Official A/V Thread

Neo Ash · Apr 12, 2015

joe8 said:
Can the electrostatics go as loud as dynamics (or as loud as electrostatic headphones)?

They will go plenty loud given the proper amplification.

Are there any downsides that electrostatic speakers have, compared to electrostatic headphones? (apart from the cost and privacy aspects)

It depends on the overall design. Some people like a lot of bass and slam. For those listeners, they should consider either a hybrid electrostatic speakers or adding a subwoofer(s). If adding a sub, it had better be a good one. REL and Rythmik are two that come to mind. A fast sub is required to keep up with the panel. Electrostatics can be ruthlessly revealing of the downstream components. Be sure to mate them with good gear and even better amp(s).

Which are the best electrostatic speakers- Quad ESL 63, 988/989?

This is highly subjective and come down to personal taste. I might like what you hate. Or one might work better in your system than mine. I really like the speakers by Sander Sound, they sound fantastic. Quad and Magnepan are great in my book. I'm not a fan of ML, I have some issues with their design and I don't feel that the company is what it once was. If you're interested in a hybrid similar to a ML, look at the speakers by Eminent Technology. They are a planar magnetic, but the difference between different panel types can get very technical very quickly; it's splitting hairs and well beyond the scope of your question.

Which are the best electrostatic headphones?

I'm going with Stax. I think most would agree.

Which are the best dynamic speakers- B & W 801?

You need to listen and make the call; there are a zillion dynamic speakers out there. It's a different sound and presentation from an electrostatic; one isn't necessarily better than the other. For me Vandersteen speakers have been the best for not “sounding” like a box speaker. They offer clarity that’s right up there with electrostatics.

joe8 · Apr 12, 2015

I'm going with Stax. I think most would agree.

I guess I did mean Stax anyway. I mean there are are a few other electrostatic headphones, but I was really asking which do you think is the best Stax headphone to get? Lambda or Sigma or Omega?

Neo Ash · Apr 12, 2015

joe8 said:
I guess I did mean Stax anyway. I mean there are are a few other electrostatic headphones, but I was really asking which do you think is the best Stax headphone to get? Lambda or Sigma or Omega?

I think the SR-407 and 507 are at a nice point in the line. Paired with a Stax amp, you would have a nice setup. I've never at any point been into headphones enough to make the jump to an SR-009.

Kiel · Apr 14, 2015

I just picked this combo up and I'm in love, holy crap. Needed something that wouldn't trip all the breaker in my place like my CJ amp.

BioMotor_Unitron · Apr 17, 2015

What 4K television would you guys recommend for also using as a gaming PC and console monitor, or if triple duty wasn't viable, then mainly for the PC gaming aspect?

I've not bought a television in ages and haven't kept up on all of the advances.

Tripredacus · Apr 17, 2015

BioMotor_Unitron said:
What 4K television // then mainly for the PC gaming aspect?

Just a word of caution regarding the PC aspect. Windows 7 does not natively support any 4k resolutions and if you are using that then you'll need to find a video card with driver/software capable of scaling the OS portion so you can see. Windows 8 and above natively supports scaling on that type of display. If you are not going to be using the regular desktop stuff, as in you are going to have this as a secondary display just to put 4k capable games in, then it shouldn't be a problem.

To put it into "perspective" regarding Win7 and 4k... it is pixel perfect. So running at 4k, everything will be super tiny.

max 330 mega · Apr 22, 2015

this will probably be one of the most boring photos posted to this thread, but i promised i would, so here goes!
this is my new current set up:
first the new turntable: Pioneer PL-30
the stylus: Grado green stylus http://www.gradolabs.com/cartridges/prestige-series-2
tube preamp (little red thing on the table): Bellari VP130 (looking to upgrade to a better 12AX7 tube in this soon)
amp: piece o shit onkyo 5.1 surround sound amp, will be upgraded sooner or later but does the job for making the loud noises.
speakers: 1988 series III Bose 601 speakers. these kick ASS.

honestly doesnt look glorious but sounds nice for the moment.

Neo Ash · Apr 22, 2015

Kiel said:
I just picked this combo up and I'm in love, holy crap. Needed something that wouldn't trip all the breaker in my place like my CJ amp.

