Derkoli

This guy taught me, and others, how to be pirates.

IMO you have a fundamental lack of knowledge how energy distribution systems work, in particular electricity, so the aforementioned electrician is a well founded advice I'd underwrite. I also concur with the need to rewire your shop, especially as it has to be done for the new equipment anyway. Get an electrical engineer involved, (s)he can make the required calculations and designs to load-balance your equipment properly.
There's nothing mechanical about it, it's either a capacitor or inductor 😉 (capacitor for inductive loads, inductor for capacitive loads)

probably said this before, but:
 
e85 is the fuel of the future, and those who dislike it as a fuel for transportation are--at best--misguided about how octane rating works.  It can be used in the vast majority of existing ICE with few modifications.  It requires the least amount of transition for existing infrastructure (gas stations, pumps, etc)--compared to electric, CNG, Hydrogen, etc.  And if engines are designed around e85--rather than simply "accepting" it--the MPG complaints cease to exist.
 
Of course, the public only knows about is why their MPG went down 20% because their "flex-fuel" vehicle was designed for 87 octane.  Meaning that there's an impediment of anecdotal evidence that will have to be overcame to make e85 mainstream accepted.  Chemistry is hard for the layperson.  Tuners may "get" that it is cheap race gas (because it is)--but the average person does not.  Yokels only look at MPG and BTU's and conflate the latter with causing the former.
 
In reality, e85 has 110 octane rating, and more efficient conversion of its BTU's to kinetic energy--than 87 octane petrol.  Meaning that compression ratios can be higher and engines can be smaller to deliver the same level of power as their 87 octane counterparts.  All other concerns (corrosion, water vapor, etc) are fairly trivial--and non-issues if the ICE is designed around e85 from the ground up.
 
And oh yeah.  Ethanol is far cheaper and far more versatile than the hunt for rare-earth to power battery-operated vehicles.  And the methods for acquiring ethanol will only expand if the demand goes up (eg. sewage reclamation, compost repurposing, waste products refinement, etc).

Age damages hearing (you tend to lose top-end response as you get older)
 
Extremely loud noise for a split second can ruin your hearing just as much as moderately loud noise over a long time period.
 
The NIOSH and CDC permissible exposure times are as follows:
 
(All A-Weighted)
 
85 dB - 8 hours
 
88 dB - 4 hours
 
91 dB - 2 hours
 
94 dB - 1 hour
 
97 dB - 30 minutes
 
100 dB - 15 minutes
 
103 dB - 7.5 minutes
 
106 dB - 3.75 minutes
 
Secondary source: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/chart-lookatnoise.html
 
Primary source (page 19/126): https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/98-126/pdfs/98-126.pdf?id=10.26616/NIOSHPUB98126
 
TLDR; just don't listen loud. I've been in venues doing soundchecks were they were cranking FOH to 130dBSPL+ and it isn't fun. Protect your hearing.

Kind of mixed.
 
I've got their flagship "HiFi" speakers, and then of course the MB2S' which are kinda mini main monitors, along with some lower tier bookshelves and towers.
 
For sure, they have a "house sound", they all make everything sound a little bit smoother than it actually is, especially in the upper mid range and treble.
 
I think some of this smoothing comes from the tweeters being crossed over fairly low. Usually around 1.5 to 1.8kHz for the two way designs.
 
Their older models have bass issues, which comes from the transmission line they use in all their models not being refined enough. They've worked it out now, and it's a very good addition to my ears. They have alot of presence for their size.
 
All of their models are very sensitive to amplifier matching. I've got the Fact Fenestria's hooked up to a pair of McIntosh MC2301 tube power amps and they work well together. Previously I had them bi-amped with an Mc1.25kW power amp handling the woofers and then the MC2301's handling the mid driver and tweeter.
 
I think they're effective for mastering. They're certainly not the most accurate things in the world, but they work incredibly well for mastering anything that isn't meant to be super harsh. They just cannot produce sound in a harsh manner.
 
They're certainly very high quality. I've never had an issue with them, even when feeding them quite a bit more power than they're rated for. The crossovers are bulletproof and made with very high quality components, the veneer is amazing and just in general they're well made I think.

To start off, most of my experience with audio kit is with MBL, McIntosh, Martin Audio, PMC and Crown.
 
Below I'll write a list of audio gear I have experience with, and that I recommend. I'll also note any quirks I've noticed, whether they may be good or bad.
 
I'll also put a * infront of products I currently own.
 
