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Revel Salon2, B&W 802 D3, or similarly priced speakers + Benchmark chain?

direstraitsfan98

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How is the new system working out? Hope you're loving it!
It's working out amazingly! I don't really feel the need to wax poetic on my new gear aquisitions and why they are the hottest new thing anymore (I used to). but since you asked... I've found massive improvement in bass response. I do get a stronger bottom end, my roommate asked me to turn the volume down the day I had everything hooked up, and that was the first time that ever happened. and as far as midrange and top end, I probably need more time to figure that difference in what I'm hearing. of course seeing the blue meters dance to the music is totally worth the price of admission. I posted some pictures in the other McIntosh thread if you didn't see. But here's a new one.

jblmc.jpg


Ps. I wish I had salon2's! I feel like the odd person out, nobody has 4367's but everyone's got Salon2's!!!
 

Sal1950

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Ps. I wish I had salon2's! I feel like the odd person out, nobody has 4367's but everyone's got Salon2's!!!
I'm not sure I would agree with you on that, the 4367s are amazing speakers, the passive version of the M2. I would venture a guess the 4367s can play cleanly louder than the S2s.
The Mc rack is beautiful, I'm sure you will enjoy it for decades. The combined system should give you a lifetime of listening pleasure at a SOTA level that will be hard to ever exceed.
Congrats
 

chaochao6

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I have a sub which I have not bothered to connect with my Salon 2 system. There is more than enough bass and in the large room I have, together with EQ, room modes is not a concern either. The bass goes quite deep.
Hi Amir, May I ask what amplifier do you use/recommend to drive the Salon 2? Thank you!
 

Kal Rubinson

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Ordered a pair of Studio2s (from the store) & Benchmark (direct) AHB2s, a HPA4 and DAC3 - expecting everything in a couple of weeks.
Do you have an update for us?
 
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SplitTime

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Do you have an update for us?

I am *** extremely *** happy! Presently I'm driving the L & R channels from the AHB2s - stereo is full Benchmark. I don't have the digital DSD for some of my SACDs so I play those on a Oppo BD105D XLR out to HPA4 XLR in. As you can see I went ahead and bought the center channel (and not shown surrounds) to match the Studio2s. I have an older AVR driving the center channel and surrounds for 5.1 playback - for this I route the RCA for L & R in to the back of the HPA4. The AVR definitely needs upgrading now as I do have some 5.1 SACDs that I really like.

My apologies for not replying more quickly but I kept putting it off until I get all the wires in the walls and things cleaned up for a decent photo. But, alas, when I have free time I just want to sit and listen. Wires still run along the floors in the room - fortunately there is very little foot traffic or "aesthetic" feedback from my better half in this particular space. It seems the clean up is going to be a while yet - so this photo will have to do for now.

Back to 5.1 (or 5.4 I understand from some of you ;)) ... I've been watching the recent Denon AVR reviews/threads. Still seems like we're a long way from being able get the same quality for 5.1 that we get for stereo. I have an Oppo UDP203 - so I was thinking I might be able to use the volume control inside the Oppo (but I haven't tried that yet) and directly feed AHB2s - if I get an RCA-->XLR conversion? Otherwise I'd need a 5.1 preamp as good as the HPA4? :oops: Suggestions??

I am really amazed at how good this sounds.

Many thanks to @amirm for this site and everyone else who helped provide feedback!

stereo.jpg
 

Sal1950

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I am really amazed at how good this sounds.
Congrats, I'm sure that baby sounds amazing!
It's a real hoot when you put up a whole new rig like that.
I'm thrilled with my new JBL rig, best surround sound I've ever put together.
Enjoy,
And don't forget to start looking into some Atmos ceiling installs. LOL
 

waynel

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I am *** extremely *** happy! Presently I'm driving the L & R channels from the AHB2s - stereo is full Benchmark. I don't have the digital DSD for some of my SACDs so I play those on a Oppo BD105D XLR out to HPA4 XLR in. As you can see I went ahead and bought the center channel (and not shown surrounds) to match the Studio2s. I have an older AVR driving the center channel and surrounds for 5.1 playback - for this I route the RCA for L & R in to the back of the HPA4. The AVR definitely needs upgrading now as I do have some 5.1 SACDs that I really like.

My apologies for not replying more quickly but I kept putting it off until I get all the wires in the walls and things cleaned up for a decent photo. But, alas, when I have free time I just want to sit and listen. Wires still run along the floors in the room - fortunately there is very little foot traffic or "aesthetic" feedback from my better half in this particular space. It seems the clean up is going to be a while yet - so this photo will have to do for now.

