Massive Home Audio Question From Beginner

[EIPtuningR32]

i am fairly new to the audiophile world, but i know some things. Anyways, i have a big question for you guys: What is wrong with my current setup that is making it sound like a heap of junk?

I have:
2 Infinity QA's
1 Marantz amplifier Model 140 (50/60Hz 300W)
2 Pioneer CS-R590 (150W 8ohms)
2 Sony SS-RG444 (6ohm)
2 Pioneer S-CR300-K (35W 16ohm)
1 Pioneer S-CR300-K (75W 8ohm) used as center speaker
1 QSC GX3 amplifier (425w/4ohm)
1 Nikko Beta II pre-amplifier (60Hz 11W)
1 JVC XL-M401BK CD player (made in 1989)

it doesnt sound like i want it too. i went to best buy the other day and bought a crown 1100W amp and it cleaned up the sound a little bit, but it created more problems than it solved (price and connectivity).

any ideas on what i should do to make this a quality sounding set up?

 

[markw]

For starters, sell all those mimatched speakers and get one good pair.

 

[EIPtuningR32]

which ones are those? the Pioneer?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Fixed:

For starters, sell all those [strike]mimatched[/strike] speakers and get one good pair.

+1 Try to sell all of them and use the budget to get something decent.

You could keep your electronics. For 2.0 you probably don't need two amps ether, but which one to keep will be determined by new speakers

 

[EIPtuningR32]

seeing i wouldnt get much more than $400 for all of it, what could i get with that money?

 

[Rickster71]

Have you checked the foam surrounds on all of your speakers?
Speakers have come a long way; I agree with mark on this one.
It's a good chance they're at the end of their serviceable life, being Circa 1978. Unless you've had them refurbished.

 

[EIPtuningR32]

Have you checked the foam surrounds on all of your speakers?
Speakers have come a long way; I agree with mark on this one.
It's a good chance they're at the end of their serviceable life, being Circa 1978. Unless you've had them refurbished.

no, they are all original. the sony's are speakers from some stereo system i got 4-5 years ago.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

seeing i wouldnt get much more than $400 for all of it, what could i get with that money?

Pair of Infinity P363
http://store.audioholics.com/product.php/3304/0

 

[EIPtuningR32]

are those nice, transparent, smooth and silky speakers? i love the voluptuous sound that some speakers make. I hate harsh highs. i want a very neutral sound. Will those work? if not, is there anything that can produce that sound in the price range of say, $600?

 

[markw]

Keep an eye on your local craigslist and be prepared to respond quickly.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

are those nice, transparent, smooth and silky speakers? i love the voluptuous sound that some speakers make. I hate harsh highs. i want a very neutral sound. Will those work? if not, is there anything that can produce that sound in the price range of say, $600?

The higher the budget you go the better speaker you COULD get (not guaranteed to get)

I'd consider KEF Q500 a small upgrade from P363, notice the word small
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/KEFQ500CHY/KEF-Q500-Q-Series-5-1/4-inch-Cherry-Floorstanding-Speaker-Each/1.html

I linked P363 from AH store which offers 30 day in home trial - and returns no question asked. You could also find similar deal in other places, but few will offer such return policy


If you don't listen to bass heavy music and have small to med sized room, KEF Q300 bookshelf are also very good option.
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/KEFQ300CH/KEF-Q300-Q-Series-6-1/2-inch-Cherry-Bookshelf-Speakers-pair/1.html

Most KEF's from AC4L available in 3 colors.


I can't find the link to P363 benchmark right now - but trust my word - even for $1000/pr speakers would be hard to be better than P363

 

[EIPtuningR32]

q500's $350 per speaker! wow.... i take it you have heard the p363's in person? how did you like them? were they thick and yummy sounding? =)

 

[BMXTRIX]

You really want to overcome your issues with quality, not quantity. That really strikes me as the main issue from what I saw in your first post. More power does not make better sound. If you multiply suck, times five, it means five suck, not one good.

So, I'm not a speaker expert, but you do want to get some decent newer generation speakers.

It's pretty easy to spend $1,000+ on decent speakers, so you will have to determine a budget, and keep your expectations in line with your budget. IMO a good subwoofer typically costs over $500 alone for the most basic requirements of quality in a pre-finished product. Nothing but that one speaker.

Your room, like the speakers, plays a huge part in the quality of the audio playback, and if you have any speakers in a bright room, then those highs will be accentuated due to the hard surfaces, and may create a very 'shrill' environment.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

q500's $350 per speaker! wow.... i take it you have heard the p363's in person? how did you like them? were they thick and yummy sounding? =)

I have no idea what do mean by "thick" or "yummy" sound speakers.
I describe good speakers by words like neutral, powerful, clean and precise. Like my tSc TS2 and even more JBL LSR2325p monitors for near-mid field

There are subtitle differences between them, but only one person would the judge of that - you

 

[EIPtuningR32]

but have you heard the P363's in person?

 

[TLS Guy]

i am fairly new to the audiophile world, but i know some things. Anyways, i have a big question for you guys: What is wrong with my current setup that is making it sound like a heap of junk?

I have:
2 Infinity QA's
1 Marantz amplifier Model 140 (50/60Hz 300W)
2 Pioneer CS-R590 (150W 8ohms)
2 Sony SS-RG444 (6ohm)
2 Pioneer S-CR300-K (35W 16ohm)
1 Pioneer S-CR300-K (75W 8ohm) used as center speaker
1 QSC GX3 amplifier (425w/4ohm)
1 Nikko Beta II pre-amplifier (60Hz 11W)
1 JVC XL-M401BK CD player (made in 1989)

it doesnt sound like i want it too. i went to best buy the other day and bought a crown 1100W amp and it cleaned up the sound a little bit, but it created more problems than it solved (price and connectivity).

any ideas on what i should do to make this a quality sounding set up?

You have junk speakers. Those old Far Eastern speakers were awful in their day.

They had boomy bass and nasty squawker mid ranges, topped off with paper coned tweeters.

You won't get decent sound out of those no matter what you drive them with.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

You have junk speakers. Those old Far Eastern speakers were awful in their day.

They had boomy bass and nasty squawker mid ranges, topped off with paper coned tweeters.

You won't get decent sound out of those no matter what you drive them with.

Thank you Mark, I agree with you 100%

to OP: No, I have not heard P363, but many other AH members did and they liked them