Former audiophile needs to be brought up-to-date

[Ex-Newsie]

Thank you, Audioholics, for allowing me to join. Back in my teens, 20s and 30s...I was so into everything audio. Had a subscription to High Fidelity (RIP--it was the best). Read as much as I could get my hands on. I fell away from it in my 40s and early 50s and now want to catch up. Effectively, I need Catching Up With Modern-Day Audio for Dummies. Video too, I suppose...but I'm primarily interested in modernizing my, yes, stereo system with its turntable and cassette deck among my favorite components. And I ain't planning to go broke doing it, y'know?

I ask my learned friends here for recommendations on books, downloads, etc. that can help me accomplish this task. Thanks in advance.

 

[herbu]

I ask my learned friends here for recommendations on books, downloads, etc. that can help me accomplish this task.

There is enough info, both detailed technical and plain talking for dummies, on the Audioholics site to keep you busy for a while. Peruse the links at the top of the page... E-BOOKS, PRODUCT REVIEWS, AV RESEARCH & HOME THEATER SETUP. Also this forum has a TON of good information.

 

[ImcLoud]

Plus asking specific questions never hurt anyone, well except all those people that got hurt for asking specific questions...

Are you looking to built a 2 channel music rig or multi channel home theater system?

 

[3db]

Welcome back and congratulations. You almost kicked your addiction. . Like Herbu pointed out, there is a wealth of information on this website at your fingertips. Also feel free to ask questions like ImcLoud pointed out.

 

[Ex-Newsie]

Plus asking specific questions never hurt anyone, well except all those people that got hurt for asking specific questions...

Are you looking to built a 2 channel music rig or multi channel home theater system?

Two-channel. I'll tackle home theater later. Don't watch many movies or TV other than sports, so it's not a priority.

 

[ski2xblack]

Tell us a bit about your expected listening habits, a bit about the room, and more specifics as to what you're after. How loud do you listen, how big is the room and how will the system be arranged- near field vs. more ordinary layout (i.e. personal system in the office vs. general use in the living room), WAF restrictions (how far down the rabbit hole will she let you go?) etc. Budget? Once we know more, the folks around here know the value hot spots at different tiers in the market and will make appropriate recommendations.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Up to date, huh? Well, the kids these days stream music and videos from their iPad, iPhone, or PC to their Receivers and forego all the CD players, Vinyl players, DVD players, and Blu-ray players.

And they look and sound every bit as awesome as the original discs IMO.

What you buy depends on your budget.

 

[herbu]

Two-channel. I'll tackle home theater later.

That's helpful. Do you want to build a 2-channel ONLY system, or do you want a system that will be a good stereo system now, but can be expanded to 5.1/7.2/etc later?

 

[KEW]

herbu's question is a great starting point.
Probably one of the most pertinent choices is whether you should buy a stereo receiver or an AVR (audio-video receiver).
The AVR is a better deal, but they work out about the same if you are only using the AVR in stereo.
The disadvantage of the AVR is you are confronted (and sometimes confounded) with a lot of buttons and layers of menus that can be daunting if you do not have a TV attached (the AVR uses the TV to provide menu options for controlling the AVR).
If you do want to go separate stereo for starters, you need to decide if you want to go 2.0 or 2.1. 2.0 is what you probably have now - just 2 speakers. 2.1 is two speakers plus a subwoofer. If your room is not large, many of us believe you get better fidelity for your buck buying high quality bookshelf speakers and letting a sub cover the bass. Again, this decision will determine what is a good receiver for you.

 

[Ex-Newsie]

Okay... lemme tackle these one at a time. Thanx to each and every one of you for your input!

Budget-wise... what can I get for 75 bucks? (Answer: a lot of wise-guy comebacks). As a semi-retiree, I'd like to keep the budget modest, though I won't invest in crap. So yeah... the most bang for not a lotta bucks.

I'm also divorced, so no one else to worry about except my long-haired dachshund. She doesn't like her music loud, and neither do I anymore. Medium volume.

