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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Peabody
Keep that EV, you'll like what you hear when you try it out. And, if the Pioneer is from grandpa it may be a vintage, you'll be the man with a retro Pioneer. Big dog with the lit up analog FM dial across the front, no IC chips all discrete circuits. You'll have to buy gramps his favorite beer or something for hooking you up like that :)
haha, i love vintage gear. my number one hobby consists mainly of vintage gear. i've got a Dean guitar from 79, a gibson from 82, a half stack from the late 80's, and an acoustic from probably early 70's. vintage gear is fun! its great to have stuff no one else has.
i'll send my grandpa an email and see if he doesn't mind finding out the model for me. he's moving out and giving away much of his stuff, which is the reason he gave me the aristocrat. he also gave me another set of bookshelves, but they were small 8 watters i believe and i don't think they were anything special. and the great thing is, he keeps everything in his house in PERFECT condition, so i'm confident all of this stuff will be in great working order.
i'll see what i can find out.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blackraven
Just remember, your sound will be only as good as the sound card in your computer with a vintage receiver. If its not a very good card as most laptops, you may need to buy a good external usb card.
Good luck and good choice on a very good budget speaker.
thanks man. i know about my sound card. i've also been wanting to upgrade that so i can get some better quality guitar recordings. so yeah, i am going to upgrade my sound card, just not at the moment. through windows media center in my windows vista premium i get some good sound through my headphones. its just through my speakers that the sound is quite garbage. i know it'll be limited with my current soundcard, but i believe i can still get a good sound with the current one, and then i can upgrade the sound card once i figure out what i need.
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sorry for the triple post, just wanted to update. i just went ahead and ordered the C-200's. i talked to a sales rep earlier today and he notified me the $150 price tag was only temporary while they blew out the remaining units. when i talked to him 2 hours ago there were 6 left. just talked to him and there were 3 left so i figured i might as well grab them. He said they were definitely their best quality speakers for under $400.
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Great choice. At that price, if you don't like them you should have no trouble selling them and getting your money back. Don't forget to order that mini RCA cable from Bluejeans cables. You will need it to convert the mini output plug of your lap top to the standard RCA plugs on your receiver.
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cgibsong002
Quote:
Originally Posted by cgibsong002
unless i can figure something else out, yes i'd prefer to play the music from my PC. i have a cheap mp3 player but its only 4gb and my pc puts out superior sound quality from what i can tell. and i'm not quite sure i understand your comment, do i need something besides an amp and speakers if i want to use my pc? or were you saying an ipod would be better quality?
and that amp paired with one of those bookshelf speakers is certainly a possible option. though i've still got some questions. i figure i'd be best off looking for at least something used. would i be better off getting a used amp or used speakers, or both?
and i've now seen countless amounts of bookshelf speakers all in the $200 category. what separates them for each other? is it all really brand name, or do different speakers have different specs/qualities in them? as i said, i'm into metal. so i'd like these speakers to be able to deliver some heavy, but tight and defined bass. with metal comes the double bass, so i guess that also falls into the category of needing very tight and defined bass. midrange is also key.
and lastly, with that amp that you linked, if i wanted to later add a subwoofer, how would i do that? there are only speaker outputs on the amp. would i buy a powered subwoofer and split my audio output to 1. the sub. and 2. the amp ?
thanks again guys, i think i'm getting somewhere. :)
Hello, looks like you are making some headway with your selections already. I was not trying to state that an IPOD would be better than you PC at all. Only that the price of the Dayton amp and the possible paring of speakers I listed might be an alternative to meet your budget if you were unable to configure a pc based system within the budget you were tying to stay in, that's all.
As far as differentiating the sound of various speakers...well, there are a whole lot of variables that come into play..like the source, speaker wire, amplification, the speaker design and speaker materials, the room, speaker placement, etc. So, it just depends.
I would not get caught too caught up in speaker specs at the price point you are looking at. Simply, the speaker needs to mesh with your electronics and listening environment to get maximum enjoyment. Of course, the larger the woofer usually means more bass but not necessarily tight bass. You may be able to find great deals on used equipment on Audiogon or on closeout deals at popular sites like Crutchfield, Audioadvisor, musicdirect,
onecall, and wildwestelectronics
No, the Dayton amp does not have a sub-woofer connection.
Good luck and have fun shopping.
