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Logitech Z906, Edifier S2000Pro replacement - LF Speaker + Amplifier + Subwoofer + Free Knowledge

Aznsteil

Third time's a charm. Background:

 

tl,dr: wanted to replace my logitech Z906, bought the Edifier S2000Pro. Unhappy, I though adding a subwoofer would improve it. Some stranger on the internet kinda wake me up then. S2000Pro lacks detail and bass (obviously without subwoofer) compared to my Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro. Now I want that detailed presentation of music like I have with my DT 1990 Pro in my living room.

 

Due to me being noob into audio, I don't know what to search for. I ask strangers on the internet what to buy, I look them up, videos on the internet are designed to support your purchase decision whatever you are searching. I buy without new knowledge besides that specific speaker model I will own, and my head will justify the soundquality, since I paid bigger cash for it than the "average" consumer. I do not know how to break out of that circle. Lucky enough said stranger gave me some advice that I appreciate and hopefully I can get a more fitting buyers recommendation from you guys! Thanks to everyone who contributed to my path until now.

 

Information: I do have the OPPO HA 2 SE and the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO. The Ha 2 (3.5 mm line out) will serve as DAC until I will get something decent, right now I am looking for a speaker + amplifier setup, which I won't regret buying in the next let's say 10 years (I'm confident that my DT 1990 will serve me 10 years for good). Bringing that clear, detailed, goosebumpsy sound into my 16 m² living room/sitposition. Speakers will be sitting around 1 meter away from me, and 1 meter away from each other. They will have clearance from the wall at about the same distant, to "let them breath". Shipment to germany.

 

Speaker: The Elac Uni-Fi BS U5 slim black, pair would cost me around 500€, not gonna lie, that's alot of money for me. If you guys say that these are those you want to get 100% uff sure I will get them. I feel like I will have to save some money on the amplifier then. If you have alternatives, they would be highly appreciated.

 

Amplifier: My nooby expectation on the amplifier: costs nothing, can do everything. Jokes aside, having a volume knob without distorting the sound when used. It will be on my desk, not being ugly would be nice. Need to have some kind of adding subwoofer option. Since I don't have much knowledge in this area, it would feel wrong to ask for more. I don't know why you would need a pre amplifier for example, all I know is: they power your speakers, they have a sound signature. Bluetooth connection would come handy from time to time, but not something it has to have (and maybe thats a DAC thing, and not a amplifier thing). I want to buy an amp and never care about it ever again, especially when I will pair it with some high quality DAC like the RME ADI-2 in the future (since I'm a noob, I don't really know if thats the real high quality shit, some research needs to be done by me still).

 

Subwoofer: PS Audio says, always get a subwoofer sooner or later. It will always improve your listening experience. I won't buy the sub any time soon (before the DAC though), but I'd like to get some recommendation already, what to care for, what to not go for etc. Are passthroughs the way to go, or do I connect subwoofer independently to my amp like the speaker?

 

Listening to music I used to listen to 10 years ago, with this "higher resolution" of sound feels amazing. It makes me happy. I know with my budget I'm nowhere near of what Linus did in one of his videos. But I want to come close as much as for me possible to that without starving to death :D. Listening to music in amazing detail solo, check with DT1990PRO. Now I want to share that friends and family in a room, showing them musical details, without asking them to 100% concentrate listening to them. I lack those audio terms, like soundstage, bright etc. Maybe if I was blindfolded, I'd find Bose and Beats good, too, if they'd give me goosebumps. Help me to get more educated on my path and to make the right purchase decision.

 

You've reached the end of this original post. Thank you for your time, even though you didn't answer yet I appreciate your effort reading to this point! This forum is my best way to get things straight related to audio, I don't have people around me who are that interested into that.

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Here's my 2 cents:

 

ELAC speakers are comparitively mellow compared to Beyerdynamic headphones. You'll probably end up disappointed, expecting lively dynamics. You should probably turn yourself towards Klipsch speakers. Try to score a good deal on some Klipsch RM 41 speakers. They're easy to drive and sound better than ELACs at lower volumes. You don't need a crazy good amp. The Klipsch are more lively. But the ELACs are smoother and more natural. 

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13 hours ago, kokakolia said:

mellow

what does mellow exactly mean in terms of audio? From what I think it could be is "smoothing the edges" and "bright", is that anything near what you meant?

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5 hours ago, Aznsteil said:

what does mellow exactly mean in terms of audio? From what I think it could be is "smoothing the edges" and "bright", is that anything near what you meant?

The ELAC smoothes the edges. 

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8 hours ago, Aznsteil said:

what does mellow exactly mean in terms of audio? From what I think it could be is "smoothing the edges" and "bright", is that anything near what you meant?

It means ELAC makes everything sound like Snoop Dogg after he gets some bomb grass, youknowwhaddamsayin.

 

To consider sound reproduction, you must consider 3 main aspects: source, transmission medium and receiver. Source are obviously speakers, transmission medium is air, the room, placement, echos etc. Receiver is your ears and mind, which are highly individual. So to say the sound is mellow for me does not mean it will be mellow for you. 

A good rule of thumb: no replacement for displacement. I would take driver cone area over sound pressure capabilities. 6.5" mid-bass+1" tweeter in a closed box. 10/12" sub in a ported box. 

 

That is all moot tho. If you could share info on your room and possible placement in the room, then we can make a more educated guess

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20 hours ago, PriitM said:

If you could share info on your room and possible placement in the room, then we can make a more educated guess

I attached a picture with my amazing schematic skills. Length are rounded and simplified of course. Pictures from my actual setup are in my first linked thread. I've read somewhere that speakers need to be atleast 1/5 of the room length where they're firing away from the wall to "breath", thats why they are 1 m away from my walls. Speaker would/will be facing towards sitting position of course.

