need help

[Journal]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm completely new to this type of gear and these kind of forums. (so please forgive any rookie mistakes). I'm finally in my journey to understanding how to built a good audio system (hope it manage to educate myself slowly and surely its never too late).  Honestly all my life I've believed that one needs a lot of money to buy good gear but I think now I see that is not the absolute truth (to some extent it will always be true) but if once approach is correct and with time one can keep upgrading get a sound one likes or prefers.

 

So my first purchase was a while ago the 5.1 focal dome flax for my movie set up. I got an Harmon Kardon AV receiver with it ( came free ans still works fine has airplay and sportify and i use apple music until now.

anyway, my real journey towards stereo sound system started recently when I purchased a Luxman L 507 Z integrated amplifier. Now i need to buy speaker that go well with it, budget is modest for now roughly $ 2500 or so. To be honest I didn't think this through, I got a good deal on Luxman in Japan so i bought it there. (it's way cheaper in Japan) Now I wonder if I should use my tower speaker as the front 2 in the 5.1 and use the luxman to power them ( this will most def elevate my movie experience) and also be able to use the towers as a stereo for music only ( i have a mid size bedroom roughly 20 feet X 12 feet)  The center and surround could use power and signal from the AV receiver.

But someone said that I'll need a home theater by-pass on the Luxman for that (which it doesn't have). I'm not sure how to go about it. or if it's even a possibility?

 

besides that I'll need recommendation on speakers and what all should i consider. I'm based in India and the gear gets expensive by the time it goes through customs etc.

I was looking at Spendors A2 not sure of they will pair well with Luxman and do justice to it. Little on the higher side are B&W 603 S3 or other options are KEF Q950, Polk R700, or Dynaudio Emit 50 ( all these option came from a local dealer) I'm happy to hear as many options from members here.

post that I'll need to address the Dac + streamers as well. Budget about $1500- S2000

i"m not sure if I'm setting a realistic budget or is it possible to spend less but get good sound without name like (lumin etc). I'd be glad to reduce the budget wherever necessary but i rather wait and buy something that works well then change every 6 months or 1 years. I'm happy to go with a cheap streamer and a good dac since that's what I'm made to believe matter.

 

any thoughts also please feel free to burst any myths I believe are true,

 

thank a ton for taking the time out to read or reply.

 

[Cafad]

Hi Kavin, nice buy on the Luxman, they make some great gear.

 

You don't actually need a home theatre bypass to use your luxman to power the front speakers, all you need to do is recalibrate your set up.  

 

You can plug the HK's preouts into one of the Luxman's inputs and then set the volume on the luxman to a point that is easily reproducible (I used to use 12 o'clock when I was doing this with my Rotel gear) and then adjust the volume using the HK's controls to the point where your fronts and rears are equal.   You may have to fool about a little to get the volume right but you'll only have to do it once.

 

Good luck on your speaker search, I've heard a Luxman 507u powering Dynaudio C1's and that was a very nice pairing indeed.

Edited June 20, 2024 by Cafad

[Steff]

@Journal that's a great amp indeed. You'll never have to upgrade that side of things again, at least.

 

In my view, when it comes to budgeting, invest even more in speakers than in streamer/dac. There's significant disagreement among hifi enthusiasts about the benefit or not of costly streamer/dac. The Lumin might be a luxury solution you don't need. What will be your source of music playback (local files off a USB/SSD/NAS or streaming via Spotify)? Do you want a unit with all in one (like the Swiss Army Knife Eversolo A6) or separates---here you could combine an inexpensive streamer like a wiim pro with an inexpensive but excellent DAC like a Topping, or an inexpensive streamer with a miniDSP which would even allow for DSP, or an inexpensive streamer with an expensive DAC.

 

wiim pro + Topping: under $400

wiim pro + miniDSP: under $1K (perhaps second hand)

Eversolo A6: approx. $1000

expensive DACs: $1000-skye limits

 

If your local dealer has that option, be sure to compare the speakers on offer by listening to them.

Certainly try the KEF R3 (meta) or something of that quality to compare with the Q950. If you don't hear a difference, great, problem solved. If you do, decisions, decisions.

It's good to research speaker criteria a little before you audition speakers. It's useful to know the frame and terms of reference so that you know what to listen for, and to know what kind of music you mostly aim to playback. Not all speakers reproduce classical well, for instance.

Internet reviews are of limited usefulness in my experience but an ok exploratory pathway to get a sense of the range of available products.

 

Let us know how you go and best wishes for your hifi adventure.

[Journal]

thank you Steff.  There are great reviews for the KEF R3 meta online. I was honestly looking for floor standing speakers. So I wonder how the R5 or R7 meta are in comparison?

 

one other advice from someone was "the Luxman is a very nice unit so my advice is not to cut corners on your source, if the detail doesn't come from the source nothing after that will provide that lost detail."

 

so I wonder will there be a very big difference between a Wiim pro, mini DSP or eversolo or the Luxman dealer here suggested to go with Audiolab 9000N (according to him that will pair well, but since he's the dealer for both its tough to take his word for it)

any more thoughts?

 

thank you for taking the time out to reply

 

[Steff]

17 hours ago, Journal said:

so I wonder will there be a very big difference between a Wiim pro, mini DSP or eversolo

 

Well there are different schools of thought and use on this. From a "measurements" point of view, all these devices operate at high performance, inaudible electrical noise levels. The Eversolo has better onboard file management options.

If you look in the wiim discussion section you will find very positive reviews:

 

17 hours ago, Journal said:

I was honestly looking for floor standing speakers. So I wonder how the R5 or R7 meta are in comparison?

You can expect them to be excellent, it will be useful to compare them in person during an audition. Quite far out of your stated price range though?