A pair of Acoustic Solutions M100s (fairly cheap, got them @ a sale for 70£, tweeter + 2 woofer, bi-ampable)

500-strand cable.

A SONY STR-DB780 AV receiver

SB Extigy and an optical cable

all very cheap (im a student), but works well enough and the 5.1 is very nice for dvds and games.

JT

I had the extigy once upon a time. You can get much better for the same price.

Paradigm Monitor 5 (v.2) Fronts
Paradigm CC-370 Center (v.2) Center
Sony Minisystem Speakers Rear Surround (works fine for now)

Subwoofer:
2 x Homemade Cabinets (3/4" MDF, internally braced, no external finish yet)
4.5 cu ft. each, sealed
2 x 15" Adire Audio Temptest Drivers
Paradigm X-20 Crossover (For lowpass to amp and continuous phase adjustment)
Carver M-1.5t 2 Channel Amplifier (350rms x 2 8 ohm, 700 rms x 2 @ 4 ohm)

Rest of audio chain is Hercules Fortissimo III SPDIF hacked to convert optical to co-axial digital cable -> radioshack RCA -> Denon AVR-1601 Receiver -> Home Depot 12 Gauge Cable -> Speakers

Nvidia's Nforce2, Sony STR-DE585 amplifier...

Speakers: Small & cheap self designed 2-way speakers, box volume 13L and bassreflex tuning at about 45 Hz (not built yet)
Woofer: 5½" bass/midbass Vifa TC14WG49-08 (link)
Tweeter: ¾" dome tweeter Vifa TC20TD05-06 (link)
Crossover is also self-designed
These speakers (and crossovers) are currently in a designing phase

Subwoofer: 10" Focus Acoustics PT-100 element. My plan is to build the main-speakers first and then the subwoofer. I plan to put this element in a 60 L / 25 Hz bassreflex enclosure.
The subwoofer amplifier might also be self-built...

I have a high quality surround system that produces crystal clear sound:
4 x KEF Q15 100 W 50Hz-20kHz±3dB max output 111 dB
1 x KEF Q95C 100 W 85Hz-20kHz±3dB max output 111 dB
1 x KEF TDM B45 300W subwoofer 35Hz-150Hz±3dB max output 111 dB

This system have replaced my home made STUDIO 200 that wayed in at 80 kg a piece. A three way system featuring 15" bass units.

They were perfect for stereo music, but hopeless when my wife wanted to rearrange the living room furniture.

That why I changed to a surround system. But oh boy, sometimes I still miss my good old STUDIO 200.

For the PC I have creative Inspire 2.1 slim 2700.
They do a decent job with good bass rendering and clear and well defined treble.
Oh boy when Earl Bostic plays his saxophone it is as if he is right in front of me.

I have previously tried two different Philips 2.1 systems and Creative Inspire 2.1 2400 but they were not worth their money.

My shameless setup...

M-Audio Revolution 7.1 -> Logitech Z2200
M-Audio Transit USB -> Koss Porta Pro

Hey they are better than the $15 Tsunami setup that makes noise when it's off...

remind me of a friend's (quite cheap) philips computer speakers that occasionally caught and played some radio frequencies.
but hey, it's probably a feature and not a bug!

Soundcard: Digital output of Nvidia Soundstorm on Abit NF7-S motherboard

AMP: Sherwood Newcastle Home cinema amp (can't remember model number, about 100W)

Speakers:
Tannoy DMT10 studio monitors
or (depending on mood and music)
My own hand restored 12" Tannoy Monitor Red's in Lancaster Enclosures

Headphone amp:
my self designed and built DacAmp,
DAC and headphone amplifier which sits in a 5.25" drive bay.

Headphones:
Sennheiser HD600's new and nice

digital output is the way to go with soundcards, best upgrade I ever made.

Luke

Uhh... Klipsch ProMedia 5.1
As for stereo, Cambridge Soundworks PlayDock PD200 (boombox) <-- better than almost all el-cheapo boomboxes...
Headphone, Sennheiser HD 650 + Total Airhead Amp

Sound card : Audigy 2 ZX Pro Platinum... which is quite decent...

Self constructed but not of my own design and not a kit: Siegfried Linkwitz's design for a small two-way open baffle dipole using Vifa drivers and a passive crossover. Pictures on my Website for the curious.

Planning to eventually replace those to his "PMTM1" design which is a lower-cost version of his Phoenix main panel. Will have active x-overs and be biamped with DIY amps using Rod Elliot's PCBs and plans. I might use one of the current speakers for the center channel. Or I might just build three of the PMTM1's. Thinking of building the amps into the speaker stands. It'll be a long project...

