Upgrading from passive to active

As its sold as a pro studio monitor we can assume it has just such a sticker PMC might well expect someone investing this kind of money to make at least rudimentary attempts to optimise the environment.

Its also not clear what will be required: If I fill the shelves, use a better dac, get the crossover right and fit the django maybe it will work fine without treatment at all. Currently this is just the first attempt.

You can of course take a completely different route and avoid these problems. But then you will have to take a different set. You pays your money...

I will be interested to see what balances and compromises you have had to accept in your system (when I hear it).

 

Yes, it is small, sorry. You also have a low ceiling. Your speakers are too large for your poky flat. Either downsize the speakers, or upsize the flat.

 

Its a 4m ceiling what are you talking about? 150 m3 (plus maybe 50 m3 more for the kitchen area) is a big room by uk standards. Certainly not pokey. Its sure to be upsized in the not too distant future. The picture was taken with the wide angle lens at max which distorts the perspective. Its not much of a windup bub!

 

You regard your room as large, whereas I think it is small. It's a matter of perspective.

Similarly, you seem to regard your hi-fi as "good", whereas everyone else thinks it's "bad".

 

So you have a bigger room? That doesnt mean mine is small. Just smaller.

Only one person has heard my system and a) that doesnt constitute "everyone" else, and b) they didnt say it was bad.

Everyone seems to be contributing to this very useful thread bub. Except you. If you dont have anything to say other than trying to needle me then please do so on another thread as I dont want this one derailed.

 

Please, tell me this is a joke thread....please !

 

Andy - Hi! I look forward to getting your input here.

 

No, I'm staying out of it. I've gone the "low-fi" Squeezebox route.

Anyway, my rooms smaller than both of yours so I don't feel worthy
(I don't have any neighbours though!!!)

 

Oh andy come on - PM me privately if you wish. Are these guys misinforming me?

 

Whilst I would argue some of the negative comments from others are not necessarily all that relevant given the source (component). I'd also suggest that you writing up your conclusions seems somewhat flawed considering the idea is to present your views on moving to an active setup from a passive one - ie. the source should have been a constant.

Also you mentioned that you used the behringer's dac (which from memory Tenson has commented in the past just how important the transport is in terms of getting good results) but you dont stipulate in your write up at which point the the behringer dac is used, or the difference between it and the straight DVD-R output. I find it hard to draw any real conclusions from the process.

 

Hi,

I did also listen to the passive extensively using the dvd recorder in the past before moving to the active. Its not ideal but the source is constant effectively. The phono died before we went active so Tenson got to listen to the passive with the dvd source as well.

I think the source, room, pre and current eq all conspire to tip it slightly over the edge re: brightness. Cant do much about the room except stock the shelves but I can tackle the rest and get the phono running again and see where I stand at that point.

As you say nothing is conclusive here so people shouldnt jump off the deep end making judgements - but it has been useful to show the way to go next. I will keep reporting on progress.

We mainly used the behringer after listening without it first. The behringer was subbed in before the change to active.

Nick.

 

You should move into a decent-sized flat. At present you are just playing at it with your cramped rabbit-hutch.

 

As I said before I will be moving later in the year. No need to concern yourself with this issue.

 

some people don't know when they're being wound up

 

Yes I do - I pointed it out earlier. I was hoping bub would try some fresh material.

 

I understand that you can't lay carpet on the floor because its not your house.

Couldn't you buy a rug of similar dimension to the floor plan and put thick carpet underlay underneath?

The small rug in the photo looks very nice but I can't see it doing much sonically..

 

You are right - plus there is the whole hallway and kitchen area behind. Maybe I should post a pic. The double and two single futons chairs break it up a bit but its not enough. I am only going to be in the flat a few more months so I will just have to put up with it.

 

Is the new place any bigger, or another tiddler?

 

I havent chosen it yet. But it will be 5% bigger than yours at least

 

If you haven't chosen it, how can you be sure that you will find anywhere suitable? You could be stuck in your shoe-box indefinitely, with poor-quality sound all that time.