LeRoy
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thanks for the help leroy, i think i've got everything figured out for now. i've ordered my speakers, and i should have possibly up to 3 available options for a receiver, so i'll see what works best.
raven, i already have one of those cables lying around at home. i'm going to assume quality isn't a huge deal here, so i figure i might as well at least try the one i have now and see how it works.
oh, a couple other general questions. would there be any use in attaching my logitech speaker system to my setup as well as my new setup? or will that just add bad quality noise?
can a computer's output distort? for example, i'm wondering what the best way to play audio from a computer is... max the computers output and regular the volume with the amp, or the other way around?
interesting idea i had, with everything the PS3 can do, would i get better than PC quality sound if i loaded my music onto my ps3 and then hooked the ps3 up to my receiver?
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cgibsong, quality of cables does make a difference. Buy some decent 16g or better speaker wire. Use good RCA Interconnects. A poor quality RCA IC will affect sound quality for sure. Just check the cable section of this forum. Bluejeans cables are a good place to buy cables and wire. Their speaker wire is cheap if you buy the unterminated wire which you will probably need for the vintage receiver as most have those spring clip speaker terminals. You can get the grey 12g wire from BJC's for 0.52 cents a foot.
One thing that you will begin to appreciate as you get more into audio that every piece along the line makes some difference in sound even if it is slight. It all adds up. Your system is only as strong as its weakest link!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blackraven
cgibsong, quality of cables does make a difference. Buy some decent 16g or better speaker wire. Use good RCA Interconnects. A poor quality RCA IC will affect sound quality for sure. Just check the cable section of this forum. Bluejeans cables are a good place to buy cables and wire. Their speaker wire is cheap if you buy the unterminated wire which you will probably need for the vintage receiver as most has those spring clip speaker terminals. You can get the grey 12g wire from BJC's for 0.52 cents a foot.
One thing that you will begin to appreciate as you get more into audio that every piece along the line makes some difference in sound even if it is slight. It all adds up. Your system is only as strong as its weakest link!
fair enough. my dad has loads of audio equipment at home. i know he has quality speaker cable. he may even have the cable i need, so i'll just wait until i'm able to get home before i make any purchases.
thanks
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cgibsong002
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cgibsong002
hey guys, new member here, don't really know a whole lot about audio. but i love my music and i've decided i might as well spend some money and put together a decent quality system. i'm looking for a system to hook up to my laptop. right now i have a $50 set of logitech speakers + sub that came with my computer. its not terrible, but its not all that loud and the sub is quite embarrassing. i'm not sure quite which direction to go right now. i'm currently at college and at home my dad has some older polk audio speakers cabinets which are missing the speakers. I'm not sure on which model, he'll get back to me on that. He says they have crossovers and the tweeters should still be fine, they're just missing the speakers. so one option would be to buy new speakers for those and then buy a subwoofer to go along with them. I found a sony saw2500 while searching online and that seems to be decent quality in a price range that i'm looking for. Now, will that sub power the speakers, or will i need another amp to power the speakers?
another option would obviously be to just buy a better set of computer speakers. which option would be best for me? realistically i'm not looking to spend over $200. being at college, space is a bit of a concern, but really i shouldn't have any problems fitting speakers somewhere. i just don't have room for a huge subwoofer.
thanks for any/all help.
DESPITE being the Darth Vader of audio, Bose really makes some decent computer monitors, they call them "media" speakers.
Sound is quite decent, and one model has a Sub.:1:
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Well i just got home last night, and haven't gotten a chance to try out the energys. But after making a trip to a thrift store this afternoon, i'm slowly building myself a nice little system! I found a pair of Boston acoustics HD5's. I'd never heard of them, but i know it was a respectable company and they looked never used and for $20. i hooked them up to a radio in the store just to make sure they worked. haven't tried them out yet. reviews online appear to be good from what i can tell.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cgibsong002
Well i just got home last night, and haven't gotten a chance to try out the energys. But after making a trip to a thrift store this afternoon, i'm slowly building myself a nice little system! I found a pair of Boston acoustics HD5's. I'd never heard of them, but i know it was a respectable company and they looked never used and for $20. i hooked them up to a radio in the store just to make sure they worked. haven't tried them out yet. reviews online appear to be good from what i can tell.
$20, nice find. Great as part of a H/T or comp. Also work well with a low power amp. Versatile with decent sound.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poppachubby
$20, nice find. Great as part of a H/T or comp. Also work well with a low power amp. Versatile with decent sound.
yeah, i figured they'd definitely get use somehow for the price. if i don't use them, someone at my house will.
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The BA's sound great! I haven't opened the Energy's still, but the bostons are definitely coming back to school with me. Their much smaller than the energy's and sound really good by themselves, so for school they're going to be perfect. At this point I'm going to wait and just give myself the Energy's as a christmas present and set them up in my room.
I've also begun work on the Aristocrat. It had no speaker wire, so I had to open it up and take a look at everything. Only problem I notice is there is a slight hole in the edge of the cone. How can I seal this up to prevent it from getting worse?