Amplifiers;
 
*McIntosh MC1.25kW solid state power amp - Seems to have more power than McIntosh claims. I've never been able to get it to enter protection mode, even when feeding passive subwoofers and driving the input as hard as I can
 
*McIntosh MC2301 tube power amp - The best sounding amplifier that I own
 
*Yamaha MX-A5200 power amp - Doesn't sound amazing, but it's been faultless
 
*Emotiva A-800 power amp - Currently only used for multi room background music duties
 
*Hegel H190 integrated amp - Brilliant little integrated amp. Absolutely love it
 
*Crown I-Tech 9000HD power amp - Need power? here you go. Only really ever used properly with a pair of JBL M2's
 
*Cambridge Audio Topaz AM5 integrated amp - Sits next to me on my desk at all times. Drives a pair of cheap Sony SS-NX1 speakers. Actually a combination I love.
 
*Martin Audio iK42 power amp - Need tonnes of power? Here you go. Stable at 2 x 10kW at 2 ohms. The only amplifier I own that scares me a bit.
 
McIntosh MA9000 integrated amp - Sounds amazing, weighs a tonne, impossible to clean properly, highly recommended.
 
Speakers;
 
*MBL Radialstrahler 101 x-treme - annoying name, annoying to position, annoying to buy, annoying to clean, can't take much power, make you crap yourself slightly when turning on your system and bloody nightmares in general. Bloody amazing. Second to none.
 
*Genelec 8351APM Studio Monitor - Super neutral
 
*Genelec 7380SAM Subwoofer
 
*Adam Audio S5H Studio Monitor - Very loud, very large, very imposing. But the sound? Corr blimey. My favourite studio monitors
 
*PMC MB2S Studio Monitor
 
*PMC Fact Fenestria Loudspeaker - Big, very picky about amplifiers, need perfect positioning, but bloody amazing
 
*JBL M2 Studio Monitor - Need neutral but very loud? Here you go. My second favourite studio monitors
 
*Focal SM9 Studio Monitor - Nothing to note really.
 
*PMC Fact 10.C Loudspeaker
 
*PMC Twenty 5 22 Loudspeaker
 
*PMC Fact 8 Loudspeaker
 
*PMC Fact 12 Loudspeaker
 
*KEF LS50 Loudspeaker
 
*Q Acoustics Concept 500 Loudspeaker
 
*Sony SS-NX1 - I believe these came from an old "audiophile" all in one type system. They're made fairly well, aren't very large at all and have a weird sound signature which I love. You probably won't love these though.
 
*JBL LSR308 MkII Studio Monitor - not very big, live on my desk at all times. They have a nasty hiss though. Also managed to blow a tweeter on one not too long into owning it. Was doing measurements at roughly 90dB and it just made a small pop sound and died.
 
*Polk T50 Loudspeaker - not very big, and sound like pure trash unless they're extremely well isolated from the ground. If you isolate them well, they sound decent.
 
 
PA stuff (probably not necessary but eh);
 
 
This entire section is mostly a Martin Audio simping section. Feel free to ignore.
 
Most of my experience with PA speakers is with Martin Audio. They're not a huge brand and are based out of london. Literally everything they make sounds great.
 
You can tell the speakers where to avoid chucking sound, and they'll just not send sound there. It's amazing.
 
I own 8 MLA Mini's, which are essentially tiny versions of their full on MLA line arrays (same model used at glastonbury each year)
 
They weigh under 15kg each, can achieve 130dB per "cell" and sound amazing. Combine 4 and you can get 142dB.
 
You then combine them with an MSX subwoofer, which has the 9 channels of amplification built in. 1 channel for the subwoofer, then 2 for each MLA Mini cell. It's a lovely compact system that sounds amazing, has plenty of SPL and throw, and is very simple to rig and then fly out. Only need 2 cables, 1 for power and 1 for signal.
 
I can happily recommend any Martin Audio product.
 

Haha, I wish they were 100k USD.
 
I'd honestly say some affordable speakers can reproduce the same amount of detail as my main loudspeakers. It really isn't hard to get good detail out of a cheap speaker now-a-days, but the holographic imaging and true omnidirectional nature of them is second to none.
 
I'll write a quick summary of the gear I have lots of experience with in another reply, which I suspect will be done in ~30 minutes.

AmazonBasics cables sound great. The sound of actually having change in your wallet is unbeatable.

