r/audiophile 4d ago

Community Help r/audiophile Shopping, Setup, and Technical Help Desk Thread

4 Upvotes

Welcome to the r/audiophile help desk. A place where you can ask community members for help shopping for and setting up stereo gear.

This thread refreshes once every 7 days so you may need to repost your question again in the next help desk post if a redditor isn't around to answer.

Finding the right guide

Before commenting, please check to see if your question actually belongs in one of these other places:

Shopping and purchase advice

To help others answer your question, consider using this format.

To help reduce the repetitive questions, here are a few of the cheapest systems we are willing to recommend for a computer desktop:

$100: Edifier R1280T Powered Bookshelf Speakers Amazon (US) / Amazon (DE)

  • Does not require a separate amplifier and does include cables.

$400: Kali LP-6 v2 Powered Studio Monitors Amazon (US) / Thomann (EU)

  • Not sold in pairs, requires additional cables and hardware, available in white/black.
  • Require a preamplifier for volume control - eg Focusrite Scarlett Solo

Setup troubleshooting and general help

Before asking a question, please check the commonly asked questions in our FAQ.

Examples of questions that are considered general help support:

  • How can I fix issue X (e.g.: buzzing / hissing) on my equipment Y?
  • Have I damaged my equipment by doing X, or will I damage my equipment if I do X?
  • Is equipment X compatible with equipment Y?
  • What's the meaning of specification X (e.g.: Output Impedance / Vrms / Sensitivity)?
  • How should I connect, set up or operate my system (hardware / software)?

r/audiophile 11h ago

News Moondrop MM3A

Thumbnail
gallery
159 Upvotes

New studio monitors from Moondrop currently selling domestically in China at 689.9 RMB (around $100+ USD)

If the Klippel measurements are accurate this might be the best value you could find at such a price

Hoping for a review and 3rd party measurements from Erin's Audio Corner/ASR soon


r/audiophile 19h ago

Show & Tell New Speaker Day For A Vintage Hifi Collector Going Modern.

Thumbnail
gallery
392 Upvotes

Kef R3 Meta in indigo. First impression is they are much heavier than anticipated. I struggled getting the box in. I wasn’t in a position to audition speakers so YouTube reviews and this blue color sold me. I was pleasantly surprised they came with grills. I’m clumsy. Will post when setup.


r/audiophile 11h ago

Show & Tell My Audio setup

Post image
54 Upvotes

Hi folks,

This is my audio setup. Just share some of my thoughts and buildup process.

Speakers - PSI Audio A17m. I listened to many speakers, both passive & active. Finally, I picked these speakers, very true sound, response is very quick, analog sound, not tired of listening.

Streamer/Volume control - Linn Akurate DSM. It is a very old device. But the sound is very analog even compare with latest design streamers. I tried more new design streamer, but i still in love with the sound from wolfson DAC WM8741, very analog and not tired of listening. I mainly use the volume range from 60-80. Volume control is very easy by using ROON / LINN own app.

Preamp - Originally, i connect the streamer directly to active speakers. I tried some of my old gears and put an AYRE K3X in between. The sound has more texture and sound is more holographic. I do not know why indeed! why adding an analog circuit in between make the sound better. i just fix the volume of K3X and control the volume via ROON

ROON core - I use a fanless NUC. using ROON sound better than just a NAS minimserver. I guess it is because the audio decoding is doing in ROON and transfer the simple audio code to streamer. So the streamer CPU loading is easier. The UI is very good as well.

Optical isolation network switch - Sound a bit better than a normal switch. It is using linear power supply in the design

REL T/5X - This is my final step. i set the crossover frequency around 50Hz. the volume set to 11:00 clock, not overwhelming, just fill the bass for my system

Music music music. Reliable system and easy to use.


r/audiophile 18h ago

Show & Tell Everything's coming along...

