Underwhelming Setup....

[admin_exported]

So as some of you may know Ive recently built a budget setup from scratch....

Ive hooked it up and tbh Im a bit underwhelmed by the sound, I think I prefer my PC setup! (See signature below) Which is disappointing as I was expecting more from this separates system. Maybe you could tell me the weak point or bottle neck??

As far as Lows go bass wise Im pretty happy with the sound, its nice and punchy and satisfying....but the highs/treble isnt as nice and is especially hollow/cheap sounding i.e. in the vocals and cymbals and sometimes guitar. The sound overall is just not that full! it almost sounds like the lows are playing through a good setup but the highs arent?

Anyways heres the setup:

Arcam delta 60 amp

Arcam delta 70.3 CD Player

Fisual Hollywood speaker cable with airloc banana plugs

Tangent Monitor 7 - 20 - 90watt speakers

Profigold interconnect

The speakers are the thing I did no research on as I just couldnt find anything on them on the internet so maybe its them? the interconnect is cheap also, but then that shouldnt make too much difference.

Would it help buying some really good mains cables as I am using bog standard ones and when I changed my bog standard one on my M-audio AV40 monitors im %100 sure it made a difference..can it make a difference with amps and cd players?

thanks

 

[Anonymous]

try moving the speakers to a different position (closer to the wall of further away and see if there is any difference)

 

[Anonymous]

think your right its the speakers

 

[matthewpiano]

It sounds like an Arcam amp issue to me. A lot of their kit is pretty underwhelming. You'd have been much better off with a Pioneer A400 or one of the Sansui amps.

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmm...placing them right back against a wall seems to have really done the trick! Cheers!

Im still interested to know about changing the mains though as it does interest me as I did hear a substantial change when i changed the av40s cable.

 

[JoelSim]

DavidGander:
Hmmm...placing them right back against a wall seems to have really done the trick! Cheers!

Im still interested to know about changing the mains though as it does interest me as I did hear a substantial change when i changed the av40s cable.

I would change the speakers way before changing the mains leads.

 

[Anonymous]

Well maybe soon I will purchase a set of properly researched speakers.....

Any recommendations at around the 150 pound mark?

 

[ear]

just a few thoughts...I dont know that tangent model, but I have tangent millennium 200...and they sounded awful with a marantz pm4001,they sound a lot better with a mhc-w777av SONY.tangent speakers are also very badly rated, but they are actually not that bad.the clarity series sound lovely.maybe yours are not that bad.

 

[the record spot]

Speakers:-

Mission 751
Mission 752
KEF Q35.2
Q Acoustic 1050i

All three of those will do the job well; the 751s are killer standmounters that hit the highs on a grand scale. Had them in the early 90s and they were fabulous for the money. The 752 is just the best speaker I've owned - the next one up in the classic Mission 75 series range, designed by Henry Azima (Google him) and considered by some to be the pinnacle of the 75 series range over the 753. Their 89db rating makes them easy to drive too.

Next, KEFs superb Q35.2 - uniQ driver, apparently fabulous imaging and a mid-90s classic.

Coming back into this century

there are deals aplenty around the Q Acoustics 1050i - I think this'll give you the body you're currently missing from your music. A ton of speaker for your money and I was close to buying these before the 752s came up last year. Hi FI World Product of the Year and the only downside is they're above your £150 budget - you should get them for around £230 or so however and well worth considering.

 

[The_Lhc]

DavidGander: The speakers are the thing I did no research on as I just couldnt find anything on them on the internet so maybe its them?

I've read this three times now and I still don't get it, you bought speakers you knew absolutely nothing about?

 

[Anonymous]

I literally could not find anything about them on the net, but I did read about the monitor 9's and that they were good especially if paying hardly anything for them so I thought these monitor 7's would be alright too!

Anyways...does a pair of wharfedale 9.1s match up to those youve listed spot?

 

[the record spot]

I think the Wharfeys would be rather good, but I haven't heard them. How they'd compare with an excellent 1990s speakers I'm not sure either, but given the improvements in technology over the intervening years, the gap may not be as wide as you might think. Equally, I'd be inclined to favour the 751 as it was such a good speaker as well as being the only standmount of my list.

Against the 752, I'm sticking my neck out and saying I think the Wharfey might have it's work cut out, but nevertheless, I think it looks like an excellent £200 speaker and money well spent assuming you like what it can do with your current kit.

 

[Anonymous]

OK GUYS...the plot thickens... I prob should have tried this weeks ago but before i purchase the new speakers I was just curious to see what these old things would sound like running from the arcam amp connected to my PC....

So thats a PC > Creative X-MOD DAC > Arcam Delta 60 Amp> Speakers

And surprisingly enough it sounds much better than what I got when running music from the delta 70.3 cd player.....so by my mathematics it must be the CD player that was making it sound poor! ...no?

Maybe the CD player needs a good servicing or? What do you guys reckon? Is there anything I can do at home to maybe solve it...i dont mind opening it up?

cheers

 

[Anonymous]

When you say research what do you actually mean?

If you just read about the other equipment then that is only marginally better than doing no research at all.

There really is no substitiute for auditioning equipment before you spend the cash.

 

[Anonymous]

That may well be, but I dont have the time nor do i feel inclined to do that.

Maybe if we were talking big money then I would, but I can get some 9.1s for 99 pounds including postage, so to be honest after reading a lot of positive reviews etc I'm willing to take the risk.

Its irrelevant now though, because I'm asking a different question.

 

[Anonymous]

I had a pair of Mission 752s in the late 90s, hooked up to a Technics SU-A900 Mk2 amp and Mission Cyrus DAD-5 / DAC-5 combo (if I remember correctly). Sounded superb. The build quality of the 752 and 753 cabinets (mine were rosewood veneer) was also top notch.

I think there's a lot to be said for buying used if you're on a budget. A lot of hifi doesn't actually get used that much and is still in excellent condition a decade old. Shop around on a certain internet auction site. Buy wisely and you can pick up some pretty awesome gear that was top of the range in its day for current Currys stereo department (shudder) prices.