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Just starting my venture into home audio...

Fraijoni

Fraijoni

New Member
Figure I start my intro... So I very recently got into home audio and I've recently got a name brand whatever speaker pair Cerwin Vega E-315 I was originally using an oldish RadioShack Optimus setup, anywho I got my Vegas a couple days ago and have them running off of a Sony STR DH-550 and it works for now but what would be a decent intro setup of whatever is needed.
 
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Welcome to the boards, Fraijoni.

There's so many directions to go and things to try. After getting the appropriate player for your music - CD/DVD, turntable, streaming box, iPod, or whatever, it's good to spend a some time getting used to what you have. After a few days or weeks, you'll start to understand what it does well, and also what it doesn't do as well as you wish it could.

It also helps to hear other people's systems just to learn what's possible to achieve. But don't be in a hurry. It's all too easy to get excited about the next piece of gear, and learning shortly afterward that it wasn't really an upgrade or advancement.
 
Welcome here. Great advice above. Though I do always caution about listening to others' systems, as this creates gear envy, often followed by spending money.

If you have the wherewithal, I'd also recommend picking up a few "discount" pieces of gear at garage sales or local classifieds. This way, you can compare and mix and match pieces to see what you like the sound of better in your home.

My suggestion would be to find a good vintage stereo receiver (Rotel, black face Luxman, and Yamaha are usually quite affordable) and an inexpensive yet decent quality set of speakers (PSB, Paradigm, JBL, and Boston are affordable options) to have a couple of pieces with different characteristics than what you own already.

For myself, I have turned a lot of gear to try and find the sound I like. After 10 years, I am finally happy with my main system, but still turn gear in my secondary system for fun.
 
ScooterMcTav said:
Welcome here. Great advice above. Though I do always caution about listening to others' systems, as this creates gear envy, often followed by spending money.

If you have the wherewithal, I'd also recommend picking up a few "discount" pieces of gear at garage sales or local classifieds. This way, you can compare and mix and match pieces to see what you like the sound of better in your home.

My suggestion would be to find a good vintage stereo receiver (Rotel, black face Luxman, and Yamaha are usually quite affordable) and an inexpensive yet decent quality set of speakers (PSB, Paradigm, JBL, and Boston are affordable options) to have a couple of pieces with different characteristics than what you own already.

For myself, I have turned a lot of gear to try and find the sound I like. After 10 years, I am finally happy with my main system, but still turn gear in my secondary system for fun.
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This is going to sound pretty moronic of me to say but I like my music loud with clean bass(why I started with a pair of Cerwin Vegas) but it just seems vintage receivers have a low WPC rating or does that really not even matter? As for more speakers I'm only 17 and I don't think my parents would appreciate me being anymore loud than I already am heh. But I think the problem I have most is I started with car audio I have two 13.5 W7AE with phoenix gold speakers and tweeters it was cheap and made bass so I thought home audio would be the same and I see I was incorrect about that.
 
Different animal. You are going to have to get into a little different frame of mind with the bass compared to what you get in a car system. The larger area of a room is also quite different than that of the space inside a car too.
The Vegas are a good choice for big bass. Subwoofers are also a great way to get tons of bass and more in line with what you are used to doing with separates in car audio. Otherwise you are going to find that most home speakers are designed to be more balanced, although some brands are better known for their bass over others. Just gotta be careful not to try and push speakers too hard when driven by not enough power.
 
Loud with bass is certainly a CV trademark, but I would suggest that although there is lots of bass, it's not necessarily good bass.

Kind of like buffet steak vs. steakhouse steak. You can have as much as you want at the buffet, but the quality is often a bit suspect. LOL.

Do not be fooled by the low wattage ratings of vintage receivers either. I would put a 40W/channel vintage receiver against any 100W/channel mass market (i.e. Sony) receiver any day. The heavy power supplies and quality circuitry deliver, clean, effortless, distortion free sound at levels well above intelligent. For example, I hooked up my Luxman R-1050 at 55W/channel into my CV HED U-123s last night, and could not get the volume knob past 10 o'clock. The sound was full, powerful, and clean.

