For Better Soundstage Upgrade Speakers or go for stereo amp?

[ps_sonic]

Hi everybody,
I have a budget of 50K for upgrades and I want to stick to 2 channel for both music & movies.I am looking for a balanced speaker since I will be using it for both movies & music. My existing setup is Polk TSI300 paired with Denon 1907(using as preamp)& Rotel RB985 MKII 5 Channel power amp. My existing speakers sound excellent only thing is after few minutes I feel ear fatigue. So the things I am looking forward in my new speakers are more detail, better soundstage & less fatigue. Now for this purpose should I upgrade my speakers or go for a stereo amplifier. Is there a day & night difference hearing in stereo amplifier & avr in stereo mode? Other than the equalizer setting are there any additional benefits in stereo amplifier. I usually set my tone control off since I don't like changing the originality of the music. Experts plz share your views. I have zereod in on 3 models going to auditions all these by this weekend, Any additional models plz suggest.

1. Q acoustics 2050i(Slightly overbudget but will check of its worth)66k
2. Dali Zensor 5 50K
3. Tannoy V4i 48K

 

[andis]

I'll suggest go for both good stereo amp and good bookshelf speaker, have an audition and decide. I personally feel Dali zensor 3 would better suit to any amp.
regards,
andis

 

[navinmra]

If you are experiencing ear fatigue, have you experimented with speaker positioning and maybe look at any harsh reflections in the room? You may also be cranking the speakers to hear more detail whereas the culprit may be ambient noise. Try and take your speakers to the place you are auditioning this weekend to see if the speakers are the one that need the upgrade.
I have plugged in my friends wharfadales in my own setup and see that they are sonically very different from my polks.

 

[az2325]

hi, i have used denon 1911 with bose and energy. With energy over long hours i have felt fatigue but not with bose. I think polk may be the one causing trouble here. As another fm suggested, try out various speaker positions before you put your money in new spkrs. They are many satisfied denon+dali users here in forum.
Regards,
Antony

 

[ps_sonic]

Can anybody share experiences regarding avr stereo mode vs stereo receiver? And also share your thoughts on above selected FS speakers.

 

[elangoas]

Hi everybody,
I have a budget of 50K for upgrades and I want to stick to 2 channel for both music & movies.I am looking for a balanced speaker since I will be using it for both movies & music. My existing setup is Polk TSI300 paired with Denon 1907(using as preamp)& Rotel RB985 MKII 5 Channel power amp. My existing speakers sound excellent only thing is after few minutes I feel ear fatigue. So the things I am looking forward in my new speakers are more detail, better soundstage & less fatigue. Now for this purpose should I upgrade my speakers or go for a stereo amplifier. Is there a day & night difference hearing in stereo amplifier & avr in stereo mode? Other than the equalizer setting are there any additional benefits in stereo amplifier. I usually set my tone control off since I don't like changing the originality of the music. Experts plz share your views. I have zereod in on 3 models going to auditions all these by this weekend, Any additional models plz suggest.

1. Q acoustics 2050i(Slightly overbudget but will check of its worth)66k
2. Dali Zensor 5 50K
3. Tannoy V4i 48K

Anyday stereo amplifier/ receiver is better than AVR for stereo.... I say this from my own experience..... I have used NAD C326 & Onkyo AVR with the same speakers & Source....

I saw in your other thread that you have more of digital files (FLac, Wav, MP3)..... You may consider a stereo network receiver (or) a standalone stereo amplifier + Network music player since you have digital files...

Audition all three of them & share your feedback..

 

[IndianEars]

I would tend to agree with navinmra.

Repositioning your speakers can sometimes do Bigger Wonders than new speakers.

from what you say, my 1st recommendation would be to simple Angle out the speakers .... so that they no longer directly blast your ears in the listening position.

Gradually angle them out .... extreme would be where they directly face the wall behind you, and are shooting parallel to the side walls.

Select a 'toe-out' which gives you less listener fatigue, and a reasonable amount of treble. Too much treble generally causes serious listener fatigue.

An added advantage of toe-out is a wider sound stage.

For toe out you do NOT need to change the location of the speakers in your room. So that should not cause any concern to others in the family !

You are on the correct path when you say that you do not use tone controls for treble boost.

We often associate more treble with greater detail and resolution. this is simply not true. More treble often yields listner fatigue.

More detail and resolution are products of a better system.

Personally, I would Not recommend a spend on your system currently. Simply change yr toe-out, to get the best results.

Rather than make several small and frequent upgrades ( loosing substantial money on each upgrade) it is better to optimise your setup, and make a substantial upgrade when you are clear in your mind what you want to achieve in your system upgrade, AND when you are convinced that the new hardware you plan to purchase will deliver those results.

 

[ps_sonic]

Positioning of my speakers

 

[ps_sonic]

Sorry for low resolution image, The listening area to the speakers is 8 feet. As you can see I have towed in the speakers & have a big wall behind seating area, Today will try out the tow out method as you guys said and will give feedback.The distance between two speakers are 6 feet. More suggestions on speaker positioning are welcome.Would be very happy if my problem gets fixed that would save me a lot of money.

 

[ps_sonic]

Better Image of my room

 

[IndianEars]

Thanks for that layout... Nice !

With full Toe-Out... yr speakers should face the Round Table Lamps ( ? ) or are they Round Tables?

Looking forward to your feedback.....

 

[ps_sonic]

Thank You Indianears I feel my problem has sorted out with the toe out method. Surprising to see how A small change in the positioning of speakers dramatically changes the entire soundstage .Atleast this will keep me occupied and I can postpone my upgrades.

 

[navinmra]

Nice to know that ps_sonic. I have tried extreme toe-in to solve the harshness of the polks. In this case the axial lines will intersect in front of you instead of behind you. In your case it may point to the center table.

What happened in my case is that the secondary reflections from the sidewalls also decreased (the polks have terrible off axis performance). It has reduced muddiness. The phantom image in the center is stronger.

Lastly, try to move the speakers away from the rear walls as much as you wife will tolerate them intruding into the room. The mid ranges should get clearer as well. Let me know how your results sound

Cheers

 

[navinmra]

Here's how my extreme toe in setup looks. Cheers

 

[navinmra]

Sorry here goes the setup pic. You can see the outer side face of the speakers from the listening position that tells the extent of toe-in
Regards
Navin

 

[IndianEars]

A significant result of extreme toe in ( where the speakers' beam intersects Before the Listener is

1. The Sound stage is less Specific / pin Point acurate, as would be if the speakers were firing directly to yr ears

2. There is a much larger Listening Position / Sweet spot. More than one listener can be accommodated. Such a setup is ideal for multi person demos, such as at an audio show ....


ps_sonic I am Really delighted to know that you have found speaker pointing a worthwhile improvement.

Dont feel inhibited to toe out your speakers even to the extent where there is no toe in. My speakers are permanently positioned that way, even though they are not particularly Hot / Aggressive in their HF.