greg928gts Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 My dad just emailed asking me to spend $2000 of his money for a two-channel system for a very small room in his house. Sure! Sounds like fun. He'll be listening near-field and low volume levels, eyes closed, lights out, serious listening. His concern is that with low volumes, "instrument timbre will be lost, and dynamics will be flat", is how he wrote it to me. In his office, he currently listens at background levels most times, and cranks it up at other times, a Scott 299B with Heresy's and he loves it. He thinks the Heresy's will be too big for this new system. He suggested to me that 5 watts per channel is all he'll need. He listens to jazz, his favorite being The Rippingtons. It seems we're out of the Heritage line here, so I don't know what to recommend. Maybe a used set of reference bookshelf speakers on stands? With a small sub? How do we keep the liveliness, dynamics, and instrument detail and timbre at low volume levels? He'll be using headphones at times too, but he still wants speakers. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 email sent.............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody_Mack Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 I know he said no Heresys, but in my 10 x 12 room (study/computer/audio room), my Heresys driven by a 2A3 amp, and a sub doing bottom duty is just right. Especially for jazz and other well-recorded music, this sytem really excels! The Heresys are on stands. Not only is this a better fit in the room arrangement, it seems to also improve the soundstage and tonal quality. And I tell you, the Heresys love what tubes have done for them. The sub is just slightly turned up at its lowest adjustment; the bass sounds like it is coming from the Heresys. I am constantly amazed at the sound for the $ invested. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 H-III's just might do it; they are much improved and their sensitivity is up to 99dB SPL 1w/m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbflash Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 2 way monitors on good stands. speakers and chair in the middle of the room. near field set up correctly is one of the best sounding systems i have ever heard. 3d sounding. after listening to a friends near field system i came really close to getting rid of my khorns and going this route. still may. good luck to you and your dad. danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I have a Musical Fidelity CD PRE 3.24, QSC amp and ERA Design 5 speakers in my office system. A forum member here uses teh CD PRE with his Jubilees. http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1213920009 It is a great little sysem that will do what he wants. If he can go a little above his budget, B&W 805's and Musical Fidelity front end will be outstanding: B&W 805's: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1213138480 Integrated amp (A 3.2): http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1213498388 CD Player (A3 or A3.2): http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1213320727 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1212944328 If he wants low level detail and accuracy he will fall in love with this. I heard a pair of the 805's in a small room and thought that they had a subwoofer playing Diana Krall using Arcam equipment to drive them (very similar to the Musical Fidelity). Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted April 27, 2008 Author Share Posted April 27, 2008 The monitor idea sounds like it might work. He'll want a small subwoofer too. So why not Klipsch bookshelf speakers? There are so many small boxes on Audiogon and I don't know the first thing about any of them! He can't go $1500 for speakers, just too much, it doesn't leave any for the CD player and amplifier. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted April 27, 2008 Author Share Posted April 27, 2008 He wants to listen to headphones too. Is there an integrated amp out there that has a very good headphone amp built in? Should he go with a separate amp for the cans? I know the McIntosh preamps always had a nice headphone amp built in. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody_Mack Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 You mention Mac so you must be thinking substantial power. However, you also mention frequent headphone duty, so don't overlook the Bottlehead S.E.X. amp. With the right speakers, this little 2 watt integrated SET is quite the performer. And the plus is that its claim to fame is as a headphone amp. The downside is that it has no line out to drive a sub. Maybe another downside is that you will have to build it. But at less than $400, this is probably one of the better values in Hi-Fi. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 You mention Mac so you must be thinking substantial power. However, you also mention frequent headphone duty, so don't overlook the Bottlehead S.E.X. amp. With the right speakers, this little 2 watt integrated SET is quite the performer. And the plus is that its claim to fame is as a headphone amp. The downside is that it has no line out to drive a sub. Maybe another downside is that you will have to build it. But at less than $400, this is probably one of the better values in Hi-Fi. Rick Build it. It's fun. Sub? Blah. Have your dad get the S.E.X., a nice fostex based, or similar (like those ones that Mark Deneen keeps posting about!), single driver speaker, and an Oppo for cd duties. Hot damn! It's magic with money to spare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted April 28, 2008 Author Share Posted April 28, 2008 I bet he'd like to build it himself, he's a DIY Ham Radio guy from way back. I wonder about the single-driver option and the ability for those speakers to do complex stuff like the Rippingtons. That's a lot of music to come out of one little speaker! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I bet he'd like to build it himself, he's a DIY Ham Radio guy from way back. I wonder about the single-driver option and the ability for those speakers to do complex stuff like the Rippingtons. That's a lot of music to come out of one little speaker! Greg I find my single drivers to be better on "complex" music (what I find complex, anyway, so let's not assume there is agreement on that term) as it isn't shooting it out across 2+ drivers. It is a more coherent sonic picture to these ears. Jazz is very good on them. It does, however, miss the high high and the low lows, if that is what you are referring to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Build it. It's fun. Sub? Blah. Have your dad get the S.E.X., a nice fostex based, or similar (like those ones that Mark Deneen keeps posting about!), single driver speaker, and an Oppo for cd duties. Hot ***! It's magic with money to spare. Any Dad I know would appreciate the suggestion to "get the S.E.X." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Greg I would seriously consider the KG 1.5 and/or 2.5 bookshelf speakers. Two ways that sound very good at low to fairly high volumes and cheap off of ebay. I doubt if you'll need a sub with them. Also I do believe the Scott has an earphone plug, so he could use that and use the leftover money to climb the ladder on his main system. I lent a pair of 1.5's to a musician friend for a few months and he was very impressed and thought they sounded very much like good monitors. Because of neighbors they were run consistently at very low volume and he absolutely loved them. PS I owe you an email. coming soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted April 28, 2008 Author Share Posted April 28, 2008 Thanks everyone, good stuff, especially the S.E.X. talk. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I really like my RB3's. What volume will he be listening at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted April 28, 2008 Author Share Posted April 28, 2008 He says very low volume levels. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest srobak Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Genelec has some powered nearfield monitors that will take care of business quite nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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