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Love good sound but bamboozled by the variety!


RossRoss

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Hey guys, 

I've always been a great admirer of great sound quality for both movies and music. I've been exploring this world and find it intimidating at times with the variety and leagues of information. 

 

I look forward to building my system and learning and conversing with the community here. 

 

Happy Listening :)

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:welcome:to the forum...

 

Given that you have admired good music, you should now take the next step of identifying what was it that you liked in particular.  And have a listen to some systems at a few Hifi retailers, not JB, HN.  

 

As you educate your ears, you will soon learn what you like and what you don't. Note that it is human nature to prefer louder music, so be careful doing comparisons.  Learn to trust your ears, not what the sales person says.

 

Take your time and enjoy the journey...

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That is really sound advice. This is an unfailingly supportive place to undertake an audio journey. Sage advice and remarkable bargains abound.  Remember to have fun with this wonderful hobby. Many avenues will no doubt present themselves to you, and while most of us justifiably take great pride in our technology, it's really all about the music. Welcome to SNA.

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I started in hi-fi way back in the Sixties, from a humble 3-in-1 and moving up through the years to some quite outstanding equipment. In those days we did it all by listening, reading magazines, talking to others. Nowadays we have the Web where you can gather information quickly and relatively easily. As was said, you have to trust yourself but do listen to others recommendation, try them out if you can, and go with what feels good to you.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you all for your replies and kind words. I have been to a few Hi-Fi stores and tested out some systems.

 

I really like the sound of the Monitor Audio Silver 50 - the soundstage was awesome and the bass reproduction was quite impressive. My usual genres are RnB, Hip-Hop, Pop, Country, Rock, Spanish and Bollywood music and some classical too.  I tried out the B&W 607 (I think),  but wasn't taken by the sound; the Monitor Audio Bronze 50, I felt that the highs were a little more recessed compared to the silver; the KEF LSX and LS50W, wasn't taken by the sound of the LSX and enjoyed the LS50W but I keep coming back to the Monitor Audio Silver. I tried these speakers paired with a Rel T0, T5 and T7 and would probably get the Rel T0 or T5 (most likely) for the bass extensions that accompany RnB and Hip-Hop.

 

I'd love to have a home theatre system that is also adept at music - is this achievable? I love action/adventure movies and love the bass (feel and hear) that comes with it (I'm aspiring to have an atmos system, ideally 7.2(or 4).4 and work my way up if I'm able) and I haven't found many people/setups that have music based speakers used for HT. 

 

I do have a set of Harmon Kardon Soundsticks that I've used for a long time and bought a Dragonfly Cobalt to try out (more so to try MQA via Tidal) and must say that there is a noticeable difference in quality, I was impressed. I would like to get some new headphones and IEM's too play around with after my last sets of Westone 3s IEMs and Hifiman headphones gave out. Would love to get the Westones modified to accept removable cables but can't seem to find anyone that does it anymore. Any ideas? 

 

Thanks guys :) 

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45 minutes ago, RossRoss said:

Thank you all for your replies and kind words. I have been to a few Hi-Fi stores and tested out some systems.

 

I really like the sound of the Monitor Audio Silver 50 - the soundstage was awesome and the bass reproduction was quite impressive. My usual genres are RnB, Hip-Hop, Pop, Country, Rock, Spanish and Bollywood music and some classical too.  I tried out the B&W 607 (I think),  but wasn't taken by the sound; the Monitor Audio Bronze 50, I felt that the highs were a little more recessed compared to the silver; the KEF LSX and LS50W, wasn't taken by the sound of the LSX and enjoyed the LS50W but I keep coming back to the Monitor Audio Silver. I tried these speakers paired with a Rel T0, T5 and T7 and would probably get the Rel T0 or T5 (most likely) for the bass extensions that accompany RnB and Hip-Hop.

This is excellent.  ?  Please continue to trust your ears.

 

46 minutes ago, RossRoss said:

I'd love to have a home theatre system that is also adept at music - is this achievable? I love action/adventure movies and love the bass (feel and hear) that comes with it (I'm aspiring to have an atmos system, ideally 7.2(or 4).4 and work my way up if I'm able) and I haven't found many people/setups that have music based speakers used for HT.

Yes, it is possible to get the best of both worlds with a setup like this.

 

image.png.d746438915ba5f51f7603bfad7850e90.png

 

Suggest getting your stereo setup first and then expand your setup...

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On 24/02/2021 at 8:19 PM, RossRoss said:

....wasn't taken by the sound of the LSX and enjoyed the LS50W but I keep coming back to the Monitor Audio Silver. I tried these speakers paired with a Rel T0, T5 and T7 and would probably get the Rel T0 or T5 (most likely) for the bass extensions that accompany RnB and Hip-Hop.

 

Howdy RR - I got the LSX recently too and I'm the same boat re being a bit underwhelmed.  What was it for you about them?  They sound better to me up and over 60% volume, but that's just not always practical!  Did you also try them with a sub?  I'm wondering if it helps the dynamics and SQ for lower level listening.

Otherwise, and to try to keep the smallish form-factor, I've been considering the MA Bronze 50s (+/- a sub).... but I might try to get a listen to the silvers now!

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I've only ever used a sub once, and that was when I had my last iteration of equipment:

Perreaux 2150/SM2

Michel Gyrodec Silver Edition

AE1 on stands

Marantz CD63 Mk2 SE (modified)

Onkyo TX88 (I think)

Richter sub (?)

I wasn't overly fussed as I tend to listen with tone controls flat but volume up! Sub was great but not essential.

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On 24/02/2021 at 9:19 PM, RossRoss said:

I'd love to have a home theatre system that is also adept at music - is this achievable? I love action/adventure movies and love the bass (feel and hear) that comes with it (I'm aspiring to have an atmos system, ideally 7.2(or 4).4 and work my way up if I'm able) and I haven't found many people/setups that have music based speakers used for HT. 

 

Have your cake and eat it too? Yes, you can - and as Snoopy wrote earlier - by getting an integrated amp or pre-amp with HT bypass function, you can get the best of both worlds. Do select speakers that are more suited for music - because you will find that if they work well for music, they will also work great for movies. The other way around may not always be true.

 

It helps to have some idea around the budget so that you don't get tempted by more expensive options. 

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For a system that's great at both music and movies..... You'll get a lot of different answers to that one. My approach has been to run a speaker switch so I can share to two front speakers with both the AVR and my dedicated stereo amp + DAC. I've found this solution works best for me. That said, I there are many others who also like AVR's for music too. 

 

Snoopy8 gave the best advice here. Trust your ears and learn how to listen critically to evaluate what you hear. The thing to remember is what you hear is the entire sound chain, not just the speakers.  :)

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