Topic: How's this sound for a starter setup?

[Diamond_D]

Been doing a ton of reading this forum and all the awesome links posted here (procrastinating), and this is what I'm looking at for an entry into the world of awesome sound...

My budget is under $1000, and as small as it can be for now, I realize that this is a lifelong process Only looking for 2/2.1 channel, as I'm not big into super duper surround sound for movies and such. I'll be moving in the fall down to Duke, so theoretically waiting would be good, but on the other hand, I might be able to swing some of this as a graduation present


Toshiba 3960... don't see how I can pass this baby up for $50 with apparently a nice DAC inside and possibility for substantial upgrade in mods. On a side note, for anyone interested, there is a very in depth discussion of the unit here. There are actually 2 different builds, both with the same DAC, but with very different video chips, the earlier one with a high quality Toshiba, changed in July '04 to a crummy cheapo with no difference in model #.

pre/amp combo of Y-S Symphonies and B&K ST-140... seems to be a popular and very well reviewed combo

Speakers... not sure on that yet, since I've got a sub and want to stay on the cheap end of the market, I'm thinking some quality bookshelves. The Ascend Acoustics look to be getting some nice fluffing here, I may give them a listen, any other recommendations? We have a pair of Klipsch KSF 10.5 in the media room downstairs at my club, and their treble seems thin and harsh to my ears through a Denon receiver... looking for something a little warmer if that gives you an idea of my tastes, though obviously my amp setup would influence that

My only reservation with this is volume... this may be a stupid n00b question, but it seems the only place to adjust volume in that setup would be gain on the Symphonies, which has no remote? Seems a bit inconvenient possibly...

Otherwise, seems perfect, got room on the YS for CD/DVD, TV audio, Phono (eventually!), and Tuner

What do you guys think??

[Daryan]

Bookshelf speaker recs:

Rocket elts or 250's.  I actually have a pair of elt's you can borrow if you would like to play with them.

Swan 2.1's or m200's

Axiom's bookshelf monitors

I think these will give you the best bang for buck ratio.  Chinese crafted, American modfied!

[Nick in Edinboro]

Looking good!  I think it's great you did your homework before posing the question!

I'm a serious budget listener too and have a very similar setup in mind.  I'm almost there but lacking the phatty tube pre.  I am looking at the Y/S's too.

I dig what Daryan is saying about Axiom's.  I have a pair of M22's I bought from the board here and they smoke.  Although it's my understanding they are made in Canada, which almost sounds like the word Chinese but not quite

http://www.axiomaudio.com/m22ti_main.html

The Axiom's are a very neutral speaker and would bode well with a nice warm source.

I had to confirm that they're not just located in Canada and selling a Chinese made speaker, here is an article about a tour of their factory in Canadia:
http://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/axiomaudio2.php

[Daryan]

The cabinets are made in China, I am almost positive.

[Daryan]

I did NOT write this, but it's from audioreview.com


Company’s like Axiom can afford to give you the best driver in their low cost models as they do in their high-end models. I mean really, when a highly trained Chinese worker is making 50 cents to the hour to build drivers, how much should a consumer pay for the end product to satisfy their snobbery?

I was in NYC three weeks ago and auditioned a pair of B&W powered by Rotel amp and preamp set, and they sounded much like my Axiom M60T, but they cost $3000.00. It occurred to me, that what you pay for is that horrible British exchange rate, a highly paid English assembly line worker.

Why pay $ 2 dollars for a beer that cost $ 1dollar in the U.S. or 10 cents in China. Axioms cost less not because they inferior but because the U.S / Canadian exchange rate is favorable, and guess where B&W and Monitor Audio GR10 drivers are built? Did you say Peoples Republic of China, that’s right? Enough of this schooling!

[Nick in Edinboro]

No, I believe they are made in Canada, look at page two of their factory tour.


