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RocketShip

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Everything posted by RocketShip

  1. Yes, it’s surprising how close they are to the ls50s, at least to me comparing them back to back and comparing the price difference.
  2. UPDATE: These sold on Facebook marketplace for $500. Mint condition KEF Q350 speakers with full-length magnetic grilles and rear plugs. Photos:
  3. Thank you again for your input and guidance. Indeed, I was trying to match or better the Sonos Amp features (an all in one box that is simple to use with HDMI and the option to add surrounds). However, I'm prepared to drop the surround ability in favour of a better sounding amp. I've never used room correction but read quite a bit about it and see it as a feature on the Lyngdorf 1120 and M10s, it may well be over kill for my needs given it's a small room and I'm only about 2 metres from the speakers in most scenarios? I'm still very early in understanding options so love to hear of any other suggestions. I've been reading a lot of your posts and already learning more. So far I've 'short' listed two options: Option 1 PASSIVE ROUTE Sell the Q350s and replace with the LS50 Metas with the intent to swap the Sonos amp at a later stage for the new Powernode ($1500), Lyndorf 1120 ($3500), M10 ($3200), M10 V2 ($4000), Cambridge Evo 150 ($4300) to get more from the Metas. I'm not sure at what point I get diminishing returns and wonder if the Powernode provides enough of an improvement to AQ while maintaining all the same functionality of the Sonos Amp. I'm wouldn't be in a rush to replace the Amp so have time to do more research here. In the meantime I could be swayed to look at other speaker options around the $2500 price point if there's something more appropriate for sitting close to the wall and being driven by an 'all in one box'. Option 2 ACTIVE ROUTE This is even more simple and probably cheaper. Sell the Q350s and Amp and replace with active speakers: Acoustic Energy AE1s and NODE ($3000) or KEF LS50 Wireless IIs ($4300). The KEF option seems more simple as no need to turn each speaker on when ever I want to use them?
  4. Thanks Snoop - good discussions to read through and completely on board with the simple route. For me it was all about having one ‘box’ and a pair of speakers. Definitely still reading reviews of the ls50 wireless 2s but also don’t think a pair of $2.5k passives with something like the powernode or m10 is a complex choice either..? Also just reading about active speakers like the AE1s with a node as an alternative..
  5. Thanks, Yup, it was on my short list but not sure I like the whole everything in one box and the reliance on KEF for everything (UX, updates etc). Also, no upgrade path if I ever want to move to a high end amp, surround sound or room correction. Otherwise, I’m still considering it..
  6. This forum gave me some great advice early last year and I ended up with a system that has been working reasonably well. I have been listening to more and more music on it and recently been wondering whether it would be worth ‘investing’ more into it. Keen to listen to anyone willing to offer some advice. So now I have a Sonos amp under a TV running a pair of KEF Q350s and out to a KEF Kube 10b sub woofer. I stream music from Deezer, Apple Music and Spotify about 60% of the time with the Sonos app, use it for TV sound from Netflix, Apple TV and Disney plus about 30%, and PS5 game audio about 10% of the time. It’s in a small room, about 3.5m x 3.5m.. The sub is in a corner and the two speakers on either side of the TV on iso acoustic stands about 20cm from the wall. The bass can sound boomy in the small room but I keep the cross over high and have the ports bunged. I also listen at quieter volumes a lot but the speakers lack dynamics unless turned up. I need to keep it as a family friendly solution - simple and small foot print that has HDMI so we can control volume and power from the TV remote. I set a budget of $5000 and started looking at what would happen if I split that across a new set of speakers and an amp. However, I am not sure that’s enough and maybe I’d be better off buying new speakers first and an amp later on? Amps It gets tricky to find something that matches the size and features of the Sonos amp but provides a step up in sound quality for $2.5k. Aside from the new powernode, which seems to offer better SQ, I landed with a list of more expensive amps such as the NAD M10, Lyngdorf TDAI 1120 or Cambridge audio Evo 75. Anyone have advice or experience with them? Do I just need to give up on keeping a small footprint if I want something less expensive? Speakers It was a bit easier to find speakers around $2.5k, if anything there are too many options. I started with the ls50 metas given I already have KEF but realise they depend on having a good amp. I assume they would sound better than the q350s with the Sonos amp but wouldn’t really shine until I upgrade the amp? The other options I found seem to be more suitable for the Sonos amp but not sure they would scale up when I upgrade the amp? I landed on either the Dynaudio evoke 10s, Sonus Faber Lumina 2/Sonetto 1s, or Acoustic Energy AE500s. With lockdown I obviously can’t test so seeking advice on how appropriate any of these may be. Anyway, thanks for reading my brain dump!
