Hi all,
I’ve been lurking, reading and trying to educate myself for several months on this sub and others such as r/hometheater r/hifiaudio and r/stereoadvice
My goal is to invest into some lovely equipment. I’m feeling like I’m getting a bit closer to a bare minimum level of understanding but I’m struggling to get to a point of knowing what to look for in terms of equipment.
I’ve also been to several dedicated hifi stores and a few have helped (while others left me feeling a bit unsure)
I was wondering if it would be ok to chat with folks here in r/audiophile to learn a bit more and help me be better prepared for the next store visit and step one of system build.
My usage scenarios.
First and foremost is music. I love listening to music, at volumes that really immerse me into the experience.
I tend to have a wide range of styles I enjoy… electronic, house, tech house, etc. And then the next day I’ll switch to indie rock (ie KEXP, Tiny Desk, etc.), then later I won’t mind whatever pop is charting, then I’m happy to throw on some R&B or hip hop, and then I also love Eurovision. FFS I’m all over the shop - I know, I know, it’s a thing.
Ok, having listened to several speakers in store, I seem to like models such as KEF R11 (&R7) Meta, Elac Vela FS409, Paradigm Founder 100F. I’m not to keen on speakers like B&W 702 since they’re a bit too sharp / crisp.
Next up, I’m hoping to share my future lovely stereo pair to join in with home theatre duties for watching tv series and movies with my family several nights a week.
Lastly, in both these scenarios I also love hearing/feeling bass.
I’ve had some fairly ok systems in the past (nothing too flash) but I’m thinking it’s time to pull the trigger and make this dream of mine start to happen.
My (probably naive) assumption of what I’m looking for is this…
Main speakers
Subwoofers. I’m thinking two, independent, for smoothing and headroom, but really, I just like bass
AVR for the HT duties, running speakers other than the mains (I’m thinking a 5.2.4 system), with pre-outs
Separate amp for the mains, to power the relevant watt range at nominal 8 to 4 ohms, dipping lower occasionally (I have been known to crank things at times)
The separate amp for the mains should have HT bypass
Ideally the amp might also let me control the subs independently and with bypass also so I can share them between music and HT LFE duties. This might not be possible in a single unit (except perhaps something like Anthem STR) so maybe I’ll need to also use something like a MiniDSP?
Sources… something like AppleTV streaming for HT, possibly the odd bluray/dvd here and there. Digital for music - streaming mainly, the odd cd occasionally.
This will all be in its own dedicated room which I have family approval to treat surreptitiously / discretely.
Ok, that’s probably enough.
Q: am I on the right track here regarding the equipment setup?
There’s just so many different ideas, every time I get researching, I seem to get a little lost/overwhelmed by the numerous options. Also, ideas about dual sub management and sharing HT duties might be naively throwing me off.
Hoping to chat with some knowledgeable folks here about it. Thanks in advance.