Home audio set up

[Cmnaround]

This is kinda in the realm of the everything else category - wondering what you guys are using for your home audio set ups. Was reading a Healy interview someplace and he mentioned having a nice pair of Meyer speakers. Quick Internet search reality check I shows I can get a pair of amped Meyers - for 30k !

Since that is way over budget by about 29k - any suggestions on amp / speaker combos for listening to music at home? The Europe 72 release is prompting a lot of this thought train. Being a musician I am thinking a pair of studio reference monitors is the way to go, active or passive - but I may be missing something here.

I have a cool pair of pristine vintage KlH 8" speakers circa 1971-1974 that i got from my grandmothers living room - pretty much not used until I got them like 4 years ago. They sound really good for 30+ years old w nice low end for such a small box. Any amp recommendations for these - maybe a small stereo macintosh tube amp? Or other recommendations for a killer home set up? Maybe a solid state carvin amp into a pair of flat response monitors? Or should I be looking at stuff like klipsch and Polk? Will just be CDs or digital feed from the Archive, iPod or Sirius - but looking for a killer system to listen to all those hours of dead archive at home.

Thanks!

[Laytonco]

I went with a Harmon Kardon amp and Polk Audio speakers and 10' subwoofer. Total cost was about $2500 and it is amazing. Polk Audio is at the top of that mid price range. To improve upon them, you'll have to jump to a much higher price. In my VW Camper, I went with a 100 watt power amp and Focal Speakers. About the same cost as the home system.

Peace,

Gil

[strumminsix]

Sony receiver + JBL mains & center + Sony subwoofer + Bose rears

Mine sounds better than many and I attribute that to having a focus point and proper levels set on the speakers.

[mttourpro]

I bought a pair of Klipsch Legends ( 2 12s, a midrange horn and tweeter horn in each) in 1994 and have had nothing but excellent use the whole time.
I've also had great experiences with Harmon Kardon amps and wish I wouldda kept my older HK instead of buying a Yahmaha Integrated Amp. the yahmaha has had problems with the input selector which I've cleaned repeatedly and which still needs replaced.


Persoanlly I'd avoid anything by Denon as I had bad experiences with their products.

[tcsned]

are you looking for speakers for recreational listening or to use as studio monitors?

[Cmnaround]

are you looking for speakers for recreational listening or to use as studio monitors?

Totally recreational listening - Dead shows and sirius chill which i want major low end on for both, and also jazz like monk and Charlie Parker. Guess I'm asking if studio monitors are better than "audiophile" mid priced home audio speakers - or if the home speakers have more finess, wider range and overall better reproduction of live stereo performance relative to studio monitors. From what I've read so far the home speakers seem to win out - interested in any opinions and recommendations - I just remember years ago being at a friends place who had a very nice set up with a big sub woofer and when he threw on a soundboard it sounded like we were sitting in the middle of the stage. Phil bombs all over and you could almost feel the spin from the leslies. That's what I'm looking for -

[tcsned]

I'm not an expert but studio monitors tend to have a flat response so you can get a more realistic picture of the music. Might be good for recreational listening maybe not. Good home stereo speakers are designed for recreational listening and might be better suited. Personally, I don't like listening to most music with a surround system and subwoofer - it wasn't mixed for it so you're probably hearing stuff the engineer didn't plan on. I have a nice older set of Infinity speakers (they were about $1k when they were new) I love them. Newer Infinity speakers I haven't been as impressed with but they are reasonable. I like Klipsch speakers too - I had a set of these back in the 80s that rocked but they dry rotted and got tossed out. I use the surround speakers only for videos for the most part (more old Infinities and a Klipsch sub).

[vwjodyme]

I'm not an expert but studio monitors tend to have a flat response so you can get a more realistic picture of the music. Might be good for recreational listening maybe not.

Can anyone expand on this? I recently bought an 8 track and found that my turn table plugs right into it...which is awesome because i've been wanting to turn my records into CD's. I was planning on getting some cheap studio monitors ($150 range) to use them for my recordings and use them to listen to my records, bad idea?

[Dwarf Rat]

My first stereo was 12" JBLs with JBL bullet tweeters in wood cabinets ported on the bottoms for super low bass. They were powered by a Mac C11 preamp and Mac 240 tube power amp. I sold all the gear to go to Germany in '78.

Now I have Cambridge Audio Integrated amp and Wharfdale speakers with a cd player and Music Hall turntable with Goldring cartridge and glass platter. The vocals are a little masked, but the bass goes all the way into the Phil Zone.

I keep my JBL L100s in the back room. My son uses my old Kenwood integrated amo with little Bose speakers in his room. The L100s are too big and loud, perfect for listening to the Dead on vinyl.

[zambiland]

MacBook Pro into a Airport Express; digital out into a Grace M902 into a pair of McIntosh MC30s that were just refurbished. Speakers are Avalon NP2s. A great sounding system, especially for the Europe '72 stuff, although hearing it at Airshow, while David Glasser mastered it, was pretty awesome. He uses big Dunlavy speakers that are some of the most coherent sounding speakers I've ever heard. It was like the band was right there in front of me. I highly recommend Mac tubes. I was a complete skeptic until I got mine refurbished and then was blown away. The first vocal music I heard through it was MeShell N'DgeoCello's Peace Beyond Passion and I was stunned at how slamming that album sounded. I never thought 30 watts of tube power could bring the funk like that.

The Grace headphone amp as a DAC works really well and with this system it handles everything from CDs to FLAC to mp3. The speakers are on a switcher so for movies I can use my bargain surround rig, which consists of a Yahama 7.1 receiver and Paradigm Mini Mk. III rear speakers and a Tannoy TS8 sub. All of that was gotten used except the Yamaha, which was on serious discount.

My home studio rig is an Apogee Duet 2 (unless I drag my Metric Halo ULN-8 out of the live rack) into a McIntosh MC2105 and ProAc Studio 100 speakers (what Joe Gastwirt has used for mastering a lot of the GD catalog). Great sound and really responsive to EQ and level changes.