July 15, 2001
I don't really have room for large speakers in
my house, so I am interested in looking at small speakers mated with a subwoofer that is
hidden in a corner. I don't have much experience listening to these setups. Can you tell
me briefly what the drawbacks are compared to standard bookshelf or tower speakers? I'm
mainly interested in the sound quality of music. I'm not as interested in movie sound
effects.
Rick
A sub/sat combo offers more placement
flexibility and actually often gives better performance than towers, especially in a small
room where the inability to control the bass output independently (as with a sub) can
often cause less-than-optimal bass response. However, good integration between sub and
satellites is necessary. Stay away from micromonitors that use anything smaller than a
5.25" midrange/woofer. Preferably, your main speakers (stand-mounted monitors) should
go to about 55-60Hz at -3dB (a spec for bass extension usually published in the
mode-specific literature). This allow you to run the subwoofer in primarily
omni-directional mode because it isn't asked to work in the upper bass range. Ten-inch
subwoofers are often tighter and faster than 12" subs and my recommendation for a
music-based system. It's also noteworthy that some of the most popular "music
subs" (i.e., Hsu, Vandersteen, REL) are all down-firing designs. This could
be coincidence, but in my experience down-firing subs energize a room differently and can
be more subtle, whereas many front-firing subs (M&K, Velodyne, Paradigm) can generate
the hit-you-in-the-chest effect that might be impressive for movies but tends to be a bit
obvious and unrealistic for music. As always, the most important thing is that you like
the sound, regardless of engineering choices involved.
July 14, 2001
First of all, thanks for a great site!
Here's some background for my question: I've
had the Cambridge A500 for about a year now. In that time, I've made some upgrades: (1) an
MSB Link III DAC with the 24/96 upsampling board for use with my Rotel RCD-951, (2) Totem
Arro speakers, (3) biwire IXOS cables, and (4) the Sony SCD-777ES SACD player.
And now for the question: What should I
upgrade next? The A500? If that's the answer, what are your recommendations? Audio
Refinement? I really want the upgrade to be significant in terms of sonic improvement.
Thanks for your input. It is much appreciated.
Scott Miller
Depending on the size of your room, a good
subwoofer would add weight, scale, body and ambient detail to the Totem Arros. That's one
option.
On the amplifier front, the difference
between the A500 and the Audio Refinement Complete is less one of quality than character
-- one is leaner, more "hi-rez," the other warmer, with more "bloom."
If you want A500-type sound but more of it, you might want to consider the Bryston B-60
integrated, or perhaps a Musical Fidelity model.
You could also explore tubes. You might
love 'em, you might hate 'em, but it can be such a different presentation from what you
have now that it's worthwhile to experiment and educate yourself before you change
anything. On the tube front, I'd look into Antique Sound Lab as well as the Consonance
line by Opera (reviews of this new-to-America product line are scheduled shortly with our
sister publication SoundStage!).
Again, I'm not trying to "turn" you that direction. I'm merely suggesting that
right now, you should play with the broadest variety of sonic presentations to find out
what you like. And this simply should include tubes.
Lastly, most folks never consider this,
but upgrade funds might, best of all, be spent on more software. How does revamping or
expanding your music collection strike you?
July 13, 2001
Congratulations on your great site! I bought
two pairs of Meadowlark Kestrel speakers after reading a review from the old GoodSound!
website. Now I want to take a pair of the speakers out of my home-theater room to a
music-only room. Do you think that the Cambridge Audio A500 integrated amplifier is a good
match for the speakers? If not, what other integrated amp, at the same or lower price
range, do you recommend?
Thanks!
E. Cajigas
Yes, the A500 would be a great match. The
same goes for the A300. Another reader wondered how these two Cambridge Audio units
compare. He e-mailed the importer and was told that they're sonically identical -- the
only subtle difference is power output and appearance. If you want to save money, the A300
might be the one to look at.
July 12, 2001
First, congratulations on a fantastic site!
It's the best thing that happened to budget audiophiles since the original GoodSound!.
I'm wondering if you could discuss (or even
better review) a few cables for a budget system in more detail. I have looked into TARA
Labs and Audio Magic and they (especially the latter) are still quite expensive. I have a
Marantz CD63, Musical Fidelity X-A1 and Axiom M3Tis, all bought used. It seems to me that
$150 would be too much money to spend on cables for this system. One of the few companies
that seems to offer "cheap" audiophile cables is MIT. Do you have any experience
with their wires? How about Radio Shack or Home Depot speaker wires?
Thanks and keep up the excellent work!
Andrej
Seeing that you've successfully assembled
your system via the used market, it's true that purchasing quality cables at retail, even
in the budget realm, seems to create an apparent imbalance of expenditure. Have you tried The Cable Company? They're known to
routinely sell used cables that are "created" by sending evaluation samples to
customers and accepting back what isn't purchased. My personal experience with MIT is nil.
I would have recommended exactly the brands you've mentioned. The Audio Magic XStream
speaker cable sells for $3.50 per foot. That doesn't seem out of line at all. Their
comparable interconnect is $69, so a TARA Labs Prism at $29 or $39 may be more attractive.
If that's still too expensive, generic 10 AWG Radio Shack copper speaker cable would do
the trick, as would the matching interconnect. What you're looking for a soldered, not
crimped, connections for the speaker terminations (preferably spades, or else bare wire)
and tight-fitting RCA plugs on the interconnects.