Anyway, it looks like a really cool speaker. Haven't tried it yet, I'd like to take care of the rip first.
Here's the E-V:
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/7585/dsc00685e.jpg
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/2871/dsc00688sn.jpg http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/5950/dsc00690wc.jpg
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If it's not large and the hole isn't gaping, you may be able to seal it with some clear fingernail polish. The cone is a paper material so if it's rot you may be looking at a replacement soon. Some woofers can be reconed but you'd have to check with E-V or online to see if kits are available to that. Or, most electronics services centers offer the service and may know if it can be done.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Peabody
If it's not large and the hole isn't gaping, you may be able to seal it with some clear fingernail polish. The cone is a paper material so if it's rot you may be looking at a replacement soon. Some woofers can be reconed but you'd have to check with E-V or online to see if kits are available to that. Or, most electronics services centers offer the service and may know if it can be done.
the last picture i posted shows the hole at the bottom of the picture. it's not large, but it's more of a hole than a tear. i believe the little piece of material that was taken out to create the hole is still hanging on... should i close it and then cover with the nail polish?
EDIT: here's another pic. Everything looks fine to me aside from the minor tear.
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/3581/dsc00684fl.jpg
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I think if they sound ok, don't worry about it. The hole could be telling you it's time to refoam. Just be careful with them and be aware of their condition. Have you listened to them yet?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cgibsong002
realistically i'm not looking to spend over $200. being at college, space is a bit of a concern, but really i shouldn't have any problems fitting speakers somewhere. i just don't have room for a huge subwoofer.
thanks for any/all help.
Ahhhhh.... $200 for a complete system. You are a man after my own heart. Cheapness is a virtue you know........ All my equipment is used. My best suggestion, is go to Craigslist and buy a used system for around 75-100 bucks. Then play with this and see what strikes your fancy. You'll learn form this about what you like and want to expand upon. CL also has lots of computer speakers, so you can check on those there as well.
I have my special old beat up truck that I go to pick up my: used dishwasher, Refrigerator, rototillers, etc. in. They see that old thing and figure that I need a good deal..... BTW, I'll lets you borrow it for 5 bucks..... :-)
Best Regards,
Stan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poppachubby
I think if they sound ok, don't worry about it. The hole could be telling you it's time to refoam. Just be careful with them and be aware of their condition. Have you listened to them yet?
I'm not worried so much about the sound as I am about the hole getting worse. And taking off the face to be able to see the cone was actually quite the project, so I don't want to open it up one day and find a huge hole. Is the nail polish a good idea for now, and then if it still gets worse... well then it's time for an actual fix?
and Manleystanley... so far I've got myself a set of Energy C200's, a pair of Boston HD-5's, that giant EV aristocrat, and a receiver on its way. And I'm under my $200 budget. :3:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cgibsong002
and Manleystanley... so far I've got myself a set of Energy C200's, a pair of Boston HD-5's, that giant EV aristocrat, and a receiver on its way. And I'm under my $200 budget. :3:
Sweet! Your the man!!!!!!! Hey, did you want any 78 RPM old Jazz records to go with that.........
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Yeah, put the material back in the hole as best you can and try the clear nail polish. Front and back of the cone if possible. It's not perfect but should prevent further damage for a while. I'm afraid if you didn't do anything the hole would certainly cause further damage when the woofer begins moving back and forth.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Peabody
Yeah, put the material back in the hole as best you can and try the clear nail polish. Front and back of the cone if possible. It's not perfect but should prevent further damage for a while. I'm afraid if you didn't do anything the hole would certainly cause further damage when the woofer begins moving back and forth.
yup, exactly why I didn't test it out yet. I'll try to patch it up with some nail polish and see how it goes.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by manlystanley
Sweet! Your the man!!!!!!! Hey, did you want any 78 RPM old Jazz records to go with that.........
no thanks :wink5:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cgibsong002
yup, exactly why I didn't test it out yet. I'll try to patch it up with some nail polish and see how it goes.
when i went to apply a second coating of nail polish 4 hours later, simply brushing it on opened the hole back up. so that didn't work. however, i was at a hardware store today, and i figured i'd look to see what types of fabrics they had as a replacement grille cloth. all they had was some black fiberglass mesh.... huge sheet for $1. so i took it. well, i was also digging around in my cabinet at home and found some fiberglass resin. can i cut a small piece of that mesh out and use the resin to patch up that hole? unless that resin dissolves the cone material, seems like a perfect solution to me.
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Sorry the polish didn't work out, and, I'm not sure on the resin.
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