Please help out an addicted to music

[muon*]

6 hours ago, estevaom said:

Thank you everyone for all the opinions, tips, advice... It is greatly appreciated. There is no simple answer, I guess I have to have a lot more knowledge.

I'm very happy with the reaction to my post. I didn't want to come out as clueless person wanting to throw money away. I'm just a passionate hobbyist and enjoy appreciating the details of the things I like.

To be honest, I'm very curious about the Beryllium tweeters so you might know where this is going...

 

I will do my best to hear different gear in the next few weeks.

 

I suppose I can come back here for advice on the next steps.

 

Starting with the pads muon* suggested: https://www.stereonet.com/forums/topic/121324-my-system-today/?do=findComment&comment=6336677

There is a a few threads on the Whites, including this one

(funny enough they are terrible used under washing machines)

 

 

I prefer the larger 100mm x 100mm ones as they are not as dense and in my view offer better isolation.

Edited March 12 by muon*

[Addicted to music]

On 10/3/2024 at 9:07 PM, andyr said:

 

I thought werewolves were extroverts?  

 

during a full moon!  

[estevaom]

On 10/03/2024 at 10:26 AM, andyr said:

 

I would suggest the simple answer is ... better amplifiers would make your Focals sound even better ... but that could be an expensive exercise!   

 

As a start, why don't you try some simple experiments - and see how they change the sound:

1. put your Fosi v3 amp on the 816s - and see if that makes them sound better.
2. then put your WiiM amp on the 806s; does this change the sound for the better .. or for worse?

 

The 816s seems to have a far more wicked impedance/phase curve than the 806s - and I suggest they are the ones which would benefit more from an amp which is known to be able to drive 4 ohm spkrs, well.

 

Good luck.

 

Turns out I just needed more time to listen to different things at different volume levels.

 

First of all the RCA cable I was using with the Fosi is very bad, it made the WiiM sound bad. As soon as I plugged an hdmi cable it improved things a lot.

The WiiM gets much louder than the Fosi before distorting the sound and it's not just the RCA cable. I tested both with it and the WiiM gets much louder.

 

https://tidal.com/browse/track/95459691 the Fosi just can't handle the Coda (7:50) at 90db+

 

I could either keep the Fosi, get a 48v power supply and better RCA cables or return the Fosi (amazon) and get something better than the WiiM for the living room.

[andyr]

25 minutes ago, estevaom said:

I could either keep the Fosi, get a 48v power supply and better RCA cables or return the Fosi (amazon) and get something better than the WiiM for the living room.

 

Hah - an interesting choice!  

 

I suspect buying an amp which will make your 816s sound better than when the WiiM amp is driving them ... will be the much more expensive option!  

 

[estevaom]

On 13/03/2024 at 11:47 AM, andyr said:

 

Hah - an interesting choice!  

 

I suspect buying an amp which will make your 816s sound better than when the WiiM amp is driving them ... will be the much more expensive option!  

 

Thank you so much for suggesting that I could swap things up and test different combinations.

 

It was not my RCA cable that's bad. It's my monitor headphone jack that distorts at high volumes.

I went ahead and got a SMSL SU-1 DAC and the 42v power supply for the Fosi.

 

Now my office setup is my monitor connected to SMSL SU-1 through optical, connected to the Fosi Audio V3 with the 42v PS via RCA, powering a pair of Focal Choras 806.

I think the bass got a huge improvement over what I was using before, and I can't get past 50% on the volume slider or it gets way too loud for my office.

 

I can't stress enough how bad the headphone jack from my monitor is. After doing a little research it seems to be consensus that these outputs suck most of the time.

[andyr]

37 minutes ago, estevaom said:

Thank you so much for suggesting that I could swap things up and test different combinations.

 

I went ahead and got a SMSL SU-1 DAC and the 42v power supply for the Fosi.

 

I think the bass got a huge improvement over what I was using before, and I can't get past 50% on the volume slider or it gets way too loud for my office.

 

A great result!  

 

[075Congo]

Off topic...again.

Edited March 18 by 075Congo

[mharvan]

First the answer is YES! music heard through a proper stereo will take you to another place, so if you know what you like do it!. You will not regret it. 

My personal preference is old school vintage 70's early 80's stuff Pioneer/Onkyo/ Harman Kardon/ Marantz/ Sansui/ SAE / Technics/ JBL  L-series or 43XX 44xx monitors infinity/ Cerwin Vega Wharfedale etc. old School amps have a real grunt in the low end that you just don't get with modern equipment unless you want to spend thousands on each item.-Vintage is sparkling deal plus you get the tactile sensation of all those wonderful Pioneer toggle switches and silky smooth Onkyo pushbuttons.

For example : I bought an Onkyo TX6500 mkII (1979) 100+ WPC for $240 . I found a pair of JBL L112's (1980-1984) for $300. I bought a pioneer PL400 with a Grade GT cartridge $140. OK? all in that is just under $700 US. Believe me when I say you could not touch the sound quality of that system without spending at least $5,000 or more, and the old equipment is totally repairable: transistors, capacitors, inductors and resisters and it's good for another 50 years. Now for modern conveniences like streaming - there's a Wiim mini: $89 wireless streaming through your in home wifi and a service like Qobuz add a bluetooth transmitter and some Grado GW100 headphones and you are golden, in your 'Happy Gilmore" happy place- whenever you want.