Should I sell my rig? How about nearfield moniors?

[granodemostasa]

hi

I spent to years creating this baby but if I were to apply my old rule of "what to keep" in an audio rig then the whole headphone side would have to go.

here is the rule: if a certain component gets less than 10 percent of playing time, then It is not worth keeping, no matter how good a deal it was or how much it is worth.

The thing strangely is that ever since i hooked up my M-Audio DX4 speakers to the VDA-2, the sound has been satisfactory enough so that I don't feel like I want to switch to my headphones and do the whole "cable" and volume/zana deux thing. so my at home listening is now 85 percent or more speakers.

the other development is that I've gone back to listening on my cell phone to KSC=75 alot. it's a portable development, i take long walks (20 minutes or more at a time) and I also spend long times in the office and on campus doing mindless work (example, sorting out information for non profits, or researching piles of data to find certain characteristics in Oakland's San Antonio neighborhood). the point is that this type of listening is like 20 percent and dominated by my ksc-75 (which sounds like ****, btw).

The thing is that now i'm tempted to go out and buy a real portable rig (and a pico, we'll see how good that thing really is soon).

the ZD really is great, when I sit down and relax, listen and fire up the big rig, it really is like going into a concert hall. but in such a busy atmosphere that happens like once a week and just may not be worth it to me any more.

On the other hand, selling it poses problems... how do i deliver a Zana Deux, Can i sell something that was given to me (Azur player), will I use it in the future.. and Can i get studio monitors that are as good as the big rig?

[bhd812]

Can i get studio monitors that are as good as the big rig?

Actually i am doing a comparo this week from these two setups..

G08>b52>sixpacs>Dynaudio 72se floorstanders (close to $6400)

to this

G08>b52>M-audio bx8a (close to $500)

same room, I may tune in the acoustics a bit for the change, and i may play with the speaker positions a bit also. there will be about a $5900 difference between the two setups. I have a feeling the m-audio are going to step on the other setup in terms of sound stage and imaging, but the sixpacs with dynas are going to have less Fatigue and a more enjoyable performance..I will know when the time comes..it may be time to sell the Dynas and sixpacs and start looking for studio monitors that can ride in the 20's..hehe

I will report back here when i set it up with pics maybe..maybe

[Icarium]

Shrug. Sell if you are only sure you won't regret it. I remember when I got my own M-Audio LX4s (Probably inferior to your monitors). I didn't listen to headphones for a week either. They already are exhibiting some weirdness. I don't think they are built to last a long time. Of course anything you buy with the cash from the sale of your system will probably buy something to last.

Now I exclusively use my monitors for movies/tv shows and anime. But I am a weird case. I am a headphone guy. I have heard a lot of pretty upscale speaker set ups (Sleestack's three set ups. Top of the line Green Mountain Audio Rig. Alex Peychev's set up that APL hifi stuff is voiced on. And a few more in the 20-50k range in good rooms.) Shit sounds good but I don't think I will ever stray far from headphones. But I don't go for the concert hall feel which speakers will undoubtedly excel at even over K1k/Sennheisers.

That being said I am going to pick up at least some Green Mountain Audio monitors and possibly some super hemps if JP1101 makes his case well when I visit him. Nothing over the top though until I have a room that can justify it.

Luckily I don't need much of a room to justify my 5 figure headphone set up(s).

[humanflyz]

i'm not sure you're going to be happy going from a great set of headphones to a set of monitor speakers. i would get a regular set of full range.

I am quite happy with my monitors, and I had a headphone rig that was much better than his

But seriously, having full-range, floor-standing speakers is pretty much next to impossible in college, since space is limited, and we move every year.

It's probably better to get some decent monitors plus a good sub.

[Icarium]

Yeah again I stress get only what works with your room. Dwldlgh on head-fi who has had every high end headphone system including SR-Omega/HE90x2/4x L3000/2x K1000/Qualias moved on to Wilson Watt 5.1 watt puppies in a 12'x14' bedroom... in an apartment building. Last I heard it was on some shitty Korean integrated amp sourced by something that might have been computer based or something crappier.