If you're a bass fiend, possibly a good "next step" into speakers for you are a set of JBLs. Going back 10-12 years, there are many 2nd hand JBLs out in the market with 8", 10", and 12" woofers in them. If you listen to a set (like some E80 or E100), you'll hear more defined highs, and more tuneful bass. I was similarly a bass fiend when younger (and still am to some extent today), and found JBL to be like a more refined CV.
 
Drugolf said:
Different animal. You are going to have to get into a little different frame of mind with the bass compared to what you get in a car system. The larger area of a room is also quite different than that of the space inside a car too.
The Vegas are a good choice for big bass. Subwoofers are also a great way to get tons of bass and more in line with what you are used to doing with separates in car audio. Otherwise you are going to find that most home speakers are designed to be more balanced, although some brands are better known for their bass over others. Just gotta be careful not to try and push speakers too hard when driven by not enough power.
Click to expand...

Yeah I know I watched my father blow a Yamaha receiver by having 6 AT-12s running off of it... I know limits of certain audio parts luckily.
 
ScooterMcTav said:
Loud with bass is certainly a CV trademark, but I would suggest that although there is lots of bass, it's not necessarily good bass.

Kind of like buffet steak vs. steakhouse steak. You can have as much as you want at the buffet, but the quality is often a bit suspect. LOL.

Do not be fooled by the low wattage ratings of vintage receivers either. I would put a 40W/channel vintage receiver against any 100W/channel mass market (i.e. Sony) receiver any day. The heavy power supplies and quality circuitry deliver, clean, effortless, distortion free sound at levels well above intelligent. For example, I hooked up my Luxman R-1050 at 55W/channel into my CV HED U-123s last night, and could not get the volume knob past 10 o'clock. The sound was full, powerful, and clean.

If you're a bass fiend, possibly a good "next step" into speakers for you are a set of JBLs. Going back 10-12 years, there are many 2nd hand JBLs out in the market with 8", 10", and 12" woofers in them. If you listen to a set (like some E80 or E100), you'll hear more defined highs, and more tuneful bass. I was similarly a bass fiend when younger (and still am to some extent today), and found JBL to be like a more refined CV.
Click to expand...

I see what you're you saying I'm definitely going to look at the more older receivers now that I have a smaller stable ground to tread lightly on... As for JBL I was worried about even looking it that direction honestly more or less me being a stubborn person about it because it wasn't CV!
 
OK. So you have been told: buy other speakers, buy a receiver.

I'm going to stick my neck out and say, keep your speakers, find a 2-channel integrated amp with enough power for the speakers.

Receivers are nice if you need or want a tuner. Do you need or want a tuner? If no then a receiver is a waste compared to an integrated amp. More to go wrong and things you don't need.

A 5.2 amp is nice if you are building a HT system. But my experience is that they have less channel separation than a 2-channel amp so sound stage suffers compared to the 2-channel amp. And if you look very carefully at the specs for a $250 HT amp and compare it to say a ca 110/120wpc vintage 2-channel amp you will see that the 2-channel amp wins. (I googled but couldn't find the actual specs for the Sony STR DH-550, oddly enough Sony's own web page didn't list any useful info). But usually when one looks closely the specs for a modern low cost 5.1 amp they usually actually show max impulse power for only 1 or 2 channels driven with an obscene THD rating, the specs are usually simply not to be trusted.

I haven't heard your speakers but a 3-way with a 6.5" mid and 12" bass sounds interesting. Personally I like an nice fat 6.5" mid. Give your speakers enough clean power from a decent 2-channel amp and I'll bet that you will be surprised at how good they sound compared to being driven with a new low-budget 5.2 amp.

Cheers,
James
 
Bratwurst7s said:
OK. So you have been told: buy other speakers, buy a receiver.

