HiFi - Integrated amplifier advice.

Mr Bump said:
they are near field monitors, very different from conventional speakers.
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They are still too close together, and they should be pointed towards you, forming a triangle. Ideally shouldn't be so close to the wall either....
 
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simon ess said:
Oh well, up to you of course.
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no mate, i'm just saying if you want to find out how they sound go listen to them
i am not interested in "armchair quarterbacking" they sound bleeding amazing.

they are currently in my home office runnning in, maybe i might move them, maybe i wont for a while.
Boris has just told me to work from home for a month :)
 
I think people are just trying to be helpful. The way you have them placed at the moment will give you nowhere near their full potential - not even close.

I'm sure they do sound great, but they could sound a lot greater.

But, as I say, setup is up to you.
 
Bobsyeruncle said:
Try reading the manual.... [emoji38]
Maybe they'll sound even better.....just because they're nearfield monitors doesn't mean you should ignore all positioning requirements....
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Nope shan't they just lovely where they are [emoji38]
 
107kdj.jpg
 
Mullet, business at the front, party at the back :)
 
I think the saying goes:

'You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink!'

Springs to mind.

Not entirely sure why someone would pick monitors over speakers when they are not 'producing' music?
 
RWDW said:
I think the saying goes:

'You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink!'

Springs to mind.

Not entirely sure why someone would pick monitors over speakers when they are not 'producing' music?
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so when you are producing music what do you do with the monitors?
its not a trick question tho just in case you're thinking it
 
woof woof said:
It's been a shock to me as British hifi used to be everywhere and reasonably priced. I have a Garrard turntable that still works, a Linn Sondek LP12 fitted with a Logik power on/off
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I remember 'selling' my fathers Linn Sondek without his permission so I could buy some cider & fags!

I was beaten to an inch of my life when he found out what had happened. :exit:
 
RWDW said:
I remember 'selling' my fathers Linn Sondek without his permission so I could buy some cider & fags!

I was beaten to an inch of my life when he found out what had happened. :exit:
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my mate still has the LP12, ittock and troika but it needs a new needle on the cartridge
actually it has for nye on 10 years
it aint happening he says he has 2 kids
 
Mr Bump said:
so when you are producing music what do you do with the monitors?
its not a trick question tho just in case you're thinking it
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Normally you don't just have near field monitors but have a selection of other monitors as well in the production room.

The near field monitors should be placed infront of you, not close to walls or corners and equidistant from your listening position to make an 'equilateral triangle' from your listening position.
 
RWDW said:
Normally you don't just have near field monitors but have a selection of other monitors as well in the production room.

The near field monitors should be placed infront of you, not close to walls or corners and equidistant from your listening position to make an 'equilateral triangle' from your listening position.
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thats right but my question was as above............what do you do with them and what are they good at?
 
Mr Bump said:
thats right but my question was as above............what do you do with them and what are they good at?
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Well, they are NOT good for enjoying listening to music through. Humans all react differently to different frequencies so 'speakers' should be selected on a personal basis - and not for analytical listening.

They are good for the producer to analyse the sound being produced from the production to see that it will sound acceptable through a wide range of media from TV's, car radio's, shop music systems etc.
 
RWDW said:
Well, they are NOT good for enjoying listening to music through. Humans all react differently to different frequencies so 'speakers' should be selected on a personal basis - and not for analytical listening.

They are good for the producer to analyse the sound being produced from the production to see that it will sound acceptable through a wide range of media from TV's, car radio's, shop music systems etc.
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well i disagree, i propose music producers use studio monitors to gain an idea of how they intend the sound of there music to be (a form of standard)
they then release that music which is played on many different devices to varying success/failure.

personally having had many hifi components over a fair few decades from B&W, Meridian, Yamaha, Audiolab and many others I would say that all produce a different sound.
if you like the sound made by a particular brand or brands you tend to favour them.

my faves would be currently Yamaha (amps) and B & W speakers which is what my main system consists of.

however i decided to try something different for my [digital office] and settled on the Yamaha HS8s to offer me a unique perspective on my music.
maybe closer to how it was intended? maybe just another flavour?

I have to say after a solid week and probably 20 hours now of running from my focusright DAC and my extensive FLAC library I am very very impressed indeed.

