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Receiver vs PC speakers
- Thread starter ilkvest
- Start date
yessm, gotta love the vinyl. Such a different, but pleasant sound. Some stuff just needs to be on vinyl... pink floyd for example.JackieO said:Oh - I totally forgot you had a turntable, my bad.
I don't like the silver on the new H/K receivers. I like the older look better... too space age and blue and silvery. Got any suggestions for a (preferrably <$300) stereo receiver with a phono input?
I've looked at NAD, Marantz, i'd love to have one of them but the cheapest is $400 and my reaction to that is "ehhhhhhh," see any good refurb deals?Time to start lurking in the audio forums out there again.
emorphien said:yessm, gotta love the vinyl. Such a different, but pleasant sound. Some stuff just needs to be on vinyl... pink floyd for example.
I don't like the silver on the new H/K receivers. I like the older look better... too space age and blue and silvery. Got any suggestions for a (preferrably <$300) stereo receiver with a phono input?
Time to start lurking in the audio forums out there again.
http://ww1.onecall.com/PID_19372.htm
I think that fits the bill.
mustang_steve
c[H]ewbacca
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- Jul 28, 2003
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- 11,331
Speakers should be by far the most expensive part of your rig, followed by the amp/pre-amp, and then all the other crap.
On that note, if you want to get started that Denon is nice, but also look at Onkyo, Yamaha, and Outlaw Audio. All of those companies make great equipment. Outlaw is direct sales only, but they sell the exact same gear as Sherbourne and a few other big names for far less. There was an article at Audioholics.com about a specific HT reciever that was availble under 3 or 4 different names...they even opened them up to prove it.
For speakers, buy the very best you can. Don't play the "this one almost sounds as good as this one, and is $40 less" game...more often than not you end up buying something you will regret that way. Just buy what sounds great and you can afford...once you play the game of "close-enough" your favorite until you hit rock bottom on price, you often end up with a totally different quality than you wanted.
Really, if you choose to do best buy, only look at the JBL, Klipsch, Yamaha, and Athena lines...JBL is either love-or-hate (some love their sound, I find it unispiring), while the rest all offer their places in this. Klipsch is a home thater monster...lots of loudness, and plenty of power handling. Athena is pretty much the single best soundquality to the dollar speaker I have ever heard that can be found in a mass market shop, and Yamaha is nipping at Athena's heels on that title.
Best bet is to go to a real stereo shop, and don't ever pay MSRP for anything...seriously...no market is as raw-cut as the salesforce will have you believe, otherwise nobody would be making this stuff.
On that note, if you want to get started that Denon is nice, but also look at Onkyo, Yamaha, and Outlaw Audio. All of those companies make great equipment. Outlaw is direct sales only, but they sell the exact same gear as Sherbourne and a few other big names for far less. There was an article at Audioholics.com about a specific HT reciever that was availble under 3 or 4 different names...they even opened them up to prove it.
For speakers, buy the very best you can. Don't play the "this one almost sounds as good as this one, and is $40 less" game...more often than not you end up buying something you will regret that way. Just buy what sounds great and you can afford...once you play the game of "close-enough" your favorite until you hit rock bottom on price, you often end up with a totally different quality than you wanted.
Really, if you choose to do best buy, only look at the JBL, Klipsch, Yamaha, and Athena lines...JBL is either love-or-hate (some love their sound, I find it unispiring), while the rest all offer their places in this. Klipsch is a home thater monster...lots of loudness, and plenty of power handling. Athena is pretty much the single best soundquality to the dollar speaker I have ever heard that can be found in a mass market shop, and Yamaha is nipping at Athena's heels on that title.
Best bet is to go to a real stereo shop, and don't ever pay MSRP for anything...seriously...no market is as raw-cut as the salesforce will have you believe, otherwise nobody would be making this stuff.
Yeah, I don't care for JBL either, and Klipsch is great for loud home theater, but I don't find it as detailed/intricate or light enough for playing complex music in a lot of cases. Just not a huge fan of their sound.
I plan to give the Axioms a try, and see how they are. I've heard so many good things it's worth a shot.
That said getting the most expensive doesn't mean it's better, that $40 difference could be meaningless, or could be in something rather unimportant for sound quality. It's more important to audition the speakers in your environment then to just go to best buy or wherever you can and buy whatever reaches the max of your budget.
The Athenas are supposed to be nice though, just too ugly to me.
I plan to give the Axioms a try, and see how they are. I've heard so many good things it's worth a shot.
That said getting the most expensive doesn't mean it's better, that $40 difference could be meaningless, or could be in something rather unimportant for sound quality. It's more important to audition the speakers in your environment then to just go to best buy or wherever you can and buy whatever reaches the max of your budget.
The Athenas are supposed to be nice though, just too ugly to me.
GodsMadClown
2[H]4U
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- Aug 9, 2002
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While you give the Axioms a try, you should also try to find some Ascend and/or AV123 owners in your area. Perhaps they would let compare thier speakers to your temporarily purchased Axioms.
