The Two Channel Advice Thread

I stand corrected

 

Realistically the difference caused by different length cables aren't all that significant. Most speaker cable sits between 10-50pF per foot and 1-5Ω per 1,000 feet.

 

It's actually stupidly slow... 2.3e-5 m/s from the example here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drift_velocity

So if you see any snake oil that claims to bamboozle the electrons themselves rather than the electric field, even if they had the magical powers to do so, it would take hours/days for the electrons to go through the relevant portion of the audio chain.

 

First, neither. They should be cut to have enough play to allow fine tuning speaker position. Equal lengths is for people who like to gaze at wire, not people who listen to music.

Second, Mogami over Canare. The reason is simply that the four poles of the Mogami are much easier to determine. Canare uses two colors for four poles, with varying opacity. Mogami uses four different colors. Annoyingly, Mogami's colors are not the standard 1+ red/1- black/2+ white/2- green, but instead brown/red/orange/yellow.
But if you make up your own wiring scheme they work. That said, I don't see any advantage to either brand over something like Structured Cable Products in-wall wires. I'm sure other CEDIA-type brands are just as good, but that's the one I know because my integrator used it in my wires. If you have to buy a spool...go with the pro stuff.

 

Okay, based on what I have read and heard here and elsewhere, Mogami seems to be a great choice. My speakers are not bi-amped and have only one set of inputs.

Now, should it be Mogami W3082, Mogami W3103, or Mogami W3104?

Do I need a star quad W3104 for simple speaker cable runs that will be less than 15 feet and won't be running over power lines or any other lines for that matter? W3104 is over $5 per foot and is almost twice as expensive as the dual conduit W3103. How about the coax style W3082?

Finally, the amps and speakers have 5 way binding posts. In the old days, we like using a direct wire connection. Is that out of fashion today? What should I use? Spades? Banana plugs?

Thanks!

 

I'm still using bare wire at the speaker end, but I use banana plugs at the amp end where things are more crowded.

 

I have used Mogami W3104 speaker cables these past 2 years. I noticed better bass definition compared to my old Audioquest cables on my previous Monitor Audio speakers. They can also be biwired. There were some positive impressions over the Arthur Salvatore site as well as Audiogon and Steve Hoffman.

I got mine from Take Five Audio (Canada) crytotreated and pre- burned FWIW.

 

Anyone have tried using the Raggy for efficient single driver speakers? I've searched and mainly get headphones/multi-driver set ups. Looking at a bundle with the Yggdrasil so still thinking about it.

 

I have used Yggdrasil- Raggy on my old Monitor Audio GX100 speakers with great results for around 2 years. These are dual drivers with 8ohm resistance and 88db sensitivity. However I was amazed at how the Rag drove them so well. I wrote a post about my impressions in the Rag thread. Looking at the impedance curve, the minimum impedance was 6ohm. Anything below 4 ohm could cause issues.

That said I have heard the Gungnir Multibit-Raggy setup of @Serious paired with his Voxativ open baffle setup and it sounded GLORIOUS!! It made me a believer in widebanders, and the Rag drove the Voxativs extremely well. I could hear the clean, smooth and resolute sound signature I am so used to at the time. Compared to the tube setups in the Voxativ's room, there was no hint of tube warmth or bloom. The open baffles include 15 inch woofers for the lowest frequencies, but there should be no issues for the Rag to drive single driver speaker as their sensitivity and speaker impedance tends to be tube friendly, i.e. highly sensitive and high impedance.

My worst nightmare with the Rag was when I connected it to a pair of Sonus Faber Venere S towers at a dealer in London last August. I had a puff of smoke coming out of it. A valid 5 year warranty is VERY important in such instances! Looking at the spec, the Sonus were 4 ohm impedance with probable dips even lower throughout the FR. The Rag cannot cope with that load. I was unlucky as the built-in processor did not activate protection mode in time. As long as you do your homework before connecting it to exotic setups, the Rag should not cause issues and its sound will be pure bliss.

 

May I know where we get Vidar? I tried to find it from Schiit website but it is not listed on product section. Is this not released but only available to selected few at the moment?

 

Vidar is not available yet.

 

Googled it and found there are few reviewed on Vidar already. According to review, it has 200W x 2 into 4 ohms stereo.. which has serious power and price is $699.. Very tempting... Not sure how it would compare Primare A30.2 (Dual Mono) Fully Balanced Amplifier though which can be purchased similar price for used one and was seriously considering before finding out Vidar...

 

What would you guys recommend for an FM tuner for my 2 channel setup? I would like a quality tuner but I don't want to spend a lot of money. I would like to stay under $200 if I can.

Anyone have a good tuner they want to sell?

 

Anything from Magnum Dynalab is a rock solid, tried and tested tuner. Someone is even selling one and for $200!

http://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649362184-magnum-dynalab-f11-analog-fm-stereo-tuner/

 

Hi,

I'm having an issue wehre I want to upgrade my PC build to a dual screen setup, but there's not enough space on my desk for my 2.0 set up (JBL LSR305s) along with the two screens while still properly angling the speakers and giving some space for the back port.

Any advice on this? I was trying to google search for possible solutions such as clip mount stands that could attach to the sides of the desk for the speakers but had no luck. I guess I could just buy a longer desk......

 

You should probably see what pro studios do. I've seen speakers mounted above monitors as well as elevating the screen and mounting the speakers under.

But really I think you can stand to have speakers much further apart then you might think. It does wonders for imaging.

 

I'll mess around with the placement. I'm just worried the speakers will fall off the desk!

 

Can you pull your desk out a foot or two, then place your speakers on stands behind your desk?

 

@cornpoopers - I don't know if you have space available behind your desk. If you do, something like this might work. I used something similar for years with some Celestion 3 speakers. Speaker clamp and height adjustment were nice.

ebay.com
2x Floor Speaker Stand Mount Side Clamp Heavy Duty Surround Sound Bookshelf
http://tinyurl.com/y9bz9qwm

I didn't check the dimensions for compatibility. These are just to give you an idea.

Edit: ButtUglyJeff's post was on the following page when I posted. I hadn't seen it.

 

Thanks guys! I don't have space behind my desk, but do have space on the sides. This could be a very viable solution. Thanks. Those ones look great -- if anyone else has recommendations for other good quality speaker stands to compare to, that go up to around sitting height, please let me know. Thank you so much, ButtUglyJeff and Dino!