Speakers and stereo equipment

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applescrap said:
What, 1300 watts rms? Thats awesome I want one. Is that 250 watts per channel over 5.1?

For the carver, garage?!
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170 watts x7, 50 watts x2

Too dusty in garage for the Carver. I do woodworking in there. Already have a cheap Sony receiver serving that area and the back yard.
 
whoaru99 said:
If one is buying all new gear today it probably has HDCP 2.2. The people that have to be most careful are those who may try to mix earlier 4k stuff with newer 4k stuff.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I, however, do not recommend 4K to anyone yet. Let the FCC sort out there protocols first. Latest buzz is FCC will require OTA UHD/HDR in the very near future.
 
The cdm1se sold in one day on ebay for 550. By the time I greased everybody's pocket, and styrofoamed this s*** out of them so they are safe, i think I made 370. I'm waiting for the new speakers to come and starting to consider where I'm going to move s***. I've been wondering if high-end bookshelves are a better option than the second line down Towers. In this situation, imo, the bookshelves win by far. No doubt the towers are more powerful but less is more here.

View attachment 1489810690787.jpg

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I've tried small speakers/bookshelves in my HT system. Despite having two subs with the small speakers it never seemed to have quite the same impact/punch as using larger main speakers. And, thats even when both were crossed over at 80Hz (same subs in either case).

That said, I have a couple pair of smaller speakers that I do enjoy, just didn't cut it for me in the HT system.
 
whoaru99 said:
I've tried small speakers/bookshelves in my HT system. Despite having two subs with the small speakers it never seemed to have quite the same impact/punch as using larger main speakers. And, thats even when both were crossed over at 80Hz (same subs in either case).

That said, I have a couple pair of smaller speakers that I do enjoy, just didn't cut it for me in the HT system.
Click to expand...

What kind of bookshelves were they, if you dont mind me asking?

The speakers i am referring to above were 800 a speaker 20 years ago. I agree they lose a little punch over the 900 dollar per speaker towers, but in fidelity and quality there is no comparison imo. Ymmv of course. The question for me became quality vs quantity. Ultimately quality won out because normally it's really not turned up that loud and the upgrade to the high end towers is a big jump. Even though they are amazing speakers, i agree they are still bookshelves, and like you I do enjoy Towers more. But after listening to the highest-end bookshelves the lower end Towers just didn't sound very good at all. I hope to upgrade when the right deal comes along.
 
Oh yea, new addition. Thinksound on1 cans, Stereophile class A rated 2014 - 2016.. New model is on2, not much different.

IMG_20170330_161648.jpg
 
applescrap said:
What kind of bookshelves were they, if you dont mind me asking?

The speakers i am referring to above were 800 a speaker 20 years ago. I agree they lose a little punch over the 900 dollar per speaker towers, but in fidelity and quality there is no comparison imo. Ymmv of course. The question for me became quality vs quantity. Ultimately quality won out because normally it's really not turned up that loud and the upgrade to the high end towers is a big jump. Even though they are amazing speakers, i agree they are still bookshelves, and like you I do enjoy Towers more. But after listening to the highest-end bookshelves the lower end Towers just didn't sound very good at all. I hope to upgrade when the right deal comes along.
Click to expand...

The bookshelves were Ellis Audio 1801 that I had on short term loan/trial. SEAS Excel W18E001 and the Hiquphon OWI tweeter, 1dB matched drivers, big name components in the crossover, etc. etc. While these are no longer made, a tower version is available from Salk Sound. Uses a transmission line enclosure. Same drivers through, far as I know. MSRP $2700 for the 1801-TL.

Next up were some other, custom speakers made by a fellow name of Jim Holtz. These have Focal woofers, Morel mids, and Hiquphon tweeters. Crossover design is by Rick Craig of Selah Audio. These I bought maybe 10-15 years ago for the cost of parts, around $800, I think. I still have these and use them in 2-ch systems of various components. Currently, in a small tube setup with a Victor EL84 P-P amp that I completely rebuilt with all new parts except the chassis, power transformer, and output transformers. Also optimized the power supply, changing it from cathode bias to fixed bias with adjustment for individual tubes. For a preamp using a Transcendent Sound Grounded Grid tube preamp.

On a lark I also tried some Behringer Truth B2031P speakers, which I also still own. Overall not in the leagues of the above, but still not a bad speaker given the price.

In the HT I've had Definitive Tech BP30 that I thought worked quite well for the system. But, when I upgraded to a larger flat panel display, the bipolar speakers didn't work as well with the space between them largely blocked. So, I went to Paradigm Studio 100s for the mains, which is where it's still at today.