 

I have listened to ZReviews sound demos (180+ videos) and filtered out headphone demos and every speaker model which was either not available for shipment to germany, or are just plain too expensive. With sound coming from Zeos DAC -> Amp -> Speaker -> Mic -> Youtube compression -> my oppo ha2 se -> dt 1990 in mind, I chose those which do sound pleasing to me through my headphones. Here are my results:

  • 400 € JBL Studio 230 - sound good, looks meh
  • 450 € ELAC Uni-Fi UB5 - sounds good, pre-primed by @Derkoli with "something missing", looks good
  • 500 € Klipsch RP600M - looks best, sound good enough to be considered on the list
  • 2x 266 € Yamaha HS 8 - sounds good, active speaker makes the setup more clunky, how do I even volume control these without reaching behind those boxes everytime?

Honorable mention: Buchardt S200/S300 - I really like that sound of them, but they are not availaible and costs way too much for my budget. I'd go with this brand if I'll win in the lottery.

 

Regarding amplifier: I have no idea where to even search. On my journey I came across Cambrdige Audio Topaz SR20, which seem to be prizey, and Onkyo A-9010 which seem to be the budget best value amp to go. I have no perspective about amp, so me saying they might be prizey doesn't mean anything, since I don't know how much amp costs usually. I've learnt:

  • never pair 4 ohm speakers to 8 ohm amp
  • 8 ohm speakers on 4 ohm are ok though (half the power @ amp specification)
  • continious power and peak power are not the same
  • amp should never be too powerful, or too weak for the speaker (either burnt speaker, or cranking up volume knob to hear speaker at all, just to add unwanting noise effects due to amplifier capabilities)
  • Quote

    choose an amp that outputs the correct Continuous Power for the volume level you seek, and a speaker that can gobble up twice that amount of power. So, if you need 100 watts out of your amp at 8 ohms, pump it into an 8-ohm speaker that can handle 200 watts of Continuous Power.

     

With that said, I'm still not being able to search the right amp model for listed speaker, so I'm relying on you guys (please help me). Comments related to my desired speakers and possibly my "sound profile" are more than welcome. Furthermore tell me stuff I might miss or don't take into consideration.

 

 

Sitting position.png

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5 hours ago, Aznsteil said:

how do I even volume control these without reaching behind those boxes everytime?

You use a pre-amp, Something like a Mackie Big Knob, Or a cheap monitor controller.

 

https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-and-Computers/SubZero-MC2-Passive-Studio-Monitor-Controller/25L0

 

https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-and-Computers/Mackie-Big-Knob-Passive-Monitor-Controller/1TVO

LTT's Resident Porsche fanboy and nutjob Audiophile.

 

Main speaker setup is now;

 

Mini DSP SHD Studio -> 2x Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC's (fed by AES/EBU, one feeds the left sub and main, the other feeds the right side) -> 2x Neumann KH420 + 2x Neumann KH870

 

(Having a totally seperate DAC for each channel is game changing for sound quality)

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6 hours ago, Aznsteil said:
  • never pair 4 ohm speakers to 8 ohm amp
  • 8 ohm speakers on 4 ohm are ok though (half the power @ amp specification)
  • continious power and peak power are not the same
  • amp should never be too powerful, or too weak for the speaker (either burnt speaker, or cranking up volume knob to hear speaker at all, just to add unwanting noise effects due to amplifier capabilities)

1: Correct, bad things happen

2: Not always half the power, some amps can be very funky with the impedance vs power

3: True, and RMS is not the same as continuous power.

4: Kinda true. You don't have to have an amp that is under the speakers max power, My speakers recommended 200 watts to 1000 watts, and I feed them 1200 watts RMS, and 4800 watts peak. It can actually be good to run a big powerful amp on speakers that arent designed to take the amps power, as the amplifier can sometimes be closer to where it's most efficient, and it gives headroom for small bursts of power.

LTT's Resident Porsche fanboy and nutjob Audiophile.

 

Main speaker setup is now;

 

Mini DSP SHD Studio -> 2x Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC's (fed by AES/EBU, one feeds the left sub and main, the other feeds the right side) -> 2x Neumann KH420 + 2x Neumann KH870

 

(Having a totally seperate DAC for each channel is game changing for sound quality)

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5 hours ago, Derkoli said:

Lets say I get the Mackie Knob 2x2. And my powered speakers, lets say the s2000pro, run at 20% max Volume. When I turn the Volume up on the Mackie, the speaker will get louder right? is there any downside to this, like loss in Details or anything? The mackie knob studio+ seems to be used professionally, there shouldnt negatively impact the sound then right?

 

What if the max volume of my speaker stay at 20% and I turn the mackie knob all the way up? will i destroy my speaker then? or is it something like "setup your speaker to the highest, still pleasing sound level = highest volume of the mackie knob = 100% volume" and the mackie just regulates between this 0-100% of lets say 50% max volume s2000pro? that way it wouldnt destroy my speaker at all, whatever i do with the mackie knob. since the mackie knob 2x2 is passive, does this apply to the other active version of this products too or do they literally aplify the signal to something greater (and could damage the speaker)?

 

Alot of questions in hope to being answered

 

Edit: Alright I've read some of the faq on the schiit.com website about their preamp models, alot of questions I had are being answered now. Passive preamps just regulate the line output between amp and dac. So no extra magical power from nowhere, no possible damage for the speaker. Active preamps I don't know though, but they seem to be used only to bridge higher cable distances. Furthermore the Yamaha seem to have that noise problem, which alot of active speakers tend to have. I will cross them from my list. It's all about those passive speakers then:

  • 400 € JBL Studio 230 - 8 ohm impedance
  • 450 € ELAC Uni-Fi UB5 - 4 ohm impedance
  • 500 € Klipsch RP600M - 8 ohm impedance, seem to be really good sounding if paired with tube amp's

Presearched amplifier:

  • Onkyo A-9010 - 44 w into 8 ohm
  • Cambridge Topaz AM5 - 25 w into 8 ohm
  • Onkyo A-9110 - 50 w into 4 ohm

Any advice regarding amplifiers with said speakers? Only the 9110 seem to be shipable right now, rest seem to be eol.

