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Hey Folks!! I just finished a 5.0 system and have some questions. This is going to be hard to explain but I'm doing my best. Here's the setup, please refer to the diagram below for locations and labeling: I want to use the Back L and Right L speakers for a 2.0 stereo setup during the workday. I have a separate dac and amp there for that purpose (that's my work desk on the north end of the room). When I'm gaming, I want all 5 of those speakers to be doing 5 channel surround sound for the TV on the opposite end of the room. All 5 speakers are already connected to the TV receiver and there is an entirely separate pair of speaker wires that run to the dac/amp on the workdesk. I can use these speaker wires to create either a stereo 2 channel setup on my workdesk with the dac/amp, or by connecting the speaker wire that runs around to the TV receiver, creating a 5 channel system originating from the receiver/tv. ^Assuming you understand what I'm saying here, you surely get that me switching the speaker wires around every time I want to change the configuration is not exactly ideal Pic of the dac amp with its own set of speaker wires:  I manually unplug the speaker wire going to the 5 channel receiver and connect the speaker wire going to the dac amp on my work desk, making a 2.0 stereo setup. Then if I want to use the 5 channel setup with the TV, I need to reconnect the other speaker cables that go to the 5 channel amp, if that makes sense. It's kind of lame and I want to find a better way. Pic of the TV area with 2 loudspeakers and a center channel, and the receiver:  Here is my setup. I hope this makes sense, I had to draw it with my apple pencil and im horrible at this poo poo:  Note: I say "Tv and 7.1 amp" in this diagram but its more accurately a Tv and 7.1 HDMI 2.1 Denon Receiver, if that makes it more clear, it's not just an amp. The colors are being used to explain what is connecting to what in each configuration. The green is the stereo work desk configuration, and the blue is the 5 channel connection to the TV/receiver. The Back L and Back R speakers have both colors to illustrate that they are being used in both setups. There are two sets of speaker wires that can be added to the Back L and Back R speakers to create the desired configuration. So I can manually attach the speaker wires I want to create 1) a stereo sound system on my work desk or 2) detach those speaker wires and attach the ones running to my TV receiver, creating a 5 channel system for the TV. My ultimate question: is there a better way to do this? Can I somehow attach the dac/amp to the receiver under the tv and manually switch between them while keeping all of the speakers running to the receiver? Is there some kind of box that accepts two pairs of speaker wires or more, and I can flip a switch, so that I can use either set of speaker wire when needed? I don't know. My main goal here is to have some easier way to switch between the two configurations. Taima fucked around with this message at 22:26 on May 8, 2022 |
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May 8, 2022 22:12
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Thanks you guys. This is exactly why I asked- I didn't want to cause some kind of damage.Eyud posted:Seems like this would work: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093GSS8P7/ I went ahead and bought this thanks ^_^ a little expensive! But I'm not trying to unplug and replug wires constantly, that is crazy ghetto... KillHour posted:I would definitely not do this. The risk of damage is probably very high. Could you elaborate please? where do you plug the dac in? pre outs or something? The reason why I bought that amp switcher is, my desktop amp is very powerful, so it drives my desktop speakers well. Even if there is some way to plug everything into the receiver, the per channel strength of the speakers is rather low, so I'm worried sound quality will take a hit. Doesn't mean I'm completely opposed to it but it's a concern. By simply flipping the switch on that little box, I can kind of have my cake and eat it too. Unfortunately that box is kind of pricy though for what it is, and I also need to get more speaker hookups for it. It'll be about $80 for everything. Taima fucked around with this message at 21:37 on May 9, 2022 |
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May 9, 2022 21:27
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Hey I don't post in here but wanted to pay it forward to my fellow goons. Best Buy is closing out their KEF R3s to make way for the new updated R3 meta. By all accounts the updated version is better, but hooooly poo poo. You can get a crazy deal on the "old" ones if you're willing to roll the dice on Open Box Fair display models that they're trying to offload. I was able to grab a pair for $644. They have some visual damage... worn corners... a dent on one of the woofer caps (which is unfortunately a huge issue for these speakers; they have extremely thin aluminum on the woofer caps). Nothing appears to affect the sound though and the damage is minor enough that I doubt anyone would notice in practice. It's subtle damage. https://slickdeals.net/f/16609676-kef-r3-series-passive-3-way-bookshelf-speakers-pair-various-colors-1430-more-free-shipping Anyways. This is as YMMV as it comes but there are lots of units nearby to me at least (all with exactly one unit in stock; so, display models). You can easily go to the store and check it out before you commit - or in my case I just reserved a few; they may put a hold on your card but they don't actually charge you until you commit to the pickup- and see what you can find. The return exchange is easy if you decide to return as well. I totally get that this kind of thing will only appeal to a certain kind of person, but I think this is an incredible opportunity to get into your first "nice" audio system if that's where you are at in your life right now. There are also some higher quality open box models if you don't want to roll the dice quite so hard, but those seem a little harder to find. 
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Apr 28, 2023 14:09
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In my case it's actually like, an indented scratch that cut into the aluminum. When I say the woofer cap is soft, I mean like, you can permanently damage it easily by just putting your finger on it. Absolutely despicable design choice, but the speakers themselves are fire and acoustics don't seem to be affected if you do scratch/dent the cap. e: sorry I wasn't clear- point being that fixing a dent like that relies on the material being more sturdy, so it pops back out. Soft aluminum doesn't snap-repair like that, too soft. It's the only real flaw on what is an incredible set of speakers, and if you manage to get a $600 pair, you are living good. Ok Comboomer posted:depending on the material, I’ve even used the tip of a pin to pull the tweeter cap back into form. Do you have a technique for soft metals? aparmenideanmonad posted:I would consider pulling the trigger on this but none available in my area. Thanks for the heads up in any case. Oh dang sorry to hear that. There was like 5-10 pairs within my area (Seattle) granted, there are also several best buys, so. Bear in mind that they do a mile radius- if you are willing to go drive a little longer to get them, try casting a larger net. it could be worth it. Taima fucked around with this message at 13:02 on Apr 29, 2023 |
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Apr 29, 2023 12:29
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Thanks for the comments all, I appreciate it. A couple more, if yall don't mind. The KEF R3 can suck down tons of power, and can get as low as 3-4 ohm. I have a Klipsch SPL-150 subwoofer in my system paired with a pretty low end receiver (Denon S760H). I mostly got the receiver because I needed 8K capabilities, and I run it with JBL 530s which are not hard to drive. It's been fine so far but I am considering adding my recently purchased KEF R3s as the left and right fronts. My questions: 1) Can I get away with my current, less powerful receiver for the R3s since I'm offloading all the low frequencies to the sub, which is of course self-powered and thus doesn't need any help in that way from the receiver? 2) Do home theater receivers allow more juice per speaker when there is less speakers overall? I'm wondering if running at 4.1 instead of 5.1 or 7.1 would allow the R3s to receive more juice? Thanks yall.