  7. I ended up going with a Sonos Amp for $900 to pair with the Q350s and Kube 10". I ordered the Bluesound Powernode 2i from two places but both had it backordered with no ETA so ended up cancelling. In the end the fact I could walk down the road and buy a Sonos Amp from my local hi fi shop meant Sonos won over Bluesound. The sound is petty much the same as it was with my Denon AVR as the Denon had been running in 2 channel mode, though the 125W from the class d amp means it is louder than the 80W class a/b in the Denon, but it's too loud for my neighbours at about 70%. I suspect the room and speaker placement is having the biggest effect on the sound quality rather than the amp. The biggest change hasn't been the sound but the size of the system (the Sonos amp is significantly more compact), the better integration with streaming services and my phone, and that it was super easy (and cheap) to add a bit of an extra boost for movies by way of the Sono One rear channels for surround sound.
  8. I have Kef Q350s on ISO acoustic stands too, and a Kef Kube10 subwoofer. I was looking at getting a centre speaker to boost vocals in movies; the Q650 is massive though, so was leaning towards the Q250. However, I was also aware my small living room was slowly being filled with speakers. And since I mostly use the speakers to play music the centre speaker was never going to get a lot of use. So I opted to replace my Denon 7.1 AVR with a Sonos Amp and leverage it's 'fake centre speaker', vocal boost, and night mode processing. The Denon did have night mode and with the EQ I was able to tweak it to sound pretty good without a centre speaker for movies, your Maratz may have something similar? Anyway, with my current set up I don't feel like I am missing anything without a centre speaker (again, not a massive movie watcher). It has also opened up the option to add some small wireless Sonos Ones to the rear, which I may do later on if I see them on sale.
  9. I'm in the same situation as the OP and agree the above are worth looking at. I'd also add the following (which provide benefits and disadvantages from my perspective, YMMV): Sonos Amp Vena II Play Or any Amp with a Bluesound Node 2i
  10. Yeah, it confuses me too. I always thought everything was the same while digital, until it hit a DAC, but have read people say they could tell the difference in streaming devices with the same DAC, amp, speakers etc. Anway, I was looking at the CXA61 but have since decided I want something that can stream directly through wifi rather than rely on the bluetooth. So have taken that budget and trying to decide whether it's best to get a cheaper amp (Audiolab 6000A) and streamer (Bluesound Node2) or just get a Sonos amp for less than half the cost. With the Sonos option I can put the left over budget into a nice set of headphones for critical listening.
  11. That'd be my guess too. From reviews I've read that the higher end amps with decent DACs sound quite good when streaming over bluetooth.
  12. I spent the weekend reading a lot of reviews and visiting a shop to listen to a selection of amps, and now I think I'm more confused. I'm prioritising the following, though not sure about some, and have a few questions: a built-in DAC for optical in (or HDMI) for TV audio - think this is the best/simplest way to connect the TV to it and I shouldn't notice a difference between optical and HDMI? wifi streaming for Spotify and Tidal (MQA a bonus) - this is what the system will be used mostly for so thinking this is pretty important. If it doesn't have wifi but has a USB input could I plug my phone into that and get the same streaming quality? Or even if there's no USB input buy a DAC like the Schitt Fulla and run the phone though that? dedicated subwoofer out to allow me to open up doors to other subwoofers down the track - I'll probably switch out the Kube 10" better sound quality than my old Denon X1400h I'm trying to stick to a $1500 budget and have come up with two directions based on the above but would love some input/thoughts in case I"m missing something: All in one 'just add speakers' system: Sonos Amp $950 OR Bluesound PowerNode 2i $1450. I know the Sonos probably sounds the worst but not sure it's $500 worse than the Bluesound to my ear. I have read that both of these are fairly compromised when it comes to sound quality. Both are under budget and tick everything I'm looking for. There's an update coming this month for Sonos that adds high res audio apparently. If I bought the Sonos I could buy a small DAC to play files from USB and bypass the Sonos DAC and potentially get better sound? There's a few more expensive options here too, Nad 368 with BluOS module $2000 and Quad Vena 2 Play $1700 - may be worth looking at if this is the right direction to go in. Integrated Amp w/Dac and separate streamer: Audiolab 6000A $1450 (or Project Maia DS2 $1600 or maybe Cambridge Audio CXA61 $1900) AND Streamer (Bluesound Node 2i $900?). This blows the budget with the streamer but wondering if it's a smarter choice for a better sound and more flexible system? I could buy the amp now and the stream later on to work around my budget. I could try and put together a Raspberry Pi streamer - though it seems hard to find them in Australia. Or skip the streamer and just use bluetooth to stream to the amp, but I think that will mean I am not using the full potential of the amp? Or buy a $250 DAC with USB input and stream through that, though much less convenient. Quite a few options but just wanted to sense check my thinking. Once I'm clear what direction makes the most sense I think it's easier to then just pick the components with the features I want. Thanks again.