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@Aznsteil

 

I apologize in advance for my pointless review. 

 

Funnily enough, I bought the Klipsch RP600M + Yamaha RN 402 amp combo for 600 euro @ La Fnac . I couldn't pass the sale. I dunno, the speakers didn't blow me away. But then again, I was streaming the lowest quality Spotify (my internet sucks major balls, and my data barely works via 3G) via Bluetooth. And my speakers are positioned incorrectly (I live at my parents and they have this really odd bookshelf shaped like a staircase, so one speaker is much higher than the other). That said, the bass on the Klipsch RP600M is fantastic. And there's bit more microdetail compared to the Q Acoustics 3020. I just think that the way I setup the Klipsch RP600M makes them sound thin and muffled.

 

Yeah they sound clear, but I wish they had more mids. I dunno, I seemed to enjoy my dad's Q Acoustics 3020 so much more. They sounded fuller. But his speakers are positioned better. And his internet works like a charm. I read a review stating that the Klipsch RP600M require decent positioning (more so than other speakers), so that the mids can shine. Maybe it has to do with the horn-loaded tweeter. 

 

 

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15 hours ago, kokakolia said:

I apologize in advance for my pointless review. 

It's not pointless to me, it will take the hype out of the product I'm having which makes me hope to be more realistic what to expect. I have tried sites like crutchfield.com to "listen" about the characteristics of some speakers. Luckily they had the ELAC's and the RP600m. Link here.

 

Compared to the Klipsch, the Elac sound really as you described. Mellow smoothing edges, Klipsch sound more active and open. Comparing both side by side switching like every 5 second, I like the Klipsch. But after I listened on the same speaker for like 10 min each, The Klipsch were a little bit exhausting. Details everywhere, the ELAC's are way more chill. MartinLogan 35XT are similar to klipsch, but the bass on the 600M are way better, more "details in bass" (no idea how I should describe it professionally, maybe "the bass and sub bass frequencies have more resolution?"). I can imagine finding myself turning off the music on the klipsch because their details are way too aggressive over a longer period of time.

 

I just worry that the ELAC's miss those dynamics, brighter maybe, which would be similar to my Edifier S2000Pro I think. I'd get the Elac Uni-Fi BS U5 Slim (not normal variant) for around 450 €, which seem to be a pretty good deal according to price development. They were offered 700€ for most of the time for 15+ months. The Klipsch are steadily sinking in price starting from 650 € about the same time window as the ELAC's.

 

Derkoli says ELAC miss something, maybe the lower mid to bass area, but would you take the Klipsch RP600M then, or would you take a new player of pairs?

 

I'm considering the Klipsch mainly because of it looks, they really do look nice, sound seem to be superiour in high and lows, mid seem to be missing something. The ELAC I consider simply because more people were interested in watching the ZReview's video about it compared to the Klipsch. More people interested equals better product in generel since it attracts so many people, right? Yea no, but my subconsciousness tells me that. Klipsch seem to be a hyped product at launch, and everyone reviewing it seem to be positively suprised about its bright detailism. How they actually perform comfortwise to listening one can only say after a longer period of time owning them. Since product reviews are like Intel CPU's, where first impression and launch comparison last about a product cycle (yea I remember Linus's rant about Intels asshole design NDA midnight before AMD release).

 

Tendencies or even dislike towards one product or another, thoughts about my thoughts, or model specific amp recommendation are highly welcome! Thank you!

 

PS: I think I finally make my mind up about my budget: Around 800 ish € with speaker pair and amplifier

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4 hours ago, Aznsteil said:

The Klipsch were a little bit exhausting

That is an extremely common complaint unfortunately, It's the waveguide that causes issues. I wish Klipsch would control that tweeter a bit more, It would make the RP600M very, very hard to beat.

 

I think you might like Bowers and Wilkins, They've got very sharp, airy treble, But aren't fatiguing at all, I used to have a pair of Bowers and Wilkins 803 D3, and I loved those things.

 

See if you can find a pair of B&W 607 standmounters.

 

https://www.bowerswilkins.com/eu-en/home-audio/607

LTT's Resident Porsche fanboy and nutjob Audiophile.

 

Main speaker setup is now;

 

Mini DSP SHD Studio -> 2x Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC's (fed by AES/EBU, one feeds the left sub and main, the other feeds the right side) -> 2x Neumann KH420 + 2x Neumann KH870

 

(Having a totally seperate DAC for each channel is game changing for sound quality)

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I'd love my speakers too if they'd cost 17k € :D

The 607 are shipable to me via Alternate.de, would cost me 530 €. Would you please give me an amp to pair with it? Or a site/database, where I can dive in myself. I don't know what to care about an amp. Here sitting wanting new speakers so bad, but don't order them cause of the amp question :(

 

Edit: I mean are products like this any good?

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2 hours ago, Aznsteil said:

I'd love my speakers too if they'd cost 17k € :D

The 607 are shipable to me via Alternate.de, would cost me 530 €. Would you please give me an amp to pair with it? Or a site/database, where I can dive in myself. I don't know what to care about an amp. Here sitting wanting new speakers so bad, but don't order them cause of the amp question :(

 

Edit: I mean are products like this any good?

Can’t you find amp + speaker combo deals online? You can save big $$$ that way. That’s how I only paid 600€ for the RP 600M and RN402 amp together. It would have been 1000€ if I purchased both items separately. Can you shop on LDLC?  

