The ask Tin about audio thread

Tin

Tin

Club Member
I figured Id start this thread to help the people out here, give them advice on how to restore, modify, set up, and shop for audio equipment as well as room treatments and calibration. Most of you know my main hobby is stereo. Nothing fancy on my end…just 2 speakers, an amp, and some good music. I dont know everything about this stuff, but what I do know, Id like to assist those here. If its your dads old Marantz system, your grandpas Silvertone hifi console, or even those cute little cube speakers your wife made you buy because the good stuff was "too big and ugly to have in the livingroom", I feel I can offer sound advice on how to make the most of what you have or intend on purchasing. Feel free to ask...this isnt just my hobby, its my passion.
 
Recommend some < $100 headphones.

I have a pair of these:

Sennheiser HD 212

I really like them. They're a little bass-heavy but they sound great. I went out and bought a pair of these:

Sennheiser 428S

They just sound weird. Kind of muddy and shrill. If I use the 'Electronic' setting on the EQ in iTunes they sound okay but I'm still not really sold. I bought them based on the name, the fact that Best Buy had them, and the Amazon reviews (dumb idea).

And suggestions?
 
I have Sennheiser HD280 as my drum monitors and I love them. They aren't the best but they are pretty flat, durable, and you can easily replace any part you may wear out
 
Pwraddr said:
What are good marine audio speakers?
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Im not too familiar with Marine speakers, but Id imagine them to be from from heavier duty materials than home speakers. Look for something with either a Kevlar or metallic cone, with a butyl surround. Home speakers generally have paper cones with either foam or paper surrounds, which wouldnt last in a marine environment.
 
robvas said:
Recommend some < $100 headphones.

I have a pair of these:

Sennheiser HD 212

I really like them. They're a little bass-heavy but they sound great. I went out and bought a pair of these:

Sennheiser 428S

They just sound weird. Kind of muddy and shrill. If I use the 'Electronic' setting on the EQ in iTunes they sound okay but I'm still not really sold. I bought them based on the name, the fact that Best Buy had them, and the Amazon reviews (dumb idea).

And suggestions?
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Ive always loved Grado headphones. Theyre very easy to drive, whereas most other headphones are more a difficult load and really benefit from a headphone amp. Grados will benefit from a standalone amp as well, but the end result wont be as apparent as it would with your Sennheisers. Grados are all hand made in America, and the prices are very reasonable. You can get a pair of SR-60s for somehting like $70, which sound quite nice even though theyre the budget headphone out of their line. If you have a few hundred to spend, the SR-325is is hard to beat. http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=GRSR325IS Grados arent closed headphones, so the people around will definitely hear what youre listening to. The benefit is that open-back headphones offer a much more realistic sound, as the drivers inside the cans have more room to breathe. In your budget, the SR-80i is very nice http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=GRSR80I. I buy from Audio Advisor alot, theyre right up in Grand Rapids....so you know youll get it fast. As far as the EQ settings go, presets never quite work out right. There are far too many variables involved in what the end result will be. All headphones are voiced differently, so the preset you choose will sound good through the guys headphones that set it. The key to setting an EQ is to turn all of them down to the minimum, then...starting at the treble, slowly turn it up until it starts to sound good. Work your way from the trble to the bass, slowly adjusting each one until the sound fills out and becomes balanced.
 
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They're to listen to at work, so I don't want to spend too much. I'd ideally like them to sound good with a flat EQ and no amp since I just plug them into my iMac or Macbook. Another thing is I don't like a lot of sound to escape them so I don't disturb others in the office.
 
The Sony MDR-V6 is a highly regarded set of cans used in recording studios for close to 30 years now. I have a pair and love em. Studio monitor type speakers/headphones are known for their flat frequency response, which is needed in that sort of environment. When a recording gets to the mastering stage, the flat frequency response helps the engineers pick out the flaws and correct them. They fall right within your budget as well. I paid $80 for mine about 6 years ago, and now you can get em on Amazon for $65. The only bad thing about them is the ear pads disintegrate over time (10 years or so), but can be easily replaced with the Beyerdynamic DT250 velour pads. The Beyerdynamic pads are much more comfortable than the stock Sony pads, give the cans more low end, and improve the isolation. You can usually find the pads for $20 per pair. Theyre also a very easy to drive headphone, theyre right at home plugged into the output of an iPod or computer. Hey look, the MDR-V6 even has its own wikipedia page :lol: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_MDR-V6
 
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robvas said:
They're to listen to at work, so I don't want to spend too much. I'd ideally like them to sound good with a flat EQ and no amp since I just plug them into my iMac or Macbook. Another thing is I don't like a lot of sound to escape them so I don't disturb others in the office.
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Sennheiser HD280 Pro are $80 at Newegg right now. I got them for a little less than that with coupon at Best Buy last year. I got them for my wife so she could not hear people at work and people would disturb her less (people tend not to socialize with those with headphones on). She played music sometimes but mostly so she could do her work. They are definitely worth $80.
 