Right now, my system is in a third bedroom which functions as a secondary TV room. It's kinda small. Not sure if I want to keep it in there or move it to the living room where the HDTV is (my house is modest-sized). I'm currently using the built-in speaker on the Vizio. As I mentioned, I watch very little TV other than sports (primarily hockey and basketball). My DVD viewing consists mostly of older movies and television shows (just bought the entire run of Get Smart). The living room and dining room are really one big room, so the sound produced by an A/V receiver and speakers would just travel and travel and travel. The floor is ceramic tile.

I plan on playing most of the music in its original form (CD, vinyl, cassette). I doubt I'll stream from my laptop or iPad. I still value the quality of the original recording vis-a-vis mp3.

So what do my learned friends think? Again, thanks in advance for your contributions.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

75 bucks budget Well you know the answer already.
But I will try to recommend high value items:
Speakers : Philharmonic AA's bookshelf from here: http://philharmonicaudio.com/aa.html - at $165/pr + shipping
Not sure how much Dennis needs to cover shipping, but as an alternative I would also consider these:
http://www.wavecrestaudio.com/products/hvl-1-two-way-loudspeaker-pair
review:
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/1473975-wave-crest-audio-hlv-1-ascend-designed-budget-bookshelf.html#post23501698

You would need something to power them and I recommend an A/V receiver like Denon X1000 - amazon open box it goes today for $226

The rest of stuff you need is some cheap cables and sources, if needed

 

[KEW]

I think the question is where do you spend time/want to listen to music the most?

For your TV watching habits, it doesn't sound like an home theater is a driving force in your decision making.

Do you like/plan to entertain?

Since you have indicated you are on a budget, I might suggest about $710 for a AVR, stereo speakers with sub as follows:

AVR - Denon x1000 $220 (free shipping) (this is a refurb, but I have bought over 15 components from this company without issue, and when I did a brain fart and thought one was screwed up, they replaced it without any greif)
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrx1000/denon-avr-x1000-5.1-channel-networking-receiver-w/airplay/1.html

Speakers - Energy RC-10 $230/pr (free shipping)
http://www.frys.com/product/7777388?source=google&gclid=Cj0KEQiA-uWjBRChu9ie05m5ipgBEiQAuHIuK6qkltooNfq139a64OZCaVfryCTqjAXwDqpKhcoJySEaAjJU8P8HAQ

Subwoofer - NGX BAS 500 $260 (free shipping)
http://www.radioshack.com/nxg-nx-bas-500-12-500-watt-powered-subwoofer/55058551.html#.VHoNb8mIbmg



I suggest AVR-x1000 because you do have a TV available to hook it to and it offers great room equalization through Audyssey MultiEQ XT and will handle the crossover for your sub(s) extremely well.

The RC-10's are on special right now. I think the sale ends 12/4/14, but there is a risk of them being sold out. I hate to add a dimension of "time pressure" but personally, I believe this is a deal not to let pass by, but wait for others' comments. They won't hesitate to tell me I am full of crap if they disagree .

If that is stretching your budget, Use this sub instead:
Dayton SUB-1200 $110 (free shipping)
http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-sub-1200-12-120-watt-powered-subwoofer--300-629?AID=1457483&PID=6155355&SID=ceveprmuml15
I just put two of these in my girlfriends living room as a present, and I am amazed at how well they handle music!

And if that stretches your budget, you can always add the sub later. The bookshelves will start to drop off around 50 Hz which means you will not have the bottom octave. For that matter, depending on how much you want basss, you may be happy without the sub.

BSA,
You posted while I was typing. What do you think about the RC-10's vs your suggestions?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Hmm, hard to say anything but judging by measurements alone I will try to guestimate:
RC-10:

It looks like it has fairly significant bump at mid-bass so I assume if you like a bit more bass - this one should do the trick. Fairly neutral across the full response. Original spec claims: Frequency Response 50Hz-23kHz +/- 3dB - I assume NRT did not include much of response from port thus showing lack on measurement, but again - this speaker should have pretty decent bass.
Big plus to Energy - expensive materials and great finish.