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May 3, 2023 13:15
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bird with big dick posted:1. Yes but also that (running a sub) is kind of already the default I like crankin' it so yeah, good driving is essential. I ended up seeing a Pioneer VSX-LX305 on open box for around $600 which has the 8k hookups I want along with full (not Lite) Dirac Live and it explicitly supports 4 ohm mode. It's fire. Kef R3 fronts, JBL 530 surrounds, Klipsch SW 15 inch sub, VSX-LX305 amp. drat, poo poo slays. I'm super impressed how much Dirac was able to get my sub in line and it sounds loving amazing now. Dirac is the business. I wasn't going to drop 1200 on an amp either so thank god best buy has been killing it on the open box (which was basically new). Anyways chalk one up for money solving all problems. Thanks for bein' real that my amp wouldn't cut it at loud listening habits. I tried this setup with my old Denon 8k amp and it sounded like absolute poo poo compared to the pioneer. Honestly I knew a nice amp would help but I had no idea it would help this much. The mancave is on one... e: btw if anyone also wants this amp you can get it open box shipped excellent for $678 which as far as I can tell is ridiculously cheap, or there's in-store open boxes for $578 and up. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/pioneer-elite-vsx-lx305-9-2-channel-network-av-receiver-black/6405450.p?skuId=6405450 Taima fucked around with this message at 11:27 on May 5, 2023 |
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May 5, 2023 00:50
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So, this Pioneer VSX-LX305 is very clear that it supports 4.1 Dolby Atmos (I prefer a virtual center to a real one), and even virtualized Dolby Atmos which is supposed to be really good. However I can't get it to actually play in Atmos, whether that's virtual or otherwise. The only options are stereo, Dolby Digital, and some DTS options. This isn't a huge deal, I think it sounds great, but I like listening to Apple Music lossless Atmos music and it's just kind of weird that it's not actually playing in Atmos despite being an Atmos supported track. Thoughts?
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May 5, 2023 12:21
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I'm with you- like I get what Atmos is of course, but this chart is in the manual and I don't know how to read it: Maybe when it says, for instance, Atmos 4.1, it means 4.1 with 2 height channels or something? It's not clear. The Pioneer also emulates height speakers in a way that has been talked about favorably and I don't know the interaction there either. e: also can I take another second to give massive props to Dirac Live? It's like magic, it really is. I was one of those assholes who was worried about a surround receiver being able to properly drive passive 2 channel speakers, even though the receiver even has a 4 ohm mode. The Audessey or whatever it's called correction solution on the Denon I have is underwhelming at best. If you had asked me a month ago, I would have told you that something like the Aiyama A07 with a nice DAC would be a better overall choice than using even a 4 figure receiver, for 2 channel music. That's how low my opinion of receivers was for that task. Stupid, but there it is. This is a situation where the audiophile community is biased, hard. The stance most old heads have on receivers is just old news at this point. People will go to any lengths to gatekeep their precious hobby and are unwilling to admit that a $1000 receiver (under $700 in this case) is going to do 95% as good as a $2000+ 2 channel amp/dac combo. Except the receiver also handles 8k/4k 120 sources, has incredible room correction, and does a million other things. And just to be clear, it's obvious why this is happening; audiophile junk has a super small fan base, and so the companies involved in it charge insane prices. Receivers are a much bigger market and therefore can afford to put in all the good poo poo at a way lower price. It's also a past time frequented by older folks who are willing to drop frankly obscene amounts of money on the hobby which further encourages gigantic margins at the top end. If you actually have lovely acoustics in your room, I would argue the receiver is objectively better. Like, a lot better. My man cave (which is basically just the first floor of the house, so its big and has weird acoustics) has been near impossible to dial in. Maybe I just suck, in fact that's very likely, but not only can the Pioneer power the KEF R3s in a 4.1 setup, it sounds loving amazing. My subwoofer, which I've spent hours trying to tune on my own, was immediately just... right. And this is just the 3-point "quick" setting, they offer a 9 point setup that people say is a lot better. You can even use the full Dirac program on your pc which is pretty insane for the cost of the unit. Dirac has come down in price a ton recently, from what I've read, so it's beginning to show up on relatively cheaper products. Something to be wary of here is that a product called "Dirac LE" exists on some mid tier receivers which lacks key functionality. Fortunately this amp includes the full version. Sounding like a fuckin shill here but I'm just so glad I put away my old notions. Room correction is a total, utter game changer, and in the 4ohm mode, this receiver actually slaps. You do need to set the volume pretty high if you really want to blast it, but there is no distortion or anything no matter how high you put the volume pot in my experience so it's been fine. For that reason, I think this receiver could power most speakers but not the most demanding ones. You'll need more power for that still, but the R3s are notoriously hard to drive correctly, so it probably covers 90% of speakers in my uneducated opinion. It really has completely changed the mancave, and I'm amazed how good Best Buy has been coming through because the Kef R3 for $600 and the Pioneer vsx-lx305 for $600 as well, that's crazy. I figured it would be years before I was properly ready emotionally to spend that kind of change on audio equipment, but here we are
Taima fucked around with this message at 13:17 on May 6, 2023 |
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May 6, 2023 10:36
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Hippie Hedgehog posted:I’m pretty sure the last digit is height. So you have a 4.1.2 if you put two height speakers up, and hence you'd follow that 4.1.2 column down to see which listening modes your system would support, I guess? Thanks, I am interpreting the chart the same as you, which is why I'm kind of "???" that's it's not available, so that's really the main point of my question. And yeah- I actually do have height speakers around, maybe I should get around to installing them. Does Atmos make a big difference in general? Beyond that, does lacking a center channel hurt Atmos more than "normal" listening? Right now I don't use a center on purpose, and that's fine because it's 4.1... but how does it interact with Atmos? CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK posted:Room correction EQ software has been the biggest advancement for audio in a while. And Dirac is by far the best one. Wait what really?! Honestly I never even compared them, so placebo wasn't a thing in my case; I just assumed that a 4 ohm mode would, like, uh... be good for 4 ohm speakers, so I set it to that without thinking twice. That's an incredible revelation, thanks! You have to be so careful in this line of business... It is so difficult to parse anything in the audio world. If I had paid attention to the "experts" I never would have purchased a Dirac receiver, because most audiophiles will knock down your front door to yell that the only way to listen to music is with a 2 channel setup. Luckily other audio people had a differing opinion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcxBOlroZ_Q But I don't know what's the real truth here, or if this guy in the video above is even correct/credible. I'm very happy with the pioneer receiver though. I'm an idiot, so the room correction offers infinitely more to me than some super-expensive bespoke 2 channel setup that, admittedly, is probably slightly "better" if you are willing to put in the work doing your own corrections. I'm not, and will never be, that person, so this receiver has completely changed how I listen to music. Maybe it's an exposure thing; Dirac only very recently started dipping into reasonable price points from what I can tell, especially the non-Lite version which used to be only on absurdly expensive poo poo iirc. And I suspect most people use far shittier room correction like Audeze or whatever that Denon does, so that could be an element in why perception has been so slow to change. To be completely honest my approach so far has been to purchase products with the understanding that I would return them if they didn't fit, because that's imo the only way a newbie is going to really understand what's best for them, or at least, the only way I succeeded... Taima fucked around with this message at 11:32 on May 7, 2023 |