Check out EqualizerAPO, can do all sort's with it, including upmixing channels. Really helpful tool for the stupid audio in windows.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/

Looking at it again, I think you're right in not both being the same size.
Although I don't think either is a 0.25" (6.35mm) jack though. I think the right one is a 3 pole 3.5mm TRS connector and the left one is a 4 pole 2.5mm TRRS connector.

Thread cleaned.
 
A reminder for everyone to please be civil and respectful to one another when discussing a difference of opinion.

I literally cannot possibly comprehend the process through which these people are listening to music that the process of moving data from an NVMe drive has some perceptible effect on audio quality, let alone how an NVMe drive can make their music have "real 3 demensional souding [sic], sense of vinyl and dynamic sound".
 
I feel like that whole thread is sampling bias and placebo effect gone wild.
 
EDIT: *internal screaming*

One positive is that the first reflection point being your desk isn't as bad as your first reflection point a surface such as a side wall. The reflected signal will arrive not too long after the actual desired signal, which will reduce the effects of dynamic smearing.
 
I'd just spend the dosh now. No point spending 2.5k on a system, then upgrading everything to a 10k setup, if you can just do the 10k setup initially. I've gone through a tonne of gear, and not all of it was exactly amazing. Prime example being my Sonus Faber Aida's. Just go with something you're gonna enjoy. You can always sell it on at a minimal loss to try different gear.
 
In my bedroom, one wall has a set of shelves (12 of them, roughly 15cm between them, roughly 5M wide) with random stuff on it, and its genuinely an amazing diffusor. After hunting vibrations and adding diffusers to the other side wall, my bedroom is my second favourite listening room.
 
Of which speakers are basically the most important component of.
 
The rate of which a speaker "dies down" is a very real thing. It's measured by both designers and reviewers (Stereophile measures CSD often) and many factors can alter it. The biggest culprit usually is cabinet resonances.
 
A room just tends to exacerbate this issue.
 
In fact, Q Acoustics has an extremely specific technology to help combat CSD. The cabinet is built in 2 or 3 layers, with gel in between to convert the cabinet vibrations, which stem from the cabinet not being perfectly inert (resonating), into heat.

One positive is that the first reflection point being your desk isn't as bad as your first reflection point a surface such as a side wall. The reflected signal will arrive not too long after the actual desired signal, which will reduce the effects of dynamic smearing.
 
I'd just spend the dosh now. No point spending 2.5k on a system, then upgrading everything to a 10k setup, if you can just do the 10k setup initially. I've gone through a tonne of gear, and not all of it was exactly amazing. Prime example being my Sonus Faber Aida's. Just go with something you're gonna enjoy. You can always sell it on at a minimal loss to try different gear.
 
In my bedroom, one wall has a set of shelves (12 of them, roughly 15cm between them, roughly 5M wide) with random stuff on it, and its genuinely an amazing diffusor. After hunting vibrations and adding diffusers to the other side wall, my bedroom is my second favourite listening room.
 
Of which speakers are basically the most important component of.
 
The rate of which a speaker "dies down" is a very real thing. It's measured by both designers and reviewers (Stereophile measures CSD often) and many factors can alter it. The biggest culprit usually is cabinet resonances.
 
A room just tends to exacerbate this issue.
 
In fact, Q Acoustics has an extremely specific technology to help combat CSD. The cabinet is built in 2 or 3 layers, with gel in between to convert the cabinet vibrations, which stem from the cabinet not being perfectly inert (resonating), into heat.

Good lord there is a lot of arguing in this thread.
 
@Brok3n But who cares?If you want a speaker/subwoofer that sounds "fast" you just want a driver with low inertia/low weight. Any decent subwoofer is gonna have a stiff and light driver. SVS, JL Audio, REL, ADAM Audio, Genelec, Vandersteen, KS Digital, ZU Audio, Quested, Neumann, PSI Audio, Velodyne and Rythmik Audio are all good bets for subwoofers.
 
A subwoofer shouldn't really make everything rattle. Isolate the crap out of your loudspeakers. My favourite way to isolate loudspeakers is by using the IsoAcoustic pucks.
 
I can have my Martin Audio subs at full tilt in my listening room and have very little rattling occurring.
 
 
The room is the most important component of a system. I'd rather listen to a 1k system in a properly treated room instead of a 200k system in a crap room.
 
Put 250 dollars of your budget into Sonarworks. Get a calibrated measurement microphone. Get some good speakers, a good subwoofer, a good source, and calibrate them to your preferred target source. I've got my various pairs of monitors set to a flat profile, and my audiophile setup to a totally different target.
 
