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Post by dean0 on Dec 26, 2009 23:25:49 GMT
Iam after decent Bookshelf Speakers that can be bought for under £150. My musical taste are very varried; (in order of importance) 1)electronic 2)rock 3)accoustic 4)reggae
Speakers on the possible buying list;
- WHARFEDALE 9.1 £99 - JBL Control 1 £59 - Q Acoustics 2010 £99 - TANNOY F1 CUSTOM £79 - Cambridge Audio S30 £120 - QUAD L-ITE COMPACT £99
The speaker will be used on my desk and I will be seated aprox. 1.5m away, with the back of the speaker close to the wall, aprox. 1.8m apart. Iam leaning towards the WHARFEDALE 9.1, I have heard good things bout these, but are they too large for my purpose? Any other reccomendations? The Amp will most likely be Cambridge Audio 340A SE or simular spec, hopefully bought of ebay 2nd hand. Thanks dean0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2009 1:51:39 GMT
deanO, second hand ok? If so add these to your possibles JBL CM52 on ebay nowand if you can find them the Heco 'Interior 80', a tad smaller than a Control 1 but blows it away. If you can accommadate the Wharfedale it's easily the best of the list so far. I was seriously gob-smacked by these.
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Post by dean0 on Dec 27, 2009 14:00:27 GMT
thanks, I think Iam going to get the 9.1's, If I don't I will only get the upgrade bug a week later ;D Ive never had decent speakers before, I wonder they'll compare to my HD650's...
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Post by dean0 on Jan 3, 2010 18:43:50 GMT
Speakers should be arriving tommorow! (9.1's) Still need an amp, any suggestions? Speaker Specs; Power handling (watts): 20 - 100 (programme) Sensitivity (dB): 86 Nominal impedance (ohms): 6 Magnetically shielded? Yes W x H x D (mm): 194 x 296 x 278 Frequency response (Hz): 50 - 24,000 Crossover frequency (kHz): 2.3 Biwireable? Yes Connections: Screened, gold-plated 4mm banana plug/binding posts Bass port? Twin front-reflex port Drivers: HF: 25mm textile tweeter LF: 130mm Kevlar bass/midrange cone Thanks dean0
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Will
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Post by Will on Jan 3, 2010 19:42:05 GMT
Are you buying or building, and how much are thinking of spending?
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Post by dean0 on Jan 3, 2010 19:45:33 GMT
I was thinking buying, as it would work out cheaper. Budget is around £150 mark. Cambridge Audio Integrated Amp's seam to be good value. I dont mind buying 2nd hand either. dean0
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Will
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Post by Will on Jan 3, 2010 20:26:07 GMT
Have a look on eBay for an old arcam, audiolab or cyrus amp. In the day, they would have cost £400 plus, and you should be able to pick one up cheap, and give it a re-cap, put the life bcak in them. If you want to go this route, cjarchez will have a good idea on some best buys, as will others, I'm sure.
I always wanted an Audiolab 8000A back then, cracking amp when I heard it.
As an idea, I bought an Arcam Alpha CD player for £60 a couple of years back, which cost £400 in the 80's.
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Post by dean0 on Jan 3, 2010 22:18:11 GMT
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Will
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Post by Will on Jan 4, 2010 6:59:11 GMT
Nice find!
I would, but then I know it's my taste. I have a copy of the pre and power circuit, but not the PSU. If you get it, have a listen and think about replacing the caps in the PSU, plus maybe the rectifier diodes. The caps are getting a bit old now,so may be pas their best.
The other nice thing is that you can use the 8000A as a pre-amp, and go power mono block if you wish.
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Will
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Post by Will on Jan 4, 2010 10:14:30 GMT
dean0, I've had a 'nudge' and you may be better off with something like this cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180450301858&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:ITto quote: it is possibly Nad's best (but lesser known) integrated partnered with a power amp. So he can use as is or seperate, then using the power elesewhere or sell it on to regain some the of the cost.
