Francious70 wrote:My one day Father in Law has some, I've never heard them, but he seems to like them.
ONE DAY?
Home Speakers
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Francious70
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Yeah, it's funny how that works. There are many more DIY people in North America than in Europe, but DIY speakers seem to be very common here, where most people in North America think I am insane for wanting to build a kit speaker.nico boom wrote:Hey Tom; just tell me what you'd like, and i'll build them for you...I'll put a suitcase-style handle on each one, and next time you're here, you leave your suitcases behind, stuff your clothes in the cabinets and fly home.
[good speaker-kits are soo cheap over here..]
Woodwork; doing it yourself will allow to double the thickness of the material, and decrease the overall costs by two....
I would love to build my own cabinets, but I have no wood tools at all. I could make something that WORKS, but it would look AWFUL.
I will probably check out those Paradigm speakers tonight.
Well, I went to that store "Sounds of Music" today. It was great! Finally a store with mature educated adults, who really care about speakers. They even gave me a listening room for 1.5 hours to play metal, and stayed open late to help me pick my speakers.
I ended up buying a set of the Paradigm Monitor 7's for $639, though I was this [] close to buying some $1500 Paradigm Studio 60's. The tweeter on the Studios was phenomenally better, and it was smoother all across the range, but I could not justify paying over double the price. Though, I was initially planning on making it a set of speakers worth keeping for 10 years, and those would be it. I just couldn't say no to $639 however.
I also really liked a set of B&W towers they had on for $1250, but the tweeter seemed way too laid back in their demo room, making it sound somewhat muddy. They sounded great on the test tracks but not so much on my music.
The Monitor 7's are a bit brighter in the house than they were in the shop, but it's a retarded step above the Nuance speakers I had before. The store does have a deal though, that I can upgrade my speakers for the difference in the price within a year. I might end up going for one of the higher models later. Still have to take a crack at RTAing these first.
I ended up buying a set of the Paradigm Monitor 7's for $639, though I was this [] close to buying some $1500 Paradigm Studio 60's. The tweeter on the Studios was phenomenally better, and it was smoother all across the range, but I could not justify paying over double the price. Though, I was initially planning on making it a set of speakers worth keeping for 10 years, and those would be it. I just couldn't say no to $639 however.
I also really liked a set of B&W towers they had on for $1250, but the tweeter seemed way too laid back in their demo room, making it sound somewhat muddy. They sounded great on the test tracks but not so much on my music.
The Monitor 7's are a bit brighter in the house than they were in the shop, but it's a retarded step above the Nuance speakers I had before. The store does have a deal though, that I can upgrade my speakers for the difference in the price within a year. I might end up going for one of the higher models later. Still have to take a crack at RTAing these first.
Well after a week of auditioning, I am insanely impressed with the detail that these speakers offer, but the bottom end was a bit thin. The main reason I wanted to upgrade my speakers in the first place was how quickly they rolled off on the low end, and these Monitor 7's seem to be no exception either.
The reviews of the Monitor 7's that I had read prior to buying them was actually for the older model, which had 6.5" drivers. Apparently the new Monitor 9 is the equivalent model, and people rate the 9 as the best in the V5 monitor line (out of the 7, 9 and 11). People say the $630 7 lacks bass, and the $1050 11 is boomy, where they got the $830 9 "just right". This seems to be the case for the older models as well, where the 6.5" model was rated the best of their offerings.
I have also been checking out reviews for the $1200 B&W speakers that I was also interested in, and they seem to rate quite well. In the auditioning room I found them to have very dull treble and poor imaging, where the Paradigms were much clearer, however I found the treble to be MUCH louder in my house when I brought home the Monitor 7's. Because of this, the B&W's may sound better in my house.
I will be going back to Sounds of Music tonight, and upgrading. They offer the ability to upgrade to another speaker for the difference in price... very cool. At the very least I will switch to the Monitor 9's, but I will consider the Monitor 11's, B&W 603's, and even the Studio 60's again.
Choices choices.
Yesterday I also ordered a huge shipment of new RCAs, speaker wires, banana plugs and such from Knukonceptz. I will finally be replacing the shitty worn out plain black RCAs, and 16 gauge speaker wire. Halelujiah.
