Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Bought the tannoy Dorset t185 Dan posted up.
Just need an amp but probs have to wait till I’m back.

Listened to them at the sellers place, nice guy, sounded so warm and lovely. Can’t wait to get them running.

Oh and 67litres, 10inch drivers, they’re not small boxes!

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Lovely!

Last night I was round at an old friend's place and mentioned my plan to get some of those Ruark speakers for the rural shack. He looked at them online and then much laughter ensued. Basically "those are not big enough for your requirements".

My long term obsession with speakers and amps has not been forgotten, it seems.

So new plan:
NAS which will synch to the music library on my NAS back home ->some kind of network player->DAC->powered monitors.

Just need to find suitable network player and monitors.

Main thing I want to avoid is having to run a Windows laptop like I do at home. At home I use JRMC on Windows, JRMC itself is nice enough, but Windows is just a pita and unnecessary.

Suggestions?

If you have decent internet at both ends I'd be tempted to do away with the remote NAS and use Plex for the library. Raspberry Pi with digital out for the network player if you're happy using a mobile/tablet to navigate (or attach a small screen and use a remote or touchscreen).

Rural end is BT copper cable "broad" band so I wouldn't want to stream FLAC over that (although on paper it is very doable without troubling the available bandwidth, I cba with any glitchy delivery).

Plus a second NAS does provide an off-site back up for all my precious files.

so 1 set of speakers and a TV? Hoe do you play it any room you want?

Chromecast audio allows streaming to every room that has a small amp and speakers.

That possible on your setup?

Looking at powered studio monitors, list so far:

Adam AX7
Event Opal
Genelec 8000 series (8050, hell yeah).

I don’t think I’d bother spending that much on studio speakers without room treatment if it’s just for general listening - you’re paying a premium for nearfield accuracy and not getting the benefit. I’m not sure what ‘hi-fi’ powered speakers are out there but you’ll probably get something fairly impressive with that budget.

I have Adam Ax5s for monitoring (I produce music mainly acoustic at home) and they're great for accuracy and detail. Not got a lot of low end extension and I definitely don't use them to listen for pleasure. I see a lot of talk about consumer grade stuff verses proper studio quality gear on here but in my view this is pretty misguided. The Adams are great at what they're designed for but they can sound a bit boxy and harsh when pushed. They're designed to highlight flaws in mixes rather than flatter and enhance. There's a reason that the most most widely lauded studio monitors of the last 40 years (Yamaha NS10s) sound objectively bad when compared to high end hifi gear. They're designed to!

Having said that, the Genelecs are amazing. I have a couple of mates who use them in their studio and love them for mixing and belting out tunes. I got the Adams cos I couldn't afford 8030s. Overall though, I tend to agree with Mr Hammer, that if you're looking for a pleasurable listening experience i'd go elsewhere than studio monitors.

I have the Adams for low volume mix testing, a set of 70s Celestions UL-6s (through a big 70s Yamaha amp) for cross referencing and listening for pleasure. To be honest the Celestions kick the Adams' arse on all counts. They're stunning. I've never had a set up like it. Proper three dimensional shit. Love them.

I have a pair of celestial ul-6 as well!

Awesome aren't they? Although I think I need a new amp as I'm sure I'm not doing them justice through a 20yr old Cambridge Audio...

Chromecast is a plex client. You can use others, check out the plex website for a list.

I made some suggestions above, sorry it was such a long post but there’s info there that might help with a solution

Nice! My set-up isn't anything special. Just a big old Yamaha CA-600 amp and the UL-6's on chunky wall-mounted shelves that I've rigged with self-adhesive foam rubber between the wall and the brackets, the back of theshelf and the wall. I should get foam pads under the speakers too but at the moment they just sit directly on the wood. The Adams sit on the desk, angled up (not enough) on foam pads.

I want to get a monitor selector to go between my audio interface (Apogee Duet 2) and the Adams so I can switch between them and my stereo set-up at the flick of a switch rather than having to re-assign the output from Logic.

When i'm outputting to the stereo I either stream from Spotify and iTunes from my macbook or phone to the QED puck int the amp. I also have a budget Project turntable for my limited vinyl collection.

Works for me.

Nonsense. It depends entirely on how you use the platform. My listening habits remain as obscure as ever and I am in 100% control of what I listen to. Spotify’s algorithm has exposed me to thousands of records I never would’ve heard, from the 40s to now, spanning every genre under the sun.

Thanks for those observations on pro monitors.

I've had loads of hifi speakers and always assumed that what makes a good hifi speaker (frequency range, flat response, transparency, ability to handle transients cleanly) would also be the ingredients of a good near field monitor.

I've also assumed that hifi gear has a premium price over pro gear for the added snake oil.

The range of powered hifi speakers is small. The obvious one is ATC, but they are poshed up monitors and also £££.

So I'm not sure, now. Could just look for a big ole amp and a pair of Tannoys. Had that set up in my kitchen for years, not a lot wrong with it at all.

your starting point is a NAS with lots of music and video, then speakers you love

This makes a lot of sense.

I'm debating whether to go for a "hifi" network player or something more prosaic. Like a lap top.

.

Looking at powered studio monitors,

Whatever from focal are in your price range.
Good idea to get a single speaker also from the outfit that are doing auratone copies if you can stretch to it.

Nonsense. It depends entirely on how you use the platform.

I agree, you’re right. Though in my defence, I was havng a rant ;)

This thing?

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/auratone-5c-super-sound-cube?amp

I meant the avantone. I haven't heard the official reissues. They're super handy for checking mono compatibility and how your mix will sound on a crap radio or laptop.

Ah right. I'm not doing any of that stuff. Just listening to music. And occasionally the (internet) radio.

Cyrus One HD looks nice.

A grand, though.

Second hand Japanese amp - £150 for something really nice.;
Adequate s/h laptop - £100;
Replace laptop spinny disc (if it has one) with SSD - £40.

£710 change.

Go for it. I wouldn’t say they were comparable... ;)

Good studio monitor setups are expensive, in my experience £8k+ is where it gets good. There are some good options second hand, try PMC LB1's with a decent amp. On the smaller monitors the bass will be missing without a sub, especially if you're not using them near field.

I spent years with Genelec 8030's, DB1SA's & twotwo5's, only really started enjoying music on them when I added a sub. If you can afford ATC's then try a pair, they have a great rep but are a bit more expensive here as they're not a British brand. I've not found a small 2 box alternative to the LB1's that delivers balanced bass for normal distance listening.

It's well worth investing in a room measurement mic and using REW to sort out any room issues, if you can add some kind of eq to the system it allows you to get away with a lot more speaker wise, otherwise you're just looking for a pair of speakers that happens to suit your room.

Have a look at some of the Andrew Jones designs for ELac etc. They are reasonable prices and get a lot of good reviews. He's also designing in the compensation a lot of normal rooms need.