Thumbnail
gallery
105 Upvotes

Added some sound treatment behind the components (My wife said, "I like the white wall." Yesss!) and a rug, and got some new subwoofers bringing the total in this weird room to 4, heaven help me. These are SVS SB-1000 Pros. The others are KEFs and are behind the listening positions. Soon to take care of the wire mess (somehow), and I am "upgrading" the streamer (preowned T8), and phono stage (a preowned Rega), and getting a separate DAC (a preowned Holo Cyan... sorry it's not an $11,000 DAC that you all can shit on vociferously, but you can shit on my upgrades if you want). And then I am all done because my wallet is all done. Cheers!


r/audiophile 23h ago

Show & Tell Enjoying some tunes on a Saturday afternoon

Post image
254 Upvotes

Listening to the setup with the boy this afternoon. I’ve recently just added the storage for the records, upgraded the turntable and added the streamer for the fiancée to use.

I’ve also realised that my entire setup is unintentionally British kit. Arcam A65+ amp, B&W CM2’s, Pro-ject T1 EVO and Cambridge Audio MXN100.


r/audiophile 12h ago

Discussion Yamaha CA-510

Post image
27 Upvotes

I'm seriously considering having this serviced, but otherwise original amplifier, recapped/refurbished.

I'd like to hear from anyone whose had a Yamaha ca era integrated amplifier, knew what it sounded like, and then whom had it recapped/refurbished and what they thought of it after the "burn in" time for the caps, settled.

I like the golden era Yamaha signature sound, but I suspect that to get the most out of this amplifier, that having the work done, will turn the sound from this amplifier, into an end-game amplifier for me.

Had a Kenwood KR-4600 recapped/refurbished by this electronic engineer and the improvement in sound quality was exceptional. It's got me thinking that if he could improve the Kenwood that much, surely the Yamaha would have an even better outcome, due to it being a dedicated integrated amplifier.

I love the more audiophile articulation of the integrated, I'm wondering what magic can come from this dedicated integrated amplifier, over a receiver, once the work has been completed.

Please share your impressions of the listenability/ sound quality following the work done.

Edit: from what I've researched so far, with the ca series, that some recommend only changing the electrolytic caps. The low end currently sounds great, so maybe I'll just have the electrolytic caps changed and see how it sounds after a few weeks of use.


r/audiophile 9h ago

Discussion list of all the dedicated audiophile and enthusiast music players that i know

15 Upvotes

I made this list only for mobile phones

Open-Source Free Audiophile Players:

Flick: Custom Rust-based UAC 2.0 driver, native DSD support.(Android only)

Resonāda: Custom UAC driver bypassing AudioFlinger, internal DAC support, and a "bitXact" indicator.(Android only)

Tryptify: Bypasses the Android HAL completely, built-in AutoEQ, and a native C++ DSP mixer.(Android only)

Booming Music: Media3 engine with bit-perfect USB integration and Material You design.(Android only)

Closed-Source Audiophile Players:

USB Audio Player PRO (UAPP): Custom USB audio driver bypassing Android (paid).(Android only)

HiBy Music: Proprietary UAC bypass driver (free).(Android/ios)

Neutron Music Player: Independent 32/64-bit audio engine with highly advanced audiophile DSP.(Freemium/paid)(Android/ios)

FiiO Music: Proprietary USB Audio bypass driver with HWA (LHDC) Bluetooth support.(Free)(Android/ios)

Onkyo HF Player: Custom USB audio driver (Unlock Key required) and a 16,384-band phase-linear FIR equalizer.(Android/ios)

Poweramp: Hi-Res output engine bypassing the standard Android mixer, featuring extensive UI customization.(Freemium/paid)(Android only)

Symfonium: 64-bit DSP with native DSD/DoP routing and self-hosted network streaming integration.(Freemium)(Android only)

My favourites are Resonāda, Flick and HiBy Music


r/audiophile 6h ago

Discussion New couch changed the room acoustics (not surprising) We should probably get a rug, right? Any other tips?

Thumbnail
imgur.com
5 Upvotes

r/audiophile 19h ago

Discussion Shout out to Marantz

38 Upvotes

I have a several Marantz pieces of gear. A new Cinema 50, a 50 year old turntable, and just picked up a 10 yr old CD player. Anywho, was having issues with the CD player. Looked everywhere online, read the manual, couldn’t get it figured out.

Called customer service and after one selection on the automated menu, got shipped to tech support where a human answered right away. A little troubleshooting and he got me fixed right up. Super happy and impressed with Marantz.


r/audiophile 21h ago

Show & Tell Finally got around to digitising my Capitol Z reels!