Back to 5.1 (or 5.4 I understand from some of you ;)) ... I've been watching the recent Denon AVR reviews/threads. Still seems like we're a long way from being able get the same quality for 5.1 that we get for stereo. I have an Oppo UDP203 - so I was thinking I might be able to use the volume control inside the Oppo (but I haven't tried that yet) and directly feed AHB2s - if I get an RCA-->XLR conversion? Otherwise I'd need a 5.1 preamp as good as the HPA4? :oops: Suggestions??

I am really amazed at how good this sounds.

Many thanks to @amirm for this site and everyone else who helped provide feedback!

View attachment 72929
Looks like you have a subwoofer on the left. How do you handle the crossover for music?
 

Sal1950

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It's working out amazingly! I don't really feel the need to wax poetic on my new gear aquisitions and why they are the hottest new thing anymore (I used to). but since you asked... I've found massive improvement in bass response. I do get a stronger bottom end, my roommate asked me to turn the volume down the day I had everything hooked up, and that was the first time that ever happened. and as far as midrange and top end, I probably need more time to figure that difference in what I'm hearing. of course seeing the blue meters dance to the music is totally worth the price of admission. I posted some pictures in the other McIntosh thread if you didn't see. But here's a new one.

View attachment 61101

Ps. I wish I had salon2's! I feel like the odd person out, nobody has 4367's but everyone's got Salon2's!!!
BTW, Did I tell you how jealous I am of your big woofers. :eek::)
 
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SplitTime

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Looks like you have a subwoofer on the left. How do you handle the crossover for music?

Actually, I don’t turn it on unless I’m watching a movie - it’s not tuned to the room either. So, long term, that’s another “TODO.” That said, I‘m finding that I’m also very happy with the low frequency response of the Studio2s. I can listen at a very nice level and not disturb my wife upstairs — WIN WIN. So, eventually @amirm will finish his REW How-To (at least I don’t think it’s done yet) and perhaps by then I’ll be ready for the next step on my journey...
 

waynel

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Actually, I don’t turn it on unless I’m watching a movie - it’s not tuned to the room either. So, long term, that’s another “TODO.” That said, I‘m finding that I’m also very happy with the low frequency response of the Studio2s. I can listen at a very nice level and not disturb my wife upstairs — WIN WIN. So, eventually @amirm will finish his REW How-To (at least I don’t think it’s done yet) and perhaps by then I’ll be ready for the next step on my journey...
I had a benchmark DAC3 and AhB2 with my Revel Salon 2s but could find no way to avoid analog crossover in between the two to crossover to the sub. The problem is there is no analog crossover that matches the noise and distortion of the benchmark gear.
 
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SplitTime

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My wife noted that the TV looks a little small now... ;) Of course she was just doing it to be a tease. I got so lucky to marry her before she knew how expensive I was going to be.
 
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SplitTime

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I had a benchmark DAC3 and AhB2 with my Revel Salon 2s but could find no way to avoid analog crossover in between the two to crossover to the sub. The problem is there is no analog crossover that matches the noise and distortion of the benchmark gear.

This + Oppo’s demise + ... + the lack of an AVR capable of preserving SACD 5.1 fidelity (at any price) seems to suggest (and I’m no audio industry expert) that people can’t make (enough?) money at it. Perhaps they “could” run in the black but there are other high ROI opportunities - so it’s not worth it ... to them. Looks like we’re waiting for someone, who doesn’t need to make that much money but loves music enough, to decide enough is enough and build it (and measure it ;) ... across manufacturing tolerances) for themselves. Then maybe they decide to give a few people jobs and so they start making them... not to make lots of money but to help other people listen to great music, “learn and have fun!”
 
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SplitTime

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Congrats, I'm sure that baby sounds amazing!
It's a real hoot when you put up a whole new rig like that.
I'm thrilled with my new JBL rig, best surround sound I've ever put together.
Enjoy,
And don't forget to start looking into some Atmos ceiling installs. LOL

Hi Sal, really appreciated your comments along the way here too. Thank you! Did you post your JBL details in another thread here somewhere?

I’m not even going to demo Atmos just so I’m not tempted to fall down that hole. Even though my wife would argue I have no restraint - I’m going to stick with 2.x & 5.x. I only put an “x” there because @DonH56 did mention he uses four 12” subs... to balance the room. Wouldn’t it be sweet if that room frequency response simulation tool just happened to tell me the best place to put four subs, in my room, was ... the ceiling?! Okay, I’ll keep my day job.

