[canali]

 
 
 
 
Put one of these in the audio circuit and the veiling will be gone...https://www.amazon.com/BBE-Sound-482i-Sonic-Maximizer/dp/B0002FDKIW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485136499&sr=8-1&keywords=482i+sonic+maximizer   
 
 
.... Tweak the bottom end until it sounds balanced.  No need for a sub woofer if the speakers are of high enough quality in many cases...  and, I advise keeping off the high end process unless your speakers really need it.
 
The heart of this unit is the NJM2153 chip made by NJR Corporation. Its the same company that gave us the audiophile Muses 01 and 02 chips.  It was designed to counter the veiling effect found in speakers.   All you interconnects and cables will suddenly reveal their strengths, or weaknesses.  Why?  Transparency.

 
pretty easy to setup esp for usb based music?
can one incorporate it into a desktop gig?
i have a laptop connected to a DAC (mojo,dragonfly, or ifi micro idsd), then to powered speakers.

 

[5genez]

   
pretty easy to setup esp for usb based music?
can one incorporate it into a desktop gig?
i have a laptop connected to a DAC (mojo,dragonfly, or ifi micro idsd), then to powered speakers.

 Just run from your DAC analog outs - to the inputs of the BBE.   Then run the outs of the BBE - to the RCA inputs of your powered speakers.
Again... do not turn up the Process function (treble), and tweak only with the LO feature to get a good balance with the bass. Its not a regular EQ.  Its a dynamic linear boost and can make the bass sound excellent like nothing you heard before.  If your treble is weak, then use the Process knobs.  My speakers have great high end so I keep the Process feature turned off.
 
When  listening near field...  Tweaking the speaker angles and height is important.   The stereo image is like focusing binoculars. Get them zeroe'd in and you will hear a surprisingly clear realism to the sound.
 
I could write much more about getting things just right, but for now you should be able to hear a night and day difference.  Also. get one with an IEC power socket so you can use audiophile power cords.   I use Pangea source cords and they sound excellent after burning in. The BBE will also need to be burned in.
 
Again - getting the speakers leveled and angled "just right" is a real eye opener.
 
Click picture to blow up size....
 
 

 

[canali]

 
 Just run from your DAC analog outs - to the inputs of the BBE.   Then run the outs of the BBE - to the RCA inputs of your powered speakers.
Again... do not turn up the Process function (treble), and tweak only with the LO feature to get a good balance with the bass. Its not a regular EQ.  Its a dynamic linear boost and can make the bass sound excellent like nothing you heard before.  If your treble is weak, then use the Process knobs.  My speakers have great high end so I keep the Process feature turned off.
 
When  listening near field...  Tweaking the speaker angles and height is important.   The stereo image is like focusing binoculars. Get them zeroe'd in and you will hear a surprisingly clear realism to the sound.
 
I could write much more about getting things just right, but for now you should be able to hear a night and day difference.  Also. get one with an IEC power socket so you can use audiophile power cords.   I use Pangea source cords and they sound excellent after burning in. The BBE will also need to be burned in.
 
Again - getting the speakers leveled and angled "just right" is a real eye opener.

 
thanks...on the look out for some focal alpha 50 speakers ..just ordered some
unbalanced blue jean lc1 rca audio cables today
https://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/audio/index.htm
https://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/audio/LC1-design-notes.htm

 

[chrisprotos]

I've had a recent experience with cans vs. speakers.
 
For comparison sake the cans are Oppo PM-3 and the speakers are KEF LS-50. Both run through a Parasound Halo Integrated with Tidal hi-fi as source.
 
The Oppos resolved a bit more detail, e.g. you can hear the picks sliding across guitar strings, but the LS50s had such a more musically engaging presence in my small listening room.
 
Of course, YMMV.

 

[canali]

  I've had a recent experience with cans vs. speakers.
 
For comparison sake the cans are Oppo PM-3 and the speakers are KEF LS-50. Both run through a Parasound Halo Integrated with Tidal hi-fi as source.
 
The Oppos resolved a bit more detail, e.g. you can hear the picks sliding across guitar strings, but the LS50s had such a more musically engaging presence in my small listening room.
 
Of course, YMMV.

 
those new kef LS 50 wireless look interesting

KEF LS50 Wireless review & DAR’s Product of the Year 2016

http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2016/12/kef-ls50-wireless-review-dars-product-of-the-year-2016/

 

[5genez]

   
thanks...on the look out for some focal alpha 50 speakers ..just ordered some
unbalanced blue jean lc1 rca audio cables today
https://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/audio/index.htm
https://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/audio/LC1-design-notes.htm

Those must be excellent active speakers!   The BBE works just as well with active and passive speakers. 
 
