I was thinking...

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Comments

  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,009
    I've owned a ton of Klipsch speakers and they ALL worked fine too.

    Now the newer ones with copper cones...I haven't done any research on the reviews of those yet. Well, maybe I did do a small bit on those subs I was thinking of getting. I think I read where some sub amps did fail or the cones might have. I forget which one or both...
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,560
    Maybe @mlistens03 should get his ears on some Monitor Audio speakers. By far they are the brightest and most shrill sounding speakers I've ever heard.

    Maybe there's a local HiFi shop near him in FL where he could go audition some? I mean to me they sound awful, but to him they might sound perfect.

    That's what's so tricky about this hobby sometimes, we all hear a little bit differently.
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    edited June 2018
    Clipdat wrote: »
    I've never thought of a passive speaker as something that could fail or have a "high failure rate".

    What supposedly happened is when AudioVox bought the company, they tried to cut costs by replacing the original compression dome in many of the lines with a cheaper polydome, except in some lines the polydome was crossed over too low because they made no modifications to the XO in order to use the tweeter. I don’t know how true it is, but it seems like a relatively common occurrence on AK, there are quite a number of threads about it.
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    edited June 2018
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Maybe @mlistens03 should get his ears on some Monitor Audio speakers. By far they are the brightest and most shrill sounding speakers I've ever heard.

    Maybe there's a local HiFi shop near him in FL where he could go audition some? I mean to me they sound awful, but to him they might sound perfect.

    That's what's so tricky about this hobby sometimes, we all hear a little bit differently.

    I might have poorly specified my taste. I don’t like overly bright or shrill speakers, but I do like a speaker that leans a little more to the bright side of things. If you want a good idea of what I like, try to listen to some Mission 770 Freedom MK IVs, I very much like them. I would rather have a overly bright speaker than a darker (is that the correct word?) speaker, but a well balanced speaker that leans to the bright side of things is what I like. I am Sorry for any misunderstanding.
    Micah

    Edit: oh by the way, there is a HiFi shop about an hour away, called Crown Audio, but it really only carries really high end brands like Wilson, McIntosh, near TOTL Focals, etc.
  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,560
    I think I know what you mean. I just meant that to me the MA speakers were bright and shrill. But if you go read reviews of the Monitor Audio Bronze 2 bookies on Amazon or Crutchfield, I doubt anyone mentions them being bright or shrill.
    mlistens03 wrote: »
    I might have poorly specified my taste. I don’t like overly bright or shrill speakers, but I do like a speaker that leans a little more to the bright side of things. If you want a good idea of what I like, try to listen to some Mission 770 Freedom MK IVs, I very much like them. I would rather have a overly bright speaker than a darker (is that the correct word?) speaker, but a well balanced speaker that leans to the bright side of things is what I like. I am Sorry for any misunderstanding.
    Micah

  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    Clipdat wrote: »
    I think I know what you mean. I just meant that to me the MA speakers were bright and shrill. But if you go read reviews of the Monitor Audio Bronze 2 bookies on Amazon or Crutchfield, I doubt anyone mentions them being bright or shrill.
    mlistens03 wrote: »
    I might have poorly specified my taste. I don’t like overly bright or shrill speakers, but I do like a speaker that leans a little more to the bright side of things. If you want a good idea of what I like, try to listen to some Mission 770 Freedom MK IVs, I very much like them. I would rather have a overly bright speaker than a darker (is that the correct word?) speaker, but a well balanced speaker that leans to the bright side of things is what I like. I am Sorry for any misunderstanding.
    Micah

    I just looked at the Monitor Audios, and they definitely look like a very nice speaker. I wish I could hear them before deciding, but I guess I can always send them back to Amazon if I don’t like them. Or maybe buy them used?
    A few people did mention them being a little too bright, but with that being what I like, then maybe they are for me.
    Micah
  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,560
    Crutchfield offers a 60 day trial, with a flat $10 fee for returns. Great policy, imo.
    mlistens03 wrote: »
    I just looked at the Monitor Audios, and they definitely look like a very nice speaker. I wish I could hear them before deciding, but I guess I can always send them back to Amazon if I don’t like them. Or maybe buy them used?
    A few people did mention them being a little too bright, but with that being what I like, then maybe they are for me.
    Micah