The reviews of the Monitor 7's that I had read prior to buying them was actually for the older model, which had 6.5" drivers. Apparently the new Monitor 9 is the equivalent model, and people rate the 9 as the best in the V5 monitor line (out of the 7, 9 and 11). People say the $630 7 lacks bass, and the $1050 11 is boomy, where they got the $830 9 "just right". This seems to be the case for the older models as well, where the 6.5" model was rated the best of their offerings.
I have also been checking out reviews for the $1200 B&W speakers that I was also interested in, and they seem to rate quite well. In the auditioning room I found them to have very dull treble and poor imaging, where the Paradigms were much clearer, however I found the treble to be MUCH louder in my house when I brought home the Monitor 7's. Because of this, the B&W's may sound better in my house.
I will be going back to Sounds of Music tonight, and upgrading. They offer the ability to upgrade to another speaker for the difference in price... very cool. At the very least I will switch to the Monitor 9's, but I will consider the Monitor 11's, B&W 603's, and even the Studio 60's again.
Choices choices.
Yesterday I also ordered a huge shipment of new RCAs, speaker wires, banana plugs and such from Knukonceptz. I will finally be replacing the shitty worn out plain black RCAs, and 16 gauge speaker wire. Halelujiah.
I already have an Audiosource EQ8 (10 band) and RTA equipment.mr tibbs wrote:Bummer, I guess you could use the difference in money for some EQing stuff if you need it.
I could have easily ordered a new set of 9's or 11's, but it would have taken two weeks to get here. I decided that with them being out of stock it was an omen... "go big or go home", either buy the Studio 60's or keep what I already have. So I kept my current speakers, because I couldn't go to nearly triple the price, no matter how much I wanted to.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE these speakers, I just thought the move up to the 9 would be worthwhile for the small difference in cost. It just wasn't worth the added hassle to me.
The only catch with the deal is that he gave me a week to go for the low price he quoted me, but the deal is officially that I have to pay retail price to upgrade. Retail on the Studio 60's is $2000 instead of $1500, so it would be a heftier price tag.
For the $900 difference in cost, they sounded better, but not THAT much better. My $50 EQ makes the difference even smaller.
These Paradigms sound REALLY good regardless. For $639 they were a complete steal IMO.
For the $900 difference in cost, they sounded better, but not THAT much better. My $50 EQ makes the difference even smaller.
These Paradigms sound REALLY good regardless. For $639 they were a complete steal IMO.
Well in that case, why not just order the the bigger version of yours, and wait for them to come? Is the amp two working okay now, I keep forgettign to file the damn claim Ill do it now...stipud wrote:The only catch with the deal is that he gave me a week to go for the low price he quoted me, but the deal is officially that I have to pay retail price to upgrade. Retail on the Studio 60's is $2000 instead of $1500, so it would be a heftier price tag.
For the $900 difference in cost, they sounded better, but not THAT much better. My $50 EQ makes the difference even smaller.
These Paradigms sound REALLY good regardless. For $639 they were a complete steal IMO.
Can one send others to war if hes not willing to go himself?
Because the speakers were barely worth the additional $200 to me to begin with, but certainly not the added hassle, wait and effort of ordering a new set at christmas time. God knows the 2 week average shipping time would become a month or longer.bdubs767 wrote:Well in that case, why not just order the the bigger version of yours, and wait for them to come? Is the amp two working okay now, I keep forgettign to file the damn claim Ill do it now...
These speakers are good enough that they are no longer the weakest link in the chain, so a set of Studio 60's would be overkill. They really deserve some better amplification, whereas this is just a fun and modest setup that I won't be perpetually upgrading. If I want to switch to a 5.1 setup one day, I can get matching audio components for very cheap, whereas I could never afford a full Studio setup.
I got the AmpTwo fixed after the postals brutalized it. One of the resistors in the Zobel circuit had popped out (cold solder joint), so I resoldered that. I fixed the broken volume knob by wrapping some electrical tape around the shaft to keep it snug. Finally, I found a clip that became partially detached in the powersupply. After reinserting that it turns on and plays music just fine.
