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Advice request - My first hifi system

Premier said:
They look great, and for sure sound even greater, but I am oriented to floor standing speakers.
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Yeah I too prefer floorstanding for my home-theater room, but active monitors for my desktop/stereo. The floorstanders do look very nice but unfortunately due to how large and difficult to safely ship they are you'll not find enough measurements for floorstanders by third party reviewers. Unfortunate.

Also I just want to appreciate that you've been asking questions and so far are open to listening to the answers. Keep learning and enjoy the journey.
 
hashhar said:
In general people say this because it's far more often that people destroy speakers because of under-powered amps.

With an overpowered amp you "calibrate" it once by setting pre-amp/source to 100% volume and then setting the amp to a volume where you don't overload the speakers and from then you never touch the amp volume again.

Also having some headroom is useful always.
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It seems a good idea, thanks.
How can I set the volume on the power amp?
 
Premier said:
"working harmoniously"
In the past few weeks I started reading hifi magazines and also talking to dealers. They mean acoustic sinergies between amp and speakers.
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Be very, very careful: I'd ignore the hifi magazines and keep your mind engaged when you talk to dealers. There are good ones, but too many believe subjective fallacies. 'synergies' would worry me - that's sales talk
 
Premier said:
Why "Too much power is not a bad thing"?
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First, it is good to have headroom for dynamics. The spreadsheet to which I posted a link has a recommendation to add 15-20dB for the calculation to account for that. Some time ago I ran an experiment using REW measuring my music volume. The music peaks were about 19dB higher than the A weighted volume. That was one test, and with uncompressed music potentially it could be even higher. Having a lot of power on tap will help avoid the amplifier clipping when the instantanious peaks hit.

The amplifier will output power commensurate with the selected volume and its gain, depending on speaker impedance. Thus, even if you don't use the extra power, it is not hurting anything by being there.

Some amplifiers run hot when pushed toward the upper end of their power rating. This can have negative repercussions with regard to the life expectancy of some of the internal components. For such amplifiers, running the amplifier lower than its maximum output rating can make it run cooler, and thus last longer. EDIT: And some amplifiers cannot maintain their rated output power for long before shutting down or failing. See the Topping B100 thread as an example of this.

My recommendation is to use the spreadsheet to determine how much power you need. Look at amplifiers with at least that much power and that fit within your budget. Then select the amplifier based on price and other features and performance characteristics important to you.

As an example, assume you need 150W/ch, but there is not an amplifier with that power rating that you like and that fits within your budget. Also assume that there is an amplfiier with 300W/ch that you do like and that does fit within in your budget. In that case, get the 300W/ch amplifier.
 
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Premier said:
How can I set the volume on the power amp?
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Some amplifiers have their own volume knob. Really, they are integrated amplifiers. A volume knob is not needed on an amplifier if you have a streamer or pre-amp with a volume control. Just use common sense and don't turn the volume up to the point where the speakers start distorting.
 
Premier said:
"working harmoniously"
In the past few weeks I started reading hifi magazines and also talking to dealers. They mean acoustic sinergies between amp and speakers.
Click to expand...
HiFi magazines are notorious for providing misleading and, sometimes, downright false information. Moreover, subjective reviews without adequate objective data to support the opinions adds to a lot of confusion. One reviewer may characterize a speaker as being "detailed", which sounds like something you want, while another reviewer may call it "too bright", which sounds like something you don't want. If you look at the objective data it probably has a high frequency boost in the frequency response, which colors the music. Some people like that color added to their music, and some people don't. It comes down preference.

As for me, I like a neutral speaker with good dispersion characteristics and a low noise/distortion amplifier with a flat frequency response and low output impedance. If I want to make any adjustments to the sound, usually for room correction, I use DSP. Due to furniture in my office I cannot adjust the toe of my speakers to be optimal with respect to my listening position. So, I use DSP to add a 1dB small high frequency shelf, and it sounds great.

DSP is becoming very commonplace; it is included in many streamers, such as the WiiM Ultra, and is included in some preamplifiers and receivers. In my opinion, DSP and modern low output impedance solid state amplifiers make the old school arguments for matching amplifiers to the speakers irrelevant.
 
