No highs, no lows? Must be Bose.
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Vintage Audio Gear - AV Home Theatre
- Thread starter J_F
- Start date
I installed a $5000 Bose system for someone. Sounds terrible. They were happy. They have at least three other Bose systems in their house/cottage. Not sure if they have grown use to the sound or if they have never heard something better.
J_F
Guest
that would be a degradation from what I've been using as I've been moving around
this Samsung dock
pretty nice piece of kit: tube pre-stage, decent drivers and furniture grade cherry cabinet
sound is pretty good for a dock, definitely superior to the Bose thing everyone seems to rave about
but there is no substitute for full size gear and LR separation
that would be a degradation from what I've been using as I've been moving around
this Samsung dock
pretty nice piece of kit: tube pre-stage, decent drivers and furniture grade cherry cabinet
sound is pretty good for a dock, definitely superior to the Bose thing everyone seems to rave about
but there is no substitute for full size gear and LR separation
I have the non tube version of that. An old iPad sits in it permanently as it has a charging dock. Doesn’t sound too bad but I’ll be moving it to the garage eventually. The iPad now plays through the audioengine speakers I mentioned before.
At that price point you can pick up a modern stereo receiver (100w/ch) with pretty much all the same features (other than built in CD) and a reasonable set of entry level book shelf speakers. You will get way better sound, way more power. I did just this for my laundry room last year... Or inline with the thread a lot of used vintage receivers and speakers...
The CD player is the only big catch/rub as they are pricey now (stand alone CD only) and your everyday DVD/Blu-Ray does not have analog outs these days. Older CD players (specially the 5 disc ones) can usually be had for free or near free used, people literally cannot give them away (I turned a free one down just a few weeks ago), used single disk seem to still have value.
The form factor may also appeal to some people but it comes at the expense of performance. Maybe in a kitchen or small office where the music is completely background and low volume.
Generally I do like Yamaha for value, but this is a solution to a problem I (and most) just do not have.... My guess it will still be better than anything "Bose".
I went through the process last year in the laundry room. Wife needed the decades old boom box (which was crappy but it was paid for) I was using there for work. Looked at these smaller systems like this first (because of the form factor) and quickly realized at the price point I could do way better... (laundry room is also my bicycle repair/build workshop).
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If jf doesnt buy the ma's I sent him an link too, I might. They are cheap enough that they are worth a listen and if I still dont like them, they would be a good garage upgrade.
I'm in the garage more often than I am sitting somewhere with no purpose other than enjoying music. Currently here is no dedicated listening space in the house (and there probably wont be until the kids are much bigger). Also, I have only ever heard one two channel system that actually made me happy. It was well into six figures so that isnt happening any time soon. I will live with better than average but still meh for the foreseeable future.
For fun, I may steal my dad's stuff from the late 90's as he doesnt use it anymore but my wife would not be happy. For a home theater setup, I got it sounding pretty good, but it is quite large (mains are setup with 2x15",2x12",2x10",4x6.5",2 metal domes and 2 ribbon tweeters). Definitely not audiophile, but fun and doesnt sound half bad for what it is.
Riceburner
Well-known member
My cassette player in my car is the slot for holding my phone......lol
The last car had a CD player that I never used. I got a great phone holder that fits in a CD slot though. Much much better than the crappy vent mounts. The current car moved the CD player to the glovebox, I expect it will be cut in the next gen car.
Saw this on RFD [Amazon Canada] JBL 308P MkII 8" 2-Way Powered Studio Monitor $207.13 Historic Low - RedFlagDeals.com Forums
more powered monitors
more powered monitors
Apparently they hiss when it is quiet. For "listening" speakers as opposed to ones being used for background noise, that would drive me absolutely nuts. Pretty cheap for an active monitor w 8" driver though.
Haha, in the old single garage I had double 18's leftover from a previous life powered by a 2x1300 watt amp for the bottom end and 12" w 1" horns for the top fed by 2x500 watt amp. I sold most of it before I moved. There is very rarely an occasion where it is acceptable to fire up that much noise in a residential neighbourhood. Obviously it was not the best system for sound quality (especially since the top end boxes did double duty for work and have spent many many hours at 110 to 120 dBA [getting to 120 requires 1200+ watts]).
If someone wants nice sounding active monitors, APS Aeons are worth a listen. Order of magnitude more expensive than the JBLs though.
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I am pretty sure the price for the JBL monitor on Amazon is for just one not a set. They also have Class D amps (like a lot of things do these days), some audiophiles consider Class D witchcraft... Some explanation of "classes" in the link below... Class AB was the old school most common tried and true--some say "vintage" these days...
Which amplifier class is the best? How Class D amplifier technology differs from Class A and AB
I am still on the fence but I also do not see a need for Class D for my current applications so I have not spent a lot of time listening to it. Engineering wise it is cool but I can see how it (PWM) can do bad things to the sound. It is more power and size efficient, for this reason popular in certain applications like car and pro.