 
Personally, if I had 10k to get the best sound possible, I'd do this:
 
Two Neumann KH 310 D's for your main L/R loudspeakers. Incredibly accurate, very good transient response (what you call "fast"), plenty plenty loud enough and not too expensive.
 
A Genelec 7360 APM subwoofer. Hits 19Hz at -3dB, plenty of connectivity if you ever wanna go to 5.1 or 7.1, and loud enough.
 
A Solid State Logic 2 interface. Small, measures well and is backed by an extremely competent company, is also just genuinely extremely well made like other SSL kit. The volume also goes to 11.
 
A Sonarworks license. Learn to use the software. I'd also dig through REW's website to scratch up on loudspeaker measurement techniques.
 
A measurement microphone. The MiniDSP UMIK-1 is a very good bet.
 
Cables. Any old power cables will do, and then for signal just 2x 6.35mm TRS 3 pole to XLR 3 pole and 2x XLR to XLR. Just make sure the cables have good shielding, and are kept away from power cables, or cross them at 90 degrees. Cordial make some for about 15 USD each and they're very very good. You don't need expensive cabling.

My post was mostly a response to you (more or less) calling Dr. Floyd Toole an ignoramus - which is (more or less) akin to calling Bob Dobkin an ignoramus. If you don't know who Bob Dobkin is, look him up. You owe more to him than you realize. 
 
To make one thing clear, cumulative spectral decay (CSD) is an accepted and very useful measurement for loudspeakers. If you think a speaker stops producing sound the instant you stop applying a signal, you're wrong. There is energy stored in resonances in the drivers and in the cabinet itself, and it doesn't dissipate instantly. I'm not going to argue about this. If you think I'm wrong, by all means go over to DiyAudio or AudioScienceReview. Maybe you'll find a physicist with more patience than me.
 
Also, the other point I'm making is that EE is an extremely broad field. Microwave engineering and design of substations are both part of electrical engineering, but that doesn't mean that a typical power distribution engineer is in any way qualified to design microwave communications systems. Some might be, but the vast majority aren't. 
 
As for my last point, I mostly am suggesting that you don't use someone's college degree to argue that information from them is relevant. I know some really stupid people who managed to weasel their way through an EE program, and I know some extremely brilliant microwave engineers who never went to college.
 
 
What you've been doing for this entire thread is quoting (sometimes incompletely) a buddy who is supposedly a genius, but we have no idea who this is, and no useful information about why they're so qualified to give advice. What I do know is that what you're saying doesn't always make sense and isn't always correct.
 
Lastly, don't go thinking that there aren't some very smart engineers and scientists reading and replying to online discussion boards. Be careful who you call an idiot.  It's clear you have an anti-audiophile agenda, and it's clear that you think all audiophiles are stupid. You're achieving nothing productive by announcing it. You won't change the OP's mind. Most of what you'll do is annoy a lot of people and stop the thread from achieving anything productive.
 
Now for some useful advice to the OP:
 
I agree that you really should do some acoustic treatment before spending $10,000 on a system. I would advise the OP to do some research on acoustic treatment (there are plenty of excellent books and articles on the subject). Getting it 'pretty good' in a room of this sort isn't rocket science, and it can be done for well under $1000. You'll learn a lot more (and save a lot of money) learning how to do it yourself rather than hiring a professional.
 
I would not necessarily recommend the HS5 / HS8 monitors for pleasure listening. They're a decent speaker for what they cost, but they have their issues. They have some characteristics similar to the NS10s - another speaker that was wildly popular in recording studios, but which sound awful (and most recording engineers will agree with me on that). There are a lot of good loudspeakers in the $3,000 - $7,000 / pair range, both active and passive, and there are benefits to them over $500 monitors. 
 
Also, your room isn't terribly big. Depending on the speakers you buy, you may or may not benefit from a subwoofer. The V2108s I suggested, for example, will likely be just fine without a sub. Crossing over to a sub will improve the linearity of the mains, but depending on the mains this may or may not be noticeable. I find that with the V2108s, it isn't.
 
H-713
 
 

I'd try to find a regular (preferably small) amplifier rather than an AVR. 

The problem with an AVR is that it packs a whole bunch of sh!t into one cheap package, so each individual aspect generally stinks. 

You could very likely get away with 22 AWG for this and it would probably be fine if the runs are short. Yes, the peak currents are very high in a speaker wire, but the average current is quite low, so the (I^2)*R losses aren't very high. 
 
The short answer is that if you go with 18 AWG or heavier, in a domestic application (I'm not talking about running a bunch of Turbosound 24" subs in a 20,000 seat hall), you'll be fine.
 

