Audioholics: pimp out all your audio shit

mrussel1

dudeman said:

Hey, southp. How do you like the B&W's? Do you feel like they go low enough without having to rely on a subwoofer?

Yeah, those are really nice Nautilus. Awesome bookshelves! I have an old pair of 201i's in my kitchen. They are 20 years old and still phenomenal.
I would be interested in hearing if the poster found them too 'bright'? I auditioned a couple sets of towers from them a few years ago and I got fatigue at higher volumes. I really wanted them, but they were tough for me.

dudeman

Dedicated 2 channel would be great... but that's another set of speakers in the same listening area. I do have a zone 2 running speakers on the other side of the room, so kind of the same. They are Def tech's with the subs built in, and that routes to the subs below 80. The Yamaha really brought the best out of those too.


I'm not sure about your model receiver, but on mine I can only route signals from the A/V inputs to the Zone 2 speakers. No digital or HDMI goes to those so it's pretty limiting if you mostly use music streaming or other digital sources.

dudeman

mrussel1 said:

dudeman said:

Hey, southp. How do you like the B&W's? Do you feel like they go low enough without having to rely on a subwoofer?

Yeah, those are really nice Nautilus. Awesome bookshelves! I have an old pair of 201i's in my kitchen. They are 20 years old and still phenomenal.
I would be interested in hearing if the poster found them too 'bright'? I auditioned a couple sets of towers from them a few years ago and I got fatigue at higher volumes. I really wanted them, but they were tough for me.

I always found B&W's to be on the bright side, much like my Klipsch's. The Klipsch's I have really benefit from the addition of a subwoofer. I'm always curious about other people's opinions and experiences with them, though. Listening spaces vary so much and the same speakers in my house might sound completely different in yours.

mrussel1

dudeman said:

Dedicated 2 channel would be great... but that's another set of speakers in the same listening area. I do have a zone 2 running speakers on the other side of the room, so kind of the same. They are Def tech's with the subs built in, and that routes to the subs below 80. The Yamaha really brought the best out of those too.

I'm not sure about your model receiver, but on mine I can only route signals from the A/V inputs to the Zone 2 speakers. No digital or HDMI goes to those so it's pretty limiting if you mostly use music streaming or other digital sources.

I have the rx-1030. And yeah, no digital sources can be limiting Are you streaming music from your PC or do you mean streaming as in Spotify? I know PC/DLNA streaming can be played in zone 2. In fact, I think the whole 'Net' input should be able to be played in zone 2 or at least "party mode" if you have that.

dudeman

I don't use streaming at all but on my receiver, the Zone 2 speakers can only output sources plugged into the A/V inputs. I have a dedicated CD changer connected to mine so I can play music in my pool yard/lanai.

juddboz80

Now to find some badass speakers to pair with these tubes!!

mrussel1

dudeman said:

I don't use streaming at all but on my receiver, the Zone 2 speakers can only output sources plugged into the A/V inputs. I have a dedicated CD changer connected to mine so I can play music in my pool yard/lanai.

Are you talking about your Aventage or your Marantz? For the 1K price of your Yamaha, it should be able to pipe streaming to your zone 2, unless you are saying you haven't even tried.

I have successfully played three sources to my zone 2:
Directv - orange coaxial output in Party Mode
Net - DLNA server using JRMedia. All my music is on here.
A/V - my squeezebox server which is serving all my PC music as well. This is using the analog outputs obviously.

I retired my 300 cd changer several years ago and run everything off my computer. It was a combo of decaying cds (and the era of remaster), HDFLACs, 300 discs wasn't nearly enough and the pause between tracks as the 300 discs shuffled around. Plus playlists were painful. Not trying to get you to change your ways, but your Aventage should open up lots more convenient possibilities with higher depth music to boot vs. CD's.

BIGDaddyWil

My dedicated 2 channel analog set-up:

Pioneer SX-950 & Pioneer CT-F9191 Cassette Deck



Pioneer PL-570 turntable



Pioneer HPM 60 speakers



Grill on

mrussel1

I wish I knew more about vintage amps and receivers, but that's a nice looking Pioneer. I've always been a fan of their products.

dudeman

juddboz80 said:

Now to find some badass speakers to pair with these tubes!!

Just awesome! Have to try as many speakers as it takes to find that perfect, synergistic balance between all parts of your system. That's all part of the fun, IMO!

dudeman

mrussel1 said:

dudeman said:

I don't use streaming at all but on my receiver, the Zone 2 speakers can only output sources plugged into the A/V inputs. I have a dedicated CD changer connected to mine so I can play music in my pool yard/lanai.

