New member looking for a little help

[Nicholas Denovchek]

I'm a new member , looking for a little bit of help and or suggestions. I'm trying to decide on a new set of book shelf speakers right now I have a new set of elac uni fi ub5 but I was debating on returning them for definitive technology studiomonitor 55 because they are on sale for 170 each, I'm looking for the best quilty / bang for the money , I will be pairing either set with the 2 Klipsch 10inch subwoofer running off a Denon x4300h. Any suggestions? Also I have a Carver amp being restored so once I get it back it will be driving them.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

How much did you pay for the Elacs? They seem to get a lot of love and the def techs seem to be love or hate. Do you already own the klipsch subs? Most of us here would probably recommend a different brand first, unless you own them already. I would keep the elacs and buy different subs.

 

[everettT]

Well your putting money into the electronics why not the speakers since that's what we hear? If the DMs Sound better to you then go for it. If it were me I'd get the best speakers you can afford that you like and if I spent 1k on an avr I'd be looking at speakers at least that price or more as a rule of thumb.

 

[Nicholas Denovchek]

I got the x4300h with Best buy points for around 500$ I payed 400 for the elacs . The only problem I had with them is that I have a gaming set up with front l/r and center but they are all 8ohm speakers the elacs being 4ohms I was told I could not run them on zone 2 with out damaging the amp, even though I have it set to 8ohms I had thought about getting a set of svs Ultras but that's down the line

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Ultras are great. Can't say I've ever heard that 4ohm speakers in zone 2 would be a problem. In order to act cause damage you'd have to drive them pretty hard and you'd likely hear enough distortion before reaching that point to turn it down. Do to already own the klipsch subs?

 

[Nicholas Denovchek]

Yes I already own the subs I got them rather cheap and they do the job ,when I say cheap I mean 100$ new in box each

 

[Pogre]

I got the x4300h with Best buy points for around 500$ I payed 400 for the elacs . The only problem I had with them is that I have a gaming set up with front l/r and center but they are all 8ohm speakers the elacs being 4ohms I was told I could not run them on zone 2 with out damaging the amp, even though I have it set to 8ohms I had thought about getting a set of svs Ultras but that's down the line

All of my speakers are from the SVS Ultra line. IMO they're fantastic speakers. I agree with a couple others though. I think you should put some money into better subs. Subwoofage is often one of the most underrated parts of a good audio system. When I upgraded my subs I was shocked at how it made my whole system sound better. Clean bass is often underrated.

Yes I already own the subs I got them rather cheap and they do the job ,when I say cheap I mean 100$ new in box each

Good. You didn't spend a lot on those, so I'd say you didn't get a bad deal. If it were me, I'd be selling them and put the funds toward better subs.

 

[-Jim-]

Hi Nicholas,

Welcome to the Forum. Andrew Jones (who designed the Elacs) did an interview and commented there is no issue hooking up those B5s to any modern receiver. He took that requirement into account when finalizing their design.

Remember speaker location and listening position are half the battle for speakers. OF course decent source material is always a consideration as well. But that's a given.

 

[Nicholas Denovchek]

I returned the elacs , they sounded great but for now I picked up the definitive tech sm55's For 150 a speaker and I heard they are just as good as the elacs . I'm going to save up for svs Ultras so hopefully in 3 months I can have 2 towers and the center svs Ultras. Another route is I know a guy selling 2 b&w 683 towers and the matching center for 1000 or 2 ml motion 40s for 1000, my source is Spotify or tidal running on a PC outputted to nad DAC , that also supports mqa for masters. Till then I'm using my Klipsch rp280 and mathing center . Any and all advice ill take

 

[-Jim-]

I'll let the team here chime in on those Speakers, but in my opinion there are bargains to be had for the careful buyer in the used speaker market.

Spotify is a cool service, but typically has lossy audio down to a bitrate of 160 kbps on desktop, or 96 kbps on mobile devices. Their paid service has a “high quality” option of 320 kbps audio on desktop (not really meeting the spec of an Audioholic). I know they are experimenting with Lossless Audio (think CD Quality) but they are not there yet.

IMHO listening to anything less than Lossless Audio is a compromise. Don't get me wrong, lots of folks here (me included) have MP3s (or other lossy formats), but those are usually relegated to the Car (In my case because it doesn't play FLAC Files) or background music - not serious listening.

Like I said above: Of course decent source material is always a consideration as well. But that's a given.

You need decent source material to audition even a cheap pair of speakers. (Did I just quote Billy Joel somewhat...). If you don't have any FLAC (or equivalent) Files, grab a CD that you know reasonably well that has been recorded professionally, from a Thrift store, and try that. It may cost you $2 but the sound should blow you away if you've only listened to regular on line streaming.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[Nicholas Denovchek]

I have Spotify premium and beta test Spotify HiFi and also pay for tidal hifi. I have a box of CDsbut unless a console is good source to listen from

 

[lovinthehd]

I have Spotify premium and beta test Spotify HiFi and also pay for tidal hifi. I have a box of CDsbut unless a console is good source to listen from

A gaming console should be fine for your cd's. I've used a ps3 in my main system for years. I'm not sure I understand why going for so much more in electronics than speakers, tho.

 

[-Jim-]

Yes the Sony console would work just fine. You should hear a significantly better sound than Spotify.

Enjoy!

 

[Pogre]

I have Spotify premium and beta test Spotify HiFi and also pay for tidal hifi. I have a box of CDsbut unless a console is good source to listen from

Before I got into ripping all of my cd's I used my console as a player. They work very well for it.