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A newbie, and proud! Help needed with set-up, pls.

B

BTC3

pfm Member
Hi there,
I found PFM a week ago while looking for info on hifi racks... like a fool had a bit of a snoop around, and now here I am asking questions!
Most of my music listening has been earphone based, planes being the only real occasion when I had time to listen to music without interruption. Through that route I ended up with high bitrate, lossless files, a portable headphone amp (Ray Samuels Tomahawk), and custom modified Shure and Westone IEMs. I now get to work from home and finally have the space to set up some sort of hifi in the study, and this is where your kind advice/assistance would come in handy.
I have a macbook pro with Audirvana connected to a Cambridge Audio DacMagic plus (USB connection), connected to an Onkyo AV receiver (I "inherited" a Denon AV receiver and use that for the surround system, leaving the Onkyo looking for something to do), connected to some rather old B&W DM601s.
It all sounds rather good to me: my reference tracks are hugely enjoyable (mainly rock/metal, but increasingly a lot more blues and classical), and it is a pleasure to finally hear all these things at a decent volume, instead of inside my head, if you see what I mean?
That said, I am sure there can always be more, and better. I imagine that a dedicated stereo amp might make a difference, but seeing as my speakers are 10+ years old, I wonder about replacing them as a start. Do you think this setup is suitable for some floorstanding speakers? If so, what would you recommend, new or pre-loved in the £500 range? I've seen quite a few options in the classified, but don't really know where to start.

Many thanks,
Richard
 
Richard, I know what you mean re speakers and headphones - Heaphones never really do it for me.

Yes, lots of choice -trouble is speakers are so personal and room dependent it's hard to advise. Certainly worth looking s/h as that allows for try and move on if necessary with minimal/no cost :)

And welcome!
 
Why would it not be suitable for floor-standers? They are often easier to drive than smaller boxes. Bigger is better. :)

<driving B&W DM220/DM330 towers from an old 40W amp>
 
Thanks guys.
So bigger is easier to drive? That is good news :)
I'll have another trawl of the classifieds...
 
BTC3 said:
Thanks guys.
So bigger is easier to drive? That is good news :)
I'll have another trawl of the classifieds...
Click to expand...

i wouldn't say that - i bought some secondhand PMC FB1's about a year back, and i've only just found an amp that sounds good and can fully drive them - i had to up the power considerably to get the bass response possible from the speakers.

Having said that i personally think its best to find the speakers that you want first, then pair the amp to them. A few sessions at a dealers to listen to speakers will allow you to understand a brands 'sound'
 
There is a lot of very nice kit out there, some of my favourites for that kind of money include,

Linn majik amp/keilidh or tukan speakers,

Naim nait 3/5 amp/rega ELA or ruark talisman speakers.

All the above kit can be had within budget if you look carefully, it's all proper hifi that cost a fair amount new and basically sells for peanuts because there is lots of it around.

I set a linn majik and keilidhs up with a teac DAC, pure I20 iPod dock and a linn mimik CD player for a friend, the lot cost below £1k incuding cables and it sounds bloody great!
 
There are a pair of Leema Xones for sale in pfm's classifieds four, I think , £400.

These are superb speakers and a devilish bargain at that price.

Incidentally I had the B&W's for about six years and enjoyed them all that time.

But for a few hundred (5 say ) s/h they can be trounced. The Leemas for instance are a superior breed altogether.

Or, you could go another way altogether and buy active speakers. IMO a much better move altogether.

You might find these to be all you need.

http://shop.studioxchange.co.uk/Adam_Audio_F7_Pair_p/adam-f7.htm



You can drive them with the pre-outs of the av amp until funds allow for a proper pre-amp.

Alternatively you could sell the amps and CA and buy a s/n MDac or other dac with a pre amp built in, then lobb in a couple of xlrs from the dac to the actives and I'm sure you'll be mighty pleased.
 
I also have a rotel RA971 mk2 somewhere buried deep in the classifieds (had a lot on my plate and keep forgetting to bump it) which is a pretty decent amp, it's in very clean condition and hasn't had a lot of use, it has plenty of power on tap too. I can let it go for less than £100 posted and will deliver personally within a reasonable distance from the stonnall area. Drop me a line if you are interested.
 
