The All Purpose Advice Thread - Part 2

MiniDSP SHD https://www.minidsp.com/products/streaming-hd-series/shd

And give Dirac a shot while you are updating!

 

If your stereo speakers are connected to an external amp, Danny Ritchie shows how to use a line-level passive filter & splitter to take low bass load off the stereo speakers before the amp. This design feeds full range signal to subwoofer assuming the sub has controls for the rolloff to match the speaker.

 

I have the Piety and Eta C. Great combo.

 

Schiit Syn?

 

+1 on the minidsp suggestion, are you looking to have a passive sub or an active one though? if it's just for a tv setup it might be easier to just use an active sub, most active ones with a plate amp sort of deal typically have their own freq controls on them, so you can just use a second set of outputs from any preamp and it doesn't matter if it's actually a "sub out", this is what I currently do with my rythmik L12 and a schiit kara since it has multiple outputs that all stay active

similar but little less convenient than the minidsp, I used a dbx 223xs external crossover for integrating a sub with my old desk speaker setup

 

This is an excellent suggestion.

and now since you mentioned it, I did some more digging down this rabbit hole. their flex HT/HTx look neat as well, if I did choose to do surround, since I watch all my video via an Apple TV. But I was having trouble figuring out if they will let you do things like setup a phantom center or does it automatically down mix anything that is 7.1 for instance to 5.1 for you? I like that it is small and has advanced room correction as an option and good dacs compared to most AVR/Processors.

I was considering this, but im not sure if it will do bass management and high pass the mains and low pass the sub? is that how it behaves?

Yeah active sub. do people run passive subs?

I was going to ask about subs as well, might as well now.

Doing some digging online, it seems like JTR and PSA some up a lot for use in theaters, which is what this would be for, not for music. I was leaning towards JTR, do people here have ideas about subs for theater use as well?

 

I haven't dealt with multichannel DSP. Are you building a completely separate system for a home theater? You might want to consider an AV receiver, probably better in terms of price/performance than separates. I would still look for one with Dirac though; the bass management is super flexible and can shift phase to cancel nulls if needed.

Those JTR subs look freaking serious. Going to a house from a condo/apt you might as well take advantage. If you wanted to save some money consider https://svsound.com; maybe two medium-sized subs as opposed to one monster.

 

Rhythmik was what I ended up with for my humble set up after getting advice here. In theory, their servo based subs are equally adept at music and home theater.

 

Yeah completely different setup for the tv. the stereo has a dedicated space in my new house!


Rythmik looks good, but probably not necessary for home theater use? I will have to look into more.


I was thinking of getting one Captivator RS1 to start and then adding another one down the road. SVS would also be a good option from everything I've read, but the JTR stuff seems to be endgame, and if its worth doing, its worth overdoing my dad always said

 

iirc, the Schiit Syn has a fixed crossover in it at 80Hz, with low and high passing.

 

LOL - three cheers for dad!

 

I can’t see how you could go wrong with that plan. Those things look insanely capable. Not for me as an apartment dweller, but if I was in your shoes they’d be hard to resist.

There’s a nice pair for sale in Portland OR but you would have to arrange shipping: https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisbb587-jtr-speakers-captivator-rs1-subwoofers

 

choosing headphones for EQ

LXD-X 2021
LCD-GX
LCD 2 bamboo (serial starts with 54, so probably Fazor)

which one will be a better choice to EQ to harman?

 

I've been on a search for an amp upgrade to something a little less bright than my current Cayin iHA-6. My only headphone is Verite Open, and I recently upgraded DACs from Soekris dac1421 to a Merason Frerot, which so far seems to be similarly neutral like the 1421 but with a bit more tonal density, 3D-ness, and macrodynamics.

This is a desktop setup and I don't want an amp any bigger than 12" x 12". If I get a tube amp it'll have to be able to stack on top of the Frerot, so something close to the Valhalla form factor.

I want something that will play to Verite's strengths of speed, timbre, and holography. I most listened genres are indie/alt rock (Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr, Radiohead, etc.), post-rock/metal (Amenra, Neurosis, ISIS, Cult of Luna, Deafheaven, Alcest, etc.), occasionally death metal, and some more ambient stuff and jazz. I really value a slightly warm, cohesive, engaging sound with good texture and harmonics for electric guitar since that's kind of a focus in a lot of music I listen to, but I also love good macrodynamic slam for drums, bass, downtuned guitars. I don't care too much about headstage size but would like good imaging and layering.

Are there any amps that would fit these preferences, that would likely synergize well with Verite and Frerot and that work really well for rock and metal?

I've thought about sidegrading to Jot 2. Perhaps that could be an upgrade in the areas I care about? MJ3 seems great but it's a bit too long and I don't love the idea of having to wait for it to heat up and also not being able to put the Frerot on top of it due to the heat.

There's also the DSHA-3FN which is of course highly recommended for Verite but is also way more expensive and seems to focus on speed, stage, and microdynamics and it's not clear if it would be the most engaging choice for the music I tend to listen to.

Probably also wise to wait for Valhalla 3 to see what people think of that. Are there any other amps I'm not thinking of that could work well for my setup? I appreciate any thoughts.

 

You might consider the Lyr+. I posted some loaner tour impressions of it with the Vérité here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...om-thoughts-about-it.12754/page-3#post-404703

I'm afraid I don't recall the sound of this pairing now and can't be specific in commenting on the qualities you asked about. But my memory of the Lyr+ being a great amp has stayed with me. I'd prefer it to the Jot 2.

 

Thanks, I'll read through the whole Lyr+ thread. I just really wish it had balanced inputs, although I'm not sure how big of a SQ gap there is between SE and balanced outputs on my Frerot so maybe it's not something I need to worry about

 

I say just bite the bullet and get a MJ3, or if you're really that concerned over warm up/form factor, try out Pietus.

 

The same thing. The same issue with Ferutch connectors for HD800S and for HD6XX. On the amp side I terminated few cables with Ferutech XLR 4 pin and they are great. I am still using HD6XX cable but replaced the HD800 connectors with Idolic because I was afraid to break something

 

The 800 stock connectors sometimes make me feel like I’m gonna break something when removing, but definitely not when plugging in. Seems like bad design to make that issue even worse, especially for moar better audiophile connectors.

 

Need some help finding a good quality 6v LPS around 2amps. Have only found chinese one that I know nothing about and no info if they are any good. Want to spend around $250 max. appreciated anyone who has had positive experences with one of these
best,
josh