Planning to buy an entirely new system.

Hi Bob,

Your Anatek amp is well worth a listen to.

SCIDB

 

For me, the lack of a remote on the anatek would be a pain, as I use the hi-fi for TV sound...

being cuddled up in bed, watching something - the last thing you want to do is going running across the room to get the volume right. I'm just too lazy to make that sacrifice!

I've got the Dali 2.8 set up now, and as they're getting worn in the bass is really becoming more prominent. I think a priority for me is to have the rest of my set-up provide really tight, clear, detailed bass. Currently things are sounding a bit vague and heavy (I may have to play about with positioning too).

I was daydreaming about the Cyrus 8XPD QX Amp/DAC and Cyrus CDXt SE+ CD transport - but I don't think I can manage the total cost of that.

I saw seven oaks have got some deals on: Roksan Caspian pre amp and stereo power amp for 1.5k... this is also more than I was expecting to pay, but I may ask to try it out.

There's the 6 series Cyrus stuff.

I could even try some more budget conscious deals like the Arcam FMJ CD17 and A18 amp for £900.

I've been going through (often contradictory) reviews, and weeding out the stuff which really sounds wrong - any suggestions here for an emphasis on more controlled, informative bass?

ps: My girlfriend likes the new speakers, and was surprised how much better they sound, so I don't need to feel like a total arse for spending all our money on hi-fi.

Thanks all.

 

I am a little worried about the lack of defined bass on the dali 2.8s.

I love the sound of them otherwise, and I think they were a good deal, but I'm worried that this is going to irritate me for the next twenty years.

I'm not sure if this indicates that I'll never be happy, so may as well not spend too much, or that it's really important to spend loads!

Apparently sevenoaks are nearly out of Leema stuff, and speaking to them today about comparing it to other stuff, they seemed pretty confident there was nothing more suitable unless I was willing to spend twice as much. Darn it.

I might even lay off it all for a bit, and keep an eye out for bargains over the next six months? What do you all reckon?

 

Caspians are great I had them before the Anateks (which can be remote controlled) I think ur biggest issue at the mo is ur amp and probably ur cabling, what cabling are u using? U have to allow for it in the budget Dean!

If I start mentioning some this thread is gunna turn into a cable debate but anyone who says it makes no difference must be deaf! There are well know cables which produce a particular sound, some that match better to certain components and some that are way overpriced, I know sevenoaks have had Atlas in for a couple months now and should be able to lemd u some interconnects and speaker cable for starters as it is quite a good tight clean sound, but pick one in a price range where u then can pick up reasonably priced secondhand after.

Cyrus 6 or Arcam would also be good, I have always liked Arcam
Dan

 

cyrus 8vs2 integrated in brushed black complet with remote and original box . £400 plus p+p
http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?41920-FS-Cyrus-8vs2-integrated-amplifier-brushed-black

 

Thanks for that dan. I've also just noticed that the Brighton Sevenoaks have a brand new Cyrus 8vs2s for £600 which might be worth a look too - certainly a listen. Kind of you to post second hand offers you've spotted though.

When I looked at reviews, they said the Anatek A50 didn't come with a remote?


The current wiring for the Dali's is atrocious. I just slipped them in to my old set up. It's not bell wire, it's cheap but chunky stuff I bought from Richer Sounds about a decade ago, and it is all running through my cheap sub.

What's more, I think they might sound better with my sub turned on, and the crossover set to 50hz. Having the rubbish sub take over the low end seems to tidy up the higher bass in the dalis. This is clearly not ideal though, as the sub will be degrading the sound for everything else.

I'm not too sure what to do about this. The speakers can be bi-wired, so the low end could go through the sub, while the high end goes direct: would that cause timing issues? Is there any way I could get a similar affect (cutting out the low end signal to the speakers, and sending it to a sub instead) in a way less likely to reduce the overall quality?

I can't believe my ancient Gale sub, long the worst sounding piece of hi-fi I own, seems to improve the sound of my gleaming new speakers.

Can you even get quality subs that let you run the full signal through them in this way? Funny stuff.

Thanks for all the help.

