Advice for pc setup (salk songsurround 1 + yamaha a-s501?)

[cart]

Use: music all kinds fairly equally, besides country
Near field 70% of the time mid the rest.

Just got a new townhouse so volume will be fairly low as I have shared walls and the hoa is fairly explicit that it's a quiet community.

PC will be output (full tower gaming rig.. type pc)

I like warm tones which I know salk isn't known for but I appreciate the expressed imaging and soundstage they seem to have far more. the brand loyalty, raving reviews.. of the few that exist, but just the general respect for the owner/brand and also the craftmanship and woodwork I can appreciate as well. Not to mention the made to order instead of out of a box from parts made nowhere near America is something I am happy to support.

Here is my non audiophile reasonings for the upgrades from my old pioneer SP-BS22-LR from 2012. I want to feel The music like I did and like nearly all of us did when we were 13, 15, 17 years old. Even though then i had $7 earbuds and a disk man (and likely a joint and possibly a gram or 2 of shrooms) music is just so critical esp then and even though I'm an avid listener I feel like as people get older and responsibilities start to pile up we lose that connection, though I feel that emotional significance is still their waiting. Though perhaps through a different lense.
Instead of the music magnifying or suppressing angst or some new emotion I've now experienced many times since. It can perhaps alleviate a day's strain nonetheless and that closeness can be found again through careful selection of audio equipment so it truly sounds like it's just before my closed eyes. Instead of shrooms it's a bit of whiskey. I could really drag this out.. but perhaps u get my point.

My current idea is:
Salk songsurround 1 $999
Yamaha a-s501 $550
(And perhaps later on a svs subwoofer)

Quite open to amp ideas as well.. I like the Yamaha due to.. well yamaha makes great amps.. I like the sub out ofc, bluetooth capable, 80 watts plenty of headroom I gather for my intended purpose, headphone jack and I like the knobs to be honest.

But that's where I'm at and will be moving forward soon. Appreciate any advice or suggestions.

 

[Helicopter]

Those speakers look lovely, but are not very sensitive, rated 84dB. You might want a little more power... or not. How big is your room?

I think you might like the flat sound more than you expect. If it is not perfect, you could add tone control like Schiit Loki Mini+ later on... or better yet, some parametric equalization.

 

[pjug]

I have the Salk WOW1 bookshelves in a small room. They do give me that kind of thrill; I just love them. However, Amir's review showed that they really need to be high-passed. I run them with a single sub and a miniDSP 2x4. Drive the Salks with an NAD C370 integrated since I need a lot of gain with the 0.9V output of the miniDSP. In the other thread you said you will be playing quietly so then I don't see a problem with the Yamaha power, but I don't know enough about the amp to know if it high-passes the mains when using the sub out. I think this might be important for you, although if you really never turn it up then bass distortion might not be so noticeable.

 

[cart]

I have the Salk WOW1 bookshelves in a small room. They do give me that kind of thrill; I just love them. However, Amir's review showed that they really need to be high-passed. I run them with a single sub and a miniDSP 2x4. Drive the Salks with an NAD C370 integrated since I need a lot of gain with the 0.9V output of the miniDSP. In the other thread you said you will be playing quietly so then I don't see a problem with the Yamaha power, but I don't know enough about the amp to know if it high-passes the mains when using the sub out. I think this might be important for you, although if you really never turn it up then bass distortion might not be so noticeable.

Those speakers look lovely, but are not very sensitive, rated 84dB. You might want a little more power... or not. How big is your room?

I think you might like the flat sound more than you expect. If it is not perfect, you could add tone control like Schiit Loki Mini+ later on... or better yet, some parametric equalization.

yea well i;ve finally got the ac working in my new place... and realized they concrete blocks separating each townhome.. not to mention my office.. is only connected to my own walls.. and even when i have my current system quite loud... i can hardly hear it downstairs let alone that sound going through a concrete wall.. so my loudness factor has increased significantly...

perhaps... just for budgetary concerns.. and i suppose this is a question as well; would a used Yamaha R N303 be a reasonable solution?
my house is becoming fairly integrated.. like nearly everything is accessing the wifi and i have the network to support it as well.

here are the 8 ohm.... um... numbers.,..
Minimum RMS Output Power 100 W + 100 W (8 ohms, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 0.019% THD)
Maximum Power(8 ohms, 1 kHz, 10% THD) 145 W + 145 W
High Dynamic Power/Channel (8/6/4/2 ohms) 140 / 170 / 220 / 290 W
Frequency Response 0 ± 0.5 dB / 0 ± 1.0 dB

