2/3 of this list in my opinion, requires a subwoofer especially for the volume levels you have described as desiring.
I use the RP600 in my bedroom and i play rap, edm, techno, & hip-hop w/ a far inferior amplifier/DAC than you are using and far louder than would be considered normal background music while showering, the RP600 get plenty loud and produce very satisfying low end notes w/ this type of music.
I think a larger HT style speaker, not necessarily something i would consider solely for 2 channel, may be something to consider. . Something w/ a decent sensitivity that has multiple 6”, 8” or even 10” woofers possibly 2 way. These speakers are more likely to give you the signature, enhanced bass performances and most importantly fall much better into a possible affordable price bracket.
Im sorry I meant to say standing waves inside the listening position. There are standing waves all over the room lol.
Yep, everything counts, I think the book I read explored those concepts, maybe with different names.
I do the best I can with my furniture to try to reduce some room modes lol, but I dont believe I “need” to add panels and stuff. I think the acoustics satisfy me the way they sound.
its amazing how good the listening position sounds, I dont mean to brag but I believe my setup hits way above what it costed around $3800 + some taxes total. (Thanks to everyone here who sold me most of this for cheap)
Thats all of this:
Matrix xspdif3 w ifi elite > Exogal dac and poweramp stack fully upgraded (fpga PSU, wywires, audioquest) > klipsch rp600m with two 8" klipsch subs
With my current setup I dont think to adding random room panels will help enough to be worth it, when or if I treat my room I would need to add bass traps, large depth absorbers and its $$$ or way too much DIY for me.
Everything true, thats a way to put what the book I read taught me.
I dont get you here bruh
Agreed af, but are some floorstanders good enough without subs? The ones ive heard were bassy, my room is not that big i havent measured but I believe its about 6 by 3.5 meters im using a horizontal setup because of the door and window position.
Hahahaha, ive also got my fair share of background rp600 in the shower, and yes a lot louder
Isnt the klipsch forte considered like a big bassy speaker? As in I dont necesarilly need to add subs.
Or are subs always are a good adittion even with some of the larger floorstanders?
Also, I dont have room for more than 2 subwoofers, and also they dont have to be that big again my room size isnt as grand. But yeah I definitely would do twin subs 6" or 8"
No, I have spent plenty of time with the Forte and it is not “bass heavy”. BUT your and my definition of “Bass heavy” may differ.
I considered 4x15” subs behind my head, pushing 2K watts hitting at 142db and taking up the entire rear portion of my old ‘75 jeep CJ as hitting hard and having much bass.
I consider 1 or 2 10” subs in my music room as nice and tight with just a touch of weight so that I can properly enjoy my music and have proper spatial depth.
My HT runs a pair of 12’s and I push them slightly hot so that when King King smashes something in the movie my windows rattle. When my GF wants to listen to some hip-hop that’s the preferred system…
The newer RP8000F or RP6000F would probably produce more of the signature you seem to desire than anything in the Heritage line. The Heritage line is very expensive for what you get and in my opinion is not and was never tuned or made to play the modern genre’s club like beats despite the sizes of their woofers.
An audiophile’s idea of throbbing BASS differs slightly from the concept of playing hard enough to disturb and anger your neighbors. (Really good quality low notes will travel but should hit like the sound of distant thunder not like an elephant rampaging to your neighbors)
Don’t get me wrong, I have heard 1 or 2 larger than life high end systems which go so low they can basically make you poop your pants but they are usually playing orchestral pieces on expensive vinyl and not K-pop
Have you had an opportunity to listen to some of the Klipsch or SVS or other HT style speakers off a good amplifier playing music you enjoy?
Yes my K-horns can push some bass but I still have a dual 15” sub mated to them for proper “Oomf” and I mostly play them with 2-3 watts for nice sound but it will NEVER sound like a club in my living room. For that you need multiple large subs. My neighbor has 6 x 18’s in his HT set up and when he flexes the amps a bit that set-up starts to get a bit more intimidating in volume and sound pressure.
I’m not trying to mess with you @MacDLaw, I want to temper your expectations with what you have on hand and what you can realistically spend. Dropping $$$$ on speakers which may NOT perform as you visualize them in your mind is an expensive mistake I want to help you avoid.
The Exogal stack is a nice combo but was always intended to be more of a desktop or small room set up that would be clean and provide very nice music. It’s not made to rock your neighbors and force you to use earplugs to avoid hearing damage
My 2Ch speakers have a 10inch CF Woofer, and a 10 inch passive driver, and are supposed to hit 25 Hz (on paper better than many subs), and outside when I had them dual amped with a 1000W SS amp driving just that woofer. They wouldn’t compete with a basic sub when it comes to pressurizing a room.
I’m glad you said it, I was about to respond to the comment.
Subs aren’t just about bass IMO, they add a room dimentionality that is the equivalent of “air” how people describe the effect in higher frequencies.
@MacDLaw I will say though that your description of how you integrated your existing subs is the way I integrate mine. They’re there to lightly “kiss” your 2 ch speakers, not to be the the star of the show.
Currently shopping for a backup/secondary 2 channel rig for my smaller listening room ~13X11. Unfortunately I’m torn on a few options and they are nothing alike in sound signature.
