Home Audio: What do you use?

[Just Joe]

I have a fairly complete 25+ year old Pioneer Elite component stereo still working well. The sound-something with the dancy lights recently died on one channel. Equalizer still works just I bypass the sound processor thingy. Cassette changer needs a new belt too. Not critical. I don't think we have many cassettes left.

I paid alot of money for that setup back in the day when I certainly could not afford it. My good sense was laid low by the glassy brochures... ;) Still, getting my money out of it.

Many sources feeding it now: iPod, Roku, a used (free) Mint Linux desktop computer, a used eBay 80's Techniques linear turntable. Sounds great for my record collection.

Speakers are Bose 301 (?) bookshelf speakers x4. Two were free and two were purchased new.

The Linux computer hosts XBMC/KODI and free Clementine (and its control app). Wireless Logitech keyboard. Music via the usual streaming music sources (Radio Paradise!).

I rip to 192K OGG when I rip. KDE desktop has a great ripper. We really need to clean house again on the physical collection.

We have kids and critters so not as much time to listen w/o interruptions or random noises. ;)

So, that leads to headphones. Cheap-ish LG "TonePro" 750 bluetooth headphones do a good job.

Funny but the free 15 year old HK beige computer speakers and attached sub in the garage sound good without the complications. Just add any source with a headphone jack.

[Penn42]

...

I like working on the gear ...

since you're into rehabbing these things, any idea what it would take to repair/replace the bass boost in my str-de197? 

if i switch the boost on or off while volume is up, i get a loud pop from only the right speaker.  the right speaker does not put out audio, just a pop, pop, pop at a regular interval, though not as loud as the initial loud pop when i hit the switch.  i've tried every input channel and both A and B speakers, and it does the same thing on every config. 

the left speaker seems fine at all times so it's just the right speaker channel when bass boost is on.  when the boost is off it sounds great and everything works as expected.

Sorry, didn't catch your post a week ago...

That unit is much newer than I've ever worked on.  If the bass boost knob/button or whatever is mechanical that would be the first thing to check, but based off the few pics I saw online it looks like it probably isn't.  The next step would be to download the service manual from hifiengine, find the bass boost board (or section of another board that processes that effect) and start testing components. 

The Audiokarma forum is full of many knowledgeable people who are more than willing to help.  It's very possible you could find someone who's been through the same problem before.

[dcheesi]

A friend/coworker turned me onto Paradigm speakers soon after college. A bit hard to find in the States (Canadian brand), but at the time they made excellent speakers for the money. I'm still using the pair of Titan bookshelf speakers I started with. The center is a supposedly matching Paradigm center, forget the model.  Sadly my second pair of Titans didn't make it through the last move unscathed, and anyway they wouldn't fit in the spaces available in my tiny new apartment, so my surround speakers are cheap Polk micros scavenged from my old living room setup back when I had a house (my main setup was in the basement "man cave" back then).

I have an old Sony SAWM-40 subwoofer, modified with polyfill inside to tighten up the bass response (common hack recommended for this particular sub on various sites), but I almost never turn it on now that I have downstairs neighbors again.

The most recent piece is a Denon receiver, bought a few years ago mainly for the HDMI switching and support for newer multichannel formats. My old Sony ES-1000 was great, but I got tired of working around the lack of HDMI support. I have to say that the automatic speaker/room calibration modern receivers have made a huge difference compared to the old trial&error method!

One thing I forgot to mention in my previous post and one that mustachians will probably love. When I did care about audio I built some audio kits from bottlehead. They are low powered tube amp/preamp kits and various add ons. They also sell a high sensitivity speaker kit that pairs really well with their kits. This stuff is AWESOME for audiophiles, and relatively affordable compared to what you'd need to buy to get similar sound.

Then motorcycles ruined my hearing, now I don't care so much for high end stuff. ;)

Yeah, I stopped being an "audiophile" the day I self-tested my hearing, and realized I couldn't hear anything beyond 15KHz anyway!

[JLee]

Yeah, I stopped being an "audiophile" the day I self-tested my hearing, and realized I couldn't hear anything beyond 15KHz anyway!

Frequency range isn't everything, though - listen to something on a phone speaker and then listen to something on a good set of headphones..the difference is massive, even within moderate frequency ranges.

[dcheesi]

Yeah, I stopped being an "audiophile" the day I self-tested my hearing, and realized I couldn't hear anything beyond 15KHz anyway!

Frequency range isn't everything, though - listen to something on a phone speaker and then listen to something on a good set of headphones..the difference is massive, even within moderate frequency ranges.

Oh, sure, you still need accurate reproduction of the frequencies you can hear. But a lot of the fussier aspects of being an audiophile involve chasing that last 0.0001% of the sound. And a lot of it (especially positioning, etc.) is more relevant to those higher frequencies where directionality and phase issues really come into play.