Thanks, all, for the advice. I like the idea of spending some time testing at a dealer, however I am pretty sure I'll get more bang for my buck second hand, so unless I can find a dealer with s/h kit that I might buy, I'd rather not waste their time.
Arthur - the Leemas would appear to be in budget, but having a quick read of the reviews, there are some comments about lack of base... I'll have to read up a bit more, but one of my favourite tracks (Jacques Loussier Trio, Bach Pastorale in C minor) has a very quiet double bass line running through it, and one of my "tests" is being able to hear that clearly. Given that my reference are some B&W DM601s I may be concerned for no reason.
Linnfomaniac, thanks for the offer, it's very kind of you. I'm a little far away to pop round for it, so I think I may stick to the plan of dealing with the speakers first.

There are/were some Neat Motive 2s in the classifieds here. They seem to review well, anyone have any views on what they are like?
 
BTC3 said:
Thanks, all, for the advice. I like the idea of spending some time testing at a dealer, however I am pretty sure I'll get more bang for my buck second hand, so unless I can find a dealer with s/h kit that I might buy, I'd rather not waste their time.
Arthur - the Leemas would appear to be in budget, but having a quick read of the reviews, there are some comments about lack of base... I'll have to read up a bit more, but one of my favourite tracks (Jacques Loussier Trio, Bach Pastorale in C minor) has a very quiet double bass line running through it, and one of my "tests" is being able to hear that clearly. Given that my reference are some B&W DM601s I may be concerned for no reason.
Linnfomaniac, thanks for the offer, it's very kind of you. I'm a little far away to pop round for it, so I think I may stick to the plan of dealing with the speakers first.

There are/were some Neat Motive 2s in the classifieds here. They seem to review well, anyone have any views on what they are like?
Click to expand...

Never had a lack of bass problem with the Leemas. They did it quite well.

Certainly if the B&W'S satisfy you the Leemas will be a revelation.

How big is your listening room?
 
BTC3 said:
It all sounds rather good to me: my reference tracks are hugely enjoyable (mainly rock/metal, but increasingly a lot more blues and classical), and it is a pleasure to finally hear all these things at a decent volume, instead of inside my head, if you see what I mean?
Click to expand...
This sets alarm bells a-ringing for me. You could easily spend a lot more than your budget and go nowhere, or backwards, in terms of satisfaction if you are indeed happy now.

How big is your room? What model is the Onkyo amp?

B&W make quality speakers with a very enjoyable sound IMO. Several of my friends own B&W and they are happy. I advise you hold on to them until you have verified something new sounds better for you.
Darren
 
Arthur, thanks again for the suggestions. I'll have to read up on active speakers, I currently know precisely nothing about them.
Have things running in the background at the moment. Pink Floyd sounds awesome, though a little bass heavy in some parts. Rodrigo y Gabriela are lacking some mid-range oomph...
 
Cambridge Audio plus , I recognise that.

I bought an Arcam 8P power amp off a guy early last year and he was using the DAC as a pre straight into the power amp. I'm sure it's the same one.

It all sounded pretty good to me, but I forget the exact speakers. Focal 8 series I think.

You could go for a similar set up?
 
Darren: the voice of common sense and reason. You make a very good point, and one that my upgradeitis has been wrestling with... Bear in mind that prior to this set up, it has really only been iems for me.
Room is 4m x 6m, say 3m to 4m from where I sit to the speakers. Room is carpeted and wood paneled. Amp is Onkyo SR606.
 
How are the speakers sited, have you got them on some good solid stands?
They are quite a good speaker, get them on good stands and experiment with positioning then have a look at getting a better amp to drive them. An good integrated from Naim, Rega, Cyrus or Arcam etc should be easily within your budget.
 
Speakers are on stands (atacama jobs, shot filled, so heavy and sturdy), about 6/7 inches from the wall. When I'm at my desk, main listening position, they're a little lower than head height nicely aimed at me (used my chair to target them).
 
Hi BTC3, start by deciding if you need your speakers near a wall or if you can have them in free space (c 2 feet clear of a wall) Then what type of wall have you got? stud or brick/stone? What floor is in there? They key is not the speaker but the interface with the room. Let these guys know the answers to these questions and you will get a pretty good shortlist.
 
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