Complete Hi-Fi Upgrade Advice

[BigH]

Yet, despite all that technology and innovation, they don't have an analogue input, you have to pay extra for that.

And your point is???

When you are not on here, do you spend much of the rest of your day having pointless arguments with youself? You know, just like the ones you have on here. :?

To be clear, he wasn't talking about AVI - which do have analogue inputs. So I'm not sure why you're so tetchy. I think his point by saying they don't have an analogue input is that, er, they don't have an analogue input. Which may be important for anyone with an analogue source, such as the OP.

Can you both (yes, both) just stop it?

I thought he was quoting altruistic.lemon?

 

[tino]

If I were investing the amount of money the OP is willing to spend (or even half that) I would try to think ahead whether how he listens to music might change and whether additional sources other than the CD and turntable already mentioned might play out. If I were in the market for a new (moderately expensive) system, I would look at something that can also support HDMI and USB sources as well as conventional SPDIF and analogue line inputs. This opens up the possibility of adding AV and/or computer wihout an additional DAC.

Not sure of the price of this ... but it's worth a look alsongside some nice SF Venere floorstanding speakers.

 

[DocG]

Not sure of the price of this ... but it's worth a look alsongside some nice SF Venere floorstanding speakers.

That would be €7.499, please, sir (well, in Belgium at least...). Indeed, it does look sexy; and so do the specs (DSD and I2S!)! Good find!

 

[Overdose]

Not sure of the price of this ... but it's worth a look alsongside some nice SF Venere floorstanding speakers.

That would be €7.499, please, sir (well, in Belgium at least...). Indeed, it does look sexy; and so do the specs (DSD and I2S!)! Good find!

It looks a bit like one of those free generic routers that you get when you sign up for a broadband deal to me.

 

[matthewpiano]

Not sure of the price of this ... but it's worth a look alsongside some nice SF Venere floorstanding speakers.

That would be €7.499, please, sir (well, in Belgium at least...). Indeed, it does look sexy; and so do the specs (DSD and I2S!)! Good find!

It looks a bit like one of those free generic routers that you get when you sign up for a broadband deal to me.

:rofl: Completely agree.

 

[tino]

It looks a bit like one of those free generic routers that you get when you sign up for a broadband deal to me.

Like the one you probably have in your own lounge or hallway

It does look very 'lifestyle' but it's a refreshing change from a rectangular 430mm box.

 

[Overdose]

It looks a bit like one of those free generic routers that you get when you sign up for a broadband deal to me.

Like the one you probably have in your own lounge or hallway

It does look very 'lifestyle' but it's a refreshing change from a rectangular 430mm box.

Arguably, my plain gloss black and fairly unobtrusive (free) router looks a lot better.

 

[relocated]

Yet, despite all that technology and innovation, they don't have an analogue input, you have to pay extra for that.

And your point is???

When you are not on here, do you spend much of the rest of your day having pointless arguments with youself? You know, just like the ones you have on here. :?

To be clear, he wasn't talking about AVI - which do have analogue inputs. So I'm not sure why you're so tetchy. I think his point by saying they don't have an analogue input is that, er, they don't have an analogue input. Which may be important for anyone with an analogue source, such as the OP.

Can you both (yes, both) just stop it?

Ben,

What's AVI got to do with it? Oh, I see you have made an incorrect assumption.

Leave off the school-ma'am, there's a good chap.

 

[John Duncan]

(checks to see if there is anyone relocated hasn't picked a fight with yet)

 

[lindsayt]

Hectors Jam, the one piece of advice I would give you in your search for the hi-fi that's right to you is to ask everyone that makes a recommendation on what you should buy about the good points as well as the bad points of what they're recommending. Taking particular note of what they say, or don't say about the sonic weaknesses or compromises of what they're recommending.

If they don't come up with any bad points then I would be inclined to disregard their advice, as they either don't have enough knowledge or experience to give you a balanced opinion, or they have some sort of vested interest in the items they're recommending.

So, I will ask this question to everyone that has made a recommendation so far in this thread:

What are the bad points or compromises or relatively less good areas, inparticular sonically, of each item that you've recommended?

Now let's see what sort of answers we get. And of course we can do our own listening tests to decide if we agree with the answers or not.

 

[Macspur]

Quite frankly, it's offensive and enough to put people off joining the forum.

 

[Overdose]

What are the bad points or compromises or relatively less good areas, inparticular sonically, of each item that you've recommended?

Being glossy black, my speakers show the dust and for some, this flicks the OCD cleanliness switch and could get some people twitching.

Small children can pull off the AVI badge on the front grills.

Being front ported, it is wise to not leave off the grills with the same badge picking small children running around the house, as crayons and cheerios probably do nothing to the sound quality.

Maximum distance between speakers is 5m due to the supplied interconnect, not sure if that's a limitation to most though.

erm, that's it. No other downsides I can think of inparticular or especially regarding the sound quality, they are the best I've heard outside of a studio, but then I've not heard these in a studio.

 

[DocG]

If I were investing the amount of money the OP is willing to spend (or even half that) I would try to think ahead whether how he listens to music might change and whether additional sources other than the CD and turntable already mentioned might play out. If I were in the market for a new (moderately expensive) system, I would look at something that can also support HDMI and USB sources as well as conventional SPDIF and analogue line inputs. This opens up the possibility of adding AV and/or computer wihout an additional DAC.

Not sure of the price of this ... but it's worth a look alsongside some nice SF Venere floorstanding speakers.

