Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Top HiFi nerdery here

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Anyone have an Ortofon 2M Blue they’d like to shift?

Get those grills off

Does this matter much? What's the current thinking? Take it you're an advocate @JB?

No, should be no difference in sound but they're a good looking pair of speakers with the grills off.

Roger

Need a small deskop speaker desktop (already have a dac for it). Anyone used the audioengine a2+ for desktop speakers? They seem popular on youtube.

How would they compare to a small passive set like the Q-Acoustics 3010i + a class D amp like the Aiyima A07 for 50 quid (amazon ) rated highly on AudioScienceReview.

Ah, you have a greater confidence in my ability to not dint them.

Some of the most honest speakers in that size I've heard in the last year were the PSB Alpha P3. Any desktop system poses a problem without a sub though, I would look for a 2nd hand 3 way system if I was starting over. Even the old Yamaha systems with tiny satellites are quite decent. Or the classic harmon kardon 3 way in clear plastic!

Not useful I know!

The ones you've picked look decent. I've got a larger pair of q-acoustic that I run on a sonos amp occasionally and they do a good job. I can see why they get rated in that class.

I have no idea what the climate is in the used hifi market. But I have been offered a set B&W DM602 S1 in relatively nice condition, some scratches in the finishing, but otherwise really ok.

£175 too much? I was thinking something around £130-150?

I looked many times at dm601 s1/2 on eBay. They rarely go for less than £150 if they’re in good nick. The tweeters are either poked in, grilles missing, or they’re cosmetically damaged.

You could offer £150, but you’d be searching on eBay for a while for a pair that price and it’s always more of a gamble on eBay, especially when paying less.

I had a set of B&W 602 s3 speakers a long, long time ago and didn't get on very well with them. At the time, they were really popular, but I always found the midrange a bit muddled and the bass overpowering. Plus, they were massive.

In that price range, I think you could do better. But what source and amplifier are they to be used with?

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On the subject of eBay speakers look at these horn loaded technics. Wish I had somewhere for these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114574658464

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JFC, those look fantastic. Not in our tiny and cluttered flat, but one day perhaps.

Speaker stands doubling as perfect platter levelling work station.

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Platinum fit.

No wonder I couldn’t get the TT to sit level on the cabinet. The 18mm birch ply base I put on it year ago has inexplicably warped so much it won’t sit flat.

Won’t have time for ages but I’m gonna make a pretty sapele plinth for it eventually.

I haven't had my record player set up since we've moved some furniture around.

I really want to get it set up again but I'm in a process of negotiation about where.

My wife really wants them up on top of the bookshelves (position C) but I'm worried the sound will be crap and that in order to tidy the cables I'll have to drill through all of the shelves. How bad would that be, sound-wise?

My least favourite option would probably be better in terms of acoustics, which would be to get some kind of wall mounts - but the speakers are quite big and the plaster is quite old (although the speakers do already have an unidentified wall mount attachment on the back from a past life in a restaurant).

Am I right in thinking only a) (with the LH speaker a bit more nestled rather than precariously perched) is the only sensible solution?

Or is a there a d) I should consider?

Thanks!

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Prioritize sound, remove bookshelves : )
Would it be possible to mount them on the side walls, pivoted forward?

I wouldn't discount the mantelpiece, I'd rather have a narrow soundstage than a wide one with a hole in the middle, and it should be mechanically sound

Where’s the listening position? In the swap the right speaker and TT, push them both back into the book case and try to remove any rattling things on the shelves. Front of the speakers flush with the books isn’t all bad, I’d imagine it eliminates baffle deflection by making them almost soffit / built in. Books are great inert diffusers.

Are those Monitor Bronze? My earlier set produce hilarious amounts of bass, they might be difficult with no space behind them. Socks in the ports might be useful.

Theoretically. But that's the most disruptive approach and would require some kind of trunking or something - I have a long list of DIY jobs so that's probably not a great option.

The mantelpiece is very shallow compared to the speakers - about 1/3 of the depth, not including the speaker wire etc.