 

I've been playing about with my sub a bit more, and I think that the main reason I prefer it is that I can turn it down!

The 2.8's just aren't up to producing the sort of detailed, informative bass I'm after, so I'd rather have things a bit toned down instead. I've just been going through all the reviews of amps/cds and weeding out the ones that mention producing poor bass... maybe that's what I want?

 

My minds playing tricks on me now. Maybe the Dali's struggle to do punchy bass, and the sub manages to add a bit of that?

I got my girlfriend to turn it on and off while listening, and wasn't sure which I preferred. There's a problem with the Dali's bass - but I'm not sure how to improve it. Moving them about a bit has helped somewhat.

I think I've been spoilt by the bass of big systems, and need to realise a little home hi-fi is not capable of anything similar.

 

If I were u Id run the Dalis straight from ur amp to ur speakers on some decent cables and have the same cables as jumpers, ur probably getting a muddy non-informative bass response from them, the sub then needs to be run on its own from a set of rcas on the pre out of ur stereo amp or from the speaker terminals direct on ur amp, do not run ur Dalis off the sub it will destroy them!!!!!!

The best cable for u to try at a low price is the Silver High Breed it beats cables costing around £800 and will cost £50 for a 3m pair brand new and u can have it in a 2-4 configuration for ur bi-wire Dalis, each silver spade or banana plug is and extra £2.50 terminated. These will make ur Dali's sing and I bet u dont wanna even use a sub after!!!! U should trust me on this one u will not find better cable anywhere near the price!

http://www.silverhighbreed.com/

Check them out they have rave reviews all over the forums and other sites, it may also be worth getting one set of interconnects at least to go between ur cd and amp, is it integrated? Or 2 sets if u need an extra to go between pre and power.

U should try this before changing ur components as ur current cables are shight! And its not much outlay for a really suprising result.

Dan

 

I'm hoping you're only talking about sound quality, and not real physical damage here Dan. I got a shiver of fear on reading that.

I had been planning to buy new cables, and do a big re-wiring job once I'd bought my new components (it's a bit of a pain accessing my hi-fi, and I was hoping to do it all at once).

Maybe you're right though, and I should see what a difference it makes before deciding how to progress. My current amp doesn't have a pre-out, but I'm sure I could leave the sub out for now.

Apparently the Dali's do really benefit from bi-wiring so I will have to give that a go.

How do you bi-wire speakers with banana plugs? Surely the amp only has one port for each wire? Am I missing something obvious here? Are the plugs only for the speaker end?

I've not heard of silver high breed, and was going to go for the £15/m QED or Chord Carnival SS to be cheap. Are S H B new? I couldn't find much about them. I think I'm going to need at least 4m of cable, so don't want to go for anything too pricey - bi-wiring will mean at least 16m of cable.

Thanks for the tips.

 

It will destroy the sound haha! Dont worry!

S H B will wipe the floor with the chord and QED, I know how reluctant u are when people recommend something u havent heard but Dean seriously u r gunna have to trust me on this one! U will not find a better cable for such a low price, the speaker cable alone is known to be better than the Transparent Audio cable which at the same length costs £800, u really need to be dragged by the ear on this one mate, dont buy a cheaper version of a top brand cable!

As for bi wireing if u stipulate when ordering a cable u want a 2-4 configuration or a bi wire config this will give u a cable with 2 plugs at the amp end and 4 at the speaker end.

If u go with the SHB then email the company and ask for banana plugs if u prefer them as he does do these but for some reason there is not a drop down option on the site for them for some reason.

Have u looked at their website, they are fairly new!

P.S I am not linked to them in anyway, I know I'm promoting them alot but the less u spend here the more u will have for components!

Dan

 

No cable will wipe the floor with another and to make such claims is incredibly irresponsible when someone is looking to make fundamental changes to a system.

Following the above link reveals the usual toss making utterly ridiculous claims about bits of wire, with absolutely no evidence or explanation - as usual.

If the OP wants to change the performance of his system he needs to make some fundamental changes to either the system primary components, the room or both and not waste his time and money on silly tweaks.

Granted those cables aren't particularly expensive but the ones currently in use are more than fit for the job, so no money need be spent in that department.

