Any audiophiles? (1 Viewer)

[Roslindale]

always thought speakers were king, bought near top of line polk back in 89, they still sound great

but now, I'd rather spend money on poker chips

Its all about end game.

 

[ovo]

Its all about end game.

I love music, my first real love, live is the best

 

[MrRossKeys]

For music production I used to buy and sell tubes for a few mic/line preamps I owned. Have since moved to solid state.

For mixing and listening I don't know if this counts but I've been using Focal studio monitors and I think they are fantastic

 

[KHarp1]

I put Focal in my car.

 

[QueYo]

always thought speakers were king, bought near top of line polk back in 89, they still sound great

I still use my Polk Monitor 7's in my AV setup. Bought them in the 80's as well.

 

[Budha]

The hardest thump, just behind the jl audio w2s from way back in the 90s, was a Rockford setup my buddy's dad built. I believe it was four 8" subs under the seat of a Ford f250 4 door. That thing was so nice! Rockford is very solid. "High five".

Totally agree - the 90’s were the heyday of car amps IMHO. Mine are still rolling with only a few requiring repair with was usually just a re-cap. Caps tend to get old after 20 yrs - lol.

The old school punch DSM’s hit like a champ! I have one punch 100 running two 10’s in a sealed enclosure and have it turned way down - lol. Gotta act my age now

 

[Budha]

Went tubes around 10yr ago..if you think chip prices have gone stupid, try finding good NOS tubes. (like leaded chips)

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You’re not lying - lol.

Luckily I’ve been into tubes since the mid/late 90’s and have a stash of nice NOS signal tubes. My favorite 12ax7’s are the Tung-Sol’s which used to sell super cheap before people figured out they were awesome! Also have a stash of Mullard and Amperex 12Au7, x7’s and 6sn7’s.

I used to get NOS Tung-Sol 6sn7’s for like $25/$30 - lol.

Never selling. I sold a quad of test new Genelex KT66’s (the REAL one’s) once and it’s one of my biggest regrets in audio.

 

[TheRealTeddyKGB]

My current place is small w/ shared walls so I can't brag about my liitle 7.1 A/V Klipsch setup. I am a huge fan of my Sennheiser HD650 headphones though. Not super crazy expensive but better than a lot of crap out there at that price point. Usually use them for my Roland drum kit but music sounds great in them too when I wanna go loud w/o pissing off the neighbors.

 

[pltrgyst]

I grew up building tube gear for both ham radio and audio, but I could never appreciate their advantage once ss gear came out. Got older, and the hearing started going.

Gave Buffalo my monster Heathkit AS-1348 speakers with 15-inch rear-facing slot-loaded woofers, dual five-inch mid-ranges, and triple dome dispersion tweeters -- man, did I love their sound, with the Dynaco ST-120 amp and PAT4 pre-amp.

Happy now with the TV and a Denon receiver pushing three-way JBL towers with dual itty-bitty 8-inch woofers.

Still have a brand new (I mean never used) pair of black Bose 901 Series VIs with equalizer sitting in the den, if anyone has a need for them...

 

[toothpic]

Any of you own or have listened to Tekton Design speakers (Pendragon or Enzo line)? I've been eyeing an upgrade and I keep coming back to these as reviews have been really good for them but I don't have any nearby to listen to. Wondering if anyone here has impressions of them.

 

[Budha]

Any of you own or have listened to Tekton Design speakers (Pendragon or Enzo line)? I've been eyeing an upgrade and I keep coming back to these as reviews have been really good for them but I don't have any nearby to listen to. Wondering if anyone here has impressions of them.

I have not heard them, and honestly wasn’t familiar with that line.

Speakers are really subjective, and have so many variables the only way to really tell is audition them in your room.

A really world class speaker can sound like a garbage can in the wrong room, or set up incorrectly.

Those speakers look like they would need a large room to really breath and can drop to 4 ohm, so you want an amp that can drive a 4ohm load easily. (Most good amps can now days, and that’s no problem for a tube amp). But you want to check your amp’s specs.

Maybe see if you can find a pair used. At their price point, you’re not risking too much if you take the plunge new and then don’t like them. Resale on used HiFi is generally 50% of retail, sometimes you can get a bit more, but I wouldn’t count on it. (I generally buy used, I did buy my speakers new, but spent 3 years auditioning speakers - lol)

Couple questions:
- What amp are you using
- how big is your room
- what do you listen too (rock, jazz, etc)
- Are you critically listening, or just jamming? (Do you sit for hours and just listen to music)?

