Pairing modern speakers with vintage reciever

[roddo]

Hello!

I'd like to pair my vintage receiver with a pair of modern tower speakers, but have a low knowledge base where it comes to non vintage speakers.

My current setup is a Marantz 2325 reciever (125 w into 8 ohm ) driving a pair of AR11 speakers, drawing from a turntable, CD player, and streamer.

This would be my 'B' set of speakers, and I'm looking for a non fatiguing, detailed, warm expirence. Second hand (fb marketplace), preferably a wood look, around $500.

Any suggestions happily received to kick me down the path.

Thanks!

 

[Power Pop 23]

Consider a second hand pair of the Polk ES60, ES55, or ES50 tower loudspeakers.

Amir has measured the ES60.

Polk ES60 Tower Speaker Review

This is a review, listening tests, equalization and detailed measurements of the Polk ES60 tower speaker. It was purchased new and kindly donated to the forum by a member. ES60 costs US $511 on Amazon and has 4.5 start average review (1925 ratings): The ES60 is in entirely different class than...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[roddo]

Thanks for that response!

Seems very well reviewed, and within my affordability bracket. I like the look, esp in cherry.

I note a criticism is that they can sound a little harsh until a certain filter is applied.

I don't use a DAC for turntable, so wouldn't use a filter for that input.

Is there a naturally less harsh alt that stands out to you, within similar criteria?

 

[Redacted]

Speakers and rooms are too personal, IMHO, so reviews can be misleading.
I'd just find a seller with a good returns policy and try a few.

 

[Bland_username42069]

That Marantz looks a beauty. It has a tape loop so you could always put a wiim mini in the loop to EQ your speakers to taste.

 

[tineared]

Thanks for that response!

Seems very well reviewed, and within my affordability bracket. I like the look, esp in cherry.

I note a criticism is that they can sound a little harsh until a certain filter is applied.

I don't use a DAC for turntable, so wouldn't use a filter for that input.

Is there a naturally less harsh alt that stands out to you, within similar criteria?

Keep in mind that your listening room may be contributing to high frequency harshness. You should reduce the number of reflective surfaces such as ceramic floor tile, uncovered windows and mirrors, etc

 

[Power Pop 23]

That Marantz looks a beauty. It has a tape loop so you could always put a wiim mini in the loop to EQ your speakers to taste.

Thanks for that response!

Seems very well reviewed, and within my affordability bracket. I like the look, esp in cherry.

I note a criticism is that they can sound a little harsh until a certain filter is applied.

I don't use a DAC for turntable, so wouldn't use a filter for that input.

Is there a naturally less harsh alt that stands out to you, within similar criteria?

I second the recommendation to put a WiiM device like a Mini in your signal path via the Tape Monitor loop of the Marantz 2325.

This gives you the option of applying Parametric EQ and room correction to all your inputs - possibly expanding the number of tower loudspeakers you can consider.

WiiM's parent company Linkplay occasionally offers discounts on refurbished WiiM devices at their outlet store on Ebay at the link below - currently no refurbished devices are shown.

Items for sale by linkplay | eBay

Shop eBay for great deals from linkplay!

www.ebay.com

BTW, a dealer near me is asking $2,600 for a sample of your beautiful Marantz receiver !

Turntables & Trails

www.turntablestrails.com

 

[Power Pop 23]

Thanks for that response!

Seems very well reviewed, and within my affordability bracket. I like the look, esp in cherry.

I note a criticism is that they can sound a little harsh until a certain filter is applied.

I don't use a DAC for turntable, so wouldn't use a filter for that input.

Is there a naturally less harsh alt that stands out to you, within similar criteria?

EDIT

only available in Gloss Black or Gloss White

Revel F35 Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Revel F35 floor-standing speaker. I purchased this through my company because there are external anechoic measurements available so we can compare. The F35 costs US $1,600 for a pair (sold each at US $800 in case you want a center speaker). It...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I do not know if you can find a pair to meet your budget.


Revel is about introduce their 'Performa4' series of loudspeakers.

New Revel Performa4 / Arcam Radia speaker line-up -- with Anechoic EQ

Information on these new Revel speakers has leaked to the internet, so we might as well start a thread here. Revel is set to make official announcements in the USA on March 1. The 'Revel Owners Thread' at AVSForum has an active dealer that posts alotta info (and offers alotta help). The info...

www.audiosciencereview.com

These new Revels will likely measure well, perhaps well enough to bring more used pairs of the Revel F35 to market.

 

[roddo]

I second the recommendation to put a WiiM device like a Mini in your signal path via the Tape Monitor loop of the Marantz 2325.