[Jouer]

1963 Magnavox record player console. $50 on kijiji. (Canadian Craig's List)

[GuitarStv]

Yeah, I stopped being an "audiophile" the day I self-tested my hearing, and realized I couldn't hear anything beyond 15KHz anyway!

Frequency range isn't everything, though - listen to something on a phone speaker and then listen to something on a good set of headphones..the difference is massive, even within moderate frequency ranges.

Oh, sure, you still need accurate reproduction of the frequencies you can hear. But a lot of the fussier aspects of being an audiophile involve chasing that last 0.0001% of the sound. And a lot of it (especially positioning, etc.) is more relevant to those higher frequencies where directionality and phase issues really come into play.

What's interesting is how good you can make less expensive speakers sound by tuning a room.  Start with a large room, build bass absorbers into the corners, broadband frequency absorbers strategically positioned on the walls/ceiling, and maybe a diffractor at the rear . . .  and the quality of sound improves quite radically.  It always surprises me when I see someone who has spent tens of thousands of dollars on audio equipment, but hasn't bothered to do this as well.

[ministashy]

I'm pleasantly surprised to find fellow audio nuts here on MMM--I've been quiet up til now because I was pretty sure it was the kind of expense you'd get facepunched for.  :P

If I had to categorize myself, I'm a budget audiophile?  Maybe?  I have three different music setups (living room, bedroom, computer office), which is a bit ridiculous given the size of my condo.  That said, I love music, am listening to it constantly, and while I have some nice headphones, I don't like being tied down by a cord to a stereo.

I will say that if you're smart, patient, and do your research, you don't have to spend a lot of money to get truly spectacular sound.  Most of my system are good solid brands/performers (Harmon Kardon, Cambridge Audio, etc), and for most of them I paid $100 or less via Craigslist.  You just have to know when to pounce on a deal.  The only exception to that were a couple pairs of speakers that not only sounded amazing, but had a beautiful rosewood veneer--I will admit I paid a bit extra for those because they were just too darn pretty to pass up.  :)

That said, if you don't care that much how your music sounds, then there's no need to invest the money or the time into piecing together a system.  I just find the challenge fun, myself. 

[dodojojo]

Not sure if I should be asking my question here or start a new thread as what I'm looking for probably doesn't fall under "audiophile."  Hopefully, some will have recommendations for something a little bit more humble.

My mono cheapie USB speaker went kaput recently.  I would like to upgrade to a stereo speaker that will accommodate my non-bluetooth MP3 player and bluetooth phone.  This year I've returned to listening to music and have been mainly doing it on cheap earphones.  Still, it's better than the mono speaker as I can hear different things on each side of the earphones (don't know the technical or audio term!).  And I would like to have that experience with a speaker(s). 

So I'm looking for a very basic setup of bluetooth or 3.5mm cable input from player to speaker. I'm reading reviews on Amazon for speakers ranging from $30-50.  They get great reviews but I find lots of things on Amazon with 4+ stars that are really just adequate or worse.  If it's absolutely impossible to find quality under $50--I'm fine with upping the ante.

Getting back into music may blow the MMM lifestyle a bit...but I'd like to enjoy it while my hearing is still pretty good!

PS: Also taking recs for earphones.

PSS: The last time I bought a set of computer speakers was about 15 years ago and they had an annoying buzz--is this still an issue with these of speakers?  The cheapie USB mono speaker didn't have this issue.

[GuitarStv]

Buzz in speakers can come from a variety of sources:
- unregulated/poorly regulated power supply where A/C leaks into the audio on the amplifier
- lack of shielding and EM interference (old CRT monitors were very bad for causing this)
- bad preamp (this would be your playing device / iPod / whatever)
- bad initial recording
- badly encoded or compressed digital audio
- bad grounds in the house you're listening to the music on can cause weird humming

You need to be a bit more specific about the noise, where you heard it, when (or if) it went away, etc.

[DreamFIRE]

Still, it's better than the mono speaker as I can hear different things on each side of the earphones (don't know the technical or audio term!).  And I would like to have that experience with a speaker(s). 

The term is stereo / stereophonic.

[dodojojo]

You need to be a bit more specific about the noise, where you heard it, when (or if) it went away, etc.

Speakers have long been donated to the thrift shop but thank you for the possible causes.  If it happens with the next speaker(s) I buy, I'll know what to investigate.

[dodojojo]

The term is stereo / stereophonic.

Stereo was what I had in mind but second-guessed myself because I thought the term would be much more technical and obscure.

[Dollar Slice]

... I can hear different things on each side of the earphones (don't know the technical or audio term!).  And I would like to have that experience with a speaker(s). 

If you enjoy the sensation of being able to pinpoint where a sound is via stereo playback, put those headphones on and search for some binaural recordings. They are recorded in such a way that the "location" of the sound is extremely lifelike, it's pretty fun. (There are some sort of gimmicky ones like a "virtual barbershop" where you can hear the scissors snipping all around your head, but you can also find music recorded that way.)