Information on building a good Hi-Fi system for home?

[Diego]

I imagine there must be forums like this, based on how to build a good sound system for home.

I listen to a lot of music (duh) and currently I've got some speakers that cost me like $80 (Hoch by Thonet & Vander).
They could be so much better.

I mostly listen to Rock music and I've noticed for instance that tiny, cheap 2.1 systems usually sound like crap BUT their bass is a lot more punchy. They have a stronger kick in the 80-120 Hz region.

So I imagine I could get a different system more suitable for my tastes. I used to have a Creative 2.1 system and the bass was pure mush.

Where to look at?

[MetalManiac]

Just get a good Powered sub..something like a Bose..that'll make almost any monitors sound great.
I like small mini powered monitors..something like the Samson Ribbon Tweeter monitors ..the 6" inch ones that sell for 400.00 here. Plenty of articulate sound with crisp and tonally neutral mids.
Add a small Powred Sub with a smaller driver (8" -10" so it wont get too out fo control and flabby and coloured) and about at least 50 watts, and youll have a pretty good system.
id go for a set of Powered PA speakers if ya wanna rock the house though..10" 150 watts at least.

[Mr 9finger]

I don't know where to look at for places in Chile. Some names to keep in mind though are Klipsch, B&W, Polk Audio, Infinity, Energy, Velodyne, Mirage, hell there's lots of good ones.

Stay away from the pre packaged deals. They usually compromise in some form or another. The way I would go about finding a 2.1 system is getting the stand alone speakers, be it book shelf or towers, seeing how much more bass I want/need, and then look for a sub that's going to get you what you want.

[Mr 9finger]

Just get a good Powered sub..something like a Bose..that'll make almost any montors sound great.
I like small mini powered monitors..something like the Samson RibbonTweeter monitors ..the 6" inch ones that sell for 400.00 here. Plenty of articulate sound with crisp and tonally neutral mids.

Any real audio enthusiast would straight kick you in the junk for recommending Bose anything.

[MetalManiac]

Any real audio enthusiast would straight kick you in the junk for recommending Bose anything.

Yeah..I got my Bose Sub for 20 bucks used though..it does a decent job. The point is , liek i said, just get a Good Powered Sub ( perferably a PA sub), with a smaller driver, like 8" or 10)" at most , with lots of power handling .
If you want to go 12", youll have to spend a ton of money to get a good one.
Thos big cheap 12" 100 watt subs are okay for hoem theatre, but not for a PC Audio system..they are flabby and fart out.
I used to have two JBL Pwered Eon 15's 300 watt PA speakers hooked up to my PC. It was cool for a while, but it was overkill...for me anyway.A good powred sub and some good powered monitors would be suffuicient for most .

It wont be a hi powered hi-fi mains system , but good for pC !

[Mr 9finger]

Something else to keep in mind when looking for a sub. 8" subs are ok. They don't take up a lot of space and provide decent bass, but they're not meant to be pushed or be loud. 10" subs are generally good from the right maker. They're a little punchier, but don't go down quite as low as a 12 inch. 10" subs normally match well with a set of towers that can handle a good bit of low frequency on their own. If you want deep and loud, 12" and up is really the go to of subs.

As with anything, there's good ones and bad ones. Make sure they have good power handling and high RMS/Continuous power rating. Some home theater subs do movies great and music not so well. You want one that handles music with ease and it will do movie soundtracks just fine. That's where the high power amp rating will come in.

[Jessie's ghost]

Inexpensive systems are usually punchy in the mid-bass because it gets people's attention in the store, and it's easy and cheap to do. It's more difficult and more expensive to get good bass below 80Hz. You'll have to think a little about what your bass needs really are, based on your room and your musical tastes.

Don't get too distracted by the bass. The overwhelming majority of musical content is located in the midrange and treble, and don't make the mistake of thinking all speakers sound the same -- or even similar -- in those frequency ranges, because it's not even close to being true.

As Dr. 9finger alluded, brands that specialize in speakers, rather than in all-in-one systems or powered computer speakers, usually make the best speakers. You typically use these with a receiver, integrated amplifier, or a separate amp and preamp. This is the arena of real hi-fi, where you start to get high-performance playback of music for the home.

[Mr 9finger]

I don't know if these are available in Chile, but lots of guys up here rave about them. I'm seriously considering swapping my Klipsch Subs for 2 of these.

http://www.sounddistributors.com/buy...stech+Speakers

They're not up there with Velodyne or JL/Gotham, but if you don't have a lot of money to spend, they're probably the best compromise.

[MetalManiac]

Inexpensive systems are usually punchy in the mid-bass because it gets people's attention in the store, and it's easy and cheap to do. It's more difficult and more expensive to get good bass below 80Hz. You'll have to think a little about what your bass needs really are, based on your room and your musical tastes.

