Speaker and Headphone Rigs Picture Thread

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I recently bought this Klipsch center speaker to use up in my room but ended up just keeping the 3 towers up there and putting it in the garage.
This TV is to the left of my desk so I can watch or listen to something while messing with the PC.
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I reckon I'll play. Finally got my system just about where I want it.
Acurus L10 preamp, Acurus A100 power amp, with an SMSL M500 MkIII doing DAC and headphone amp duties. Speakers are KEF RDM Twos, with a Definitive Technology SuperCube II subwoofer. Since the pics were taken, I've raised the speakers a bit more, by adding a few inches of cork tile. Does a pretty good job of isolating them from the desk top. The DefTech sub takes some deserved flak for having inflated specs, but it was 90 bucks at a thrift shop, and even if it doesn't go as low as they say it does, it has enough oomph that I can't turn it past 50% without having the cops called on me, and pictures rattling off the wall. For headphones, my most used ones are some Sennheiser+Drop HD6XXs, and the BeyerDynamic DT 700 Pro X, which the M500 drives without issue. The Acurus amps are part of my nostalgia for those halcyon days of yore, my late teens, when I first was exposed to Acurus and Aragon. Turns out, it wasn't all rose-colored glasses, they're legitimately really solid amps with a great sound, especially considering they're over 30 years old. I'll probably recap them at some point.



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Mad Maxx said:
Did you get the LS50 Meta Wireless? That white looks cool.
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Thanks!
I always wanted the old glossy red LS50s but could never find them. Bummer that the new reds are only in the active model. I like the active version but can't deal with a 1 year warranty on $3k speakers.

Current system:
LS50 Meta passives / Parasound Halo / SVS Micro 3000 / Wiim Pro + Schitt Modi 2 Multibit

The Parasound amp only has 2 digital inputs - I use coax with my personal PC and optical with my work PC
I bought the Schitt because I wanted another high quality input for the streamer and wanted to see how the Multibit worked (it's good, but hard to hear a difference vs the internal DAC)

It's overkill for how much I use it - I was thinking of downgrading to the LSX II but it's hard to sell this stuff these days so there isn't much point...
 
DoubleTap said:
Thanks!
I always wanted the old glossy red LS50s but could never find them. Bummer that the new reds are only in the active model. I like the active version but can't deal with a 1 year warranty on $3k speakers.

Current system:
LS50 Meta passives / Parasound Halo / SVS Micro 3000 / Wiim Pro + Schitt Modi 2 Multibit

The Parasound amp only has 2 digital inputs - I use coax with my personal PC and optical with my work PC
I bought the Schitt because I wanted another high quality input for the streamer and wanted to see how the Multibit worked (it's good, but hard to hear a difference vs the internal DAC)

It's overkill for how much I use it - I was thinking of downgrading to the LSX II but it's hard to sell this stuff these days so there isn't much point...
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Oh man, I forgot about your posts last year. I didn't notice your Parasound on the desk and thought you went for the Active Metas. I agree on your reason to pass. 1 year warranty on the internal electronics??? That's insane!

I heard the LSX and like them, but they sound like toys compared to the LS50. That white SVS Micro looks good and matches perfectly with your Metas. I tried a few different subs, including the big SVS 3000, but none of them sounded as good for my PC audio rig as the Micro.
 
I'm pretty sure that's at least a two year warranty for the electronics in those. From what I recall KEF does a 2 year warranty on their electronics and 5 years on the drivers. Not that that matters for my own KEFs, since they're from... 1998? Something like that...
DoubleTap said:
Thanks!
I always wanted the old glossy red LS50s but could never find them. Bummer that the new reds are only in the active model. I like the active version but can't deal with a 1 year warranty on $3k speakers.

Current system:
LS50 Meta passives / Parasound Halo / SVS Micro 3000 / Wiim Pro + Schitt Modi 2 Multibit

The Parasound amp only has 2 digital inputs - I use coax with my personal PC and optical with my work PC
I bought the Schitt because I wanted another high quality input for the streamer and wanted to see how the Multibit worked (it's good, but hard to hear a difference vs the internal DAC)

It's overkill for how much I use it - I was thinking of downgrading to the LSX II but it's hard to sell this stuff these days so there isn't much point...
Click to expand...
 
voidrunner said:
I'm pretty sure that's at least a two year warranty for the electronics in those. From what I recall KEF does a 2 year warranty on their electronics and 5 years on the drivers. Not that that matters for my own KEFs, since they're from... 1998? Something like that...
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You're right, it is 2 years. I think the 1 year was on the previous model:
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...the-reliability-and-long-term-outlook.985192/

Mad Maxx said:
Oh man, I forgot about your posts last year. I didn't notice your Parasound on the desk and thought you went for the Active Metas. I agree on your reason to pass. 1 year warranty on the internal electronics??? That's insane!