Are you talking about your Aventage or your Marantz? For the 1K price of your Yamaha, it should be able to pipe streaming to your zone 2, unless you are saying you haven't even tried.

I have successfully played three sources to my zone 2:
Directv - orange coaxial output in Party Mode
Net - DLNA server using JRMedia. All my music is on here.
A/V - my squeezebox server which is serving all my PC music as well. This is using the analog outputs obviously.

I retired my 300 cd changer several years ago and run everything off my computer. It was a combo of decaying cds (and the era of remaster), HDFLACs, 300 discs wasn't nearly enough and the pause between tracks as the 300 discs shuffled around. Plus playlists were painful. Not trying to get you to change your ways, but your Aventage should open up lots more convenient possibilities with higher depth music to boot vs. CD's.

Speaking of the Yamaha. I have never tried to send anything other than a 6-Disc CD changer to the Zone 2 outputs because it says in the manual that it only outputs signals from the A/V inputs. Mine is a couple years old by now, so the newer models might give you more flexibility.

Really, 99% of my music listening is done through the Marantz, anyway. Music sounds better to me in 2-channels and I just don't think the Yamaha can do 2-channel stereo better that my Marantz does. The Yamaha is strictly used for movies or the rare occasion that I might play music in the pool yard. That only happens a couple times a year.

dudeman

BIGDaddyWil said:

My dedicated 2 channel analog set-up:

Pioneer SX-950 & Pioneer CT-F9191 Cassette Deck



Pioneer PL-570 turntable



Pioneer HPM 60 speakers



Grill on

Very nice! I have a similar Pioneer turntable and it is a fantastic piece of gear. TT's were one of the things Pioneer did best, IMO. I'll bet your stereo has warmth and clarity for days!

Also, we've been to almost all of the same PJ shows.

BIGDaddyWil

^^^^Thanks! Yes, very warm sounding! Are you a fellow Michigander??

dudeman

I'm a former Michigander. Born and raised there but relocated to Florida a few years ago.

mrussel1

OH....

derbydave

IO!!!!

mrussel1

derbydave said:

IO!!!!

Awesome... You know we have to do that when we see the "M" word.

derbydave

mrussel1 said:

derbydave said:

IO!!!!

Awesome... You know we have to do that when we see the "M" word.

jlaustin

derbydave said:

mrussel1 said:

derbydave said:

IO!!!!

Awesome... You know we have to do that when we see the "M" word.

mrussel1

jlaustin said:

derbydave said:

mrussel1 said:

derbydave said:

IO!!!!

Awesome... You know we have to do that when we see the "M" word.

Just kidding. We adore Ann Arbor...

hrd2imgn

Do any of you have issues with acrylic platters scratching(the actual platter scratching), and or damaging LPs? Is it that big of a difference over a cork mat?

derbydave

jlaustin said:

derbydave said:

mrussel1 said:

derbydave said:

IO!!!!

Awesome... You know we have to do that when we see the "M" word.

A wise woman once said to me....
"I HATE it when we FIGHT!!!"

lolobugg

hrd2imgn said:

Do any of you have issues with acrylic platters scratching(the actual platter scratching), and or damaging LPs? Is it that big of a difference over a cork mat?

never had an issue with my platter scratching a record.
some people just prefer cork for its dampening effects.
I haven't personally tried it, but there are a ton of cork mat options.

dudeman

hrd2imgn said:

Do any of you have issues with acrylic platters scratching(the actual platter scratching), and or damaging LPs? Is it that big of a difference over a cork mat?

I agree with lolobugg. Not necessarily better sound with a cork mat, but different. You may prefer one over the other.

*Be advised that adding height to your platter via an aftermarket mat may cause havoc with the vertical tracking angle of your stylus. Some turntables allow for adjustment of this while others may require you to shim the cartridge on your headshell.*

Good luck!

lolobugg

dudeman said:

hrd2imgn said:

Do any of you have issues with acrylic platters scratching(the actual platter scratching), and or damaging LPs? Is it that big of a difference over a cork mat?

I agree with lolobugg. Not necessarily better sound with a cork mat, but different. You may prefer one over the other.

*Be advised that adding height to your platter via an aftermarket mat may cause havoc with the vertical tracking angle of your stylus. Some turntables allow for adjustment of this while others may require you to shim the cartridge on your headshell.*

Good luck!

excellent point about platter height.