In that general price range have you looked at Monitor Audio, Revel, and JBL (L100 Classics)

In the right room, the JBl L100’s can be fantastic!

Paradigm is also a respectable speaker as well.

 

[toothpic]

I have not heard them, and honestly wasn’t familiar with that line.

Speakers are really subjective, and have so many variables the only way to really tell is audition them in your room.

A really world class speaker can sound like a garbage can in the wrong room, or set up incorrectly.

Those speakers look like they would need a large room to really breath and can drop to 4 ohm, so you want an amp that can drive a 4ohm load easily. (Most good amps can now days, and that’s no problem for a tube amp). But you want to check your amp’s specs.

Maybe see if you can find a pair used. At their price point, you’re not risking too much if you take the plunge new and then don’t like them. Resale on used HiFi is generally 50% of retail, sometimes you can get a bit more, but I wouldn’t count on it. (I generally buy used, I did buy my speakers new, but spent 3 years auditioning speakers - lol)

Couple questions:
- What amp are you using
- how big is your room
- what do you listen too (rock, jazz, etc)
- Are you critically listening, or just jamming? (Do you sit for hours and just listen to music)?

In that general price range have you looked at Monitor Audio, Revel, and JBL (L100 Classics)

In the right room, the JBl L100’s can be fantastic!

Paradigm is also a respectable speaker as well.

I'm currently using a Marantz SR5007, but an upgrade isn't out of the question and is probably going to happen as well.

Room is the main living room downstairs, which is about 16x18 but also connected to the kitchen only separated by an island and has 2 story ceilings so is a more open space vs a dedicated media room. The Dali Oberon 5s are what are in there now with a Dali Oberon Vokal and those sound great but I was planning to move those in to the gameroom upstairs for poker nights.

If I shifted to upgrade the speakers in the media room that's a approximately 15x17 room and runs off a Yamaha Aventage RX-A2080.

I listen to a wide assortment of music. Rock, pop, jazz, modern piano, classic, R&B, EDM and when forced by my wife a lot of Shakira and other latino music lol.

Mostly jamming but there are times when I want to relax so I just sit to enjoy the music more carefully. I can definitely appreciate listening to old songs on new speakers to hear/detect new sounds that were not as pronouced previously.

I haven't looked at Monitor Audio, Revel or JBL but did some browsing of B&W and Focal. Both of which require me to pump my budget up to get what I enjoy. I do like the sound signature of B&W. Which models of the Monitor Audio or Revel should I look into? There's an audio and video speciality store in town that has a lot of Revel speakers I can demo I think. Are these speakers that would work well with both music and movies?

 

[Budha]

Lot to unpack here, and keep in mind, these are only my opinions - lol

Personally, I would shy away from Focal, I am not a huge fan. They are over priced for what they are IMO. I know a lot of people swear by them, but I just don’t like Focal’s sound - even the $50k Utopia’s. Just don’t like them - lol.

B&W makes a nice speaker, they were heavy in my rotation when I was in the market. I found they did certain genres really well (Jazz, classical, Pink Floyd, etc). However fell short on rock (Zeppelin, etc) - they got a bit muddled. They are excellent if you are primarily listening to what they do well.

Revel, Monitor Audio, JBL, are all good options, among many others.

It’s been a while since I’ve demoed Revel and I’m not as familiar with their specific models anymore, but I’d go to the local shop and check out what they have.

Each of those manufacturers have lines that are designed to be all around speakers and will do well with music and movies.

In the end, it really is subjective and how you listen. For that reason, I would always advise to listen before you buy when it comes to speakers.

 

[toothpic]

Lot to unpack here, and keep in mind, these are only my opinions - lol

Personally, I would shy away from Focal, I am not a huge fan. They are over priced for what they are IMO. I know a lot of people swear by them, but I just don’t like Focal’s sound - even the $50k Utopia’s. Just don’t like them - lol.

B&W makes a nice speaker, they were heavy in my rotation when I was in the market. I found they did certain genres really well (Jazz, classical, Pink Floyd, etc). However fell short on rock (Zeppelin, etc) - they got a bit muddled. They are excellent if you are primarily listening to what they do well.

