bkevind

Coincidentally, today I replaced the good tires on my Camaro with a new set of good tires. 285/35-20 Michelin Pilot Super Sport 4S, to replace the worn out Goodyear Eagle F1 G:2 supercars. Feels good to have grip again.

No. nononono. I have too many speakers right now.

AVR watts per channel is only good for 2.0. Once you add more speakers it drops significantly. That's not to say 50 or 60 or 80 whatever watts per channel x 7,9,11isn't enough for 99% of the time, it's that dynamic headroom you want. That's not to say that the Yamaha and other brands don't handle multiple channels well, it's their job after all. But...that one time, when you want to listen to / watch something rich with noise at ridiculous volumes. Anyway. I've got an inexpensive Outlaw 5000, which is a 5channel amp that puts out an honest 125wpc (or so) to all 5 channels at once. I use that for the front 3 for now, and let the receiver handle the other channels. Honestly though, most of the power that speakers need is in the lower frequencies, so if you're crossing over at 80hz to a really good sub, it's kind of a moot point. I like to turn the sub off sometimes for music and crank it up, in 2.0 or sometimes multi channel so I appreciate having the extra juice.

My 3070 is ordered and coming next week to replace my 860. 860 is fine (especially with an external amp) but I want to run 11 channels, and I want the TOTL Yamaha for the best DACs and YPAO. If you dare to Ebay you'll find several sellers hawking various Klipsch packages. You should probably hit up the forum go-to-guy @MetropolisLakeOutfitters to discuss your speaker needs and package deals.

Not to be cheeky, but if you read the Klipsch page on the RF-7III, they pretty much lay out what is new. In addition to these things, I'm sure the crossover is a bit different as well. Probably the biggest change is the molded-rubber horn with circular throat. All-New 1 3/4" Titanium Compression Driver The compression driver features a new phase plug design to improve phase coherency at the throat of the horn, resulting in improved sound pressure linearity at high frequencies. 90x90 Compressed Molded-Rubber Tractrix Horn The redesigned Tractrix Horn utilizes a circular horn throat paired to a square horn mouth to further improve high-frequency response and extension, while enhancing imaging and dynamics. The compressed molded rubber construction adds high frequency damping to reduce harshness and improve detail. This creates the cleanest, most natural sound possible. Redesigned Bifurcated Cabinet The RF-7 III new bifurcated enclosure allows each 10” driver and port to work independently from the other. This improves the linearity of both drive systems, and minimizes standing wave problems inside the cabinet that can cause frequency anomalies in the sensitive midrange frequencies. Dual Tractrix Ports Utilizing Tractrix geometry, the new RF-7 III ports allow for the most efficient air transfer from the cabinet — for the cleanest, most powerful low frequency response on the market.

When I ordered my headphone amp (Schiit Asgard 2) I also ordered a Schiit Modi Multi DAC. I use it more in between my PC and my NAD integrated that powers my Forte II. USB connection from PC to the DAC works well. I can't explain why technically, but the Modi Multibit sounds really good to me.

Ha nice choice. It's known to be a great headphone amp. Worse case it sounds great but not like your CJ. Remember class A will run hot - don't be alarmed. They tend to sound best when left on and really cooking. That's how my Asgard 2 is. I'm going to fire it up now, been a while since I enjoyed it.

Ah that stinks. I have had buffering on occasion, recently in the past few weeks but never before that. Hmm now that I think about it this only started happening to me after the recent updates. Googling "Tidal buffering issues" shows some similar issues in 2015. I hope they get that sorted because it ruins what has been for me a great experience.

Sounds like a plan. Good news is the AVR play to their rated power level with 2.0. Once you add channels the wpc goes down. Marantz or Yamaha IMO would be my choice. Get one with pre-outs for when you stumble into some nice amps accidentally

Hmm. The Beyer DT770 have different models/specs (different impedance ranging from 32 - 250 Ohms.) Shouldn't matter much with your budget of 500 (or 1000). This is the hard part. You might have to try / buy / return to find the right sound for you. There are good tube headphone amps, but I don't know if that will be a good idea, as it would be more likely to change the sound from your CAV50. I think any amp will add it's own character to the sound. I also wonder if the pre outs from the CAV50 will have the sound you want anyway? Not sure how the signal is processed from in to out in that case. Maybe consider a standalone tube headphone amp, not connected through your CJ? You can try different tubes to find that special sound you want. Though, be careful with that if your Beyers are the low impedance, most tube amps work better with higher impedance. I suppose if I was looking for a neutral solid state amp for $500, I'd probably try the Burson Soloist Mk2. If I wanted tubes...dunno there are several I'd think about. Woo audio, some of the Schiit options are interesting. Lots and lots out there with lots and lots of opinions on them.

Tidal sound quality is the best I've heard. I've had Spotify, Pandora 1, and a Deezer trial. For me, Tidal exceeds them all in quality in my experience. I keep it on HiFi of course, maybe for those that heard lesser quality didn't choose that option? I like Spotify interface, but at the time I was primarily using Play-Fi devices throughout the house to play music and the Spotify interface for that was a P.I.T.A. Now that I've had Tidal for quite a while (about a year) I'm not looking back. Actually I cancelled it for 3 months, not because I didn't like it, but because I thought it wasn't worth the cost. I finally got fed up with NOT having Tidal and signed up again, for the family pack. It was so nice to get my audio quality back.

Boring, but got my 4 in-ceilings today (CDT-5800 II) for front/rear height channels. Anybody want to make some cash/beer/whiskey running new wire in my attic? I know I know it's not that hard but I don't enjoy crawling around in the attic digging through blown in insulation. First world problems, I know.

