More AVI ADM 9.1

[admin_exported]

My wife asked me on Saturday when I planned to do the "computer thing, as it's the future". Which left me somewhat in a state of shock....

So, assuming I flogged all my Cyrus kit, and my ProAc 110's, and invested in the AVI ADM 9.1's, what would I need to get in order to get at least as good a sound as Cyrus, if not better? What would I need to rip my CD's to? What connects to the active speakers and how does it connect? What's the best lossless file format?

I'm sure this question is on a lot of people's minds......

Thanks in advance

 

[Andy H]

You don't have to sell all your kit. Keep the amp and speakers and buy a Squeezbox or Sonos. Get a suitable NAS drive to rip all your music on to (lossless) then you don't have to have the computer on all the time.
If you get a Sonos you will need a external dac to get close to Cyrus sound quality, can't comment on the squeezebox as I've never heard one.

Can't comment on going down the AVI ADM 9.1s route, no exp'. There are a few posters who've got these recently who may be able to help.

 

[John Duncan]

Yup, keep everything you've got, add a squeezebox or airport express, and rip all your CDs to lossless. Add a DAC for even better performance (or take this opportunity to get a Cyrus DAC XP) and an iPod Touch to control the whole shebang (and make your wife go "see *that's* what I meant"), and Bob's your uncle.

 

[Anonymous]

You have 2 optical (toslink) inputs and the usual analogue RCA pair inputs on the left speaker. The left speaker also has subwoofer output and the "slave" output for the right speaker. Both speakers have on/off switches and both need to be plugged into electrical power.

The AVI's integrated DAC is very good, so you can use the optical inputs with confidence, and avoid the hassle of external DAC.

You can connect to the AVI's optical inputs direct from laptop, from airport express, Sonos or any other streaming device (or from CD transport). I have mine in the office den, connected to my iMac and to my Sonos system. Absolutely delighted.

Volume and switching between inputs is managed exclusively through the AVI remote.

I have no idea if that beats the kit you have or not, and am not sure there is any advantage in "flogging" your stuff unless you are on a mission to save shelve space. But when building from scratch (in an additional room for example), AVI ADM 9.1 certainly makes sense, as it is a very cost effective, very high quality and very compact (real space saver, as completely self contained in the speakers).

A couple of down sides: no way to connect a headphone (means I have added another box - a Beresford 7520 - connected to my iMac's usb and to my Sonos's digital coax output), and there is no standby function, which is a hassle for energy conscious users (need to remember to manually switch off each speaker, from the back of the speakers, which sets limitations on how you place them).

I rip from my iMac to a my iTunes music folder on a NAS (TimeCapsule), to which the Sonos points as well.

 

[drummerman]

Septicman, I had exactly the same system as you, including speakers. Whilst very good the ADM's have the advantage in a few areas, dynamics, clarity and power to name three. I've never had the two side by side but I somewhat doubt you'd regret going down that route especially as selling your system will more than fund the 9.1's plus probably pay for some of the wireless stuff too.

They are supremely clear (not lean or brittle). Add a sub in the future and gain warmth and scale.

As always, my opinion only.

 

[the record spot]

Mmmm, "it's the future"....how many times has that been said before the egg wings its way onto a nearby face...!

Do a compare - if you want to go down the active route, you're not JUST stuck to AVI's 9.1 set-up - you could try Acoustic Energy's AE22 Actives, amongst others - and use a separate DAC.

They'll give you a bigger presentation I think that the ADMs will - they're not bass light that's for sure and the presentation is meant to be pretty revealing. Based on a stduio monitor design though, so that may or may not appeal. Personally, I think they look stunning and at £800 if they sound as good as they look, you're onto a winner.

 

[drummerman]

the record spot: ...
Do a compare - if you want to go down the active route, you're not JUST stuck to AVI's 9.1 set-up - you could try Acoustic Energy's AE22 Actives, amongst others - and use a separate DAC ...

I believe you'd also need a pre-amp with balanced output or at least a balanced/RCA conversion lead as balanced is the only option on the AE. You're right though, there are of course other active speakers around, quad and Dynaudio to mention two. However, none of them have a r/c pre-amplifier section and DAC as far as I know.

Of course, if you like your system as it is, and it is very nice (and upgradable) you could just add the streaming.

 

[Anonymous]

Aristide Atlass:
You have 2 optical (toslink) inputs and the usual analogue RCA pair inputs on the left speaker. The left speaker also has subwoofer output and the "slave" output for the right speaker. Both speakers have on/off switches and both need to be plugged into electrical power.

The AVI's integrated DAC is very good, so you can use the optical inputs with confidence, and avoid the hassle of external DAC.

You can connect to the AVI's optical inputs direct from laptop, from airport express, Sonos or any other streaming device (or from CD transport). I have mine in the office den, connected to my iMac and to my Sonos system. Absolutely delighted.

Volume and switching between inputs is managed exclusively through the AVI remote.

I have no idea if that beats the kit you have or not, and am not sure there is any advantage in "flogging" your stuff unless you are on a mission to save shelve space. But when building from scratch (in an additional room for example), AVI ADM 9.1 certainly makes sense, as it is a very cost effective, very high quality and very compact (real space saver, as completely self contained in the speakers).

A couple of down sides: no way to connect a headphone (means I have added another box - a Beresford 7520 - connected to my iMac's usb and to my Sonos's digital coax output), and there is no standby function, which is a hassle for energy conscious users (need to remember to manually switch off each speaker, from the back of the speakers, which sets limitations on how you place them).

I rip from my iMac to a my iTunes music folder on a NAS (TimeCapsule), to which the Sonos points as well.

Aristide Atlass,

could you just confirm that you stream from your Time Capsule to your Sonos? If so, how exactly do you do that? Do you know whether it's possible to stream from a Time Capsule to an Airport Express? I thought that this isn't possible.

-- Sorry to hijack the thread for a minute.

Hedgehog

 

[Anonymous]

Hedgehog,

The Sonos "sees" the TimeCapsule as a NAS device. Simply key in the Sonos setup the path to your music folder on TimeCapsule, and bingo, it streams without a computer in sight.

For AirportExpress, you need iTunes running on a computer. The iTunes library can reside on a TimeCapsule if you want, though there is no great advantage to that (except disk space maybe). The streaming to the AirportExpress is done from your computer "as if" it was from an internal disk. I do not think there is any other method...

Aris

 

[Anonymous]

Dear Aris

Thanks for this. It's what I feared...

Apologies for hijacking the thread.

Hedgehog

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone. As ever, much to think about. I may go and dem the AVI's.....