Journey into HiFi - Tumbling down the rabbit hole.

[DB1989]

Other aspect being volume on source + gain on the amplifier, not sure how to find the sweet spot without trial and error

I'm not entirely sure i catch your drift. Did you mean level matching the gain on the fronts with that of the surrounds?

 

[fLUX]

I'm not entirely sure i catch your drift. Did you mean level matching the gain on the fronts with that of the surrounds?

Nope, what i meant is that the bluesound node 2i/AVR which is acting as the preamp has its own volume control and the power amplifier has its own volume control via the gain knobs. I do not know if there is a recommended combination or its basically trial & error to see what works best for you (for ex. keep the source volume at the extreme and then increase the gain level to obtain desired SPL or similarly other combinations)

 

[DB1989]

Nope, what i meant is that the bluesound node 2i/AVR which is acting as the preamp has its own volume control and the power amplifier has its own volume control via the gain knobs. I do not know if there is a recommended combination or its basically trial & error to see what works best for you (for ex. keep the source volume at the extreme and then increase the gain level to obtain desired SPL or similarly other combinations)

Hmmm. I never thought that could affect sound quality. I have something similar going on to that of your setup it seems. When not deployed for HT duties, my XLS 1502 is usually paired with a Chord Mojo acting as a preamp. I usually set the output to line level (3V) and make the adjustments through the gains on the Crown which is not ideal. Then again, not being able to adjust the volume from a distance through a remote control or app is quite the bummer with this combo. Will try paying closer attention to see whether i can detect a difference in SQ by modulating the gains on the Crown and the volume on the Mojo.

 

[Prodigy]

Very nice setup @fLUX
Congratulations. I have listened to the Aria’s and they are really good.
I think like @avtar2008 said, A good mono block should shine and bring out all that the Focal’s have in offer.

I have been using the Saptak Monoblock from IndiqAudio and I am amazed with the way my Floor Standers sound. I mean I don’t have a dedicated Dac or a Pre yet and I have just connected my IPad to the PA directly and in pure direct mode it’s sounding very detailed.

Next in the pipeline is to add a Pre and waiting for the mule service from States .

Since you are in Bangalore as well, give it a try !
Congrats again! The Focal’s look beautiful.

 

[fLUX]

Very nice setup @fLUX
Congratulations. I have listened to the Aria’s and they are really good.
I think like @avtar2008 said, A good mono block should shine and bring out all that the Focal’s have in offer.

I have been using the Saptak Monoblock from IndiqAudio and I am amazed with the way my Floor Standers sound. I mean I don’t have a dedicated Dac or a Pre yet and I have just connected my IPad to the PA directly and in pure direct mode it’s sounding very detailed.

Next in the pipeline is to add a Pre and waiting for the mule service from States .

Since you are in Bangalore as well, give it a try !
Congrats again! The Focal’s look beautiful.

Thanks . Yes I spoke with Amit today morning the PA requirement , had a very nice conversation with him. Wanted to know if you had the opportunity to listen to any alternative PA's.

Congrats on your purchase too , just read your thread. I somehow missed it else would have loved to audition the Platinum Achal vs the XTZ Spirit 11 before taking the decision

 

[fLUX]

Hmmm. I never thought that could affect sound quality. I have something similar going on to that of your setup it seems. When not deployed for HT duties, my XLS 1502 is usually paired with a Chord Mojo acting as a preamp. I usually set the output to line level (3V) and make the adjustments through the gains on the Crown which is not ideal. Then again, not being able to adjust the volume from a distance through a remote control or app is quite the bummer with this combo. Will try paying closer attention to see whether i can detect a difference in SQ by modulating the gains on the Crown and the volume on the Mojo.

If you use a line out , it is a fixed volume already i guess with no scope to fiddle around which is usually the case with my DAP/Q5S. In my current scenario XLS2502 is a connected to normal analog out/pre out of Node2I/AVR with variable volume control

 

[anilpatel]

@fLUX sir, I have heard that Focal speakers are musical ones.

Please let us know how does it perform for Home Theater setup.
Please mention how do you fill the performance during watching Action Movies, Horror movies etc.

 

[DB1989]

If you use a line out , it is a fixed volume already i guess with no scope to fiddle around which is usually the case with my DAP/Q5S.

Interestingly enough, it does allow for the gain to be modulated even after switching to line level mode. I guess line level is a default preset gain.

In my current scenario XLS2502 is a connected to normal analog out/pre out of Node2I/AVR with variable volume control

Initially, that was how i’d setup the crown i.e. connected to the pre outs of my avr.

