Confused Newbie

[Nodean]

Oh, OK, you’d like to sit further back than when at your desk. Like when the kids have been put to bed, and dad finally gets a chance to relax for a few minutes. Dad’s own little man cave.
I think we’re in luck here. The NRC uses an anechoic chamber to measure, which is considered to be an extremely high quality method. Results can be found here:

Canada NRC Triangle Borea3

Things look pretty good, but your Adams are better. Spending time comparing measurements between the two would be instructive. It will also be interesting to see which ones sound better to your ears in your room.
One thing you’ll have to worry about is whether or not you’re disturbing your spouse or children. If that becomes a problem, headphones might work the best.
If you have the space, you have the building blocks for a dual system. Connect the Boreas to your AVR. You could have one set of speakers at your desk, and the other on stands directed toward your easy chair. Which you put where is up to you. If you’re like most of us, you’ll try one configuration for a while, then change it up for a while, and finally settle on the one you prefer.
BTW, the Boreas are nice looking, and you got them at a great price! They actually measure pretty well, although as I said, the Adams are better. This is a classic tradeoff: form vs function.
If you get subwoofers at some point, you need to know that the sound they produce carries to other rooms the most. So late night listening doesn’t work so good, unless your room is room is super well isolated, or you listen at low volumes. A crossover lets you set the frequency where the subwoofer hands off to the main speaker. Below the crossover frequency, the subwoofer plays. And above the crossover frequency, the main speakers play. The crossover is the traffic cop that keeps things flowing in orderly fashion.
Sometimes a crossover is built into the subwoofer, but not always. When it is, it can be one of the easier ways to integrate a sub into your system. If your sub doesn’t have one, you can use your PC to do it, but then you’ll need two DAC’s per channel, so total of 4 channels for stereo. There are several other ways to get to the same place. If you start poking around on this forum, you’ll find multiple threads where people are discussing the best ways to solve this very problem.

I am rethinking. I was under the impression that sitting back around 6-7 feet wih the Borea tweeters toed in at eye level would produce better sound than sitting at the desk with the Adam's at eye level. If that's not the case maybe I should stick with streaming and downloading albums. Maybe send back sell/the Borea's and the cd player get a topping D3Pro + and some better headphones Like Hifiman Sundara's and a subwoofer for under the desk. I need to be honest with myself given the inability to play the music loud very often headphones make more sense and I have the Adam's when I don't want to use headphones. Maybe down the road upgrading the Adam's if that even makes sense. Even with occasional bandwith issues I could download the music from a site like Quobuz.

 

[Tom C]

I am rethinking. I was under the impression that sitting back around 6-7 feet wih the Borea tweeters toed in at eye level would produce better sound than sitting at the desk with the Adam's at eye level. If that's not the case maybe I should stick with streaming and downloading albums. Maybe send back sell/the Borea's and the cd player get a topping D3Pro + and some better headphones Like Hifiman Sundara's and a subwoofer for under the desk. I need to be honest with myself given the inability to play the music loud very often headphones make more sense and I have the Adam's when I don't want to use headphones. Maybe down the road upgrading the Adam's if that even makes sense. Even with occasional bandwith issues I could download the music from a site like Quobuz.

You have the option of listening and seeing for yourself which you think is better.

 

[Nodean]

You have the option of listening and seeing for yourself which you think is better.

Thank you.

 

[Josq]

View attachment 257748

It looks like the T5V's are not symmetrically positioned at the moment?

 

[Nodean]

It looks like the T5V's are not symmetrically positioned at the moment?

Thank you I have since adjusted them any advice on placement?

 

[Josq]

Thank you I have since adjusted them any advice on placement?

https://www.genelec.com/monitor-placement gives excellent guidelines

 

[Steven Holt]

I never cease to be amazed by our membership; you have been given some excellent advice. I hope you use it. Now, my two cents : I think that the Yamaha AS501 is the best integrated amp you can buy for the money. It measures very well and has everything you need. If you can afford it, look hard at the Rotel A12 -- but then you're going to have to make a very tough decision between the two. As far as the Triangle's go...I'm not sure. Between the agressive bass and the bright tweeter I'm afraid it's going to make for a poor midrange. That's something you're going to have to judge. Good Luck!