July 11, 2001
I'm new to your site, but I enjoy it very
much. I'm moving into a new home that has hardwood floors. Are hardwood floors a good
thing or a bad thing in terms of music and sound transmission? Are there certain speaker
characteristics that are better for this type of flooring? Would bookshelves be better
than towers that would sit directly on the floor?
The speakers that sound the best to me that
are also in my price range are Tannoy Revolutions. Have you had a chance to listen
to/review them? If so, what do you think?
Thanks,
Greg
Hardwood floors, like tile or concrete,
are highly reflective surfaces. Most living/listening rooms feature a mix of surfaces that
are reflective (including windows, mirrors, glass-framed paintings), absorptive (carpet,
curtains, overstuffed furniture) and dispersive (irregular surfaces like partially opened
blinds, plants, book cases). A mostly reflective room is considered "live," with
a certain amount of natural reverb or echo (think empty bathroom when you first move into
a new house -- your voice sounds very "enhanced"). A primarily absorptive room
is considered "dead," with a very dry acoustic. Use your speaking voice and hand
claps to determine how live your room will be after you've moved in and decorated it. If
you get hard slap echo (very noticeable with hand claps if you have it), you need to
deaden the room a bit by using more absorptive materials. The most important thing will
likely be a rug or at least throw rug to partially cover the parquet floor, especially
close to the speakers to minimize first reflections.
From the models I've heard, the Tannoys
would be a great choice.
July 10, 2001
Regarding your recent review of the Audio
Refinement Complete integrated amp, I do not know why you used the same cables as you did
with the Cambridge piece. These integrated amps seem like very different creatures. I
bought the Complete after demoing it upon reading your positive review in SoundStage!. I do concur
with your description of its sound. I tried a few cables, and it definitely sounded better
with sharper and clearer cabling -- Kimber, Nordost, etc. -- rather than warmer-sounding
stuff -- Cardas, etc. This did not surprise me since the Complete seems to add weight and
warmth to the picture at the expense of that last degree of detail.
But my main question is this: Isn't synergy
part of good sound? And did you try different cables you never mentioned it in the review?
Or did the Cardas just happen to be the best for both amplifiers?
Anyway, good luck with GoodSound!.
John Franchino
Synergy is an important system
consideration. But synergy in my system/room will by definition be different from anybody
else's system/room, and additionally be a function of my personal listening tastes and
preferences.
And yes, cables can make a difference and
be used to dial in a system's overall signature, no question about it. But it's equally
true that budget shoppers often already have a difficult enough time accepting that the
zip cord manufacturers throw in as freebies with their electronics isn't good enough.
We've decided to tread lightly on the subject for now and develop it as we go along. The
Cardas cables were chosen as our current one-size-fits-all house cables exactly because
they tend to err on the forgiving side of things. Many budget electronics err on the side
of incisiveness and forwardness, so this is a good compromise.
And you're right -- warmer-sounding
components like the Audio Refinement Complete when mated with leaner/faster cables like
those from Nordost can bring out more detail and apparent resolution if that's what you're
after in a particular system context. Then again, if your speakers are rather forward,
something like the Cardas may once again be the perfect balance.
July 9, 2001
I need some advice about two speakers: Merlin
TSM-Millennium and the EgglestonWorks Isabel. What are the major differences, strengths
and weaknesses? I'm going two buy one of the two, but I just can't decide which one.
I don't have access to hear either one, so I need all the help I can get. Your help would
be greatly appreciated.
Joey
How did you narrow your choice down to
these two without having heard either? Reviews or recommendations are only to be used to
come up with a negotiable short list of final options. After that, only your personal
opinion matters. I strongly recommend you don't buy any speakers you can't personally
audition (or return if you don't like them). Speakers are a very personal matter, and also
very room-dependent. Ideally, you want to hear them in your room before you commit.
July 9, 2001
I would like to add surround sound to my
existing music system. I have Innersound Eros speakers for the front channels, Apogee
Centaurs for the rear. I will purchase a center-channel speaker at a later time. I
currently use a Audio Research LS2 preamp and don't want to replace it. Is there a way to
use a processor-preamp connected to the Audio Research preamp, such as through the tape
monitor loop, that will allow me to keep the current preamp in my system? My major
interest is music, but since my stereo and all electronics in my home are in the media
room, I would like to take advantage of what DVDs have to offer.
Thank you,
David
Yes. Simply feed a processor from the
tape-out of your ARC preamp and connect a three-channel amplifier to the processor to
power the Apogees and future center-channel speaker. Looking at the stellar high-end
quality of your system, you might enjoy a Meridian processor. They have the most
sophisticated proprietary "surround music" mode I've heard (and granted, I
haven't heard them all) and would allow you to enjoy all your surround speakers also for
music -- and in a way that may spoil you for traditional stereo.
July 8, 2001
I've been a budget-minded audiophile for
several years. I'm in a medical training program and therefore on a limited budget for the
next two years. I would like some advice regarding adding a subwoofer, center-channel
speaker and surrounds to my current system. I have a Denon AVR-3800 receiver, McIntosh
MC-2200 amp and B&W CDM 7 main speakers. I plan to buy a timbre-matched CDM C
center-channel speaker. My current budget is $750.
Scott
The B&W DM302 monitors seem
tailor-made for rears in your application. For subwoofers, I'd go for the Hsu Research
VTF-2 ($499), which I recently reviewed. I believe this combination will come in right
around your stated budget.
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