This gives you the option of applying Parametric EQ and room correction to all your inputs - possibly expanding the number of tower loudspeakers you can consider.

WiiM's parent company Linkplay occasionally offers discounts on refurbished WiiM devices at their outlet store on Ebay at the link below - currently no refurbished devices are shown.

Items for sale by linkplay | eBay

Shop eBay for great deals from linkplay!

www.ebay.com

BTW, a dealer near me is asking $2,600 for a sample of your beautiful Marantz receiver !

Turntables & Trails

www.turntablestrails.com

Thanks very much guys!

I hadn't considered using a wiim mini as a eq device between the receiver and speak

I suppose I could continue using the AR11's, which sound fantastic for via the receiver phono stage, and play with the filters on my smsl raw DAC pro to nudge the newer speakers from digital sources. Filter / colour etc is a new skill ive yet to muster.

Yeah, its crazy how prices have blown out for vintage gear. I brought the 2325 about 7 years ago for $800, in great shape, and recapped everything. It wouldn't really matter how much it topped out at: it has blue lights.

 

[Timcognito]

Thanks very much guys!

I hadn't considered using a wiim mini as a eq device between the receiver and speak

I suppose I could continue using the AR11's, which sound fantastic for via the receiver phono stage, and play with the filters on my smsl raw DAC pro to nudge the newer speakers from digital sources. Filter / colour etc is a new skill ive yet to muster.

Yeah, its crazy how prices have blown out for vintage gear. I brought the 2325 about 7 years ago for $800, in great shape, and recapped everything. It wouldn't really matter how much it topped out at: it has blue lights.

Do not hook anything but a turntable to the phono input. It will distort the sound with the RIAA equalization curve. The tape loop is much better.

RIAA equalization - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[roddo]

I second the recommendation to put a WiiM device like a Mini in your signal path via the Tape Monitor loop of the Marantz 2325.

This gives you the option of applying Parametric EQ and room correction to all your inputs - possibly expanding the number of tower loudspeakers you can consider.

WiiM's parent company Linkplay occasionally offers discounts on refurbished WiiM devices at their outlet store on Ebay at the link below - currently no refurbished devices are shown.

Items for sale by linkplay | eBay

Shop eBay for great deals from linkplay!

www.ebay.com

BTW, a dealer near me is asking $2,600 for a sample of your beautiful Marantz receiver !

Turntables & Trails

www.turntablestrails.com

I second the recommendation to put a WiiM device like a Mini in your signal path via the Tape Monitor loop of the Marantz 2325.

This gives you the option of applying Parametric EQ and room correction to all your inputs - possibly expanding the number of tower loudspeakers you can consider.

WiiM's parent company Linkplay occasionally offers discounts on refurbished WiiM devices at their outlet store on Ebay at the link below - currently no refurbished devices are shown.

Items for sale by linkplay | eBay

Shop eBay for great deals from linkplay!

www.ebay.com

BTW, a dealer near me is asking $2,600 for a sample of your beautiful Marantz receiver !

Turntables & Trails

www.turntablestrails.com

OK, so first: Thanks for the input, very helpful.

I'd like to explore this whole room correction through plugging a wiim into the tape loop.
My room is F#@%ed, to be honest. L shaped with 1 wall against one speaker, and the other about 30 foot away, with all manner of asymmetric furniture in between. I could change the room and lose the wife. Thought about it.

So: the wiim plugs into the tape loop? Is this a closed signal path? How does this work?

Do all signal sources inputted to the receiver travel across the tape loop, into the wiim, room corrected before amplification? How is volume controlled?

This could possibly make a really significant difference to my listening expirence given my terrible room. Its exciting to contemplate.

Thanks again!

 

[Bland_username42069]

Do all signal sources inputted to the receiver travel across the tape loop, into the wiim, room corrected before amplification? How is volume controlled?

Exactly.

Set it up as fixed volume and just use your Marantz as volume control.

 

[roddo]

Exactly.

Set it up as fixed volume and just use your Marantz as volume control.

Couple of follow ups:

I have a nice DAC (smsl raw pro DAC). Will the wiim color the smsl's output using its own internal DAC, beyond room correction? Ie the smsl dac's signal is being converted a second time?
Or is the wiim room correction separated from the DAC process?

Secondly, is it possible to plug the wiim into the back of the smsl DAC somehow, providing a similar function as per the receivers tape loop? ( and thus not converting / correcting the phono stage analogue signal ) Also, the 2325 is 50 years old. I've never used the tape loop........

