Newbie need advice for his next buy building his audio system

[lodbrok]

Hello,
first thanks for this amazing forum, i'm still a noob in Audio, but i start to learn a lot of things reading to this place.

I just installed some of my dad old stuff (i actually have them since a pretty long time...but i needed a world confinement to install all of this ^^)
I have a little Nythech Obelisk CA102, an old Dual CS 617Q and a Denon DCD 100 DCD 1000 (cd player).
I would like to find me some nice Bookshelves speakers.
I don't want to dive deep inside Audio, and i don't have the money (and my ears the skills) to need extra expensive stuff.
I will use all of this in a bedroom sized office in my house.
I'm thinking of behing able to also use my system with my computeur and my smartphone.
But i saw that active and Bluetooth speakers are pricy.
So i was thinking of regular good quality audio speakers and then just add a little bluetooth DAC transmitter to the Nytech (if it's possible) for the smartphone/PC use. For me a lesser quality will be enought for this type of use, and i keep the good stuff for the phono and CD music.

The types of music that i listen to with the vinyl table are mainly Rock&roll and Japanese Jazz (a lot) US Jazz too of course.
For the CD it's more divercified, but things that deserved to be listened in this quality, i will say mainly "Sigur Ros" ^^

My budget will be between 300 to 400 maybe a little more but not too much.
Thanks for your advices.

 

[somebodyelse]

Welcome to the forum.

Check out the Master Preference Ratings for Loudspeakers and/or the Loudspeaker Explorer for the ones that have been tested here. So far the Pioneer SP-BS22-LR or Zaph ZA5.2 kit look best, depending on whether you're ok with building them yourself. I think there's a C-Note kit (~$100) in the review pipeline, but no idea how long it'll take to get to the front.

I don't think any bluetooth receivers have been measured yet, and the DACs that include one may be pushing the top of your budget. Have a look at something like the Topping DX3 Pro - you can connect the computer via USB, and the DCD100 via coax. Alternatively pick up a cheap bluetooth receiver with aptX, and spend the bulk of your budget on the speakers.

 

[lodbrok]

Hi, thanks for your answer and for the welcome !
Actually i have at least 25 open tabs with reviews... the struggle is real^^
I'm not against a DIY project.
Regarding the receiver, i wanted to know if with something like a RADSONE ES100 it will be possible to connect it directly to my Nytech, because a device like the Topping Dx3 will not be redundant in a way ?
The budget specified in the first post is for the speakers only.

 

[somebodyelse]

The output from the ES100 is lower than usual for CD players and DACs but a little higher than was standard for things like tuners and tape decks. Get a stereo mini jack to RCA lead and you should be fine, although you might have to change volume a bit when switching between CD and Bluetooth.

noaudiophile's reviews have more speakers in your price range while still having a measurement based approach, although not up to the same level of detail. A few speakers have been reviewed on both sites so you should be able to get a feel of how their approaches compare.

 

[lodbrok]

OK thanks, i will check more on the output specifications, that's what i should have done in the first place.
And i will look for products like the RADSONE ES100, but maybe more oriented to speakers and not headphones.
noaudiophile's reviews is already open in my tabs

 

[Wes]

Elac?

 

[Webninja]

I went through dozens of systems in the home office before I found ASR. Although it was exciting to get new gear, always felt something was missing.

I’ve plugged my system before, but it just is so cheap and simple that I’ll keep suggesting it. Two JBL 305mkii and a Topping DX7s dac. You can get a cheaper/newer dac, but the simplicity of powered speakers, especially at the JBL’s pricing was the big win for me.

Using Roon/Tidal, couldn’t be happier (ok, maybe need more bass). Roon can play your local files if they’re digitized, or you can skip Roon and just go Apple Music/iTunes from the computer.

 

[lodbrok]

@Wes, yes Elac and the Debut Reference dbr62 are on my mind !
But at the top of my budget, maybe too much or if i find a very good price in europe, that will be on my short list.

@Webninja ASR tells me something i will digg it, thanks.
I reviewed the Topping DX series and that looks like great stuff indeed but my main goal is to keep my old Nytech as long at it last (and if it's safe for my new speakers !?).
I also saw the tiny "i. AM. D V200BT" .

 

[Wes]

spend as much of your budget as possible on the speakers

 

[TimW]

Doesn't the Nytech Obelisk CA102 only have two inputs? One phono input and one auxiliary input. How do you plan to connect the Bluetooth receiver/DAC and the CD player at the same time? Or do you just plan to unplug them each time you switch?

Also, do you have any specs on this amp? Can't seem to find power or minimum impedance ratings anywhere.

