnny’s comments about sensitivity - that’s what I’m looking for most - effortless sound; let the subs do.....’sub things’, and let the speakers do what they’re meant to..... The room is a weird one; might require some tweaking, but it's been pretty great so far.......
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Since MillerCarbon is gone Tekton and all the Tektrolls isn't mentioned much. Depending on your budget and no real size constraints Double Impacts or big buck Moabs would fill your space nicely. They can play loud with not a lot of power but sound great on all kinds of music. They are big and wouldn't be considered fine furniture but bang fo buck if you have the space is hard to beat. (They'll sound better away from the front wall) |
I am really liking my biamped Double Impact SEs with 2x 2-10 subs . (High pass to the DIs at 60hz)and mid/high split at 500hz via sublime acoustic k231. I did spring though for just 1 beryllium tweeter for the “highs” inside the ring of the other 6. Having 7 beryllium tweeters just struck me as possibly being a little too “bright” for my tastes. The addition of the 6” mids I think make all the difference from the sound of the moabs that really wasn’t for me. About $7500 for the xover, speakers and subs. |
@the_general i’d be happy to talk to you about a set of speakers. I am a member and an advertiser on this website. I have a business call Blueprint Acoustic. Together we can design you something that you want and if you don’t like it, I’ll take it back. the website is blueprintacoustic.com. There’s a thing on the website called the CONFIGURATOR. It takes a few minutes to figure it out, but you can design your own set of speakers, and it will give you a ballpark of what they cost. Don’t worry about that for now. I’m more concerned about helping you get what you want. I promise you you’ll be happy and like I said, if you’re not, I’ll take them back send me a message or reply to this thread and I’ll get back to you. Thank you for your time, ray |
The Polk flagships can be had for a song of u look. im %90 metal also kreator sodom bathory lots NWOBHM stuff assassin protector Y and T venom etc etc
get an amp with min 300 WPC rms, you will ;Ed the headroom for metal, and other music. I use energy rc-70 pair, powered by 650w rms and it’s great! just don’t get ripped and spike the volume polk lsi or lots of speakers, if mostly metal u may need to tape a cotton square over tweeters, metal tends to be bright at times
good luck \,,/ |
@wolf_garcia Lol good one. I bet there's a story behind that, Lol. |
