Audiophile, Budgetphile, and Dontgiveaphile thread.

[jp1]

I have a few new additions. I added the following:

"Monster MP HTS 5000 MKII Reference PowerCenter" - This thing is actually pretty great. I'm not sure if it really does any "filtering" but it does prioritize power needs based on components, it is heavy duty, looks nice, and has both remote and manual switching which is fully programmable per outlet, you can even set delays per outlet. I got it for $15 at goodwill.

Lepai 2020a+ - I got this not really expecting much, and was pleasantly surprised. I have to agree with those who have already stated that it is an excellent buy for the $25. I almost wish I had gone for the next model up now. The difference wasn't clear enough for me to make the leap. I got it to just play around with, it looks like it will actually see some real use though. Quite impressed with volume and quality of sound when hooking it up to some quality, high sensitivity speakers.

@Fast, did you ever experiment further with these?

Denon DVD component - Got this expressly for audio use. It has analog and digital outputs and a quality DAC chip inside, or so I'm told. It is built like a tank, looks great, and cost $10 at goodwill. I haven't logged enough time on it to really comment on playback quality.

One other change I have made is pulling my B&W LM1 set back out for the living room surround set. These are a little bit better than the Teacs I was going on about. After some time with the Teacs I still think they are a good deal at current prices and a steal for under $100 a pair. There are some small trade offs between these and the far more expensive B&Ws. In the end, if I didn't have the other speakers around I would have left it alone. I'll be keeping them for stereo usage. If you love instrumental music, jazz, blues, or tracks heavy on vocals the Teacs are very silky. If they were slightly more defined in the high end (they roll off pretty quick a bit before hitting 20k) and could handle more power they could easily, in my opinion, compete quite well with $500+ speakers.

I also put Rockbox on an old sansa mp3 player, so it now plays flac. This was free for me, but would be a really cheap option to get lossless audio on the go for cheap. The firmware is really awesome and full featured.

[fastbilly1]

Lepai 2020a+ - I got this not really expecting much, and was pleasantly surprised. I have to agree with those who have already stated that it is an excellent buy for the $25. I almost wish I had gone for the next model up now. The difference wasn't clear enough for me to make the leap. I got it to just play around with, it looks like it will actually see some real use though. Quite impressed with volume and quality of sound when hooking it up to some quality, high sensitivity speakers.

@Fast, did you ever experiment further with these?

I borrowed them and grabbed some random sets of speakers laying around, but I could never quite get the three of them in phase. Eventually I got fed up and tossed the idea out. While I would love to have a line array of them, I do not think it is worth the amount of tinkering it will take to get it there.

[jp1]

Lepai 2020a+ - I got this not really expecting much, and was pleasantly surprised. I have to agree with those who have already stated that it is an excellent buy for the $25. I almost wish I had gone for the next model up now. The difference wasn't clear enough for me to make the leap. I got it to just play around with, it looks like it will actually see some real use though. Quite impressed with volume and quality of sound when hooking it up to some quality, high sensitivity speakers.

@Fast, did you ever experiment further with these?

I borrowed them and grabbed some random sets of speakers laying around, but I could never quite get the three of them in phase. Eventually I got fed up and tossed the idea out. While I would love to have a line array of them, I do not think it is worth the amount of tinkering it will take to get it there.

That's disappointing. Thanks for sharing though, saves me some trouble, and money. I couldn't even get mine to get warm to the touch after two hours at 3\4 volume or so. Quite impressive indeed.

[isiolia]

That's disappointing. Thanks for sharing though, saves me some trouble, and money. I couldn't even get mine to get warm to the touch after two hours at 3\4 volume or so. Quite impressive indeed.

Using a bigger AC adapter or something? I start noticing distortion at much above half volume.

[jp1]

That's disappointing. Thanks for sharing though, saves me some trouble, and money. I couldn't even get mine to get warm to the touch after two hours at 3\4 volume or so. Quite impressive indeed.

Using a bigger AC adapter or something? I start noticing distortion at much above half volume.

I am using a 14.4 volt, 2 amp adapter it came with. I did use the tonal controls to pull back bass respond and to a lesser extent treble to remove the distortion as I raised the volume. The additional volume seemed to compensate well for the lowered tonal settings. In the end they sounded balanced with no clipping and punchy mid-bass. The speakers themselves are a bit on the bright side, lowering the treble improved on that.

[jp1]

I hooked the lepai up to a powers sub and used built in crossover to remove everything under 100hz. This really helped give the amp a little more headroom.

It sounds like a very respectable budget stereo. I recommend the speakers be at least 90db sensitivity to get the most from it though.

[chuckster]

Hi all, I didn't know if this deserved it's own thread, so I figured I'd try here first.

I'm looking for some good monitors or powered speakers to serve as a versatile 2.1 system. I have tried and loved the KRK Rockit 6's from when my wife was recording a few years ago, but they're sweet spot was so small I couldn't imagine using them as general entertainment speakers. I do hear that other monitors provide a wider sweet spot so I'm hoping that's true, or that there are at least good powered speakers out there for under $200 each.

I like powered because they're expandable without regard to any amp or receiver, so you never have to worry about splitting one modest power supply between 7 or 8 speakers (if/when we expand to a surround system). I also like that monitors at least promote fidelity and transparency. I have some HD650 headphones and they don't seem to lean too far toward any particular frequency, and are extremely revealing, for better or worse. I love that, and that's what I'm looking for here. Retro gaming is how I spend most of my time, but these will also be used for music and eventually movies. I would like drivers above 5", preferably 6 or 7. I know many promote 8" speakers as the de facto standard, but if you guys have heard the 6" KRKs in person, you know that the 6" has no problem maintaining extreme volume while retaining clarity.

Any options out there?

[samsonlonghair]

I'm looking for some good monitors or powered speakers to serve as a versatile 2.1 system.

As luck should have it, I purchased a 2.1 system at a thrift store two months ago. I haven't hooked it up yet. I'll try it out tonight. If it's worth a darn, I'll give you some more info about it.

Update: Nope. I connected her, and the bass is weak. Luckily, I only wasted two dollars on her.

[fastbilly1]

So I have been rocking twin Sony SA-W303 powered subs for my home theater for a while. But as of five minutes ago I was offered a Polk PSW101 at a very cut rate. My receiver only puts out one sub line, so I have been daisy chaining the subs.

So do I replace the Sony's with the Polk or do I try to figure a way to run all three subs at the same time?

[TSTR]

add the Polk, keep the Sonys, remove all other speakers

BASS IN YOUR FACE