Are more watts or tubes the answer?

[Bodyblue]

I think some ported subs seem to sound like they go lower, but the port just makes them sound boomy. Sealed subs sound tighter with better clarity. I like bass, but not when it's loose. There is a lot to be said for better impact from a sealed sub, or even some with a passive radiator. When it come to mains though I've almost always preferred 2way ported cabinets or passive radiators over sealed designs. Most of my speakers start rolling off between 40 to 80hz. I like a sub just to fill it down to the mid 30's or so. There isn't much under 40hz anyway. I have a pair of speakers that will dig down into the 30hz range and just don't need a sub.

The Monitor 10s, huh?

 

[Lavane]

Yup, the only speakers I have that don't really benefit from a sub.

 

[Bone Yard]

I love the watts! I'm just a collector of what used to be called "boat anchors," now their called gold mines and I mess around with different set-ups from time to time. Sure I love the little watts, my desktop AIWA 22 System is 30 watts a channel and it's perfect for the space but I love the larger recievers and amps for louder sound, there's something about the added headroom even if you don't use it. Just like a high HP car, you rarely use the extra muscle but the inital thrust is so much more solid.

You've got a pretty big budget, spend 1/2, go to Tokyo and listen to all of the amazing systems over there, you might find something you like a lot. They go crazy for high-watt Macintosh and huge JBL's, even in the tiny stores (every retail store has a killer audio system) or a Sharp GF-777 in the corner.

 

[spark1]

I love the watts! I'm just a collector of what used to be called "boat anchors," now their called gold mines and I mess around with different set-ups from time to time. Sure I love the little watts, my desktop AIWA 22 System is 30 watts a channel and it's perfect for the space but I love the larger recievers and amps for louder sound, there's something about the added headroom even if you don't use it. Just like a high HP car, you rarely use the extra muscle but the inital thrust is so much more solid.

You've got a pretty big budget, spend 1/2, go to Tokyo and listen to all of the amazing systems over there, you might find something you like a lot. They go crazy for high-watt Macintosh and huge JBL's, even in the tiny stores (every retail store has a killer audio system) or a Sharp GF-777 in the corner.

Curious as to how unused headroom improves sound quality? I've always assumed that more power than is needed to achieve desired loudness, without clipping, would have no effect on sound quality. Effectively, power does not exist until used.

 

[Bone Yard]

This used to be debated a lot in the old days of the forum but the engineers have told us something like you have all of this storage space, at mid-volume, which is louder most small stereos, you still have extra space for more sonics, nothing is being cut off. Personally I just go with my own personal experience, I have several mini stereos that push out around 20-50 watts/channel. They sound great, even more so with speakers larger than the bookshelves they came with. The larger boat anchors recievers and amps are different, at similar loud volumes they seem to have a wider range of sonics. It might just be my equipment but I can definately hear a difference.

 

[spark1]

This used to be debated a lot in the old days of the forum but the engineers have told us something like you have all of this storage space, at mid-volume, which is louder most small stereos, you still have extra space for more sonics, nothing is being cut off. Personally I just go with my own personal experience, I have several mini stereos that push out around 20-50 watts/channel. They sound great, even more so with speakers larger than the bookshelves they came with. The larger boat anchors recievers and amps are different, at similar loud volumes they seem to have a wider range of sonics. It might just be my equipment but I can definately hear a difference.

Extra space for more sonics? Makes sense if amp is otherwise clipping...if not, I don't get what these other sonics are? I've never seen any indication that frequency response is tied to power output rating?

Larger speakers are often more sensitive than smaller/bookshelf speakers.

 

[Engel]

If you have good 60 watts you would need 200 to make a real difference in quantity. I doubt your speakers will handle that . But it seems to me you are having quality issues even though you say other wise. If its quality that means it is speaker auditioning time. That is the most serious under taking you will ever face. You just can't do it with one brief audition either.

I think the fact I don't know what I actually want points to this being right. Time to hit the retail stores and maybe even the local audio club (Covid permitting - boo!) and see what's out there and what tickles my fancy. That should be fun in itself!

 

[KentTeffeteller]

At a crossroads with my set up and looking for some ideas, opinions, experiences to help me decide which way to go next. My chief area of concern is my amp and speakers combo.

I have had my trusty Luxman L85V integrated amplifier now for about 25 years. Had it serviced once in that whole time about 5 years ago when it was recapped and a new power cord installed. It's rated at 80 watts per channel into 8Ω (according to the specs at HiFi Engine) and it does a good job to my ears. Have run it with different sets of speakers over the years.

My speakers are Castle Acoustics Richmond 7i. Lucky enough to receive them from a friend's deceased estate and they sound nice. They are 2 way, 3 driver with 8Ω impedance, 90dB sensitivity and recommended amp rating of 15 to 150w.

As a combo, they sound nice. A little like a comfortable pair of jeans . I know room acoustics and source matter a lot, but putting that aside for a moment could I be getting something more than "nice" from my system or is that good enough? On the right record or CD the set up sounds great. Should I just be happy with where I'm at and enjoy the ride?

Could the Castles work better with a different kind of amp? Would more power bring them to life? Or would they really benefit from a nice valve amp? Or is it the other way around? Does my Luxman need different speakers?