Not hooked up to my computer. That's too newfangled for this old fart! Geez, I hardly know what you kids are talking about here sometimes...

Hi all.

M&K S85 (front L/C/R); M&K K4 (rear L/R); BK XLS200 (subwoofer).
Denon DVD-3800.
Denon AVC-A11SR.
Recently acquired iPod Mini (second-hand).

Magnepan MG 1.6QR

Cambridge Megaworks 250D 2.1 THX.

I love this speaker and I do think that it's better than Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 especially for playing music. The sound is not hoarse and have a good tonal balance even when playing a very loud music.

I use Klipsch Promedia 2.1s with monster cables hooked up to my PowerBook through a USB iMic, and Grado SR-60 headphones.

source: Marantz CD6000 OSE
integrated amp: Marantz PM 7200
loudspeakers : B&W 601

Chaintech AV-710 -> Alesis M1 speakers

I still weap for my Gadget Labs Wave/424, which had magnificent sound quality. Chaintech isn't too bad for my home purposes, but it's still the weakest link.

I have Labtec ATX 5820 speakers.

They're pretty good on the whole, but the controls are really awful. Also, the bass and treble are excellent, but sometimes it seems like there's a void in the mid-range. Anyone had a similar experience?

A pair of Carolina Audio JSM's and a pair of JTS's.
Jordan short monitors, Jordan tall subs.

Great for music and what they do for my KV34XBR910 is wonderfull.

GTF

B&W DM.602's here. The price/performance ratio is simply unbeatable.

I don't believe in expensive speaker cables or interconnects. Every ABX test I've participated in has convinced me that "magic cables" are a waste of money. The appropriate gauge Radio Shack speaker cable does the job just fine.

I'm also using an Adcom power amp and an Adcom tuner/preamp (I never touch the tuner section; radio is a waste of time around here). These have both been going strong since I bought them in 1991.

This basic setup (Adcom components and the B&W speakers) cost a little over $1500 total, and sounds excellent. You really don't need to spend outrageous sums of money to get good sound.

Most of the time, I listen to classical music or jazz through a pair of Rega Cambers. They are Canadian-made and were really hot stuff in the late 80's-early 90's for people with hi-end tastes without the wallet to support them. Moreover, they are small, work well in a bookshelf and pack a huge wallop of a low end for their size - more than one guest thought for certain I had a subwoofer stuffed away somewhere. Very detailed midrange and highs, and remarkably efficient, too.

I power them with a mid-90's-vintage Adcom stack.

Upstairs, I still use my old Dynaco A-25's. They were similarly favored among budget high-end circles back in the 60's-early 70's. I got them new in 1969 and they still sound remarkably good, especially with voices and strings. Bottom end is solid without the "whump-thump" that so many seem to favor today. At first listen, one might thing they are thin in the bass... until a bass drum or 32 foot organ pedal comes up from the floor at you!

For these, I still run the Dynaco tube gear (FM-3 Tuner, PAS3X Pre-Amp, and two MarkIII monoblocks) I assembled from kits waaayyyy back when Nixon was in office. Over the years, I have upgraded it with various Van Alstine parts, including power supply mods, upgraded capacitors and the like. I now buy my tubes from Russia or China (both countries still have good vacuum tube manufacturing infrastructures) because they are high quality and CHEAP!

My study, containing floor-to-ceiling LP records and the retro stereo system with orange-glowing vacuum tubes, open-reel Tandberg tape deck and AR turntable, looks like a museum or the other side of a time warp, but my experience is that I would have to pay the price of a new mid-sized sedan to get significantly superior sound.

Creative 2.1 T3000 Speakers

Hello everyone,


My stereo system:

Source: Linn Ikemi
Integrated amp: Icos Elsberg 270
New loudspeakers : Thiel CS2.4
Case of alimentaion sector: MPC
HP cable: Synergistic Research
Cable of modulation: Esprit

Now using:
JBL TLX 200 (2 way speakers)
Grundig Mini 10 amp
SB Audigy 2

M-Audio Audiophile 2496 soundcard.

M-Audio Studiophile BX5 bi-amped nearfield studio monitors ($400/pair MSP; $300 retail).

Cambridge Soundworks Powered Subwoofer PSWII (pre-Creative, early 1990s vintage, $300 back then).

