The Two Channel Advice Thread

So long a Purolator doesn't screw up, I should have the Arcam tomorrow. Oh happy days! Although I must admit, I am concerned about how close I am getting to the weight limit of my desk with a full-size integrated......

B&O I would trust to be functional, even if overpriced. This was not that. Seriously, check out the 'jelly beans' hinted at above from the same manufacturer. It's not quite Mother of Tone, but that's not a high bar.

(CA$113 for 12 of those little bamboo things)

 

Before and after installing those Costco acoustic panels. I even put on the same song for comparison.

It took 5 boxes, roughly $300 CAD. Did the install in a couple hours tonight. Would have been faster if I didn't have to run to home depot to replace a broken brad nailer. 15 of the 20 panels took me a total of 5 minutes to put up. The remaining 5 probably ate up 2 hours as I figured out how to cut the rightmost edge pieces as well as the bottom ones to accommodate the baseboards and receptacles. Cutting was done with a utility knife and an oscillating multitool.

At some point we'll probably get a proper wall mount and some ikea cabinets hung underneath, but for now this was a quick and easy project. So much so that I'm very tempted to buy a few more boxes for when I eventually build my basement listening room. I know it's no substitute for *actual* acoustic panels, but these are cheap and easy and don't look like big fugly panels.

Sonically, I'd say things have cleaned up a little bit. I noted before that the LS60 actually sounds darker in my alcove. I would say now the clarity is a bit better but still has a darker tone to it. I find myself wanting to adjust the treble by +1.5 on the KEF app.

I think I lost a little bit of that "air" up top, but maybe I'm tired from shuffling things around and am overthinking things.


There's a teeny tiny voice telling me to put in a sub now...

 

... And a much louder voice from your wife saying NO.

 

Very cool, though I might have gone with a color. Then again, my wife seems to be tiring of my fascination with red....

You can find small subwoofers to put under the KEFs if they could be taller. I use Velodyne SC-8, dunno if that's small enough. The SVS 3000Micro would work, too, maybe. Or that tiny KEF subwoofer if you have $$$$.

Ignore the above if it may cause your obituary to appear in the local paper.

 

The KEFs that come in Titanium grey have a red driver that I really like... https://ca.kef.com/products/ls50-meta?variant=42176127860959

I have literally 5.5" under the cabinet with which to place a subwoofer (maybe 7" since the bottom front of the cabinet has a bit of a lip). I don't think I'll get anything under unless it's some weird flat style or mini line array. Putting something under the LS60's themselves... it would need to be large enough to support the footprint. I dunno, I think that will bring the speakers too high, though their vertical dispersion is pretty good. Also those speakers are something like 70 lbs each. That's not an inconsequential amount of weight to put on top of another box.

 

Yep, the one with the red driver is strikingly beautiful. The LS50 wireless II also comes in a special edition crimson red that is simply glorious.

 

Neat, love those red/grey KEF. Only other red speaker I've seen/heard is the SuperMon.

How about subwoofers up on the ceiling? The vertical dimension is sorely ignored in this hobby.

 

https://www.parts-express.com/Dayto...t-Low-Profile-Powered-Subw-300-639?quantity=1

 

That looks similar to a Leon A10 I used to have (similar to this). That thing was a beast with its rebadged Dayton Audio 1KW amp. Aluminum cone and steel frame made it something of a heavy lift.

I have a pair of TBI Magellans (passive) that sound pretty good that I'm not using that fit just about anywhere.

 

Showed that to my partner. Wondered out loud whether it comes in blue to make a wall accent to match the speakers... More disapproving side-eye ensued.

I could *almost* get away with putting them under the LS60 as a plinth, except it's about 2" too wide and will hit the cabinet legs. Hmm.

Adding this link into the fray for my own reference as another slim option (and this one is indeed short enough to fit under my cabinet):
https://www.paradigm.com/en/sealed/milleniasub

 

You need something like this:

https://billfitzmaurice.info/TT.html

 

Different thought, because I'm chasing toys for the sake of toys. At first I was thinking maybe I should add a sub so I can high pass the speakers to make them a bit cleaner... but really, my problem is the bloat due to the alcove. There's no room for bass traps... except maybe under the cabinet? There's a roughly 6" x 16 " x 72" cavity underneath that my roomba constantly get stuck under anyways, so filling that up isn't the worst thing. I've got piles of insulation in my basement leftover from some renos and can get a black cloth bag for it... or maybe just order some cheap body pillows off amazon.

 

I have a certain *ahem* addiction when it comes to subwoofers. Last count I have 14!

That MilleniaSub gets quite a magnificent review at Sound And Vision.

 

I also wonder, because you have those nice corners above the KEF, if you could get more of that CostCo, put them "catty corner" in those corners with insulation behind them? You'd have a nice tall bass trap some 6-12" deep that would seamlessly match the TV's backsplash.

Putting some body pillows there as an experimental test would prove out the concept. When the partner is out-of-town, obv...

 

You should feed your addiction and get this (since I can't bid on it in Canada):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/335608351697
(edit: fixed link)

If you win and don't like it, then sell if to me!

 

That cavity is meant for the vent of the horn subwoofer array in the basement… where’s that pic of that crazy dude that did that? Heres one, not horn but still cool!!

 

Or something like that (not flat footed but flat woofered:

http://www.hifi-forum.de/bild/merovinger-dba-sub-system_888033.html

from the same guy:

https://www.hifitest.de/test/subwoofer-home/merovinger-audio-abysso-15984

Hope google translate dies the job.

 

The new Buchardt sub could work, or you could put one under/behind/to the side of your seating.

 

I think of the LS60 as a floorstanding LS50 Wireless with integrated subwoofer. It is spec'd to go down to 31 Hz (-3dB), and the coax mid/tweeter is already high passed internally. Add a sub if you want to play even lower bass, but I wouldn't do it for the reason of high passing the LS60.

 

Done! It went up quite a bit for me to be top. I don't think I'll win it.