dms
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I've got a bug to replace my front facing missions (so 2x 702e and a matching centre) and my sub (Yamaha YST-205 sub) . It's not entirely rational to be honest as much of the time I'm very happy with my setup but more of a feeling that as a middle age man with a decent projector I'm feeling restless about having the same speakers I bought in the 90's when I started work.
If I had to say (as in what I tell the wife) what's wrong with my front setup it's that I've heard way better more enveloping soundstages from other set ups, and also I want cleaner, less wooley, more impressive bass. My wife is convinced that more expensive speakers just mean louder speakers and given she's a physicist/mathematician and classically trained to boot I'm amazed she doesn't pay more heed to sound (she really cares about visuals though).
I'm not that inclined to go to demo's for a couple of reasons i) what matters is how the sound works in my room not in a perfect environment (which my room isn't!) ii) what matters is how the speakers would couple with my existing equipment/receiver and I'm not inclined to change that.
I suppose I could/should ask the proprietor of a local decent hifi shop if he'd do a demo at my place (in my price range he has Fyne/Sonos which I know nothing about) but reading on here it's the XTZ and Arendal ranges which sound, ahem, very tempting especially with their longer tryout periods.
Thinking through what I have leaves me with a variety of questions about my set up because I'm lost about various aspects of this.
Any comments welcome !
Receiver ok?
My receiver is a Yamaha 3070 which I get the impression can drive the XTZ/Arendal fine.
Won't "need" a power amp will I?
I appreciate I could use the Yamaha as a decoder and put the sound through a poweramp to drive the f/r/c but if I go that route is it just a case of starting to pour endless money into my set up?
Mixing 4ohm/8ohm speakers?
I believe I'm right that keeping my existing rears (so as to avoid having to ceiling mount anything else and as my mission dipoles passed the WAF) which aren't 4ohm won't be an issue with the receiver?
I'm very fond of those mission rears, but that's probably that due to them being mounted utterly wrongly for 5.1 (directly behind me and ceiling level) they produce an amazing soundstage for some of my most important moments in some of my favourite films (e.g. Vangelis in Bladerunner).
Speaker cable ok for 4ohm over 12m?
13m is the longest cable run I have (to front left) and I have QED micro cable. Audioholics are giving me the impression that cable really is "not ideal" for the 4ohm and distance. Is the gauge/distance really bad enough to cause real world problems to someone with very ordinary ears?
//edit
Seems there are enough posts here that suggest I really should go for 2.5mm cable for a 15m run. I'll have to hunt for cable which has limited shielding and if I can't get it in my ducting I'll have to be creative somehow!
Wireless signal to sub?
Due to the size of the ducting I installed with the wife along the ceiling to hide the speaker cables and also the fact that the people who installed my projector (and also ran more ducting alongside a part of it) gluing a 90degree piece in place I don't think I can open the current ducting and replace the cabling. I also suspect I'm screwed trying to run a sub cable through it as I won't be able to get the 90degree piece off cleanly.
This may mean I need to use a wireless bridge to the sub which I'd like in front of me rather than beside me in a cabinet where the yamaha is now. I get the impression the SVS sound bridge would be fine and the yamaha could cope with the delay?
I would in the first instance try running micro sub cable of course but I don't think I can buy that without ends, run it round 90deg and then terminate it myself.
Placing a front on a sub?
People seem to have put centres on sub and said they'd happy with it, but then again some people eat marmite ;-) Presumably this set up works fine as long as the sub doesn't vibrate?
In my case I have a table on which my current centre sits as to hide hideous cables from the previous owners which go through the wall (sat/speaker/cable tv connectors none of which we use). The lazy options involve not replacing this table at all or replacing it with the sub. I'm loathed to cut the cables and plaster/paint the hole because I may want the Sat cables one day.
The Arendal 1723s centre or XTZ M6 centre would both be on on this table. The problem is due to tonal matching that would mean I'd need the 1723s or XTZ M6 range for the fronts. I want tower speakers (so M6 out) and for the bass I'd ideally want the Ardenal 1723 over the 1723s anyway.
So the 1x12 with a M8 centre would be fine (just) or the 1723 Sub 1 + 1723 centre would also be fine (better actually as the combined height is lower.
The XTZ/Arendal shops both do trials but what about the returns?
Is there much history of people trying out their kit and sending it back? Sadly neither has a UK presence so I can't just go to Epichomecinema for my order anymore which means sending the kit back must be very expensive (given the weight, I've not seen anyone do this). I'd also love to know how "fussy" the firms are with returns (i.e. what you end up paying for any marks that might appear when you install them).
What I'd love to do is order in both the XTZ Cinema M8 and Arendal 1723 and compare them in situ and in theory that is fine, the trouble would be if it goes sour and I lose a lot of money in returning one (or both) of them.
Another fly in the ointment is
The Mrs won't countenance me spending a penny on speakers until a certain debt I ran up is paid off (payment due 31 October). It's probably nothing to worry about but it could be the prices or shipping issues become more complicated then and I'd have to go to a UK dealer afterall or just wait things out! So I'd not be doing anything till later in the year anyway.
