Help me help my dad with his audio component smorgasbord

[oranje]

Newbie here. Please help me make some sense of my dad's AV smorgasbord, acquired over a lifetime. He's in his 80's with tinnitus and hearing loss. He has the following, some of which were kits:

## TV
- TCL 55 Roku TV (ca 2019?)

## Components
- Yamaha Pre C-2x
- Yamaha Amp B-2x
- Hafler Pre 110
- Hafler Amp DH-200
- NAD 4155 Tuner
- Dynaco PAT-4
- Dynaco FM-5 Tuner
- Dynaco Amp
- Older iPad and/or Apple laptop

## Speakers
- Rectilinear (?) Towers (I'm not sure how to ID these)
- Realistic (?) w/ 8" Drivers 2.75" Tweeters (again, IDK)
- Jamo J-10 Sub
- Bose 901
- Bose 201

## Recent Purchases
- Wiim Ultra
- Wiim Mini
- Aiyima A07 (36v)

I ordered the A07, the Wiim Ultra, and the Wiim Mini over Black Friday. These days my dad mostly watches TV, but he does listen to classical music via Apple Music. Switching to another platform would be ok.

He currently has the Yamaha C2x -> B2x -> 901s and watches TV with TV speakers. ATM I'm testing the TV -> A07 -> Realistic + J-10 Sub.

1st. Is there an obvious way of organizing these components? I have a $2000 budget to clean this up and/or for additional purchases.

2nd. Are any of these components meritorious? Or should we just unload/ebay/thrift whatever he isn't using?

3rd. Are there any DIY speaker builds that would put the Bose 901 (v5 I think) drivers to better use? Decent woodworker here, I just don't know anything about audio.

Thank you so much for any help.

[Yes, I know the Bose are backwards. Just testing.]

 

[terryforsythe]

He currently has the Yamaha C2x -> B2x -> 901s and watches TV with TV speakers. ATM I'm testing the TV -> A07 -> Realistic + J-10 Sub.

Keep those components. Connect the WiiM Ultra to the Yamaha C2x to add streaming.

Is he using two sets of speakers for home theater surround sound, as opposed to just watching TV? If not, he only needs one pair of speakers for stereo listening. Keep whichever pair he likes best and use the subwoofer with them. Maybe move the other pair to another room with the Hafler or Dynaco setup.

If he likes the 901s or Realistic speakers, leave them be. If he wants better speakers, checkout the links below for ratings based on actual measurements.

Are any of these components meritorious?

Yes. You can list them in here if you become a forum contributor and/or sell them on another used audio gear website.

Here are the links to the speaker ratings. Those links have hyperlinks to the reviews/measurement data:

A collection of loudspeakers measurements

www.spinorama.org

Passive Speaker Recommendations for USA (by @sweetchaos)

I'm constantly asked which speakers to purchase...so, here you go! :D This guide is for PASSIVE speakers. For ACTIVE speakers go here. Click on the "Spoiler" buttons below to expand each section. Readme: Legend: Never Buy This Brand: Passive Bookshelf Speakers: Passive...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[kemmler3D]

Are there any DIY speaker builds that would put the Bose 901 (v5 I think) drivers to better use?

In general repurposing drivers is harder than just building a speaker around good components from the beginning. And, given that the 901 is considered an "exotic" design (lots of drivers shooting all over the place) it would be really hard to turn it into something using 901 parts that is better than (or even as good as) the 901.

People like the 901s, @GXAlan is a fan I think. I would keep them.

If you want to upgrade speakers there are lots of options... if you sell some of the existing components and roll $2K into that you can get pretty far.

I think I would keep the best components and sell the redundant ones. It all looks quite decent to me, but unless you're going to build systems in other rooms, you can't really use them all at once.

 

[GXAlan]

People like the 901s, @GXAlan is a fan I think. I would keep them.

I am a fan, although I did recently sell all of my 901’s off due to space constraints. The trick is to skip the equalizer and just use Dirac for full range correction.

I have not tried the WiiM but at least with the HTP-1, these PEQ settings are a very good first approach. (Optimized for Series VI).

 

[DMill]

Seems like a decent system if he is happy with it. The problem with a new AVR is the learning curve and how to use the remote and all the features. I’m pretty tech savvy and it even took me a couple weeks to figure everything out when I last got a new one. If he’s having issues with hearing a simple TCL soundbar might be nice. I actually think I have that tv and the built in speakers are awful.

 

[Clmrt]

The 901's are facing the wrong way. Pull the covers and make sure the surrounds are intact. Make sure the EQ box is connected and in the signal chain.

 

[DMill]

The 901's are facing the wrong way. Pull the covers and make sure the surrounds are intact. Make sure the EQ box is connected and in the signal chain.

OP did mention he knew the speakers were not faced correctly. Good call on the EQ

 

[oranje]

This is all very helpful.

I should have mentioned that the components are segregated: Room #1 (Yamahas -> 901s); Room #2 (Dynacos -> 201s). The NAD and Hafler components are spares right now. My thought with the WiiMs was to use them to synchronize streaming between the two rooms.

@terryforsythe Perfect! We'll try the WiiM with the 2cx. He does normally have the sub paired with the 901s. If/when we sell components we'll post them here; good tip.

@kemmler3D Good to know on the 901 drivers. Yes, part of the goal is to move the redundant components to someone who can make better use of them.

@GXAlan Appreciate your thoughts here, and the settings. My dad likes the 901s, too! He's not using either Dirac or the Bose EQ at the moment; I'll have to see why not.

@DMill Thanks for the vote of confidence. Yes, new tech might be a struggle at this point. A TCL soundbar might be a simple solution for the TV side--I'll look into that.

@Clmrt The Bose EQ is not connected now, though I know it was in the past. Maybe that's part of the problem. I'll investigate.

Very grateful for the advice, folks. Thank you.

 

[GXAlan]

@GXAlan Appreciate your thoughts here, and the settings. My dad likes the 901s, too! He's not using either Dirac or the Bose EQ at the moment; I'll have to see why not.

@Clmrt The Bose EQ is not connected now, though I know it was in the past. Maybe that's part of the problem. I'll investigate.

100% that’s the problem. Most people assume the Bose EQ is optional or it takes a good speaker to great. However, if you look at the EQ, it’s 10-17 dB. It’s more like a fancy JBL M2 where it’s a requirement for use. We think of fancy active crossovers. With the 901’s single full range driver, you need the equalization to provide a functional sound.