HVL-1:

Most neutral out of three without any significant bumps or dibs. This one is the one I would pick most likely.
HVL has sacrificed a bit of bass, but still spec'd at pretty decent F3 at 63hz

AA bookshelves:

This speaker measurement show a just a tiny bit bright highs but I doubt it's unpleasantly so.
Low extension is pretty good, rated at F3 60Hz
These are cheapest and least pretty

 

[jliedeka]

I can also recommend the Energy RC-10s. I have a pair in my second system. They are really very decent. I don't even use a sub with them and they sound pretty good with most music.

Jim

 

[jcparks]

With a smaller budget you may consider a decent set of headphones...
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-Professional-Diaphragm-Headphone/dp/B000AJIF4E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417314892&sr=8-1&keywords=headphones+sony+mdr-7506
10 dollars over budget but I'm sure those wouldn't disappoint.

 

[Ex-Newsie]

Great suggestions. Couple more things. I'm a former consumer reporter who tends to be skittish about reconditioned components (from experience). How about a Plan B with a new-in-box receiver? Also... any recs for floor-standing speakers, or should I only consider bookshelf at this price point? BTW...I have a Pro-Ject turntable with built-in preamp, so no worries about the receiver having one. Thanks again.

 

[zieglj01]

any recs for floor-standing speakers, or should I only consider bookshelf at this price point?

Bookshelf speakers are fine

As far as towers - the better option on a budget is the
Philharmonic AA tower speakers for $275 plus shipping.

 

[KEW]

The same receiver will cost you $400 new from Amazon.
If you are willing to go with Amazon "used" which are usually open box returned items, you can get them for $216.
The thing that I have learned to look for with refurbed electronics is whether or not a third party did the refurb. In the case of Accessories4less, I know the Denon units are refurbed by Denon (who provides a 1 year warranty).

If you know you will not add a subwoofer or expand to HT, you might want to consider a receiver like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-R-S500BL-Stereo-Theater-Receiver/dp/B0044779GI

or an integrated amp like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha--S500BL-Integrated-Stereo-Amplifier/dp/B0044779HW/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1417326670&sr=1-1&keywords=a-s500

You will lose Audyssey MultEQ XT and Dynamic EQ, but you won't need to connect to TV and you might like the classic look and simplicity.
I think Yamaha's variable loudness control is the closest thing to Dynamic EQ (which is roughly what loudness controls were intended to be before companies started using them for extreme boosting of bass and treble... which often did catch buyers attentions in the showroom).

 

[herbu]

but you won't need to connect to TV

This is a really important point, and the second time KEW has mentioned it. I hope you understand what he's saying.

Audio Video Receivers these days have A TON of features, settings and user configurations. Even the least expensive ones. To navigate through these settings, there are menus. If your AVR is hooked up to a TV, those menus are shown on the TV in their entirety. You can easily see all the choices and move up/down between them. If you're not connected to a TV, you have to use the 1 or 2 line display on the AVR. It is VERY cumbersome and difficult to move through all the menus and choices. It is really a requirement to keep the owner's manual next to you for reference until you learn all the choices. And even then, being semi-retired, I suppose so are your eyes, which means difficulty even reading the little display on the AVR.

So this is a MAJOR consideration. If you do not plan to connect this system to a TV, you should probably go plain stereo. Even if you only plan to use the stereo feature, I would not suggest an AVR if you are not going to hook to a TV.

 

[selden]

Bear in mind that many manufacturers (including Denon) only allow their authorized resellers to advertise MSRP (which is lower for last year's models like the X1000, which are still available new-in-box). If you call them on the phone, though, they can quote much lower prices. (Best Buy and Crutchfield tend not to do this: they'll usually only match published prices.)