Hi Fi and Home theater set ups

[coolsax 49]

So I wasn't sure if to put this here or in Hobbies, but I'm a bit of an Audiophile and unfortunately one of the few brick and mortar Hi Fi shops is shutting down b/c the owner is retiring . (Audio Systems on 2222/Northland).  They are liquidating inventory so are having a big sale and I ended up getting some new Golden Ear Triton 2+ speakers so I thought I would be cool for us to post our set ups for those of a similar bent.  2 channel and surround sound Home theater are all welcome.

 

Here's my 2 channel/video game set up:  Music streamed from Blue Sound Node or played on Onkyo CP1050 Turntable into a Peachtree Audio Nova 150 into my new Golden Ear Triton 2+ speakers:

 

Edited April 16, 2018 by coolsax

[jimmyjazz 45630]

Tremendous loudspeakers.  I used to own them -- I moved down to the Triton 7 because I'm now in a smaller room -- it's the best tweeter I have ever heard.

I didn't realize they were shutting down.  I'll have to swing by.

[coolsax 49]

yeah its 30% off if they have new in stock and 40% off floor models once they are ready to sell them.

 

[Celery Man 20911]

I'm audiophile curious.  The game room in my house is wired for surround, I'm pretty sure.  There's wall warts all over the place, and a taped together audio wires (copper wires or whatever) dangling in the built in.  I've never gotten in to home theater stuff, and I don't know what goes to where (but it looks like... there are two next to the tv, one below, several others spread throughout the room, and I think they're all for surround).  Right now I just have a pioneer sound bar and a woofer.  Where would I even go to get a good system and have someone who knows what they're doing install?

i'm also really irritated that the guy went to the trouble of having the enclosed porch wired for surround and a built in TV, but didn't put power up there.

Edited April 16, 2018 by Celery Man

[hobbes2702 12951]

Haven’t gotten to listen to Golden Ear myself but it seems that everything Sandy Gross touches turns to gold. No pun intended. I live in an apt so I can’t blast the audio too much. I have two DefTech SM55s and a Mythos 7 center running through a Pioneer Elite. 

If I ever decide to commit and buy a house then I will certainly be looking to separates. Anyone have any experience with Emotiva? I have seen good stuff about them and the prices are insane for separates.

[jimmyjazz 45630]

Emotiva is an interesting company -- I have one of their small subwoofers.  Everything seems pretty well built and fairly high performance.  They're worth a look.

[BigDHornfan 6542]

Here’s mine. Just finished it last year. Sounds great.
Tv is a 65 inch LG OLEDC6P. Hands down best tv I’ve ever seen. Love it.
Receiver is a Denon AVR-S720W
Front speakers:
Klipsch RP-290F
Center:
Klipsch RP-250C
Sub:
Klipsch RW-10d
Rear:
Klipsch RP-150M

[LongestHorn 759]

Nice old school setup for reel audiophiles.  

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-RETRO-1972-1-OWNER-AKAI-X-360D-HOME-STEREO-AUDIO-SYSTEM-IN-ORIGINAL-BOX/173753243323?hash=item28748016bb:g:QtwAAOSwd7xcO1g2

Nice selection of reel to reel tapes on eBay for under $13

https://www.ebay.com/b/Reel-to-Reel-Tape-Rock-Music-Formats/618/bn_230957?rt=nc&_udhi=13.0

[TwiceHorn 31356]

That's wild. I don't think I've ever seen a reel to reel tape deck with an integrated amplifier. Is that quadraphonic?

[Dennis Taylor 18738]

Go see my guy Ron Johnson at Pacific Stereo

[Sbbruin 21785]

1 minute ago, Dennis Taylor said:

Go see my guy Ron Johnson at Pacific Stereo

Are you really nineteen?

[Dennis Taylor 18738]

6 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

Are you really nineteen?

I heard Somebody's Baby the other day on the radio and thought to myself Jennifer Jason Leigh is pavlovianly getting naked somewhere 

[LongestHorn 759]

34 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

That's wild. I don't think I've ever seen a reel to reel tape deck with an integrated amplifier. Is that quadraphonic?

No, but the 280 is.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Akai-gx-280dss-quadraphonic-reel-to-reel-tape-recorder-with-remote-/253916154023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VTG-1970s-Akai-1730D-SS-Surround-Sound-Reel-to-Reel-Tape-Recorder-Affordable/392220444032?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3D7031e16830e34f64a5a9d59734e4b487%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D303005845434%26itm%3D392220444032&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

Edited January 23, 2019 by LongestHorn
Because your mother is a whore

[TwiceHorn 31356]

Does that thing have an amplifier?

[LFS 57]

onkyo.

 

all the way down.