  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Crutchfield offers a 60 day trial, with a flat $10 fee for returns. Great policy, imo.
    mlistens03 wrote: »
    I just looked at the Monitor Audios, and they definitely look like a very nice speaker. I wish I could hear them before deciding, but I guess I can always send them back to Amazon if I don’t like them. Or maybe buy them used?
    A few people did mention them being a little too bright, but with that being what I like, then maybe they are for me.
    Micah

    Oh, perfect! I may put that to good use.
    DSkip wrote: »
    If you can sell off the gear and generate enough funds, these might be your huckleberry:

    https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649428310-usher-be718-tiny-dancer-us-version/

    I still think the 703 will be too laid back on the top end for you. They are definitely more tilted on the top end than the LSi series, but they are anything but bright.

    Oh I would love a pair of Ushers, but they are all above my price range, although that doesn’t mean I won’t find a deal on them
    That’s why I have pretty much ruled out the LSiMs, as much as I really want them.

    An idea literally just popped into my head; if I get enough money, I could get the Monitor Audio speakers (or a similar set of bookies) and the Dayens Ampino. I’m not 100% sure how much the Dayens costs, but it is around $500, right?
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    edited June 2018
    By the way, how do you guys feel about Dali and SVS? I’ve heard that both make great stuff, but I don’t really know much about either. (Other than SVS’ subs of course, I know all about them :wink: )
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    edited June 2018
    I am seriously thinking about the Monitor Audio Bronze 2s, but I don’t know if they will be able to hold up in my room without a sub or not. Any suggestions for a good affordable sub? Budget would probably be around $400, but once again, I don’t know for sure because I don’t know exactly how much money I will get from the gear that I am selling. I will probably need speaker level inputs.
  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,009
    Have fun at camp! ;)B)
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    Tony M wrote: »
    Have fun at camp! ;)B)

    I will! We will be leaving at 2 AM tomorrow. Going to be a 10 hour drive. :# Looking forward to it though!
  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,560
    For the type of music that you listen to, I highly doubt that you would need a sub.
    mlistens03 wrote: »
    I am seriously thinking about the Monitor Audio Bronze 2s, but I don’t know if they will be able to hold up in my room without a sub or not. Any suggestions for a good affordable sub? Budget would probably be around $400, but once again, I don’t know for sure because I don’t know exactly how much money I will get from the gear that I am selling. I will probably need speaker level inputs.

  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    Clipdat wrote: »
    For the type of music that you listen to, I highly doubt that you would need a sub.
    mlistens03 wrote: »
    I am seriously thinking about the Monitor Audio Bronze 2s, but I don’t know if they will be able to hold up in my room without a sub or not. Any suggestions for a good affordable sub? Budget would probably be around $400, but once again, I don’t know for sure because I don’t know exactly how much money I will get from the gear that I am selling. I will probably need speaker level inputs.

    I do too, but it I still good to know, ya know?
  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,560
    Are there any HiFi shops in your neck of the woods?
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Are there any HiFi shops in your neck of the woods?

    Only one I know of is Crown Audio in Orlando, but they only carry ultra high end stuff. As in 10k+. If we go back to Palm Beach Gardens, which we did a few weeks back, there is an Audio Advisor store there that my dad went to, which according to him is a really cool place with everything from Polk T series to the B&W Nautilus.
    Micah
  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,560
    edited June 2018
    Not sure if you ever make it down to Sarasota area, but Bud's (@BlueFox) shop of choice is down there.

    Edit: Suncoast Audio I believe it's called! @Suncoast_Audio
    mlistens03 wrote: »
    Only one I know of is Crown Audio in Orlando, but they only carry ultra high end stuff. As in 10k+. If we go back to Palm Beach Gardens, which we did a few weeks back, there is an Audio Advisor store there that my dad went to, which according to him is a really cool place with everything from Polk T series to the B&W Nautilus.
    Micah

  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Not sure if you ever make it down to Sarasota area, but Bud's (@BlueFox) shop of choice is down there.