The only thing left that is broken is the VU meter, but Phil said he would ship me one. Once I replace that, the amp will be in perfect working shape. Not sure it's worth filing a claim for, since we can no longer prove that it is broken.
It's funny, because just after I got it working I had plugged the amp into the switched output of my Preamp (labeled max 500w), and it blew the switching circuit! I opened it up and there was no fuse or anything to protect it. Checked the bottom of the circuit board and there was a noticeable burn mark on one of the legs of the relay. I figured it was fucked, but I resoldered it anyways... Bam, it came back to life too! So I learned my lesson... now all I have plugged into the switched circuit is my EQ.
One stupid thing is that my Audiosource Preamp has a 5v turn-on switch, but none of the amps support it. I guess I'll just have to leave them plugged into constant power, with "auto" power mode enabled.
One of these days I will upgrade to the new Audiosource amps that are based on the RSDs, depending on how much they cost me. For now this setup suits me perfectly.
Ill file the claim any how...stipud wrote:Because the speakers were barely worth the additional $200 to me to begin with, but certainly not the added hassle, wait and effort of ordering a new set at christmas time. God knows the 2 week average shipping time would become a month or longer.bdubs767 wrote:Well in that case, why not just order the the bigger version of yours, and wait for them to come? Is the amp two working okay now, I keep forgettign to file the damn claim Ill do it now...
These speakers are good enough that they are no longer the weakest link in the chain, so a set of Studio 60's would be overkill. They really deserve some better amplification, whereas this is just a fun and modest setup that I won't be perpetually upgrading. If I want to switch to a 5.1 setup one day, I can get matching audio components for very cheap, whereas I could never afford a full Studio setup.
I got the AmpTwo fixed after the postals brutalized it. One of the resistors in the Zobel circuit had popped out (cold solder joint), so I resoldered that. I fixed the broken volume knob by wrapping some electrical tape around the shaft to keep it snug. Finally, I found a clip that became partially detached in the powersupply. After reinserting that it turns on and plays music just fine.
The only thing left that is broken is the VU meter, but Phil said he would ship me one. Once I replace that, the amp will be in perfect working shape. Not sure it's worth filing a claim for, since we can no longer prove that it is broken.
It's funny, because just after I got it working I had plugged the amp into the switched output of my Preamp (labeled max 500w), and it blew the switching circuit! I opened it up and there was no fuse or anything to protect it. Checked the bottom of the circuit board and there was a noticeable burn mark on one of the legs of the relay. I figured it was fucked, but I resoldered it anyways... Bam, it came back to life too! So I learned my lesson... now all I have plugged into the switched circuit is my EQ.
One stupid thing is that my Audiosource Preamp has a 5v turn-on switch, but none of the amps support it. I guess I'll just have to leave them plugged into constant power, with "auto" power mode enabled.
One of these days I will upgrade to the new Audiosource amps that are based on the RSDs, depending on how much they cost me. For now this setup suits me perfectly.
Can one send others to war if hes not willing to go himself?
I glad to that you like the Monitors. 
I love mine. As I said before they are Monitor 5 V.4, with the matching CC-370 center channel. I was determined to have a 5.1 set-up, for the longest time I had ghetto blaster speakers for rears, I now have the GF's mains and center for rear and rear center, since I moved in here. I say go for the 6.1 set-up. Not every movie has 6.1 encoding but for the ones that do, it's a pretty cool audio experiance. The nice thing is that you can usually upgrade a bit at a time, such as adding the front center next, then surrounds and then center surround (rear center). Just make sure any theater receiver you buy is 6.1 or higher compatible. Most are going this way anyway, but it's definatly something to keep in mind.
I love mine. As I said before they are Monitor 5 V.4, with the matching CC-370 center channel. I was determined to have a 5.1 set-up, for the longest time I had ghetto blaster speakers for rears, I now have the GF's mains and center for rear and rear center, since I moved in here. I say go for the 6.1 set-up. Not every movie has 6.1 encoding but for the ones that do, it's a pretty cool audio experiance. The nice thing is that you can usually upgrade a bit at a time, such as adding the front center next, then surrounds and then center surround (rear center). Just make sure any theater receiver you buy is 6.1 or higher compatible. Most are going this way anyway, but it's definatly something to keep in mind.