I never tried the Blue Jean cables.   All cables and interconnects sonic signatures will now become obvious with the BBE.  Some grainy cables that were not obvious before because of the typically veiled speakers, will now be heard.  Because the closer you get to a realistic music sound you can hear the artifacts that get mixed in the sound. That does not make it bad.  Just makes hearing subtleties very easy to detect. Some people disliked the BBE when they did not realize it was exposing the weaknesses they could not hear before. The BBE in itself is very pure.
 
I find it hard to burn in different new components all at once.  For you will not know which component is causing what. I find that new units do not always sound very good when first listened to.  I always try to break in one component at a time to see how its contributing to the music I am hearing.

 

[canali]

 
Those must be excellent active speakers!   The BBE works just as well with active and passive speakers. 
 
I never tried the Blue Jean cables.   All cables and interconnects sonic signatures will now become obvious with the BBE.  Some grainy cables that were not obvious before because of the typically veiled speakers, will now be heard.  Because the closer you get to a realistic music sound you can hear the artifacts that get mixed in the sound. That does not make it bad.  Just makes hearing subtleties very easy to detect. Some people disliked the BBE when they did not realize it was exposing the weaknesses they could not hear before. The BBE in itself is very pure.
 
I find it hard to burn in different new components all at once.  For you will not know which component is causing what. I find that new units do not always sound very good when first listened to.  I always try to break in one component at a time to see how its contributing to the music I am hearing.

 
thanks...in that Darko article he ref's the micro rendu as a great addition to the dac and speakers.
...so am reviewing the micro rendu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XRi9utNBl4&ab_channel=TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel

 

[Chris J]

IMHO.........I prefer loudspeakers.
Not trying to start a flame war, it's just my preference.

 

[5genez]

   
thanks...in that Darko article he ref's the micro rendu as a great addition to the dac and speakers.
...so am reviewing the micro rendu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XRi9utNBl4&ab_channel=TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel

 I avoided a need for that.  I use high quality Optical.  With a BBE its amazingly pure sounding.  The galvanization effect heard with USB cords left me not wishing to pursue it.  But,  what you are looking at there may very well solve the USB problem. 
 
I listen through a PS Audio NuWave DAC. 

 

[000zero]

I feel like it's two different ballparks. The room effects the sound so much it's not really fair to compare it headphones in terms of money invested before getting to a certain SQ level.

 

[5genez]

I feel like it's two different ballparks. The room effects the sound so much it's not really fair to compare it headphones in terms of money invested before getting to a certain SQ level.

 
 
Don't confuse near field listening with in room (distance) listening.  Near field can give you the best of both worlds if done well.  Near field avoids much of the room interaction problems we get with in room listening at a distance. The only thing you need to avoid is getting the speakers too close to the back wall if they were not designed for that scenario.
 
Here is one I found online...
 
 


Its an entirely different listening experience.  Especially, if you can use a BBE Maximizer.
 
My set up is a bit more elaborate...
 
 
 

 

[5genez]

 
 Just run from your DAC analog outs - to the inputs of the BBE.   Then run the outs of the BBE - to the RCA inputs of your powered speakers.
Again... do not turn up the Process function (treble), and tweak only with the LO feature to get a good balance with the bass. Its not a regular EQ.  Its a dynamic linear boost and can make the bass sound excellent like nothing you heard before.  If your treble is weak, then use the Process knobs.  My speakers have great high end so I keep the Process feature turned off.
 
When  listening near field...  Tweaking the speaker angles and height is important.   The stereo image is like focusing binoculars. Get them zeroe'd in and you will hear a surprisingly clear realism to the sound.
 
I could write much more about getting things just right, but for now you should be able to hear a night and day difference.  Also. get one with an IEC power socket so you can use audiophile power cords.   I use Pangea source cords and they sound excellent after burning in. The BBE will also need to be burned in.
 
Again - getting the speakers leveled and angled "just right" is a real eye opener.
 
Click picture to blow up size....
 
 

 
 
Hello again...
 
I need to make a correction...  I took out a pair of two good way speakers and have been listening to them for a few days.  The BBE Process control I suggested leaving off? I am relearning that it benefits a speaker with separate tweeters and woofers.  Its not to make the treble stronger, per se.  It actually helps lock in the two divers better with a slight time delay.  I am using just a bit of the high frequency Process, and find it makes the two way speakers sound more like my full range driver speakers.  So, I would suggest using it, but judiciously.   A problem has been with some when they simply crank it up and the effect stops being subtle.  Its designed to give greater clarity, not simply act as a treble boost...  For, no treble control sounds like this.

 

[pureangus62]

 
My set up is a bit more elaborate...
 
 
 

Is that a drum rack your speakers are mounted to? Nifty setup!

 

[penmarker]

  Is that a drum rack your speakers are mounted to? Nifty setup!

Those are IsoAcoustic stands.
 

 

[canali]

i found these great stands for $45..adjustable, too.