I'm going to stick my neck out and say, keep your speakers, find a 2-channel integrated amp with enough power for the speakers.

Receivers are nice if you need or want a tuner. Do you need or want a tuner? If no then a receiver is a waste compared to an integrated amp. More to go wrong and things you don't need.

A 5.2 amp is nice if you are building a HT system. But my experience is that they have less channel separation than a 2-channel amp so sound stage suffers compared to the 2-channel amp. And if you look very carefully at the specs for a $250 HT amp and compare it to say a ca 110/120wpc vintage 2-channel amp you will see that the 2-channel amp wins. (I googled but couldn't find the actual specs for the Sony STR DH-550, oddly enough Sony's own web page didn't list any useful info). But usually when one looks closely the specs for a modern low cost 5.1 amp they usually actually show max impulse power for only 1 or 2 channels driven with an obscene THD rating, the specs are usually simply not to be trusted.

I haven't heard your speakers but a 3-way with a 6.5" mid and 12" bass sounds interesting. Personally I like an nice fat 6.5" mid. Give your speakers enough clean power from a decent 2-channel amp and I'll bet that you will be surprised at how good they sound compared to being driven with a new low-budget 5.2 amp.

Cheers,
James
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Thats alot of info James thanks! I was actually just browsing eBay and saw something by Harmon Kardon called the HK 3485 the specs seemed promising? It's 240watt and 2.1 channels... As for the reciever I'm using now says 145wpc on all five channels that immediately sounds very bogus.
 
Fraijoni said:
I was actually just browsing eBay and saw something by Harmon Kardon called the HK 3485 the specs seemed promising? It's 240watt and 2.1 channels... As for the reciever I'm using now says 145wpc on all five channels that immediately sounds very bogus.
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Hi Fraijoni, That HK looks reasonable for the price class. We need to avoid getting directly into price/value because those discussions are supposed to be reserved for "Dollars and Sense". But I would say, if the ebay listing is the one that I just saw, it is used and being sold without the remote, and the seller wants a good bit more for a 1-year warranty. But someone is selling one of those amps through Amazon for a little more for a new amp with the remote, and new would normally include the 1-year warranty.

The specs look reasonable for an entry level amp. Note that the ebay seller shows it as 240wpc. You can download the owners manual from HK.
http://manuals.harman.com/HK/Owner's Manual/HK 3485 OM.pdf

Audio Section
Stereo Mode:
Continuous Average Power (FTC): 120 Watts per channel, 20Hz – 20kHz, @ <0.07% THD, both channels driven into 8 ohms 150 Watts per channel, 20Hz – 20kHz @ <0.2% THD, both channels driven into 4 ohms
Input Sensitivity/Impedance
Linear (High-Level): 200mV/47k ohms
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (IHF-A): 95dB
Frequency Response @ 1W (+0dB, –3dB): 10Hz –110kHz
High Instantaneous Current Capability (HCC): ±42 Amps
Transient Intermodulation Distortion (TIM): Unmeasurable
Rise Time: 16 μsec
Slew Rate: 40V/μsec

So you can see that HK is honest about the specs, showing an FTC/RMS rating of 120wpc/8ohms into 2-channels with 0.07% THD and 95db SNR. These are imho very reasonable specs for that level of amp.

I personally dislike sellers that try to trick unsuspecting buyers by adding the per channel rating together and bloating it. "240wpc" for instance. If they are going to be deceptive about that, then what else are they willing to be deceptive about?

Cheers,
James

btw, Welcome to Audiokarma! :)
 
HTWillie said:
Welcome to the boards, Fraijoni.

There's so many directions to go and things to try. After getting the appropriate player for your music - CD/DVD, turntable, streaming box, iPod, or whatever, it's good to spend a some time getting used to what you have. After a few days or weeks, you'll start to understand what it does well, and also what it doesn't do as well as you wish it could.