Kiel - Now that you have had the Peachtree stuff for a while, how are liking it? I find their products not only good sounding, but an excellent value as well.

P.S...dedicated circuits are the way to go. Trust me. :cool:

Never worry about overloads again

P.S.S....You were supposed to let me know if you were gonna let that amp go. J/K

Tripredacus said:
Just a word of caution regarding the PC aspect. Windows 7 does not natively support any 4k resolutions and if you are using that then you'll need to find a video card with driver/software capable of scaling the OS portion so you can see. Windows 8 and above natively supports scaling on that type of display. If you are not going to be using the regular desktop stuff, as in you are going to have this as a secondary display just to put 4k capable games in, then it shouldn't be a problem.

To put it into "perspective" regarding Win7 and 4k... it is pixel perfect. So running at 4k, everything will be super tiny.

Quoted for the truth!

max 330 mega said:
this will probably be one of the most boring photos posted to this thread, but i promised i would, so here goes!
this is my new current set up:
first the new turntable: Pioneer PL-30
the stylus: Grado green stylus http://www.gradolabs.com/cartridges/prestige-series-2
tube preamp (little red thing on the table): Bellari VP130 (looking to upgrade to a better 12AX7 tube in this soon)
amp: piece o shit onkyo 5.1 surround sound amp, will be upgraded sooner or later but does the job for making the loud noises.
speakers: 1988 series III Bose 601 speakers. these kick ASS.

honestly doesnt look glorious but sounds nice for the moment.

Nice dude. It's good to finally see the finished product. Those are classic Bose, before the company became what it has unfortunately turned into. I'm sure you'll jump to a 901 in no time.

Kiel · Apr 23, 2015

I'm really, really happy with the set up. I hate to say cliche stuff like this but I am really hearing stuff that I've never heard before in my music. This thing has a ton of guts and has no problem with my hard to drive speakers. The one thing about it that has made me do a complete 180 is digital music. I used to think people who used their computers to "seriously" listen to music were a joke but after listening to stuff with the DAC in this bad boy I'm hooked. And not just high quality file I'm talking about garbage stuff on say soundcloud sound stunning. I'm hooked now.

If I had to find anything to nitpick about it it would mostly be inconsiquential stuff...the LEDs are sort of bright, peachtree realized this and made them dimable on the Grand Pre and Grand Integrated models. The amp has balanced inputs but the pre amp does not. And the pics make all of peachtree's stuff look smaller than standard sized av gear but they are full sized. Really none of that stuff matters at all.

Bu you are totally on point about great sound and great value. I'm VERY happy.

wataru330 · May 16, 2015

Hey all,

My wife has absolutely had it w/ wires in the living room; however, I still wanna be able to enjoy a movie w/ the kiddos in 5.1.

Any *legit* WIRELESS 5.1 recommendations? Either speakers or speakers + bluray/amp will work.

What I'm trying to avoid, is surrounds/satalites that are wired to the sub woofer, &/or 'wireless receiver module'...as those both require being plugged in to a power outlet.

It's the 21st century! Any true wireless surround solutions out there? Google & Amazon searches have not returned what I'm looking for.

Thanks!!

Neo Ash · May 16, 2015

wataru330 said:
Hey all,

My wife has absolutely had it w/ wires in the living room; however, I still wanna be able to enjoy a movie w/ the kiddos in 5.1.

Any *legit* WIRELESS 5.1 recommendations? Either speakers or speakers + bluray/amp will work.

What I'm trying to avoid, is surrounds/satalites that are wired to the sub woofer, &/or 'wireless receiver module'...as those both require being plugged in to a power outlet.

It's the 21st century! Any true wireless surround solutions out there? Google & Amazon searches have not returned what I'm looking for.

Thanks!!

They all suck and are best avoided. You'll be glad you did. The best route is to either run all your cables in-wall or use something like Ghost Wire.

https://sewelldirect.com/Sewell-Sup...ire-16-AWG-2-Conductor-100-ft-Spool-White.asp

Neodogg · May 19, 2015

What is the lesser of evils with a projector, getting a 4:3 or 16:9 screen? Will be watching movies(mostly WS, but have some box) & playing VGs (all consoles are 4:3).

I'm leaning towards the 4:3, because I'd rather have the bars on top and bottom rather than the sides.

