Official A/V Thread

New phono amp arrived today and I gotta say this thing is rock solid for just how small it is.

Ray Samuels Audio The Nighthawk, dual mono for the left and right channels and has an internal lithium ion battery which can run for about 50 hours on a charge
http://www.raysamuelsaudio.com/products/f-117

K-2 said:

Ok big update..

View attachment 28564

Bought Ash's Bryston 2B-LP and mated it with a second hand Marantz AV-7005 Pre-amp and that made a pretty fucking mind blowing improvement! Not only could I tell that the AT-1s were finally starting to use their full lung capacity, I was hearing much finer details in everything from electronic to classical. Beethoven's Emperor Concerto always delivers and with all this new gear it felt real. The Marantz is much more complicated to operate than my old Yamaha receiver, but I will learn it better with time. So far I've got my games, movies and CD player sounding great through it, but for some reason the Marantz doesn't like my record player, so have to fiddle and tweak with it more.

The Bryston is simply bulletproof, sounds super quality and if asked, will make my house shake.

Next is the big screen up top, dwarfing even the mighty NEC-XM29, is a Sony 65" XBR 850B bought on sale and during a tax free holiday-still wasn't cheap. This replaces a walmart special "Hisence" 45" tv that I've used for the past 5 years that really wasn't cutting it, so now I'm eating Ramen and dollar menu for the rest of the month, but so so worth it.

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Fantastic setup! You have old school gaming without compromise.

That 65" looks killer...super thin and sexy.

I'm glad someone is thankful for my overabundance of hifi equipment. That's what 60 real watts of power sounds like....and it goes a long way.

Kiel said:

New phono amp arrived today and I gotta say this thing is rock solid for just how small it is.

Ray Samuels Audio The Nighthawk, dual mono for the left and right channels and has an internal lithium ion battery which can run for about 50 hours on a charge
http://www.raysamuelsaudio.com/products/f-117

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Nice. I'm not familiar with those. I didn't think you wanted a battery powered piece. Any reason you picked this one over the Sutherland?

Neo Ash said:

Nice. I'm not familiar with those. I didn't think you wanted a battery powered piece. Any reason you picked this one over the Sutherland?

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You know at first I thought it was something I didn't want to worry about but it just made sense to go the battery direction. One less thing I need plugged into a strip, plus the battery is built in so I dont have to worry about replacing them. The thing that really pushed me to this was a) I got it at an incredible deal, and I mean wtf I can't pass this up regardless of a deal. And b) the size is perfect. I don't have a lot of room where my set up is right now and I can just slide this little guy right under the turntable and you'd never even know it was there. I kind of wanted an EAR 834p but that was out of budget for right now

I've been in need of a new tv for a while but I don't want to shell out the money for it and I'm also waiting for 4K media to be more available to justify the switch. Since I spend a lot of my time at my desk and I have a laptop I figured it would be a good idea to just get a monitor. It will primarily be used for gaming since I hate gaming on my 32" from my bed which is 100" away from my view point. I measured the distance from my face in a comfortable position to where a monitor would go and it's 36" away. I'm thinking a 24" monitor would do. I would like something with a higher res than 1080 and 2ms or less response time but if it's too expensive I'd stick to 1080 as long as I have a low response time.

DonBurgundy said:

I've been in need of a new tv for a while but I don't want to shell out the money for it and I'm also waiting for 4K media to be more available to justify the switch. Since I spend a lot of my time at my desk and I have a laptop I figured it would be a good idea to just get a monitor. It will primarily be used for gaming since I hate gaming on my 32" from my bed which is 100" away from my view point. I measured the distance from my face in a comfortable position to where a monitor would go and it's 36" away. I'm thinking a 24" monitor would do. I would like something with a higher res than 1080 and 2ms or less response time but if it's too expensive I'd stick to 1080 as long as I have a low response time.

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The Vizio M Series has some of the lowest input lag times and a good representation of value. However, they will be a little bigger than what you are looking for. Samsungs are also nice based on all the user feedback I have read. I think 32" is about as small as it gets for a good TV; I don't take anything smaller than that seriously. With 4k you can sit much closer to the display, even as little as 1 X the screens diagonal measurement. Don't be afraid to buy a little bigger if you will use it for a lot of 4K content. But nothing beats a CTR for retro gaming. I'm in no rush for a 4K display; hanging on to my plasma until I replace it with an OLED.

Neo Ash said:

The Vizio M Series has some of the lowest input lag times and a good representation of value. However, they will be a little bigger than what you are looking for. Samsungs are also nice based on all the user feedback I have read. I think 32" is about as small as it gets for a good TV; I don't take anything smaller than that seriously. With 4k you can sit much closer to the display, even as little as 1 X the screens diagonal measurement. Don't be afraid to buy a little bigger if you will use it for a lot of 4K content. But nothing beats a CTR for retro gaming. I'm in no rush for a 4K display; hanging on to my plasma until I replace it with an OLED.

