What New Stuff Have You Bought? If You Care To Share Thead! :)

[KenM10759]

I couldn't help but notice how that review mentions if you're looking for the best sound and can afford to, go with the new KEF Q150's. I've heard both the Q150 and Q350 now. Well, KEF certainly has some serious work to do for the upcoming upgrade to their R series if the new Q series is going to sound that good at less than 1/2 the price.

 

[zieglj01]

I couldn't help but notice how that review mentions if you're looking for the best sound and can afford to, go with the new KEF Q150's. I've heard both the Q150 and Q350 now. Well, KEF certainly has some serious work to do for the upcoming upgrade to their R series if the new Q series is going to sound that good at less than 1/2 the price.

There are times you just have to eat the fish and spit out the bones.

 

[3db]

I boght this on CD The Dead Weather "Dodge & Burn" on CD

 

[speakerman39]

Bought the Q Acoustics 3020 and sent the 2020i speakers back. Now I am beginning to understand why a lot of people are talking about the Q Acoustics -- they are for real and not your average sounding mass-market type speakers. They are also built good for the price, and there is a real nice tweeter in this one. They sound like they would measure real nice. Even WireCutter has raved about them and rates them at the top. I am still given them a shake-down, and they do sound promising.
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-bookshelf-speakers/

Really like the Walnut finish on the 3020's. At one time not too long ago, I was seriously considering getting me a set. May still give them a try sometime down the road. Who knows? Now that the all new Wharfedale Diamond 11.1's are out, chances are real good that I will own a set of them in the very near future instead. Looking forward to your write-up on the 3020's.


Phil

 

[panteragstk]

Got my Denon X4300H today.

My old Onkyo 809 dwarfs this thing. 15 lbs heavier and an in taller and deeper. Funny considering the Denon has 2 extra amp channels.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Got my Denon X4300H today.
My old Onkyo 809 dwarfs this thing. 15 lbs heavier and an in taller and deeper. Funny considering the Denon has 2 extra amp channels.

$699 is a very nice price for a brand new X4300.

Some people pay $699 for a refurbished X4300.

 

[panteragstk]

$699 is a very nice price for a brand new X4300.

Some people pay $699 for a refurbished X4300.

I'm pretty excited. Love finding a great deal. Had my eye on this thing for a year. Now to just get all my speakers installed...

 

[killdozzer]

I'm pretty excited. Love finding a great deal. Had my eye on this thing for a year. Now to just get all my speakers installed...

Man, it looks mighty!

 

[MrBoat]

Been on a CD buying spree of sorts. I try to buy at least 1/week which is not a lot compared to what some do but I do a lot of listening via youtube and Pandora to keep from living a life of perpetual repeats. Something I haven't had time to do in recent years is explore much in the way of 'new-to-me' music with a dedicated sound system where I can just sit for hours and really pick it apart.

Been enjoying a lot from these folks, who I recall hearing briefly back in the 80's, and maybe a little in the 90's. They have a pretty good mixture of themes with their albums.

 

[MrBoat]

Thanks to the audioholics on this forum, I ended up buying a pair of these just for the heck of it. Bookshelf speakers are small enough to where you can stash a multitude of flavors around the house without looking like you have too many, if there is such a thing. Thanks @KEW for helping to liberate another $300 from my pocket.

JBL LSR305

 

[KEW]

Be sure to let us know what you think after you've had time to test drive them for awhile. I forget which speakers you have (know you've built two sets). But it is always nice to hear thought on how two sets of speakers compare. The 305's hit well above their price range, but so do DIY speakers!

As far as not looking like I have too many speakers, my house looks perfectly reasonable...as long as you don't go in "THE ROOM"; whereupon my insanity is revealed and visitors become obsessed with just one thought:
"GET OUT of the house, NOW!"

 

[MrBoat]

Be sure to let us know what you think after you've had time to test drive them for awhile. I forget which speakers you have (know you've built two sets). But it is always nice to hear thought on how two sets of speakers compare. The 305's hit well above their price range, but so do DIY speakers!

As far as not looking like I have too many speakers, my house looks perfectly reasonable...as long as you don't go in "THE ROOM"; whereupon my insanity is revealed and visitors become obsessed with just one thought:
"GET OUT of the house, NOW!"

Built 3, actually. DIYSG (Bagby) Fusion-12 Tempest, Paul Carmody's "Classix 2", and Jeff Bagby's "Continuum".

JBL, is typically pretty good with hitting their price point/value at least. I have also found that where the price point differs with their budget offerings is, long term repairability with regard to being able to get replacement drivers 10 years down the road. In other words, if JBL builds something for the budget conscious, it is likely disposable beyond it's service life. I'm ok with that in this case. I've long since given up trying to disprove my grandparents wisdom with; "There's no such thing as a bargain."

At any rate, I am glad you mentioned these speakers. It sent me on a few hour tour of reviews with a lot of people implementing these into full on sound systems. Lets face it. By 2017, $300 isn't much for the amount of fun one can get out of things like these with regard to entertainment value. What's that, like an average day cost at Disney? I have friends who think nothing of pissing away that much every month or two at Starbucks and Dunk'n Dnuts.

Finally, these kinds of things help me understand the average mindset with regard to hype with reviews online. It helps when one starts thinking about the quality of this information when it comes time to drop money on more expensive things.

 

[lovinthehd]

Thanks to the audioholics on this forum, I ended up buying a pair of these just for the heck of it. Bookshelf speakers are small enough to where you can stash a multitude of flavors around the house without looking like you have too many, if there is such a thing. Thanks @KEW for helping to liberate another $300 from my pocket.

