CD Playing: need help with setup

[MMeirolas]

Hey there,

I hope i can get some help about the best option for me playing CDs.

I bought a Sony BDP-S370 and a BDP-S5100 for CD as well as BluRay playing ability.
The 370 has a 24/192 DAC and optical, HDMI and coax output. The 5100 i don't know what DAC is in there, and has only HDMI and coax.
Both support SACD, don't know about DVD-A/BD-Audio..

I connected the players to my LG OLED over HDMI, then ARC to my LG soundbar. Sound was okay-ish, but i think with decent speakers and amp it will sound way better.

I don't have much space in my living room (that's why i use a soundbar for movies) with discrete wireless surround speakers. So if i want to have good speakers there (and an AVR...), i would probably have to use a 2.1... maybe 3.1 setup, even for movies...

Would i loose much by not having surround speakers and even a center speaker for movies?

Or should i just use my office, get a desktop amp and speakers, and put there the music setup? I would lose the ability to play Bluray discs here...

Could you provide options for AVR/Standmounts or Desktop AMP/Bookshelfs?

Thanks

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi,

Many, many options ... probably too many

Can we start with some basics: what's your budget, how large is your room, how far will you sit from the speakers and how loud will you listen? Do you need two players? What's more important: movies or music (that influences how much you need a sub, although I'm not a home cinema guy)

 

[MMeirolas]

Hi,

Many, many options ... probably too many

Can we start with some basics: what's your budget, how large is your room, how far will you sit from the speakers and how loud will you listen? Do you need two players? What's more important: movies or music (that influences how much you need a sub, although I'm not a home cinema guy)

Sorry... So much i forgot to add

I don't need two players. Just bought 2 because i got them practically for free, in case on of them breaks Ahahaha

Budget: i don't want to spend much, and I'm will to buy second-hand/vintage.... If I sold my soundbar i would get some money back... So let's say max. 1000€ for living room with an AVR. In the office with a cheap Chi-Fi amp probably less.

I think i'll be sitting 3m from the loudspeakers.... My living room is more or less 7x4m, and the office 4x3m.

I would say 60% movies, 40% music.

What is most important to me (other than sound quality of course) is not getting too many devices unless necessary. For example: If the speakers have good bass, i could live without a SW. If a small desktop amp gives me good sound, i could buy that instead of a full blown big AVR.... But then again: being able to use the AVR for BluRay would be great... So confused

Thanks a lot

 

[DVDdoug]

The digital side is of little concern when it comes to "sound quality" but it can be a consideration for format-support.

DVD-A is pretty-much obsolete (it never really caught-on) and I have no idea if your drive supports it. You can rip DVD-A to your hard drive and convert it to WAV or FLAC (or anything) but I don't know how to do it. It's illegal to break copy protection so you might have to use "black market" software. Some discs had DVD-A, plus a track in the "video" format (and maybe a still image or slide-show) so they'll play on any DVD player.

but i think with decent speakers and amp it will sound way better.

Speakers (and sufficient power to drive them) are EVERYTHING!

Would i loose much by not having surround speakers and even a center speaker for movies?

Without a surround decoder (usually an AVR) and a subwoofer you lose the "point one" LFE channel in movies/surround sound (you still get the "regular bass").

A center channel can help with dialog, and you can boost the center channel if you wish. A lot of people complain that they can't hear the dialog clearly without turning-it up to "movie theater" loudness and with a separate center you can turn-up the dialog.

Personally, I REALLY enjoy the surround sound experience (I only have 5.1). With regular stereo music I like to use a "hall" or "theater" setting for some delayed reverb in the rear and the "feel" of a bigger space. My rear speakers are large (supposed to be floor-standers) but they are hung from the wall near the ceiling above my couch so they don't take-up any usable space (in my average sized living room).

