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Speaker suggestion for Pass Labs Int-150


I'm looking into changing my current speakers(Canton Reference 9.2) into something else.

PROBLEM
I've noticed that I'm currently not pleased with the sound. I don't know if there's something wrong with my amp bit I think that the speakers sounds like a heavy load and that the sound isn't as "light" as I would prefer. I find that I'm mostly listen to the system and not the music, and I really hare that.. I've just today discovered that i enjoyed my friends system containing an old onkyo home theater amp paired with 90's Canton floorstanders..

SYSTEM
The speakers are connected with Supra swords and paired with an velodyne dd10 and i use the system to both music(computer and cd's) and with movie-watching.
I listen to all kinds of music so the speaker should work as an allrounder as well as for movies.

ROOM
I have the system in the living-room (7,40m vs 3.60m, cealing 2,4m) I have to have the speakers against the longest wall and the listening position is by the opposite wall. The speakers should work quite near the back wall because the area in front works as an passage to the balcony.

BEWARE
It would also be nice if the speakers are heavy or can be bolted on evetual stands due to high frequency of toddlers in the apartment.

Due to WAF the room can't be treated but we have a lot of bookcases, rugs and furniture in the room so it works ok anyway.

STORES
I live quite near the capital Stockholm in Sweden so there are several stores within driving range. Many won't lend you the speakers home though.

BUDGET is around 5k and I'm more than willing to by used items. Worth mentioning is that I haven't heard the amp with other speakers than my own. I got a really god deal on the amp so i went for it after reading several reviews.

CONCLUSION
Does anyone have a suggestion? What speakers should i audition?
Or should I downgrade, put the hifi on hold and wait until I can have a dedicated room for my system and not be needing to nervously sit and watch while my child learns to walk and not be concerned that a speaker may tip over her.

Hope you can help and thank you in advise.
mareri031
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,589 posts
 
Mareri031, Before you start spending money on other parts of your system, take your Pass INT-150 over to your friend's house and substitute it for his Onkyo amp. If the sound quality doesn't improve, there is a problem with your amp.

If there is a problem with the Pass, contact Pass and they can probably recommend someone to repair it near you.
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
I don't know if there's something wrong with my amp bit I think that the speakers sounds like a heavy load and that the sound isn't as "light" as I would prefer.... The speakers are connected with Supra swords and paired with an velodyne dd10.
Can you describe how the sub is connected to the amp? The main reason I ask, given that your sub appears to provide speaker-level as well as line-level inputs, is that a common mistake is to connect the negative speaker-level input terminal of a sub to the negative output terminal of an amp having balanced (or bridged) outputs. That could very conceivably cause the symptom you've described, as your INT-150 has balanced outputs, and hence its negative output terminals provide signals and should not be connected to the ground of a sub.

Regards,
-- Al
mareri031 OP
3 posts
 
Thank you all for your much valued opinions. After further investigation I've come to the opinion that l have to put the Vandersteens-search on hold for now. They seem to hard to track down, although, if a pair would turn up within reasonable distance I'll definetly give them a listen.

How could I forget about Larsen? The Larsen speaker have a small crowd of followers in Sweden and it seems like it's a Love it or Hate it-kind of speaker. I have never audition a Larsen speaker but I will do later this week. The dealer told me that he thinks it's crutial to borrow a pair of Larsen home because the room makes a great impact on how the speaker sound. It seems like the highs may be to much for most auditioners.. It will be fun audition them, hopefully a great match. The dealer didn't sound too enthusiastic though. He recommended Dynaudios(I did not tell him about the space issue) and thought that I should give them a listen before I make up my mind. They are apperently putting the Countor-series out of production in august. Because of that I would be able to get a good price on those.

I've heard that Pass have a pair of old Tannoys that they use with the amps. I've been looking at Tannoys earlier only to find that the mrs don't think that they match the style in our apartment. Shame..

I'll definetly bring my amp to my friend and connected it in his system. GREAT suggestion! Hopefully there's nothing wrong. I will also look if there is anyone else living near that's got a Pass Int150 and compare it.

Once again, thank you all!
mareri031 OP
3 posts
 
Hi Al,
I'm not sure if I understand how you mean..(english=2nd language)

This is how I've connected the sub: I have a Monster sub cable inserted in the preamp output section, unbalanced red output/terminal to the subwoofers red LFE input section(no Y-split used). Is this something you would change? If so, how should I connect it instead?

Best regards,
Markus
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
Hi Markus,

The concern I described in my previous post does not apply to the connection arrangement you've indicated, since you are connecting the sub at line level (in other words, from a preamp output of the INT-150), rather than at speaker level (in other words, from the amp's speaker output terminals).

However, if I understand correctly you are using a single sub, and just providing it with a signal corresponding to the right channel. If so, I would expect that you would get somewhat better sonics by connecting the left channel unbalanced preamp output signal of the INT-150 to the left channel unbalanced input of the sub, in addition to connecting the right channel as you are doing.

If you do that, keep in mind of course that you would have to reduce the setting of the sub's level control a little, to maintain proper balance with the main speakers.

Best regards,
-- Al
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