 

[Nodean]

I never cease to be amazed by our membership; you have been given some excellent advice. I hope you use it. Now, my two cents : I think that the Yamaha AS501 is the best integrated amp you can buy for the money. It measures very well and has everything you need. If you can afford it, look hard at the Rotel A12 -- but then you're going to have to make a very tough decision between the two. As far as the Triangle's go...I'm not sure. Between the agressive bass and the bright tweeter I'm afraid it's going to make for a poor midrange. That's something you're going to have to judge. Good Luck!

Thank you

 

[kongwee]

Triangle as normal bookshelf speaker will have better SPL handing than ADAM TV5 in further seating sweep spot. You can have both one for desktop one for your listening area. That you choose. Thumb of rule at the same driver size, studio monitor is better nearfield, and bookshelf for far. Not necessary truth, but they are intend to design that way.

 

[Nodean]

Triangle as normal bookshelf speaker will have better SPL handing than ADAM TV5 in further seating sweep spot. You can have both one for desktop one for your listening area. That you choose. Thumb of rule at the same driver size, studio monitor is better nearfield, and bookshelf for far. Not necessary truth, but they are intend to design that way.

Thanks. Would 6-7 feet from the triangles be far? The room is 11 wide by 14 long with my desk at a 45 to the shelf where te components are I could set the triangles About 6 feet apart and then move the chair centered abou 6-7 feet away.

 

[Tom C]

Triangle as normal bookshelf speaker will have better SPL handing than ADAM TV5 in further seating sweep spot. You can have both one for desktop one for your listening area. That you choose. Thumb of rule at the same driver size, studio monitor is better nearfield, and bookshelf for far. Not necessary truth, but they are intend to design that way.

Isn’t the distortion higher for Borea? Adam lower? How could you know the Borea has higher SPL at any distance?

 

[kongwee]

Thanks. Would 6-7 feet from the triangles be far? The room is 11 wide by 14 long with my desk at a 45 to the shelf where te components are I could set the triangles About 6 feet apart and then move the chair centered abou 6-7 feet away.

2 feet part from speaker and sweat spot is the good start. 2 or 3 feet away off wall for speaker and sweatspot. You have the play with triangle relationship. You can setup a bigger triangle as Borea is a bigger speaker than TV5. You can be more relax than TV5.

Isn’t the distortion higher for Borea? Adam lower? How could you know the Borea has higher SPL at any distance?

Studio monitor normally have lower power handling and you can easily drive into clipping protection. That physical and power electronic distortion together. Bookshelf with more power amplifier, the distortion lower in this department. Borea is bigger speaker than TV5 anyway.

 

[Galliardist]

2 feet part from speaker and sweat spot is the good start. 2 or 3 feet away off wall for speaker and sweatspot. You have the play with triangle relationship. You can setup a bigger triangle as Borea is a bigger speaker than TV5. You can be more relax than TV5.


Studio monitor normally have lower power handling and you can easily drive into clipping protection. That physical and power electronic distortion together. Bookshelf with more power amplifier, the distortion lower in this department. Borea is bigger speaker than TV5 anyway.

If there was a problem with clipping with the T5V Amir would have reported it in his review. He also would have reported high distortion. The only real problem reported in comments to that review seems to be a need to use the XLR balanced connections to control noise.

It appears that either speaker can be used as suggested and preference could go either way in practice.

 

[Nodean]

If there was a problem with clipping with the T5V Amir would have reported it in his review. He also would have reported high distortion. The only real problem reported in comments to that review seems to be a need to use the XLR balanced connections to control noise.

It appears that either speaker can be used as suggested and preference could go either way in practice.

I haven't noticed any noise but I don't play them very loud at all. I am using balanced xlr cables into the behringer audio interface. I plugged the turntable into the unbalanced rca inputs and didn't notice any noise either but volume is at conversation level.Thanks.

 

[kongwee]

If there was a problem with clipping with the T5V Amir would have reported it in his review. He also would have reported high distortion. The only real problem reported in comments to that review seems to be a need to use the XLR balanced connections to control noise.

It appears that either speaker can be used as suggested and preference could go either way in practice.

There is a clipping graph for studio monitor reviews.

 

[Tom C]

2 feet part from speaker and sweat spot is the good start. 2 or 3 feet away off wall for speaker and sweatspot. You have the play with triangle relationship. You can setup a bigger triangle as Borea is a bigger speaker than TV5. You can be more relax than TV5.


