r/audio

Recently had a baby and am trying to minimize screen time and maximize great music in the house. I currently have a crappy Crosley all-in-one that I want upgrade from on a pretty tight budget. I'm looking for the best hi-fi system for my record collection in the $500-$1000 range. The listening space is a 16' by 30' living room. I don't have a lot of surface space available, so floor-standing speakers are preferred. The records I'll be spinning with the system range in genre and include a lot 60's/70's/80's singer-songwriters, rock (blues, hard, psychedelic, folk, prog, heartland), jazz/fusion, funk, and soul/R&B, with some 90's and 2000's indie and alt mixed in. Discogs for reference: https://www.discogs.com/user/jedelman1992/collection

For further context, I'm located in the U.S. and I have minimal experience with multi-component sound systems, so looking for something (1) simple to buy - not shopping around on FB Marketplace/Craigslist for equipment that I don't know how to evaluate and (2) relatively simple to set up and maintain - limited time to teach myself ins and outs of a more complex sound system so better than all-in-one but less components is probably best. I know my options will be limited given my budget and limited knowledge, but given that I don't have a lot of time and money, I'm essentially looking for the best hi-fi system I can get for the family to enjoy.

I know there are a lot of variables/constraints here, so I thank y'all in advance for the help!

i hear myself, i tried thinkering with the settings restarting, but i couldn't fix it, i'm using a razer kraken x lite

So I should preface this with the note that I haven't brought this thing over about 35% yet. Depending on how I calculate it I'm at or over 1000 watts with 5 amps. Im running a 1997 marantz sr880, a sony str de545, a dayton 300 watt rms plate amp, and two aiyima chi-fi mono amps. The marantz is running a pair of klipsch f-20 towers. The sony is running two oddball rear 3 way speakers. One aiyima is running a definitive tech pro center 1000. The other aiyima is running a jbl 15 inch subwoofer. And the dayton is powering a sub wall comprised of two sealed 12s and two ported 10s. It's to the point of stupid loud and I have shaken pictures off my neighbors wall.

The reason I think I might be nuts is that I'm right at the point where I'm going to need a dedicated 20 amp circuit to run this thing at full power without tripping a breaker. I highly doubt I'll ever be brave enough to turn it up that much but it's in theory possible.

Note this has all been thrifted, pawn shopped, and cobbled together from stuff I had laying around. I've got less than a thousand into it. All of this is in a 10 by 12 spare bedroom.

Have I gone bonkers? Have any of you gotten to the point of dedicated circuits? I can't be the only one.

I’m new to recording music, but would like to record outdoor concerts while achieving minimal background noise. I’ve read that the zoom H4N pro has better preamps which I guess means it records sound at a quieter volume level better than otherwise. I’ve also read that the zoom H4N pro can be positioned more directionally in order to focus on a specific set of sounds i.e. the stage, rather than what’s happening behind the microphone.

I will be using the recorder with the microphone on them rather than plugging in to the music system. I know this is less clean, but it is the option. I have right now.

I have also seen the zoom H2N recorder which looks like it records a bit more multi directionally and I’m not sure about its preempt situation.

My question is, which would be better for my purposes? I’m new to this endeavor, so I appreciate anyone with more knowledge than me sharing their thoughts on the two option.

I’m setting up audio in a covered outdoor pavilion and could use some advice on the cleanest way to handle the TV audio.

I’ll have a pair of Bowers & Wilkins AM-1 outdoor speakers mounted in the pavilion. I was originally planning to power them with either a WiiM Amp / WiiM Amp Ultra or Sonos Amp located inside my house/basement.

For music, that seems straightforward since I can just stream to the amp from my phone.
Where I’m getting confused is the TV. I’ll have an outdoor TV in the pavilion mainly for things like the YouTube, streaming, etc. Ideally, I want the same AM-1 speakers to handle both music and TV audio.
From what I understand, HDMI ARC would normally be:
TV → HDMI ARC → Amp → speaker wire → AM-1s
The problem is that if the amp stays in my basement, I’d apparently need to run HDMI from the pavilion back to the house, potentially underground. I’d rather avoid burying a long HDMI cable if there’s a cleaner/more reliable option.

Would appreciate any recommendations, especially from anyone who has done something similar.

Hi!

I have been an avid headphone user (Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80ohm) for at least 8 years now.

However I find that sometimes I'd rather have the audio coming out of speakers, instead of having headphones blasting it straight into my ears.

I've done some research myself and while I don't know everything yet, I do know that I'd prefer to have both devices connected to the same source with the option to switch between the outputs (I'd rather not switch within my OS).

My coworker recommended me to look for some second-hand passive bookshelf speakers, which he can help me with. The pricing on these.. I don't know yet.

However that leaves me with whether I need an external DAC, or just an amp for the speakers.

I've seen DACs from SMSL, Fosi, Topping which allow for an easy switch and a volume knob. However I find it hard to pick between these brands. I'm thinking of ~€300 for the DAC and ~€200 for a possible amp. However I'm not sure if these are realistic budgets.

What do I need to look out for?

Hello everyone, i have been using an old lexicon alpha, it has been working fine until i decided to update my windows, now its being recognized on the system or voicemeter banana, is there a way to fix this or is basically dead?, i have tried to update the drivers, however it didnt work, and cheking around internet it says that it maybe a driver problem, so idk what to do to be honest.

This device cannot start. (Code 10)- thats the message that appears when i click on properties

I'm just wondering this because I'm working on my home pc set up right now and currently have a left & right bose speaker, but I find them kind of annoying to have on my desk because they take up space I'd rather have other things in. I would rather just have one long speaker occupying the space below my central monitor if it mostly works the same.

Edit: The question really is do sound bars operate more like accessories to an already existing set up, or can I have that be my one form of audio and be fine?