What To Do?

T

Teifiterror

Guest
Currently my setup includes the following:

Marantz PM7200
B&W DM601S3
E-MU 0404

I use the pc to play my cd's and mp3's at present as this saved money when i originally bought the system.

Im currently feeling the need to look into any possible upgrades I could go with? Would a dedicated CD player be worth purchasing? Im looking purely at getting a better sound from the system.

Currently think its lacking a bit with the heavy hitting fast paced music. IronMaiden and AC/DC for example.

Does buying a dedicated AV stand really improve sound quality? As this doesnt seem very likely to me.

So any suggestions from you more knowledgeable people?
 
Could look at say M-Audio sound cards - still use the PC then.
I did run the sound from the headphone socket on me laptop, bought a £25 cable, that improved it - next bought a USB card improved more and then a decent digital cable - improved again.
MP3's don't seem to have the same sound quality as CD's or ripped CD's (lossless)
Good Luck
Always good to try before buying if you can, see how the new bits go with the old.
 
Well ive allready got a decent souncard on the pc and have got new cables to go form it to my amp which made a very large noticeable difference. Just im gonna have some cash to spend soon and would like to get an improvement in my sound system. I do feel the system lack in the metal and rock type of music. Could this be due to the marantz amp or the speakers not having an enormous amount of grunt low down? And is it possible to consider getting a second hand stereo power amp and running it from my pm7200 to drive the speakers?
 
IMHO, as good as the DM601’s are, they will not provide the bass response you are seeking. I would be looking at supplementing the bass response with a sub.

I am also not a fan (and do not have extensive knowledge) of MP3. Is it possible that some of the lack of bass response could be lost in the encoding?
 
Harry T2 said:
IMHO, as good as the DM601’s are, they will not provide the bass response you are seeking. I would be looking at supplementing the bass response with a sub.

I am also not a fan (and do not have extensive knowledge) of MP3. Is it possible that some of the lack of bass response could be lost in the encoding?

I'd agree with both of those comments.....I use an HTPC as the front end of my system,with an Audiotrak Prodigy as the digital out.

In terms of bass quality and response,there isn't a problem,but obviously I do use a sub to add to the bottom end of B&W 805's,which whilst they may go a bit deeper than 601's,still are nowhere near full range on their own.

As for MP3.....this always opens a debate,but I too am not a fan of MP3 for anything other than low quality music...portable stuff etc....I've always found it harsh,flat and relatively bass light,unless very high sampling rates are used,in which case most of it's benefits for small files are lost.

I'd stick to CD in it's native form,and try a few subs with your system before buying....it should definitely add weight and power to the bass end,and if you choose carefully,it shouldnt break the bank,and should add a lot of fun to the music.
 
The main problem with mp3 is that as a file format it's about 15 yers old! The main problem is that it's become ubiquitous, which means it's now much harder to change the format. WMA or ATRAC offer similar file size for higher audio quality, as the technology for encoding has greatly improved.

That said, the bass you lose there, from my experience, is negligable compared to what you (and i need to phrase this right) "fail to gain"?... from having the right speakers for the type of music you listen to.

If BASS with a capital BASS is your thing, what about one of these?

http://www.sensaphonics.com/tactile.html

I would point out that I have NO experience with this product, it's just something I've seen advertised, but from reading various scientific papers :lesson: about sound and sound perception, aparently most of the sensation of bass is felt from the guts as apposed to in the ears. Then this baby could be what you are looking for.

Ho hum.... really should go and rob a bank so I could start affording some more of this stuff!

Stew
 
Ill have a look at some of this stuff, thanks for the recommendations. Though im not seeking that deep boomy gut moving bass, just a little more punch and delivery at the lower ends. Must say I havent found any problems with the mp3's since getting my sound card, but I play my cd's through it and they sound very good. Comparable to the sound I got when i used a mates CD player.
 
MP3 is a lossy compression format, so you *in theory* you should get better sound from CD. For an easy test as to whether the MP3 format is causing problems, rip a track you've got on CD and know well to MP3 and try playing each - if the MP3 sounds worse that's your problem...

If your soundcard has a digital output you could look at getting an external DAC as well, which may boost the sound quality (see http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41923). If MP3s still don't sound good through the DAC, you can then also try using your computer CD player (or files saved to your hard-drive, using lossless compression) as a source, still playing through your digital output and DAC....

Jon
 

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