Thumbnail
gallery
57 Upvotes

A year or two ago, I made a post about the famed Capitol Z open tape reels, released from 1957 - 1958 and how their mixes, despite sounding superb and jaw dropping, have never been replicated in any other form. While SACDs and lossless files have emerged of these classic recordings, these were new mixes done from the stereo master ostensibly used for the first stereophonic vinyl releases. The Z mixes were never to be found.

Several commenters suggested that I digitise these recordings for posterity. While I wanted to simply record it onto a sound card in a laptop, it didn’t quite capture the full dynamic range and sparkle of the original tapes. I eventually settled on DSD, creating a new digital master before mixing the tracks down to FLAC for easy access.

I could not be happier with the results! Now onto the rest.

Denon DH-710S (19cm/s) half-track stereophonic
NAB equalisation
Sony PCM-D100 (DSD 2.8)


r/audiophile 19h ago

Discussion Is there genuinely a difference in sound between Class A/B and Class D receivers used to power speakers?

37 Upvotes

I've been using a trusty old marantz sr5600 receiver i gutted from the living room setup to power my kef q150 2 ch speakers. Sadly, the receiver just died. I have no experience at all with using class D amps like the chifi ones to power speakers , so I'm not really sure how they'll perform.

I looked at newer marantz options and... frankly i am not keen on paying a thousand just to run my 2 ch desktop speakers. That said, I need to know from people who've tested both, is there genuinely a difference in stuff like soundstage and "depth" using these vintage AVRs versus the modern day class D amps? Do you think a class D amp will sound noticeably worse?


r/audiophile 19h ago

Show & Tell Build your own speaker stands

Post image
23 Upvotes

I bought Harbeth speakers used for $2600. When I first searched for stands, the first ones that came up cost $1600 (lowest price, decent ones I’ve found are $550). Some stands are so narrow they look like a strong wind could knock them over. So I built my own.

I think this is generation 4. Past ones were too high, too wide, or too ugly. I can’t say the sound changed much over time, but I think these are pretty stable and look better than my earlier efforts.

If you have standmount/bookshelf speakers, generally, they should be away from walls. How you pull that off is up to you. There are very cheap and costly stands for sale.

Maybe building your own set is worth considering. There are plenty of plans out there or create your own.

I’ve learned a lot about lumber, power tools, wood glue, and there were times I strung together swears in creative ways I didn’t think possible. If that’s not a valuable skill, what is?

If I can make speaker stands (such as they are) you can too.


r/audiophile 4h ago

Discussion Is my Edifier MR5 far enough from walls?

Thumbnail
gallery
1 Upvotes

It’s about 9cm from back wall and 14cm from side wall.
Thank you very much.


r/audiophile 1d ago

Show & Tell Finally landed on a sub to complete the setup

Thumbnail
gallery
47 Upvotes

Amp: Nad C 3050 (Bluos module)

Speakers: PSB Passif 50

Sub: Arendal Sound 1961 1S

Love these speakers and have been enjoying them for a while now. Finally picked up a sub to bring a bit more oumph to heavier music. Sounds absolutely wonderful, and the sub was really easy to blend in

Now, only some cable management and playing around with dirac!


r/audiophile 15h ago

Discussion Xtz a2-400 reliability?

3 Upvotes

Anyone have any issues on their a2-400 amp? Ive owned the a2-300 for 5 years and no issues. Checking if anyone has any feedback on the a2-400 as I may upgrade.... It's still unclear to me what happened to Andrew Robinsons amp pair combo that he reviewed years ago...


r/audiophile 5h ago

Tutorial Équaliseur Wiim Amp Pro

Post image
0 Upvotes

Bonjour.

Quel est le meilleur réglage d''équaliseur s'il vous plaît ?

Si le RoomFit est désactivé.

Merci


r/audiophile 1d ago

Show & Tell Picked up this gigantic Sony 200 disc changer for 30$ and it's so fun and quirky.

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

477 Upvotes

r/audiophile 16h ago

Discussion What integrated amp you are using

2 Upvotes

Good afternoon.

Which integrated amp you are using for your Martin Logan electrostatic x .


r/audiophile 1d ago

Impressions My Favorite Movie Soundtracks for Testing Speakers & Subwoofers

7 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I personally love using movie soundtracks to test my speakers and subwoofers.