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The two best TV brands are Sony and Samsung. IMO 40" is about the minimum size for a living room HD TV.
CRT professional monitors (PVM, BVM, etc) are the best for retro gaming. OLED is the only TV technology that is almost as good for colors/contrast as CRT. That's why the latest PVMs and BVMs use it.

joe8 said:

The two best TV brands are Sony and Samsung. IMO 40" is about the minimum size for a living room HD TV.
CRT professional monitors (PVM, BVM, etc) are the best for retro gaming. OLED is the only TV technology that is almost as good for colors/contrast as CRT. That's why the latest PVMs and BVMs use it.

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Try not to overthink things though...you can drive yourself bonkers.

Seriously...I play many of my games on a gen 5 Samsung 32" LCD with who-gives a-a-fuck lag via a Retron 5...it's perfectly fine. I played tons of games on my also-who-gives-a-fuck lag 2008 LG LCD...never had a problem with any of them.

I guess I look at it this way...I spent nearly a decade playing games on a 19" Sampo TV

(Yes, that's my living room from when I first moved out on my own back in 1997)

The worst TV currently on the market would blow that Sampo out of the water...I became so obsessed with AV perfection a while back that I lost focus of actually enjoying the content. I gave up on it and have been happier ever ever since...

I scored a black Marantz SR6004 today for $70. It's the exact update for my SR4001 I've been looking for. I needed more HDMI inputs and wanted one that was black, instead of silver. However, the best thing is that the display turns off. Now my stereo amp from Creek is the only component that needs to get with the program

smokehouse said:

Try not to overthink things though...you can drive yourself bonkers.

Seriously...I play many of my games on a gen 5 Samsung 32" LCD with who-gives a-a-fuck lag via a Retron 5...it's perfectly fine. I played tons of games on my also-who-gives-a-fuck lag 2008 LG LCD...never had a problem with any of them.

I guess I look at it this way...I spent nearly a decade playing games on a 19" Sampo TV

(Yes, that's my living room from when I first moved out on my own back in 1997)

The worst TV currently on the market would blow that Sampo out of the water...I became so obsessed with AV perfection a while back that I lost focus of actually enjoying the content. I gave up on it and have been happier ever ever since...

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Looks like a screenshot from That '70s Show.

Dr Shroom said:

Looks like a screenshot from That '70s Show.

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Yeah...that was called "I'm fucking broke and got my stuff from the second hand store". That god-awful couch was given to me by a friend, it was a hide-a-bed and my only bed for some time. Everything else from the picture, save the TV, was from a cheap local store.

I look at the picture from time to time to remind me of where I came from...which was nothin'. We didn't have two dimes to rub together back then.

The TV, "cart", SNES and PS1 in the picture I had when I moved out...there's actually a rental VCR sitting on the floor next to the TV stand...

Upgraded my ghetto setup:


Table is a Dual 621 from the late seventies, Made in Germany, full automatic, refurbished
Uher VG832 Amp from the mid eighties I think and a fitting tuner which I got for free but don't use
Two Magnat M 180 speakers.

Dr Shroom said:

Upgraded my ghetto setup:

Table is a Dual 621 from the late seventies, Made in Germany, full automatic, refurbished
Uher VG832 Amp from the mid eighties I think and a fitting tuner which I got for free but don't use
Two Magnat M 180 speakers.

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Nothing ghetto about that. Nice looking setup.

Gotta hand it to Dual: they made some seriously nice tables back then...the wood grain does remind me of the Griswold's family truckster though.

That's the Dual my dad had (still has) when I was growing up, surrounded by a full Pioneer system. I've got a 60's era Dual 1019 that I use for 78 duty, thing is built like a tank.

Still Spinning Discs

I just cannot make the plunge into digital music media. I'm not saying that I never will, but right now, I still see the process as a PITA. I'm sure I'll add some digital playback equipment in the future, but for right now I'm hanging on to my physical media (not that I would ever totally give it up).

So, for the time being, I have given up on digital rips and just integrated a new Ayre CX-7e MP cd player into my main system. What a phenomenal player; it really makes me less inclined to go down the road of ripping discs and attempting to find quality flac downloads....etc....etc. This Ayre player features an exclusive fully-balanced, zero-feedback analog circuit and massive twin power supplies. One power supply is used for the digital circuits, while the other is dedicated to just analog. It also uses a propriety minimum phase digital filter. I really like how this player can be tailored to fit into any system. With the flip of a rear switch it can be switched between "listen" and "measure" mode. I'm still playing with these options. So far, listen mode has provided great musicality with a smooth and organic tone. When placed in measure mode, the dynamics are increased, the sound becomes more forward with greater defined imaging. Overall, it's a stunning player and I'm more than please with the performance.