The HD280s are very good too. Very easy to listen to, and not analytical like the MDR-V6. You will literally hear everything with the MDR-V6, but sometimes, it can be a curse. They have a cold sound to them, as their intended purpose is for monitoring. They shine with rock and electronica, but if you listen to acoustic music, they can literally suck the life out of it. The HD280s are definitely the warmer sounding of the two, with somewhat rolled off highs compared to the MDR-V6. The HD280 definitely has a more colored sound on the warm side, but that isnt a bad thing. Its about the type of sound you prefer. A warmer sound is a jack of all trades, master of none. An analytical sound is great for some things, but not so much for others.
 
Definitely a bargain. Those arent the La Scala II like I showed on the Klipsch website, they are the original La Scala, which was sold in raw birch ply or painted black. The original was discontinued in 2005, but they were still $7000/pair new at that time. That speaker was relatively unchanged since its debut in 1963. Theyre very efficient...105dB 1W/m. So, sitting one meter away with 1W of input power, the sound pressure level will be 105dB....about twice as loud as a jackhammer :lol:.
 
We had talked before awhile back about a set of floor speakers and you sent me a few CL ads. I don't rember what they were however, I actually have some disposable money now to pick up some new speakers. Setup right now is a Harmon-Kardon 5.1 500watt reciever with 2 mtx thunder pro 2's. I want to move the MTX's are going to get moved out into the garage and would like to find something with a little more power and low end for in the house. What do you reccomend? And do you think the mtx's would be a good speaker for a garage application with very little to absorb any sound from them?
 
Overboost said:
Thoughts on a soundbar setup for a space-consious room? Any suggestions?
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I just picked up a Definitive Technology Mythos SSA-42 refurbished from Amazon and am amazed by how well it sounds. I have the full surround set-up in my man cave but couldn't fit something similar upstairs and this really fit the bill. The speaker still has 5 inputs on the back so your receiver is still working in full surround mode and it does a great job of creating the surround effect.

I paired the soundbar with a Definitive Technology Supercube II subwoofer and always get that stupid grin on my face when watching a movie and you can totally feel the fill it creates. I have the same sub downstairs and loved it. I got lucky and found both as demo's so saved a ton of $$ on them.

I use the soundbar & sub in an open living room, dining room, kitchen area of the house. When sitting on the couch watching movies it sounds great and has fooled me a few times into thinking I had the full set-up like I do downstairs. As with anything I recommend listening to what you are considering. I sampled so many subwoofers when I first settled on the Supercube II with my main set-up. So when another recently became available at a Best Buy Magnolia center I jumped on it and nabbed the soundbar from Amazon for my upstairs living room. I probably have 1/4 of the MSRP's invested in the system. So shop around and hopfully you can find some deals.
 
What old-school speakers would you recommend for garage use that can be found cheap at garage sales/craigslist? Something warm, not too critical, good amount of low-end, basically speakers that anything sounds good on. I've heard a lot of people speak about old Cerwin Vegas and Jensens for this purpose. Any brands/models you'd recommend? Preferably something with a 8-10" woofer as a 12-15" might be too big for the space I have to put them.
 
Hugger Z said:
I just picked up a Definitive Technology Mythos SSA-42 refurbished from Amazon and am amazed by how well it sounds. I have the full surround set-up in my man cave but couldn't fit something similar upstairs and this really fit the bill. The speaker still has 5 inputs on the back so your receiver is still working in full surround mode and it does a great job of creating the surround effect.

I paired the soundbar with a Definitive Technology Supercube II subwoofer and always get that stupid grin on my face when watching a movie and you can totally feel the fill it creates. I have the same sub downstairs and loved it. I got lucky and found both as demo's so saved a ton of $$ on them.

I use the soundbar & sub in an open living room, dining room, kitchen area of the house. When sitting on the couch watching movies it sounds great and has fooled me a few times into thinking I had the full set-up like I do downstairs. As with anything I recommend listening to what you are considering. I sampled so many subwoofers when I first settled on the Supercube II with my main set-up. So when another recently became available at a Best Buy Magnolia center I jumped on it and nabbed the soundbar from Amazon for my upstairs living room. I probably have 1/4 of the MSRP's invested in the system. So shop around and hopfully you can find some deals.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I was looking at the Panasonic systems because of cost and matching the TV, allowing me to use the Viera Link on it (for now). This is more of a temporary setup until I have a place to install a full 5.1 system. Any place local that has the DT bar and I could listen to it?
 
Overboost said:
Thanks for the suggestion. I was looking at the Panasonic systems because of cost and matching the TV, allowing me to use the Viera Link on it (for now). This is more of a temporary setup until I have a place to install a full 5.1 system. Any place local that has the DT bar and I could listen to it?
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Best Buy sells it and some of the Magnolia centers had the bigger soundbar in them. I would call around and see if they still have it in their studio so you could check it out. I had just missed out on the bigger soundbar at the BB I got the subwoofer at. But I am VERY happy with the smaller one I ended up getting. It is more than enough for the room. The bigger one may have overpowered it too easily.

If you are looking at the Panasonic systems, just make sure you can listen to them or they have a good return policy if you do not like how it sounds once you get it home and test it out. Your ears will tell you what you like and what you don't. My ears are picky and don't like distortion so I pick up on that stuff more than others.
 
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