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On 1/8/2020 at 10:22 PM, Aznsteil said:

I attached a picture with my amazing schematic skills. Length are rounded and simplified of course. Pictures from my actual setup are in my first linked thread. I've read somewhere that speakers need to be atleast 1/5 of the room length where they're firing away from the wall to "breath", thats why they are 1 m away from my walls. Speaker would/will be facing towards sitting position of course.

Sitting position.png

Yeah, room acoustics is a pain sometimes. Gotta take in consideration resonances, reflections. Also, the frequency characteristics of drivers themselves (radiant diagrams) to understand if a driver is prone to a tight cone or a dispersed dome. I would say go with 6.5" monitors with a good tweeter. You can always EQ down a overproducing driver, but you cant EQ up any frequencies it cant do. 8" closed box bass unit, or a 10" sub (if you are into that phat bass). You will saturate your room pretty easy. 

Sad to see no Philips Fidelio on Crutchfield list (dissapointed and reported to hifi police), so cant say what is good. ELAC tweeter is more quiet compared to the others. I would go with MartinLogans: ribbon tweeter is more versitle.

 

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18 hours ago, Aznsteil said:

I'd love my speakers too if they'd cost 17k € :D

The 607 are shipable to me via Alternate.de, would cost me 530 €. Would you please give me an amp to pair with it? Or a site/database, where I can dive in myself. I don't know what to care about an amp. Here sitting wanting new speakers so bad, but don't order them cause of the amp question :(

 

Edit: I mean are products like this any good?

I've heard one of them before, and it's honestly one of the worst thing's I've ever heard.

 

The Onkyo A9010/A9110 is an amazing budget amplifier, with plenty of power, connectivity and other features.

LTT's Resident Porsche fanboy and nutjob Audiophile.

 

Main speaker setup is now;

 

Mini DSP SHD Studio -> 2x Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC's (fed by AES/EBU, one feeds the left sub and main, the other feeds the right side) -> 2x Neumann KH420 + 2x Neumann KH870

 

(Having a totally seperate DAC for each channel is game changing for sound quality)

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@AznsteilI am currently listening to the Klipsch RP 600M right now. Same horrible setup. But I gotta say that they sound very, very good while I'm pushing the volume a bit louder. I suppose that I was not getting much out of them at very low volumes (I'm afraid to annoy the neighbours, but what the heck it's Friday). 

 

Listening to Death Cab for Cutie:

 

It seems like the vocals are still taking the backseat to the kick drums, xylophone, piano and guitars. The Klipsch are definitely not neutral, in a sense that they're trying too hard to accentuate micro details and sound very clean (boosted treble) at the expense of sounding a bit thin and artifical. It's not bothersome, you adjust to it almost immediately. I just hate to admit it. But I think that I like the Q Acoustics 3020 more. The 3020 is not as detailed, but it sounds more musical like speakers . And the 3020 is just your basic 200 euro bookshelf unit. The RP600M is worth more than double.

 

IMHO, you could do so much worse than this combo under 400 euro:

 

- Tangent Ampster BT 2 

- Q Acoustics 3020

 

That's all you need. 

 

EDIT: You might like the Klipsch more, as much as I like the Q Acoustics more. We just have different tastes (I think...). The Klipsch share more in common with Beyerdynamics than the Q Acoustics or ELACs which are more laid back. 

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4 hours ago, PriitM said:

I would go with MartinLogans: ribbon tweeter is more versitle.

I looked into MartinLogan, unfortunately they seem not to be distributed in germany. No chance getting one. I need to ask you though: I don't know anything about equalizer, besides they exist. Like everyone I played with them a while and didn't care about them since then. I thought they are pro tools for some musicians and producer like Dr Dre. Mortals like me should just enjoy content like they intend to be heard. On the other hand I've come along some articles which state every odd room can be corrected by using the equalizer. I don't know how to use it, nor do I have some expensive microphone. And even if had, I don't know what to aim for. A flat frequency response line? And is there like a master equalizer software which grabs my windows audio output and equalizes every source (wasapi/asio support would be ass I guess), or do I need an external hardware solution for this?

 

3 hours ago, Derkoli said:

I've heard one of them before, and it's honestly one of the worst thing's I've ever heard.

I was confused, though u were bashing your own recommendation, until I realised you were talking about that linked amplifier. There seem to be no good comparable sound demo of that B&W 607 speaker, only with 0815 video with no prober mic and alot of room echo. My audiophile friend at work is recommending me B&W since day one though. They would be available on alternate.de, as well as the Onkyo A-9110, although they are rated as 4 ohm only. From my understanding I can still drive 8 ohm speaker, with only half the rated 50 w per channel, right? I'm really looking into amplifier, the more I do, the less I like these budget options. Some have tidal/spotify support, some have bluetooth options, some (receivers) even organise my audio video input. The Mackie Knob you mentioned earlier, I looked into his elder brother and find it's features pretty useful.

 

excourse dreamland: I could plug my headset mic into it, with its fancy preamp it would sound amazing compared to my creative soundblaster zxr, which soundquality sucks ass compared to my oppo ha 2 se (dt 1990). Furthermore really cool looking volume knob with audio input/output organization, amazing! I could plug everything in and switch output immediatly with button clicks, instead pluggin/unplugging my headphones from my ha 2 se over and over again. I wouldn't wear off my connections that much.

reality check: All I use my mic for is discord with friends, which is capped to 96 kbps anyway. Right now I only have one audio source, which is my oppo ha 2 se which is connected to my computer via usb. And even if my cable wears off, I could just a new xlr cable for me 1990.

 

See what I have to deal with new learnt half knowledge combined with having some money leftovers from christmas. It would be way more convinient if there was some all-knowing guy or some kind of website calculator I could ask for my perfect needs:

Input -> money, favourite songs, distance to speaker, favorite color of speaker; output -> speakermodel + amp + where to buy

 

Trust me I really searched for that kind of website before :D

There's none. So I try to learn as much as possible myself from you. Anyway back to topic:

 

  • @N.tony: "... . And for the audio the choice process is super-frustrating, you're basically relying on people's weird translation of their feelings into a set of random terms that tell you how *they* are differentiating between the speakers..."