I don't feel like more channels would add that much and I don't want to add more wires (or buy more speakers and a new AVR). And most of the movies and video concerts I own are on DVD so they are 5.1 (or mono or stereo on the older movies). If I was building a dedicated home theater, I'd use the "maximum" number of speakers and I'd make it so I could easily re-wire it.

 

[JeremyFife]

60% movies sounds like you want to go down the AVR route - so probably 3.1 (2.1 at a pinch ) to start with. The AVR will handle that movie-specific LFE bass and let you build a surround system later.

As I said, I'm not a HT guy so you'll want advice from others, but this may be difficult within your budget.

An office system for just music is pretty easy for 500€ or so, but that might not be what you want.

 

[voodooless]

€ 1000 for an AVR, two speakers and a sub will not be easy, even second hand.

Maybe get a second hand Denon x3x00h from x3600h on or so, some second hand KEF speakers like Q100, Q150 or Q350, and if you’re lucky you may have a bit left for a sub.

 

[MMeirolas]

The digital side is of little concern when it comes to "sound quality" but it can be a consideration for format-support.

DVD-A is pretty-much obsolete (it never really caught-on) and I have no idea if your drive supports it. You can rip DVD-A to your hard drive and convert it to WAV or FLAC (or anything) but I don't know how to do it. It's illegal to break copy protection so you might have to use "black market" software. Some discs had DVD-A, plus a track in the "video" format (and maybe a still image or slide-show) so they'll play on any DVD player.


Speakers (and sufficient power to drive them) are EVERYTHING!


Without a surround decoder (usually an AVR) and a subwoofer you lose the "point one" LFE channel in movies/surround sound (you still get the "regular bass").

A center channel can help with dialog, and you can boost the center channel if you wish. A lot of people complain that they can't hear the dialog clearly without turning-it up to "movie theater" loudness and with a separate center you can turn-up the dialog.

Personally, I REALLY enjoy the surround sound experience (I only have 5.1). With regular stereo music I like to use a "hall" or "theater" setting for some delayed reverb in the rear and the "feel" of a bigger space. My rear speakers are large (supposed to be floor-standers) but they are hung from the wall near the ceiling above my couch so they don't take-up any usable space (in my average sized living room).

I don't feel like more channels would add that much and I don't want to add more wires (or buy more speakers and a new AVR). And most of the movies and video concerts I own are on DVD so they are 5.1 (or mono or stereo on the older movies). If I was building a dedicated home theater, I'd use the "maximum" number of speakers and I'd make it so I could easily re-wire it.

Thanks for your reply

Yeah, "wires", that's the reason e have discrete wireless surround speakers. I don't want wires running from front to back, since i don't have a way of hiding them.
I had such a setup and there was always complaining from visitors...

DVD-A wasn't what i wanted to say. I meant of course concerts that are released in DVD/BluRay, Like for example the Nirvana Unplugged concert. Sorry about that.

About the center speaker: i might manage to get that in if i buy a different TV stand, so that i can accomodate the AVR, the Nvidia Shield, the center speaker, etc etc etc... But it might be a bit much and cluttered...

I think i will go the office route. It will be cheaper with a Chi-Fi amp with a coaxial or HDMI Input, and some good bookshelf speakers. Since i already have a 27" Monitor there, which i might upgrade for movie purposes.

Happy for recommendations as far as good and cheap musical bookshelf speakers and amp

 

[Verig]

1. It will be much better with speakers

2. 3.1 is ok.

3. Center channel is hugely important in HT setup, don't go without it, and without sub you won't get LFE channel (there are some avrs that actually can direct LFE to mains but for this to make any sense you'd need Large speakers and even then I'd go with a sub. It's intended that way as the output is way out of normal speaker range.

4. KEF Q's are the easiest route as you can have identical mains and center.

5. Used market is your friend. Try to look for an avr that has a good version of room correction. These are about $1000 new but avrs don't hold their prices that well. Just make sure it's not too old with outdated hdmi.
$400 avr, KEF Q150 $120 each totaling 360, Elac 2030 10" sub $250. Of course depends on where you live and what is available but it should be doable for around 1k with little patience. (That Elac is sealed so not a movie monster but works great with music in small room. Also, very reasonable size still being an actual sub. Feel free to pick a more hard hitting model of course.)

