natens Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 Afternoon gents, Just after some general advice, be gentle im pretty green to the decent audio gig. I recently got a velodyne eq max 15 sub. Seems good from what i can tell but i think the rest of the system is now lacking. Sounds sometimes like the sub is on its own when its loud, i might have it turned up too much though. AVR is a pioneer VSX519 had it for years always seemed to drive my speakers ok. Speakers are a set of welling, hand me downs. I remember my dad paying a fair bit for them, the fronts have 2x8" 1x6.5" and tweeter in them. They go very loud with no distortion that i can tell. So im thinking the next step after getting a decent sub is to upgrade the AVR. Is it worth it? Will it be a decent upgrade? Currently looking at a pioneer VSX922 for $150 or a denon AVR3313 for $500. Im on a tight budget. Room is approx 4.5mx4m running a 120" screen/projector. So fire away if you guys have an opinion Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiono Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 Hi Natens, If you're on a tight budget, the Pioneer VSX922 at only $150 will serve you well. In the mid 90's I owned a Pioneer VSX-452, along with a Pioneer multi disc player. Even though they could never be described as audiophile gear, there was something special about the sound those devices produced together that I have never been able to replicate. I let the VSX-452 go because the right channel started to play up and the magic was gone. Such is the relentless march along the upgrade path! Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natens Posted February 17, 2019 Author Share Posted February 17, 2019 Thanks for the reply mate. Finished up getting a denon avr3311 for $200. Seems to do the job but the audessey room correction is garbage so far. I blew the tweeter in my center soon after getting it, thought about getting a replacement tweeter. But then picked up a PSB image 8c center for $50. Still going to look for a set of bargain fronts. Also need to spend a few hours dialing it all in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.E. Pennypacker Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 (edited) If they are JB HI -FI Wellings... I think they may be the weak link. When I worked at JB hifi, a set of welling fronts that retailed for $999 had a cost price of about $150. That Denon is a huge upgrade from the pioneer and should do a great job with a set decent second hand speakers. These were a $5000 retail back in the day: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com.au%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F163546725766 (not my sale). Edited February 18, 2019 by furtherpale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natens Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 They came from a hifi shop probably around 2000-2001. That mark up is pretty insane isnt it! New amp does an amazing job sorting the sub out, still have heaps of tweaking to do. And a new mic to purchase as mine stopped working could of been on its way out when i was setting them up. Those speakers look the go would snap them up if i wasnt in sydney. I've noticed prices outside of sydney much more reasonable and there is better selection of qauilty. Sure im come across something eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.E. Pennypacker Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Keep an eye out here. I don’t know what your budget for speakers is, but If you stick with a popular brand, you can buy them piecemeal to get to 5.1. B&W aren’t my cup of tea (great speakers, just doesn’t get me going)... but things like this pop up: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natens Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 That's what the plan has been thus far. I've come across wharfedale crystal 30.5 5 speakers for $200. No idea if they are any good though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.E. Pennypacker Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I haven’t come across them myself. I’ve also never been a wharfedale fan (more Dynaudio/Dali/Focal)... but for their price I’ve not heard bad things. I’ve never been a Tannoy fan either.. but at all these levels we’re talking Coke vs Pepsi, Moët vs Verve... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natens Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 Yes reviews are few and far between. Might go look at another set wharefale diamond 9.6 front wharefale emerald center 3x wharefale 7 diamond bookshelfs 1x wharefale xarus 1000 bookshelf and a 12" wharefale power cube sub for $400 Figure I'll be able to make some money back selling the sub and surrounds I don't need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.E. Pennypacker Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) Yeah... Xarus were worthless (the big ones were good party speakers) others may be good. Lots of people love the higher end Diamonds... I’m meh on them, but it’s purely personal taste. Edited February 19, 2019 by furtherpale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natens Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 Yea kinda went cold on those wharfedales unless they were priced $100 less. Interested in a set of Yamaha. Ns777 fronts ns333 books and matching center for $480. Sound reasonable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.E. Pennypacker Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 1 hour ago, natens said: Yea kinda went cold on those wharfedales unless they were priced $100 less. Interested in a set of Yamaha. Ns777 fronts ns333 books and matching center for $480. Sound reasonable? Very. I think you will have made “the next step” up the chain in amp and speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natens Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 Thanks for the tag in the other for sale thread. Picked up the Yamaha ns777 set unfortunately. Not sure how much difference there would be. Had a bit of a setup/play today. They sound good didn't blow me away. But they sound crap when using auydessy direct in movies from a Bluray sound tops. But YouTube/Plex with high res audio still doesnt sound that great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.E. Pennypacker Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 (edited) Yamaha tend to be more in your face, tannoy to little in your face. Sounds like it might be a placement issue, or out and out room issue. Very hard to tell without sitting in the room. Any local audiophiles in your area? IME many have also been underwhelmed immediately by a history lof booming bass and screaming treble replaced by balanced sound. Edited February 26, 2019 by furtherpale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natens Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 That could be true but after listening to the same music for years you kind of get a ball park of when it sounds good. Seem to lack any real punch from high mid down. Almost like a lack of fullness. Could be the speakers or amp or I'm expecting too much. Or 100 other things. Few weeks ago I re ran the auydessy setup with the mic on a boom mic stand. Didn't improve that I could notice. One thing I did notice sitting on the floor gives you a noticeably worse experience then sitting on the lounge in the MLP. Mostly in the mid low range. I've read that points to something wrong with the room acoustics. I don't know any audio guys but the local hifi shop has been around for years and has a good rep. They charge $155 to come do a complete setup with a spl meter. It could be the room too. It's quite tall around 3m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.E. Pennypacker Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 (edited) That’s probably worth the $155. You’d be surprised what people get used to. After spending an hour with a lady (back in the day when I sold this stuff)... she just kept complaining that all the speakers were WAY too treble intense. I eventually disconnected the bus pins from some bi-wired speakers and connected only the bass and midrange. She said it was perfect. She’d blown her tweeters years before and had adjusted to the sound. That’s an extreme of course. I’ve also got a mate who can’t understand why I like my system because “it doesn’t sound like it’s coming from the speakers”. But something is either very wrong or you’re on a very steep learning curve if Yammy speakers are disappointing after welling. Edited March 20, 2019 by furtherpale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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