 

400 € JBL Studio 230

  • Even though I think they look ugly, I can not find any other reason not to put them on my "might buy" list. They sound way to pleasing through youtube with my Beyerdynamic DT 1990 to remove them for no reason
  • zreviews seems to like his elder brother, the JBL Studio 530, claiming them being the "2nd best speaker ever". I take that with big grain of salt though

 

450 € ELAC Uni-Fi UB5 (slim version, not the normal one I rechecked. the normal one is not shipable to me)

  • @Derkoli: "I really can't put my finger on it, they had great treble, but something else was missing. They just didn't convey sound in the same way that other speakers do, I really wanted to like them, but I just can't get along with them. Something was missing from them. I tried them on my system at home, and they still just didn't sound quite right. I'm fairly sure it's the lower midrange/upper bass where it has issues, but I'm honestly not sure."
  • @kokakolia: "ELAC speakers are comparitively mellow compared to Beyerdynamic headphones. You'll probably end up disappointed, expecting lively dynamics. You should probably turn yourself towards Klipsch speakers. Try to score a good deal on some Klipsch RM 41 speakers. They're easy to drive and sound better than ELACs at lower volumes. You don't need a crazy good amp. The Klipsch are more lively. But the ELACs are smoother and more natural."
  • @PriitM: "It means ELAC makes everything sound like Snoop Dogg after he gets some bomb grass, youknowwhaddamsayin."

 

500 € Klipsch RP600M

  • partner tells me: "they look best out of your list. You just start buying into audio, with that speaker I think you can upgrade your audio setup for later into some kind of epic 7.1 home theater setup. they wouldn't lie down unused for some reason. Since friends and family visit us often, we could show off too :v" (for that reason I might need some kind of receiver with 5.1+ support, instead of just a simple amplifier. No idea if sound quality wise receiver < only amplifier @ same price point)
  • @Derkolii: "I wish Klipsch would control that tweeter a bit more, It would make the RP600M very, very hard to beat."
  • @kokakolia: "The Klipsch are definitely not neutral, in a sense that they're trying too hard to accentuate micro details and sound very clean (boosted treble) at the expense of sounding a bit thin and artifical. It's not bothersome, you adjust to it almost immediately. I just hate to admit it."
  • @kokakolia: "You might like the Klipsch more, as much as I like the Q Acoustics more. We just have different tastes (I think...). The Klipsch share more in common with Beyerdynamics than the Q Acoustics or ELACs which are more laid back. "

 

530€ B&W 607

  • new player suggestion by Derkoli, after me telling him Klipsch might be exhausting to listen to after a while, because of it's bright nature (do I use "bright" correctly?). Derkoli loved the B&W 803 D3, so he recommended me his little brother.
  • looks like speaker, nothing sexy about them like Klipsch imo, doesn't look bad but good though (optic wise).
  • not a lot of reviews found, seem not to be widespread but shipable to me for normal prices

 

For amplifiers, I will look more into av receivers, unless you advice me against it. For me they seem to be more feature rich by almost the same price range. Sound quality wise I have zero idea. I will keep the Onkyo A-9110 in mind though.

I am aware that at some point of this thread oppinions and recommandations will be "saturated" and the final decision needs to be done by me. I think with giving me a deadline for after this weekend is in everbody's interest.

 

You are still reading? You seem to be a really kind and helping guy. I thank you with all my heart for your time and effort ❤️

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8 hours ago, Aznsteil said:

I looked into MartinLogan, unfortunately they seem not to be distributed in germany. No chance getting one. I need to ask you though: I don't know anything about equalizer, besides they exist. Like everyone I played with them a while and didn't care about them since then. I thought they are pro tools for some musicians and producer like Dr Dre. Mortals like me should just enjoy content like they intend to be heard. On the other hand I've come along some articles which state every odd room can be corrected by using the equalizer. I don't know how to use it, nor do I have some expensive microphone. And even if had, I don't know what to aim for. A flat frequency response line? And is there like a master equalizer software which grabs my windows audio output and equalizes every source (wasapi/asio support would be ass I guess), or do I need an external hardware solution for this?

 

I was confused, though u were bashing your own recommendation, until I realised you were talking about that linked amplifier. There seem to be no good comparable sound demo of that B&W 607 speaker, only with 0815 video with no prober mic and alot of room echo. My audiophile friend at work is recommending me B&W since day one though. They would be available on alternate.de, as well as the Onkyo A-9110, although they are rated as 4 ohm only. From my understanding I can still drive 8 ohm speaker, with only half the rated 50 w per channel, right? I'm really looking into amplifier, the more I do, the less I like these budget options. Some have tidal/spotify support, some have bluetooth options, some (receivers) even organise my audio video input. The Mackie Knob you mentioned earlier, I looked into his elder brother and find it's features pretty useful.

 

excourse dreamland: I could plug my headset mic into it, with its fancy preamp it would sound amazing compared to my creative soundblaster zxr, which soundquality sucks ass compared to my oppo ha 2 se (dt 1990). Furthermore really cool looking volume knob with audio input/output organization, amazing! I could plug everything in and switch output immediatly with button clicks, instead pluggin/unplugging my headphones from my ha 2 se over and over again. I wouldn't wear off my connections that much.

reality check: All I use my mic for is discord with friends, which is capped to 96 kbps anyway. Right now I only have one audio source, which is my oppo ha 2 se which is connected to my computer via usb. And even if my cable wears off, I could just a new xlr cable for me 1990.