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Multicore said:
Wiim. Buckeye Hypex. Ascend Sierra Tower.
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Unfortunately I do not see any dealer for the Ascend Acoustics.

There are really interesting speakers, which were tested on ASR. Not all are easy to find here in Europe.
 
Premier said:
There are really interesting speakers, which were tested on ASR. Not all are easy to find here in Europe.
Click to expand...
I beleive you can only buy Ascend Acoustics speakers directly from the manufacturer. They have a 30-day trial period. If you don't like them, send them back. But, you need to check with them to see who covers the shipping charges.
 
terryforsythe said:
HiFi magazines are notorious for providing misleading and, sometimes, downright false information. Moreover, subjective reviews without adequate objective data to support the opinions adds to a lot of confusion. One reviewer may characterize a speaker as being "detailed", which sounds like something you want, while another reviewer may call it "too bright", which sounds like something you don't want. If you look at the objective data it probably has a high frequency boost in the frequency response, which colors the music. Some people like that color added to their music, and some people don't. It comes down preference.

As for me, I like a neutral speaker with good dispersion characteristics and a low noise/distortion amplifier with a flat frequency response and low output impedance. If I want to make any adjustments to the sound, usually for room correction, I use DSP. Due to furniture in my office I cannot adjust the toe of my speakers to be optimal with respect to my listening position. So, I use DSP to add a 1dB small high frequency shelf, and it sounds great.

DSP is becoming very commonplace; it is included in many streamers, such as the WiiM Ultra, and is included in some preamplifiers and receivers. In my opinion, DSP and modern low output impedance solid state amplifiers make the old school arguments for matching amplifiers to the speakers irrelevant.
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Thank you for your advices and links as well!

I think, I am understanding the topic regarding power.
The speakers I am intended to test are the Triangle Antal 40th Anniverstary.
Suggested amp power: 60-300W
Power handling: 140W
Nominal impedence: 8 Ohm
Minimum impedence: 3 Ohm

I think that a Hypex NCx500 with 380W at 8 Ohm could have enough reserves
Especially when they play the frequencies 70Hz to 700 Hz below 6 Ohm up to 2.5 Ohm (150Hz.) (See here: https://www.stereophile.com/content/triangle-antal-40th-anniversary-edition-loudspeaker-measurements).
Their frequency response seems okayish

The sensitivity is 92dB.
I was told that the higher the sensitiviy, the worse you can listen to the speaker if driven at a low volume.
Is this possible?
 
terryforsythe said:
I beleive you can only buy Ascend Acoustics speakers directly from the manufacturer. They have a 30-day trial period. If you don't like them, send them back. But, you need to check with them to see who covers the shipping charges.
Click to expand...
I can check to find out more about their international shipping policies.
 
Premier said:
There are really interesting speakers, which were tested on ASR. Not all are easy to find here in Europe.
Click to expand...
Yes, that makes a difference. You can find several good European vendors for amps using Hypex modules. Others can suggest speakers. Here in the US you can buy direct from Ascend which I guess is how they can compete on price with the big companies.
 
Premier said:
I can check to find out more about their international shipping policies.
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This is what they say on their website :
International Orders:
We ship our speakers worldwide on a regular basis and we receive excellent international shipping rates. If you are overseas and would like to purchase Ascend products, please place your order online through our website. We will amend your order with the most cost-effective shipping method we can offer. Note: You will NOT be charged for the initial order or the shipping charges until we have your approval.

ascendacoustics.com

Shipping

Domestic Orders:Domestic orders are generally shipped within 2-3 business days of order placement, provided all units are in stock. These orders are shipped by UPS ground and will take from 2-5 business days for delivery depending on your place of residence. For accurate transit times, please...
ascendacoustics.com ascendacoustics.com
 
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Also, although I greatly prefer reviews with objective measurement data, Darko Audio has a good review of the Buchardt A700 that explains some reasons that may make that speaker very compelling for some people (EDIT: This video compares Buchardt A700 to the KEF LS60 and another speaker, but was made prior to KEF's $2,000 price reduction on the LS60):

 
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