I find it so odd that people on a subreddit focused on equipment, which ultimately implies some technical rigorosity and level of measurement and less mystical voodoo, some people still ask what speakers to upgrade to or hope that a new purchase will make their room fill with sound when their speakers are placed directly next to windows or hallways.
Ok so a little context, I’ve always been a movie buff I’ve seen a lot of movies and I’m talking a lot film is my hobby, but at the ripe age of 35 my partner let me get my own way with a 5.1 surround sound system.
All I can think about is that bass. That clarity, that helicopter buzzing from my left ear to my right ear.
I think I might be becoming an audiophile not for music but for cinema.
Everything is so much better and feels surreal when I hear stereo audio.
I’m already looking at upgrades and god is life good.
Am I going to be addicted to audio for the rest of my life? Because I believe I will and there is worse addictions out there
Hey everyone, back with a quick update on my setup. Really happy with the current synergy here. Here is the gear list:
Streamer/Preamp: WiiM Ultra
Amp: Cambridge Audio CXA81 MkII (Limited Black Edition)
Speakers: KEF Q1 Meta
Subwoofer: Polk HTS10 (connected via amp pre-out)
Stands: Norstone Stylum 2 with Norstone Counterspikes
Cables: Proson Arctic Series (Speaker, Optical, Subwoofer)
The Q1 Meta paired with the CXA81 MkII is a match made in heaven. The clean power drives the Metas beautifully, bringing out great precise imaging without sharpness. The Polk HTS10 fills in the sub-bass nicely where the KEFs roll off.
As you can see in the photo, the wall behind the setup is totally bare. I want to close it up and make it look clean, but with actual acoustic benefits.
What would you suggest for the back wall to balance looks and sound? I am thinking about wood slat panels, DIY Rockwool art panels, or maybe a central diffuser with some floating shelves and plants.
Would love to hear your thoughts on what would look and sound best, also, what do you think about the setup ?🙂
I currently listen to both Analog (Vinyl) and digital (Streaming). I have a decent sounding system but I'm always looking for new avenues. I've heard from people that blu-ray audio can sound fantastic. I know there are limited stock, but I plan to get some sample rips of Blu-ray audio and test them through my roon. Anybody gone all in on blu-ray audio? if so, do you use a player or do you rip them and play through a Dac? (I'm using 2 channel only, so video, atmos or surround wont come into play)
By far the best sounding speakers I have ever owned. Paired with a great album, damn dude.
After 3 months all the parts are finally here and I can start building the furniture around the system. Acoustic walls, carpet still coming. I’m wondering if I should treat the right wall as well or not.
The app and auto EQ certainly makes it easier to integrate into my 2-channel setup than my “manual” velodyne. Reaches deeper too.
I used the recommended low pass settings for the maxima amators and apart from reducing the volume by 8db… they sound good for only a ½ hour of tweaking
Not sure if this is ok here curious to hear anyone's desk audio setup.
Tannoy Berkeley mk2
Audionote Cobra
Garrard 401
Audionote r zero ii phono stage
Shangling ET3
Sharing my setup. Mainly listening to jazz here on vinyl /cd . Cobra integrated has a wonderful dac im using with the cd transport. Have an audionote cartridge coming home soon, and soon will move into MC territoy. Garrard has a 12 shick arm. Pretty happy with the overall sound and cohesion of the system. Greeting from Buenos aires
Happy Independence Day everyone!
I hope you audio nuts are cranking out fireworks or a good patriotic song tonight 👍
Evidently I have to add more sentences on this forum for the audiophile robots to let me post this. Insane. So here I go.
I like German shepherds.
I like turtles.
I like anything audio that isn’t Bose or Apple cans.
I like a neutral sound as much as I can get it without all those room correction programs and filters. Let room treatment take place instead of manipulating the sound that the artist or recording intended. Hopefully these are enough sentences to let me post 😂
Happy 4th everyone and stay safe 👍
From a sound quality perspective, would it make more sense to keep my CD quality FLACs as is, or convert my Hi-Res FLACs to AAC to retain the sample rates while also keeping the file sizes reasonable? I'm not sure if it will actually make an audible difference but it would be nice to save some space. Any and all input is appreciated.
A friend gifted me these today. Klipsch Heresy II, tag on the back says 1985. I need to clean them up some more, but they work just fine. I had heard they can be a little light on the bottom end but I have no complaints so far. They sound great! Now I just have to find some place to put the Polk Monitor 10s I was using. Talk about first world problems...
Inherited this system from my dad. He had it custom built in 2005-2006 he does not have the shop's contact or the build specs. Need help identifying parts, ideal use case, and value (parts vs whole).
Looked up magenta but their website doesnt have anything that looks similar.
What are your thoughts on putting speakers as close to the corner as possible, and what is the general rule here?
They are front port speakers, so I guess that helps. I am worried about having too much bass buildup.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
P.s. I cannot sound proof the room with professional gear. There is furniture, a fat rug, curtains not visible here, thats about it.
EDIT: I knew redditers (especially "audiophiles") have the tendency to be sensitive like teenage girls, but hell man these offended replies from some of you just make me want to grab you by the shirt and take you out for a cold beer and a striptease. Cheers to everyone
Long time lurker, long time audiophile, finally finished my small space setup:
Technics SL-100C w/ Nagaoka MP200 cartridge
Schitt Mani 2 preamp/Vincent PHO-8 preamp
NAD C700 V2 integrated amp
Shanling CR60 CD player
KEF LS50 speakers
KEF Kube 8 Subwoofer
Herbie’s Audio fat dot isolation pads
Mostly Blue Jeans cables
I do know I need speaker stands and everything is too close together but I’m working with the space I have.
Not pictured: 1000 more records.
Pictured: my late audiophile father
Love this sub and figured I’d finally post my setup.
With hi-res and lossless now table stakes on almost every platform, the choice seems to come down to other factors: catalog depth, ecosystem integration, UI, pricing and how well each handles bit-perfect playback.
Curious where this community lands..
Which platform are you subscribed to right now?
What was the deciding factor (sound quality, catalog, price, or ecosystem?)
Has anyone switched recently? What pushed you over?
Not looking to start a "which sounds best" war, more interested in what actually keeps people paying month after month.
Home-made plinth for my Rega P10. Its fiber board with a walnut burl veneer, stained black, lacquered and polished. It’s filled with lead shot and sand, so hopefully gives a nice and solid base!
The P10 itself is on a set of Solidair Audio isolation feet, so all-in-all I think I’m covered.
I've been looking at adding room correction to my setup (2.0 currently), and have been mainly considering the miniDSP Flex series. The Flex doesn't support the full Dirac suite up to ART, though, whereas Dirac for windows does the whole thing. I was thinking I could get a tiny windows pc with a decent USB audio interface, and insert that into my signal chain -- then maybe use it for streaming/roon down the line.
I don't really see many people talking about setups like this. Is it just overkill? Would the latency be awful? Does ART even matter with such a basic setup?
Been going through some old music CD's that I have. Imported the files into my computer through iTunes (chose AIFF format).
Tested the quality of one song through as many platforms like Apple Music (lossless), TIDAL, Amazon music....etc.
Michael Jackson's - Billie Jean (HIStory: Past, Present.....)
I've listened to the CD's and through high quality speakers, headphones and a decent set of earphones.
Why is the quality much better in CD over streaming? Something I need to do different? Thought technology got so much better that getting original/high quality music would be easy.