 

See what I have to deal with new learnt half knowledge combined with having some money leftovers from christmas. It would be way more convinient if there was some all-knowing guy or some kind of website calculator I could ask for my perfect needs:

Input -> money, favourite songs, distance to speaker, favorite color of speaker; output -> speakermodel + amp + where to buy

 

Trust me I really searched for that kind of website before :D

There's none. So I try to learn as much as possible myself from you. Anyway back to topic:

 

  • @N.tony: "... . And for the audio the choice process is super-frustrating, you're basically relying on people's weird translation of their feelings into a set of random terms that tell you how *they* are differentiating between the speakers..."

 

400 € JBL Studio 230

  • Even though I think they look ugly, I can not find any other reason not to put them on my "might buy" list. They sound way to pleasing through youtube with my Beyerdynamic DT 1990 to remove them for no reason
  • zreviews seems to like his elder brother, the JBL Studio 530, claiming them being the "2nd best speaker ever". I take that with big grain of salt though

 

450 € ELAC Uni-Fi UB5 (slim version, not the normal one I rechecked. the normal one is not shipable to me)

  • @Derkoli: "I really can't put my finger on it, they had great treble, but something else was missing. They just didn't convey sound in the same way that other speakers do, I really wanted to like them, but I just can't get along with them. Something was missing from them. I tried them on my system at home, and they still just didn't sound quite right. I'm fairly sure it's the lower midrange/upper bass where it has issues, but I'm honestly not sure."
  • @kokakolia: "ELAC speakers are comparitively mellow compared to Beyerdynamic headphones. You'll probably end up disappointed, expecting lively dynamics. You should probably turn yourself towards Klipsch speakers. Try to score a good deal on some Klipsch RM 41 speakers. They're easy to drive and sound better than ELACs at lower volumes. You don't need a crazy good amp. The Klipsch are more lively. But the ELACs are smoother and more natural."
  • @PriitM: "It means ELAC makes everything sound like Snoop Dogg after he gets some bomb grass, youknowwhaddamsayin."

 

500 € Klipsch RP600M

  • partner tells me: "they look best out of your list. You just start buying into audio, with that speaker I think you can upgrade your audio setup for later into some kind of epic 7.1 home theater setup. they wouldn't lie down unused for some reason. Since friends and family visit us often, we could show off too :v" (for that reason I might need some kind of receiver with 5.1+ support, instead of just a simple amplifier. No idea if sound quality wise receiver < only amplifier @ same price point)
  • @Derkolii: "I wish Klipsch would control that tweeter a bit more, It would make the RP600M very, very hard to beat."
  • @kokakolia: "The Klipsch are definitely not neutral, in a sense that they're trying too hard to accentuate micro details and sound very clean (boosted treble) at the expense of sounding a bit thin and artifical. It's not bothersome, you adjust to it almost immediately. I just hate to admit it."
  • @kokakolia: "You might like the Klipsch more, as much as I like the Q Acoustics more. We just have different tastes (I think...). The Klipsch share more in common with Beyerdynamics than the Q Acoustics or ELACs which are more laid back. "

 

530€ B&W 607

  • new player suggestion by Derkoli, after me telling him Klipsch might be exhausting to listen to after a while, because of it's bright nature (do I use "bright" correctly?). Derkoli loved the B&W 803 D3, so he recommended me his little brother.
  • looks like speaker, nothing sexy about them like Klipsch imo, doesn't look bad but good though (optic wise).
  • not a lot of reviews found, seem not to be widespread but shipable to me for normal prices

 

For amplifiers, I will look more into av receivers, unless you advice me against it. For me they seem to be more feature rich by almost the same price range. Sound quality wise I have zero idea. I will keep the Onkyo A-9110 in mind though.

I am aware that at some point of this thread oppinions and recommandations will be "saturated" and the final decision needs to be done by me. I think with giving me a deadline for after this weekend is in everbody's interest.

 

You are still reading? You seem to be a really kind and helping guy. I thank you with all my heart for your time and effort ❤️

Of course still reading :)

 

 

The power won't always half as the impedance halves, My amplifiers put out the same power at 2 ohm, 4 ohm and 8 ohms, but they have a built in circuit to allow this.

 

I will always recommend PMC and B&W speakers, as I find them really enjoyable on a wide range of amplifiers.

 

If you do eventually upgrade to 5.1, 7.1 etc, the B&W's would be great as they offer a wide range of speakers that have similar sound signatures to the 606's, so you could keep them as surrounds, or get another pair as surrounds.

 

Sound quality wise, it depends on the AV receiver, some sound as good, some just spit out power, but not good quality power, if you are going to get an AV receiver, I highly reccomend Yamaha, Denon and Marantz, also Onkyo is pretty decent now they have sorted out their PCB issues.

 

Also, I know you have considered a pair of Studio Monitors, but eliminated them due to hissing issues, would you still be interested in Studio Monitors that have no hiss? Or would you prefer a seperate system?

 

Studio Monitors get rid of the speaker and amplifier matching issues, as the amps are made for the drivers, and so are the crossovers.

 

 

 

 

 

About the equalizer, what I think you mean is room correction and you can do it with a cheap MiniDSP UMIK-1 microphone, and use REW (Room EQ Wizard. https://www.minidsp.com/applications/acoustic-measurements/umik-1-setup-with-rew

 

But, If you go with an AV receiver, some of them come with their own room correction software and microphone, such as the Yamaha RX-V385, so everything you need for it is in the box. DAC, Room Correction, Amplifier, Subwoofer pre-out, AM/FM Radio ETC.

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07CMDRL2N/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=yamaha+rxv385&qid=1578702677&sr=8-3

 

 

Also, the main frequency response alot of people aim for is the Harman Response Curve, and of course a flat response.

 

https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/harman-tweaks-its-headphone-target-response

 

image.png.5872a596c3aad6f2e6e221e585470228.png

LTT's Resident Porsche fanboy and nutjob Audiophile.

