Stereo Talk

[Michael Jewels]

Hell, everybody.

I'm think of getting some new stereo components.

Right now, I have an old SAE power amp, 100 watts per channel, a Gemini pre amp (forgot which model,) and a pair of Bose 501V speakers.

This set up sounds very good, but it's about 30 years old.

What do you have, and what do you recommend to replace this system?

Sound-wise, the Bose are a very balanced, not overly bright two-way speaker system.

I know you have to hear speakers live to judge them accurately, but over the years I've found that I tend to like two-way speakers over three-way, as the addition of the mid range driver tends to make them a little brash for my taste.

Volume-wise, this system goes as loud as I need it. I also don't want to get the neighbors ticked off.

I was thinking of going with a set of Klipsch speakers, either bookshelf or floor standing.

And, I was thinking of going with an integrated amplifier over a tuner, as I don't listen to the radio much through my main stereo.

My main goal is clean, smooth sound.

I listen mostly to Jazz.

So, what do you recommend?

Budget? Try to keep it at $1,500 or under.

Mike

 

[Stumbo]

Hell, everybody.

I'm think of getting some new stereo components.

Right now, I have an old SAE power amp, 100 watts per channel, a Gemini pre amp (forgot which model,) and a pair of Bose 501V speakers.
View attachment 3719378
This set up sounds very good, but it's about 30 years old.

What do you have, and what do you recommend to replace this system?

Sound-wise, the Bose are a very balanced, not overly bright two-way speaker system.

I know you have to hear speakers live to judge them accurately, but over the years I've found that I tend to like two-way speakers over three-way, as the addition of the mid range driver tends to make them a little brash for my taste.

Volume-wise, this system goes as loud as I need it. I also don't want to get the neighbors ticked off.

I was thinking of going with a set of Klipsch speakers, either bookshelf or floor standing.

And, I was thinking of going with an integrated amplifier over a tuner, as I don't listen to the radio much through my main stereo.

My main goal is clean, smooth sound.

I listen mostly to Jazz.

So, what do you recommend?

Budget? Try to keep it at $1,500 or under.

Mike

I suggest adding a good sub to your system. I dumped my 501 sub. It made my 301s, 501s and 901s come alive.

 

[Michael Jewels]

I think this is my power amp.
SAE 2400 - Manual - Solid State Stereo Power Amplifier - HiFi Engine

Mike

 

[Jeff Scott]

Hell, everybody.

I'm think of getting some new stereo components.

Right now, I have an old SAE power amp, 100 watts per channel, a Gemini pre amp (forgot which model,) and a pair of Bose 501V speakers.
View attachment 3719378
This set up sounds very good, but it's about 30 years old.

What do you have, and what do you recommend to replace this system?

Sound-wise, the Bose are a very balanced, not overly bright two-way speaker system.

I know you have to hear speakers live to judge them accurately, but over the years I've found that I tend to like two-way speakers over three-way, as the addition of the mid range driver tends to make them a little brash for my taste.

Volume-wise, this system goes as loud as I need it. I also don't want to get the neighbors ticked off.

I was thinking of going with a set of Klipsch speakers, either bookshelf or floor standing.

And, I was thinking of going with an integrated amplifier over a tuner, as I don't listen to the radio much through my main stereo.

My main goal is clean, smooth sound.

I listen mostly to Jazz.

So, what do you recommend?

Budget? Try to keep it at $1,500 or under.

Mike

Is there something wrong with it? Does it not sound good to you, anymore?

Most of my stereo system is from the late '70s and late '90s, and still sounds wonderful, to me.

 

[48thStreetCustom]

Could you get a used Mcintosh amp for that price?

 

[hbarcat]

I would suggest going with a 2 way stereo active crossover.

A single 10" subwoofer fed with a mono sum handles the low end and you can place it anywhere. A modest pair of stereo monitors with a smaller mid plus tweeter will take care of frequencies above around 200 Hz.