These type of monitors will likely have balanced inputs (pro gear--XLR or TRS), sometimes you can get away with an unbalanced source (consumer gear--RCA, headphone, etc), sometimes it will sound like garbage. You can buy affordable active converters from companies like ART (I use these).
Some more advice...for powered monitors, make sure (or it is best, let's say) they and the source(s) are all on the same breaker in your home. If not you can get some hum and other sound quality problems (from loops). Not as big a problem in a house, bigger in apartments/condos due to how they are wired AND the possibility of 120/208 (different breaker can actually also be a different phase). This will all be worse if you are mixing unbalanced and balanced (as noted above).... I spent too much time chasing this down many moons ago in my old condo, until I had the "light bulb" moment...
My guess some of the complaints are due to this (loops), the Class D amps and people feeding them from consumer sources (unbalanced).
You also have to be careful using studio monitors for home as many are intended for near field applications, great for speakers on your desk or a small room, not so much in a large room--could end up not matching the application. general comment, not sure if these JBLs are NF or not (with an 8" driver likely not).
Or, all in all, mixing pro/studio and consumer gear can go very well if you know exactly what you are doing (or are lucky), very disappointing if you don't...
Which amplifier class is the best? How Class D amplifier technology differs from Class A and AB
I am still on the fence but I also do not see a need for Class D for my current applications so I have not spent a lot of time listening to it. Engineering wise it is cool but I can see how it (PWM) can do bad things to the sound. It is more power and size efficient, for this reason popular in certain applications like car and pro.
These type of monitors will likely have balanced inputs (pro gear--XLR or TRS), sometimes you can get away with an unbalanced source (consumer gear--RCA, headphone, etc), sometimes it will sound like garbage. You can buy affordable active converters from companies like ART (I use these).
Some more advice...for powered monitors, make sure (or it is best, let's say) they and the source(s) are all on the same breaker in your home. If not you can get some hum and other sound quality problems (from loops). Not as big a problem in a house, bigger in apartments/condos due to how they are wired AND the possibility of 120/208 (different breaker can actually also be a different phase). This will all be worse if you are mixing unbalanced and balanced (as noted above).... I spent too much time chasing this down many moons ago in my old condo, until I had the "light bulb" moment...
My guess some of the complaints are due to this (loops), the Class D amps and people feeding them from consumer sources (unbalanced).
You also have to be careful using studio monitors for home as many are intended for near field applications, great for speakers on your desk or a small room, not so much in a large room--could end up not matching the application. general comment, not sure if these JBLs are NF or not (with an 8" driver likely not).
Or, all in all, mixing pro/studio and consumer gear can go very well if you know exactly what you are doing (or are lucky), very disappointing if you don't...
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J_F
Guest
not really vintage, in fact the speakers are next to new
and the receiver is a 7.2, but getting close to being vintage
did what I figured I should do: get what I liked last time
Yamaha HTR-6063
Monitor Audio Bronze BR1 speakers
a good re-start for me
need to get some decent speaker cable to hear the setup properly
little MA's may end up becoming surrounds as I fill out the sys
and the receiver is a 7.2, but getting close to being vintage
did what I figured I should do: get what I liked last time
Yamaha HTR-6063
Monitor Audio Bronze BR1 speakers
a good re-start for me
need to get some decent speaker cable to hear the setup properly
little MA's may end up becoming surrounds as I fill out the sys
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Warning... big dollar speaker wire and interconnects are an out and out scam, this from an electrical/electronics engineering perspective, a physics perspective and from a true audiophile perspective. Yes there are bad ones (poor mechanical design etc.). Regular stranded 14 gauge copper wire will do all you will ever need for speaker wires in your case and will have NO impact on the sound. Really, if the runs are not very long 16g copper will do the job. You really do not have to pay much.
Yes I (and I do mean I) can easily make a wire sound different by making it colour and degrade the sound, maiing what is really a bad design, people actually pay extra for that. People will argue up and down they can hear a difference form high dollar wire to regular wire, ABX testing has proven them wrong time and time again (with one exception....unless the high dollar wire is actually the bad wire by design, then there is a difference....).
There will be a bunch of words and claims (that are real electrical engineering, physics words BTW) that as used and applied by snake oil salesmen defy the laws of physics--of course defying the laws of physics costs extra.... At the lengths we are talking about, none of it will really have an impact.
BTW, I think you will be more than happy with that combo, enjoy the sound.
Yes I (and I do mean I) can easily make a wire sound different by making it colour and degrade the sound, maiing what is really a bad design, people actually pay extra for that. People will argue up and down they can hear a difference form high dollar wire to regular wire, ABX testing has proven them wrong time and time again (with one exception....unless the high dollar wire is actually the bad wire by design, then there is a difference....).
There will be a bunch of words and claims (that are real electrical engineering, physics words BTW) that as used and applied by snake oil salesmen defy the laws of physics--of course defying the laws of physics costs extra.... At the lengths we are talking about, none of it will really have an impact.
BTW, I think you will be more than happy with that combo, enjoy the sound.
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