Harbeth 30.2 xd
Kef R3 Meta
I’d have to budget 200-300 for stands for the Harbeth. I think the Harbeth would be more satisfying in the long-term but something about the new R3 Metas keeps whispering in my ear. I guess I could always try it out from crutchfield and then send back if not to taste.
What sound are you looking for in this space, what amp would you be powering it with?
+1 on Harbeth, especially those little suckers! By little, I am kidding. They are pretty much a floor stander in overall size.
If you could stretch for these, they would be another nice option. Not as neutral as the 30.2 as those are close to the BBC spec:
Thanks. I’ve heard the 30.2xd before at a friends home but not for an extending period. It has a very please sound signature across all the various genres I could throw at it for an hour. Definitely wasn’t technically impressive or the most dynamic but it was just very enjoyable.
How was it to live with these speakers? Was it super amp picky and placement picky? Any drawbacks from longterm ownership I should be aware of?
Thanks I did hear the hl5 super for a brief period and I think the 30.2xd would be closer to what I’m interested in and much truer to the harbeth house sound.
The problem I have is that the harbeth is likely what I a want and would enjoy most for the long term. But it’s more relaxed mid focused presentation can sometimes be boring. That is where the r3 meta is attractive as it has a bit livelier sound presentation without being grating.
I wasn’t sure if I should start a new thread or not but I was looking at a few speakers that I wanted to try. I wanted to get some feedback from you guys to see which would make the most sense. I have a nearfield/desktop setup so there’s a limit to how big I can go.
Current setup - PS Audio DS mk2 - Luxman L509x - ATC SCM20 and kef kc62
Ojas Artbook - hypebeast speaker, kind of expensive for what it is but would be interesting to try a 96dB speaker that would barely fit on my desk. Would probably look to upgrade and add the horn accessory in the future
Sourcepoint 8 - great reviews and futureaudiophile actually tried a desk setup with them. Seems to be pretty popular with the reviewers but I haven’t seen a ton of real world reviews or sales
Perlisten R5m - MTM speaker with 90dB sensitivity. More of a HT speaker but the MTM design would be fun to try. Not the most attractive design but definitely very interesting
Other considerations - boenicke W5, totem fire, etc
Any feedback/suggestions are welcome! I’m just looking for something more dynamic and “fun” I guess? ATCs have amazing timbre and spatial abilities.
I was also looking at Ojas but for a separate 2ch system, not on my desk. I run active speakers on the desk and like that a lot for the simplicity and room correction (Cabasse Rialto).
I’ll be auditioning the SourcePoint 10 in the next few weeks, doubt I can put them on my desk but I can try if that’s interesting for you.
I was also looking at the Blumenstein Triton as an option. Q Acoustics as well.
I liked these speakers a lot, but you’re crazy putting them on the desk or trying to. They’re HUGE! lol
What is it that you’re looking for? Something different than what you’ve got now or high efficiency? Or what would work best with your existing chain? Your speaker interests are all over the place so I’m a little worried in giving you a response without understanding where you want to get to.
Also nearfield and desktop can very a lot as you’d want to really say which would be your preference. I kind of have a mid field listening environment but when I was very focused on my desktop the things I valued there were different than what I value now.
Given that you’ve already got a Kef KC62, I’d recommend a Kef LS50 Meta as they’d integrate well with the sub and I know the Kef concentric drivers and their tangerine waveguide work well in nearfield. They’d probably mesh well with the Luxman.
I’m looking for something a bit more dynamic and fun. The ATCs have great timbre and spatial information but really requires a certain volume to sound fun.
Nearfield passives is pretty niche so it’s hard to find good information about what works well. That’s why almost everything is fair game lol
Got you. For low level dynamics, it’s hard to beat low power high efficiency. That said however, there are a number of speakers that are very efficient but don’t wake up at low level volumes. Zu specifically comes to mind especially since they’ve got a bookshelf now. I loved my DWs but they just needed power to come to life.
Decware tube tots are a cheap and efficient pairing that perform and scale well the better you feed them and you have some nice stuff to feed them. They are small but can sound really big. I’ve not tried them on a desk specifically but I have used them fairly close in and they are a personal favorite. Same with the Omega speakers. Beyond these you get pretty pricy $$$$ on small speakers for desktop use that will perform and even though the room should not play much role the desktop itself will. Always damned issues Good luck in your adventures!
Are you thinking the DWX? They used to have a single woofer cube that has been discontinued and then then made a omen bookshelf (also discontinued) which is a shorter sealed version of the dwx.
I have a set of the omen bookshelves that I keep planning to setup on my desk in place of the harbeth P3 and compare; will share some comments here when that happens.
Here’s a photo from when they arrived a couple of years ago and I wanted to test out whether the TT2 could drive them directly from the RCA outputs… They could.
. Something w/ a decent sensitivity that has multiple 6”, 8” or even 10” woofers possibly 2 way. These speakers are more likely to give you the signature, enhanced bass performances and most importantly fall much better into a possible affordable price bracket.
but still that “kiss” of sub they add is VERY important for most genres.
Good luck in your adventures! 