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May 7, 2023 11:17
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I think most purists / audiophiles dislike it because
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Ruffian Price posted:Atmos is more about flexibility in setups than it is about having poo poo above you, you can take a DD+ with Atmos stream (which has the object-based part literally bolted onto legacy frames carrying a downmix) and render it on a home audio setup with height speakers, you can render the same stream on a quadrophonic setup with a subwoofer (aka 4.1), and it'll likely take the legacy 5.1 core and mix the center channel to the fronts with -3dB Oh, that actually clarifies it a ton, thanks. So to be clear here, Atmos speakers essentially allow a receiver to be more flexible in producing the "right" imaging? So like... it allows room correction to work better too? qirex posted:Economies of scale in design and manufacturing mean that the performance and value you get out of major brand AVRs cannot be matched by 2 channel companies. That said if you still want objectively the best performance according to measurements you're best off with more and more expensive boxes. Plus for some people constantly swapping out parts of their system is the point of the hobby.A $600 AVR with Dirac is great, though, and I'm hoping the market overall cools off a bit. I also hope the AVR companies finally start adopting class D, smaller, more efficient and cooler running stuff would be good for everybody. Just curious, do you find yourself gravitating to 2 channel more for that reason? How much money would you generally feel like you would need to spend for a more niche 2 channel setup to match a mass produced receiver with Dirac etc? I'm very sympathetic to the idea that the tinkering is the point for many people, and frankly I probably spoke too harshly. If you don't do algorithmic room correction, do you perform the physical corrections that audiophile sources recommend like using materials to deflect and dampen? I can vibe with the idea that those things work, and unlike a lot of people, I have a giant home theater room so I could get into it that deep, but it's hard to figure out how much that stuff works vs how well room correction can fix up the oddities. And that's fair regarding cheap audio man. Another criticism I would level is that he makes a video like every single day, definitely a quantity over quality kinda guy. There's just not a ton of resources for making systems on that level, or at least, I had trouble finding them. A lot of audiophiles I talked to said things like the Aiyama A07 pro were poo poo and would sound like a dying turkey, but I feel like it's a decent kit for the price, so idk. Yeah, it's just a confusing space. What equipment do you like the most? Do you have a treated room and such? The only physical correction I've had to do is that I put a subwoofer in my bedroom (just a little one) and it sounded like absolute loving garbage. Just complete trash. It took hours of moving the sub around, and loving with algorithmic correction, DB adjusting just to make it acceptable. However my bedroom has Denon Audessey or whatever and doesn't seem to do fantastic with subwoofers. It just heard my sub, went "uh this is hot garbage" and shot it down to -12db in an attempt to squash it out of existence. That was the wrong call, and I managed to dial it in manually, which makes me skeptical of the Audessey system to some degree. In contrast, Dirac scoped the subwoofer in my home theater room like, right away. Zero issues, and it literally sounded like a brand new, more expensive subwoofer had just appeared in my room. Idk how much that's just luck vs capability though. Taima fucked around with this message at 10:02 on May 11, 2023 |
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May 11, 2023 09:55
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Fozzy The Bear posted:Costco is having a sale on: I have one of these and it's pretty good for the price but I always had problems getting a consistent full bandwidth HDMI 2.1 signal. It's for sure the unit because my new 2.1 receiver handles it perfectly. But if that's not a concern, from my limited research that seemed to be the best value play in the market for the feature set.
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May 18, 2023 11:25
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Not tryin' to tell you your business or nothin' but any reason you didn't just get powered studio monitors and skip the relatively expensive amp? Just looks like a pretty mismatched system to me, $350 amp with $75/ea passive speakers, no sub, idk man
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May 19, 2023 09:49
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We tried to get into soundbars at one point and I felt that even the good ones were trash tier vs. a basic receiver-based speaker setup. The one you listed is also quite old and there have been tons of improvements in the space recently; they're still pretty bad though imo. Of course for some scenarios, you can't do speakers, and I respect that. I doubt that soundbar is particularly good though given its age. Speakers have staying power but soundbars rely on auditory shenanigans that only really came into their own in the past few years. e: btw kind of random but Apple Music has an entire library of albums that have been remixed or whatever to support 7.1 Dolby Atmos and I was very skeptical initially but honestly it's kind of blowing my mind. Anyone else get into this kinda stuff? Are there other recommended sources? Some tracks with Atmos are so amazing that it's like hearing the music again for the first time. Like being completely immersed in a John Coltrane jam and you're sitting on the stage, it's kind of unreal. There is of course poorly mixed stuff too, like anything. I figured it was just a gimmick, but nope. Taima fucked around with this message at 09:34 on Jun 3, 2023 |
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Jun 3, 2023 09:26
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I recently finished a 7.1.2 Dirac-assisted surround system on the cheap and since it involved a good deal of bargain hunting and research I figured it might be useful for someone to know what happened in case you're trying to accomplish something similar. The overall strategy was to focus budget on what I feel are the most important parts (receiver, front and center speakers, subwoofer) while utilizing best in case budget options for everything else, especially the Studio 530 since they are so awesome for the price, they make fantastic side/rear speakers. All of the higher end pieces in the system were bought from Best Buy, which was not something I expected, but ended up being essential to keep costs down. I couldn't have built this system in a million years without scouring Best Buy demo units for a month or so; but if you are willing to be deliberate about your system and buy pieces over a number of weeks, this method is very rewarding and probably the single best way to go unless you want to get into the used market which is a whole other thing and well beyond the scope of this post. You should go used though, if you can make it work; used audio equipment can be a real steal. The secret to Best Buy deals is this: BB clearances higher end audio pieces each year as new model numbers are introduced. The clearance price is usually great on its own, but the real meat here is a combination of Clearance, Open Box, and Demo units that are plucked off the show floor of their audio section. You can score pieces for 50-75% off retail if you get lucky. Pioneer VSX-LX305 9.2 Channel DIRAC Live receiver for $640 (MSRP $1,199, currently on sale for $999) https://www.bestbuy.com/site/pioneer-elite-vsx-lx305-9-2-channel-network-av-receiver-black/6405450.p?skuId=6405450 I spent a long time waffling about my receiver but this receiver (I am a consummate cheap rear end) has amazing features for the price because of Dirac Live. Dirac should not be underrated and besides speaker quality I found that it was the most important part of my setup, and the LX305 has sufficient power to drive my speakers, which has a few demanding pieces such as the KEF R3s, so that was a nice surprise. That