Noticed that I never posted the pictures of the new back surrounds. I have had them in place for some time. It was really fun to cut sound proofing to make room for the speakers (old ones were in different spot) and even more fun to run new wiring for them without removing all the wall fabrics.



Speakers are Tannoy DC6i

Well, I'm going to be moving soon and the place I'm going to I plan on setting up my sound system nice for a change. However due to the space I think I'll be downsizing my speakers.
At the moment I've a pair of 2001: A Space Odyssey monoliths



They were part of my old home theater setup and the others that went with them are in storage. I really don't want in my living room and plan on getting rid of the whole lot.

Thing is I need to some up with something a bit more easy on the eyes and smaller. I've no idea what to go with though.

I had been thinking about picking up some Audioengine P4N speakers. The bamboo ones look pleasing enough and wouldn't be too huge but I've no idea if they are a good deal or not.

Went to the local thrift shops thinking I could just find some nice old school ones but not much luck there. Got a cheap deal on some old Sylvania air suspension speakers that look like they came out some old church basement. They smell funny, so there is that also, but I did find an old Motorola Quadraline receiver that I snagged for five bucks. Not that I plan on using it, but it looks cool and for that price I couldn't resist.

I just need to some up with some non-bank breaking bookshelf speakers that will sound decent for the size.

I don't really understand speakers I guess. It seems to me that to get big sound you have to move a lot of air and to do that one would need big speakers, I would think.


I looked at reviews and they read like madness. Talking about how great something is, then the next model comes out and how much better it is, as if the previous one was so much worse yet it got glowing reviews that year, and then this brand and that, and every one reviewed gets high marks, but seems like all the reviews I read are just puff pieces to sell units.

I can't imagine there is really that much improvement from year to year, but the way most of the reviews I read seem like stuff just stops existing after something newer is released.

@ FAT$TACKS

What's the room size/configuration?
Associated equipment?
Open to New/Used/Demo/Vintage?
Budget?
Future system goals?

Don't let the size of a speaker fool you. There are some bookshelf speakers that play very low with no real need for a subwoofer. However, that is not accomplished without expense. If you're into hip hop or dubstep, you will really need/want a sub to go with a pair of bookshelf speakers. There's a lot of great vintage options.....but remember just because it's vintage it doesn't automatically make it great. There are also some key things to keep in mind when vintage shopping.

Neo Ash said:

@ FAT$TACKS

What's the room size/configuration?
Associated equipment?
Open to New/Used/Demo/Vintage?
Budget?
Future system goals?

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I don't know the exact dimensions of the room but I'll have to see about measuring that. I can say it's not all that big. It's the living room of an 800 sq ft 3 bedroom house .... I'm guessing as I'm not there at the moment, about 12 x 14 at the very most.

The only equipment I plan on using with them would be a turn table and a Sony HAPS-1.

http://www.sony.com/electronics/audio-components/hap-s1

I may just keep the subwoofer I have unless I can find one that matches whatever speakers I pick up.

As far as new or used, either way as long as they will work and not sound awful.

Budget, that kind of is up in the air. I'm thinking no more than 2k if I buy a new sub. Though ideally, cheaper is better.

Something with a nice looking wood finish, none of that fake plastic coating stuff.

I was looking at some stuff on line. These two look nice

AperionAudo - Verus Grand Bookshelf Speaker + subwoofer
Wharfedale - Denton 80th Anniversary Bookshelf Speakers
or maybe just go off the deep end and buy some Magneplanars, I've been curious about those.

FAT$TACKS said:

I don't know the exact dimensions of the room but I'll have to see about measuring that. I can say it's not all that big. It's the living room of an 800 sq ft 3 bedroom house .... I'm guessing as I'm not there at the moment, about 12 x 14 at the very most.

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That's not a very large room. My dedicated listening room is exactly the same size. The room and acoustics play a very important role. A smaller room like that can load up with bass quickly.

As far as new or used, either way as long as they will work and not sound awful.

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Always audition before buying whenever possible. Most issues with used speakers can be heard within a short period of time. When buying older/vintage speakers, check the driver surrounds and the crossover components if possible. I really like the older JBL studio monitors like the 4230 and 4412. JBL made some nice studio monitors in the 80s and 90s.

Budget, that kind of is up in the air. I'm thinking no more than 2k if I buy a new sub. Though ideally, cheaper is better.

Something with a nice looking wood finish, none of that fake plastic coating stuff.