Good lord there is a lot of arguing in this thread.
 
@Brok3n But who cares?If you want a speaker/subwoofer that sounds "fast" you just want a driver with low inertia/low weight. Any decent subwoofer is gonna have a stiff and light driver. SVS, JL Audio, REL, ADAM Audio, Genelec, Vandersteen, KS Digital, ZU Audio, Quested, Neumann, PSI Audio, Velodyne and Rythmik Audio are all good bets for subwoofers.
 
A subwoofer shouldn't really make everything rattle. Isolate the crap out of your loudspeakers. My favourite way to isolate loudspeakers is by using the IsoAcoustic pucks.
 
I can have my Martin Audio subs at full tilt in my listening room and have very little rattling occurring.
 
 
The room is the most important component of a system. I'd rather listen to a 1k system in a properly treated room instead of a 200k system in a crap room.
 
Put 250 dollars of your budget into Sonarworks. Get a calibrated measurement microphone. Get some good speakers, a good subwoofer, a good source, and calibrate them to your preferred target source. I've got my various pairs of monitors set to a flat profile, and my audiophile setup to a totally different target.
 
 
Personally, if I had 10k to get the best sound possible, I'd do this:
 
Two Neumann KH 310 D's for your main L/R loudspeakers. Incredibly accurate, very good transient response (what you call "fast"), plenty plenty loud enough and not too expensive.
 
A Genelec 7360 APM subwoofer. Hits 19Hz at -3dB, plenty of connectivity if you ever wanna go to 5.1 or 7.1, and loud enough.
 
A Solid State Logic 2 interface. Small, measures well and is backed by an extremely competent company, is also just genuinely extremely well made like other SSL kit. The volume also goes to 11.
 
A Sonarworks license. Learn to use the software. I'd also dig through REW's website to scratch up on loudspeaker measurement techniques.
 
A measurement microphone. The MiniDSP UMIK-1 is a very good bet.
 
Cables. Any old power cables will do, and then for signal just 2x 6.35mm TRS 3 pole to XLR 3 pole and 2x XLR to XLR. Just make sure the cables have good shielding, and are kept away from power cables, or cross them at 90 degrees. Cordial make some for about 15 USD each and they're very very good. You don't need expensive cabling.

Fast decay as in how fast it's waterfall chart  (AKA spectral decay chart) decays down to nothing. This is indicative of how long the driver takes to stop moving after the signal stops.  Fast decaying drivers sound clearer, slow ones sound muddy.  The concept is applicable to any driver not just subs. This is what literally everyone I know means when they call a sub/speaker/driver "fast". I doubt your buddy is a gainfully employed sound engineer if he's not familiar with this concept. Maybe they just call it something else?

I'd personally nab a pair of PMC 6-2's, then feed them with an Apogee Symphony Desktop. Use any interconnects you fancy, and then a pair of good, sturdy monitor stands. It won't look sleek, but it'll sound gorgeous.

yesh what ever site made that needs to be fired.
5.1...7.1 or 5.1.2
 

Speaker power doesn't matter unless YOU WANT AN UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNT OF SOUND. As long as the speaker has reasonable efficiency/sensitivity (manufacturers use different terms) 2 watts is more than enough to start your noise complaint collection. Just get good sounding speakers, anything will be more than loud enough to use at a desk.

Sony WH-1000XM 3 or 4 are very good ANC headphones, and are popular enough you could probably find them in-store to try out. They do have somewhat heavy bass - some people call them muddy but that's a taste thing. I use these the most for plane trips and in noisy work vans. They have DSP when turned on, so sound like poo plugged in without power. Track and volume change controls are touch gestures, but imo easier than physical buttons.

Shure Aonic 50 have great natural/flat studio sound. The ANC is decent but not competitive with Sony or Bose, so I mainly suggest them just for the sound quality. They sound great even without power, so I don't think there's any processing going on. They're good headphones first, with bluetooth/ANC tacked on. Sound isolation is decent if you want to make due without ANC. Physical button controls.

Okay, so, like most interfaces the inputs are discrete meaning they are a single channel, in this case, input 1 (XLR) is left and input 2 (TRS) is right.
This is industry standard.
If you want it to be mono in an application that doesn't 1 - automatically downmix or 2 - support ASIO and as such records each channel as a distinct mono signal, you record it like you have where it is on the left side only and duplicate the track to the right side or set that L track to MONO.

Nothing is wrong, it's working exactly as designed.