I just had a closer look at the Wadia Intuition 01, and it doesn't have HDMI inputs. It is I²S via a HDMI-cable (like PS Audio and W4S do), so a little less versatile after all...

Second drawback: some like the design of their free router better.

I guess that's a start for a critical, balanced advise. :cheers:

 

[steve_1979]

Hectors Jam, the one piece of advice I would give you in your search for the hi-fi that's right to you is to ask everyone that makes a recommendation on what you should buy about the good points as well as the bad points of what they're recommending.

Genelec 8260A - Ugly looks that only a mother could love.

AVI ADM9RSS - Only available in gloss black or white and there's no display. They also need a subwoofer to make them full range.

AVI ADM40 - 'Only' goes down to 40Hz and no gloss black or white (OK I'm nit picking here trying to think of any negatives for these).

Adam Audio Tensor - A bit big for most rooms.

 

[John Duncan]

Hectors Jam, the one piece of advice I would give you in your search for the hi-fi that's right to you is to ask everyone that makes a recommendation on what you should buy about the good points as well as the bad points of what they're recommending.

Genelec 8260A - Ugly looks that only a mother could love.

AVI ADM9RSS - Only available in gloss black or white and there's no display. They also need a subwoofer to make them full range.

AVI ADM40 - 'Only' goes down to 40Hz and no gloss black or white (OK I'm nit picking here trying to think of any negatives for these).

Adam Audio Tensor - A bit big for most rooms.

And how does each of them sound?

 

[BenLaw]

Yet, despite all that technology and innovation, they don't have an analogue input, you have to pay extra for that.

And your point is???

When you are not on here, do you spend much of the rest of your day having pointless arguments with youself? You know, just like the ones you have on here. :?

To be clear, he wasn't talking about AVI - which do have analogue inputs. So I'm not sure why you're so tetchy. I think his point by saying they don't have an analogue input is that, er, they don't have an analogue input. Which may be important for anyone with an analogue source, such as the OP.

Can you both (yes, both) just stop it?

Ben,

What's AVI got to do with it? Oh, I see you have made an incorrect assumption.

Leave off the school-ma'am, there's a good chap.

No assumptions, my post clearly covered both possibilities. Your tetchiness was unjustified either way. You clearly don't appreciate the irony of your final sentence.

 

[steve_1979]

And how does each of them sound?

The Genelecs are probably the best and clearest sounding speakers that I've heard. Neutral with very deep bass and good DSP options that can adjust the sound to suit your rooms acoustics and your own tastes.

I've only heard the older ADM9T's and these are on a par with some of the best speakers that I've heard irrespective of price. I haven't heard the newer ADM9RSS or ADM40 but these are reportedly an improvement over the old ADM9T's. Very clear, neutral and detailed.

I've heard several Adam Audio speakers from all across their ranges and they all sound very good. Again very clear, detailed and neutral like the other speakers I've suggested. They tend to have a small sweet spot though.

 

[CnoEvil]

Now let's see what sort of answers we get. And of course we can do our own listening tests to decide if we agree with the answers or not.

This is an interesting way of looking at it, but very often, so called "sonic weaknesses" are subjective....the only way to find this out is to listen. It is imo all too easy to get bogged down in the technical strengths and weaknesses, that one can forget to concentrate on the sound......and the only way to know what sounds really good (in terms of your personal taste), is to listen to a lot of alternatives.

Also into this mix comes room acoustics and speaker set up.

CDPs have the weakness that they are trying to read a spinning disc in real time, which also adds electromechanical interference and will have maintenance issues.

All Streamers are not created equal, so gapless playback, dropouts and and handling all resolutions / formats, can't be taken for granted.

TTs have set up problems, are susceptible to feedback and play vinyl which has quality issues

Class A wastes half it's power as heat.

Valves need replacing, and often don't have the power and bass power / impact / control of SS.

One of Active speakers strengths (all in one) can also be their weakness, depending on your viewpoint.

All passive speaker design is a compromise, whether infinite baffle, ported or TL.

 

[Phileas]

Now let's see what sort of answers we get. And of course we can do our own listening tests to decide if we agree with the answers or not.

We? I thought this was Hectors Jam's thread?

 

[CnoEvil]

Now let's see what sort of answers we get. And of course we can do our own listening tests to decide if we agree with the answers or not.

We? I thought this was Hectors Jam's thread?

It should help the OP sift through the myriad of answers and opinions on this thread, in order to see which are likely to have the most relevance.

 

[richardw42]

The longer this thread goes on, the further it gets from the OP (realise ive added to that)

For a major change. Start a new thread.

 

[spiny norman]

I haven't heard the newer ADM9RSS or ADM40 but these are reportedly an improvement over the old ADM9T's. Very clear, neutral and detailed.

 

[DocG]

I haven't heard the newer ADM9RSS or ADM40 but these are reportedly an improvement over the old ADM9T's. Very clear, neutral and detailed.

Norman, the man with a mission! (Sorry, it was beyond my control...)

 

[steve_1979]

I haven't heard the newer ADM9RSS or ADM40 but these are reportedly an improvement over the old ADM9T's. Very clear, neutral and detailed.

Nicely misquoted.

If you'd included the first sentence before the one that you quoted it made more sense. You forgot to include the part where I said:

"I've heard the older ADM9T's and these are on a par with some of the best speakers that I've heard irrespective of price."

 

[John Duncan]

It wasn't a misquote, to be fair.

I have heard the ADM9.1Ts, and they were nowhere near being on a par with the best speakers I've heard, irrespective of price.

Just to add a bit of balance...