I imagine the as-801 would be preferred on this forum and any other serious audio forum.. but I find it difficult to believe I would hear a decrease in QUALITY if it was a blind test. Maybe a difference in sound... but not quality. Perhaps to somebody with finely tuned ears... but i imagine more overhead the better.. and if i can get more features for the money... features I would actually use... considering i have too much bandwith wifi ping around 12 and 2 wifi6 routers operating on the same network.

edit: regarding high pass mains.. i don't even know what that means.. so... i guess ill need to read up on that... i was kinda hoping to avoid this what i've referred to as requiring an associates degree in consumer mid grade audio to make a confident decision.. but i must be near the end of the 2nd semester at this point.. though.. for the past month I havenet had access to computer.. everything i read and did was on phone.. so this will speed things up significantly... man i love this computer.
thanks

 

[Helicopter]

I wouldn't be so sure regarding consensus here. I suspect most here will agree with your prediction that audible differences between the 303 and 801 will be tiny or nonexistant. That is my take. The 303 should be fine, and if you get the itch to upgrade later, I would probably step up to a Hypex/Purifi based Class D amp with 400-500 WPC. Power is going to be the biggest differientiator in amps, but 30 percent differences won't matter in most situations. I have an old 1990s 5.1 Yamaha AVR in a 2 channel setup in my basement, and my wife yells at me if I turn it past 5 o'clock. I bet the 303 will perform very well, even with a little stress, and I don't see much point in going up the Yamaha product lines unless you are after something other than audible performance, like slightly better inaudible measured performance, a prettier case, or different input/output configuration.

 

[Colonel7]

yea well i;ve finally got the ac working in my new place... and realized they concrete blocks separating each townhome.. not to mention my office.. is only connected to my own walls.. and even when i have my current system quite loud... i can hardly hear it downstairs let alone that sound going through a concrete wall.. so my loudness factor has increased significantly...

perhaps... just for budgetary concerns.. and i suppose this is a question as well; would a used Yamaha R N303 be a reasonable solution?
my house is becoming fairly integrated.. like nearly everything is accessing the wifi and i have the network to support it as well.

here are the 8 ohm.... um... numbers.,..
Minimum RMS Output Power 100 W + 100 W (8 ohms, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 0.019% THD)
Maximum Power(8 ohms, 1 kHz, 10% THD) 145 W + 145 W
High Dynamic Power/Channel (8/6/4/2 ohms) 140 / 170 / 220 / 290 W
Frequency Response 0 ± 0.5 dB / 0 ± 1.0 dB

I imagine the as-801 would be preferred on this forum and any other serious audio forum.. but I find it difficult to believe I would hear a decrease in QUALITY if it was a blind test. Maybe a difference in sound... but not quality. Perhaps to somebody with finely tuned ears... but i imagine more overhead the better.. and if i can get more features for the money... features I would actually use... considering i have too much bandwith wifi ping around 12 and 2 wifi6 routers operating on the same network.

edit: regarding high pass mains.. i don't even know what that means.. so... i guess ill need to read up on that... i was kinda hoping to avoid this what i've referred to as requiring an associates degree in consumer mid grade audio to make a confident decision.. but i must be near the end of the 2nd semester at this point.. though.. for the past month I havenet had access to computer.. everything i read and did was on phone.. so this will speed things up significantly... man i love this computer.
thanks

I was going to suggest the X03 models if you want Yamaha. I've had the 303 for about 18 months and am satisfied with it listening at a distance of about 7-8 feet. You have to spend double the price to improve the connectivity and get higher SINAD at that wattage. It has optical in which is very useful and connects easily to your PC network over wifi; has Airplay. It is only 2.4 wifi if that is a limitation you're not willing to take on. The MusicCast app is rock solid although limited but if you use Spotify then you can bypass that direct to the receiver through wif. You can see from Wirecutter that it gets into the low 90s of watts before it starts to clip which is a fair amount of power if you're not listening over 85db at distance. They rate it highest out of the larger namebrand manufacturers budget amps and they do blind testing. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-stereo-receiver/ Just a caveat though - if I had to do it again I'd spend more than double and get an AVR as it just provides a lot more flexibility and most provide some level of room correction and subwoofer management. I'd rather have one system that does 2 and multichannel then 2 separate systems. YMMV of course.

