[uzziah]

right now i have

FLAC > emu0404(modded) > t-amp > polk r15

i'd like to upgrade the r15's to something in the $200ish range. i'm thinking or paradigm atoms. i've also had axiom m3ti's with this amp, but i was a tad non-plussed with the setup. used is good. deals are good. reccomendations??

 

[uzziah]

i will listen to headphones most likely as much as i will my speakers, so i'm distributing my funds between them pretty evenly

 

[Wodgy]

A speaker upgrade at this price point might end up being a move sideways.

My advice would be to improve your amp, since it's the weakest part of your chain right now. It's somewhat unpopular to criticize the T-Amp around here, but if you hunt around you can find measurements for it showing that it rolls off bass fairly seriously below 80Hz. This means that a different amp will generally give you more "heft" to the sound. You can get one of the older NAD amps (just stay away from the C320BEE) on eBay for less than $200. The Pioneer A-35R is also good.

If you're intent on upgrading speakers, you might consider building DIY speakers. I'd suggest something like this:
http://www.zaphaudio.com/audio-speaker19.html
(You can buy the cabinets for those ones from Parts Express, so no serious woodworking skills are needed.)

 

[soundboy]

About a year ago, I was able to purchase a pair of brand-new Energy C-3 monitors for $300.00/pair; these originally go for $500.00/pair. Last X'mas, the price at my local Energy dealer dropped to $250.00/pair (do a search and you'll see that there was a thread about it). At that price, the Energy C-3 will represent quite a major improvement over the Atom, Titan, or even the Mini-Monitors.

So keep your eyes out for these.

 

[uzziah]

i think i'll stick it out with the tamp for awhile, but i definitely understand your point. it has been hyped a tad too much

i really only want to spend $200, so if i sell my polk's for $50 something like those energy's is a good idea. any other reccomendations??? any stores that have good deals?? good place to buy used?? (used is good and fine!)

 

[uzziah]

what about these athena's that seem to go on sale all the time???

note: efficiency is KEY because of the tamp

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundboy About a year ago, I was able to purchase a pair of brand-new Energy C-3 monitors for $300.00/pair; these originally go for $500.00/pair. Last X'mas, the price at my local Energy dealer dropped to $250.00/pair (do a search and you'll see that there was a thread about it). At that price, the Energy C-3 will represent quite a major improvement over the Atom, Titan, or even the Mini-Monitors. So keep your eyes out for these.

can anyone else comment on differences between these and the other contenders? basically, this is the old classic "best bargain basement" contest, but efficiency is necessary with the tamp

 

[uzziah]

ps: i'd definitely consider DIY speakers, though i've very few tools. as long as i can get all the wood cut at home depot i shouldn't really have a problem. one thing is that i'd tend to think it might be hard to be exacting with a bass-reflex ported design, and would tend to lean towards a closed design with a seperate closed subwoofer. but then i'd need amplification for said sub and that would drive my costs up. thoughts??? i suppose i could raise my budget a little if necessary. DIY is my hobby in electronics anyway. but it would (somewhat sadly) really just be all about price/performance for me. if i can make something cheaper that would sound better i'd go for it; if not i wouldn't.

 

[Wodgy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah can anyone else comment on differences between these and the other contenders? basically, this is the old classic "best bargain basement" contest, but efficiency is necessary with the tamp

I haven't heard the Energy C3s myself, but they do measure very well -- better than most other speakers in their price class, actually, particularly off-axis:
http://www.soundstagemagazine.com/me...onnoisseur_c3/
Measurements aren't everything, of course, but these don't measure like "bargain basement" speakers.

Quote:

ps: i'd definitely consider DIY speakers, though i've very few tools. as long as i can get all the wood cut at home depot i shouldn't really have a problem. one thing is that i'd tend to think it might be hard to be exacting with a bass-reflex ported design, and would tend to lean towards a closed design with a seperate closed subwoofer. but then i'd need amplification for said sub and that would drive my costs up. thoughts??? i suppose i could raise my budget a little if necessary. DIY is my hobby in electronics anyway. but it would (somewhat sadly) really just be all about price/performance for me. if i can make something cheaper that would sound better i'd go for it; if not i wouldn't.