Though he didn't tell me about this development:

Nordost Valhalla XLR IC

Nordost Valhalla Speaker Cable

Virtual Dynamics Genesis 1.0 Speaker Cable

So I have to assume that maybe he's stepped it up in pre-amp/amp and source since he has also stopped looking for a EMM labs SE stack.

But still.... 12' by 14' room....

[humanflyz]

Yeah again I stress get only what works with your room. Dwldlgh on head-fi who has had every high end headphone system including SR-Omega/HE90x2/4x L3000/2x K1000/Qualias moved on to Wilson Watt 5.1 watt puppies in a 12'x14' bedroom... in an apartment building. Last I heard it was on some shitty Korean integrated amp sourced by something that might have been computer based or something crappier.

Though he didn't tell me about this development:

Nordost Valhalla XLR IC

Nordost Valhalla Speaker Cable

Virtual Dynamics Genesis 1.0 Speaker Cable

So I have to assume that maybe he's stepped it up in pre-amp/amp and source since he has also stopped looking for a EMM labs SE stack.

But still.... 12' by 14' room....

That room is not that bad if it's just for audio. However, if that's also the living space, then having full-range floor-standers would be a problem.

[Icarium]

I've heard Wilson requires quite a bit of volume to sound well. And yes that's where his bed/desk/computer/dresser is located too. The walls I doubt are all that good. He says he can't go all out at night because of his neighbors. Oh and a TV/stand.

[Salt Peanuts]

See the room factor is basically the reason I won't/haven't gone into speaker rig yet. Once I find myself a place where I can have a dedicated audio room, my headphone rig will probably be going.

[bhd812]

my bad and my computer desk, and my dresser are in my listening room (2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment, the living room, right now, is box storage) because it's my bed room. i have it arranged in an intelligent manner, however, and my bed is a really nice futon, which doubles as my listening couch. i'm lucky to have extremely thick walls and ceiling, so i can really crank the volume if i want to.

i love futons!

[didwlgh]

I've heard Wilson requires quite a bit of volume to sound well. And yes that's where his bed/desk/computer/dresser is located too. The walls I doubt are all that good. He says he can't go all out at night because of his neighbors. Oh and a TV/stand.

Hi,

This is my first post here, and I guess I chould clear things up a bit since Dan mentioned me.

Haven't had the chance the talk to Dan recently, and I've had some changes.

I've since moved most of my stuff out of this room, and now I've only got a bed and a desk in the room. I dont watch TV, so there was no TV/stand to begin with. The bed lays low, and serves as a place to listen to the speakers...much better than sitting on a chair.

I don't turn on the volume all the way up past midnight - although I haven't had any complaints, I choose not to risk it. It only concerns me when I study late, and in those cases I resort to my good ol' headphones. Until around late evening, thoough, I can turn the volume up all the way and not have a problem. I actually turn them up HIGH and end up reducing the volume quite soon afterwards because it gets overwhelming - never had any complaints so far. So, as long as its not too late in the evening, I have no volume issues. I guess it depends on the neighbors you have and where in the aprtment you live in. I live on the first floor, and there's only one other neighbor on my floor, so there isn't too much to worry about.

I thought the room was a bit small, but I've realized that once I properly align the speakers and give enough room behind the speakers, it sounds amazing. So the size of the room hasn't been causing much problem since.

The walls aren't that great, and it could be better - I'm thinking of getting some tuning supplies to attach to the walls. Still not sure what to get - some of those gears are ridiculously expensive. I've even seen a "speaker rug" costing 3k. Not sure if I'm ready to plunge that kind of money into tuning equipments. If anyone knows some relatively cheap stuff that would improve wall situations, please advise.

Even in this situation though, I love the speakers. I've since done away with almost all of my highend gear. I highly recommend trying out some speakers, since they can offer an entirely different experience.

As for the source, I've acquired an Emm stack. Was thinking of getting an Esoteric X-01, but decided to invest more on the source. Still looking for an amp...looking for a Gryphon Diablo, but I haven't found a good deal yet.

[Icarium]

Ah so things have changed a lot. That's good. I still think you are crazy. But then again I am as well.