Revel, Monitor Audio, JBL, are all good options, among many others.

It’s been a while since I’ve demoed Revel and I’m not as familiar with their specific models anymore, but I’d go to the local shop and check out what they have.

Each of those manufacturers have lines that are designed to be all around speakers and will do well with music and movies.

In the end, it really is subjective and how you listen. For that reason, I would always advise to listen before you buy when it comes to speakers.

I appreciate all the advice. I agree about the listen before you buy advice but with Tekton they do the ship direct to the customer model. Build times can take a few weeks or a few months depending on what you order. Reviews for them were really great and when they list out what they replaced with the Tektons I got me really interested. Now to know if those reviews are really honest or if they were financially encouraged....

This is something I'll likely do in the next year so not a rush but a good time to start my research and explore more. There is a set of the Tekton Pendragon on Facebook Marketplace around the Sherman, Texas area so a bit of a drive to me and based on the listing they are in the box after they moved to a smaller place. It's the 8 ohm 3 tweeter arrangement.

Sadly I don't have any friends who spend money in the audio landscape so maybe I need need dive into a local group of enthusists to learn more.

 

[m700ltr]

Headphone user here. Recently took advantage of a sale and picked up a bunch from the Focal line, Utopia 22, Clear OG, Radiance, Bathys. Think I prefer the Utopia 2020. Anyhow, I've tried most of the TOTLs, barring Abyss, and Mod House. But nothing has really given me that euphoric "wow mindblown" feeling. Only thing that's come close to it is the Stax X9000 which I'm strongly considering. Availability of electrostatic amps and re-sale value in Asia has been the only thing holding me back.

Looking to move into speakers. Toss up between Genelec 8030/8331, Neumann KH120, Philharmonic BMR Monitor, Buchardt S400 MKII or some ATCs (no sub).

 

[seyff45]

I'm a huge music guy and love my Sonos setup which is currently at 12 zones.

I know that doesn't make me an audiophile, but I'm completely addicted to Sonos.

 

[gmunny]

Nice! I’m a car audio guy as well - lol.

I’m a sucker for the old school 90’s Rockford Punch class A amps! Also run a few OG JL’s as well.

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I miss my Punch 150! It was actually older than those you have on the table. I had bridged my Punch 150 to run 4 x 8" Fosgate sub-woofers. An ADS power plate powered 4 sets of Boston Acoustic separates. Missed that set up a lot.

 

[Budha]

I miss my Punch 150! It was actually older than those you have on the table. I had bridged my Punch 150 to run 4 x 8" Fosgate sub-woofers. An ADS power plate powered 4 sets of Boston Acoustic separates. Missed that set up a lot.

I hear ya Brother!! The punch150 was a total beast and Boston Acoustics was the shit back then!! Nice set up!

I had the Alpine 7909 pre-amp head unit, best sounding unit ever!! Had it until the laser finally went bad. At the time, it was really hard to get replaced so I tossed it … Ughhh! I’d kill for it now…

Those old DSM punch amps still hold up, and better the modern class D 1000w amps, hands down IMO.

I’m running 2 sealed 10’s with a punch100 and had to dial the gain way down - lol. They are total beasts. It’s one of those IYKYK kinda things -

 

[gmunny]

I hear ya Brother!! The punch150 was a total beast and Boston Acoustics was the shit back then!! Nice set up!

I had the Alpine 7909 pre-amp head unit, best sounding unit ever!! Had it until the laser finally went bad. At the time, it was really hard to get replaced so I tossed it … Ughhh! I’d kill for it now…

Those old DSM punch amps still hold up, and better the modern class D 1000w amps, hands down IMO.

I’m running 2 sealed 10’s with a punch100 and had to dial the gain way down - lol. They are total beasts. It’s one of those IYKYK kinda things -

Very cool! I had the Alpine 7907 head unit, which may be an earlier model or 1 maybe one step lower than the 7909. I agree that was the best sounding head unit ever. I still have my Alpine reference CD somewhere. Had a double din in my '87 Mustang, so I had the Alpine plus a Kenwood 999 cassette player at the same time. Miss that system a lot!

 

[Budha]

I had the Alpine plus a Kenwood 999 cassette player at the same time.

I love it. I miss those days man, just the idea of the double din set up with cd and cassette is classic .