 

[cart]

I wouldn't be so sure regarding consensus here. I suspect most here will agree with your prediction that audible differences between the 303 and 801 will be tiny or nonexistant. That is my take. The 303 should be fine, and if you get the itch to upgrade later, I would probably step up to a Hypex/Purifi based Class D amp with 400-500 WPC. Power is going to be the biggest differientiator in amps, but 30 percent differences won't matter in most situations. I have an old 1990s 5.1 Yamaha AVR in a 2 channel setup in my basement, and my wife yells at me if I turn it past 5 o'clock. I bet the 303 will perform very well, even with a little stress, and I don't see much point in going up the Yamaha product lines unless you are after something other than audible performance, like slightly better inaudible measured performance, a prettier case, or different input/output configuration.

i appreciate the timely response. i actually tended towards the AV Yamaha options upon recommendation (for a lesser model i believe) but they are so much easier to get used for like $400ish which is more in line with the a-s501 which is probably what i should of been looking at to begin with. but those wifi features im actually going to use and probably quite often.. more music the better. and still have a great unit from a well regarded manufacturer for my "one on one" time. so i think... for now that is the direction i will go in. if i need an upgrade it will not likely be due to a further need for these speakers.. but rather i have become "one of you guys" and am looking at charts and such and always trying to tweak and modify the "perfect audio" system.. for me. but until then this seems like more than a reasonable way to dip by toes... well at least up to my knees in the audiophile realm... and ultimately (and excuse me if this sounds odd) to be more intimate with one of the few things that can move my soul

 

[Helicopter]

i appreciate the timely response. i actually tended towards the AV Yamaha options upon recommendation (for a lesser model i believe) but they are so much easier to get used for like $400ish which is more in line with the a-s501 which is probably what i should of been looking at to begin with. but those wifi features im actually going to use and probably quite often.. more music the better. and still have a great unit from a well regarded manufacturer for my "one on one" time. so i think... for now that is the direction i will go in. if i need an upgrade it will not likely be due to a further need for these speakers.. but rather i have become "one of you guys" and am looking at charts and such and always trying to tweak and modify the "perfect audio" system.. for me. but until then this seems like more than a reasonable way to dip by toes... well at least up to my knees in the audiophile realm... and ultimately (and excuse me if this sounds odd) to be more intimate with one of the few things that can move my soul

I am only using the AVR down there because it was like $35. I prefer a stereo amp/receiver. I just meant 90-120W is decent power, and mediocre SINAD is often inaudible.

 

[cart]

I was going to suggest the X03 models if you want Yamaha. I've had the 303 for about 18 months and am satisfied with it listening at a distance of about 7-8 feet. You have to spend double the price to improve the connectivity and get higher SINAD at that wattage. It has optical in which is very useful and connects easily to your PC network over wifi; has Airplay. It is only 2.4 wifi if that is a limitation you're not willing to take on. The MusicCast app is rock solid although limited but if you use Spotify then you can bypass that direct to the receiver through wif. You can see from Wirecutter that it gets into the low 90s of watts before it starts to clip which is a fair amount of power if you're not listening over 85db at distance. They rate it highest out of the larger namebrand manufacturers budget amps and they do blind testing. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-stereo-receiver/ Just a caveat though - if I had to do it again I'd spend more than double and get an AVR as it just provides a lot more flexibility and most provide some level of room correction and subwoofer management. I'd rather have one system that does 2 and multichannel then 2 separate systems. YMMV of course.
View attachment 136897

i think that just solidifies my current perspective. im a first time homeowner.. have quite a bit of diying to do.. possible HVAC overhaul ahead of me etc etc. and on 2.4 i get 120ish mbps.. and 5G doesnt really have the distance anyways.. also having an ethernet input just overall seems like an intelligent package.. especially with how i will likely be using it. im more of a technofile than a audiofile.. but perhaps the one will follow the other. having a solid receiver with a number of capabilities I am very interested in using. well probably where i should of started.
thank you for a chart i can understand as well.

 

[Colonel7]

i think that just solidifies my current perspective. im a first time homeowner.. have quite a bit of diying to do.. possible HVAC overhaul ahead of me etc etc. and on 2.4 i get 120ish mbps.. and 5G doesnt really have the distance anyways.. also having an ethernet input just overall seems like an intelligent package.. especially with how i will likely be using it.

I forgot about the direct ethernet input, probably because it's never a problem. That's how I use mine.

 

[cart]

I forgot about the direct ethernet input, probably because it's never a problem. That's how I use mine.

yea mine's going to be situated basically next to my main router. so it works out nicely. other than cables and shit.. i think i've gotten this fairly figured out and somewhat reasonably as well.. i feel somewhat fortunate (and hope to still feel that way in 3 months) that the 1 person who requested a review set of SongSurround 1s was just happened to be the redditor who had already reviewed most of what i was looking at. i didnt know what salk was in her list of reviews though until i contacted them directly just saying my budget and goals. though i feel pretty damn comfortable moving forward and just about 90% convinced on the the finish i want. those speakers if the rumors are true, will certainly be the most well crafted furniture id likely own.

edit: and it doesn;t hurt that the owner of the company picked up his phone at a fairly early hour (i assumed i was just going to get a voicemail) and spent nearly 30min talking with me about my various questions and concerns.