I listen about 50/50 between vinyl (Lenco L75 w/ATVM95e) and CDs (Sherwood CDP 300R w/TDA1540 dac and Philips CD482 w/TDA1543). Mainly listen to jazz and 70s rock but fairly broad tastes. Not in a rush to change things but I am always on the lookout for used and vintage bargains that might take my system up a notch.

Budget is limited. Probably around $1500 (Australian) = approx $2000 US.

Cheers

Why new./upgraded? Your amplifier, loudspeakers, and the rest of your system is balanced and musical together. Enjoy what you own.

 

[Engel]

Why new./upgraded? Your amplifier, loudspeakers, and the rest of your system is balanced and musical together. Enjoy what you own.

You could very well be right. However, I think I can access a sub from a friend and might play around with that. Can't hurt. Will also have a listen to some other systems.

So much of this upgrade talk reminds me of the biblical advice "thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's speakers"

 

[Engel]

OK bit of an update here. My basic quandary was that I was kind fo dissatisfied with the sound of my amp/speaker combo - a Luxman L85V and Castle Richmond 7i speakers. Was it the speakers? Was it the amp? Or both in combo that left me with an itch to change things up?

So firstly I tried a cheap Sherwood subwoofer to augment the perceived lack of bass in my Castles. Nup. That didn't fly. It sounded like a cheap home theatre sub adding a lot of rumble and grumble but not much musicality.

Enter an old pair of Goodmans Mezzo Twin Kit speakers. I had inherited a pair of what I think are basically Goodmans Mezzo 2 speakers rebadged by Thorn here in Australia. It was part of a hand-me-down set that included a Lenco L75. Now I really liked the sound of the one speaker that worked. I could tell it is a nice speaker. Took the speaker that doesn't work to a friend who knows about such things and he confirmed the woofer was shot. Hmmm too bad, I thought.

But for sentimental reasons (these Goodmans belonged to my wife's grandpa) I thought I'd keep an eye out for replacement woofers. You never know your luck in the big city and all that. Recently, an ad appeared locally for a pair of Goodmans Mezzo Twin Kit speakers. The woofer and tweeter sizes appeared to be identical to my Mezzo 2's. After doing some not totally conclusive research, it appears the Mezzo Twin Kit might basically be the DIY kit version of the Thorn-badged Mezzo 2's I own.

Bingo!

So after going and having a listen to the Mezzo Twin Kits on sale I decided to go for it. The seller was incredibly helpful and gave me a great rundown on the speakers and we had a wonderful chat about all things audio. A true gentleman and a scholar. So $295 (Aussie dollars) later I had a working pair of Goodmans Mezzo at home. Hooked them up to the A speaker connections on my Luxman and the Castles on the B so I could do running comparisons on the two.

Guess what?

I far prefer the Goodmans. In fact, they have revealed what I was finding so annoying about the Castles - too bright for my tastes. Probably why I was constantly fiddling with the "Low Freq Only" switch on my Luxman and resorting to a subwoofer. The Castles sound positively shrill at times compared to the Goodmans which to my ears strike a nicer tonal balance. It's not so much the Castles are terrible but just very toppy sounding for me. The difference is a a lot more obvious on some music than others. I really noticed it on the Pixies "Doolittle" album for some reason!

The next step is to see if the drivers can be dropped into my old Thorn cabinets, which look a lot nicer and also have the sentimental connection. My speaker-savvy buddy thinks it's worth a go so we'll see how we go. Probably replace the caps in the crossovers too. Will be interesting to hear what difference the cabinets make, if any.

But I must say I'm pretty happy! Is it an upgrade? Not sure, but it definitely sounds better to my ears.

Here are a couple of pics. Apologies for the lack of nudie pics but the rear panel of the cabinet is a right pain to remove. Might update when I get around to doing that.

 

[opnly bafld]

In fact, they have revealed what I was finding so annoying about the Castles - too bright for my tastes. Probably why I was constantly fiddling with the "Low Freq Only" switch on my Luxman and resorting to a subwoofer. The Castles sound positively shrill at times compared to the Goodmans which to my ears strike a nicer tonal balance. It's not so much the Castles are terrible but just very toppy sounding for me. The difference is a a lot more obvious on some music than others. I really noticed it on the Pixies "Doolittle" album for some reason!

IME speakers that have small woofers can sound bright because of the missing bass, adding a couple of good subwoofers (as suggested above) can fix that.
I see the Castles have bi-wire posts, you could try different small value resistors on the tweeters to make them more polite.

on the Goodmans.

 

[Engel]

IME speakers that have small woofers can sound bright because of the missing bass, adding a couple of good subwoofers (as suggested above) can fix that.
I see the Castles have bi-wire posts, you could try different small value resistors on the tweeters to make them more polite.

on the Goodmans.

Yep the subwoofer option is still there but kind of more expensive. I tried running the Castles bi-wired once and it sounded off. Not sure if I had wired it up incorrectly. That's interesting though about different small value resistors on the tweeters. At this stage, the Castles might end up home theatre speakers as I already have the matching centre speaker for them. Must say. am very happy with the Goodmans!