 

But then alot of us do have different views on cables and I am a firm believer in them where as u are not, I have had large improvements in sound quality through upgrading my cables, I am also friends with the editor one of the top hifi mags and a hanful of guys who own some of the top british companies in speaker, isolation and components and we all do have the same views on cables through experience, I dont want this to migrate into a cable thread and I feel that the SBH's are outstanding value for money! ( I do not know the owner of this company)

Most are well overpriced!

 

Dan, it cannot help but migrate into a cable thread when you link to a cable seller's site and make claims such as 'wipes the floor' about cable.
Some just won't let that go unchallenged, myself included.

Most are well overpriced for sure, but it can be proven that both you and he will not be able to tell any of the cables you've mentioned from something cheap n cheerful such as QED 79 strand - when none of the cables are visible to the listener. Any doubts and I'll be happy to demonstrate using any cable you choose and you can choose between 10 pairs of speakers and 5 different amps for the demo. Offer stands for anyone else too.

The only exceptions to this are ultra thin cables such as DNM or high capacitance types such as litz.

 

I have done blind tests on cables as we always (well a few of us) prefer it that way when trying a new cable, we can clash sometimes in our opinions as we like different sounds but one of my mates a hifi dealer for 30 years likes exactly what I like sound wise and we always choose the same cable, Im not or we dont base these tests on price although many times we are very suprised in the results!

As far as system matching I have put MIT cables into an Arye system and they sound terrible very forward midrange and top end, but when the same cables went into a Spectral system they just sounded awesome!

I am absolutely baffled to how people can say cables sound the same and no offence Rob if u are an older guy ur hearing range will be somewhat depleated

 

That would imply that hifi is designed by 'young' people and music is recorded by 'young' people too-bit daft that matey.

 

edit: This post was written having only read up to post #71 - it looks like discussions moved on since then.

I've just been reading the comments of some NASA engineer who has apparently designed the most precise speakers ever made, and he doesn't sound keen on audiophile cables:

http://www.rjbaudio.com/Dunlavy/John Dunlavy audio posts 1999.txt

I don't know much about electronics, but I can't really visualise how bi-wiring helps. It's meant to help by preventing signals and resistance from treble and bass interfering with each other, but if both the cables are connected at the amp end, surely any interference will still occur? One explanation I read is that bi-wiring could make the bass and highs slightly out of phases and easier to distinguish, perhaps creating an effect some prefer.

The SHB site mentions 'Noise Suppressor Valves' which remove the hum from valve amps... but how? Do we really want little things put into speaker cable to interfere with the signal somehow?

What's going on here! I've read in a few places that bi-wiring really helps the Dalis too. My science isn't up to this.

I'm also considering going for the Leema Pulse amp, and leaving the CD player for now. I think the amp is a pretty good match for my speakers, and not a bad deal. I've been checking e-bay for local second hand stuff, but not much has come up so far.

PS: I'm not called Dean. Have people been calling me Dean? That would explain why I was so confused for a few pages. Sorry if I ignored anyone's comments, but when it was addressed to Dean, I assumed it was meant for someone else!

Thanks for all the help so far.

 

As an extra post: what do the cable sceptics think about bi-wiring?

Seems like this is a heated topic! Have I just posted on the Israel/Palestine of the audiophile world?

 

Its a medical fact that as people get older they lack the ability to hear the full range of frequency that they were able too at a younger age!

 

Sorry Gargal but this always happens when mentioning cables!

If they didnt make a difference people wouldnt buy them or design them in the first place!

there is no way that all these people can be fooled so easily just by the powers of suggestion, hypnotised by cables? Looks like Paul Mackena better look for another job!

The only difference I know with bi-wiring is due to the construction of the crossover, 2-4 config or the same cables as jumpers should work the same, those gold plated links u get are not good!

As for the noise suppressor valves.....basically a ferrite core these can help with RFI but are also known to be a culprite in dynamics but then some cables and devices can benefit from them, Im pretty sure SHB do a money back guarantee, so its worth a shot, u have nothing to loose.

Yeah dont know why u wre being called Dean I just followed suit assuming it was ur name.

Dan