 

{ drops mic }

[bluto 4899]

Picked up a couple Jamo E 650 floorspeakers/towers today for $50. Are these things actually worth a shit? Haven't hooked em up yet. (I know nothing about audio equipment)

Edited February 2, 2019 by bluto

[Litig8r 414]

I stumbled upon a super hi end audiophile show one time.  The only thing I noticed other than the price tags was that most of folks in there were super olds and there was no way they could tell the difference between what they were buying and a Walmarts boom box

 

[Rip76 4918]

Ok need some help.

Moving in June, need some help.

im going to make my Receiver, turntable, and records part of my living room area.  But... my speakers that I have now are too big for the set up.  (Some old 1975 Fishers that sound great).

What I need help with is getting your opinion on some good tower speakers, with bottom end, that don’t cost $3,000.

thank you

 

 

[ohchaucer 1443]

Dynaudio bookshelves and a sub. 

[Rip76 4918]

I have a pretty nice Velodyne sub.

But need a place to “hide” it.

[jimmyjazz 45630]

What's your budget, besides "not $3,000"?

[Rip76 4918]

I'd like to stay in the $1,500 range if possible.

[hobbes2702 12951]

Golden Ear I believe can be had for around that for an entry level model.

Def Tech is always solid for value/performance.

Whats your room setup? High ceilings? Open floor plan? Hard floors or carpet?

[Rip76 4918]

Pretty open, hardwood floors, and the ceilings are not very high.

[hobbes2702 12951]

With open and hardwood floors you might consider going with a more directional speaker, at least if the sitting location is basically the same for all listeners. MartinLogan electrostats sounds great but are very very directional.

Are you planning to do a separate sub? If not and you want some bump most of the deftech towers have a powered sub built in.

The dynaudio recommendation is a good one. Kef is another to consider.

I personally have def tech bookshelves and am very happy. They aren’t “audiophile” speakers in my opinion. They aren’t as accurate as a pair of B&Ws but they are a good value that give good performance across a broad spectrum of sources.

[Buzzrock 14883]

I don’t know shit about this stuff but my buddy’s Paradigm towers are the best I’ve heard.

I have two separate Mirage setups that have done me fine for years.

[VABuckeye 2472]

On 3/22/2019 at 11:41 AM, ohchaucer said:

Dynaudio bookshelves and a sub. 

I have Dynaudio Special Forty's and an 18" Triad sub.  Using an old Tag McLaren preamp and a 200 wpc Anthem amp.  Pro-Ject Phono Box and a Pioneer turntable that I've had forever.  The cartridge is nothing special.

I have a subscription to Deezer Hi-Fi and I cast FLAC to a Chromecast for uncompressed playback.  I like buying vinyl but I also like having access to millions of songs streaming FLAC, hence the Deezer subscription.

I love the Dynaudio Special Forty.  Dynaudio is an amazing speaker manufacturer and these little guys play clean, loud and pretty low for a bookshelp speaker (40 hz).

[VABuckeye 2472]

On 3/22/2019 at 4:16 PM, Rip76 said:

Pretty open, hardwood floors, and the ceilings are not very high.

Dynaudio is retiring the Excite series and is coming out with the new Evoke series.  The Evoke 10 fits in your budget and don't be fooled by the size.  Pair those with a sub and you'll have a great 2 channel system.  They're going to want power so make sure your amp is up to the task. 

I've purchased from Dedicated Audio before.  They now are selling the Evoke 10 and if you insist on floor standers they have a closeout of Excite X34 speakers from $1800-$2200 a pair.  When they're sold out, the Excite will no longer be available.

[Rip76 4918]

Thanks for the ideas. 🤘🏼

[Chad Fuck 17590]

This is a great thread.  Lots of new toys to consider...

 

[jimmyjazz 45630]

To my ears, the new crop of Heil AMT (Air Motion Transformer) tweeters completely changed the game.  Music played through those things sounds like actual instruments.  The difference is night and day over any variant of a done or cone tweeter I've ever heard.  GoldenEar uses that technology, as do several other companies, including Martin Logan in their "Motion" line.

I have owned two different sets of large electrostatic speakers over the years (Martin Logan and Eminent Technology), as well as Magnepans, and I can confidently assert that the two pairs of GoldenEars I have owned (Model 2 and Model 7) blow all of them away in terms of realism, and at a lower price.  I'd have to dig around to see what other companies are taking advantage of that technology, now that Heil's patent expired.  

[VABuckeye 2472]

Triton Seven's?  That's a lot of performance for $1399 a pair.  Very nice.

 

[Rip76 4918]

Thoughts?

 

https://www.klipsch.com/products/rp-8000f-floorstanding-speaker#

[TwiceHorn 31356]

1 minute ago, Rip76 said:

Thoughts?

 

https://www.klipsch.com/products/rp-8000f-floorstanding-speaker#

Go listen.  The usual rap on Klipsch is that they are "bright," very trebly.  Some will like some will hate.  But they have gone away in a lot of cases from traditional Paul Klipsch designs, so I think the traditional notion is less applicable.  However, that model purports to have a "Tractrix horn" tweeter, which is kind of a hallmark of the bright Klipsch sound.

