$2,000 Recommended Two-Channel Stereo System

[shadyJ]

Those open baffle designs look pretty iffy to me from a performance perspective. I haven't heard any high end ones though, and they do have their followers, so I am curious to how they would sound. Is that a real coaxial driver? Is this a one-way speaker or two-way? I don't see any mention of a cross-over. How would bass output be on a open baffle design? I think you would need some real excursion to get any kind of bass, but to get real excursion you would need to give those things some real power, but wouldn't that design be at a greater risk of bottoming out?

Also, what the hell is a high frequency whizzer cone? That's not exactly a tweeter, is it? In the place of specs, they have pictures of cute dogs sitting in front of the speakers in a Ikea laden apartment, so I thinking these speakers might not have the frequency range of more typical designs.

 

[haraldo]

Put up some good streaming options here and we will consider adding them as alternatives or even primary sources in future systems. Not sure if most consumers go with streaming or just use hard disc only. Personally I use Pandora and a HD media server myself but I typically don't stream from a smartphone or a PC.

unfortunately one of the most userfriendly products (squeezebox series) has been discontinued by logitech... They have some new products but without digital outputs, will check more tomorrow, we're already past midnight here

 

[ImcLoud]

What is squeezebox? am I missing something here? To stream radio I just go to pandora and plug my laptop into my dac, is there something better?

 

[haraldo]

Those open baffle designs look pretty iffy to me from a performance perspective. I haven't heard any high end ones though, and they do have their followers, so I am curious to how they would sound. Is that a real coaxial driver? Is this a one-way speaker or two-way? I don't see any mention of a cross-over. How would bass output be on a open baffle design? I think you would need some real excursion to get any kind of bass, but to get real excursion you would need to give those things some real power, but wouldn't that design be at a greater risk of bottoming out?

Also, what the hell is a high frequency whizzer cone? That's not exactly a tweeter, is it? In the place of specs, they have pictures of cute dogs sitting in front of the speakers in a Ikea laden apartment, so I thinking these speakers might not have the frequency range of more typical designs.

they probably need compensation to work well, it's what Steinway-Lyngdorf do in their speakers and that's for sure ultra high-end

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

The HK3490 is a great sounding receiver and a steal at $299!

J&R Doesn't have them in Stock, AH store does, and J&R does offer 30 day in home trials with free shipping

 

[Cliff_is]

What is squeezebox? am I missing something here? To stream radio I just go to pandora and plug my laptop into my dac, is there something better?

Squeezebox is a wireless music streaming system from Logitech. I was really excited when it was first released, but unfortunately it went the way of most wireless systems.....defunct.

I think Sonos is an AMAZING alternative. There are a lot of things that set Sonos apart from the competition. From an installation perspective the mesh network and continued updates are great. With most wireless solutions you have to worry about the manufacturer discontinuing support, but Sonos is really great about that.

Also, the Sonos Connect has optical and digital coax outputs.

 

[ImcLoud]

Squeezebox is a wireless music streaming system from Logitech. I was really excited when it was first released, but unfortunately it went the way of most wireless systems.....defunct.

I think Sonos is an AMAZING alternative. There are a lot of things that set Sonos apart from the competition. From an installation perspective the mesh network and continued updates are great. With most wireless solutions you have to worry about the manufacturer discontinuing support, but Sonos is really great about that.

Also, the Sonos Connect has optical and digital coax outputs.

OK, thanks..
So why not just use something like pandora? you dont need a pc with sonos, you can get a cheap laptop for $350...

 

[pureiso]

Those open baffle designs look pretty iffy to me from a performance perspective. I haven't heard any high end ones though, and they do have their followers, so I am curious to how they would sound. Is that a real coaxial driver? Is this a one-way speaker or two-way? I don't see any mention of a cross-over. How would bass output be on a open baffle design? I think you would need some real excursion to get any kind of bass, but to get real excursion you would need to give those things some real power, but wouldn't that design be at a greater risk of bottoming out?

Also, what the hell is a high frequency whizzer cone? That's not exactly a tweeter, is it? In the place of specs, they have pictures of cute dogs sitting in front of the speakers in a Ikea laden apartment, so I thinking these speakers might not have the frequency range of more typical designs.

Honestly, if there is no talk about standard specs when considering an open baffle, it definitely raises a red flag to me. I love a well done open baffle or omnidirectional design, however they require a proper crossover and a sealed cabinet for low end or powerful open baffle subs to get lower than 200 hz cleanly.

Those look very fishy to me as well. BTW, a whizzer cone is used on full range drivers to extend the frequency response, so this is just a full range driver with no crossover.

However, some of those look great though. I could see me buying one since the price is not too bad, just for kicks.

 

[Cliff_is]

OK, thanks..
So why not just use something like pandora? you dont need a pc with sonos, you can get a cheap laptop for $350...

I am not sure I understand your question/statement....

Sonos makes a number of different products that allow allow you to stream Pandora, and many other music services, around your home.

It isn't typically used as a single room solution, but it certainly can be. In this scenario if someone was only interested in digital audio they could get a Sonos Amp ($499). Then the receiver, CD player, and turntable could be taken off the list. Alternatively, they could just add a Sonos Connect to the system (just like a squeezebox) and that would feed music to the receiver.

 

[bikemig]

Squeezebox is great and it isn't dead yet. But at this point, it's future is uncertain which is too bad.

I own and love my outlaw stereo receiver. One point where I disagree with the review is with the quality of the usb input. It's mediocre at best. I run my SB Touch via the analog outputs straight to the outlaw receiver and the sound quality is excellent. But I would not hook up a computer directly via the usb input.

The Onkyo 8050 sounds like a really good alternative given the digital inputs, the wireless streaming, and that it can play music directly from a hard disc. I wish more manufacturers took computer based playback seriously in 2 channel systems.

 

[haraldo]

Squeezebox is great and it isn't dead yet. But at this point, it's future is uncertain which is too bad.

I own and love my outlaw stereo receiver. One point where I disagree with the review is with the quality of the usb input. It's mediocre at best. I run my SB Touch via the analog outputs straight to the outlaw receiver and the sound quality is excellent. But I would not hook up a computer directly via the usb input.

The Onkyo 8050 sounds like a really good alternative given the digital inputs, the wireless streaming, and that it can play music directly from a hard disc. I wish more manufacturers took computer based playback seriously in 2 channel systems.

You can get a clear improvement by using a high quality outboard DAC, in my experience optical output sounds clearly better than coax, don't know why but it's how it is, perhaps due to unsurpressed noise and residue from power supply....