I was looking at some stuff on line. These two look nice

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Why not floor standing speakers? You really don't save any floor space and they typically will have better bass response. With floor standing speakers, there's a good chance you can get away with not having a sub if you're not into really bass heavy music.

The Totem Sttaf is slim and in mahogany finish just plain sexy. The build quality and fit/finish is just spectacular and must be seen to appreciate. This is just a top pick speaker for me. I still remember the first time I listen to a pair of Sttafs, I asked if the subwoofer was turned off...of course it was. The wife acceptance factor is very high; I have no doubt my wife would let me put a pair anywhere in the house. New, they are at the upper limits of your budget; however, I really recommend auditioning a pair. You'll come in under budget if buy pre-owned or a dealer demo. Unlike the majority of Totem speakers, the Sttaf isn't too difficult to power. They will work fine with decent electronics from NAD, Arcam, Rotel...etc..etc. and will continue to reward you if you continue down an upgrade path.


Vienna Acoustics Haydn Grand is a great looking and sounding bookshelf. Even buying new, you should have some room left over for a sub. I have a difficult time deciding whether I like Totem or Vienna better....I'm slightly biased toward Totem. Rosewood is the best looking finish IMO. A different look from Totem but just as nice. This speaker does present a little more demanding amplifier load than the Staff. They can be overly polite/warm depending on the supporting electronics they are paired with, so just be aware of that.


I've spent a good deal of time listening to the above listed speakers. I would be more than happy to live with either.

AperionAudo - Verus Grand Bookshelf Speaker + subwoofer
Wharfedale - Denton 80th Anniversary Bookshelf Speakers
or maybe just go off the deep end and buy some Magneplanars, I've been curious about those.

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I haven't tried the Aperions, so I can't really comment. The Diamond series Wharfedale speakers really impressed me, despite my skepticism leading up to the audition. Very good sound for the money spent. Magnepans are fantastics. IMO, the 1.7 is the largest Magnepan that should be used in a room that size; optimal placement could be a real challenge if this is not a dedicated room. For a 12x14 the MMG or MG12 with a sub(s) would be a good compromise. Just be aware that Magnepans are very revealing of up stream components and are famous for sucking amplifiers dry of every last watt. Even the MMG is demanding enough, and more than worthy, of a being paired with a good amp.

Holy!

Those Vienna Acoustics are gorgeous.

Thanks for the heads up on those two brands. I'm going to start doing some research on them.

I know the Sony I'm using is fairly low powered, like 40w ish I think. I've an old Technics SA-5360 that seems like it can out do it. I'm half way thinking of just using that and running the Sony through it.

After a few days of my spare time being eaten up with research, I've made some decisions.

I managed to pick up some second hand equipment and was pretty much able to upgrade my entire setup while staying within my budget for new speakers, though I've still not found a sub that I'm ready to buy yet.

So for under 2k I've snagged a Peachtree Audio decco 65, Peachtree Audio 220 Power Amplifier, and a pair of Sony SS-M3 with their matching stands.

As I didn't really spend to the top of my budget I'm thinking about picking up a new turntable setup, and still going to look for a good subwoofer.

Here is a stock photo of the speakers. I need to do a bit of cleaning on the ones I got but they still look pretty darn good for their age.



I've not had time to mess with them much as of yet as I just got them. Though once I've everything set up where it is going to go I'm very curious to see how bad I screwed up or how well I've done.

I know I mentioned a successful demo of Totem Aerro speakers awhile back. And I love them. They cost a bit more than I want to spend ATM...

...so, perusing Craigslist-I came across this.
http://reading.craigslist.org/ele/5283113170.html

Ash, does this sound like a decent deal to you?

-2 Staaf
-1 Thunder sub
-Kenwood 5000 mx amp
= 1800$

FAT$TACKS said:

Though once I've everything set up where it is going to go I'm very curious to see how bad I screwed up or how well I've done.

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You should be fine. Peachtree is great and those were very respectable speakers back in the 90s. I'd rock them.

wataru330 said:

I know I mentioned a successful demo of Totem Aerro speakers awhile back. And I love them. They cost a bit more than I want to spend ATM...

...so, perusing Craigslist-I came across this.
http://reading.craigslist.org/ele/5283113170.html

Ash, does this sound like a decent deal to you?

-2 Staaf
-1 Thunder sub
-Kenwood 5000 mx amp
= 1800$

Click to expand...

No idea on the Kenwood. Cosmetics always impact the value. With that said, for a pair of Sttaf's, I'd go $900 to $1100 tops for really nice pair. The sub, $800 to $900. If everything is in nice shape, that's fair money just for the speakers. Pull out $1,400 cash...you might be able to walk with all of it.

Does anyone here have experience with old school Bang & Olufsen systems?

I got a line on some stuff but not sure if it is worth messing with.