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New 2.0 system. Overwhelmed by electronics.

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FlyingFreak

FlyingFreak

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Thank you all!

I guess I must've insisted a little too much on the number of boxes ... Main point for me was/is I am curious about how many devices we can connect to each others in our search for great music and wonder what is the marginal benefice of them (if any) vs one box.
And I arrived to the conclusion that I can't comprehend this without being with someone in a room showing me what's what (limited bandwidth on my part, not lack of clarity here) or getting a bunch of stuffs and trying them out.

The options we now have for HiFi systems, from least amount of devices to more:

Computer in a speaker type thing
DAC + Active speakers
AVR + Passive speakers
Dac + Amp + Passive speakers

If I was wiser, given my neuroticism, I would go with an everything in one option. Before coming here I was actually strongly considering the Q Acoustics M20. Certainly not as good as the Kef but I am weary of spending above 1k$ in a all in one system. Doesnt sound as good value to me as 'regular' active speakers or passive ones. My worries are probably not warranted but they are here.

Anyways, I moved on from that simple, elegant and probably good enough solution.

Active speakers I think I would need another type of budget to get what I can have from the Revel. Again, no real clue, only point of reference is reading threads here and trying to decipher spec sheets that I can't stay concentrated on for long enough to actually understand. What I am seeing is that comparing Genelecs vs Revel + amp, I can have bigger speakers for a given budget with Revel, so I chose passive for this set up.

Back to where I was when I started this thread, my mind is set on passive speakers and on the Revel M106 in particular. By all accounts, they sounds like good speakers and I am sure they will be good enough for me. At some point, peace of mind becomes more important than making sure I am making the absolute best use of my hard won $. If I end up not liking how they sound, I ll go explore the others in that price range (Kef3 and Ascend Acoustics Sierra-LX).

Thanks for breaking things down for me, Marc v E !

After checking cost of things, difficulty of implementation, size and look of devices and mostly wanting to hear music (and play with how to make speakers sound good in my space) I am done researching. I'll come back when my system is in place to report back.
 

Rednaxela

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Where did the room correction go in your story?

I mean only your third option will certainly have it.
 
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FlyingFreak

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Good question!

No idea if the first option offers any and the second I don’t know how it works.

3rd is self evident (if one pay attention to get an age with good eq) and 4th I consider using a minidsp flex with Dirac live as a dac +eq.
 

voodooless

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I think the Revels are an excellent choice for a passive speaker. If you would like to explore the active side a bit more, you may consider something like Genelec 8330. They should have lower distortion in bass than the Revels and also dig down a little deeper. I think the M106 will play a bit louder with a bigger amp. Budget wise this should still work out.

If you also get the GLM kit, you get excellent room correction as well. You also don’t need a DAC: these speakers have digital input. You’ll just need a streamer with a digital output. You wil be stuck with a Genelec sub if you want to add one though, because otherwise it will not integrate as well.

Also consider what your sources are? Just digital streaming, then a streamer is fine. Want to add a TV, something analog? You’ll probably be better off with something different.
 

NiagaraPete

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I quite like this speaker. If Kef removed all the streaming crap and just went with a balanced input.
I think the Revels are an excellent choice for a passive speaker. If you would like to explore the active side a bit more, you may consider something like Genelec 8330. They should have lower distortion in bass than the Revels and also dig down a little deeper. I think the M106 will play a bit louder with a bigger amp. Budget wise this should still work out.

If you also get the GLM kit, you get excellent room correction as well. You also don’t need a DAC: these speakers have digital input. You’ll just need a streamer with a digital output. You wil be stuck with a Genelec sub if you want to add one though, because otherwise it will not integrate as well.

Also consider what your sources are? Just digital streaming, then a streamer is fine. Want to add a TV, something analog? You’ll probably be better off with something different.
Maybe not, the new Wiim Pro has a digital out so only a aes adapter is needed.
 
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voodooless

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Maybe not, the new Wiim Pro has a digital out so only a aes adapter is needed.
Neat! You can save another box by just using an RCA to XLR cable. Most of the time they work just fine and no AES converter is needed. It will also let you hook up a subwoofer to line-out. That will give more sub-options than just the Genelec-branded ones.
 

NiagaraPete

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Neat! You can save another box by just using an RCA to XLR cable. Most of the time they work just fine and no AES converter is needed. It will also let you hook up a subwoofer to line-out. That will give more sub-options than just the Genelec-branded ones.
Will that work with coaxial?
 
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FlyingFreak

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I figured I should update this thread with what I ended up with, now that I received the last chain of the system.

Let me start by saying I am super happy with it. Over the last 6 weeks, I have been listening for music again, sharing favorite tunes with my wife, listening to her music (she is a musician), speaking about music. It is such a pleasure! (I come from a JBL Flip5, I think it is fair to say virtually any speakers at any price range would have put a smile on my face)

I ended up with some of the usual suspects in their respective price range:

2 Revel M106,
Buckeye Hypex NC252Mp,
Minidsp Flex (with Dirac),
Wiim mini.

I had the AIYIMA A08 while waiting for the Buckeye amp. I think I heard quite a difference when I changed but I was using the Wiim dac and now the Flex. So what might be responsible for what I think I heard is up to anyone's guess. I returned the Aiyima and can't try myself at some proper A/B testing.

If I could go back in time, I would buy a pair of decent active monitors on the first week I landed in the US, reminding myself that I have had a sound system in my room since I am 10 and it is out of question to live without it. I would have been happier and certainly approach buying a more expensive system today completely differently.

When I finally move out of the place I am in now, I'll get a couple of subs. I am pretty excited to see what that does for music. Never really listened to music with a sub, let alone two. For now, I am trying different speakers placement and learning to use the Flex with REW and Dirac live and see if I care for dsp in a 2.0 system.

I'll update again when I figured permanent place for speakers and understood how to use dsp to give my impression on its utility in my set up for anyone who cares.

Super grateful for all the information on this forum and everyone who contributed here !
 
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