  13. Thanks again, just had another thought. Does Airplay/Chromecast limit the quality of the stream at all? I have read that streams like the Bluesound, or even more expensive ones, have better audio due to not having to compress the signal?
  14. Makes sense. I have the same speakers as you but without anything to drive them at the moment. Is plugging the Macbook Pro straight into the optical in on the CXA60 better than casting to the chromecast?
  15. I thought I wanted an AV receiver for about $1k a few years ago. The Sony DN1080 was my first choice but it was just out of my budget. I ended up buying a Denon X1400H (earlier version of the X1600H) after quite a bit of research. It was a really flexible AVR with lots of features (Heos, Spotify Connect, 4k HDR pass through, etc). However, I sold it last week for about 60% what I paid for it. I realised all I was really asking it to do was act as a 2.1 streaming amp for music, and occasionally for movie soundtracks. I decided I'd be better off with a dedicated 2 channel amp to get the most of out my Kef Q350s and streaming subscriptions (Tidal and Spotify). AVRs are really flexible but as already mentioned think about how many of their features you will use, and what's most important to you.
  16. Yes - sounds like I'm in exactly the same situation as you were. I ruled out the Sonos Amp as want a headphone output, and have also read so much about the questionable sound quality, though their software gets good reviews. I have been bouncing between Tidal played through HEOS and Spotify played through Spotify Connect (on my old Denon AVR). I assumed this was the best way to listen, versus Bluetooth or even Airplay? It's an interesting perspective though, do I need a built in streamer or can I just get a cheaper external streamer or just rely on Airplay..
  17. Never knew you could run the speaker wire via a subwoofer, good to know! Yup, sounds like I've now got two options at either end of my budget. Thanks for all the useful help and education!
  18. Thanks Andrew - yeah this is really highlighting my inexperience here. That would be a pretty annoying set up. Super useful info, means I need an amp without subwoofer output ideally then. Thanks again.
  19. I went with their all-rounder cable and got a jacket and some heat shrink tubing to cover it in. Ended up with a cheaper solution that looks more expensive
  20. Looks like about $1300 - same as the Brio. Both look like appropriate solutions, and better than the amps I was looking at. Thanks for all the advice to date. Looks like it's either the Powernode 2i for $1400 as a simple all-in-one solution, or a Node 2i with a Brio or Cyrus for $2200 as a noticeable 'step up' with more flexibility. I'm thinking of going with the cheaper option for now. Then, as I learn more about audio product, can assess whether it's worth getting something better/more expensive.
  21. Thanks all. Yes the Brio looks good and nice and compact. The Brio doesn't have a sub output but if I connect a Node to it I guess I can run TV audio into the Node via optical, the analogue out to the Brio for the two speakers and the sub out from the Node, correct? I'd just need to power on both along with the TV, instead of with the powernode I can just use one remote? So still not as convenient as the Powernode all in one solution, but better sound and more flexibility to scale? I guess what I'm taking away from the feedback is that one of those entry level amps isn't going to make much difference compared to the amp in the Powernode. I'd be better off getting a step up ($1000+) amp and combining that with the node to notice any improvement in sound?
  22. No problem, appreciate the advice and that's good to know. I'm tempted by the powernode set up just for the size. Just not sure about the NAD hybrid digital amp in there. I like the fact I could take it to my office in another room and use it for headphones. Just got caught up thinking if it was better to stick with an external Class A/B amp and buy the Bluesound node for streaming. Sticking with the same budget means that I'd be looking at those entry level amps though, with less quoted power than the powernode. Not sure if it's worth giving up the convenience factor of the powernode for potentially better sound with a 'cheap' external amp? Have you ever used any of the Bluesound products?
  23. They are on iso acoustic ISO stands on an entertainment unit (either side of a TV).
  24. Was looking in the $1500 - $2000 range, which is why I landed on one of those options. I was thinking new as most of my use is streaming and want to get something asap.
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