was the only in stock, non-demo item I bought from Best Buy. Now let's get into the open box demo items: MartinLogan Motion 30i Center Channel for $219.99 (no longer available to buy, MSRP $899) https://www.bestbuy.com/site/martinlogan-motion-dual-5-1-2-passive-2-5-way-center-channel-speaker-gloss-black/6371180.p?skuId=6371180 Having a good center channel really matters as it does a lot of heavy lifting in your mixes and therefore people criminally underrate the importance of a good center. I ran a virtual (non existent; 6.1) center speaker for about 2 months because I was willing to wait for the right deal, and this MartinLogan is fantastic imo. This demo unit was spotless as well. Some people say you shouldn't mix brands but I haven't found that to be true at all, at least with Dirac it all comes together great. The Logans utilize a ribbon tweeter btw, which is extremely good. KEF R3 front speakers for $643.99 (no longer available to buy, MSRP $2199.99) https://www.bestbuy.com/site/kef-r3-series-passive-3-way-bookshelf-speakers-pair-black-gloss/6309092.p?skuId=6309092 The R3 fronts are the backbone of the entire system and sound so awesome. These demo units came with fairly substantial cosmetic damage, so beware. In my case it was a dent on one of the subwoofer plates, along with substantial scratching on the bottoms. Nothing is really obvious (most people would never in a million years look close enough) but if you do look, they're very obviously demo units. So it depends on what you're comfortable with but this kind of Best Buy bargain hunting is only really possible if you're willing to accept some visual dings. Now, the rest of the parts, which were from JBL and Amazon and Adorama: JBL 530, 2 pairs for side and rear speakers, $199 per pair if you wait for a deal on the JBL website, here is an example of a past deal for reference: https://slickdeals.net/f/16190668-s...teSearchV2Algo1 This is the refurb price but JBL refurbs are like Apple refurbs in that they're just new condition. The 530s in general are imo one of the true secrets in audio; they are absolutely loving fantastic and if there are better passive bookshelves for $199 a pair I haven't found it. poo poo I haven't found anything this good for double the price. They are just that good. Klipsch SPL-150 15 inch Subwoofer for $579, discontinued https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/klipsch-spl-150 People are lukewarm on Klipsch subs and they have a super confusing naming convention which means their good subwoofers are constantly confused for their lovely ones and vice versa but I love this loving subwoofer especially for $579 new. The SPL line is very high quality internals and is just a fantastic unit. This particular model is discontinued, but I highly recommend Klipsch in the budget subwoofer space, though it should be known that a lot of people swear by the higher end brands (REL, SVS etc) so ymmv here. No product page anymore but I put up a review of the unit instead above. Klipsch RP-500SA Atmos Speakers pair ($263, discontinued, Amazon) I just installed these and they've been great in Atmos enabled shows on Apple TV like Silo along with TrueHD Atmos and Atmos music which is fantastic, but to be clear here, a lot of people don't like Atmos and frankly I don't blame them so leave these speakers out if you want, that's fine. Atmos is extremely YMMV so I won't really go out of my way to explain it for people who are meh on it, and it's worth noting that Atmos really shines in a 4-atmos setup, but I couldn't afford that. I do think the 2 speaker version is quite nice though on its own as it creates a great "wall of sound" from top to bottom if the speakers are positioned above and slightly behind the TV. Then some basic but fantastic value metal stands Monolith - 131263 from Monoprice, $59 each https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DMCXX32/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Total Price for 7.1.2 with Receiver: $2,482 plus another few hundred total for the Monprice metal stands mentioned above. I hope it helps somebody in terms of where to find budget parts and what is important in the system Even if you take nothing else from this post you should highly consider a few tl;dr overall points:1) The JBL 530s are horn speakers with a fantastic wave guide and they own for the price, have insane deals periodically and even making the entire system out of 530s would be great. This is especially true for surround speakers; if you're on a budget, the fronts and center and subwoofer are the most important speakers to concentrate your money on. But don't be afraid to build your entire system out of 530s if that's the budget. And don't underrate room correction, it is ludicrously beneficial for most people and you're not going to have the patience or ability to do it yourself most likely. Dirac is the best consumer room correction, but even the built in manufacturer correction on modern receivers is far preferable to nothing. Splurge on Dirac if you can; it's coming down in price fast and really owns. But even if you can't get a Dirac receiver, utilize the room correction on whatever receiver you get; it might not be Dirac level, but it will help a lot in most cases. Trust me, you have no business setting timings and such yourself if this is your first system. I'm trying not to be hyperbolic here but Dirac brought my system together in a mind-blowing way. I hated the idea of it initially due to the price but now, knowing what I know, it's going in every system I suggest or build going forward. Oh and be careful; there is a Dirac Lite stripped-down version that some receivers have. I have no experience with it, but just know it's a feature limited version. If you do a generic room correction the biggest sticking point in my experience is the subwoofer; Dirac is the first correction I used that nailed the subwoofer. So if you do a generic solution just make sure to dial in the sub yourself by placing it in different places in your room, here is a small guide, maybe someone else has a better resource but this looks decent based on my limited understanding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4o13mNmlaA 2) Center speakers are incredibly important and highly underrated, and shopping for them piecemeal can be a nice way to score demo units because a lot of people buy sets, not individual centers. You can take advantage of that. Some people buy one additional front speaker and put it on its side, so that's also a great option, but imo it looks really janky. YMMV. 3) Don't be afraid of demo units, there is turnover on models each year in the audio industry and usually the prior unit is the same or only nominally improved year over year. Take advantage of that! 4) The Klipsch SPL series is fantastic for the price but be careful as they have a lot of similar sounding model names. Taima fucked around with this message at 12:14 on Jun 14, 2023 |
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Jun 14, 2023 10:13
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100% willing to take the L on that. You just hear it recommended all over the internet and I haven't tried it. Would it work better with a wide-set horn waveguide like a side-mounted Studio 590? And yeah that's the one thing I didn't like about the Martinlogan center I chose. It was $200 and value for money was the point with this system, but it's a 2 way design, not a 3 way design. The value for money just made it impossible to deny as a part of the system. And it sounds fantastic. Would a 3 way sound better? Probably...? But sheer audio quality was simply not the point of the system, especially at $2500 for a full 7.1.2 system including a very decent subwoofer and receiver. In short I'm sure YMMV on what constitutes value in this space. I honestly don't know how much that affects centers specifically though. The R3s I chose are 3 ways and are pretty mindblowing to my ears as someone who is used to decent 2 ways, so it tracks, but for example if you want to get a Martinlogan 3 way center it looks like you have to get into the ElectroMotion stuff, which is double the MSRP and certainly not 200 bucks on clearance. Something I did notice, and correct me if I'm wrong, is that 3 ways are pretty expensive for just like... a normal-budgeted person. I love the Studio 530s which are cheap af and a 2 way design; they sound significantly less beautiful compared to the R3s, but the 530s are $100 per speaker, and I would be amazed if anything in that price category can beat the 530s. Maybe even anything twice that price but that becomes a bit less clear. Do you recommend any cheap-ish 3 way designs? (I understand the concept of cheap is almost nonsensical in the audio world; I've