Briefly tried Thiel CS3.6 in the HT, which are a great speaker themselves and I still have those for a separate 2-ch system. However, still preferred the Paradigms for the HT. I think with the dual 8" woofers, yet crossed at 80Hz, I get satisfying midbass punch I didn't get from the smaller speakers. Lower bass and subwoofage is handled by a pair of Paradigm Servo 15 subs.
 
Does anyone here own any Emotiva speakers? Curious about your impressions. I love folded ribbons(have Adam A7s and martinlogan motion 10s already).
 
@jwin sorry havent heard them, but....

Two pairs of these are about to end on ebay, i got centers that looked just like them. They are incredible, but i just cant for my bedroom.

@whoaru awesome collection there. I would love to have heard that many different types. Some are diy, right? How do they sound

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applescrap said:
@whoaru awesome collection there. I would love to have heard that many different types. Some are diy, right? How do they sound
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DIY, yeah, I guess, inasmuch as they were not produced by a big, familiar corporate name. Performance wise, they are not what one might otherwise expect from a "DIY" speaker.

The Ellis speakers were phenomenal in image, sound stage, and all that sort of audiospeak. However, they just didn't float my boat for a dual purpose (mainly HT) system.

The JH3s, pretty much same deal. Excellent sounding speaker, just not quite right for high impact HT setup.

Ellis 1801 (2nd and 3rd pictures): Note, I did actually put them on real stands at some point, but don't have a picture of that. In the back ground are the Definitive Tech BP30s and the "big" Hitachi 36" CRT.

JH3 (1st picture): Hooked up to a Levinson No. 23, Proceed PRE, and Denon DCD-1560 (with the speakers on some real stands ;))

stuffs.jpg


Then in the very last picture, the JH3 speakers in more or less the current setup as I was setting up a little music room. I've since disconnected the amp you see on the floor and the Bucket Sub you see in the corner. The JH3 speakers and gear on the stand remains. That's the Victor amp on top and below that the Grounded Grid preamp, then the Emotiva XDA-1 DAC below. And, to the side on the floor, a power conditioner I made, that provides balanced and filtered power.

If you look close you can see the Bottlehead Crack headphone amp on the bottom left shelf of the rack. This has the Speedball modification too. Senn HD-580 cans on the floor to the left.

None of these setups are really all that "pretty" but boy, they sound pretty good.

DSCF0208.JPG


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Anybody know anything about car radio that is willing to help me out/ give a few pointers?

I just bought a 2011 tacoma across can that has a terrible audio system, I am wanting to replace the speakers and stereo in it with something decent. Shoot me a pm if you are I retested in giving me a few pointers
 
I can help you^^ lets keep it here maybe someone else can benefit to. Since i am not overly familiar with your tacoma speaker set up, you will first need to know whats in there. Crutchfield is an awesome resource for car audio. In fact if you buy from them they will send you your car/truck installation guide and diagrams. See sometimes a standard size will work and other times not. They put the speakers in molds often times and so either a replacement mold is needed or other fixes are recommended. Either way they will give you that info for free. You are smart to do this and i dont know why i waited so long to change my camry and 4runner. The stock speakers are like paper cups. Wish i would have put nicer speakers in too. I was being cheap and didnt yet realize the value of nice speakers. Hope this gets you started.
 
Yeah it's a good start! Only thing is crutchfield is recommending 6.75" speakers and my car has 6x9's in them...
 
Wow so got the old speaker out and it might be worst than a paper cup....but it's for sure a 6×9
 
Sweet jodell, you are well on your way. The kicker DS series is what I put in my Camry. I think the six by nines would sound better if they were in my doors but unfortunately the little ones in my doors are what I here mostly. They are pretty big magnets so make sure whether you need a shallow mount or deep mount. I think it's worth the money once again to get some nicer speakers but these kickers are certainly nicer than the paper cups. For a little more money I have found the Infinities to be superior. Ymmv
 
So a little deeper research shows that indeed the 6x9 is in a specialty molded bracket. So they recommend a six and a half and using the mounting to fit in the mold screws. A nice six and a half component system does seem a good idea. Any way you can get a 6x9 to screw into that mold will be acceptable. You can use foam if needed. For my 4Runner I screwed into non existing screw holes just straight into the plastic mold. The important thing is to realize that it's not plug and play with that 6x9. Then again I could be completely wrong
 
I got 6.75" kickers. Crutchfield was an excellent website because they added the mounts for free so I am very excited. They should be here Monday and I'll post how they look!
 
Hell ya, so happy for you. Looking forward to a pic of your install for sure. So the 6.75 come with oem fit mounts? Couldnt be better. Now an amp is next, I need one too. Alpine makes a little one that fits behind deck and elminates a long power run. I have a feeling a big craigslist car amp and 2 12s are coming soon. Sold my usa soundstream 12. So sad at this moment. Im Ramblin now. To be continued...
 