I heard the LSX and like them, but they sound like toys compared to the LS50. That white SVS Micro looks good and matches perfectly with your Metas. I tried a few different subs, including the big SVS 3000, but none of them sounded as good for my PC audio rig as the Micro.
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Very happy with the SVS Micro - it's very easy to tune with the Bluetooth app and the Parasound has a high-pass filter you can adjust as well. The sub sounds best when you almost don't notice it - it's just upholding the low end without being obvious about it.
 
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Sim audio moon LE transport
Schiit bifrost 2 multi
Sonic frontiers Tube preamp with sovtek tubes
conrad johnson premier 11a with original tubes
Focal jm lab diva utopia floor standing speakers
Old infinity sub (i cant remember what its called but its from the early 90's)

headphones are mdr 1000X
and pioneer xdp-100r
 
Mad Maxx said:
Took me a while to find and resurrect this thread. I made the switch to powered studio monitors after hearing a demo of the new Adam Audio A7V. As much as I liked my LS50 Metas, these Adams blow them away. I'm hearing details in music and games I never knew were there. Adam has a 5-year warranty, so I felt good about the purchase. Sold my KEFs and amp for a nice chunk of $$ and freed up a lot of desk space, too. Still using my SVS 3000 Micro sub, but plan to replace it with an Adam sub soon.

EDIT: Adam Audio Sub 8 acquired!

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EDIT 2: Went back to my SVS 3000 Micro sub. The Adams sub never quite worked for me. It didn't produce the tight punchy bass I prefer. Once I reconnected my Micro, it was clear that it still was the right sub for me.

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Aren’t those mini monitors awesome!?
 
TheToE! said:
Aren’t those mini monitors awesome!?
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Indeed they are! They're perfect for mobile audio on a laptop or tablet. If I didn't have my Adam A7V, I'd give the new iLoud Precision Studio monitors a try.
 
Changed from the NAD D 3045 to the Topping MX3S recently. Impressed, very impressed.

On par for sound quality/clarity/volume, much better remote, more features, more customisation, metal construction, supports aptx-adaptive, uses less desk space.

KEF Q300 bookshelf + GearIT 12AWG speaker cables
Senn HD650 + Custom Cans ultra-light cable


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Size comparison lol:

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Recently picked up a pair of Polk ES20's and ISOAccounstics ISO-200 (large) speaker stands to replace my old Advent Baby II's. My PC's 2.1 audio setup is almost complete (ha, I know)... Only thing still left is I'd like a smaller, punchier sub, this F12 is absolutely overkill for my office. It might attempt to delegate this F12 unit to 2nd/rear sub duties in the living room here soon enough to help accommodate my Paradigm setup over there. I'm open to any 10" and under recommendations ya'll might have here.

Gear list:
- Polk Signature Elite ES20 "Bookshelf" speakers
- BIC America F12 Subwoofer (475W!)
- Denon AVR-S570BT Receiver
- Logitech G-Pro's (gaming only)

These sound amazing compared to the old early 80's Baby II's I had previously. Kind of a duh statement, but I'm thoroughly enjoying the upgrade so far! Cannot wait to finish off Dead Space on these this weekend on them nice and loud.

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(speaker has been aligned better since this pic, I just set them up tonight after work)

Bonus pic, the size difference is pretty funny to me:
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AlphaQup said:
Recently picked up a pair of Polk ES20's and ISOAccounstics ISO-200 (large) speaker stands to replace my old Advent Baby II's. My PC's 2.1 audio setup is almost complete (ha, I know)... Only thing still left is I'd like a smaller, punchier sub, this F12 is absolutely overkill for my office. It might attempt to delegate this F12 unit to 2nd/rear sub duties in the living room here soon enough to help accommodate my Paradigm setup over there. I'm open to any 10" and under recommendations ya'll might have here.

Gear list:
- Polk Signature Elite ES20 "Bookshelf" speakers
- BIC America F12 Subwoofer (475W!)
- Denon AVR-S570BT Receiver
- Logitech G-Pro's (gaming only)

These sound amazing compared to the old early 80's Baby II's I had previously. Kind of a duh statement, but I'm thoroughly enjoying the upgrade so far! Cannot wait to finish off Dead Space on these this weekend on them nice and loud.

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(speaker has been aligned better since this pic, I just set them up tonight after work)
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Nice setup! What's your budget for a subwoofer? The SVS 3000 Micro is an awesome little sub for a computer audio system. I love mine.
 
Mad Maxx said:
Nice setup! What's your budget for a subwoofer? The SVS 3000 Micro is an awesome little sub for a computer audio system. I love mine.
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Thank you! As far as the budget for the SW... you'd have to ask my wife, lol. I gotta lay low for a bit here on the audio goodies (we did a complete 5.1 Paradigm/Denon setup in the living room ~18-24 months ago or so, and now the ES20's/stands....), but once the dust settles I'd venture to say I want to stay around the $400-$500 price point.