 

[Robin L]

Any Blu-Ray (or DVD) player will play DVD-A, if you have a 2-channel system, the regular audio layer can play. The only issue is navigating the menu. Don't have a monitor to run through the menus for DVD audio in my listening room so I'm just waiting to find a good, small hi-rez monitor for movies and menus. I've got a Blu-Ray player I use for audio. It's hooked up to a Topping E30 and L30 mini-stack via optical Toslink, feeding to a Yamaha AVR. But I've only got a few DVD-A discs, so I don't play them. Got the Blu-Ray player because it's SACD capable. Have plenty SACDs. However, with few exceptions, that doesn't really matter either as all but a few of those SACDs are hybrid and the analog output of my Sony BDP BX57 player (which would be playing the DSD layer of the SACDS) doesn't sound as good as the Redbook layer running through the Topping gear.

BTW, spent $130 for two (floorstanding) speakers, an AVR and a powered sub, used. The speakers are Infinity Primus 250s, not half bad. It's all older equipment, bought more than five years ago, but it all sounds quite good. The AVR is 5.1, with an output for a powered sub, but is too old for HDMI.

 

[MMeirolas]

Any Blu-Ray (or DVD) player will play DVD-A, if you have a 2-channel system, the regular audio layer can play. The only issue is navigating the menu. Don't have a monitor to run through the menus for DVD audio in my listening room so I'm just waiting to find a good, small hi-rez monitor for movies and menus. I've got a Blu-Ray player I use for audio. It's hooked up to a Topping E30 and L30 mini-stack via optical Toslink, feeding to a Yamaha AVR. But I've only got a few DVD-A discs, so I don't play them. Got the Blu-Ray player because it's SACD capable. Have plenty SACDs. However, with few exceptions, that doesn't really matter either as all but a few of those SACDs are hybrid and the analog output of my Sony BDP BX57 player (which would be playing the DSD layer of the SACDS) doesn't sound as good as the Redbook layer running through the Topping gear.

BTW, spent $130 for two (floorstanding) speakers, an AVR and a powered sub, used. The speakers are Infinity Primus 250s, not half bad. It's all older equipment, bought more than five years ago, but it all sounds quite good. The AVR is 5.1, with an output for a powered sub, but is too old for HDMI.

Thanks for your reply.

Now that you mentioned it:

I have had that Topping stack at home, paired with JBL 305s and running Tidal Hifi from my LG V30.

Even tho these components all got really good reviews everywhere, this setup didn't blow me away. It sounded good, but not like "Hifi" to me...
Maybe the reason was the JBLs..?

So if this is a starting point for recommendations...

 

[Robin L]

Thanks for your reply.
Now that you mentioned it:
I have had that Topping stack at home, paired with JBL 305s and running Tidal Hifi from my LG V30.
Even tho these components all got really good reviews everywhere, this setup didn't blow me away. It sounded good, but not like "Hifi" to me...
Maybe the reason was the JBLs..?
So if this is a starting point for recommendations...

Maybe. Below is a review posted at ASR of the updated version of the JBL 305s. Obviously, I can't hear a review, but the frequency response curve suggests an overabundance of midrange energy. What I've seen of the Infinity Primus series points to a very smooth midrange, so that might be the problem you've experienced.

JBL 305P MkII Review (Erin)

Review copy/pasted from my site: https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/jbl_305pmk2/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JBL 305P MkII - Powered Two-Way Studio Monitor Review Saturday, May 1, 2021 Foreword / YouTube Video Review The...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Salt]

Some active KEF speakers with HDMI ARC input available?