met people who considered a multi-thousand single speaker cheap, and people who considered a $500 speaker expensive). This stuff is just so hard to quantify. I think most people who are just trying to make a decent system, who are normal people who use Sonos stuff or bluetooth speakers or smart speakers, would probably poo poo their pants if they heard a couple of Studio 530s with decent amp/dac/source. The waters are so muddy as a result. What is the price point where 3 way speakers start to be worthwhile and, you know, available? My subjective preference was to get 3 ways for the vital front L R spots and 2 ways for everything else and price was absolutely the going concern here. I'm even open to upgrading this ML motion 30i center at some point since at $200 it's not a big deal and I could place this current speaker into another system in the house- if you really feel like a 3 way center would demolish this one. Subjectively it sounds really good though, but again my reference point is firmly anchored in "normal" budget audiophile reality; this entire system was 2.5k. Ignorance is bliss in audio too so that's another layer of concern, like how good of audio do you actually want to get used to? It can decrease the enjoyment of listening to audio from other more typical sources, I've noticed that this has occurred as I got used to my new rig, personally  chasing the technology dragon is an interesting and sometimes counter-productive pastime. Do I want to get used to spectacular 3 way speakers? Jury is out, but having the R3s sure has been nice.
Taima fucked around with this message at 10:19 on Jun 15, 2023 |
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Jun 15, 2023 09:02
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Btw if I had to say one thing that really changed my point of view over the course of building this "decent components for the money" system, it was getting a decent subwoofer. Subwoofers are the most underrated thing ever, and not for the reasons I expected. I get it, some partners don't really love having a giant box in the living room or in your movie room or whatever. But even my wife had to begrudgingly respect the bass experience in the end and how much it improved action films etc The crazy part that I didn't expect is booms are almost secondary to how it brings a whole new dimension to, for example, certain string instruments. The subtle nuance to a low frequency that hangs in the air like that is a whole new thing for me and if there was one thing I wouldn't skimp on in the future besides fronts, it's 100% the subwoofer. Hell, even just voices. I never really thought about why film makers tended to like voices that register super low, especially for villians or strong male leads. But I 100% understand now- it's because low voices sound loving amazing in a theater environment and lend an insane amount of gravitas to whatever is being said. The only real problem with subwoofers is that you really want to get a decent one (or two), I've tried to save money on subwoofers in the past and it's never worked, even when my standards were low. They just sound bad. So there's imo no such thing as a "budget" subwoofer in the same way that you can get a couple of Studio 530s and a dac/amp and then you're eating good already at like $400 all in. That alone is less than you'll pay for even a bottom tier decent sub in my experience.
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Jun 15, 2023 10:31
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Fozzy The Bear posted:I'm having difficulty figuring out where the money levels off on "you get what you pay for" on subwoofers. It seems like it goes to $2,500-$3,000 before it stops being worth it to buy the bigger-badder subwoofer. The general top end for normal people feels like it's around the $2,000 level, with the best price/performance at more like $1,000~ but I really suggest you go demo some units. What is your room size and use case? Do you have people in your house that wouldn't like deep bass, or neighbors who would be affected? If so I would probably opt for a smaller sealed subwoofer, which would be relevant for your budget since those are usually a little cheaper. My experience was that the sweet spot was about $1,000. For example it could be hard to go wrong with a PB2000 or similar: https://www.svsound.com/products/pb-2000-pro-outlet-0009 but brand preference varies. A lot of people like REL for example, from what I've seen. Monoprice also makes amazing subwoofers with their Monolith line. I ended up with the Klipsch SPL-150 and think it is loving awesome, and was able to get it for under $600 on promotion at Adorama. To me, the performance was similar to the other $1,000-$1,250 MSRP models. But the overall reception to Klipsch subs in the community is poor. I think this has to do with their model names at least partially; Klipsch has a variety of subs, I've tried a small handful, and I thought that only the SPL line was good and the rest were pretty poo poo. You can get a Klipsch SPL 12 inch sub for like $500, which might be an ok choice if you have less needs in the bass dept. Klipsch also has a really nice repair department, my SPL 150s circuitry fried somehow after we moved to another state, so probably we jostled it too much, but Klipsch sent a brand new internals package after a 3 minute chat and I was back up and running after a short and easy installation. So yeah I guess tldr is most people will be super happy with a sub in the $1,000 range, that feels like the best balance to me. Another important point is that imo getting 2x subwoofers is a better call than getting 1x really nice one, because having two evens out the bass response. To be honest though I only have one subwoofer and never felt like I needed another; a 15 inch sub is already so loving powerful and didn't really ever feel unbalanced to me to the point where I wanted to improve the experience. You're also majorly digging into the budget of your system if you go too hard on your sub(s). For this reason I find the $2,500-$5,000 options to be only for people for whom price is no object and they can just buy 2x for their dedicated home theater room and feel good about it. 99% of all people will be loving thrilled with a relatively more normie-positioned 15 inch sub in the $800-1300 range. I say relatively because that's still really expensive, but like I said before, I've had bad experiences with subwoofers under $800-1000 MSRP, so imo people should either be prepared to buy a decent subwoofer or just not buy one at all (that could be a hot take, not sure). Can I point out how good Dirac is for subwoofer correction? I've used a few correction systems at this point and the only one that immediately corrected the subwoofer right was Dirac. This is relevant to your question imo because if my receiver was lacking, I would replace it with a Dirac unit and get a $1,000 subwoofer well before I would buy a $2,000 subwoofer. And not just because of Dirac- any receiver that has Dirac will have decent power output per channel, usually pre-amps, support a lot more speakers at once, and other nifty features that come with a nicer receiver. Of course if you already have a powerful receiver and a Dirac model would just be a sidegrade, with the only real improvement being say Dirac and HDMI 2.1, the picture gets a lot more muddy. HDMI 2.1 loving owns though and is highly, highly recommended for so many reasons, including HDMI eARC being awesome, but that's another topic entirely. Taima fucked around with this message at 12:14 on Jun 16, 2023 |
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Jun 16, 2023 11:25
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The R3 Metas look dope but I couldn't justify the price differential at all vs the demo models. Best Buy is doing clearance on the outgoing R5 and R7 and they're actually amazing deals right now and available: KEF R5 for $660 or so new per: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/kef-r5-series-passive-3-way-floor-speaker-each-walnut/6309100.p?skuId=6309100 KEF R7 for like $900 per new or less if you can get open box in your area: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/kef-r7-series-passive-3-way-floor-speaker-each-black-gloss/6309098.p?skuId=6309098 I haven't tried these but the R3s really kick rear end, and you can get either of these all in for less than the price of the R3 Metas (like almost half the cost in the case of the R5s) and then probably not, strictly speaking, need a sub if a decent one isn't in the budget. Not gonna lie though I completely admit that I was getting kinda FOMO about the R3 Meta when I bought the original ones and would like to see how much better they are than the base model someday.
