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First Trip outside of Best Buy, a real newbie.

I am a commoner; I have never been to a real stereo store until this weekend. The big box of Best Buy was all I ever knew.

I went out with my wife, Music Librarian with a Phd in Music who has been happy with her 1980’s Denon but the CD recently player broke on our system. I talked to a friend who loves audio and wanted something I have never heard of called. . . Magnaplaners?

Me I love beauty and things that last, I brought my Claudio Arrau Beethoven Emperor movement 3 DDD disk to test some stuff with and Clara Nunes a great Brazilian singer.

First we hit a place that had some “Maggies” to see and hear for the first time. We walked in, I told them I have a big bonus check and I want to hear the Magnaplaners against the best other speakers you got. The lined up these huge 6 foot panels against some giant B&W box type speaker and plugged these Mark Levinson power blocks. I stuffed in the Beethoven into a Classes CD player that would probably kill my whole bonus.

The Maggies took up this awesome Piano piece and the speakers just disappeared. It was an airy and transparent sound that was not really powerful but beautiful. We compared the B&W and it sounded boxy in immediate comparison. We played a bunch of stuff, but at the first place I was impressed by the Magnaplaners.

Then we went to another shop that had Kef and Spendor. My wife immediately liked the Spendor S9. It was pretty nice, It had a punchy quality but did not have the clarity of the maggies, but good all around power. Then we heard some Kef 207 / 2. The owner cranked up the volume so I am not sure it was fair, but Beethoven was totally epic with some soaring highs. I told the Kef guy that I also listened to the Maggies. He said the Maggies were too specialized and would not work as an all around solution.

I am going to spend another 2-4 weeks working this out and then spend my bonus on a new system. I think I want a good 2 channel system that I can use with my TV. From the thread it sounds like 5 of 7 channel is not worth it.

So what to get? Where to go from here? What will fit in my space well?

My home is open, modern with lots of glass, but small. Where I will put the new system will be in a long thin room. About 12 feet wide and 30 feet long. It is open to other areas of the house and is both a living room and dining room.

I want something beautiful that will last a long time. I loved the Maggies for being invisible, but I also loved the Spendor and Kefs for being powerful.

My house is small and I plan to use the new system as a stereo and 2 channel home theatre.

Thanks for whatever advice you want to give me,
Scott
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scottlanterman OP
24 posts
 
Since the CD player is busted I plugged my iPod directly into the humble Denon AV355 with a Monster cable my brother in law gave me tonight. I got a little set of Mirage book shelf speakers. It's the cheapest oldest system around, but the Debussy is still great.

No TV tonight, just chatting with my wife and listening to Ethiojazz and Debussy Arabesques in my funny shaped little room.

I have been doing the virtual helicopter thing called the WEB, checked Green Mountain. I dig the physics approach. There is so much passion in this world of audio.

On the budget system page I am impressed by the old new system with tubes and home made speaker and the enthusiasm for the system. I like the zen minimalism, and I am drawn to the tube amp. I like it, but I don't why. I guess I am impressed by the desire to keep something that should have died alive and they just look individualistic. Do tubes really create a warm sound? Is it a total pain in the but to maintain?

How about a 2 channel system that runs off of our Macintosh laptop, No CD Player, but somehow going into a classic tube amp and then hitting the right speakers for our little space. Any recommendations on a DAC and a Tube amp that could integrate into a simple old and new approach. I was thinking it would be cool to have my Mac laptop plugged into a McIntosh 275.

Thanks guys.
Scott
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,198 posts
 
Tubes have a limited lifespan and require more maintenance, like a phono cartridge, compared to SS. If that bothers you, start with just one or two strategically placed tubes to keep troubleshooting easy if needed and go from there as desired.

Be careful buying old tube gear....make sure what you are getting is in good shape, including life left on all tubes.

Its brand new and more contemporary but check out the Peachtree Decco DAC (digital to analog converter)/tube pre-amp/amp. You can even add a module to receive your digital sources wirelessly so your computer as a digital source does not have to be attached by a wire. And the price is right to get your feet wet with the latest digital source technology along with a smattering of tubes (just one) for starts. Plus I've read that it sounds very good!
scottlanterman's avatar
scottlanterman OP
24 posts
 
That is good advice on the Peachtree. I am looking to keep it simple and focus on quality. We have a nice iTunes collection that I enjoy now but I am missing a lot.

Best speakers for my small space with this system?
I think there is a new Decco coming out that connects to video. This could keep the whole thing really simple.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,198 posts
 
"Best speakers for my small space with this system?"

I'm eyeballing the Peachtree for use with my Triangle Titus 202s when the need arises as I described above.

"best" is always a subjective determination since no two speaks sound the same, but the Triangle Titus 202s with sub combo is hard to beat.
jj2468
280 posts
 
As a Ph.D in music, I imagine your wife plays an instrument and/or has heard a great deal of live music. I highly recommend bringing her along for auditions. She will have a good ear.

If a dealer insists on turning up the volume walk away. Its an old trick to overcome a system's shortcomings. If it does not sound good at reasonably low volume (you can talk to your wife without raising your voice) then walk away.

Listen to several tube amps/preamps and several solid state amps. Tube amps tend to emphasize even order harmonics of which your wife is familiar. I'd be quite surprised if, after test driving, your wife did not clearly prefer tube electronics. Don't be afraid of tubes. If after some heavy test driving you don't like tubes, then you will know for sure. Keep in mind that many retailers will try to sway you from tubes because they take more effort on part of the retailer.

The maggies are one of the best values in audio. Trust your wife's ears :-)

If you can deal with a soldering iron, you will find tremendous value and engineering in these two sites: k and k audio (Kevin Carter), and Audio Note Kits (Brian).

Consider a turntable (used Lenco with RB250 tonearm).

The advice to take your time and listen to many set ups is excellent. Unfortunately, sonics do not necessarily correlate well with price or retailers advice. Trust your wife on this one. When you find a set up that is good for you, it will sound significantly better than your comparisons.
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