What's in your Hi-Fi?

[tallchris]

So I currently run a Rega P3-24 and Adcom GCD-575 through these:

Power Amp: Adcom GFA-545 II
Pre-amp Tuner: Adcom GTP-500 II

I really want to upgrade my speakers, and would likely get one of the used pairs at Hawthorne stereo on this list. Any suggestions of what would be best on that list up to $500 or $600?

[motorbike guy]

Here are the ones that I would go and listen to:

ADS L690
Boston Acoustics T-1030
Dahlquist DQ-12
Infinity Reference 2000.5
KEF 102
Paradigm 9se
Snell J

I am familiar with these speakers and they can all sound fantastic, given the right room and a good amp to drive them. If you have a bigger room and the speakers don't have to be against a wall, consider the DQ-12s. They are really lovely speakers, if a bit strange looking. The Bostons and the Paradigms are surprisingly good lower priced speakers, and they will go pretty loud as well. You may not like the KEFs - they can be very revealing of faulty source material, and they probably don't get real loud. The ADSs are going to be a little more laid back, but smooth sounding.
Listen to as many as you can, trust your ears.

[Tommy]

Wish I had something more high end, but presently I have the following:

Marantz 2252 receiver
Infinity RS4001 (3-way)
Boston Acoustic A-70 (2-way)
Onkyo CP-1044F turntable with ADC cartridge
Sony CDP-CX55 CD player

Honestly though, I do really like the sound of 1970s Marantz receivers.

[whoisalhedges]

Honestly though, I do really like the sound of 1970s Marantz receivers.

Me too. My current amp is excellent, especially for the price. Very transparent, though, and my speaks love bass. I had to dial in the EQ very precisely to get it to sound like what I wanted it to (which was an old Marantz). I think I've got it dialed in right now, but don't rush to replace your receiver. You know you'd miss the beautiful blue glow.

[tallchris]

Here are the ones that I would go and listen to:

ADS L690
Boston Acoustics T-1030
Dahlquist DQ-12
Infinity Reference 2000.5
KEF 102
Paradigm 9se
Snell J

I am familiar with these speakers and they can all sound fantastic, given the right room and a good amp to drive them. If you have a bigger room and the speakers don't have to be against a wall, consider the DQ-12s. They are really lovely speakers, if a bit strange looking. The Bostons and the Paradigms are surprisingly good lower priced speakers, and they will go pretty loud as well. You may not like the KEFs - they can be very revealing of faulty source material, and they probably don't get real loud. The ADSs are going to be a little more laid back, but smooth sounding.
Listen to as many as you can, trust your ears.

Awesome, thanks! These would go in my living room, on either side of the fireplace:



I listen at a fairly moderate volume most of the time, well, unless my wife or I are home by ourselves.

My wife is out of town this weekend, so I'm totally kill a chunk of Saturday down there checking these out.

[motorbike guy]

Awesome, thanks! These would go in my living room, on either side of the fireplace:



I listen at a fairly moderate volume most of the time, well, unless my wife or I are home by ourselves.

My wife is out of town this weekend, so I'm totally kill a chunk of Saturday down there checking these out.

I am also a big fan of Snells. The Js are pretty small bookshelfs, so they may not do what you need. If you can track down a pair of Snell Es, or maybe even Cs, check them out. I had a pair of Snell Es for a long time and I loved them. They are a nice 3 way tower style speaker.

Looking at your room, the setup looks pretty good, although ideally you don't want your turntable that close to the speakers, or on top of a rack that tall, unless you have a nice slab floor. But you have to do what works for you. Good luck. I am trying to pull the trigger on another audio purchase as well. Unfortuneatly just as soon as I got the money to spend, the amp that I wanted to buy seemingly disappeared from the used market overnight. I must be patient.

[TheMilford]

The Snell Js are HUGE "bookshelfs"

The Ks are the smaller ones and still bigger than most "Bookshelf" speakers. I'm still looking for a pair of these in walnut. They are probably the best sounding of the bunch... but have limited bass and efficiency.

The Es are the floor-standers... although most still use them on small stands to get them up to ear level.

I have Audio Note Js which are the High-end UK version of the Snells. They are fantastic and louder than I need... even with only 3.5 watts per channel.

[LBx]

Maybe!

[enframed]

I have a couple of questions.

I live near the ocean and my connectors on three year-old equipment seem to already be beginning to corrode.

1) What do you recommend I use to clean the connections? They are RCA and regular screw down speaker terminal connectors.

2) Is there some sort of cream I can use to coat these to ward off, or at least significantly delay, any further corrosion?

I see stuff called contact cleaner around and I wonder if this is it.

Thanks

[squarewave]

I have a couple of questions.

I live near the ocean and my connectors on three year-old equipment seem to already be beginning to corrode.

1) What do you recommend I use to clean the connections? They are RCA and regular screw down speaker terminal connectors.

2) Is there some sort of cream I can use to coat these to ward off, or at least significantly delay, any further corrosion?

I see stuff called contact cleaner around and I wonder if this is it.

Thanks

DeOxit gold is your friend.

http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.292/.f

[squarewave]

The Snell Js are HUGE "bookshelfs"

The Ks are the smaller ones and still bigger than most "Bookshelf" speakers. I'm still looking for a pair of these in walnut. They are probably the best sounding of the bunch... but have limited bass and efficiency.

The Es are the floor-standers... although most still use them on small stands to get them up to ear level.

I have Audio Note Js which are the High-end UK version of the Snells. They are fantastic and louder than I need... even with only 3.5 watts per channel.

I will say that the choice of buying used Snell has some very minor concerns, but nothing that would be so strong that I would recommend you to look elsewhere.