Studio monitor normally have lower power handling and you can easily drive into clipping protection. That physical and power electronic distortion together. Bookshelf with more power amplifier, the distortion lower in this department. Borea is bigger speaker than TV5 anyway.

You’re speaking in general terms, but we have measurements to go by. The measurements do not support your assertion.

 

[kongwee]

You’re speaking in general terms, but we have measurements to go by. The measurements do not support your assertion.

You have REW to do simple room interaction. Plus no measurement can calculate the detail, deep and soundstage. Only tone. Plus graph you see only base one speaker. If you are non soundstage believer, and you can go off putting left and right beside your cabinet and move them to get the tone you want. I mean you got space to play with. You can EQ anyway. If you really can read the graph by yourself, you can see Adam TV5 have a hype at 2000-10000Hz. Borea hype is above 10000Hz. I will take Borea for leisure and T5V for DAW work. Borea can do DAW work it is relevantly is flat and revealing speaker. You are subjected to damage the speaker as there is no protection as bookshelf.

 

[Nodean]

DAW work? Above 10000 hertz? Is that related to volume? I wouldn’t be playing them loud.

 

[kongwee]

DAW work? Above 10000 hertz? Is that related to volume? I wouldn’t be playing them loud.

2000-10000hz there is a lot of important audio que at this region. If you load a song and see the eq graph, will see lots of amplitude at this region more than 10000hz.

 

[Tom C]

Whoa, I’m confused! Please explain again how flat vs. lumpy FR relates to SPL capability at distance? That is, Adam is for near field (low SPL) and the Borea is for mid field (higher SPL)?
As I see it:
1.) REW can help with adjusting FR to your taste. To some extent. Key measurement: Anechoic frequency response. The Adams are a bit flatter. They do have a boost from about 4000 Hz (maybe 3500Hz) up to about 18Khz. But the Borea has higher peaks and deeper valleys, including a deep valley at around 15Khz. Is that important/audible? Depends. I can’t hear above about 12Khz, so I couldn’t tell you about that range. Below 12Khz, it’s hard for me to say exactly how much variance is important. 3dB I think I can hear. 1 dB is much harder to tell. I’d rather have less variance than more, though.
2.) Room interactions are tied to the off axis behavior of the speaker’s output. This is a complex feature of the speaker that results from the design of the cabinet, interaction between the drivers and the cabinet, any wave guide or horn that might be used, possibly other factors. The relevant measurement: off axis FR, a family of curves taken at specified off axis positions, e.g., 5 degrees, 10 degrees, 15 degrees, etc. This is where the Adams trump really trump the Boreas. The Adams are smoother off axis. In fact, these days, this is often what separates average from superlative. Few speakers are this well behaved off axis. The closer you sit to the speaker, any speaker, the more you hear the speaker and the less you hear the room. Flat FR will dominate the perception of the level of sound quality. The further away you sit, the more the room contributes to the overall sound, and the more important things like off-axis behavior of the speaker and room treatments become. Again, the Adams are better. You can see this by comparing the graphs of the listening window. The sound power DI curve for Adam is very smooth. We don’t have a sound power DI curve for Borea. Canada NRC didn’t provide one, so we can’t compare these, but I expect it would tell the same story. Amir’s suite of measurements is more complete.
3.) Most people find distortion to be the limiting factor of SPL. You turn it down when distortion is too bothersome. Some, I suppose, listen with the volume knob at maximum, and would compare systems at top volume, distortion be damned. But not most. It’s unfortunate that Canada NRC measured distortion at only one point, 90dB, whereas Amir measured at 86dB and 96dB. That makes it harder to compare apples to apples. I’m not sure there’s a huge difference in capability here, which is to be expected, as they are both of similar size. Driver size isn’t the most important metric here, by the way. What you want to measure are output level (seen in the FR graph) and distortion. What you’ll find is that, in the bass region, often a larger driver will give lower distortion, and maybe higher output, vs. smaller driver. But 6 vs. 5in? I wouldn’t expect huge difference. Some advantage to 6”, yes, but not huge.
So, as I said before, we’re in luck here. The Borea’s measure fairly well. Do you need to listen in order to make a full comparison? Well, why wouldn’t you, given the situation. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were hard to state one is way better than the other, after listening. However, I would be surprised to hear the Borea is a lot better than the Adam, as in significant upgrade. And I would be surprised to hear that the Borea is better for increased listening distance, like 6ft. or 9 ft.