Out of the box the BX5s sound a bit 2-dimensional (typical of studio monitors) and shrill. However, there's a mid-boost switch, which when "In" moves the soundstage forward. There are also switches for tweaking the high frequencies and adjusting for the best bass response in the listening enviroment. Once "tuned" these monitors reproduce sound that is crisp, clear, and uncolored. I listen mainly to classical, jazz, and folk music and am in the midst of converting a 500+ LP collection to hard disk. The BX5s are just what I need to isolate every click and pop on the vinyl originals. I don't even need to use headphones!

The low end is non-exagerated (as it should be in a studio monitor), but paired with a judiciously adjusted subwoofer, the bass takes on an understated richness. M-Audio sells a subwoofer designed to compliment the BX5s, but to my ears, my old trusty Soundworks sub does just as well or better.

Just registered
Looked through the topic and noticed that nobody has Focal.JMlab's (french stuff).
Receiver: NAD T 743
DVD: NAD T 513
Floor-standing: Focal.JMlab Chorus 716 S (cables - QED Bi-wire [UK], have no idea is it cheap or not)
center: Focal.JMlab 70 Chorus CC 70 S (QED)
surround: Focal.JMlab Chorus 705 S (QED)
s/w: Focal.JMlab Chorus SW 700 S (QED Qunex)
soundcard: SB Live! (looking for upgrade) with cheap cable.

Should say that I'm very happy with this

M-Audio Audiophile -> Yamaha RX-V800 -> Klipsch Reference series RF-3s.

I have Celestion F15 speakers with one old Sansui amplifier (this amplifier is of mid 70's). I like a lot of Sansui amplifier, this sound very clear and warm.

Revel Salon.

Front: 2*Gale 3020
Centre: Gale 3050C
Surrounds: 2*Gale Silver Monitor + Gale Centre 10
Sub: Eltax Atomic 8.2 fitted with Sony driver
Powered off a Yamaha HTR-5640 (aka RX-V640) 6.1 amplifier
Inputs: Direct Drive Turntable, Sony SACD player, Soundblaster Audigy 2

Despite not being too expensive, gives a very clear sound I am very happy with

I have these JBL speakers:

i have a Music system from Aiwa model-Nsx K580

Magnepan MMG. I have to say that after listening to planars (first Final 0.3 then Maggies), I will never go back to boom boxes. Planars flat out beat them.

a couple weeks ago I bought these



for about $500USD -- around 70% off (b-stock)

New level of detail -- makes all my okay recordings before sound like shit now, lol, oh well..

-Joe

I have a pretty simple setup.

Source -> Apple AirPort Express
Preamp -> Doxa 012
Amplifier -> Doxa 70 Signature MKII
Speakers -> B&W 805S with B&W stands.

Total cost ~USD 6000

Monitor Audio MA4 Series 1 - bought in the 70s! Slightly lacking at the very top end due to not-as-good tweeters but the bass is addictively good :-)

Nice ported design, and handed too, they're a pair and carry the same serial number.

Interesting. I don't follow the latest models on these things, but MA used to use KEF drivers years back, and they always sounded better than KEF's own cabinets IMO. I still have 70s MA4!

My "good" stereo system has been replaced by a computer driven system with a Lynx AES16 soundcard, Benchmark DAC1, and Genelec 1030A Monitors.

I use a pair of Rega Cambers with rotgut 12-gauge MonsterCable wires to my 100wpc Adcom stack. Very good sound for the price. Vinyl especially good. I use a Grado cartridge on an SME Series III titanium nitride arm mounted on a Kenwood KD-500 (Kenwood's attempt to build a high-end direct-drive turntable. The only D-D I have every used or liked. Turntable base is cast out of concrete!)

I also STILL have some old Dynaco A-25's! I replaced the tweeters with updated equivalents from SEAS, the Danish company that built them in the first place. I also upgraded the capacitors.

They sat in my attic for YEARS! To my surprise, the woofer surrounds were still supple (butyl rubber, not cloth). First impression is that they may be a little bass-shy, but the enclosure, a variation of transmission line, damps the lower frequencies very well, but when low bass is really there in the material, there is ample genuine bass - at least in my room.

Cello and string bass are astonishing, as is male voice - none of the flabbiness or tubbiness many speakers - including some expensive ones - pass off as bass.

I was so amazed at how good they still sounded after all these years, I spent a little money for the aforementioned upgrades and now they sound even better! More open and detailed high end is the main difference, but the basic character of the speaker is the same.