 

[lodbrok]

I can't find neither any manual online, and my father have lost his.
There's many more inputs, maybe i can use the Tuner one ? Or the front headphone input for the Bluetooth receiver/DAC ?
Yes i'd like to have everything connected all the time, the only "annoying" thing i can be ok with is to change the volume regarding the input, that will be ok with me.

But here is a picture of the back of the Nytech (click for full size):


@Wes, yes that's what i want to do, and then upgrade the others part of my audio system when i'll have the money, part by part.

 

[somebodyelse]

It looks like all the inputs (apart from phono obviously) are the same sensitivity (all labeled 300mV) so you've got Tuner, Aux and Tape to pick from. Connect the computer to the tape recording output and you can digitize your vinyl too. I think the front panel 'headphone' connector is an output not an input, and probably driven via resistors from the speaker amp stage which was the normal method at the time. Nominal 30W into 8R was fairly typical for an amp of that class, increasing but not doubling into 4R.

 

[lodbrok]

Thanks that's amazing i did not even thought being able to digitize my vinyl like that. That will be great !
Another question about the Nytech, how can i test it to see if everything is ok with it, i mean with the power, voltage, to not damage my speakers or anything else i will connect to it ?

 

[somebodyelse]

It depends what test equipment you have available, if any. A cheap multimeter will let you check for dc offset on the outputs, or noise like hum, but not higher frequency oscillation. The most practical method may be to get some very cheap sacrificial speaker drivers and connect it to them for a while. If they survive, and aren't making horrid noises, then your bigger speakers should be fine. Whatever's cheap on ebay should do - you can probably pick up a pair of 2W 8 ohm drivers for around $1 and they'll start smoking if there's anything untoward on the output when nothing's playing. Amps around that time often had a bit of a turn on thump so that shouldn't necessarily be worrying.

 

[lodbrok]

Ok i understand and i do have both a multimeter and cheap speakers, i will do that before connect the new ones.
I still have to choose the speakers and the bluetooth/DAC ^^

Bonus : i opened my Nytech to see if everything was fine inside, no inflated capacitor or anything suspicious for me.

 

[lodbrok]

The more i look into it the more i don't know what i want to do ^^ The only thing that i know is that i really, really want a better audio, i want so much to listen properly to the music i love.

At first i saw the Elac Debut Reference DBR62 (but pricy for me) and the Klipsch RP-600M and many others. And then i was more and more into a DIY project! But now i just saw a big price cut into the Klipsch RP-600M (at less than 300€ the pair) and my mind just bugged ^^

I saw the review here and the "quality issue" if not properly set with an EQ.
They are not my first choice but at this price is it a game changer ?
Is my Nytech going to be enought to power them ? I thinks it's something like 2x25w or 2x30w. Thanks.

 

[TimW]

The Klipsch RP-600M are well liked by subjective reviewers but they look to have a very colored response. You might like the way they sound but it won't be very true to the source, so you've got to decide what's important to you. Due to their directivity, you can EQ them to be flatter as Amir did. But I'm not sure how you would be able to do EQ with your setup, at least not with all of your sources.

Like most Klipsch the RP-600M is a little more efficient then the average speaker, but nowhere near as efficient as Klipsch claims. It looks to have about 88 or 89 dB/W efficiency excluding the dip to 85 dB/W in the midrange dip. They also claim it is an 8 ohm speaker but the impedance actually drops all the way down to 3.2! So while the efficiency might make things easier on your Nytech amp compared to another bookshelf speaker, the impedance dip will probably stress it a bit. So don't be persuaded to buy these because you've been told they are easy on your amplifier, because they really aren't.

Is the Nytech amp really important to you? If so there may be other high efficiency, high impedance speakers you could look for that would match it better. They will probably be too large and too expensive though. I would recommend getting a pair of speakers that we know measure well, regardless of how easy they will be for your Nytech to power. Then eventually you could upgrade to something more powerful.

 

[lodbrok]

Yes on the reviews that i read and listen to i noticed that it's not a neutral speaker and i don't know yet where my preference goes to. Unfortunately where i live i don't have the opportunity to ear hifi speakers.
Regarding the Nytech, it's juste that "if" i was able to keep it, i would like to, because it was my dad's. But today i tried to plug it to the Dual and i had a lot of parasit noise and even more when i touched the rca cable on the back of the device. I do not know if it's a problem on the Nytech, or the Dual (maybe cables?).
I want to keep it to a not too big budget, that's why this price cut was interesting. But there's too many speakers and combinations and without behing able to listen to them (even if you can't find everything in shop) it's difficult to make a choice.

 

[TimW]

Did you have the ground wire of the Dual connected? Bad cables or connectors are very common on old turntables, I replace them all the time. Maybe try the CD player?

 

[lodbrok]

My bad the cable was off, i must have not properly connected it last time... I still have some bad noise but not as loud.
I tried to connect the CD player but i have no sound i don't know why.