General Speaker Advice and Recommendations

Never tried the Mackies extensively. HR series wasn't too bad but not great; rather colored. I don't think the JBL dullness (laptop speakers are less dull sometimes) is the Class D amps (JBL's own solutions are quite good and kill awful stuff like the Hypex plateamps) but rather just how cost reduced the speakers truly are even compared even to something like the more expensive Yamaha HS8.

Typical SBAFer will probably like iLoud Micros (front ported and good for small desks), KRK V series (warmish soft dome, infinitely better than awful Rockits) and Neumann 2 way the most for small speakers with some semblance of a low end. The smaller Yamahas have no low end at all whlie the HS8 is actually decent but dry. Redditors, expensive IEM fans, anime watchers, and gamers should stay away from all except iloud micro as they don't need anything bigger and better.

Maybe people here might like Adam A7X, which has way better technicalities than the non Genelecs/Neumans but it has a sound that the newer, more expensive HEDD stuff is supposed to fix. I think the A7X is dope but it is polarizing. I'm trying to try the HEDD 07 and 20s (3 way) sometime soon. They use resigned woofers and AMT with much lower THD from the og ADAM designer.

 

Guys,

I started into this hobby being a mid-fi headphone/IEM guy. Was pretty content with ModiMB, various mid-fi amp, HD600, JBL LSR30X on PC and SonyZX2+Andromeda (with the IEM setup being my preferred system of choice).

Then a few weeks back, I got to hear a close bro's new speakers system, which consist of McIntosh gears (CD, Pre, Power Amp) into a pair of Sonus Faber speakers in a treated room. After listening to Jennifer Warnes on his system, I came back feeling the urge to build my own speaker system everytime I listen to music on my "inadequate" gears (well, everything aside from ZX2+andromeda). I feel that even if I go hi-fi headphone, I wouldn't be able to get this kind of soundstage I hear from that speakers system (Am I on a right train of thought?). - -'

So yes, being new to speakers, I need help. Been going through this thread and still haven't had much clue on where to go about with the system. I'm thinking Schiit for DAC and Pre (GungnirMB + Freya). Given my preference, what are some good recommendations forbest sound I can get from power amp and speakers with a maximum budget of less than $10k?

 

If you enjoyed the SF and Mac pairing, I don't see a reason to go away from that.

 

That’d blow by his 10k budget, unfortunately. @kida , how much room do you have for a 2-channel setup, and what qualities would you value most from one?

 

If you can fit a full system like that for under 10k.

I can tell you that I’ve done a ton of research and trialing of equipment over the last few years in setting up my 2-channel system on a relatively low budget, and am pretty happy with my Schiit setup - Freya, Gungnir Multibit, Vidar (you may want to go with 2 Vidars, depending on the speakers) - you need to think about the transport (CD/streamer) and cables + surge protector in your budget too. And what about a shelf/rack?

As far as speakers are you thinking bookshelf or floorstanders? Speakers have by far the biggest impact on the SQ, so I really, really recommended listening first, or ideally try at home, before buying - or if you can’t, buy used so you won’t be out much money, and can try something else. There are literally hundereds of speaker options depending on your size of room, goals and budget, but like @msommers said though, if you liked the SFs, why not start there.

 

Used or older deals can be had. Very true buying all new will certainly go over the budget, missed that earlier.

 

I love buying used - low risk and I get to try stuff out and flip it if I don’t like it (not to mention save money if I do like it). But where I live that pretty much limits my choices around speakers to bookshelfs, since floorstanders are a major PITA and expensive as hell to ship around.

You do have to have patience for the right piece of gear at the right price to show up on the used market though and all the shipping around etc. If you’re not a patient person, or a “cheap bastid” as Ultrabike likes to put it, new is definitely less hassle.

 

Yeah, I also love buying used. Can get some nice stuff for cheap, and not lose money reselling. Luckily my local craigslist is pretty good with speakers and such. My entire home theater is from craigslist. 84" dlp projection TV, big pa speakers with altec horns, bi amped system (one amp is bought used here, other from craigslist), pre amp, all from craigslist. Then my audio rack is from goodwill.

 

I find it interesting that these examples have so little toe-in. I have never heard those JBLS, so not sure about their dispersion characteristics. I would assume because they have so much directionality they should be toed-in a lot more, even so much that they cross before the listening position. That should minimize sidewall reflection, ec, especially in a small room. Does JBL have some recommendations about that?

 

Another vote for going used (it's probably saved me over 50% off MSRP), but going the used route certainly comes at a price...

• Good deals take a good deal of patience and vigilance, which can require checking local listings/eBay/USAM every day, if not more (given that you're competing with a million @spwaths online, so great deals sell in a hurry).
• It helps to be resourceful/handy in the event that something breaks, so you're not SOL without warranty coverage.
• Lastly, you can't be too OCD about the cosmetic condition of your stuff, otherwise you've already excluded a good chunk of the deals that you'll come across.

If the above sounds good to you, then for sure go the used route. As long as you do your research and buy at a good price, you'll keep your risk to a minimum and can sell off anything you don't like. If you do go with brand spanking new though, I can't stress @rlow's advice enough, that you absolutely need to hear before buying unless the dealer in question has a generous trial period/return policy.