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Jun 17, 2023 09:38
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Just wanted to let yall know that the Pioneer VSX-LX305 is currently on sale for $649 which is an absurd steal imo. Dirac Live, 9.2, HDMI 2.1 receiver. Definitely make sure the features are there that you want- notably the pre-out is limited, but woof. What a deal. I own one of these and they're fantastic. Just Dirac alone would be hard to live without at this point. https://www.adorama.com/pivsxlx305.html?sdtid=17073196&emailprice=t
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Nov 27, 2023 15:42
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Just a quick FYI that the 16" Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-1600SW is on sale for $899 on Adorama which is an absolutely killer deal. The generally accepted comparison is that this subwoofer goes toe to toe performance-wise with the SVS PB-4000 https://www.adorama.com/kp1070652.h...rce=rflaid62905 The PB-4000 for reference: https://www.svsound.com/products/pb-4000 Granted the Klipsch doesn't have a gauche LED screen at the top but the sheer baseline value of this unit is off the charts, and it comes with a 5 year warranty. Klipsch has an excellent return/exchange department so this is a nice benefit. I briefly considered getting 2x at that price but at the end of the day I'm sure one is enough, lol
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Jul 14, 2024 18:40
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Fozzy The Bear posted:The Rythmik FVX12 Direct Servo Subwoofer is physically smaller and goes deeper, will sound so much better. But its $100 more. Were you planning on substantiating such a bold claim or…? Something that is immediately yellow flagging your assertion in my mind is how you seem to be equating going deeper with it being better overall, which I would strongly disagree with. I’m open to being persuaded though if you want to elaborate. Going deep is just one aspect of several that define a good subwoofer Dogen posted:Coward! The wife generally humors my absurd tech hobbies but I think 2x 16 inch subs (especially these new gen Klipsch models which slump like crazy) is probably about when she mails me to Antarctica and changes the locks. Bird is right though, there are major benefits to using dual woofers. Josh Lyman posted:drat, I would be all over this if I didn't live in an 1100 sq ft condo where at 16" 1600W sub would be insanely overkill. Hell, the Speedwoofer 10S is more than enough. I agree that it could be a bit much for an apartment but just fyi to anyone considering, this model is somewhat known for being incredible for even at low volumes. Subs aren’t only for slumping; a really good high excursion sub can be surprisingly nuanced and bring life to media even at low output
Taima fucked around with this message at 22:17 on Jul 15, 2024 |
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Jul 15, 2024 21:43
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Wibla posted:The SVS has fancier bass management, but for that price the Klipsch is an absolute nobrainer. Does this hold true if you’re already using Dirac Live? My impression was I didn’t need the management stuff on the SVS since everything is already calibrated on the top level by Dirac
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Jul 15, 2024 21:56
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Nm disregard
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Jul 15, 2024 22:16
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Got in the 16 inch Klipsch beast subwoofer and it is sick. Luckily I was able to chat up the UPS guy a bit and he volunteered to carry the 135 pound box into the theater room with me which was definitely not his job. Then I remembered how lovely it is to dial in a subwoofer. I have a pet theory that 90% of people, even people with good systems, have subwoofers that are set up so lovely. It's not anyone's fault, its just subjective, physically difficult and tedious as hell to figure out the position of a large sub. That's why I resigned to getting Dirac Live, and frankly, I can't imagine my home theater without it, including 2.1 music. There are probably people with sufficient know-how to manually set up a subwoofer but I am not one of those people. It's so nice to do basic layout testing, let Dirac handle the rest, and come out of it with a great sound profile that is done holistically for all of your speakers at the top level. The budget required to make it happen is fairly modest at this point too, with for example the LSX-305 making it down to the ~$600-700 mark. At one time I was one of those people who thought I didn't need Dirac but I was a fool, basically.