 

[Bland_username42069]

Couple of follow ups:

I have a nice DAC (smsl raw pro DAC). Will the wiim color the smsl's output using its own internal DAC, beyond room correction? Ie the smsl dac's signal is being converted a second time?
Or is the wiim room correction separated from the DAC process?

Secondly, is it possible to plug the wiim into the back of the smsl DAC somehow, providing a similar function as per the receivers tape loop? ( and thus not converting / correcting the phono stage analogue signal ) Also, the 2325 is 50 years old. I've never used the tape loop........

Yes it will be converted a second time.

You could
1. run it as a streamer with room correction into the SMSL into Marantz
2. Run the SMSL into the Wiim to add room correction / EQ into Marantz
3. Use it in the tape loop to add room correction / EQ to all sources

This seems highest spec of the small Wiims (the ones without amps or big screens)

WiiM Pro Plus Streamer Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Pro Plus streamer, DAC and preamplifier with Bluetooth support. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $219. While the case is plastic, it still "looks the part" as the Brits would say relative to other more famous brands of...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Power Pop 23]

OK, so first: Thanks for the input, very helpful.

I'd like to explore this whole room correction through plugging a wiim into the tape loop.
My room is F#@%ed, to be honest. L shaped with 1 wall against one speaker, and the other about 30 foot away, with all manner of asymmetric furniture in between. I could change the room and lose the wife. Thought about it.

So: the wiim plugs into the tape loop? Is this a closed signal path? How does this work?

Do all signal sources inputted to the receiver travel across the tape loop, into the wiim, room corrected before amplification? How is volume controlled?

This could possibly make a really significant difference to my listening expirence given my terrible room. Its exciting to contemplate.

Thanks again!

Exactly.

Set it up as fixed volume and just use your Marantz as volume control.

I think you will find a WiiM device with the functionality and performance you desire will be a game changer in your system.

A WiiM device in the Tape Loop of your Marantz gives you the option of controlling the volume remotely - IF desired.

 

[Timcognito]

FYI, one of my old Bluesound Nodes lacks Bluetooth so I bought a $25 BT transmitter, hooked it to the tape monitor, tape out on my amp and have all the functions of my BT headphones of the BluOS app including volume.

 

[roddo]

Hmm.
I'm going to have to have a think about all this. Maybe the easiest way is to get a Wiim Ultra and sell off my SMSL raw dac pro, and standalone streamer, as the Ultra has pretty good DAC specs, has a streamer, and of course, room correction. Even has a phone stage which would also be corrected.

Im thinking my system's biggest flaw is the room itself, and any difference between my SMSL and the Ultra would be overshadowed by the potential improvement that room correction affords.

I could get a wiim pro and tape loop it, per the above, but it does make my existing DAC redundant as conversion would drop to the lowest denominator.


DAC specs have improved so much in the last 2 or 3 years, with so much choice (esp the Chinese Dacs), I can see high-quality Streaming Dacs with room correction, like the Ultra, becoming the norm.

 

[Power Pop 23]

Hmm.
I'm going to have to have a think about all this. Maybe the easiest way is to get a Wiim Ultra and sell off my SMSL raw dac pro, and standalone streamer, as the Ultra has pretty good DAC specs, has a streamer, and of course, room correction. Even has a phone stage which would also be corrected.

Im thinking my system's biggest flaw is the room itself, and any difference between my SMSL and the Ultra would be overshadowed by the potential improvement that room correction affords.

I could get a wiim pro and tape loop it, per the above, but it does make my existing DAC redundant as conversion would drop to the lowest denominator.


DAC specs have improved so much in the last 2 or 3 years, with so much choice (esp the Chinese Dacs), I can see high-quality Streaming Dacs with room correction, like the Ultra, becoming the norm.

FYI,

$239 - Refurbished WiiM Ultra with 1 year warranty:

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[roddo]

Out of curiosity, Is there a Wii Ultra competitor out there with room correction that uses an AKM chip?

 

[Marc v E]

I have the Wiim ultra streamer and am very happy with it. Stable, superb connectivity, eq is great.
I don't know of any streamer that can match it, especially at that price.

(Concerning a warm sound, after many years, in my experience, it's mostly a neutral sounding speaker complemented by enough bass and corrected by eq.

Speakers that I personally am very impressed with are standmounts like the Elac dbr 62 and Genelec 8030 complimented by a subwoofer. Depending on the room size bigger speakers are needed, but to be honest I would trade in my tower speakers for standmount + sub if they stopped working.
Ime I would still need a sub anyway and standmounts can be more easily integrated in the living room, even very close to the wall.)