Any knowledgeable Hi-Fi Buffs out there?

[Benchwayze]

Hi folks:

I have just treated myself to a new Hi-Fi music centre; or I believed I had. I bought a Yamaha CRX-N470D Network CD Receiver.

I think I must have looked at the wrong illustration, because on taking delivery it was obviously a speaker-less piece of kit. I have listened to it through earphones. It's fair, but my headset is just a run of the mill set for PC use and it could be less booming in the base.

I am looking for a pair of decent speakers but I don't really know much about choosing the right sort. I use my hi-fi for music; mainly classics and jazz, (a lot of old mono tracks of course.) In my younger days Wharfedale was the watchword; is that still the case? I have up to about £300.00 to spare for a pair of speakers.

I also already own a Behringer Mixer panel with a dozen channels. Never used it for my Hi-Fi, but I have used it for recording my guitar playing. Thus, am assuming it could be put into the audio-chain to fine-tune the finished sounds. Would that be the case? Any useful info on a good headset would also be most welcome.

Hoping some clever buffs out there can assist.

Just a thought, could I shove the output through a guitar amplifier and speaker? I have a big Peavey lying idle.

Thanks in anticipation
John

 

[thetyreman]

I would get something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Monitor-Audio- ... op?ie=UTF8

I'm not a hifi guy but an audio engineer, so I prefer flat and neutral speakers whereas hifi guys do not want this, anyway from reading the reviews these speakers sound good for the money.

this may help

https://www.whathifi.com/best-buys/hi-f ... i-speakers

 

[thetyreman]

(edit) from looking up the specs you won't be needing a power amp...

 

[thetyreman]

Hi folks:


Just a thought, could I shove the output through a guitar amplifier and speaker? I have a big Peavey lying idle.

Thanks in anticipation
John

you could in theory but it wouldn't be very hifi, guitar speakers have a limited frequency range and are designed to break up quite early on to emphasise guitar frequencies mostly in the midrange, I have actually done this in mixing where you reamp tracks through guitar amps to make it sound more lofi deliberately but I wouldn't use it for serious listening although it would be fun

 

[Racers]

Go somewhere that will let you take them home to see what they sound like in your room, you might find out the ones that sound the best in the shop don't sound so good at home.
You won't be able to hook up the mixer unless it has a tape in/out.
Wharfedale where never any good IMHO

Pete

 

[Racers]

It has speaker connections on the back so no amp is needed.

Pete

 

[Eric The Viking]

The spec on the receiver you have is a bit odd - Yamaha's web site is misleading: it says 6 Ohms without giving much more detail and quotes two different power outputs. 20W and 30W per channel. Even if I believe the lower value that's a bit small - in a small room that should be fine though.

I agree with Tyreman (have had a pair of Monitor Audio units for 40+ years), but the Amazon page doesn't give their impedance, nor much else important about them. You'll get more volume from 4-ohm units and risk clipping (slightly) with 8-ohm ones. 6 ohm output impedance of the amp may be a modern normal, but it's a little odd to my reading (I'm an old audio professional). It's impossible to say (because of what both MA and Yamaha omit to tell you) how well matched or otherwise the speakers would be, but they ought to be fine.

But... a guitar combo amp will sound pretty nasty in that context, as it's not intended for that task.

E.

PS: there are quite a few audio experts on 'ere - hopefully someone will pick this up. De facto standards do change: for valve kit speakers used to be 4 ohm (or even 2 ohm), but with transistors, 8 ohm became the norm (except for cars, read on). Now, because portable kit uses batteries and low voltages, low impedance, for headphones and speakers, is back "in" again. This probably has some bearing on the "6 ohms" output impedance Yamaha state. It's a muddle, made worse by the loony specifications produced by Far Eastern manufacturers selling junk as high performance equipment - things like "100W peak music power output" which are literally meaningless.

PPS: @ Pete: Wharfdale were one of the licenced manufacturers of the LS3/5A, so it wasn't all bad. But I do know exactly what you mean - some of their big selling designs were nasty (sorry XY!).

 

[Racers]

Nominal impedance for speakers really doesn't mean much these, the next model up from my speakers has 4 tweeters 2 midrange units mounted in a pyramid on the top, with a drop to about 2 ohms in the treble region, takes a dam good amp to make them sound good.

https://www.audiot.co.uk/products/shahi ... -9746.aspx

Only one tweeter and midrange on mine.
https://www.audiot.co.uk/products/shahi ... -9072.aspx


Pete

 

[Benchwayze]

Thanks everyone.

To get me by I have hooked up two Peavey guitar amps for the stereo effect. There is ample range of adjustment for gain, treble and bass on these amps, and I can even hear Nelson Riddle's dais creaking! (unless it was a musician breaking wind!)

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the output. There is good audio at most frequencies, and being a musician myself , (well a guitar-player at least!), I do know how to listen to all parts of an orchestra at once. I shan't stick with this set up, but it does at least give some credence to the quality of the Yamaha. I really don't know why I didn't fall back on these amps in the first place, while I save up for something really nice. Unfortunately mobility problems mean I have to rely on Number One Son to chauffeur me around to go and select something live. So I do more online shopping than is good for me!

Thanks again folks. I'll let you know what I choose!