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Jul 17, 2024 23:21
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hell yeah, enjoy!!Listerine posted:He busted the box up pretty good too but luckily nothing got damage. The way Klipsch ships their amps is basically incredible. You would need to maim that box to incur any damage on the unit the way they pack it. It's also dope how they design the experience thoughtfully so that the subwoofer slides out perfectly onto the floor with no issue, with full instructions on how to achieve that printed on including diagrams. I'm happy to be proven wrong here but this unit for $899 with a 5 year warranty? This really does feel like one of the best deals in audio right now. They even sent the thing 2 Day shipping, which is totally unnecessary but appreciated. Listerine posted:Still have a lot to tweak but the first 20 minutes of Dune was pretty exceptional. I'm so sorry, tweaking a sub is really the worst thing. No Dirac I assume? If anyone is looking for a Dirac unit, the best deal I've seen is the Pioneer VSX-LX505 for $649, which happens regularly at adorama (unfortunately the promo recently ended but it should be back soon): https://slickdeals.net/f/17629626-pioneer-vsx-lx505-9-2-channel-network-a-v-receiver-649-free-s-h?src=SiteSearchV2Algo1 That's a killer 9.2 8k receiver with pioneer quality and pre-outs for $649, sheesh. People in audio are eating good right now. Taima fucked around with this message at 16:55 on Jul 18, 2024 |
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Jul 18, 2024 16:33
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qirex posted:Room correction is not a substitute for correct sub placement and tweaking, DIrac is great but it can't overcome a null at the listening position. It's no panacea but most people can't just put their subwoofer anywhere. Dirac is amazing and my friend and the only reason my sub sounds great in the positions I have to put it, lol If you have a free ticket to put a sub or multiple subs anywhere in a given space, you are very lucky and more power to you. For everyone else, there's e: at the end of the day, I've seen Dirac do its magic enough times to know that most consumers with a decent audio stack will immediately benefit from its corrections. I think most people should consider it a near-essential piece of their stack, unless they have the wherewithal to do the entire process themselves manually, which is... not many people. Probably like half of the people who think they can do it, which was already a small number. Sorry if this is a hot take but again, I've seen what dirac can accomplish on numerous occasions to the point where I believe in it completely. That goes double for subs. The subwoofer correction is really what sets dirac apart imo, even if you're just doing 2.1 for music. Taima fucked around with this message at 14:44 on Jul 20, 2024 |
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Jul 20, 2024 14:18
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Dogen posted:I feel like I’ve asked this before but is Dirac way better than audyssey? I have audyssey xt32 or whatever, I did have to tweak its results a bit to taste- usually I end up with some gain on the sub. I've extensively used Dirac and Audyssey and can very comfortably say that imo, Audyssey is mediocre compared to Dirac, and horrible for subwoofers specifically. Imo there's nothing more difficult than subwoofer tweaking so the money spent on Dirac (which again, is less than ever! $650 for a pioneer 505 on sale!) is insanely worth it. That being said, if sub isn't a priority, Audyssey is fine. And it's worth being very clear that, like other posters have said, if you can manually dial in your sound system and know what you're doing, that will always yield the best results. All Dirac is really doing, at the end of the day, is doing the best with the room it has and making the most of the setup that exists. The problem is that it's rare to be able to afford to treat a room for acoustics or otherwise devote a space to maximizing acoustics. We have families, and budgets, and housing has never been more expensive so a dedicated theater room is a pipe dream for most. That's why Dirac is the goated audio solution; because we can't do what the professionals do. We have a few possible listening arrangements and Dirac does a great job of teasing out the best audio from the setups that you actually have. That's why I evangelize for Dirac so hard. I really do believe that it's required for anyone who has a nice system, but doesn't have the wherewithal, resources, or spouse buy-in to position wherever they want. That goes double if your subwoofer can't be placed dynamically; Dirac does magic poo poo to subwoofers that I can't explain but am so thankful for. Taima fucked around with this message at 22:54 on Jul 24, 2024 |
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Jul 24, 2024 22:44
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I'm curious, so... I have a few devices feeding into my receiver. Most of the time if I'm listening to music or watching a movie/show it's on MacOS via a Macbook Pro 16 M1 (outputting at 4K/120/HDR to a QD OLED) but I own a few of the new gen AppleTV. Something I have trouble understanding is this: the Apple TV is specialized for the exact task of playing media. But MacOS is a productivity suite, basically, that also plays media. Therefore is there any benefit to playing, for example, Apple Music through the Apple TV instead of MacOS? Quality wise? Apple Music on MacOS has a passthrough setting for receivers which works, but I can't activate that setting because of handshake issues between Atmos Music and the QD OLED. So in practice I'm just feeding lossless audio to the receiver, not Atmos. e: to be clear, everything in the stack is ultimately via hdmi 2.1 Taima fucked around with this message at 18:48 on Jul 25, 2024 |
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Jul 25, 2024 18:45
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qirex posted:It's the same signal, [or so close it doesn't matter]. People frequently play music through computers to full systems because they like the browsing UI better or to do some DSP like Room EQ WIzard. There's also a thing with potentially dual volume control but it sounds like you don't have that problem. I frequently stream through Roon to my TV via Chromecast because I like having the album art on the screen but I could also connect to any number of other devices and they all sound the same. If they sound different to you the cause is probably minor changes in output levels. Thank you! <3
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Jul 28, 2024 18:54
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Strangfort posted:Ideally I'd like to just use what's installed without needing to change out speakers, volume control knobs, or redo wiring. I want to keep the budget low. Just want it functional. So I don't need multiple source inputs or anything. Just one source playing throughout the house. Under 500 USD if possible. This is super interesting, if I can ask, is this an expensive house, or a more typical one that some insane audiophile wired up everywhere? I'm just trying to square how someone would buy a house, with such intricate custom wiring and multi room setup, but there's no budget to do anything with it. That's kind of odd so I am curious what the deal is here...
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Jul 30, 2024 14:00
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Listerine posted:I just got mine in today and my partner could hear the UPS guy bitching about its weight through the closed door, I felt bad. He busted the box up pretty good too but luckily nothing got damage. Hey how have you been doing with it man? I've been enjoying this sub so drat much. It's not even the blast that has me excited, though it definitely has that. I'm more amazed at its ability to add subtle, clear and precise mid bass, and at all volumes, even low. It adds such body to everything I listen to even when I can't slump it. Which is more than I can say for the subs I've previously owned (and I've always had pretty nice subs in the 15 inch range. These new dealies are something else though!)
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Aug 1, 2024 14:41
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Listerine posted:I know I'm not getting the most out of it due to the odd geometry of my listening space, and because I've been too busy to properly try dialing in the settings etc, but even still it's been fantastic. Picking it up on that sale was the smartest thing I've done all year. It's attached to my home theater and so I've mostly been using it for that, but I've taken to switching to music for a bit before I go to bed though and it's just been lovely. Haha awesome brother. Jeez. Those floorstanders are incredible looking. 5 grand? Keep in mind that with that subwoofer, you can easily get away with less involved options (personally I am a KEF guy and I do the R3s). That subwoofer is going to tend to your low frequency needs pretty well. But I do like me a ribbon tweeter, that looks dope! You could do a bookshelf-adjacent option and spend the difference on a Dirac receiver.