I've got a buddy who's big into Definitive, and he recommended I check out their DN8. Between these ES20's being 6.5" speakers under 3' from me, and capable bass-wise, my thought was something similar to this DN8 would be a nice bottom end compliment. Keep it tight and not boomy.

I'll have to read up on the SCS 3000, thanks for the link. As always, budgets are flexible...
 
AlphaQup said:
Thank you! As far as the budget for the SW... you'd have to ask my wife, lol. I gotta lay low for a bit here on the audio goodies (we did a complete 5.1 Paradigm/Denon setup in the living room ~18-24 months ago or so, and now the ES20's/stands....), but once the dust settles I'd venture to say I want to stay around the $400-$500 price point.

I've got a buddy who's big into Definitive, and he recommended I check out their DN8. Between these ES20's being 6.5" speakers under 3' from me, and capable bass-wise, my thought was something similar to this DN8 would be a nice bottom end compliment. Keep it tight and not boomy.

I'll have to read up on the SCS 3000, thanks for the link. As always, budgets are flexible...
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RSL Speedwoofer 10S MK2 has gotten rave reviews for its performance and price ($450). Problem is they sell out almost as fast as they're made.
 
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Mad Maxx said:
RSL Speedwoofer 10S MK2 has gotten rave reviews for its performance and price ($450). Problem is they sell out almost as fast as they're made.
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Not going to lie, that is much more my speed!

I might consider getting on their backorder list if this giy is all he rage. I haven't done much SW review research for my smaller application TBH. My office is only 10'x12'.
 
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Bit of a rabbit hole since my last post, now have a dedicated headphones amp, and bought the HiFiMAN Sundara, then returned them and got the Ananda Nano and oh man, the soundstage and imaging of this is a dream. That and the low bass extension of planars of this size, and I don't mean that lightly, they literally are the size of my whole head:

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Fiio K7 is the headphones amp.

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robbiekhan said:
Bit of a rabbit hole since my last post, now have a dedicated headphones amp, and bought the HiFiMAN Sundara, then returned them and got the Ananda Nano and oh man, the soundstage and imaging of this is a dream. That and the low bass extension of planars of this size, and I don't mean that lightly, they literally are the size of my whole head:

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Fiio K7 is the headphones amp.

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Superb cans and The Why Files.

HeckleFish 2024!! (y)
 
Guys, looking to upgrade my headphones and I need your advice! Currently using some Hi-Fiman 400i's. I have a good aune dac/amp but I'm not opposed to upgrading that either. Buget is 1k ish. Comfort is a top priority. Nothing too bright or analytical. I like fun, smooth, punchy.
 
Have you considered one of the later model HiFiMANs? smooth punchy and fun but still incredible detail and range would put the Ananda Nano right in your sights I'd say.

I got the Voarmaksmemory foam velour pads for mine today, at under £20 for the pads they are amazing value for the quality of them which is higher than the stock pads, more comfortable and tunes the sound to lessen the brightness that planars are known for but retains all of the other goo qualities.

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Ended up going with the focal clears. So far I really like them. Also ordered a tube amp and getting a another dac for them. I'll post a pic once I get everything setup and clean my desk lol. But so far these are really nice on my integrated solid state amp.

These have the perfect amount of bass for my tastes. I like punchy, impactful, and refined bass. This is almost perfect for me.
 
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Selling the Nano because got the Arya Stealth for £510 on a random Amazon deal, also returned the M15i because I tried out the Onix XL1 and it's just as good for sound yet much cheaper and has more features lol.

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Although now found that because the Stealth is 32ohm, my Topping MX3S drives them perfectly whereas 14ohms of the Nano was too sensitive for it. Now I can't be bothered to use the XL1 lmao as the vocal timbre is silkier with the Topping's classic "NAD" style sound signature.
 
robbiekhan said:
Selling the Nano because got the Arya Stealth for £510 on a random Amazon deal, also returned the M15i because I tried out the Onix XL1 and it's just as good for sound yet much cheaper and has more features lol.

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Although now found that because the Stealth is 32ohm, my Topping MX3S drives them perfectly whereas 14ohms of the Nano was too sensitive for it. Now I can't be bothered to use the XL1 lmao as the vocal timbre is silkier with the Topping's classic "NAD" style sound signature.
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More nice cans!

Where'd you get that cool mouse pad?
 
Strange bird said:
what exactly do you mean? these two speakers, can you clarify which monitors are these two small ones?
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Not very complicated. I responded to atarione's post about his VU meters with a picture of my spectrum analyzer.

The little speakers are iLoud Micro Monitors for my MacBook Air.
 
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