 

Main speaker setup is now;

 

Mini DSP SHD Studio -> 2x Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC's (fed by AES/EBU, one feeds the left sub and main, the other feeds the right side) -> 2x Neumann KH420 + 2x Neumann KH870

 

(Having a totally seperate DAC for each channel is game changing for sound quality)

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1 hour ago, Derkoli said:

Also, I know you have considered a pair of Studio Monitors, but eliminated them due to hissing issues, would you still be interested in Studio Monitors that have no hiss? Or would you prefer a seperate system?

Hissing noise, subwoofer connectivity and volume control were my main points why I struggled with active speakers. Hissing noise where yamaha H8S specific, since it was the only active speaker on my list, the other two points might get fixed if I gain more knowledge / you leadme where I have to pay attention to. 

1 hour ago, Derkoli said:

Studio Monitors get rid of the speaker and amplifier matching issues, as the amps are made for the drivers, and so are the crossovers.

Would solve my fear that someone dumb enough cranking up the volume knob so stupidly high for a few seconds, that my speaker die burning. Do you have any specific model in mind? I'm curious. 

 

Thank you for the other links, I have to look into it first before responding to them.

 

Path available on my journey:

Disneyland: HA 2 SE as DAC -> stereo amplifier (sub support) -> passive speaker

Mordor: HA 2 SE as DAC -> receiver -> passive speaker

Hogwarts: HA 2 SE as DAC -> Mackie Big Knob Studio -> active speaker

 

Disneyland would be the most simple, probably the cheapest solution, I'd like to think that it at the same price point of all journeys disneyland would be the highest quality of all, since its elements build specifically for the purpose they will be used to. Desk would still look clean compared to a receiver, But it would be finite solution after adding a sub, nothing upgradeable but the speaker itself as replacement (remember my product life expectation of 10 years?).

 

Mordor would make my desk inhabit this really big box of a receiver. Upgradeability is outstanding though. The most feature rich, too. The room correction thingy, damn, amazing people do amazing things right. You kinda sold me there.

 

Hogwarts seems to be the place every profesionnal wizard goes. Most cleanest I think, too. I can see that sexy Mackie Knob on my desk already. Speaker amp synergy is a big plus. Negative is, I couldn't use these active speaker on a receiver though. Hogwarts is as finite, if not more as disneyland. Therefore I'm really curious about your active speaker referals. B&W doesn't seem to sell active speaker.

1 hour ago, Derkoli said:

.. so everything you need for it is in the box. DAC, Room Correction, Amplifier, ...

Regarding receiver DAC: I like to think the ha 2 se dac is superior to any "not full heart implemented" solution such as a 300€ receiver. That's why I would avoid bypassing the OPPO dac. Am I wrong and underestimating receiver DAC's?

 

Here a picture of my current desk. I will do some cable management after audio gear is setup

20200111_023019.jpg

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After several hours of research, I will take the B&W 607. You guys help me with an amplifier / av receiver? Budget originally 300 € for it, but I think it will comes to features, good reviews about sound quality, personal experience from you etc. The room correction thing seems to be handy, but I'm not sure if that works 2.0 only, too, or is specialized to 5.1 systems and higher.

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18 hours ago, Aznsteil said:

After several hours of research, I will take the B&W 607. You guys help me with an amplifier / av receiver? Budget originally 300 € for it, but I think it will comes to features, good reviews about sound quality, personal experience from you etc. The room correction thing seems to be handy, but I'm not sure if that works 2.0 only, too, or is specialized to 5.1 systems and higher.

The room correction should be compatible if you're running just a 2.0 setup with the receiver, like I said I reccomend Yamaha, Onkyo, Denon and Marantz stuff. Your current DAC will most likely be better than the built in DAC of an AV Receiver at this price point. But if you go surround sound eventually, you'll need to use the built in DAC in the AV Receiver.

 

The AV Reciever I linked previously is generally pretty good for this price point, also the Onkyo NR-686 is an amazing option.

 

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07B5BWV43/ref=sr_1_1?crid=43WXIUYGCNEB&keywords=onkyo+nr686&qid=1578765542&sprefix=onkyo+nr%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-1

LTT's Resident Porsche fanboy and nutjob Audiophile.

 

Main speaker setup is now;

 

Mini DSP SHD Studio -> 2x Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC's (fed by AES/EBU, one feeds the left sub and main, the other feeds the right side) -> 2x Neumann KH420 + 2x Neumann KH870

 

(Having a totally seperate DAC for each channel is game changing for sound quality)

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@Aznsteil I just got my internet fixed and the RP 600M is growing on me. Watching movies with the Klipsch is bliss. My first impressions were “meh”. But I gotta admit that they sound very clear, punchy and fun. I just wish they were a *tad less bright, had just a *wee little more mids and were just warmer overall. But my brain is adjusting.

 

Truthfully, they’re fine. I’m starting to believe that other options in the price range will be better at some things and worse at others. Even if one speaker is “better” than another, then how so? How do you prove anything? It’s frustrating...

 

But my issue remains. I liked the Q Acoustics so much, even upon first listen that anything different doesn’t meet my narrow expectations. The Klipsch are undoubtedly different. If the Klipsch are like a surgical knife, then the Q Acoustics 3020 are a rustic wooden spoon.

 

Funnily enough, I’m sure that whenever I’ll come back to the Q Acoustics I’ll have criticisms after being adjusted to the Klipsch. 

 

It just shows that there’s a lot of subjectivity in speakers and there’s no “right choice”. 
 

That being said, my ignorant uninformed self can’t comprehend why the RP 600M are over $500 and the 3020 are only $200.  I would have felt “duped” if I paid full price for the Klipsch. Maybe it’s diminishing returns, or perhaps the 3020 is very underrated and (under-priced). 

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4 hours ago, kokakolia said:

@Aznsteil I just got my internet fixed and the RP 600M is growing on me. Watching movies with the Klipsch is bliss. My first impressions were “meh”. But I gotta admit that they sound very clear, punchy and fun. I just wish they were a *tad less bright, had just a *wee little more mids and were just warmer overall. But my brain is adjusting.