For help with finding an owner in your area, try audioenvy.com for AV123 products, and the Audition thread at the Ascend forums.
For help with finding an owner in your area, try audioenvy.com for AV123 products, and the Audition thread at the Ascend forums.
If you are halfway handy with woodworking and have the basic tools, you can save a lot of money building your own speakers.
Which is what I did. I built a kit set which includes the design and the drivers, I had to build the cabinets. The kit is called Elf Spires based on the TangBang drivers. Each speaker cost about $100 including 3/4" MDF wood. They sound GREAT much better than the Bose 701s they replaced (does not really say much). But they do sound very good, and I think they look pretty decent too. Because they are using a bunch of smaller speakers they do not go very low, however these are for a HT setup so I have a sub for that. Their Fs is about 80hz.
I currently have only finished the first pair, I will build building a second pair for the rear and a center. The center will move the top silver driver to the middle and not have the builtin stand. Note the builtin stand is filled with about 30lbs of sand to make for a very stable speaker since they are rather tall and thin.
Here is some pics.
http://thetank.org/gallery/speakerproj
edit: I went the easy/cheap route with the finish, 2 coats flat black latex, and a thin coat of Truck Bed Liner to give it a nice texture look.
Which is what I did. I built a kit set which includes the design and the drivers, I had to build the cabinets. The kit is called Elf Spires based on the TangBang drivers. Each speaker cost about $100 including 3/4" MDF wood. They sound GREAT much better than the Bose 701s they replaced (does not really say much). But they do sound very good, and I think they look pretty decent too. Because they are using a bunch of smaller speakers they do not go very low, however these are for a HT setup so I have a sub for that. Their Fs is about 80hz.
I currently have only finished the first pair, I will build building a second pair for the rear and a center. The center will move the top silver driver to the middle and not have the builtin stand. Note the builtin stand is filled with about 30lbs of sand to make for a very stable speaker since they are rather tall and thin.
Here is some pics.
http://thetank.org/gallery/speakerproj
edit: I went the easy/cheap route with the finish, 2 coats flat black latex, and a thin coat of Truck Bed Liner to give it a nice texture look.
DIY is certainly a cool route to go, if you don't mind getting your hands dirty. Part express also has piles of kits online, so I'd look there. I've not done DIY, so I really can't advise, but I know many people swear by it.
BTW, www.audioenvy.com is pretty great. I put out a request to audition some Rockets, and within a day I had one set up. The guy let me come over and listen to a variety of music and movies, and basically spend a good hour with the speakers. If you're curious, I heard the Rocket RS750's, RSC200 [great center channel, BTW] , and RSS300's. I ended up buying my Ref 2's unheard, though I knew they at least shared a similar tweeter [Vifa ring tweeter]
I'd sign up for audioenvy to show those off, but my 'HT' room is also my bedroom and computer room. I'm fairly lucky too, as I've got the biggest room out of my 3 roommates =] If any [H] members would like to have a listen though, that would be fine though. I'm in Madison, WI, send me a PM.
BTW, www.audioenvy.com is pretty great. I put out a request to audition some Rockets, and within a day I had one set up. The guy let me come over and listen to a variety of music and movies, and basically spend a good hour with the speakers. If you're curious, I heard the Rocket RS750's, RSC200 [great center channel, BTW] , and RSS300's. I ended up buying my Ref 2's unheard, though I knew they at least shared a similar tweeter [Vifa ring tweeter]
I'd sign up for audioenvy to show those off, but my 'HT' room is also my bedroom and computer room. I'm fairly lucky too, as I've got the biggest room out of my 3 roommates =] If any [H] members would like to have a listen though, that would be fine though. I'm in Madison, WI, send me a PM.
Part of the issue with DIY though, is you can not audition the speakers. So for your first set research the kit to find out what it is like. I recommend going with a kit for your first set because the design part is rather tricky and requires a little black magic .
The cool part is it is kind of exciting to hear what the speakers you built will sound like. You become much more involved with your system compared to just dropping some cash and upacking a box.
.The cool part is it is kind of exciting to hear what the speakers you built will sound like. You become much more involved with your system compared to just dropping some cash and upacking a box.
GodsMadClown
2[H]4U
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- 3,112
JackieO said:
That's a very good deal.
mustang_steve
c[H]ewbacca
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- Jul 28, 2003
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To get into DIY kits, try out partsexpress's BR-1 kit. Really, they are great and only $150 a pair shipped. Even better is the kit has a pre-cut cabinet already assembled for you, and the manual itself explains why the parts used were chosen, and some of hte concepts behind speaker design.
They are very hard to assemble if you don't do it right. You have to install the tweeter wires with your hand inside the woofer opening otherwise the wire is too short. Some have said to cut the wire lengths differently, but that is not needed, plus there is only exactly enough wire to get the job done.
They are very hard to assemble if you don't do it right. You have to install the tweeter wires with your hand inside the woofer opening otherwise the wire is too short. Some have said to cut the wire lengths differently, but that is not needed, plus there is only exactly enough wire to get the job done.