Kristian Meller · May 19, 2015

Most big budget movies are 2.35:1. You'll get a really small picture on a 4:3 screen. Plus, I don't think that home projectors actually do 4:3 anyway.

Neodogg · May 21, 2015

Kristian Meller said:
Most big budget movies are 2.35:1. You'll get a really small picture on a 4:3 screen. Plus, I don't think that home projectors actually do 4:3 anyway.

Hmm, i think you're talking out your ass

Kristian Meller · May 21, 2015

Why? With regards to what, exactly?

Neodogg · May 21, 2015

Kristian Meller said:
Why? With regards to what, exactly?

Define "really small screen"?
I'm talking a 10' diagonal, so that would roughly be a 6' tall screen! That seems pretty big, no?
My projector does native 4:3, but you can select the "wide" option & it switches to the 16:9 ratio.

I guess it's just a preference of where the bars are least annoying, top/bottom or on the sides. I think I'm leaning towards the 4:3.

Tripredacus · May 26, 2015

I wanted to figure out how to get better sound out of my CRT TV and noticed it had audio out on it. So I hooked up a couple of cheap speakers and set it through the menu and the sound was not amplified. Of course by now I found I can set volume control on the audio out, so my "new" setup isn't actually required. However, I want to get the amp fixed inside this receiver so I can have it play 8 tracks and listen to the radio.

miisalo · May 29, 2015

My amplifier basically died. Its still on warranty so I'll get it fixed, but I anyway need to upgrade to 11 channels.

My options are
-just buying amp box (cheap d class 2 channel amp) that can drive second pair of ceiling speakers
-upgrade to Denon AVR-X7200WA + amp box
-upgrade to Marantz AV8802A AV-processor and Yamaha MX-A5000 amp

last two options give me also hdcp 2.2.

While the marantz + yamaha configuration would be the ultimate solution, I have one problem with it. At least earlier model, denon's flagship integrated amp has had exactly the same boards inside than the equivalent maranz pre-amp so you basically got same hardware + actual amp from denon same price you got marantz pre-amp. Oh they claimed that was a different quality components used but I say it was bullshit. I have heard same thing from service people: they same hardware, different shells

E: Hah, now even the seller admitted that the A/V processor hardware is exactly the same, they even got the same hdcp2.2 upgrade board. So it will be Denon in some point when I do the upgrade.

joe8 · May 30, 2015

Neo Ash said:
I think the SR-407 and 507 are at a nice point in the line. Paired with a Stax amp, you would have a nice setup. I've never at any point been into headphones enough to make the jump to an SR-009.

Which STAX headphones do you have- one the newest ones like 407 or 507? How good are they?

Does anyone else have one of the latest series of Lambda headphones (207,307,407,507) or the models from the older series? Does anyone have the Sigma or Omega (007, 009)? How do they compare to the best dynamic headphones?

Neo Ash · May 30, 2015

miisalo said:
My amplifier basically died. Its still on warranty so I'll get it fixed, but I anyway need to upgrade to 11 channels.

My options are
-just buying amp box (cheap d class 2 channel amp) that can drive second pair of ceiling speakers
-upgrade to Denon AVR-X7200WA + amp box
-upgrade to Marantz AV8802A AV-processor and Yamaha MX-A5000 amp

Any of those options would be nice. The cheapest route would be a 2ch amp connected to the zone 2 output on your AVR. That Marantz should give you a lower noise floor due to the lack of internal amps generating noise and crosstalk. I would consider matching that MX-A5000 with Yamaha's processor. You'll get the best synergy and, in my opinion, better build quality/reliability.

joe8 said:
Which STAX headphones do you have- one the newest ones like 407 or 507? How good are they?

Does anyone else have one of the latest series of Lambda headphones (207,307,407,507) or the models from the older series? Does anyone have the Sigma or Omega (007, 009)? How do they compare to the best dynamic headphones?

I briefly had a pair of the 507s. They were fantastic. My main problem was I'm just not a hardcore headphone person. Added to that, I have multiple systems for listening; the headphones never got enough action to justify them or getting deeper into headphones.