 

Truthfully, they’re fine. I’m starting to believe that other options in the price range will be better at some things and worse at others. Even if one speaker is “better” than another, then how so? How do you prove anything? It’s frustrating...

 

But my issue remains. I liked the Q Acoustics so much, even upon first listen that anything different doesn’t meet my narrow expectations. The Klipsch are undoubtedly different. If the Klipsch are like a surgical knife, then the Q Acoustics 3020 are a rustic wooden spoon.

 

Funnily enough, I’m sure that whenever I’ll come back to the Q Acoustics I’ll have criticisms after being adjusted to the Klipsch. 

 

It just shows that there’s a lot of subjectivity in speakers and there’s no “right choice”. 
 

That being said, my ignorant uninformed self can’t comprehend why the RP 600M are over $500 and the 3020 are only $200.  I would have felt “duped” if I paid full price for the Klipsch. Maybe it’s diminishing returns, or perhaps the 3020 is very underrated and (under-priced). 

Yeah, Klipsch are great for movies.

LTT's Resident Porsche fanboy and nutjob Audiophile.

 

Main speaker setup is now;

 

Mini DSP SHD Studio -> 2x Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC's (fed by AES/EBU, one feeds the left sub and main, the other feeds the right side) -> 2x Neumann KH420 + 2x Neumann KH870

 

(Having a totally seperate DAC for each channel is game changing for sound quality)

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@kokakolia Thank you really for your insight, it's really a perspective I'm needing.

9 hours ago, kokakolia said:

Even if one speaker is “better” than another, then how so? How do you prove anything? It’s frustrating [...] It just shows that there’s a lot of subjectivity in speakers and there’s no “right choice”. 

After researching and asking around about audio for around 3 month I come to the same conclusion. There always will be a better, smarter, maybe even cheaper choice. I can't wait people visiting me telling: "but what if you would went for DALI, ELAC, or that specific amplifier ... " I guess since everyone has some kind of different taste, they will always be different opinions towards listening experience. That's why this whole area is so much controversial.

 

I've decided for the B&W 607 for now, keeping the RP600M as a backup though. It would be ignorant to say "I will love B&W forever, since I'm owning them now". I will listen to them at home, if I get *that* feeling, I will keep them. Otherwise I will happily take advantage of todays online refund policies and order the Klipsch asap.

 

@Derkoli The Onkyo TX-NR686 looks really good in terms of features, not feeling missing out on anything. B&W 607 needing 8 ohm 100 w, which this receiver provides easily and has the option to bi-amp. B&W stating bi-amping COULD result in higher resolution in this and that area, well I doubt it. Will test it for sure though, really curious about that. I could even try to to connect my satellite speaker from the Z906 just to see if theres any improvement to sound instead using dac/amp if its subwoofer. Again, really nice find this Onkyo, thank you!

 

Lastly I need to connect them with each other. Googled speaker wire, and OF COURSE there are options.

Material full copper, copper aluminium, different kind of convinient plugs such as banana, u form and gauge ... omg gauge ...

I watched Techquickie for that to get some idea what I'm dealing with. The lesser the gauge digit, the bigger the thickness. The longer the distance, the lesser the gauge size. Never go beyond 50 feet / 15 meter, or higher frequencies could be lost due to material proberties of copper. So going safe with 4 mm² (6 gauge) full copper instead of 2.5 mm² (10 gauge) copper alu? And please don't tell me clear cable shroud sound better compared to black/whites/any color, I will lose my mind for sure u_u

 

My choice would be 50m 2 x 2.5 mm² transparent full copper for 38.90 € (0.78 € / m). 50 m so I can ditch every "less thick, lower quality" cable I am and will be using in the future, starting with the Z906.

 

If there are still no-goes, or "pay attention to" left over, please tell me. Otherwise I want to thank the following people:

 

  • @Dackzy You might not remember me, but You helped me early 2018 to get some basic understanding of headphone dac/amp, how Windows handles volume control and product recommendation. Even I still bought the Oppo HA 2 SE instead of your mentioned Audio GD NFB 11.32/28 (trust me I'm thinking atleast once a month about "what if I bought the 11.28 instead, would by DT 1990 sound better?") I really really appreciate your efforts back then.
  • @rice guru Thank you! You helped me initially 2 threads ago to get an overview over products and features in audio.
  • @emosun "no need to overcomplicate a simple setup." At this point I realise I have no idea about anything and started to rethink about my purchase decision of the Edifier S2000Pro. Even though your answers doesn't seem much, without you I could be ending up with an overcomplicated S2000Pro + studio subwoofers setup and still be unhappy about it. Thank you!
  • @N.tony When Professional mean girl emosun did the prework with jabs and crosses, you did the final uppercut. Your post and following were eyeopening, it kinda scares me! You were the turning point why I gave up on the convinience purchase and started getting into audio the hard, google and time intensive way (100% the correct way). I stopped overhyping products and brand loyalty, actually started listening for hours to speaker sound demo's through youtube and co. Thank you!
  • @kokakolia & @PriitM You guys pointed out speaker and brands have significant different sound signatures. With that I could first time in life decide what kind of sound profile I like to listen to. Before that I could just weirdly describe methaphorically what it feels like to listen to music. Your personal experience, kokakolia, with your Klipsch and the Q Acoustics 3020 gave me a good idea what to expect from said products. Thank you guys!
  • @Derkoli Listen everyone! This guy is actually a legend! Not only that his audio stuff value seems to increase on a daily basis, he absolutely kicked ass with every weird question I throwed at him. Every. Single. One. You spend so much time helping me out, LTT should pay you for staying around here, because quality wise your post were really valueable. I really can not thank you enough, really. I mean really, thank you!
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