To clarify a little bit, a key spec is the Headphone impedance, measured in Ohms. The lower the impedance (xxOhms) (or the higher the sensitivity xxxdB), the less power they need to sound good, or at least pretty decent. For example: My HD650 have an impedance of 300 Ohms (with max input of 500mW) This is in the middle-ish, on the high side. So they really need a decent amp to drive them. A phone or typical computer headphone out just won't do them justice. ATH-M50x I bought for my wife to use with her Yamaha digital piano have impedance of 38 Ohms. Meaning they will sound pretty good with almost any source. Good enough for the piano, but also have a max input of 1600mW. They sound good out of a phone, out of my Mac, and sound really good from an amp. Oppo PM-3 I bought for my daughter, specifically because they sound good without an amp. They are planar, with a low impedance of 26 Ohms. They can also take 500mW max, and sound very good with an amp or without. So your headphones impedance will direct you to what acceptable amps you should be looking at. Sound signature is a whole different, complicated subject. Just like speakers, headphones have a wide range of sound signature. Some are warm, bright, neutral, etc. Many are V shaped, meaning exaggerated bass and treb / recessed mids. And of course, amps can have their own influence on the sound, with design and type (solid state, tube, hybrid) having an effect. ANYWAY You can get a decent budget amp for under $100, even an amp / dac combo. Which is not a bad idea, depending on the source you're listening from.

Seems like a great value. I can't speak to the surrounds vs bookshelf speakers. If I had a place to mount them I'd probably go with the surround speakers for my side surround channels. $900 for the Marantz 7011 is a very good price as well, it's still over a grand most places I know to look. Metro has a great point about the III's. Give it some thought. I recently bought the II's and the 64 II. I thought about waiting for the III's, and I thought about it again after I bought the II's doubting my choice. I am very happy with the performance of my II's, that plus the price difference for the new stuff is enough to put my mind to rest on the subject. However if you're patient, don't mind the cost and want the new hotness, you don't have long to wait!

Very far from an expert on the subject. To some degree, it depends on the headphones you want to drive. I only dived in briefly, but the pool is deep and somewhat complicated at first. I wound up with Schiit asgard 2, to run my HD650. It sounds great to me but it is class A and runs very hot. If I were to do it again, I'd probably just get the Jotunheim from Schiit. I also use their Modi Multibit DAC which is pretty awesome. I got it to run with the Asgard amp but I've kept it as a DAC between my PC and my integrated NAD to run my Forte II. Sounds really good. There are lots other choices, I really can't advise you specifically. Figure out the headphones first, then pair it with the right amp (specs mostly, but sound pairings can matter too).

That's good advice. I'll do that.

It would be nice to be able to customize the home screen, and customize the whats new and upcoming to only show genres of interest. It's not a big deal to me at the end of the day. I'm one click away from genres, or my music, or my playlists. I do kind of miss the heuristic algorithms used by Spotify and Pandora that will build a playlist for you based on an artist or whatever. What you get with Tidal feels more like going into a record shop and you're left to your own devices to find what you want to hear, or discover new things.

Thanks Jeff!

Got some goodies for my Forte II:

I have the SB1000 in the office and it rocks for the size and price. Specifically it is fast, digs deep (in perspective of what it is, I think about 25Hz) and has very nice output levels. Works very nicely with music. I also have the SB13 Ultra in the main room and it keeps up with the RF-7II without breaking a sweat. SVS does it right IMO.

Wow those are lovely, and look pristine.

It's the two tube amps on the bottom of the rack. I think original MSRP was something like $13k for a pair.

Very good value. Dang, wish I could squeeze this in somewhere. I need a second house to fill up with speakers.

Rambling, biased experience: I had a Denon 3808 several years ago. It did it's job with some Mirage bookshelf speakers, DefTech promonitors, Polk Audio SDA, B&W 110i, and more I rolled through. Always sounded decent to my ears. I had some Klipsch KG3.5 roll through and the Denon was pretty lifeless with them. Even my precious little NAD 2155 sounded dull with them (maybe it was the adcom preamp letting me down? I dunno every other speaker I ever played through that little 55wpc rocked). I just assumed then that the KG3.5 were crap, or in need of some refreshed caps. I had an old, low end Yamaha AVR sitting around so why not. I hooked it up to the KG3.5 and they snapped to life and ROCKED my face off. No idea why this cheap Yamaha had the best synergy with the KG3.5. I don't even remember the model, it was a cheap craigslist grab for $50. Fast forward a decade. I now have a set of Forte II powered by NAD C372 - wow sounds incredible. My RF-7II are going through Yamaha Aventage 860 (soon to be 3070) powered by Outlaw 5000 amp. Also wow. I had gone through 2 other Denons before the 3808 with a similar experience. It's a great company, well built and thought out gear but never quite what I wanted. My limited experience doesn't mean much, but that's how choices get made for me. That's why I'm buying another Yamaha and punting the 860 to the garage to replace the 760 I gave to my Mom I'm also invested in the interface and musiccast. I'm used to it now and don't want to change. Because of that bias I've developed, if it was my choice, I'd look hard at the NAD or the Marantz (even though same company as Denon now). I had some reliability issues with a little NAD receiver I had years ago, not sure how they are now. I love their amps. But because of that, I'd probably hone in on that Marantz. Marantz is known to have a more rich, warm sound than Denon. In my case I'd be looking at the Marantz SR7012 if I wasn't so hooked on Yams. My mild anti Denon bias could have simply been setup issues, user error, or maybe my 3808 needed some work done. Whatever the case, it was just a bit dull to me. I dunno. Many own and love Denon receivers. I agree with others, you can't really go wrong with any of the 3 you're looking at.

Exactly! Attic here in the Spring/Summer and early Fall is impossibly hot. Two steps in and I get right back out again. I think in peak summer it's in the neighborhood of 170 degrees