You really...really...need to audition a pair of electrostatic headphones before purchasing. They get fairly expensive pretty quick. Remember, that you'll also need an amp that will do a pair of STAX justice. A pair of 507s and a good amp will put you $2K deep, if not more depending on the amp. If you like the presentation offered by electrostatic speakers, it is very likely that you'd really enjoy a pair of STAX.

joe8 · May 31, 2015

Neo Ash said:
I briefly had a pair of the 507s. They were fantastic. My main problem was I'm just not a hardcore headphone person. Added to that, I have multiple systems for listening; the headphones never got enough action to justify them or getting deeper into headphones.

You really...really...need to audition a pair of electrostatic headphones before purchasing. They get fairly expensive pretty quick. Remember, that you'll also need an amp that will do a pair of STAX justice. A pair of 507s and a good amp will put you $2K deep, if not more depending on the amp. If you like the presentation offered by electrostatic speakers, it is very likely that you'd really enjoy a pair of STAX.

Don't the other Lambda's sound almost the same as the newer ones like the 507? And the entry-level Omega (SR-007) would be much better than the 507. It would be good to have electrostatic speakers as well (which models of those have you had?), but you have to be sure about which pair you're getting, as you often can't audition them before buying, and it might be hard to swap them for a different pair of speakers, if they turn out to have problems.

miisalo · May 31, 2015

Neo Ash said:
I would consider matching that MX-A5000 with Yamaha's processor. You'll get the best synergy and, in my opinion, better build quality/reliability.

I would like that option most, but the yamaha doesn't have yet atmos/auro-3d capable consumer level pre-amp/av processor nor hdcp2.2 support. I could have gone to option D, which is to wait my Yamaha Avantage 3040 to get fixed and use it as pre-amp and mx-5000 as amp and then later in some point upgrade to newer yamaha pre-processor with hdcp 2.2 and probably upgraded audio processing. That might have been the best solution. While I personally cannot hear any difference in pure sound between almost any amp nor that minimal crosstalk integrated amp introduces, having solid powerful 11 channel amp means that in the future I would only have to upgrade the pre-amp/processor.

But... currently denon/marantz has the best 3d audio processing and can be tuned well. My room (and speaker setup) is acoustically designed by professional but I didn't have unlimited budget and the room is quite small, 260 sq ft, and in the basement, so its still far from perfect. I need good audio processing to compensate that. The guy who is going to calibrate the system does like the yamaha but also says that currently that denon/marantz is the state of the art.

So, I actually bought the denon and small d-class amp. And now I'm sure that in the fall, yamaha is going to announce new av processor and I will feel myself stupid

Oh, well, maybe next setup will be pre-amp + amp(s) system.

Btw, do you have opinion about eMotiva products, neo ash?

Neo Ash · May 31, 2015

miisalo said:
Btw, do you have opinion about eMotiva products, neo ash?

Ah Emotiva, the talk of the internet. Emotiva, is in my opinion, over talked, over rated, and fanboy driven. I first encountered Emotiva at a high-end audio show. I really wanted to give their products a chance. It took my wife all of two seconds to leave the room and state, "I don't know why you are wasting your time in here." Needless to say, the moment I exited their room, I burst out in laughter. They were embarrassingly outclassed by the other exhibitors. Please don't take this comment as me trying to sound like an elitist ass, but what they are attempting to do is capture a market section that either cannot afford, or doesn't want to spend the money required for a truly high-end setup. Even for people on a budget, there are much better routes than Emotiva...vintage...pre-owned entry level...etc... I also find it hilarious that they have been bumping prices. Is this an effort to "look" more high-end or the outcome of their attempt at a few company acquisitions? On a similar note, it was truly a sad day, when I heard they bought out Bob Carver. Thank God they parted ways before a legendary company/designer was ruined.

As for you and the level of equipment and the money you are prepared to spend. Don't even consider Emotiva. Maybe if you need a cheap 2ch amp to run a zone 2...OK. Personally, I would not even want one of their products for that purpose.

/rant

*Ouch...that was harsh Ash* :keke:

miisalo · May 31, 2015

Neo Ash said:
*Ouch...that was harsh Ash*

Well, I had basically same feeling. I have never seen or heard them in live but they look like late 90s super boom bass system stereos. All show no go.

Still, would be interesting to listen the actual amps, I could use them for 2-3 zones, those pre-amp specs are ...meh..

TonK · Jun 2, 2015

Does anyone still make hlcd's?

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