For my desktop computer I use Cambridge Soundworks. I plan on doing more with music on the computer, so I am looking seriously at M-Audio or Tascam compact near-field monitors to replace these basically gaming speakers.

My laptop (which has become my primary computer) has typically TERRIBLE speakers but the NVidia audio subsystem is actually quite decent. With it I use a lovely $180 pair of Sennheiser cans. The Sennheisers really are great for hearing just how good (or not so good) my encodes are.

Hah, funny seeing that. Things have changed:
California Audio Labs Icon MKII HDCD player or Audiophile 24/96 ---> DH Labs D-75 coaxial digital interconnect ---> Benchmark DAC1 ---> Cardas CrossLink XLR ---> Bryston 4B SST ---> Kimber 8TC (woofer)/4TC (tweeter) ---> Totem Forest speakers

edit: now CAL Icon MKII ---> Cardas Goden Ref RCA ---> Pass Labs X2 ---> Cardas Golden Ref XLR ---> Pass Labs X250.5 ---> Kimber 8TC/4TC ---> Totem Forests

Foobar -> Chaintech AV-710 -> Toslink -> TacT S2150 -> solid 12-gauge THHN bi-wire -> Von Schwiekert VR4-Jrs.

Pretty good sound.

not an audiophile or anything d:-)
have very old bose speakers outside in the hall .

on the comp using onboard Realtek AC97 Audio.
..with altec lansing ATP30 speakers, may get a soundcard soon.
good enough for me.

-

B&W 703 in stereo setup
i love them

Speakers that came with my Denon UD-M30 Stereo, made by Mission SC-M50

Years ago, I used to build custom tube preamps and power amps - I would take the chassis from older Dynaco gear and hotrod away (I am a BSEE from MIT). Big cables and Celestion SL6s monitors.

After many ABX tests and real-life considerations, I dumped it all. Now I use a Bose Lifestyle 5 series II (about 10 years old now). Sounds great, FAR better performance under real living conditions. The bass module/cube satellite setup is far better suited to my home, especially with children (I have 2, still very rambunctious!). It has held up beautifully over time, and I would replace it with another similar system.

I just plug the iPod headphone out into the AUX inputs for now. Might get some docking solution later, but it doesn't matter much. The iPod sounds very good through the Bose system.

I am interested in a solution that ties the very large music library on my server to the stereo, but thus far aesthetics and other practical matters have held that notion at bay. Could be as simple as an Apple Express device, or something far more complex. I will wait a bit and see what develops.

For my other systems, I dumped the fancy cables and went with ordinary stuff. Again, ABX tests revealed to me how much I was allowing "buzz" to influence my listening. As an engineer, I find no value whatsoever in the cable arguments. Just my $0.02 on that subject.

Amen brother! I have the MG 1.6's and fell in love with their clarity. I liken them to the Etymotic ER4's I have as well. Not bass heavy, totally neutral, but will ferret out bad recordings/encodings.

VMPS RM/x as mains; VMPS RM-30's as surrounds. Bryston and NuForce for amps. I listened to a LOT of gear before I chose these.

If you like planars, listen to a pair of RM-30's.

Danish made Dali Suite 2.8 Silver (www.dali.dk) 1000€/pair. They sound veeeeeery nice, although I don't see myself as a real audiophile. Should have choosen Dali Concept 10 instead though (same price) if I wanted to play loud with the same great sound quality.

Got a Harman/Kardon AVR130 surround receiver, but should have got a larger one...

Baby baby baby baby...you can't beat late '70's amps. As posted previously, I'm the proud owner of a 1978 Marantz 2285b black-faced edition. It's powering a pair of Fisher XP9b's. These are unique speakers in that they are 4-way: a 12", two different types of 4", and a silk-dome tweeter. They're stiff on most types of music, but occasionally surprise the hell out of me with shine and image on jazz and classical music.



The difference is...the difference is that you have to sit and listen for it. At some point, yes, they'll sound similar, but the more expensive speakers with reveal a third dimension to the sound. In addition to left and right, you'll hear up and down, and even forward and backward.

Room I am in the most I alternate between a set of Dynaco A-25's and a set of UTAH wd-66's

My listening room has AR-LST for my jazz and classical and Pioneer HPM 60's for rock/metal

My livingroom has a set of B&W CM 4's and a set of ALTECS I never use anymore.

In addition I have set of MB Quart 390's on loan to a friend

Eventually gonna get my Quad ESL's

These speakers:



...though in a very dark brown veneer. Great sounding speakers for 5,000€.