IF you live near Cary, NC
Starting a second system, need efficient speaker suggestions.
Just picked up a Cary SLI80 HS and need some speakers.
The amp is 80 watts or 40 watts triode. Reviews say triode sounds best. Room is 12x26x7 dedicated listening room in the basement.
I have a couple subs, so if they don't have the deepest bass, I can live with that.
Budget around 4k.
Showing 18 responses by elliottbnewcombjr
First: triode better? Me, and everyone prefers Ultralinear to Triode here, You will find reviewers saying this and that. I think you can plan on your amp sounding great at 80wpc. You might find a particular type of recording that you prefer triode, but I am sure you will use Ultralinear primarily at 7' high ceiling, I would not go for a big woofer, these on ebay should sound great, and if you want more bass, sub's it is. I recommend self-powered, stereo pair, front firing, located adjacent to the mains. Bass directionality comes from the overtones, 40, 80, 160, 320 .... Sensitivity: 88. That is a bit low, you will be ok, however, if you use subs, and you remove the low bass requirement from the amp, i.e. pre-out, crossover in sub, back to amp, amp now sending only upper bass, mids, highs to the b&w, the 80 wpc will be plenty. |
I know you have subs, BUT, they need to take the low bass out of the line level, then back to amp, some do, some don't. Some give the speaker's a break, but not the amp. Some give the amp a break which gives the speakers a break. With borderline power for 'not too efficient' speakers, you want to give the amp a break, so it has plenty of power when not trying to create low bass. Subs self powered? front firing? Fit next to where mains will go? That will give you Stereo Bass, a wonderful thing, at any volume. |
btw, did you see the level controls on those Infinity Kappa 9’s?
I am a big big fan of level controls, so a speaker, which had no idea of it’s intended space, can be adjusted to do a great job ’in that space’. move them, adjust for that space. I use an inexpensive SPL meter from Amazon, on my tripod, and 29 single 1/3 octave test tones. final, use your ears. $25. delivered is a historic low price, often low is $75. One came up for $9.99. I jumped on it! Gave it to a friend a/an historic .... who knows which is correct? |
OP Nice Subs, however: Your Subs Manual does NOT specificity mention line in/filter remove low bass/line out without low bass to the preamp or integrated amp. AMP to speakers AFTER sub They may have it, implied, but I am not sure. "Control Settings for Stereo Receiver or Pre-Amplifier Most Stereo Receivers and Pre-Amplifiers do not have bass management. Instead you will use the Left and Right full-range outputs and make adjustments through the DSP amplifier on the subwoofer. Be sure to connect both Left and Right outputs to the Left and Right inputs on the subwoofer. Set the Low Pass Filter to “On” and adjust the Crossover Frequency and Slope to achieve a smooth blend and transition with the main speakers. Once blended, adjust the Subwoofer volume to match the volume level of your main speakers" ................................................... To speakers after sub gives the speakers a break, but does NOT give the amp, a break, thus the amp is always trying to produce low bass which gets filtered by sub to speakers. This does not help a low powered amp do a better job (i.e. only powering upper bass/mids/highs with slightly inefficient speakers. |
over budget, but quite a pair, 93 db efficiency BUT, the beryllium tweeters cones are no good. these people have focal tweeters maybe not for OP, but other people follow along, so I thought I'd show them. |
These are amazing, wanted them, got em, loved em. My friend has them now. I made a separate virtual system about them or best offer, perhaps he will take $1,200, who knows. Near Pearland Texas? Otherwise $800. or less shipping. $2,000 to get them. I would verify everything works; remove the drivers, have my woodworker cover them with a selected veneer, re-install the drivers. I would be ready to install the SEAS Tweeters, even if the Dynaudio D21’s are good. That the D21’s have not burnt out means they were not driven much. Seller says ’rosewood’. There are probably walnut or oak stained red. It is very easy to change the fabric on the covers, just staples. I made mine White Irish Linen. New veneer would mean they look good with the covers off. |
ghasley Yes all over the place; Yes, never heard most of the FINDs to consider, i.e. be aware of. I believe you can get more of nearly anything by carefully buying used rather than new. When I or a friend is looking, or just having fun hopping about: I check eBay and hifishark daily for ’new first’ in categories, IOW, beat others to a great deal when recognized. I have fun finding interesting things I never knew existed, showing them to both OP and others following along. They have to do their own research of anything that interests them, including asking members here who might have owned/listened to them. The only speakers I have owned and recommended, the best used choice IMO, are the JSE Infinite Slope Model 2’s. You would need to spend a heck of a lot of money to equal/beat their sound. New Veneer, they would look gorgeous to my eyes. ................................. I take the long view, patience is required, thus time is required. OP’s budget is $4k. GET LISTENING NOW, find something great, in budget, later is a concept I believe in, most here would not consider. The 98db $400. speakers are a great ’get listening now’ choice. I don’t know if OP or anyone following along has a 2nd system, might create a second system, might give something to a friend or relative, might re-sell, just give it away: just GET LISTENING NOW! Spend $400. get listening, find a great deal (more than $400 less than other offers, close for pick-up, perhaps save $500. shipping. In the end, patience, the temporary item costs zero or actually saves money, do what you want with it/them. btw: OP has not stated he prefers new to used, except by inference. |
