Topic: New music stereo setup

[hans]

So I've been looking into swapping out my soundbar for regular speakers again. While I like the idea of the floor speakers I don't think that's going to happen in the room. So I'm looking at some bookshelves and thinking about doing a dual sub solution. I like the idea of going with the Elac Debut B6 but think I might be better off going with the Focal 706s instead of buying something and upgrading again. I've been thinking a pair of SVS subs, either the SB-1000 or the SB12-NSD. The smaller sealed ones might make a bit more sense in my living room and I like the idea of a bit tighter bass response. Thoughts? Ideas?

[KnuckleBuckett]

I like the Focal idea.  Very high quality and that brand never disappoints. 

Subs are a tough call.  Get one?  Two?  SVS, JL, or Revel?  I don't currently have a set, however my speakers being floor standers are fairly close to full range.  I used to have a pair of Sunfire subs and but the Wilsons are so freaking fast and effortless that the subs simply could not time align with the Wilsons.  I sold them and never replaced them.  I rarely miss them, but yeah I have to admit having a full set of super fast subs tuned for the room would be awesome.  I would advise to get the sub with the best room acoustic setup system.

[hans]

So I'm pondering a pair of Wavecrest HVL-1 at the moment. They're just as cheap as the Elac and seem to get just about as good of reviews. I like the idea of the front port since I'm probably not going to be able to put them too far out into my room. And they only sell the one thing so it has to be halfway decent at least right?

[hans]

Mmmm. Just watched a couple demo videos for the KEF Q100s and I'm really impressed. I sort of dismissed KEF early for their looks but they sound really nice from what I've been watching. Those all in one woofers are pretty slick. A local shop has the LS50s and the Elac series so I might go take a listen this weekend. For a cheaper set the Q100s are definitely on the list of possible. Too many options now though. The local shop also has some Dali speakers too and I'm pretty sure when I was there grabbing the new cartridge for my turntable they were playing through a set of Zensor 1's that sounded really nice so they're in the mix too.

[KnuckleBuckett]

I have never heard anything from Dali that I liked, when compared to similar priced competition.  They are more about looks than sound in my experience.  Admittedly, it has been a few years.  I doubt things have changed though.  KEF has really built a nice reputation and the LS50 is an important part of that.  Let me know what you think after the demo.  Remember, when demoing, always bring your music and always listen to each track All the way through.  If you don't want to finish the song then there is likely an issue.  The issue might be in differing electronics, but it is the clearest sign of strain.

[hans]

Went with dual SVS subs and the Q100s. Just finished getting everything wired up but I still need to go through and properly balance everything and figure out the crossover and stuff. The rough settings I have so far are pretty good though. Dual subs are pretty awesome. The KEFs sound pretty good too. I was worried they might be too bright in my room but they sound pretty neutral. I did notice they sound much better with the screens off of them though. Much crisper sound. They aren't as bassy as some of the youtube videos would make you believe but they aren't bad for 5" woofers. But if you're used to deep bass they need subs. The SVS subs are nice and tight too and way more powerful than what I need in the room. They balance pretty well with low volume too. For the moment I'm pleased with the sound. But I might see about some Focals in the future or the LS50s. I think I'm sold on the Uni-Q drivers. For the money I think the Q100s right now are a steal. I'm pondering another set of them and use one as a center channel just to see how that might sound for movies and stuff.

[KnuckleBuckett]

Sounds like a nice setup.  Be sure to take the time to enjoy it!  It will be a blast working through your music library with the new system.  I would love to put the powered wireless LS50s in my office.  May do that someday. 

[hans]

So my wife was gone last weekend and I got to continue tweaking my setup. I wasn't happy with the sound so I changed a lot of the settings on the receiver and I think a compression setting was causing me issues. Disabling it opened up the sound quite a bit to the point that I'm really impressed with just the speakers. I ended up turning down the sub a bit more too since it felt a bit heavy and I think it fills in better now.
I also hooked up my tv to it so we can watch movies now but I think I need a center channel. So after much research and pondering I decided to just get another set and I'm going to try and see how it sounds using one of them as the center. The price they want for their center channels seems a bit steep and they're pretty bulky so before I go for that I figured I'd see how I like a center anyways and the pair is cheap on Amazon again so if I don't like it I could always make them the surrounds later or put them in another room of the house or the garage. I just wish the woofer was centered since having it offset drives a certain personality trait of mine a bit crazy. Although I need a new media center so I might built it with having the speaker vertical in mind if it works out.

I did see that Elac just released their 2.0 series now for the Debut that has front ports so I'm curious what those sound like and if all the hype is justified.

[KnuckleBuckett]

If the speakers are set up correctly and in stereo, not surround, you should get perfect center fill with functional surround that will pinpoint recorded information to right behind your head.  Surround satellites and centers are not a necessity and tend to throw information at you rather than properly locate it.

https://www.wimp.com/princeton-invention-delivers-3d-sound-from-ordinary-laptop-speakers/



It is my guess that you lack proper setup recordings.  I use Stereophile's Test CD 4.

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Stereophile-Test-CD/release/4249211

See if you can find a copy.  Also handy but not as necessary are...

This Telarc album has a track that will help you nail stereo speaker placement for rear surround.  It places arrows behind your head.  The track is short but works amazingly well.  People freak when I play it.  Most think I have a speaker in the wall behind the couch.  LOL.
http://www.cinematicsound.net/re-recordings-7-the-great-fantasy-adventure-album/

This Chesky recording is really thorough and I find it useful for fine tuning soundstage depth.  Also Spanish Rose is nothing short of amazing.
https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Demonstration-Disc-Various-artists/dp/B00ESXHHC4/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1523011060&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=chesky+ultimate+disc

[hans]

I'm a bit restricted in the room on placement and the room is less than idea but I haven't done much more than tweak with some test tracks. I might run the ypao and see how that does but I need to get some time where the dog and wife aren't around for it.

[KnuckleBuckett]

The stereophile one is just awesome.  The in/out of phase and left and right alone are worth the time.