If thats not enough for you then you will have to simply accept my supreme happiness and the massive grin on my face as i fire them up on a morning with my coffee.
 
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The legendary LS3/5A speakers started out as nearfield monitors designed by the BBC in the early 70s to check voice quality on location in outside broadcast vans. Audophiles loved the neutral sound and commercial versions are still sold today. KEF, who made the drivers for the originals, also like to claim the (very different) LS50s I have were 'inspired' by them.
 
RWDW said:
I remember 'selling' my fathers Linn Sondek without his permission so I could buy some cider & fags!

I was beaten to an inch of my life when he found out what had happened. :exit:
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I've had it a very long time but it's still working as is my even old Garrard turntable and perish the thought... the Garrard actually looks nicer to me as it doesn't seem to have aged at all and still looks as if it could be new, apart from the styling which sort of gives it away. Plastic may be an environmental scourge but it does last well. The LP12 is aging.

Still no word on my amp delivery, I assume C19 is holding everything up.
 
Maybe posting about Garrard above did it but I remembered the Garrard Recovery Module. I saw one demonstrated at a hifi show many years ago and it amazed me. The guy played a scratched record and then passed it through the MRM an the result was amazing. There are a couple up for sale on evil bay.

PS.
The Garrard name has been bought and sold and may be coming back to life. see Wiki...

"In 2018, Cadence Audio SA, who also own the British turntable and tonearm manufacturer SME Limited, took ownership of the Garrard brand and registered trademarks when they purchased Loricraft Audio Ltd. The business was restructured to run under the name of Garrard Turntables UK Ltd."
 
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Retune said:
The legendary LS3/5A speakers started out as nearfield monitors designed by the BBC in the early 70s to check voice quality on location in outside broadcast vans. Audophiles loved the neutral sound and commercial versions are still sold today. KEF, who made the drivers for the originals, also like to claim the (very different) LS50s I have were 'inspired' by them.
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I found this article very interesting.....

The lines are blurred, and I think the distinction has become less and less important over the years. Studio monitors are designed for a specific environment, with an expected audio interface, and there are many makes and models that all sound a little different from one to the next, just like high end home audio, and just like DIY audio...

I have come across many folks that like active studio monitors for home listening, especially ATC, Tannoy, Mackie, JBL, and Adam among others. The home computer desk with USB DAC is starting to look very similar to small studio with mixing console in terms of environment, so now many active studio monitors are starting to take rca plug unbalanced input, with some even taking digital input. In the farfield environment, soffit mounting and line of sight issues still have main monitors looking and sounding a bit different from typical large size/scale home speakers, but keep moving up the chain to mastering studios and the differences are heavily blurred once again, with high end mastering monitors looking a lot like, if not actually being high end home audiophile systems.

I would argue the distinction is no longer relevant. Typical studio monitors tend to be active near field designs, typical home speakers still tend to be passive. The age of miniDSP and home theatre, with discreet active amp to driver designs and the need for more dynamics and sustained SPL will do nothing be continue to blur the lines even further. I view both industries as a single industry, how to best apply digital/analog/transducer design into a given environment, and love reading about and sometimes getting to hear all the different stuff out there.
 
I remember admiring an SME turntable at my local hifi emporium, a beautiful bit of kit, till I heard the price £30k+, decided i really didn't need it after all.o_O
 
woof woof said:
Maybe posting about Garrard above did it but I remembered the Garrard Recovery Module. I saw one demonstrated at a hifi show many years ago and it amazed me. The guy played a scratched record and then passed it through the MRM an the result was amazing. There are a couple up for sale on evil bay.
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I wonder how that would do compared to a modern declicking application? I suppose we've seen a general trend towards doing things in software that previously required hardware gizmos. Obviously digital equalisers, and things like this:

foobar2000: Components Repository - Meier Crossfeed

foobar2000
www.foobar2000.org www.foobar2000.org

It's a software implementation of the crossfeed filter used in Meier headphone amps:


It's really good for listening to some early stereo mixes with headphones (e.g. Beatles albums, various 60s jazz records) where there's extreme separation of vocals or instruments between the left and right channels.
 