I worked for a Snell dealer in their early 90s heyday when they made the alpha model names that had the rectangular cabinets with the nice crisp mitered thick real wood veneers.

They were acquired by D&M holdings (who also bought up Denon, Marantz, McIntosh Labs, and Boston Acoustics). D&M decided to shutter the brand, but Boston has some repair stock for a lot of the Snell models. Also, the era of product that has been mentioned used top end Vifa drivers of the day. Since they are very well-known drivers, similar replacements can be had though places like Madisound if you should ever need them.

[enframed]

I have a couple of questions.

I live near the ocean and my connectors on three year-old equipment seem to already be beginning to corrode.

1) What do you recommend I use to clean the connections? They are RCA and regular screw down speaker terminal connectors.

2) Is there some sort of cream I can use to coat these to ward off, or at least significantly delay, any further corrosion?

I see stuff called contact cleaner around and I wonder if this is it.

Thanks

DeOxit gold is your friend.

http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.292/.f

Perfect. Thank you.

[cerebralheadtrip]

Current set up

Sansui 8080db receiver
Pro-ject Debut iii turntable
Audio Physic - Yara speakers

[geiginni]

Since early winter:
-Marantz AV7005 Processor Preamp
-Outlaw 7125 Amplifier (7x125W)
-Fisher 800C Receiver
-Marantz 6600 SACD/Universal DVD
-Some cheapo Panasonic Blu-Ray player, used as a transport to put out HDMI to the preamp
-Harman Kardon T55c, plinth modded with added mass/damping and new isolation bases w/Grado Gold cart.
-B&W 602s3 Front
-B&W LCR600s3 Center
-B&W 601s3 Rear
-1958 Decca HiFonic, for playing 78s into the Marantz preamp
-Some 6th gen Samsung 32" LCD display from 2006

The SACD/DVD is going. Thinking of getting an Oppo BD-93 to replace it.

Hope to get hold of a DIN rail mount Crestron 2nd gen control processor and 4-channel lighting control unit this year, so I can control the flat-panel display and system through the iPhones and/or iPad.

[squarewave]

-Harman Kardon T55c, plinth modded with added mass/damping and new isolation bases w/Grado Gold cart.

The H/K suspension tables are hidden gems.

I run a basic T25 with a Grado cart. I recommend H/Ks to friends who are on a budget to keep an eye out for well maintained units. I keep a regular ebay and craigslist keyword search open for H/K turntables and the model #s. The only drawback is that since they were popular and sold at larger mass market retailers, a lot of them wound up in the hands of Joe-six-pack type slobs. So unless I can clearly see otherwise, I have to assume that they have been beat on, and shipped and stored improperly which fucks up the platter and tonearm bearings. I view AR tables the same way.

Hope to get hold of a DIN rail mount Crestron 2nd gen control processor and 4-channel lighting control unit this year, so I can control the flat-panel display and system through the iPhones and/or iPad.

I may be able to help on this... PM sent...

[squarewave]

So I currently run a Rega P3-24 and Adcom GCD-575 through these:

Power Amp: Adcom GFA-545 II
Pre-amp Tuner: Adcom GTP-500 II

I really want to upgrade my speakers, and would likely get one of the used pairs at Hawthorne stereo on this list. Any suggestions of what would be best on that list up to $500 or $600?

Chris.
I agree with most of the recommendations that have been posted from the list.
There are a ton of good speakers on that list, but the choice is a no-brainer to me.

Paradigm 9SEs MkIII.
The 'Digm Nines' were the single best selling floorstanding speaker of all time at my old store.

With that Adcom power, you will be thundering.
They are a little forward (meaning pronounced upper midrange), but it's not fatiguing at all. They destroy just about anything in the same price range on that list in terms of bass and midbass. Not bloated or one-note sounding like a lot of popular big speakers were (and are), but just tight and plenty capable of getting loud. At the levels you mentioned, these speakers will be loafing.

Avoid the 7SEs... they were kinda dogs in the SE line.
They are anemic in comparison to the 9SEs, and they are asking the same price anyway.

[motorbike guy]

I have a couple of questions.

I live near the ocean and my connectors on three year-old equipment seem to already be beginning to corrode.

1) What do you recommend I use to clean the connections? They are RCA and regular screw down speaker terminal connectors.

2) Is there some sort of cream I can use to coat these to ward off, or at least significantly delay, any further corrosion?

I see stuff called contact cleaner around and I wonder if this is it.

Thanks

#1 - pencil erasers. light sandpaper for stubborn bits. contact cleaner for things you can' reach with an abrasive, and to clean up after you are done removing corrosion.

#2 - dielectric grease - get it at any autoparts store.

[motorbike guy]

Current set up

Sansui 8080db receiver
Pro-ject Debut iii turntable
Audio Physic - Yara speakers

wow. no offense to your ancient japanese reciever, but with those speakers, you should consider upgrading your amplification first.

[enframed]

I have a couple of questions.

I live near the ocean and my connectors on three year-old equipment seem to already be beginning to corrode.

1) What do you recommend I use to clean the connections? They are RCA and regular screw down speaker terminal connectors.

2) Is there some sort of cream I can use to coat these to ward off, or at least significantly delay, any further corrosion?

I see stuff called contact cleaner around and I wonder if this is it.

Thanks

#1 - pencil erasers. light sandpaper for stubborn bits. contact cleaner for things you can' reach with an abrasive, and to clean up after you are done removing corrosion.

#2 - dielectric grease - get it at any autoparts store.

Good news. Thanks a bunch.

[squarewave]

Motorbike... The Sansui 8080 is an absolute BEAST.
Most of them you might find will need to be recapped by now, but they are genuinely strong and very very good amps.