Axiom cabinets start off as a single sheet of MDF and are precisely machined with all the driver cutouts and linear and cross grooves to miterfold it into a self contained cabinet.  All of the cabinets and crossovers are built in-house and the crossover circuit boards are done in Toronto.

This is cool too

Vintage Bruel & Kjear Test Gear

[Nick in Edinboro]

The cabinets are made in China, I am almost positive.

Company’s like Axiom can afford to give you the best driver in their low cost models as they do in their high-end models. I mean really, when a highly trained Chinese worker is making 50 cents to the hour to builddrivers, how much should a consumer pay for the end product to satisfy their snobbery?

While drivers aren't cabinets I actually think they make their drivers too, and also produce them for other companies in Canada.

See this:

Axiom manufactures their own drivers for themselves and other companies in Canada. They also build and veneer their own line of loudspeakers.

No biggie, atleast this prompted me to check out where they were really made

Take care,
Nick

[Daryan]

Wierd.  I guess I was thinking since axiom, swan, and onix/rocket get linked so much that they all came out of shanghai.  Good catch dude!

[macroint]

I'll be moving in the fall down to Duke....What do you guys think??

Here's a +T....I pity the poor Dookie fool when he should have closen Maryland.

[scervin]

I don't believe Axiom is at all tied with Mark and Dr. Pu's manufacturing in China.

sc

[Thom Joad]

I'd almost point you in a different direction for your preamp/amp.  While the Y-S/B&K combo is well reviewed and probably does sound great (never heard them myself), for your situation I'd be looking into an integrated amp. instead.

Going with an integrated rather than separates would yield a smaller form factor (one less thing to move around), a remote, and IMHO the same quality (if not better sometimes) of sonics you would experience with separates.

3960  $50

Ascend/Axiom/Onix/Swan  $200-$400

This leaves you with ~$500 to spend on an integrated.  There are a TON of quality integrateds that go for about this much on Audiogon.  Decide on your speakers, find out if they are considered "warm" or "transparent/bright" and match them with an appropriate int.

Example, I was the one who sold Nick his M22's ("transparent").  When I had them, I combined them with an Audio Refinement Complete int. which is on the "warm" side.  Great sound!  I think I've heard the Ascend stuff is on the "warm" side, so I'd compliment them with a more "transparent" int. like a Marantz or Roksan. etc. 

On the other hand, there's also a shit ton of tube integrateds that sound really good and are fairly cheap.  Check out the lower offerings from Jolida.

Some solid state integrateds to watch for in your price range:

Roksan Kandy or occasionally a Caspian
Thule IA60
Myryad MI-120
Primare A10
Exposure 2010
Audio Analogue Puccini
Audio Refinement Complete (mine may actually be for sale soon)
Creek 4340
NAD 320B

Heh, if you think taping is an expensive hobby, you aint seen nothing yet!

-Matt

 

[JeffK]

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1119658330

That's a complete steal for $500 and you'll be able to upgrade your speakers in the future without having to change out electronics.  If you check around, you may be able to find an Alpha 8 or 9 integrated for significantly cheaper than this also.

[Diamond_D]

thanks for the tips guys... for price and convenience, the Creek 4330SE and NAD C320 integrated amps certainly look like fantastic deals. The Ascend CBM-170 and Axiom M22ti's both look they get quite the bang for the buck. There is only one dealer in this fancy schmancy area (surprising!) so I'll have to give them a call at some point and see if I can do some auditioning on any of this gear.

[Daryan]

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1120579019

[Diamond_D]

In the course of narrowing down my options to a few I want to try, I of course managed to add more to the list 

After doing lots more reading the suggestion of going for an integrated seems like the most reasonable idea. That leaves me with Creek (4330SE, 4140 S2 possible), or the NAD C320BEE.

Speakers... Ascend 340M's, which add a second woofer to the much much fluffed 170's, Axiom M22ti's, and the Onix Rocket RS150's... which at $199 sale price for the pair, I might be able test out in home as a first audition! Of course, for that, I will have to make up my mind about an amp first