Don't get too distracted by the bass. The overwhelming majority of musical content is located in the midrange and treble, and don't make the mistake of thinking all speakers sound the same -- or even similar -- in those frequency ranges, because it's not even close to being true.

As Dr. 9finger alluded, brands that specialize in speakers, rather than in all-in-one systems or powered computer speakers, usually make the best speakers. You typically use these with a receiver, integrated amplifier, or a separate amp and preamp. This is the arena of real hi-fi, where you start to get high-performance playback of music for the home.

What the hell are you talkin about?? "real HI-fi"? fft..The guy wants a budget PC based system..he isnt going for a $25,000 12 Watt pure 'Class A' Krell or Mark Levinson with Martin Logan Monolith Electrostats and an Oracle Delphi Turntable with a $10,000 Moving Coil Cartridge and a $15,000 step up Preamp with 3000.00 worth of Silver Litz wiring for effs sake..

There are good budget Monitors.like I said, and I believe normal studio monitors like what you get at Musicians friend are what the OP needs, and NOT Hi-Fi speakers..the Samsons 6" with Ribbon transduccers for 4 hundred would really fill out the entire midrange and have articulate crisp clear highs.
Add a Good Powered Sub, almost any any 8 to 10 Inch with 100 watts.

[Jessie's ghost]

Where did he say anything about wanting a PC-based system? He asked about "building a good hi-fi system for home". And there's a huge middle ground between those extremes; most audiophiles live there.

[Mr 9finger]

What the hell are you talkin about?? real HI-fi? The guy wants a PC based system..he isnt going for a Krell/Mark Levinson with martin laogan Monoliths and a Oracle Turntable.

There are good budget Minotrs.like I said, and rightly so, the Samsons 6" with Ribbon transduckers for 4 hundred would really fill out the entire midrange have articulate crisp clear highs.
Add a Good Powred Sub, almst any any 8 to 10 Inch with 100 watts.

I don't see anywhere in the first post that said anything about sticking with a monitor/sub setup. He's mentioned some smaller setups that he had and was not happy with. Calm yourself. No one is saying anything negative about your Samson monitors. They're probably really good, but I doubt many of us have any experience with them, so we're not going to say yay or nay towards them.

Dam dude. Every time I try to give you the benefit of the doubt, you go ape**** and start stupid stuff.

[misterwhizzy]

The old joke is that Bose is an acronym for Buy Other Sound Equipment.

[SlyFoxx]

I imagine you're using a computer and maybe CD's as your source material. Powered speakers are the best match for you. The next question is money...how much?

I run Yamaha HS80m with the matching HS10 sub. That's 1100 USA$$. Now you won't cause structural damage to your house with this system but the sound is very natural. Nothing is hyped. The speakers have switches to make subtle EQ adjustments to suit your environment. I've mixed on these and tracks transfer very well to the real world.

[Mr 9finger]

The old joke is that Bose is an acronym for Buy Other Sound Equipment.

That's pretty funny!

[MetalManiac]

Dam dude. Every time I try to give you the benefit of the doubt, you go ape**** and start stupid stuff.

Its allright dude..men are at their best when arguing about Hi-Fi.

[Jessie's ghost]

We could ask him what his source components are, instead of assuming.

[Mr 9finger]

Its allright dude..men are at their best when arguing about Hi-Fi.

Audio equipment is just as personal preference as guitar gear. Everyone is going to hear things differently. That's why I tried to list as many GOOD brands as I could think of that have pretty decent offerings at all price points. I'm a Klipsch guy. I like the upper frequency response a horn loaded tweeter provides. Some people don't and prefer the mellower dome or ribbon tweeters. It's all good and I respect that.

Diego didn't mention what he's going to be using for his source or how he's planning on powering the system. If he's looking for something pre powered, I'm out. I shy away from things like that. Once the power goes, the speakers are pretty much useless. Good speakers will get better with age. Once the power source goes in a powered unit, they're landfill fodder. It's also why I refuse to spend more than $400 on a sub.

[Jessie's ghost]

I switched to passive subs for exactly that reason. Use an electronic crossover, and you can swap in any fairly muscular amp to keep yourself running when a sub amp goes to the great gig in the sky. The sub itself will never break.

[Mr 9finger]

I switched to passive subs for exactly that reason. Use an electronic crossover, and you can swap in any fairly muscular amp to keep yourself running when a sub amp goes to the great gig in the sky. The sub itself will never break.

It's crossed my mind more than a few times. It's actually more ideal for my uses and opens up a wider variety of drivers/driver combinations, but I'm already extremely tight on space. One day.....

[NecroPolo]

These don't cost a fortune but kill:

AV-40

Considering quality, it's a lot more than a consumer hi-fi system and a little less than a linear monitoring system. The bass boost is quite effective (depending on the room) and should be enough for a joyful listening, even without a sub.

Only speakers are discussed in this thread but if you have a computer based music system, you may want to get a good quality sound card. Besides an option of recording, they give a big quality jump compared to onboard audio.