It's always hard to say how much you save by going DIY. Probably not as much as people say, particularly at the low end of the price spectrum, because there are all sorts of little costs that add up when you're building DIY speakers (shipping from multiple vendors, veneer, oil, shellac/poly, etc.). Also, the big speaker makers pay about 10-20% as much for the same driver as hobbyists, because they buy in bulk. I'm building a pair of MBOW1s now but I'm doing it for the sound quality, not to save money. Subwoofers and single-driver speakers may be the exception -- it is difficult to find a good commercial subwoofer for less than $350, but it is possible to DIY a very good one for that price.

Since you're handy with electronics DIY, you should really mod the T-Amp so that you get proper bass response and eliminate the bass rolloff. I hear it's a simple mod (replacing a pair of caps with larger ones, I think) but I don't know the details. You'll have to hunt around. I'd do that even before getting new speakers.

 

[ooheadsoo]

The cabinet will kill most diy deals unless you have the tools to make it yourself. If you can save up for about $350-400 realistically, your diy options will really open up because the cabinets eat up a fixed amount of budget on the order of $100-200 on the low end.

Btw, the t-amp's roll off isn't immediately apparent to the ear, though fixing it is certainly cheap and a no brainer.

 

[comabereni]

Hot-rodding the T-amp to diminish its weaknesses is supposedly easy to do. I'm getting ready to mod a couple of mine. I probably wouldn't give up on it if you can figure out some suitable speakers.

I tried a pair of 90dB efficient Triangle Titus 202's ($350 used). They are a great match for the T-amp and a definite step up from Atoms on most material (especially small ensemble/vocal/acoustic). I liked the combo so much, I stopped using my headphones (and sold my Atoms), plus the Triangles sound great at low volumes playing not much louder than a pair of open cans

. Bass roll-off is readily handled with a decent sub out of the source, or a pre-amp, but (of course) that's more $$$.

-coma

P.S. I read an Atom vs. Athena comarison last week and the reviewer preferred the Atoms.

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by comabereni Hot-rodding the T-amp to diminish its weaknesses is supposedly easy to do. I'm getting ready to mod a couple of mine. I probably wouldn't give up on it if you can figure out some suitable speakers. I tried a pair of 90dB efficient Triangle Titus 202's ($350 used). They are a great match for the T-amp and a definite step up from Atoms on most material (especially small ensemble/vocal/acoustic). I liked the combo so much, I stopped using my headphones (and sold my Atoms), plus the Triangles sound great at low volumes playing not much louder than a pair of open cans . Bass roll-off is readily handled with a decent sub out of the source, or a pre-amp, but (of course) that's more $$$. -coma P.S. I read an Atom vs. Athena comarison last week and the reviewer preferred the Atoms.

thank you. much appreciated. i am planning on modding my tamp. i have seen quite a few possibilities. i'll probably either put it in a hammond case or a wooden box lined with with alluminum foil and ventilated with holes. i've been considering ditching the headphones myself, though it's a bit sacrelidge (sp?) arround here

would certainly clear up some money.

off-topic question: i sit at my desk often and i have my bookshelves on cinderblocks on the two ends of the desk. i sit about 3ft away. is it possible to get good imaging etc. in this position? am i missing something?? should i consider wall mounts or anything else???

 

[ooheadsoo]

If your speakers are good, they will image fantastically - even at that distance. In fact, I like my speakers better from up close. The separation of the sound from the speaker is even more obvious.

 

[comabereni]

I prefer listening to small speakers at close (monitor) range. Some benefits: -less room interraction between your speaker and your ears, -requires (sometimes much) less amp power to drive them, - they image nicely, though less like a concert hall--pretty much like headphones (what's in the recording is what you hear, not as much room interraction after the speaker) - you don't bother people in other rooms as much since you can play at a lower level.

I guess the reasons I listed are pretty elementary stuff. I almost never listen to headphones anymore, though I still like to hang out here--headphone people seem to know more about hi-fi than loudspeaker people for some reason. Perhaps it's the lack of room acoustics that helps simplify discussion since room acoustics in typical in-room situations might account more for performance than many loudspeaker enthusiasts give credit to. But, again, that doesn't apply as much to close range, often lower volume, listening with monitors.

- coma

 

[DigiPete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah right now i have FLAC > emu0404(modded) > t-amp > polk r15 i'd like to upgrade the r15's to something in the $200ish range. i'm thinking or paradigm atoms. i've also had axiom m3ti's with this amp, but i was a tad non-plussed with the setup. used is good. deals are good. reccomendations??

Try auditioning some Boston Acoustics CR65 or 67s, those models fit in your price range.