Given the choice I would go for vintage Exposure or Inca Tech which dump on the rest from a great height!This guy knows what he is talking about, so have a think.
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Post by dean0 on Jan 4, 2010 14:16:39 GMT
Thanks, but that auction is pick-up only, bit too far for me to travel. I'm going to bid on the auction I posted earlier (Audiolab 8000A). It was bought new in 1995, so it must the newest generation, so its relativly new, hope its a good match for the 9.1's
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Post by dean0 on Jan 5, 2010 14:31:16 GMT
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Post by dean0 on Jan 5, 2010 15:34:12 GMT
Another option Pioneer A400x for £80inc P&P or the more expensive Marantz PM66 SE KI, decision's!!!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2010 16:02:59 GMT
Dean0, From what I understand you will be listening "near field". If that is correct then the Marantz is a no-no. Too bright by a mile, unless you like that of course, or for monitoring. IMHO You need something closer to nuetral or even slighly on the smoother side. If you are listening at close quarters the bass won't have the presence it should, add a brighter amp and this will sound quite edgey. I think the Pioneer would be ok though you may find the price goes mad as their reputation has got rather carried away. This may also be a case of needing tone controls (with defeat ideally) so I'm leaning towards Nad as previously mentioned or Rotel. Without tc's = Exposure. You can pick up up X (10) or XV (15) for the prices you want. (not the looney on ebay now wanting 299 for a X !). If you go Nad avoid any model with "PE" on the end, (stands for "power envelope" but nick-named "pops easily" ). You are always safe with the 4 figure model numbers, from ye olde 3020 series 20 through to the more recent 3020i. The 302 etc onwards are a little more patchy in their desirability. eg 3130Plenty to munch on there! In your position I would go for Nad as it ticks nearly all boxes including leaving you change from your £150, if feeling fussy then the Exposure. I have not heard any current models that would me dissuade from buying s/h. Chris
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Will
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Post by Will on Jan 19, 2010 21:53:56 GMT
dean0, did you get yourself sorted with a speaker amp?
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Post by dean0 on Jan 19, 2010 22:11:42 GMT
dean0, did you get yourself sorted with a speaker amp? Yes, got myself a Pioneer A400x for £80 delivered. Being lazy I don't have any pictures of the setup yet, but it sounds very nice Only problem Iam having is slightly 'boomy' bass, due to the position of speakers (close to wall, near corner). But I will reduce this with some bass traps and monitor foam stand things (using bluetak atm...).
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Will
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Post by Will on Jan 19, 2010 22:26:09 GMT
Funnily enough, I have a Pioneer A400X amp which I've had for about 20 odd years. It's a nice amp, and drives my Mission 760i well. Still used most weekends, although the wife reckons it takes up too much space!
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Post by dean0 on Jan 19, 2010 22:48:23 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2010 23:18:22 GMT
dean0,
Not sure if this is what you meant or not. Try cutting some low density foam bungs for the bass ports, approx. 8cm long. They should be a snug fit but not tight. If too much bass disappears you can shorten the bungs a little at a time to tune it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2010 0:21:57 GMT
What is it gets into us at RG? I have the original A400, has been in the loft for years, except for a nostalgic few hours, yet I see reference to mods and off I go for a look!
I see on one of the links jkeny was almost the last poster, I would be interested to hear how he got on with his.
Syd
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Will
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Post by Will on Jan 20, 2010 10:29:45 GMT
What is it gets into us at RG? I have the original A400, has been in the loft for years, except for a nostalgic few hours, yet I see reference to mods and off I go for a look! I see on one of the links jkeny was almost the last poster, I would be interested to hear how he got on with his. Syd I couldn't agree more, Syd! The A400X will be going during the year, so I have know inclination to mod it, but I still had to have a look. Which did make me ponder a bit! dean0, mine is stock, but I would be having a tat if I was keeping it. It's only going as it's being replaced by something smaller and less capable.
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Post by dean0 on Jan 20, 2010 18:33:32 GMT
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