The Two Channel Advice Thread

Don't mind me interrupting your wallowing in the cheap bastidry, but the man asked for a 4000$ system. And building your own speakers without tools/space/know-how can end up being a less-than-pleasant experience.

 

I did also specify my aversion towards DIY. Anywho... Seems like there's not as much consensus in the 2 channel world as the portable audio world. For about two years here if you asked a similar question about a portable setup you'd get ZX2+Andros from about 80 percent of the respondents.

 

That's partly because you only have to find the right tips for your ear canal. The same 2-channel setup will not sound the same room-to-room. There are many more variables and trade-offs to consider, space limitations, WAF, etc.

 

A little bit above the budget, but these might be worth considering as well: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/gea...ot-micromain27-gen-1-micromain27-gen-1-a.html
Yet another option from the realm of pro audio nuttery. Sealed compact 3-ways. Generally well reviewed, but sits in a sorta higher price tier and not nearly as well known as Genelecs.

 

@Stuff Jones - what kind of moving are we talking about that they need to be so compact? Like do you just have a suitcase and the shirt on your back or you have a moving van?

The two-way PA speakers @spwath has are made to move from gig to gig. I would consider that or a 3-way classic if you got the room.

 

Lol I just get work overseas from time to time and so so far have tried to limit my accumulation of expensive large stuff. But I should be back stateside for a couple of years now so size is not a limiting factor and just a preference.

BTW I've noticed another massive gap in my understanding here. I was assuming that like my Vanatoo T0s, studio monitors would have DACs built in. Au contraire. But none of the reviews talk about DAC pairing or DACs period. Apparently the pros call them Audio interfaces and don't think they matter enough to SQ to mention them in speaker reviews? They also rarely use words like "timbre" that we audiophiles so commonly banty about. These are people doing this for a living - are we just making this all up?! I realize it's maybe not the right thread for this discussion...

 

I give my respect to Roadies moving these 85lb speakers from gig to gig. Was enough work to move them upstairs for a party. But certainly won't break during moving. Worry free

 

@Stuff Jones
Maybe you need your own thread to keep track of things as it's getting more complicated now, and I think you need to take a step back and redefine what you have/what you need, otherwise we're just throwing random ideas at you which isn't terribly useful.

 

My recommendation is Just go to a big pro audio store and try out studio monitors to test what type of sound you like. Like you will find out if you hate amt tweeters, or soft dome tweeters, or BE drivers in the focal high end. I ended up with Eves, when I thought I wanted brands such as adam, genelec, neumann. Eves are really good. ask @David De Lucena . He seems to be the only other EVE user on this forum. HELP ME out David! say something! Also I find it very easy to adjust to any room with the dsp settings, or fine tune the sound to my liking. With the sub, you don't even need a preamp as it controls all volume for the sub and the monitors. Just need to input a source via xlr. Integration between the sub and monitors are flawless. I was skeptical at first because you never want to add a sub in a 2 channel monitoring system but its very nice. Equivalent quality monitors will cost at least 2x more, and at best I think they sound different. I can't listen to Genelecs because they are so bright in comparison. Same with Adams as well along with extra bassiness with their front ports. I haven't heard the HEDD, but all i can say is that eves are a joy to listen to.....they are detailed but aren't surgical, and fatigue free. Best is to audition, but room rules over everything in consideration. Don't get like huge speakers for a small room with no room treatment or they'll sound bad anyways.

 

Of course this is IMHO, but I have tried genelec 8040, Yamaha Hs8 and focal solo6.
In my living room, eve 207 had the best sound qualities for enjoyment. I can listen many hours and don’t analyze the equipment.And I have the hd800 just around me when I want a little blood in my ears!

 

Hate sounding like a fan boy but i have to throw Quested into the mix as well if you're auditioning monitors. For me Focal and Genelecs were too bright as well. I am a softdome guy though. Ribbons are hit or miss. Metal is a nope.

 

I need the hive mind's input please:

Spoiler: I got speakers, I make EQ

I've recent got my hands on a set of powered monitors (Presonus E8), a measurement mic (UMIK-1) and software (REW).
I'm attempting to set them up in a shitty room, and use the Convolution and PEQ features of Roon (My primary music player) to compensate as much as possible for the shape and size of the room, which is 3.35mx3.75mx2,85m. (19x28x79 furlongs for non-metric peeps).

