there is no such thing as an improvement. you havent the foggiest idea what youre seeking do you? What kind of polar response do you want? If you cant tell us then how are we supposed to know which speaker has what youre looking for?
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OK, fair enough. I failed to articulate anything useful as a starting point. In any case, I bought an Audiolab 6000N Play and tried it out for the first time with Amazon HD and it sounds really good to me. Im not sure why the CD sounded so compressed in comparison but this sounds great. I'll show myself out. |
Don't listen to kenjit, he is not here to help, only to criticize. |
I apologize kenjit was the first to respond here. He’s like the village idiot they let hang around here and nobody really knows why. Without knowing more about what sound characteristics are most important to you and what specifically you’d like to improve upon (other than congestion), I’d highly suggest looking at the LSA-20 Signatures available here from the manufacturer on sale for $2299. I’m confident they’ll be a huge improvement over your Paradigms in every parameter, and they offer a 30-day trial period in the remote chance they don’t absolutely blow you away (yes, even with your current electronics). Read the reviews, and best of luck.
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Maybe so but for the first time in my memory ok' kenjit had a valid point.
Bravo
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Kenjit is correct. You can’t expect a speaker to perform well if the polar response is not specified. At mid-latitudes, a northern polar response won’t sound good. Like wise, a southern polar response sounds flat in northern latitudes.
Speakers “voiced” for HT rarely sound good for music. Our ears and brain know what music is supposed to sound like. HT isn’t that way; who knows what tank tracks sound like, or explosions in your home, or the roar of a tornado or bullets whizzing past and hitting a wall? |
Respectfully disagree. Kenjit’s post was hostile, but also dumb. OP is at the front end of a trip we’ve all been on. System sounds uninspired, unengaging, dull, and compressed. We’ve all heard that before, and we all know that a better amp with more vavoom, speakers more likely to get up and boogie, and sources that are cleaner, less compressed, more open, more natural, and most of all ... engaging, is totally possible without spending a fortune. That’s what OP needs to hear and it’s OK to use adjectives that are less precise and not part of the official audiophile lexicon. OP, I recommend you download Robert Harley’s book The Complete Guide to High End Audio. (And anyone who knows Harley’s reviews knows that he can be as intellectual and incisive as they come in his stellar descriptions of sound, but his writing also indulges more emotion-based adjectives, like “vavoom” or “boogie.” Because he’s not a complete poser.) |
My friend @ johngaltwho, I’ve been in the same boat as you. I was all about 2 channel and then in 1999, I got a DVD Player and bought extra Speakers. For the next 18 years I focused on 5.1 Video & Audio with 2 channel + Dolby Pro Logic II. Now I’m back and it’s quite the Rabbit Hole and more expensive than "set it and forget it" 5.1 Home Theater.
Enjoy the Ride.
Para Dig Em were were good and cheap back in the day but their newer models have lost their "budget mindedness". |
Johngaltwho, I just checked the classifieds to see what was available in the two grand ballpark and one of my speakers was there, a custom version of the (discontinued) Planetarium Alpha. This is a high efficiency system with a built-in down-firing subwoofer. So there's one option which is unlikely to have compression issues.
Duke
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K what's up? Not your normal helpful self. No need to be a knot head.. What will help the guy?
Excuse me OP, playin' mother hen again.. Cluck cluck, gotta keep the little peepers in line, when they act all Rooster Like.. LOL
I like planars.. I bought VMPS RM30s all tricked out for 1400.00 dollars..
Zowee.. They will get your attention and keep it.. The prices on planars speakers is just going UP.. I can’t think of a more dynamic and transparent design.. Extremely fast...Extraordinarily accurate and darn near bullet proof.. They can fill a good size room or work in a pretty small one with no problems.. IF YOU CAN FIND them.. There a LOT of them out there though.. Folks just don’t like to sell them.. They are very hard to beat.. With a little tinkering.. BIG dollars to even get close..
More importantly with just a so so pre amp and amp.. they are better than most speakers with twice the gear.. They are real gear friendly...Big watts or little watts.. they like um.. Oscillating watts,, NO NO NO..
What about Tekton they have something in the 2K range?
Clean them ears too.. take care of that throat.. Enjoy..
Regards |
Either Tekton if you want new, or the Planetarium if you're willing to try used. Either way you want to stick with high efficiency (absolute minimum 92dB, and preferably 95+) in order to get the sound you want from the amp you have.
Either way, huge improvement over what you have now. |
The troll under the bridge scares away yet one more weary traveler. |
Poor room acoustics matter a great deal. Harshness and compression can be symptoms. Before you go on a speaker merry go round I'd suggest you examine your room.
Two experiments to try, which are free. 1 - Sit 2-3' away from your main speakers. This will show you what they sound like with less of the room interacting.
Next, try using pillows, rugs and blankets around the room to see how better acoustics may improve your sound field.
Best,
E
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Might want to ditch the blu ray player and get a dedicated CD player also. Video disc players not really optimized for audio.
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I would look at some speakers that are fairly efficient. The NAD is not happy with below 4 ohm also. You could have some room acoustic problems. This is a fairly cheap fix and worth it. Sometimes this isnt possible if it is a living room for example.
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Daledeee1,
NAD C368 specifies 250W IHF dynamic power @ 2 Ohms, FYI. Do I detect an anti-D bias, unfounded in measurable reality?
OP,
Are you using the NAD DAC or going in analog from the player? Is the "better" player still a video disc machine? |
General rule of thumb here, you get what you pay for. Go to nearest dealer and audition speakers until you find something you like,then order it!
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I decided to become a lurker but I appreciate the advice. I'll educate myself a bit and then, when Im ready, perhaps when the pandemic is under control, get out and start listening to some superior equipment. I have since picked up an Audiolab 6000N play and the 6000 CDT. I havent hooked up the CD yet but both are/will be connected using reasonable quality coax. The Paradigms I think are 90db sensitivity and 8 ohms. Its a living room and I have no idea what polarity means when it comes to speakers. I'll do some reading about crossover, phase and sub setup cause at this point, Im just winging it. Cheers |
Back in the 70's when I was selling stereos the rule of thumb was that 80% of what your stereo would sound like is the speakers, I believe that is still true. If I were me, and I am... I would start visiting audio stores to see what sounds good to you. I have had very nice 2 channel speakers in a HT system and the movies did not suffer, on the other hand I have heard very few HT speakers sound good on a dedicated stereo. |
Which receiver are you using ? It’s hard to believe how expensive some brands are now . I cannot afford a New receiver but they can greatly improve your current speakers probably. Are you going 5.1- or 7.1?
I prefer horn speakers like Klipch for movies , but emotiva has nice stuff too ..
It all depends what type of tweeters you like, there’s no audio store anywhere near me so I cannot audition anything ....
chane audio arx line too |
An AV reciever is not the way to go for music.
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