Seriously though, if you haven’t posted your little slice of JBL joy - consider sharing it. Cheers!
 

Sal1950

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Hi Sal, really appreciated your comments along the way here too. Thank you! Did you post your JBL details in another thread here somewhere?

I’m not even going to demo Atmos just so I’m not tempted to fall down that hole. Even though my wife would argue I have no restraint - I’m going to stick with 2.x & 5.x. I only put an “x” there because @DonH56 did mention he uses four 12” subs... to balance the room. Wouldn’t it be sweet if that room frequency response simulation tool just happened to tell me the best place to put four subs, in my room, was ... the ceiling?! Okay, I’ll keep my day job.

Seriously though, if you haven’t posted your little slice of JBL joy - consider sharing it. Cheers!
I've been very lazy as of late and still haven't updated my main system post. I've got some rearranging in mind and measurements I'd like to have ready first. I did put up a quick photo on the system in the JBL HDI-3600 thread
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...jbl-hdi-3600-speaker-review.13027/post-416657
My main system description thread is below but I haven't updated it yet.
Promise to get it together soon. !
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/sals-system.614/
 

Kal Rubinson

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I had a benchmark DAC3 and AhB2 with my Revel Salon 2s but could find no way to avoid analog crossover in between the two to crossover to the sub. The problem is there is no analog crossover that matches the noise and distortion of the benchmark gear.
AFAIK, it has not been measured independently, but the JLAudio CR1 is a likely candidate. It was, subjectively, transparent when used with my AHB2s and Studio2s. For various reasons, I prefer digital crossover/EQ, anyway.
 

waynel

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AFAIK, it has not been measured independently, but the JLAudio CR1 is a likely candidate. It was, subjectively, transparent when used with my AHB2s and Studio2s. For various reasons, I prefer digital crossover/EQ, anyway.

Thanks for your comment Kal and that is a great suggestion but I too prefer digital crossover and EQ.

I owned a JL CR1 up to a few months ago and it was a good product as far as functionality. My music path was a Yamaha WXC-50 -> MiniDSP DDRC-22D-> Benchmark DAC3L-> JL CR1 -> Benchmark AHB2_> Revel Salon 2s and pair of JL F113v2s connected to the CR1.

For movies I took the L+R preouts of an AVR to the Benchmark DAC3L in HT bypass mode, There are 2 options for bass management here
1) set L+R to large and configure AVR with no sub (treating the L+R + Subs with crossover as full range speakers)
2) pushing the HT bypass button on the JL CR1 and using the AVR for bass management (wish this button was remote controlled)

While the CR1 was good and configurable it was still the dominant source of noise in the system and it annoyed me that I wasn't getting the best performance that the benchmark gear could deliver. Also, I thought that I could get better results by unifying the bass management and room correction in the digital domain. I could do this with a miniDSP box and two DAC3s but the volumes would get out of sync ( note to benchmark please create a 3 or 4 channel DAC or have the DAC4 have a capability of linking two DACs and always keeping the volume and HT bypass synced.

Recently I replaced the DAC3L, CR1, and DDRC-22D with an Anthem STR Preamp and am really happy with the combination. The noise level in the system fell to silence and the small amount of noise ( ground loop) that I had with my AVR and some sources disappeared as the Anthem STR is relayed out of the picture in HT bypass mode. Anthem really nailed the functionality and user interface too. I think for a shared music and HT system using subs the STR is the best current solution. If I were not using subs then I would go back to a miniDSP for room correction and use an all Benchmark chain. It's too bad that Benchmark has no solution for bass management.
 

Sal1950

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preload

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Did you consider letting the studio2's run full range and just using the built in low pass xover in the sub? Dac3 should have at least 2 sets of volume controlled pre-outs.

Also out of curiosity, how much stronger was your preference for the studio2 over the 802d3 soundwise?
 

Kal Rubinson

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Did you consider letting the studio2's run full range and just using the built in low pass xover in the sub?
No. My alternative was to put the subs on the LFE output of my server and arrange crossover/bass management in software.
Also out of curiosity, how much stronger was your preference for the studio2 over the 802d3 soundwise?
Stronger than what? I preferred the Studio2 and regret that I had not kept them when I reviewed them in 2008!
 

preload

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No. My alternative was to put the subs on the LFE output of my server and arrange crossover/bass management in software.
Stronger than what? I preferred the Studio2 and regret that I had not kept them when I reviewed them in 2008!

Oh, Kal Rubinson! I'd love to what degree you preferred your Studio2's over the 802D3 (and/or 802D if you remember that far back)... i.e. were the differences substantial or perhaps more subtle?
 
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