I have some basic foam based treatments up (They were free). Bass treatments are not an option for various reasons.
Positioning is pretty much fixed as it's a multi-use room. It's filled with shelves and toys and such, so dispersion is good above 2-300Hz. T30 is 0.352s (250Hz-4KHz)

Chain is RPi+DIGI+Pro->GumbyA1->Passive Vol->Monitors.

I've been playing around for the last few days both with the small position changes I can make, and with EQ.

I just finished calculating a convolution and PEQ for the speakers. I followed this guide for the most part - but did sinus sweeps instead of MMM Avgs. used a 90Deg cal file for the mic and had it on a stand next to my head in my listening position.

After EQ etc. what I have right now sounds pretty good, and definitely better than uncompensated:


*NB I'm a bit of a bass-head.

This is my EQ Target:


What I need clarity on is:

1. Is the post Roon Convolution & PEQ curve slope exaggerated in comparison to the pre curve (and the target EQ curve) because I'm using pink noise (REW WAV file played from Roon and level-matched) to measure the post curve and I used a Sinus sweep to measure the pre curve? NB - I don't think it sounds too rolled-off.
   1. If so, what's best practice to measure pre and post compensations curves that are directly comparable?
   2. If not - please explain what's going on here

I'm very new to acoustic measurements, my physics and chem lab experience was a long time ago, so I would appreciate some confirmation that I have the concepts correct.

Thanks in advance!

 

Whether pro-s care about timber and plankton probably highly depends on genere and target audience.
99% of cases it's irrelevant.
It shows in the voicing and sound of the new era monitors. Also in the general quality of most modern mainstream recordings.

The DSP and Class-Dead amped monitors wash away a lot of stuff I personally care for in listening for pleasure. You can get active speakers with A-B amps without adc-dac fuckery and go nuts with source selection, if that's your thing.
I haven't heard all of the new era dsp-class-d creations, but the ones I have heard do sins of omission, yet almost never sins of commission. The DSP Gennies sound impressively clean and clear. I have recommended these dsp Genelecs to people who are not willing to screw around with audiophile crap, but want hi-end sound. This is as close as it gets, I suppose.

 

I loved my SC307 which I compared to many. But 15"+horn is the way to go. Granted, they are not as airy as those lovely AMTs..

 

I just found the following Pioneer units while cleaning out my mom’s house. 1997 vintage on the amp, I suspect the same on thCD player.

VSX-305 Home theatre amp 2 front, center, 2 rear speaker outs

FD-F506 50 disk player.

Are either of these “exciting” as far as vintage stereo / home theatre gear goes, or just “old?”

EDIT - I’m seeing used prices around $30 - $40, so probably not that exciting.

 

@aamefford

Ask Mickey- I'm not going to say, let Mickey say it.

imho- nothing special

 

Hi, I'm new here and am looking for some suggestions for my proposed system.

I'm wanting to get into a good two channel set up next year. I am considering the Schiit Freya with Vidar or their new PA in 2019.

I've been using Jotunheim Multibit for my digital set up with MBP, Pioneer Blu Ray player and Emotiva ERC-3 CD player. I use H6XX balanced headphones. I'll also be combining my turntable set up which currently is separate from my digital set up.

Any suggestions how to integrate a balanced headphone 4 pin output with the Freya and Vidar?

Is it feasible to use one of the Freya outputs to the Jotunheim for headphones?

I realize I could accomplish this using a Ragnorak as a one box solution. I pretty much have my mind made up to try using a tube Pre Amp with a PA.

Any thoughts, suggestions are appreciated.

 

Yes, but I see a couple of things you need to consider.

First, there's no cutoff to the power amp/speakers when you want to listen to headphones. There are different ways to approach it. You can use one Freya output along with an external switch to select between power amp and Jot. Or connect power amp and Jot to separate Freya outputs, and a simple switch to cut off the signal to the power amp (or simply turn off the amp when you use headphones).

The other issue is how to use the Jot DAC with the speakers. You can route a Jot preamp output back to the Freya, but it gets a little weird with two volume controls and daisy-chained preamps. The cleanest solution is buy another standalone DAC and use it instead of trying to integrate the Jot DAC.