£400 budget for some audio

[John Duncan]

Yes, bright means emphasising the treble. The brighter (or more trebly) you get, the more grating it can become. Both the Marantz and the MA BR2 can emphasise the treble (to me), whereas the Diamonds complement the Marantz by damping it ever so (to me).

 

[Olli1324]

Ah right... So there is much more of an art to picking bits to buy than I thought!

I am exceptionally glad I came here for advice... Thanks.

 

[John Duncan]

Indeed, some stuff works well together, some less so. And I know that WHF recommend the Marantz and the BR2 together, but I thought it was just a bit shrill in places. I like smoooooooth though - YMMV.

 

[batonwielder]

Well, I wouldn't call the BR2's an upgrade from the Diamond 9.1's. Choose according to your taste. If you are into classical/jazz, it's hard to beat the Wharfedale's. They are warm and clear, so matches budget components perfectly. I really haven't heard anything better at the price. Hope this helps.

 

[Olli1324]

Although my knowledge is lacking, I like the way that "smooth", "warm" and "clear" have been used; these are characterisitics which sound (bad pun) appealing to me.

 

[batonwielder]

Are you gonna place the speakers on your computer desk? Epos ELS3's are more suitable for such a placement, and they sound wonderful as well.

 

[Olli1324]

They will probably be on the desk, yes, or at the other place I could put them is on what I can best describe as a giant window sill; either way. they will be pretty close to walls/windows wherever I put them.

Will those Epos speakers handle bass as well/better/worse than the Diamonds? I note they do not have the bass port (that is what the tubey-hole thing is called, right?); will this be detrimental in any way? I do like solid bass

Also, for £200, I could get the Wharfedale Diamond 9.2s. Are these perhaps not as good as the Epos pair?

It may be worth stating that I often listen to heavy music (Metallica and Judas Priest to name two bands) although I listen to a lot of softer, classic rock (i.e The Eagles and Dire Straits) and some orchestral pieces, and some vocal heavy pieces. So basically, quite a wide range!

Edit: Hold the phones! The Epos ELS3s have a bass port on the back! So, um, yeah, are the Epos ELS3s super wicked enough to fit my music needs and warrent the extra £50 on top of my budget?

 

[Olli1324]

I was reading around on the Internet about the Epos speakers and I found a fair few comments about lack of bass. Would the fact that they are close to the wall be beneficial for the bass?

(kinda subtle bump

)

 

[batonwielder]

Well, let's see. Any of the mentioned speakers on the desk would not sound at its best. Placing the Epos close to the wall would reinforce the bass since it's rear-ported, but I'm not sure if that's entirely beneficial. Loud doesn't mean quality. It really depends on what you would like to get from your system.

 

[Olli1324]

I realise loudness isn't the same as quality, it is just from some reviews that I have read, I get the impression that there is a severe lack. I presume, and hope, that this is an over-statement to some extent?

You mention that placed the speakers on the desk is not ideal. Why is this? What would I have to do to get more out of them?

 

[batonwielder]

It's definitely lacking compared to the Wharfedale's, but it gives an impression of being controlled and clean. The Wharfedale's more evenly balanced throughout with deeper extention. If your room is really small, you can get away with the Epos, however.

In order to get the maximum performance out of your speakers, you would need stands for them. There are so many factors as to why it would not sound at its best on your desk, and I'm no expert, but your desk would act as a resonator+reflector, either of which is something you would want to avoid. Listening height is also important as well, so you must remember that your room is an important factor in setting up your system.

 

[Olli1324]

Hmm well if the ELS-3s are lacking in comparison to the Wharfedales, then I think I will have to go with the latter. Currently, I listen through a 7.1 surround system, and although the satellites are pretty horrible, I do love the bass.

So yeah, I guess it'll be the 9.1s.

I may look into stands in a few months when I have more money, and by then I will have had a chance to redesign my room layout to see if I can position my desk in such a way that would allow placement of the stands either side.

Are there any little tips and tricks for placing speakers on desks? I notice that "spikes" are mentioned regularly?

I was playing around earlier, do these connections seem correct? That is a coax out from my computer. Also, the speakers aren't the Wharfedales; there are no rear pics of them that I could find (easily).

 

[batonwielder]

Watch where you connect the speaker cable on the amplifier. Red goes in red and black in black. You could place the speakers on your desk using Blu-tack or anything equivalent. That way you would keep the speakers from touching the desk. Let me know when you have all the components. I can go through it with you. I was wondering why you would play music through your computer when you can spend the same amount of money on a new CD player. It's always better to have a standalone disc player, and unless you rip your files lossless, it would be a significant downgrade in quality.

 

[Olli1324]

A few reasons for not buying a CD player; insufficient funds and a lot of my music is ripped from father's/brother's/sister's/friend's CD collections (it's cheaper

). What I have started to do, though, is use my second hard disk for storing lossless music; I will go about ripping as much as I can again to provide a decent source.