    Edit: Suncoast Audio I believe it's called! @Suncoast_Audio
    mlistens03 wrote: »
    Only one I know of is Crown Audio in Orlando, but they only carry ultra high end stuff. As in 10k+. If we go back to Palm Beach Gardens, which we did a few weeks back, there is an Audio Advisor store there that my dad went to, which according to him is a really cool place with everything from Polk T series to the B&W Nautilus.
    Micah

    If I am ever down there, I will check it out. Thanks!
  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    There used to be 2 Sound Advice stores in the Orlando area, but the only ones I see online are in South Florida. They sold Martin Logan, Klipsch, and Yamahahahaha.
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    Viking64 wrote: »
    There used to be 2 Sound Advice stores in the Orlando area, but the only ones I see online are in South Florida. They sold Martin Logan, Klipsch, and Yamahahahaha.

    I remembered my dad talking about them before I wasn’t into audio, but like you said, they seem to be gone.

    I did take a look at Crowne’s website (spelled it wrong the first time, Viking, I apologize :tongue: ), and it seems that they are carrying all sorts of brands now, so I will see if I can go there sometime next week.
    Micah
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    mlistens03 wrote: »
    Viking64 wrote: »
    There used to be 2 Sound Advice stores in the Orlando area, but the only ones I see online are in South Florida. They sold Martin Logan, Klipsch, and Yamahahahaha.

    I remembered my dad talking about them before I wasn’t into audio, but like you said, they seem to be gone.

    I did take a look at Crowne’s website (spelled it wrong the first time, Viking, I apologize :tongue: ), and it seems that they are carrying all sorts of brands now, so I will see if I can go there sometime next week.
    Micah

    Scratch that, they are carrying lower brands than before, but still well above my budget,
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    I have returned from camp. I’ll real quick go over what happened in a nutshell.
    We got up at 2 AM on Sat. In order to head to the church for Fuge camps at RidgeCrest conference center in NC, and then left and drove for 9 hours in a van. We had seven 15 passenger vans, and some were Fords and others were Chevy’s, and I got stuck in a Chevy. Anyway, we arrived, and checked in, then at dinner and went to worship. Very glad I brought hearing protection, because my friend used an SPL meter on his phone, and it was reading continuous levels above 125 DB. Overall though, I had a awesome time, the band (Rush Of Fools) was great, worship was awesome our EMCEE (the guy who does post of the day, announcements, etc.) was awesome, and I had a lot of fun. I learned a lot as well, and I would pretty much call it a life changing week.

    Anyway, back to audio, I am going to post my gear on CL and the forum FS section tomorrow when I wake up (probably around 2-3 in the afternoon because we went to bed at midnight and woke up at 6 every day :# ) and once I have the funds, I think I will try the Monitor Audios. If I don’t like them, I can always return them.
    Micah
  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,009
    125dbs....what did you say? what?

    I'm glad you had hearing protection too!!!!

    Ringing or buzzing ears is not fun!! :(

    Glad you had a life-changing experience and a lot of fun except for that Chevy ride.
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    Tony M wrote: »
    125dbs....what did you say? what?

    I don’t understand how kids can listen to anything that loud. I briefly didn’t have my earplugs in, and it was just a loud noise with the occasional kick drum or vocal coming through.
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    @mhardy6647 Doc, I apologize for calling upon your knowledge at this ungodly hour ( :wink: ), but a few days ago I got to hear a set of speakers that were somewhat similar to your speakers, and they were awesome! So I thought I would inquire some more about the details of your speakers, and if you guys could possibly help my design something similar. I may not do it soon, as I still need to get a car, but that extra time will give me time to perfect the designs.
    Also, at GoodWill this morning I found a single Kenwood KL-7070. There was something wrong with the crossover so it didn’t sound right, but all the drivers work, and I though I would see if you guys think they are worth using for this project. There is a big 15” or 18” woofer, a 5.5” midrange, two 1 inch horn loaded tweeters (one was sacrificed for the cause of seeing what’s inside), what looks to be a .5 inch tweeter, and then some kind of horn loaded “super tweeter” although I’m not sure on size or specifications. Supposedly it can play up to 20KHz, and it is crossed over at 10KHz so I don’t know how much lower it can play. Do you think any of these parts may be worth using in this project? There was only one speaker at GoodWill, so I’d have to hunt down a match to also sacrifice for this project, but I don’t think it would be too difficult.
    I am sorry for continuously asking this question, but I never have heard a better speaker than the ones I heard the other day, so I want to look into this idea further. In case anyone wants to know, I think they used Vifa horns and drivers, and the owner said that they were “relatively low end” speakers, so I can’t imagine what a speaker with “relatively high end” drivers would sound like.
    Don’t worry, this will definitely be the last time I ask this question, because if I decide not to try this, then I’m definitely getting the Monitor Audio Bronze 2s.
    Thanks so much for all of your help,
    Micah
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited July 2018
    Well, my speakers have been something of a work in progress for the past year or so.... but their fundamentals are straight from this design.

