Other Is anyone else in to HIFI stereo?

[mthomps]

Aint nothing like kickin back between the speakers with a cold drink and feeling the power of a solid stereo system.

I dont buy in to surround sound. I am a 2 channel guy. Decent speakers properly powered amd placed create the effects for you with movies.

I like to just sit back and enjoy some vinyl or spotify, even on cd. (I have over 100 cds, maybe 20 records on vinyl.

I run 2 channel no subwoofer. Dont need one. I have SVS ultra towers and the bass response is good enough you dont need one.

Ironically enough, my amplifier is an integrated yamaha...an AS-701. Lol. No i didnt buy it because of the name. Its just a solid amp for under 1k with tons of power

 

[mikesx]

My set up was a Classe' 400 watt amplifier running class AB with Magneplanar QR Electrostatic speakers, and a California Audio Labs SACD single disc player with digital to analog conversion with all XLR connections. You could hear Diana Krall lick her lips, lol. When my girl moved in with cats I couldn't risk those electrostat panels becoming scratching posts, so I sold it all. Nothing beats 2 channel, 1 for each ear is all you need.

 

[mthomps]

ive always wanted to hear electrostatic speakers. I heard they were very high detailed and super fast response time. I cant believe you gave them up for your lady's cat. She must be a keeper.

what frustrates me about my system is that the ultra towers to very well in the bass and mid range but lack a certain sparkle on top. The kind you get from a grado headphone like my 80e's.

 

[mikesx]

Yeah man electrostatics are unreal! You need a lot of reserve power to run em right, that's why I had the Classe' amp. And that 400 watts was class AB 400 watts , not brochure or bragging watts. The Magneplanars were true electrostatic panels , unlike some of the other guys like Martin Logan who paired their panels with a subwoofer. Jazz or strings sound incredible, hard to describe, like you're in the room in between the instruments.

 

[mthomps]

That...that sounds wonderful. I have a sound stage dont get me wrong. I can hear when a character in a movie is on the left side of my screen vs the right. Any good audio mix will do that. My speakers are almost-great. Ill probably never get to that level though.

The yamaha line of amps are beasts. Im sure id have the power. 100w rms @.01 distortion. I doubt ill ever apend the money to get in to electrostatics though

 

[mikesx]

It almost funny to say this on this forum, but tuning has a lot to do with sound. Room and system. When I was into it I actually went to a grave stonecutter for a granite bass to set the amp and dac on to limit vibration. 4" thick, 3' wide, 6' long, what a joke placing that was!

 

[mthomps]

Oh yeah, the room is almost all of it. I dont have the ideal rectangle shape but what i do have is room on the sides. Since my speakers have two 8 inch woofers each, one on the unside and one outside, ive been able to make it work.

If they were against a side wall it would be a boomy mess like a 20 year olds car stereo.

 

[mthomps]

These speakers take up so much space you cant help but get them off walls, as long as you have the space the bass response will be accurate..maybe a tiny tiny bit slow. But the midrange magic. I wont lie, you play some punk or metal rock through them and youll turn it down. I just wish that tiny tweeter could sparkle for me a bit more

Do you run anything between your pre amp and amp? Like an eq or anything?

 

[mikesx]

The CAL CL-15 was a transport/processor with a variable output so I was able to drive my amp directly. I ordered it with XLR connections and the balanced analog output stages, at the time it was one of the sweetest deals going.

 

[mikesx]

I gotta get off this thread, I quit drinking but all this talk makes me want to grab a bottle of Grand Marnier and a stogy....

 

[smoofers]

I started down the hifi road a while ago. Currently running a set of Paul Carmody Amigas, with two Anarchy tapped horn subs. Center channel is a Carmody Sunflower. Onkyo receiver and a Rega Planar 3 turn table. Pretty happy with it.



Edit: Forgot to add I'm running a Lounge Audio LCR Mk III phono preamp.

 

[OCD Solutions]

Interested to see where this goes.

I am a huge fan of PSB Alpha tower speakers and have a Denon 1000 W 7.1 AV receiver that pushes everything quite nicely.
The last house didn't have room for the multi rears so I was forced to try out in-ceiling speakers for the first time.
I went with 8" HTD whch fit the budget at the time and were actually pretty goodbut no replacement for full size rears.
I even boxed them in and filled with insulation but they were still lacking that extra something.

HDX-R80 High Definition In-Ceiling Speakers

DetailsThe HDX-R80 is an exceptional pair of in-ceiling speakers. It is ideal for large rooms (200+ square feet), rooms with 10' or higher ceilings, or any room where deeper bass is preferred. The large 8" aluminum woofer produces deep, punchy low frequencies and the anodized aluminum tweeter...

www.htd.com

We are in the middle of building a new house and I have pre-wired for in-ceiling already.
I have wanted to try these for awhile now and have 4 on order.

Focal 100 ICLCR 5

In-ceiling home theater speaker with built-in back-box

www.crutchfield.com

My wife wants to get rid of my big towers and center channel too so I'm looking at doing a slight buildout around the TV and replace the big towers with a high end set of in-wall speakers.

Current setup is built out nicely. The new house is a flat wall. 2x4 construction so a 4-6” buildout may be necessary to get the depth for decent in-wall speakers.

 

[waxhead]

Im looking for the right system at the moment for the pool aera. I have a denon head unit running a set of nice water proof speakers,
With a 10 9nch pyle amp.
Im looking at a Behringer EP4000 to run 4 12 inch subs I have so the neighbours can enjoy the music as well

 

[mthomps]

@OCD Solutions

All the surround systems ive heard run center channels, buut i hate them. It sounds unnatural to me. Im in the set up the mains so they image properly camp. Toe them in right and the dialogue/vocala are dead center.

In some movie and tv show mixes that pay attention to detail you can hear it move slightly left to right of the screen depending on the camera angle.

For what its worth you can make a compromise with the wife and ditch the center and keep the towers. A man's gotta have his towers of power.

 

[mthomps]