 

[pjug]

yea well i;ve finally got the ac working in my new place... and realized they concrete blocks separating each townhome.. not to mention my office.. is only connected to my own walls.. and even when i have my current system quite loud... i can hardly hear it downstairs let alone that sound going through a concrete wall.. so my loudness factor has increased significantly...

perhaps... just for budgetary concerns.. and i suppose this is a question as well; would a used Yamaha R N303 be a reasonable solution?
my house is becoming fairly integrated.. like nearly everything is accessing the wifi and i have the network to support it as well.

here are the 8 ohm.... um... numbers.,..
Minimum RMS Output Power 100 W + 100 W (8 ohms, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 0.019% THD)
Maximum Power(8 ohms, 1 kHz, 10% THD) 145 W + 145 W
High Dynamic Power/Channel (8/6/4/2 ohms) 140 / 170 / 220 / 290 W
Frequency Response 0 ± 0.5 dB / 0 ± 1.0 dB

I imagine the as-801 would be preferred on this forum and any other serious audio forum.. but I find it difficult to believe I would hear a decrease in QUALITY if it was a blind test. Maybe a difference in sound... but not quality. Perhaps to somebody with finely tuned ears... but i imagine more overhead the better.. and if i can get more features for the money... features I would actually use... considering i have too much bandwith wifi ping around 12 and 2 wifi6 routers operating on the same network.

edit: regarding high pass mains.. i don't even know what that means.. so... i guess ill need to read up on that... i was kinda hoping to avoid this what i've referred to as requiring an associates degree in consumer mid grade audio to make a confident decision.. but i must be near the end of the 2nd semester at this point.. though.. for the past month I havenet had access to computer.. everything i read and did was on phone.. so this will speed things up significantly... man i love this computer.
thanks

That Yamaha R N303 really has a lot of nice features.

[edit] but missing subwoofer output?! The line output is fixed volume not a preamp output. So to connect a sub you would have to use a speaker level connection. I still wouldn't rule it out if your sub has speaker level input.

Nice that is has a line out, so if you want to upgrade with a better power amp and/or put a miniDSP between pre and power to do proper bass management, you can keep the Yamaha as a preamp. Same with something like the NAD C338 (and my understanding is that the C338 DOES have rudimentary crossover for sub integration, although I'm not sure about that).

On high-passing mains: this is part of crossing over the SUB and main speakers, just as any multi-way speakers have a crossover. So if you cross over at 80 Hz, for example, you filter the full range signal and send freqs below this to the sub and freqs above this to the mains. Then there are phase issues and other details, but this is the gist of it.

 

[pjug]

I have lost track a little on what features you want, but take a look at the new PowerNode (shipping in July). It has a headphone jack (unlike Sonos Amp), and also crossover functionality for bass management. More money, but looks very nice.
https://www.bluesound.com/products/powernode/

 

[cart]

I have lost track a little on what features you want, but take a look at the new PowerNode (shipping in July). It has a headphone jack (unlike Sonos Amp), and also crossover functionality for bass management. More money, but looks very nice.
https://www.bluesound.com/products/powernode/

haha i think i just realized i actually wanted features... not just the "best audio quality" and a used n r303 certainly has alot of features and they are easy to pick up used and plenty of power for the those salk monitors.

that's a clean little unit but i think.. that whole set up.. for whatever reminds me of this hallway bill gates has in his mansion (this was like 10-15 years ago) but wherever he walked it the hallway would read his body temperature or something and change the color of the hallway.... not sure why i thought of that... other than that is super future shit right there.

 

[pjug]

haha i think i just realized i actually wanted features... not just the "best audio quality" and a used n r303 certainly has alot of features and they are easy to pick up used and plenty of power for the those salk monitors.

that's a clean little unit but i think.. that whole set up.. for whatever reminds me of this hallway bill gates has in his mansion (this was like 10-15 years ago) but wherever he walked it the hallway would read his body temperature or something and change the color of the hallway.... not sure why i thought of that... other than that is super future shit right there.

When I said I lost track, all I meant was I forgot if you wanted any particular inputs or anything like that. Certainly anything that strikes your fancy is perfectly OK!