As far as putting your system together, ideally you would start with your speakers (the greatest factor) and work your way back down the chain, but since you can't actually run speakers without a system my recommended order of operations would be:

1. Listen to as many speakers as you can. Friends, meets, shows, dealers.
2. Acquire a solid DAC (most flexible/least influential major component). I like my Gungnir Multibit.
3. Acquire a high-value (read: not expensive, not crappy) amp and preamp. I like my Vidar. I used a dirt-cheap passive preamp (Mackie big knob) but I hear the Saga is great.
4. Try to get your favorite speaker candidates into your home, either via good used deal or risk-free dealer demo period (easy to recoup investment).
5. If speakers sound like garbage, experiment with positioning/placement. If they still sound like garbage, sell/return them and try a different pair. If they sound great, but not as good as they're capable of, find more suitable amp and/or preamp. If they sound amazing then listen to music and be happy.

 

@Poleepkwa, JBL has a lot about positioning in the user manual. The wave guide is really good and makes the "sweet spot" fairly massive so JBL actually recommend no toe in! Unless you are setting them up over 10ft apart.

JBL also recommend that you keep them about 1.5 feet off the wall in all directions. Some people are corner loading them, which I think might make the bass boomy and bloated but yet to see measurements from these folks (they say sounds good?). Also the fuckery from having the wave guide that close to a wall would cause all kinds of cancellations and modal issues..

In other news i picked up some adam a77x yesterday (for a used pair for $1300aud/1k usd). I'll post some full impressions in the 'nearfield for audiophile listening thread' when I've had a few more sessions with them.

Early impressions straight out of convert-2 - they are not as flat as I thought they would be, they are actually v shaped sounding. Bass is warm and boosted, I already knocked -2db off the low shelf, still bassy as heck but less fun and more neutral now.
Bass kicks are supper snappy and enjoyable to listen to.

Full disclosure, I have 0 room treatment at this point, so that may impact my early impressions. I think my next two upgrades are going to be a measuring mic and some bass traps and absorbers.

I'm missing some some detail and air, particularly in cymbals and female Vox. This might be positioning and my untreated room or even the pot on the convert 2 losing some detail.

They are extremely fun to listen to, ridiculously clean top to bottom with a tonne of bass and slam.
I like big dynamics, so loving how hard these thing punch.
Not sure I would pay full rrp for them, but for 1k USD for the pair they are a lot of a fun and good value.

Thanks to @Psalmanazar for putting these on my radar.

*Apologies for terrible paragraphing and punctuation, typed this on my phone.

 

In my train of thought, it's the first decent speaker system I listened to, so was thinking to explore a bit and see what's out there too. Budget is another constraint, as I don't want to spend as much as my bro did on the system.

As a side note, buying used is ok, too. Though being in Bangkok, Thailand, the choice for used gears here is quite limited.

I'm about the renovate my apartment, intending to have a 4x3 meters room as study/music room. That's where I probably want to have my computer gears for work/play and speakers system for personal listening. What blows me with speaker system is the realistic soundstage, but would also want to retain at least close to andromeda resolution or better, if possible.

Schiit setup sounds like a good choice, meaning that I'll have most of the budget to spend on the speaker + cables. As for bookshelf/floorstand, either is fine as the room will be designed accordingly. Which would you recommend given approx. 4x3 meters room size? Transport will mainly be from streamer wired to my NAS or from my PC.

No problem with cosmetics. I'm mainly looking for the sound.
Problem with trying speakers is that where I live, meets/shows are very limited as also the selection (not to mention astronomic price). Best option for trial is probably showroom or used audio gears store, which I'm intending to try what I can before I do decide. The reason I'm asking here in the selection process is that I believe SBAF opinion on gears is a good resource/filter for what's good and what's not. I'm trying to get things right in as little number of tries as possible (unlike my Headphone/IEM buying experience).

 

That size of room is best with nearfield imo, i would look into bookshelf or active monitor, possibly with a sub(or two). A nearfield setup in that room with floorstanders is probably tricky with driver integration unless you want to sit in the middle of the room which is very bad. You could sit near the back wall but you'd need a ton of broad band absorbtion there.

 

If anyone is looking for horn stands

https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/swap-meet/329562-drivers.html

$80





I know this should be in the deals thread but thought it would more appropriate here.

..dB

 

I see. Any recommendation for nearfields? I went over the nearfield post a while back and am using JBL LSR30X as PC speaker. A better performing setup recommendation required, whether active or passive with pre & power amp.

 

What’s your budget? What kind of sound do you like? What music do you listen to? Will you treat your room? Do you like metal tweeters or amts? The Yamaha HS8 are dry as morocco but spank the JBLs but are worse than the KRK V series, Adam A7X, Hedd, Neumann KH120, Genelecs, etc that cost more but all of these 2 way systems themselves have a sound and only you know what you like.

You can even get three way nearfields like the new HEDD 20 (haven’t heard) and Neumann KH310 (sick) but those will probably be overkill for you.