What I may consider, for convenience if I want to move the hi-fi away from the PC, is buying a CDP at a later date, possibly and probably the Marantz CD6002 (to match).

Thanks for the help with the speaker positioning; I should be ready to buy the gear in about 2 weeks, so I will start a new thread for that.

 

[Olli1324]

To save starting a new thread, I'll just post the question in here.

Would the Diamond 9.2s have better bass and room-filling abilities than the 9.1s, whilst still keeping all the pros of the 9.1s?

So: Diamond 9.1s or 9.2s?

 

[fr0g]

[quote user="batonwielder"]... I was wondering why you would play music through your computer when you can spend the same amount of money on a new CD player. It's always better to have a standalone disc player, and unless you rip your files lossless, it would be a significant downgrade in quality.[/quote]

Sounds sensible to me. And as for significant downgrade... nah. Try a well ripped EAC/LAME 320 kbps MP3 against a lossless file - the difference is minimal. There IS a difference, but on many CDs it's not so apparent.
One CD ripped in FLAC/ALAC/WAV or whatever will not outperform a 'slightly' better quality CD ripped in MP3.

The question I would have asked if he HAD wanted a CD player, is Why do you want a cd player when you have a better transport mechanism in the same room?

As for speakers, I would not go for too large ones on a computer desk, as it's overwhelming. I ran a system with MS 902s and a NAD 310 amp for a couple of years. I used an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 soundcard (which is rather fantastic and a bargain at around £50).
I would leave the DAC for now, buy the amp and speakers (and blu-tak ) first. Run it for a while, then try the DAC - If you dont notice an improvement, then you can send it back.

You'll never want to move it away from the PC either - its the best of both worlds...great PC sound, and great HIFI sound...

 

[John Duncan]

Please note that if you're putting them on your desk, you'd best make sure it's a big desk - the Diamond 9.1s are not exactly sveldt - the 9.2s less so.

 

[Olli1324]

Thanks for the words.

The speakers will sit on my desk most of the time, so it would probably be best, as you say, to get the smaller ones as opposed to getting bigger ones purely for the rare occasion of moving them to a different room.

I will keep your advice concerning whether the DAC is needed; I will be sure to test the system with and without. I may as well address the connection of the DAC to the amplifier here as well:

0.5-METRE Gotham Swiss GAC-1 Hi-Fi interconnect

Would that cable (Gotham, as recommended earlier in the thread) be suitable? Going from the analogue-outs on the DAC to the, say, CD-in RCAs on the amp?

Extra editted in stoof: In regards to connecting the computer's coax out to the DAC, should I get the cable that can come bundled with the DAC for £20, or this Gotham cable.
The computer, DAC and amp will be sitting on the aforementioned "giant window sill", and so will only require short cables.

And one more thing! Will having the DAC and amp next to the computer be harmful in anyway, perhaps to the HDDs?

 

[fr0g]

[quote user="Olli1324"]
Thanks for the words.

The speakers will sit on my desk most of the time, so it would probably be best, as you say, to get the smaller ones as opposed to getting bigger ones purely for the rare occasion of moving them to a different room.

I will keep your advice concerning whether the DAC is needed; I will be sure to test the system with and without. I may as well address the connection of the DAC to the amplifier here as well:

0.5-METRE Gotham Swiss GAC-1 Hi-Fi interconnect

Would that cable (Gotham, as recommended earlier in the thread) be suitable? Going from the analogue-outs on the DAC to the, say, CD-in RCAs on the amp?
[/quote]

Yep - Same one... I have the same cable running from my Beresford, to my Lyngdorf Amplifier.
But the first thing you will need if you wait on the DAC (which you should - Its a great bargain, but I did without for years, and listening to a PC system, from the PC chair is quite an emersive way to listen IMO, so although I believe the DAC will help, it is certainly worth trying without for a week or 2 first) is a minijack to RCA lead...

 

[Olli1324]

Will the fact that I only have onboard sound be an issue if not using a DAC? I have no space for a PCI sound card like the one you said you used.

(I also editted in another cable-related question into my last post)

 

[batonwielder]

Stay with the 9.1's. They have no problem filling up medium sized rooms. Try to audition them first, however.

 

[fr0g]

[quote user="Olli1324"]
Will the fact that I only have onboard sound be an issue if not using a DAC? I have no space for a PCI sound card like the one you said you used.

(I also editted in another cable-related question into my last post)
[/quote]
Its quite likely that it will benefit hugely from an external DAC. I would still try it without one fiirst though...
I would also double check you have an SPDIF out socket. Without this you can't add a DAC anyway. You can of course get an external USB soundcard that has got an SPDIF.