What are your thoughts on using polyfill in a car audio system?

I have a Jeep Wrangler JK, and recently replaced the stock speakers in the dash and sound bar with Kicker coaxial speakers. HUGE improvement. I followed some online advice and filled both the dash enclosures and the sound bar with polyfill behind the new speakers.

I don't know if it makes it better or worse, since I added it at the same time as the new speakers so I changed two variables simultaneously.

But I wonder if there's a clear enough answer to potentially justify opening up the car again and pulling it out.
 
bwarbiany said:
What are your thoughts on using polyfill in a car audio system?

I have a Jeep Wrangler JK, and recently replaced the stock speakers in the dash and sound bar with Kicker coaxial speakers. HUGE improvement. I followed some online advice and filled both the dash enclosures and the sound bar with polyfill behind the new speakers.

I don't know if it makes it better or worse, since I added it at the same time as the new speakers so I changed two variables simultaneously.

But I wonder if there's a clear enough answer to potentially justify opening up the car again and pulling it out.
Click to expand...

I poly-filled mine a while back, both sound bar and sub enclosure. I could tell a pretty big difference in bass response and much more mid range punch.

Afterwards I replaced the sound-bar speakers and sub driver which helped a lot but the best single mod that improved the stock sound most was re-capping the dash tweeters. It's pretty simple to do if you can solder at all, here's a link if you're interested.
 
bwarbiany said:
What are your thoughts on using polyfill in a car audio system?

I have a Jeep Wrangler JK, and recently replaced the stock speakers in the dash and sound bar with Kicker coaxial speakers. HUGE improvement. I followed some online advice and filled both the dash enclosures and the sound bar with polyfill behind the new speakers.

I don't know if it makes it better or worse, since I added it at the same time as the new speakers so I changed two variables simultaneously.

But I wonder if there's a clear enough answer to potentially justify opening up the car again and pulling it out.
Click to expand...

This is a great question. Intuitively it would seem like a good idea. Although sound foam would be the better choice, i think. Back in hs when i bought a cheap woofer box, we filled it with pillows for similar reasons.
 
headbanger said:
I poly-filled mine a while back, both sound bar and sub enclosure. I could tell a pretty big difference in bass response and much more mid range punch.

Afterwards I replaced the sound-bar speakers and sub driver which helped a lot but the best single mod that improved the stock sound most was re-capping the dash tweeters. It's pretty simple to do if you can solder at all, here's a link if you're interested.
Click to expand...

Awesome!

I'm an electrical engineer, so I suppose I can pull out a soldering iron and not break anything :D
 
I have a variety of systems but my fave for listening to music are my vintage CV MK1215's.

I found them in an attic in Maine. They were made in Denmark brought to the US by a serviceman via Germany (they still have airline shipping stickers on the back of them). I've refoamed them once and they will need it again soon.

Each one is over 4' tall and weighs 100lbs. Front facing 12" woofer, tweeter and two 6 1\2" mids with a 15" woofer pointed at the floor. They sat in storage for 2+ yrs after our last move and just recently I convinced the wife to allow me to set them up in our lakeside cabin.

I've powered them many ways since they have bi amp posts. Even using 4 amps at one point. Now just a big pro amp and pre amp in the basement with a Bluetooth receiver and I have my Echo Dot synced to it.

Just like being at a concert. Man I missed these. Added to the ability to just tell Alexa whatever music I want to play. Just a lot of fun!

IMG_20170217_173445.jpg


IMG_20170408_000329.jpg
 
Ok so I got these new speakers installed..


One sounds awesome, and the other sounds reeeealt quiet. This was also the problem last time, I'm not sure if it is wiring, the speaker is damaged, or the stereo

20170410_185828.jpg
 
I called crutchfield and they said it was more than likely a faulty wire, because the tweeter is working fine on the door, it's just the new speaker.
 
Man they look nice, wtf is up with one speaker quiet. Did you pull on the deck wires, jiggle them, idk anything to see where fault is? Someone here has got to be able to help, no? Could a volt ohmmeter work to diagnose? Play with the fades and balance? Is there corrosion at tip? Cut wire and reattach?

So thats the factory mount copy? Sweet!
 
applescrap said:
Man they look nice, wtf is up with one speaker quiet. Did you pull on the deck wires, jiggle them, idk anything to see where fault is? Someone here has got to be able to help, no? Could a volt ohmmeter work to diagnose? Play with the fades and balance? Is there corrosion at tip? Cut wire and reattach?

So thats the factory mount copy? Sweet!
Click to expand...

I'm going to switch the speakers around just to make sure it's not the speaker. After I got both of them screwed in it got pretty cloudy, and we don't have a garage so I put the panel on quick and finished that before it rained.