I switched from the traditional pair of full range passives to the active setup with a single subwoofer and have never looked back. IMO, it sounds better for less money and you can swap/upgrade components individually. You also have full control of the balance of sound between the bass frequencies and the mids and highs.

 

[MJ5150]

Paging @Brad Johnson. Please pick up the bat phone.
I've seen a few threads over the years where Brad has contributed some solid advice and tips in this regard.

-Mike

 

[Michael Jewels]

Is there something wrong with it? Does it not sound good to you, anymore?

Most of my stereo system is from the late '70s and late '90s, and still sounds wonderful, to me.

Good question.

I'll give you a good answer later; at work right now.

Mike

 

[Michael Jewels]

Is there something wrong with it? Does it not sound good to you, anymore?

Most of my stereo system is from the late '70s and late '90s, and still sounds wonderful, to me.

Jeff, my system still sounds good, it's just that after all these years, I want to try something new, mainly speakers.
There's a Best Buy not far from me, and they push Klipsch speakers heavily.
A few times when I was there, they had a very nice, Klipsch home theater system cranking, and I have to say it sounded very good.
I also heard them demoing a couple of bookshelf speakers for someone, and they sounded very good as well.
I'd say overall, the Klipsch bookshelf speakers were a little brighter, but less bass-heavy than my Bose speakers. I don't know what amp they were running it through, but I think it was Yamaha.
I'm looking at it this way: most of us can't afford to upgrade everything we have in life, so why not change the things you can?
I'll probably start with new speakers, probably around $800, see how they sound, then move onto the amp.
We shall see.
Thanks for posting.
I have more to say either later or tomorrow.

Mike

 

[Lagado]

I still use a 40 year old NAD 3020A amplifier, it's a warm sounding amp but I've no idea what NAD have done since. All I know is, if mine went down, I'd be looking for another one.

 

[Michael Jewels]

Another option I almost forgot about: I have a small pair of QSC monitors, which I won in a raffle at one of our NYC get-togethers in 2006.

I used them for about 6 months. They sounded so clean, but were very bass shy.

I remember listening to mandolin music, and it sounded like the player was in the room. Again, very bass shy compared with the Bose.

Can anyone tell me the difference between a home stereo speaker, and a monitor?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Michael Jewels]

I would suggest going with a 2 way stereo active crossover.

A single 10" subwoofer fed with a mono sum handles the low end and you can place it anywhere. A modest pair of stereo monitors with a smaller mid plus tweeter will take care of frequencies above around 200 Hz.

I switched from the traditional pair of full range passives to the active setup with a single subwoofer and have never looked back. IMO, it sounds better for less money and you can swap/upgrade components individually. You also have full control of the balance of sound between the bass frequencies and the mids and highs.

Hbarcat, the Bose 501Vs don't need a subwoofer in my opinion, but as I was explaining above, the bass shy QSC monitors would probably pair well with a small subwoofer.

Again, I'm going for clean/quality sound. High volume levels are no longer important.

I guess the first thing I have to do is decide which speakers I'm going to buy, and go from there.

Thanks for the post.

Mike

 

[MonetBass]

You can't go wrong with some good 3-way speakers. Your system will have a much more balanced sound with those. I have some 35-year-old Norman Lab speakers that sound phenomenal. Klipsch still makes good speakers, but the older ones are better. Search Craigslist and local pawn shops. The biggest issue would be the foam surround on the drivers, but there are shops around that still replace those for a reasonable cost. Happy hunting!

 

[Jeff Scott]

For floor staning speakers, I'd give Magnepan a serious look. I've even read about folks hanging them from the ceiling to get them off the floor (never tried that with mine, though.

Here is a (not so great) photo of my MG-1c Maggies with a Definitive Technology SuperCube II.

I drive them with an Aragon 24k preamp and 2004 power amp.

Pay no attention to the Bozak 302 in the fireplace.

 

[Michael Jewels]

Jeff, I think I'm going to go with a pair of bookshelf speakers.