Retune said:
I wonder how that would do compared to a modern declicking application? I suppose we've seen a general trend towards doing things in software that previously required hardware gizmos. Obviously digital equalisers, and things like this:

foobar2000: Components Repository - Meier Crossfeed

foobar2000
www.foobar2000.org www.foobar2000.org

It's a software implementation of the crossfeed filter used in Meier headphone amps:


It's really good for listening to some early stereo mixes with headphones (e.g. Beatles albums, various 60s jazz records) where there's extreme separation of vocals or instruments between the left and right channels.
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I've no idea, I didn't know they existed :D

I do remember thinking that Garrard was just... Voodoo. I'm tempted to get one just to play with it :D

Anyway. I got an email yesterday saying that my Exposure amp is "in production" and should be at the shop late this week or early next week then they'll ship it to me. The website said they usually supply within 72 hours but over the holidays and these c19 days I'm happy enough to wait.
 
I'm a bit of a hifi nut, not the full on £500 for mains lead kind though

I buy everything used , you get much more for your money

A month ago I bought a quad 99 system with a 909 power amp feeding my spendor S6e speakers

It sounds like nothing I've ever heard before

20201129_185054.jpg



My advice when the pandemic is over would be if you have to buy new find a dealer with a demo room and listen

There can be a downside though , I went to richer sounds with a £200 budget for headphones

These are £200, yes they sound great

These are on offer at £250 , wow yes much better

And these are £350

SOLD :D
 
I suppose I could count myself lucky that my hearing's bad enough to not tell the difference between low and high end systems these days! I would wear cans but they're a bit antisocial and I'd need to faff about with hearing aids more often.
 
I have tinnitus and a dodgy right ear which is why I don't go overboard , if I couldn't hear those high pitched boxes they had outside newsagents to scare teenagers off by 20 how much have I lost by 60
I did buy this recently though

An EMT 948 That came out of a recording studio

It's being serviced at the moment
20201211_174920.jpg
 
wack61 said:
I'm a bit of a hifi nut, not the full on £500 for mains lead kind though

I buy everything used , you get much more for your money

A month ago I bought a quad 99 system with a 909 power amp feeding my spendor S6e speakers

It sounds like nothing I've ever heard before...

My advice when the pandemic is over would be if you have to buy new find a dealer with a demo room and listen

There can be a downside though , I went to richer sounds with a £200 budget for headphones

These are £200, yes they sound great

These are on offer at £250 , wow yes much better

And these are £350

SOLD :D
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That'd be ideal but in these strange times and with an extreme lack of free time it's difficult.

I would have considered Quad, a friend of mine had a Quad set up in the 80's but they're now part of IAG and everything seems to be made in the same mega factory in China and as I wanted to support jobs in the UK they dropped way down the list. Also, as far as I remember from looking at the options the Quads don't take a tape deck.

Anyway, still no sign of the Exposure amp I ordered but I'm hoping it comes this week.
 
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I keep toying with some sort of streaming/digital music player to attach to the amp. Ive currently have an Echo dot that is connected via a phono to RCA cable which is ok but a little underwelming. Has anyone gone that route?
 
I have PC to DAC to amp.

Much of music collection ripped onto external hard drive and Tidal streaming service.

I see no need for a dedicated streamer.
 
simon ess said:
I have PC to DAC to amp.

Much of music collection ripped onto external hard drive and Tidal streaming service.

I see no need for a dedicated streamer.
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im a complete novice with digital music beyond using Itunes and an Ipod, It was only through a guy at work and a bluethooth speaker in the first Lockdown that I saw the benefit of spotify or such like. All of my CD's and the wifes have been ripped onto this. I have Amazon prime so get Amazon music but its limited to like 1 track from an album and spotify free version which is full of adverts and limited skipping.
Ideal world would be either a dedicated box with the music on and able to stream or wirelessly connect to the Amp from the laptop as I tend to listen and do something else at the same time.

What are you using for the DAC and how are you connecting?
 
My main system gets a bit complicated so I'll talk about my "office" system because I think it's closer to what you want.

From PC to Topping E30 DAC with USB. DAC to amp with standard phono cables.

The USB cable could be quite long if you need.

Not sure I'd trust wireless, but then I might be a dinosaur in that regard, I don't know.

Edit to add - a sub. to Tidal is one of the best decisions I ever made.
 
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