JBL LSR305
View attachment 21908

Been sort of tempted to do just that myself. Really curious what you think. Too many speakers? Is that a thing? LOL I only have 28 speakers and 10 subs in the house, is that too much? They're spread over 5 rooms....and 5 of the speakers aren't currently in use

 

[MrBoat]

Been sort of tempted to do just that myself. Really curious what you think. Too many speakers? Is that a thing? LOL I only have 28 speakers and 10 subs in the house, is that too much? They're spread over 5 rooms....and 5 of the speakers aren't currently in use

They should be here Tue or Wed. Will be sure to let it be known what I think.

Bagby's Continuums kind of changed my mind with regard to studio type monitors for regular music playback, and the Fusion-12's certainly changed my mind with regard to waveguides/horns. So, this was just too obvious to pass up from a personal experience standpoint.

LOL. . .you got me to dive into DIY subwoofage and it changed my listening habits rather profoundly. Definitely got my money's worth out of that little trip. I still have a Dayton RSS315HF-4 to play with yet.

My home is only 1100 sq ft. I sort of got lucky with it as far as it being rather acoustically efficient, in that it's not super expensive to get good sound here.

Just ordered the Umik as well, to see how f'd up my audiophillia really is compared to what I think I am hearing.

 

[KEW]

@MrBoat,

One additional thing about the lsr305's is they are pro-audio which is generally a totally different price/marketing structure as compared to consumer audio. I won't say snake oil doesn't exist in the pro-audio market, but it is a much smaller aspect. The customers are more savvy and likely to have the means to measure FR, etc. But the main thing is the pricing structure.
I have a pair of Focal Solo 6 Be ($2600/pr) and as far as I have been able to determine, they are the exact same drivers as the Focal Electra 1008 Be ($5500/pr). The Electra are more stylized, but the Solo's have built in amplifiers, and front facing port.
Knowing that the Solo's are competing in a market where critical listening is their mainstream role allows me to realistically consider that they may be effectively the same speaker!

https://www.focal.com/en/home-audio/high-fidelity-speakers/electra-1000-be-2/bookshelf-speakers/electra-1008-be

https://www.focal.com/en/pro-audio/monitoring-speakers/sm6/monitoring-speakers/solo6-be

I think you'll find that the 305's are better than many $500 consumer audio speakers - without considering that they have amplification built in!

 

[MrBoat]

@MrBoat,

One additional thing about the lsr305's is they are pro-audio which is generally a totally different price/marketing structure as compared to consumer audio. I won't say snake oil doesn't exist in the pro-audio market, but it is a much smaller aspect. The customers are more savvy and likely to have the means to measure FR, etc. But the main thing is the pricing structure.
I have a pair of Focal Solo 6 Be ($2600/pr) and as far as I have been able to determine, they are the exact same drivers as the Focal Electra 1008 Be ($5500/pr). The Electra are more stylized, but the Solo's have built in amplifiers, and front facing port.
Knowing that the Solo's are competing in a market where critical listening is their mainstream role allows me to realistically consider that they may be effectively the same speaker!

https://www.focal.com/en/home-audio/high-fidelity-speakers/electra-1000-be-2/bookshelf-speakers/electra-1008-be

https://www.focal.com/en/pro-audio/monitoring-speakers/sm6/monitoring-speakers/solo6-be

I think you'll find that the 305's are better than many $500 consumer audio speakers - without considering that they have amplification built in!

The only studio monitors I had ever been subjected to were Tannoy, IIRC and they were from the 60's and rather large, but I barely ever got to hear them as they were always stashed in a studio with a bunch of other studio gear and when they were hooked up we never had the time to really listen to them. But even that guy said he typically used less expensive monitors for most of his recording work by that time.

That's what I liked about the 305's was that they are active. I will probably use them at work where I can set them right on my bench since I am there well after everyone leaves, which will be convenient. And then I can put them away easily.

 

[Pogre]

Been sort of tempted to do just that myself. Really curious what you think. Too many speakers? Is that a thing? LOL I only have 28 speakers and 10 subs in the house, is that too much? They're spread over 5 rooms....and 5 of the speakers aren't currently in use

Me too! I keep seeing these jbl's suggested over and over and I'm going to be setting up a desk with a pc for work.

I currently already own 5 pairs of speakers and subs, plus 1 more for my center. I'm not sure where "too many" comes into play... lol

 

[MrBoat]

Me too! I keep seeing these jbl's suggested over and over and I'm going to be setting up a desk with a pc for work.

I currently already own 5 pairs of speakers and subs, plus 1 more for my center. I'm not sure where "too many" comes into play... lol

I would now have 6 pair of speakers although I gave one pair to my son which I will never see again. The Classix 2's I gave to my DIL with an older Pioneer receiver. So now I am at 4 with the JBLs.

The Continuums and the Tempests I will keep until the end so it's good that I was lucky to land on two designs pretty much back-to-back that are all time favorites with unimaginable room for improvement. Sucks from the DIY aspect, but great for the value one.

As long as you folks have more than me, that makes me less of an audioholic and you guys should really get help with that.

 

[3db]

Picked this up on Friday in preparation to my trip to Scotland. Its a new class of camera called mirrorless. I wanted something that had more capabilities than a point and shoot with the same feature set as a DSLR in a smaller format than DSLR.

 

[MR.MAGOO]

Believe it or not it does seem to improve the soundstage, at least with my iPhone using RBH earbuds or Sennheiser MM400-X headphones. Needs an adapter (not included) with iPhone.