If I had to say (as in what I tell the wife) what's wrong with my front setup it's that I've heard way better more enveloping soundstages from other set ups, and also I want cleaner, less wooley, more impressive bass. My wife is convinced that more expensive speakers just mean louder speakers and given she's a physicist/mathematician and classically trained to boot I'm amazed she doesn't pay more heed to sound (she really cares about visuals though).
I'm not that inclined to go to demo's for a couple of reasons i) what matters is how the sound works in my room not in a perfect environment (which my room isn't!) ii) what matters is how the speakers would couple with my existing equipment/receiver and I'm not inclined to change that.
I suppose I could/should ask the proprietor of a local decent hifi shop if he'd do a demo at my place (in my price range he has Fyne/Sonos which I know nothing about) but reading on here it's the XTZ and Arendal ranges which sound, ahem, very tempting especially with their longer tryout periods.
Thinking through what I have leaves me with a variety of questions about my set up because I'm lost about various aspects of this.
Any comments welcome !
Receiver ok?
My receiver is a Yamaha 3070 which I get the impression can drive the XTZ/Arendal fine.
MusicCast RX-A3070 - Specs - Yamaha - UK and Ireland
Flagship 9.2-channel AVENTAGE AV receiver offering the ultimate in sound quality and 3D presence.
uk.yamaha.com
Won't "need" a power amp will I?
I appreciate I could use the Yamaha as a decoder and put the sound through a poweramp to drive the f/r/c but if I go that route is it just a case of starting to pour endless money into my set up?
Mixing 4ohm/8ohm speakers?
I believe I'm right that keeping my existing rears (so as to avoid having to ceiling mount anything else and as my mission dipoles passed the WAF) which aren't 4ohm won't be an issue with the receiver?
I'm very fond of those mission rears, but that's probably that due to them being mounted utterly wrongly for 5.1 (directly behind me and ceiling level) they produce an amazing soundstage for some of my most important moments in some of my favourite films (e.g. Vangelis in Bladerunner).
Speaker cable ok for 4ohm over 12m?
13m is the longest cable run I have (to front left) and I have QED micro cable. Audioholics are giving me the impression that cable really is "not ideal" for the 4ohm and distance. Is the gauge/distance really bad enough to cause real world problems to someone with very ordinary ears?
Performance Micro
This award winning Performance Micro cable brings you a miniature sized discreet cable that does not compromise on quality
www.qed.co.uk
Speaker Wire: How to Choose the Right Gauge Type for Best Performance
We discuss speaker wire gauge and how to choose the best audio cables based on your loudspeaker impedance and distance to your amplifier to achieve best performance.
www.audioholics.com
//edit
surround speaker cable
Hi, im currently looking to wire some surround sound speakers probably about 8 or 9 metres for each speaker. ive been looking at the Cambridge Audio Ultra Micro. Looking for opinions on these for surround speaker only use thanks
www.avforums.com
Wireless signal to sub?
Due to the size of the ducting I installed with the wife along the ceiling to hide the speaker cables and also the fact that the people who installed my projector (and also ran more ducting alongside a part of it) gluing a 90degree piece in place I don't think I can open the current ducting and replace the cabling. I also suspect I'm screwed trying to run a sub cable through it as I won't be able to get the 90degree piece off cleanly.
This may mean I need to use a wireless bridge to the sub which I'd like in front of me rather than beside me in a cabinet where the yamaha is now. I get the impression the SVS sound bridge would be fine and the yamaha could cope with the delay?
I would in the first instance try running micro sub cable of course but I don't think I can buy that without ends, run it round 90deg and then terminate it myself.
Placing a front on a sub?
People seem to have put centres on sub and said they'd happy with it, but then again some people eat marmite ;-) Presumably this set up works fine as long as the sub doesn't vibrate?
In my case I have a table on which my current centre sits as to hide hideous cables from the previous owners which go through the wall (sat/speaker/cable tv connectors none of which we use). The lazy options involve not replacing this table at all or replacing it with the sub. I'm loathed to cut the cables and plaster/paint the hole because I may want the Sat cables one day.
The Arendal 1723s centre or XTZ M6 centre would both be on on this table. The problem is due to tonal matching that would mean I'd need the 1723s or XTZ M6 range for the fronts. I want tower speakers (so M6 out) and for the bass I'd ideally want the Ardenal 1723 over the 1723s anyway.
So the 1x12 with a M8 centre would be fine (just) or the 1723 Sub 1 + 1723 centre would also be fine (better actually as the combined height is lower.
The XTZ/Arendal shops both do trials but what about the returns?
Is there much history of people trying out their kit and sending it back? Sadly neither has a UK presence so I can't just go to Epichomecinema for my order anymore which means sending the kit back must be very expensive (given the weight, I've not seen anyone do this). I'd also love to know how "fussy" the firms are with returns (i.e. what you end up paying for any marks that might appear when you install them).
What I'd love to do is order in both the XTZ Cinema M8 and Arendal 1723 and compare them in situ and in theory that is fine, the trouble would be if it goes sour and I lose a lot of money in returning one (or both) of them.
Another fly in the ointment is
The Mrs won't countenance me spending a penny on speakers until a certain debt I ran up is paid off (payment due 31 October). It's probably nothing to worry about but it could be the prices or shipping issues become more complicated then and I'd have to go to a UK dealer afterall or just wait things out! So I'd not be doing anything till later in the year anyway.
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