It also helps to hear other people's systems just to learn what's possible to achieve. But don't be in a hurry. It's all too easy to get excited about the next piece of gear, and learning shortly afterward that it wasn't really an upgrade or advancement.
Click to expand...

Good advice.
Cheers,
James
 
Bratwurst7s said:
OK. So you have been told: buy other speakers, buy a receiver.

I'm going to stick my neck out and say, keep your speakers, find a 2-channel integrated amp with enough power for the speakers.

Receivers are nice if you need or want a tuner. Do you need or want a tuner? If no then a receiver is a waste compared to an integrated amp. More to go wrong and things you don't need.

A 5.2 amp is nice if you are building a HT system. But my experience is that they have less channel separation than a 2-channel amp so sound stage suffers compared to the 2-channel amp. And if you look very carefully at the specs for a $250 HT amp and compare it to say a ca 110/120wpc vintage 2-channel amp you will see that the 2-channel amp wins. (I googled but couldn't find the actual specs for the Sony STR DH-550, oddly enough Sony's own web page didn't list any useful info). But usually when one looks closely the specs for a modern low cost 5.1 amp they usually actually show max impulse power for only 1 or 2 channels driven with an obscene THD rating, the specs are usually simply not to be trusted.

I haven't heard your speakers but a 3-way with a 6.5" mid and 12" bass sounds interesting. Personally I like an nice fat 6.5" mid. Give your speakers enough clean power from a decent 2-channel amp and I'll bet that you will be surprised at how good they sound compared to being driven with a new low-budget 5.2 amp.

Cheers,
James
Click to expand...

I second this. If bass is your thing, keep the vegas. Check your local clist for deals on some older, high powered gear. Half the fun of the this hobby, IMO, is the hunt and trying to find new gear at great prices that you can play around with and test out/listen to.
 
I concur that if you like bass, keep the CV's. If you REALLY like bass, perhaps a powered subwoofer is in your future--it will crank the bass and take some of the load off of your receiver and main speakers. Check out Parts Express--the Dayton subs are a good "bang for the buck" and they always seem to have a couple models "on sale" at heavily discounted prices.

I also agree that the used/vintage market is a great place to look for value, but as with anything used, be prepared for potential maintenance/repair expenses. For brand new, out of the box, with a warranty card, and on a budget, I would steer you toward the new Yamaha receivers (or integrateds if you don't need a tuner).

Power isn't everything--granted, I own some monster amps with huge power capacities, but CV's are generally very "efficient", so you don't necessarily need tons of power for them to get LOUD. A few "good" watts will often sound better than a truckload of "marginal" power--just keep that in mind.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!!!
 
Speaking of efficiency, that is another difference with car audio. Seems car audio is all about more watts and not about efficiency.

Your CV are probably pretty efficient, and won't require all that much power to get stupid loud.
 
Those are very sensitive speakers and you could drive them with a flea watt tube amp and get as much volume as you need.If you become a subscriber to the forum you'll have access to Barter town.There is good deals to be had there and from people you can trust.
 
savatage1973 said:
I concur that if you like bass, keep the CV's. If you REALLY like bass, perhaps a powered subwoofer is in your future--it will crank the bass and take some of the load off of your receiver and main speakers. Check out Parts Express--the Dayton subs are a good "bang for the buck" and they always seem to have a couple models "on sale" at heavily discounted prices.

I also agree that the used/vintage market is a great place to look for value, but as with anything used, be prepared for potential maintenance/repair expenses. For brand new, out of the box, with a warranty card, and on a budget, I would steer you toward the new Yamaha receivers (or integrateds if you don't need a tuner).

Power isn't everything--granted, I own some monster amps with huge power capacities, but CV's are generally very "efficient", so you don't necessarily need tons of power for them to get LOUD. A few "good" watts will often sound better than a truckload of "marginal" power--just keep that in mind.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!!!
Click to expand...

Speaking of powered Subwoofers I kinda made my own from a 200w plate amp and a W7AE 13.5 I had laying around it actually sounds very swell along with my system.
 
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