    http://www.wardsweb.org/Billfort/

    (Bill's are much prettier than mine!)

    see also:

    http://www.hifihaven.org/index.php?threads/billforts-altec-604-ramblings.47/
    http://www.hifihaven.org/index.php?threads/my-altec-duplex-journey.42/
    http://www.hifihaven.org/index.php?threads/a-soon-to-be-proud-duplex-owner.2904/
    http://www.hifihaven.org/index.php?threads/things-are-getting-dangerous-now.3142/
    http://jelabs.blogspot.com/2016/02/altec-32b-horn-redux.html
    http://jelabs.blogspot.com/2018/02/altec-32a-32b-emilar-eh1210-eh800-eh500.html

    That'll get you started :)

    PS No, the Kenwood's components are not what you're looking for. There are current production components that can be used, but they're mostly from the pro sound industry. Take a look at some of the pro drivers at https://www.parts-express.com/cat/professional-audio-guitar-speakers/192 and http://www.usspeaker.com/ (e.g.)

    The modern day descendents of the classic Altec hardware are https://greatplainsaudio.com/

    ... and of course JBL (professional hardware) is still -- more or less -- JBL. :)

  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    Well, my speakers have been something of a work in progress for the past year or so.... but their fundamentals are straight from this design.

    http://www.wardsweb.org/Billfort/

    (Bill's are much prettier than mine!)

    see also:

    http://www.hifihaven.org/index.php?threads/billforts-altec-604-ramblings.47/
    http://www.hifihaven.org/index.php?threads/my-altec-duplex-journey.42/
    http://www.hifihaven.org/index.php?threads/a-soon-to-be-proud-duplex-owner.2904/
    http://www.hifihaven.org/index.php?threads/things-are-getting-dangerous-now.3142/
    http://jelabs.blogspot.com/2016/02/altec-32b-horn-redux.html
    http://jelabs.blogspot.com/2018/02/altec-32a-32b-emilar-eh1210-eh800-eh500.html

    That'll get you started :)

    PS No, the Kenwood's components are not what you're looking for. There are current production components that can be used, but they're mostly from the pro sound industry. Take a look at some of the pro drivers at https://www.parts-express.com/cat/professional-audio-guitar-speakers/192 and http://www.usspeaker.com/ (e.g.)

    The modern day descendents of the classic Altec hardware are https://greatplainsaudio.com/

    ... and of course JBL (professional hardware) is still -- more or less -- JBL. :)

    Thanks for the info! I will look into it! And if I do decide to build high efficiency speakers, I have another rabbit hole that I can’t really afford... tubes! :tongue:

    I will look into others designs and decide which will work best for me.

    I assumed the Kenwood parts weren’t any good, but I thought I may as well ask, since I already had them. The horn does seem somewhat decent, however the rest of it seems to be of pretty low quality.
    Thanks again!
    Micah
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    mlistens03 wrote: »
    ...
    Thanks for the info! I will look into it! And if I do decide to build high efficiency speakers, I have another rabbit hole that I can’t really afford... tubes! :tongue:
    ...

    Not necessarily. There are soiled solid state options, such as this:

    http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/181333/for-anyone-who-might-be-interested-nelson-pass-designed-aca-amplifier-kit-back-in-stock/p1
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    mlistens03 wrote: »
    ...
    Thanks for the info! I will look into it! And if I do decide to build high efficiency speakers, I have another rabbit hole that I can’t really afford... tubes! :tongue:
    ...

    Not necessarily. There are soiled solid state options, such as this:

    http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/181333/for-anyone-who-might-be-interested-nelson-pass-designed-aca-amplifier-kit-back-in-stock/p1

    Cool. This would definitely be a good option, although something a little cheaper. Maybe a baby Marantz or Yamaha?

    Do you know of any good designs that are a little smaller? For example, about the size of my Missions? I can give exact dimensions once I find a tape measure.