SE stack?

[deepak]

Tim you should stick around and post more

[didwlgh]

Ah so things have changed a lot. That's good. I still think you are crazy. But then again I am as well.

SE stack?

Nope...standard stack. I know a lot of people who make amazing sounds in rooms smaller than mine with fullrange speakers. To my surprise, some of the setups were better than more expensive speakers in a bigger room.

I think with speakers its really about how you tune the room, not so much about the absolute size. That's why I've been getting some interest in all those ridiculous "gadgets."

[didwlgh]

Tim you should stick around and post more

Yeah I should.

I forgot to come around to headfi forums recently cuz i was away for the break...I'll be around giving updates.

Any updates on your speaker rig?

[deepak]

Yeah I should.

I forgot to come around to headfi forums recently cuz i was away for the break...I'll be around giving updates.

Any updates on your speaker rig?

I still want to hear a few more before I buy a set (unless a killer deal comes around on a pair of Avantgarde Duos). I'd like to get more efficient speakers, but I'm open to anything.

[postjack]

Welcome to headcase t-diddy!

[granodemostasa]

I live in one room... and I don't own it, so treating and positioning... not gonna happen.

[deepak]

i bet you can guess what speakers i'd recommend auditioning

pffft

[saint.panda]

I had all kinds of headphones including a HE90 but ultimately ended up with a "lowly" HD650, which I use during the night, and a pair of Adam P11A (studio nearfields), which I use mostly in my untreated 15m^2 room. The huge convenience and the fact that I can feel the music outweigh the resolution and other nice things I got from listening headphones. I don't get to listen much at home anymore, but if I do, I prefer the monitors.

[didwlgh]

I had all kinds of headphones including a HE90 but ultimately ended up with a "lowly" HD650, which I use during the night, and a pair of Adam P11A (studio nearfields), which I use mostly in my untreated 15m^2 room. The huge convenience and the fact that I can feel the music outweigh the resolution and other nice things I got from listening headphones. I don't get to listen much at home anymore, but if I do, I prefer the monitors.

pretty much what happened to me..big reduction from all the headphones. Now I only keep the few that I listen to, and some others that just look too stunning to get rid of.

[humanflyz]

I had all kinds of headphones including a HE90 but ultimately ended up with a "lowly" HD650, which I use during the night, and a pair of Adam P11A (studio nearfields), which I use mostly in my untreated 15m^2 room. The huge convenience and the fact that I can feel the music outweigh the resolution and other nice things I got from listening headphones. I don't get to listen much at home anymore, but if I do, I prefer the monitors.

Does ADAM have a "house sound"? I'm looking at the larger P22A for next year, mainly because I like AMT-tweeters, but I don't know if ADAM has that cold clinical sound.

[aerius]

Does ADAM have a "house sound"? I'm looking at the larger P22A for next year, mainly because I like AMT-tweeters, but I don't know if ADAM has that cold clinical sound.

See if you can find a pair of these somewhere. Heil tweeter, not cold or clinical.

[didwlgh]

See if you can find a pair of these somewhere. Heil tweeter, not cold or clinical.

looks very interesting.

[Icarium]

Death to speakers.

[saint.panda]

Does ADAM have a "house sound"? I'm looking at the larger P22A for next year, mainly because I like AMT-tweeters, but I don't know if ADAM has that cold clinical sound.

I don't have much experience with speakers but when I first head the AMT ribbons, they sounded a bit like Stax highs to me, very effortless in exchange for bite and palpability, compared to Dynaudio monitors for example. In a big fan of ribbon highs even though somebody told me that they measure worse than conventional tweeters. Also, compared to audiophile speakers a la KEF, B&W, etc. the Adams tends to have less air and roundedness. However, they do have better imaging, resolution and frequency honesty. Anyways, I had the Dynaudio BM5, Adam P11A, Mackie HR6 and Event SP8 on my shortlist (wanted active monitors because of the convenience and performance per buck ratio) and bought the first one that had a good price on ebay. Adams are overpriced in the US by the way. In Germany, they are in the same price class as the BM5.