I think a four figure sum is a bit OTT for my purposes; and my home would need some attention from an acoustics engineer and some egg-boxes on the walls! At this end of life, it would be nice, but a bit late! :mrgreen:

Cheers

John (hammer)

 

[Sideways]

How old are you ?
I had a hearing test done the other day and discovered that my sensitivity has fallen off a cliff by the time I get to 8 kHz. Not much point in buying hifi that boasts 20kHz frequency response ...
Richer Sounds were always my goto for good value audio and they do have listening rooms etc and excellent no rip off extended warranties. They sell the thing you've jsut bought so they should be able to offer you a choice of speakers that will complement it.
I'd look at matching the quality of the speaker to the quality of source (no point in paying too much or losing fidelity by paying too little, the old deal used to be equal amounts on each of the source, the amp and the speakers). Choose something with a sound that complements both the unit you've just bought and the type of music you listen too. A system that's lousy for listening to rock might be great for jazz or solo vocals. Matching is why you can't put a good system together without trying different combinations out.

 

[thetyreman]

you can't go off a listening room at richer sounds, with respect to them they are utterly clueless about acoustics, at least the one nearest to where I live are, no diffusers, no helmholtz resonators, no splayed walls or ceilings or bass traps in any part of the room and a massive thin resonant glass door, so it's not even airtight...I wasn't too impressed, maybe in london or down south it's completely different?

 

[Racers]

you can't go off a listening room at richer sounds, with respect to them they are utterly clueless about acoustics, at least the one nearest to where I live are, no diffusers, no helmholtz resonators, no splayed walls or ceilings or bass traps in any part of the room and a massive thin resonant glass door, so it's not even airtight...I wasn't too impressed, maybe in london or down south it's completely different?

That's why you need to try them at home.

Pete

 

[MrTeroo]

Asking for speaker recommendations is the hifi version of a sharpening thread. The world and his dog will have an opinion, each one correct, for them.

Do you want floor standing? Bookshelf?

Here is a nice bookshelf speaker:

https://www.richersounds.com/q-acoustics-q3020-matte-graphite.html

I prefer warm sounding vintage speakers. My favourites at the moment are Celestion Ditton Counties. £30 from eBay.

Selling England By The Pound on vinyl sounds beautiful.

 

[thick_mike]

Haha, was just about to make the sharpening comparison myself.

Get an affordable (to your budget) pair of speakers from Richer Sounds and you won’t be ripped off. Q acoustics are a good brand, but other brands have speakers available from pocket money prices to ridiculously eye watering amounts

 

[Racers]

Asking for speaker recommendations is the hifi version of a sharpening thread. The world and his dog will have an opinion, each one correct, for them.

Do you want floor standing? Bookshelf?

Here is a nice bookshelf speaker:

https://www.richersounds.com/q-acoustics-q3020-matte-graphite.html

I prefer warm sounding vintage speakers. My favourites at the moment are Celestion Ditton Counties. £30 from eBay.

Selling England By The Pound on vinyl sounds beautiful.

Mmm massive port at the back are you sure they are designed to work in half space?

I keep recommending home trial.

Second-hand is a good idea you can get much more for your money, but then you won't get a home trial.

Pete

 

[xy mosian]

In my younger days Wharfedale was the watchword; is that still the case?

Thanks for that, 70's by any chance? Still the case?, possibly/probably not.

Wharfdale were one of the licenced manufacturers of the LS3/5A, so it wasn't all bad. But I do know exactly what you mean - some of their big selling designs were nasty (sorry XY!).

I could be persuaded to agree with you Eric. In the later 70's marketing really took over. The result was often a reasonable/good flagship model with the range extended by the apparent need for models to cover all pockets.
By the way the 70's saw the emergence of a european standards organisation, DIN, don't ask me what it means, but the standard immepedance was regarded 6ohm, varying with frequency of course.

My feeling is that 'true' HiFi, as close as possible to the original sound, is uncoloured. Of course this is a term which has been hi-jacked by sales teams and now seems to mean exciting and not not neccesarily 'accurate'.

These days I think if Shakespeare does not suffer by being presented in a scruffy paperback then I should listen to the music and not the speaker.
Sorry for the bit of a rant. I hope you find something you are happy with John.

xy

 

[MrTeroo]

"Mmm massive port at the back are you sure they are designed to work in half space?"

They were used in a WhatHiFi review of the CRX-N470D :

https://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/crx-n470d/review

 

[Fitzroy]

The amp is rated at 22W into 6ohms, the Monitor Audio Bronze 2s are 100w max at 8 ohms. I’d expect they would sound a little weak connected together.

I have B&Ws 602s in the living room, monitor Audios in the kitchen, and q acoustics in the shed. They are all great speakers. Most important thing is to balance the amp size and speaker size.

Fitz.

 

[Benchwayze]

I like vinyl too. Problem is all mine are worn out. (85% of Django Reinhardt's recordings, according to the discography in De'Launey's book 'Django'.
So I changed to CD.

I still have a massive collection of 45s and cassette tapes.

John

 

[Racers]

The amp is rated at 22W into 6ohms, the Monitor Audio Bronze 2s are 100w max at 8 ohms. I’d expect they would sound a little weak connected together.

I have B&Ws 602s in the living room, monitor Audios in the kitchen, and q acoustics in the shed. They are all great speakers. Most important thing is to balance the amp size and speaker size.

Fitz.

No it isn't, its best to have an amp more powerful than the speakers, a small amp driven to clipping will blow the tweeters before you know, with a powerful amp you will hear the sound compress before you destroy the speakers.

Power ratings should be taken with a huge pinch of salt, I have a small amp rated at only 12 watts but it will drive most speakers very well as it has a big power supply.

Pete