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Aug 1, 2024 19:40
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KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:Trying to figure out how I can make 5.1 surround sound work in my space. Ok so i'm going to have a bit of a hot take here. So if this post is sounding your Hot Take Radar feel free to ignore. But what I see when I look at your space is a home. Not a home theater. I don't think your spacing concerns necessarily gel with a 5.1 system. Have you considered a 2.1 or 3.1 system? I know, I know. But I've lived in a few places before ultimately finding this house (which has a gigantic home theater finally, we are lucky) and I've tried my share of configurations (including dedicated top-firing atmos) and its like... eh. Again, hot take zone, but I don't even think 5.1 is that necessary. You can absolutely blow the loving socks off people with a 2.1 or 3.1 because your listening position is very concentrated. You could totally do a 2.1 and just enact a virtual center. That could free up enough budget for better speakers, Dirac, etc quality over quantity every time imo Taima fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Aug 1, 2024 |
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Aug 1, 2024 19:44
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Fair enough brother! What's in the endgame 2.1? Personally speaking, all I need or want is 2.1 with Dirac equalization and high quality on everything. Like, I'm in a home theater room I could effortlessly have, and literally own, the speakers for 5.1.2 but I took them all down in favor of simplicity and not having the speakers hanging around looking ugly lol honestly like I feel surround sound is so overhyped but I know that's a weird opinion so
Taima fucked around with this message at 20:45 on Aug 1, 2024 |
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Aug 1, 2024 20:42
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qirex posted:Subwoofers are great and I love them but speakers can do bass, especially towers. If your room acoustics are challenging you can't do much about it but it the meantime you can have great but maybe not mind-blowing sound. For comparison the "sub" in most soundbar sets has a tiny fraction of the mass and volume of a tower speaker, but similarly sized drivers [usually 5-6.5"]. Dude I wish we could take your comment about running a phantom center and sticky it to the thread or something. SO MANY people insist on a center channel, but if you're just on the couch, spending your budget on primary speakers and ditching the center is such a good idea. I will contest one point though, though I agree with your takes, I have a different view on subwoofers. After building numerous audio setups over the years, I'm starting to believe that the sub is where the budget should go. Bookshelves are just so figured out at this point, you can get excellent examples for cheap due to the materials and construction being very figured out (as long as you are careful and do your research and buy on sale). Subs though? You can't really cheap out on subs due to the sheer scale of the materials involved in a high end subwoofer, and really awesome new gen subwoofers are loving amazing and make a giant difference. The best deal in subs right now, at least from what I've seen, is the new-gen Klipsch stuff. Even the older stuff was underappreciated, but this new poo poo is soooo good and stacks up against the top competition. You can get a RP-1600SW for $899 new shipped which is outrageous in my opinion. A final note for people assembling a system is that it's very worth it to play the long game and search for discount models when new versions come out. By doing this, I was able to get a pair of KEF R3s for $600 from Best Buy, which is incomprehensible under normal circumstances. The speaker world is full of people trying to offload units for a variety of reasons, so buying used and waiting for deals is always your best bet. e: and while I'm here can I just say to any prospective buyers, please get Dirac Live, you will be insanely happy you did. I was an idiot and spent years dialing in my system, only for Dirac to do an incredible job when I finally bit the bullet and upgraded to a dirac receiver. The Pioneer VSX line goes on steep discount regularly and has Dirac and the low-mid tier units even have pre-outs. Taima fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Sep 30, 2024 |
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Sep 30, 2024 23:11
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Disregard sorry
Taima fucked around with this message at 16:42 on Oct 3, 2024 |
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Oct 3, 2024 16:10
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YMMV but just for the record, I thought the S760H kinda sucked. The first one I got bricked (thank god it was from Costco) and the second one had problems hitting full 4K/120/HDR. They're fine if you're using them for middle of the road stuff but maximizing throughput on them is kind of a nightmare in my experience (may have just gotten bad units) Ended up getting a Pioneer VSX-LX305 for around 600$ on sale and was stunned how much bullshit I went through to save money on a receiver that didn't even have Dirac... Quaint Quail Quilt posted:When I get big ticket items at Costco, if I'm not in a hurry, I wait until they put an asterisk next to the price and that's their last lowest best offer before they close that stock out and change models. The sales they offer are sometimes within $20-80 of that anyway so your mileage may vary. Not true, just fyi. It's crazy how many people think the asterisk matters. The asterisk means they don't have a buy order for additional stock. Which means, if you want it, you should buy it before they go out of stock. The price ending on a .97 means that item is being sold at a lower price to clear remaining stock. .00 on the end of a price means the management of that particular store is trying to get rid of their specific stock, or it's often put on display units they no longer need. And yeah, low end HDMI 2.1 receivers can suck really bad, but there's multiple reasons for that, and it could have nothing to do with the receiver. The cable can also destroy a receiver run on hdmi 2.1 as well. You can largely avoid that though, these days, by buying certified cables and short runs. Back when 2.1 receivers first came out it was a complete poo poo show, nothing worked. We are luckily doing far better these days 
Taima fucked around with this message at 16:34 on Oct 3, 2024 |
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Oct 3, 2024 16:25
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Maybe poke around Facebook marketplace / offer up for someone unloading a basic setup for cheap?
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Oct 11, 2024 03:45
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Overthinking it like crazy bro just get this or something similar: https://www.amazon.com/Edifier-Powered-Monitor-Speakers-Near-Field/dp/B09DKV849B
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Oct 17, 2024 02:45
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| # ¿ May 13, 2025 01:53 |
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Palladium posted:There were countless models of them in the 90s but none I ever heard sounds as good as a cheap BT speaker now It really is amazing how good small form factor audio devices have become. The device that really changed my mind here was the original Homepod. That thing was basically revolutionary. I'll bet a lot of people who think they want a nice audio setup would be perfectly happy with 2x v1 Homepods in stereo or similar. Personally, after almost 2 decades chasing the HT/audiophile dragon (which culminated in a 7.2.4 home theater room) now I just have a single pair of KEF R3 and a Klipsch RP-1600SW, my favorite budget subwoofer of all time (I got mine for $899 new from Adorama earlier this year, unreal value). I gave away my entire theater setup and just kept those. Idk where I'm going with this, but I guess my point is, historically the best way to get kickass audio was to throw more at it. More, bigger, from more directions. That's not untrue per se, but I think people looking at establishing an audio system these days should really think about what they actually need to get there. People get caught up in specs and numbers and forget what they're really after. A smaller form factor system is very, very capable with modern technology. I was even pretty impressed with a stereo pair of Google Nest Audio, lol Of course some minimum is required if you want enveloping home theater, but I think a lot of people who believe they want that would be completely happy putting that budget into a 2.1 setup. The most disappointing upgrade I ever made was Atmos. Don't get me wrong, it's... ok. But that was when I realized that more isn't better. Don't get me wrong, a lot of people really do want those big setups and derive plenty of joy from them. But if someone is new in the hobby and wants to start mapping out what they want, I suggest starting small and really giving a solid thought to what you actually want to accomplish. (not to mention, 99% of people don't even balance their setup for the room they're in or do any corrections, which will do much more for audio quality than just tossing extra money at it. That's especially true once you pass the price/performance sweet spot and start getting into diminishing returns, and you reach that sweet spot quickly) Taima fucked around with this message at 15:06 on Oct 28, 2024 |
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Oct 28, 2024 14:57
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