To my knowledge I didn't see any corrosion.

The guy at crutchfield seamed a little baffled as well but was very helpful. I'm going to Jimmy some wires tomorrow and see if it comes in louder.
 
I see a little white connector, wiggle it and check it. Switch speakers good idea. It wouldnt be hard to rewire, you can see how and where it gets to door. Guess it could have got pinched or something.

True story my car wouldn't start at 7 11. Pulled in for a rockstar, in the morning, and those mini red spicey tacos, man i love them. Hop in the car, and....nothing. change the starter, check fuses, everything, and narrow it down to ignition switch. Determined i get my 240 pound body under the dash, see the white ignition switch and the wires coming out of it. Try to start car, one last time before changing that part and it starts. Jiggling that stupid wire did it. Happened once again and jiggle worked again. I dont like problems like that, finding it is the hardest part.
 
jodell said:
Ok so I got these new speakers installed..


One sounds awesome, and the other sounds reeeealt quiet. This was also the problem last time, I'm not sure if it is wiring, the speaker is damaged, or the stereo
Click to expand...

Sounds like the amp/head unit if the problem existed before the swap.
I would still flip the speakers to check. If that yields the same result, then you will need to pull the head unit. You can check the voltage output with an multimeter. Just compare the voltage from the left and right channels with the stereo on and speakers disconnected. That will also confirm it's not the speakers, assuming there are different voltages. You can get a $9 multimeter at harbor freight if you don't have one. Or ask a neighbor. It's good to have at least a cheap on laying around...
Leave one speaker uninstalled.
Get a wiring diagram for your head unit. Find the wiring diagram for you head unit. Locate the output for that speaker via diagram. If everything looks suitable, your going to need to do some geekery.
First, I would jump from the direct output of the head unit. Remove the wiring harness, assuming it's still there. Some people install aftermarket radios by spicing wires. This is stupid. Very stupid. You can get wiring harness adapters to do this for you for around $10 and will save a ton of headache.
Anyway, find the output for that speaker and it's opposing speaker. Measure the outputs of those wires. If they are the same voltages, it's not the speaker and not head unit and instead, something in between.
If the voltages are different, it's the amp in head unit. A new head unit would be in order. Make sure to order the necessary wiring harness adapter, assuming your wiring harness is still intact.
Hope this helps.
 
Alright back to the drawing board....i have wiggled everything that can wiggled with no results. I was planning on replacing the stereo anyways so I'll see if that works


Jwin said:
Sounds like the amp/head unit if the problem existed before the swap.
I would still flip the speakers to check. If that yields the same result, then you will need to pull the head unit. You can check the voltage output with an multimeter. Just compare the voltage from the left and right channels with the stereo on and speakers disconnected. That will also confirm it's not the speakers, assuming there are different voltages. You can get a $9 multimeter at harbor freight if you don't have one. Or ask a neighbor. It's good to have at least a cheap on laying around...
Leave one speaker uninstalled.
Get a wiring diagram for your head unit. Find the wiring diagram for you head unit. Locate the output for that speaker via diagram. If everything looks suitable, your going to need to do some geekery.
First, I would jump from the direct output of the head unit. Remove the wiring harness, assuming it's still there. Some people install aftermarket radios by spicing wires. This is stupid. Very stupid. You can get wiring harness adapters to do this for you for around $10 and will save a ton of headache.
Anyway, find the output for that speaker and it's opposing speaker. Measure the outputs of those wires. If they are the same voltages, it's not the speaker and not head unit and instead, something in between.
If the voltages are different, it's the amp in head unit. A new head unit would be in order. Make sure to order the necessary wiring harness adapter, assuming your wiring harness is still intact.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

I'll be honest with you, I am fairly handy but not with electrical work...so I didn't understand most of this. I do know the power goes from stereo, to the speaker, to the tweeter. The tweeter is working just fine, just not the speaker i put in. I still have yet to switch the driver side with this one to see if there is any change (it's been raining here and I don't have a garage) so I need to to check that just to cover all bases.

Any other ideas out there I would gladly accept and appreciate
 
If it's a separate tweeter, are you sure they are connected? There would be 4 wires converging on the dash speaker, if that were the case.
If this is the fact, and the tweeter is working at the same level as before the swap, then that changes things, making the new speaker suspect.
 
I work till 10 tonight so ill have to check tomorrow. When I unplugged the harness it cut all the sound. Plugged it back in and the tweeter was going and the new speaker was going but very quiet
 
Sounds like a bad voice coil in your new speaker then. Swapping them will tell you for sure.
 
Next step would be getting them at ear level. Looks like that chair on the right is blocking the right channel from the listening position.
You would always dig out some junk from the garage to prop them up and try out before committing but, I think you'll see a solid improvement from elevating them.
 

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