The room you have them in will make a difference.

They will be well-built and extremely efficient (easily driven with low-power amp).  That is a Klipsch thing that seems to persist through the newer designs.

[jimmyjazz 45630]

3 hours ago, VABuckeye said:

Triton Seven's?  That's a lot of performance for $1399 a pair.  Very nice.

 

Don't remember the price but I think it was double that.  Are you seeing a single speaker price?

[hobbes2702 12951]

2 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Go listen.  The usual rap on Klipsch is that they are "bright," very trebly.  Some will like some will hate.  But they have gone away in a lot of cases from traditional Paul Klipsch designs, so I think the traditional notion is less applicable.  However, that model purports to have a "Tractrix horn" tweeter, which is kind of a hallmark of the bright Klipsch sound.

The room you have them in will make a difference.

They will be well-built and extremely efficient (easily driven with low-power amp).  That is a Klipsch thing that seems to persist through the newer designs.

They are still very bright. Not a fan here and I grew up with my parents having a pair of Klipsch KG4s in our living room

[hobbes2702 12951]

Maybe this will be the best thread for my question. Let’s say I want to put 2 50” TVs above a 75” TV and have an Apple TV on each. What options are there for control of that or would the only option be using the Apple TV remotes? Is there a single remote solution/home control that would work?

[VABuckeye 2472]

3 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Don't remember the price but I think it was double that.  Are you seeing a single speaker price?

Triton Seven’s are listed for $1499 a pair in reviews.  Unless yours is a different model?

[VABuckeye 2472]

2 hours ago, hobbes2702 said:

They are still very bright. Not a fan here and I grew up with my parents having a pair of Klipsch KG4s in our living room

Two things I don’t like. Horn tweeters and metal tweeters.  Both are harsh sounding and fatiguing to me.   It’s probably why I like Dynaudio and their esotar dome tweeter so much.  

[VABuckeye 2472]

2 hours ago, hobbes2702 said:

Maybe this will be the best thread for my question. Let’s say I want to put 2 50” TVs above a 75” TV and have an Apple TV on each. What options are there for control of that or would the only option be using the Apple TV remotes? Is there a single remote solution/home control that would work?

Either Siri or a higher end control system like Crestron, Control 4 or Savant.  There are some third party remotes you can use.  The three I mentioned can control it via IP. 

[jimmyjazz 45630]

43 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

Triton Seven’s are listed for $1499 a pair in reviews.  Unless yours is a different model?

I'm sorry, you're right -- I was thinking the Triton Two's.

[hobbes2702 12951]

47 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

Either Siri or a higher end control system like Crestron, Control 4 or Savant.  There are some third party remotes you can use.  The three I mentioned can control it via IP. 

Haven’t used Crestron. Thoughts compared to the other two

[VABuckeye 2472]

Crestron is great. Probably the best and most extensive control system made and you pay for it. It has to be programmed by a Crestron programmer.  No way around that.  It can now be controlled by phones and tablets so you don’t have to buy the ultra expensive touchpanels anymore.  It’s very nice but you’re beholden to your dealer. The other two will do the job as well. They’re just a step down from Crestron. 

Do you have other devices you want to control?  Lights and security can integrate with it. You can do whole home audio and video distribution with it.  There’s really no limit other than your wallet. 

Edited March 26, 2019 by VABuckeye

[hobbes2702 12951]

This is all hypothetical until I eventually buy a house but I do hue lights now and would likely do something for security, thermostats, and whole home audio. Thanks for the recs. 

We need more pics of some setups to really get this thread going.

[VABuckeye 2472]

Mine looks like shit but sounds great right now. We’re renting a house while we decide where to build.  I haven’t decided on a media console yet but I’m having fun looking. 

[hobbes2702 12951]

I love my BDI Avion. Looks great as well as having some good functional features. I’ll send some pics when I get back home.

[Tonesky 922]

On 3/24/2019 at 12:42 PM, VABuckeye said:

I've purchased from Dedicated Audio before.

Me too. Good people.  

[Buzzrock 14883]

The other option for controlling Apple TVs is just an iPhone. Pretty easy to switch between them (and it’s free). You still need something to control the TVs themselves and whatever sound they are hooked to, but there are some iPhone based options for that too (I think Logitech/Harmony might have one). 

[Rip76 4918]

Question.

Found an old Marantz receiver that I'm going to look at today.

Could I still run a sub and speakers off a two channel receiver?  Can I make the sub just act as another speaker?

 

Thanks

[mdmost 42953]

Does the sub have connections for speakers to run out of it? I believe you can go into the sub from the receiver and then out to the speakers from the sub so it will handle the frequencies to a certain decibel level.