I like the stability of floor-standing units, but also like the easy placement of bookshelf units.

Also, if I get the speakers below or something similar, I can see how I like the sound, and can then add a sub woofer if I want to.

These are not necessarily the speakers I'm going to get, these just caught my eye as I began my search.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Mike

 

[Chad Michael]

"Jazz / bookshelf / two way"

My main goal is clean, smooth sound.

Although nothing is perfect, and all things to all ears, you have just described the English sound... such as Celestion, KEF. Look them up on ebay etc. Don't get new speakers just for the sake of new speakers, get something that paints a different (and likely better) picture of what you are hearing now. Speakers have more of an influence than people realize.

Celestion - I'd recommend the SL6 series with a small sub

KEF - there are a number of KEF bookshelf, coaxial and non, on ebay right now... again with a small sub

I'd spend $500 on speaks, stay under $500 for a small sub, and save the remaining $500 for the next upgrade that you may or may not want.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Paging @Brad Johnson. Please pick up the bat phone.
I've seen a few threads over the years where Brad has contributed some solid advice and tips in this regard.

-Mike

Thanks, Mike.

I don't have any audio only systems set up at home and haven't for several years. Which is crazy considering what I own and store in the basement. Audio stores seem to have gone the way of the dodo so local demoing isn't much of an option. The gear I've listened to at Magnolia/Best Buys didn't stir the slightest twinge of envy. I'm a fan of gear from the 70's to maybe the 90's and haven't heard real improvements beyond that a modest budget. As with higher end bass gear your buck can go ridiculously far buying used. But that can require more time and effort than most might want to expend.

Finding good power and a transparent front end isn't that hard, relatively speaking. Speakers are the most important choice IMO IME. Here's what I current use:

Infinity Composition Overtures - family room, w/subs. 2 4" with powered 8". Large CS400 Polk Audio center
Celestion SL-6 bookshelf - home office HT with surrounds and sub
(2 sets) Signet SL-280 - MBR (w/DCM center) and garage
PSB towers w/sub basement HT. Definitive Technologies center.
Monoprice in-wall 6.5" w/ passive Dynaco sub - kitchen

I've had very good experiences with all of the above. In addition I have:
Two sets Magneplanar MG I bipolar planars
Dahlquist DQ10 and DQ8
Two sets DCM Timewindows, one set Timeframes
Advent bookshelfs
JBL 4410 monitors
Wharfdale bookshelf

All of these could work well in an audio only setup, I'd probably set the Maggies up first if I were going to dedicate a space again but it doesn't seem like I have the time for that kind of listening anymore. I'd pair them with my Soundcraftsmen preamp and PCR 800 shoebox sized amp, one of my quicker subs and a Thorens TD160 turntable for a vinyl setup. Last time I used that I had a lot of fun, especially with old ECM vinyl.

So the speakers I use daily are well over twenty years old. I bought my first set of Magnaplanars in 1977 . For receivers I used to prefer Harman Kardon but had a couple fail. My Yamahas have been flawless, receivers and micro components. Also have a couple of Denons and an NAD tuner/preamp + power amp setup.

 

[Chad Michael]

...What do you have,...

Too many...

home stereo speakers:
Boston Acoustics A40 series II ( USA)
Celestion DL8 series II (England)
KEF C30 (England)
MB Quart QLS 530 (Germany)
Wharfedale Sapphire SP83 (England)
JBL L19 (USA)

What can I say, I like to re-arrange the furniture once in a while... FWIW, I am not anti - Klipsh, but the English sound just works better for my taste.

 

[MJ5150]

Yep, @Brad Johnson delivers.
Thanks buddy.

-Mike

 

[Chad Michael]

...The gear I've listened to at Magnolia/Best Buys didn't stir the slightest twinge of envy. I'm a fan of gear from the 70's to maybe the 90's and haven't heard real improvements beyond that a modest budget. As with higher end bass gear your buck can go ridiculously far buying used. But that can require more time and effort than most might want to expend.

Listen to Brad....