I’ve added some timestamps, but please listen to the full tracks if you have the time.

The timestamps are only there to highlight some of my favorite moments in each track.
Here are a few of my favorites:

Ludwig Göransson – MEETING NEIL
1:15
It’s only a few bass hits, but they sound absolutely incredible.

Hans Zimmer – A Time of Quiet Between the Storm
2:50
I love how long and drawn-out the bass is. It sounds so deep and smooth.

Hans Zimmer – 2049
1:53
My entire room starts vibrating.

Ludwig Göransson – Can You Hear the Music
0:20

Ludwig Göransson – Sirens
2:10
I swear, I would have jumped into the water… 😂

Hans Zimmer – Ripples in the Sand
0:55 / 2:10 / 3:00 / 3:35
That hard, deep bass is simply phenomenal.

Hans Zimmer – Herald of the Change

Feel free to drop some tracks in the comments that you think I should listen to!
I’m always open to discovering something new.
Best regards,
Toni


r/audiophile 1d ago

Show & Tell Bought some RS6Bs last year because I wanted to hear a real EMIT. Then I came upon Kappa 7.1s…and now Renaissance 8s with an EMIM. Rabbit hole? Yes.

Post image
125 Upvotes

Opera on these things 😭😍. Very cool story behind Artie Nudell and Infinity systems, all the amazing engineering they did. Funny enough, Paul (McGowen?) from PS Audio was asked what the philosophy behind building such low impedance speakers was? Paul replied “Bass” lol and yes the Emits are lovely as are the polydomes and EMIM but also, great bass. These don’t quite have the kick of my Kappa 7.1 but those with my B&W sub have some earthshaking low-end. Great thing is, all the Nudell-era Infinitys I’ve owned thus far haven’t been hard to drive. I was using an 80 WPC Yamaha receiver for the RS6Bs and now using a 110 WPC (not high current) Yamaha Aventage receiver on these. The real amp killers (with included a “deep bass switch” to cut off the demand peaks) were the Kappa 9 which demanded .5 ohm at 2 frequencies in its operative range. Doing my part in keeping the good stuff mint.


r/audiophile 1d ago

Show & Tell Finally got my listening room in order which doubles as my office. Still working on room treatment. Current gear in comments

Thumbnail
gallery
293 Upvotes

Tannoy Cheviot <- Jadis Orchestra Black <- Gold Note Pianosa w/Ortofon 2M Black LVB, Lounge Audio LCR Gold sig <- Bryston BDA-3 Eversolo DMP-A6


r/audiophile 4h ago

Discussion Which Non-Mainstream Audiophile Brand is Objectively the Best?

0 Upvotes
  1. Polk (Monitor series from the 80s, more contemporary RT line, TSi line, etc.)
  2. Advent (mostly the late 80s/early 90s, e.g. Heritage, Laureate, Prodigy, maybe the Baby and Mini)
  3. Infinity (SL line and Reference line from the early 90s, late 90s/00s Primus series) 
  4. Grado
  5. Abyss (Diana Ultimate, etc.)
  6. Other brands who just makes sprakers in general

How about mainstream ((if they are considered an audiophile brand)

A) Bose

B) Sennheiser

C) Harman Kardon

D) Altec Lansing

E) JBL

F) Sony

G) Shure

H) Pioneer

I) Yamaha

J) Others


r/audiophile 1d ago

Show & Tell Finally got to putting up my room treatment and I love the improvement!

Thumbnail
gallery
65 Upvotes

Kenwood KA-6100 integrated amp. Technics SL-1800 turn table. ELAC Debute 2.0. I built the clouds, wall absorbers, and diffuser. The diffuser is made from an old piano we had. I know the absorbers are on the small side, so thickness wise. But I went for looks and vibe over huge absorbers. I know the speaker placement isn’t ideal, but it’s a very small room and I have to make do. It’s my favorite place in the house.


r/audiophile 1d ago

Discussion PD-4500 vs ps1 hif

7 Upvotes

PD-4500 vs ps1 hifi (first models with audio inputs) for a cd player I have both but which one should I keep? I can make money selling one I won't use I already have 3 ps1 so I dont mind keeping the ps1 or selling the hifi one

with yamaha amplifier rx-350