 

[MMeirolas]

Maybe. Below is a review posted at ASR of the updated version of the JBL 305s. Obviously, I can't hear a review, but the frequency response curve suggests an overabundance of midrange energy. What I've seen of the Infinity Primus series points to a very smooth midrange, so that might be the problem you've experienced.

JBL 305P MkII Review (Erin)

Review copy/pasted from my site: https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/jbl_305pmk2/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JBL 305P MkII - Powered Two-Way Studio Monitor Review Saturday, May 1, 2021 Foreword / YouTube Video Review The...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I don't remember If it was Version I or II what I had...

I'm not sure it's just the midrange... I just couldn't hear a lot of details, everything was kinda veiled... Acoustic soungs, which sounded really good with my Sennheiser 6XX in the V30, didn't sound particularily special with the 305s. The only thing it had was bass, a lot of it.

And i remember there being a bit of static at lower volume, even tho i was using high quality cables.

 

[MMeirolas]

Some active KEF speakers with HDMI ARC input available?

Hum... But how to connect them?

My OLED TV has only 1 HDMI ARC...

 

[Salt]

ARC from TV via HDMI and music by WIFI or local wired source.

 

[MMeirolas]

ARC from TV via HDMI and music by WIFI or local wired source.

I am not sure what you mean by "music by WiFi"... It's a CD Player i am trying to connect.

Sorry, it's been a long day. Maybe i am just tired

 

[Salt]

CD via "local wired". Or take your time to rip CD and provide via WIFI (based on a NAS storage).

 

[Verig]

I don't remember If it was Version I or II what I had...

I'm not sure it's just the midrange... I just couldn't hear a lot of details, everything was kinda veiled... Acoustic soungs, which sounded really good with my Sennheiser 6XX in the V30, didn't sound particularily special with the 305s. The only thing it had was bass, a lot of it.

305s seem to have a bit elevated bass (or perhaps just widely recessed mids...) and they go pretty deep for the size, perhaps a bit too much for their own good. This coupled with your room and placement may very well make it a mess of boom.
This is one reason I recommended spending a bit more on the avr so you get good room correction features. Nice and punchy bass with coaxial Qs will give you much more stable "hifi" soundfield.

Of course the world is full of affordable pretty good speakers. I mention Qs because I like coaxials and being small they're very easy to place. With sub their lack of forceful bass is no problem.

 

[raindance]

Maybe. Below is a review posted at ASR of the updated version of the JBL 305s. Obviously, I can't hear a review, but the frequency response curve suggests an overabundance of midrange energy. What I've seen of the Infinity Primus series points to a very smooth midrange, so that might be the problem you've experienced.

JBL 305P MkII Review (Erin)

Review copy/pasted from my site: https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/jbl_305pmk2/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JBL 305P MkII - Powered Two-Way Studio Monitor Review Saturday, May 1, 2021 Foreword / YouTube Video Review The...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I don't see an overabundance of midrange energy in that review. There is a little, fairly narrow, peak around 1.6K or so which would make vocals sound "slightly" more detailed. The linearity test shows an elevated treble region but there are DIP switches to deal with this and it isn't the same as the in-room response, which is pretty decent.

That said, I have a pair on my desk and I don't like the way they sound. Warning: subjective terms ahead! They sound grainy and slightly harsh in the treble, a bit "shut in" and the bass is strong but devoid of mid or upper bass "warmth". So I guess this means that they manage to sound "cold" and "shut in" at the same time, which is an unusual combo. I use them for Teams calls and they are fine for this, but I cannot stand them for music. I believe the technical term from my ears' perspective would be "shite".

I have their Studio 530's in my living room and really like the way they sound, in comparison. Their measurements also show a slightly peaky response between 1K and 2K but they sound warm and full with a clean but not bright treble range.

 

[Ruhled]

Have you noticed that the 370 is a very loud CD transport? I have one and several siblings. They are all very loud to the point of distraction. Spinning up and down, noisy sled, etc. A real CD player (or even an older Sony DVD player) is a much better choice if you do any lower level listening.