 

[fLUX]

Interestingly enough, it does allow for the gain to be modulated even after switching to line level mode. I guess line level is a default preset gain.
Initially, that was how i’d setup the crown i.e. connected to the pre outs of my avr.

Did you set it in lineout mode. Found the below online
“To set the output level to 3V ( line level ) for connection to a preamplifier press both volume buttons together when switching on the unit. Both volume balls will illuminate light blue. This mode is not remembered so when you switch off it will reset back to the previous volume stored for safety reasons.”

 

[Prodigy]

Thanks . Yes I spoke with Amit today morning the PA requirement , had a very nice conversation with him. Wanted to know if you had the opportunity to listen to any alternative PA's.

Cool! Indeed Amit is a great person filled with passion. My interaction with him was quite detailed and he has all the patience in the world to explain everything about his products. He even cared to answer the simplest of the questions I may have had.

Regarding, Did I have any opportunity to listen to any alternative PA? I'd say Yes and No.
Yes, Because I have always heard PA's hooked up to an AVR or a Pre.
No, Not seen any PA perform so well with a simple BT Receiver hooked up to stream music.

I wanted to buy an IA and FS but then post listening to the combo of PA and FS, I decided to go in for separates and of course, the PA sounded much better than some of the IA's with no bells and whistles (Simple Source Direct) + the price quoted for their dual mono 200W + 200W of 89K was great and there are not many good PA's at that price range & +1 for the SQ.

Congrats on your purchase too , just read your thread. I somehow missed it else would have loved to audition the Platinum Achal vs the XTZ Spirit 11 before taking the decision

Thank you and you have a fantastic set up too. Since you have been using various PA's in your set up, I am sure you will notice that difference. Try it out and let me know what you think about it.

Cheers!

Regards,
Som

 

[DB1989]

Did you set it in lineout mode. Found the below online
“To set the output level to 3V ( line level ) for connection to a preamplifier press both volume buttons together when switching on the unit. Both volume balls will illuminate light blue. This mode is not remembered so when you switch off it will reset back to the previous volume stored for safety reasons.”

Yes, thats how you activate line out. However, you can continue modulating the gain via the volume buttons even in line out mode.

 

[Prodigy]

Congratulations. That's one (rather 3) cracking setups!



How are you running the Crown with the 2600?

+1 for this. I was too wondering how you managed but then upon reading further clarified the doubt. For a moment I was happy that I could explore that option on Denon2600.

 

[fLUX]

+1 for this. I was too wondering how you managed but then upon reading further clarified the doubt. For a moment I was happy that I could explore that option on Denon2600.

Yeah I noticed the issue after a FM posted it , now there is no option to edit the post

If you intend to use it only for stereo listening the x2600h has Zone 2 Preouts which might work connected to the power amp directly.

 

[OM_2K19]

Awesome set-up....

 

[shinshya]

@Prodigy: Are you talking about PA alone costed you 89K or the combo(FS+PA)?

 

[irv]

Nice set up. Looks like you have a very AV friendly family there. For me, I have to bribe my wife almost the same amount of money that I spends on my new AV eqpt purchase. But live goes on.

Same here....
But can't afford at the same time

 

[avtar2008]

@Prodigy: Are you talking about PA alone costed you 89K or the combo(FS+PA)?

Cost of FS is 89k and 2ch PA is 89k. 4ch PA will cost 1.09L

 

[fLUX]

I was looking at a pre with HT bypass and had finalized on the zpre3 but was hesitant due to the fact of shelling out twice the cost of the US price for a preamp. Luckily got a good deal on Marantz PM8006 from a FM which fitted in well for the pre-capabilities , which to me made more sense than going for a ZPre3 at the moment. While I did miss the HT bypass feature , i listened to 15 minutes with AVR connected directly to the Power amp vs via the Pre and found it to sound equally good.

Also thanks to inputs from FM Prodigy and Amit from IndiQ I decided to pull the trigger on Indiq Saptak Monoblocks (2 ch).
The initial impressions have been nothing but outstanding from a music perspective, there is marked improvement in the weight of the mids, the soundstage has improved with each detail being easier to spot. The presentation is very musical (the Marantz Pre does bring in a little bit of warmth into the mix) with very tight & agile bass. The 3 level control on Marantz PM8006 (Bass, Mid & Treble) is also very effective incase i want to fine tune/color any aspect depending on the music i am listening to. Overall very satisfied with the purchase and have purchased a Taga 2-amp speaker switch , which I intend to use to switch the speakers alternatively to the power amp/PM8006.

 

[raghupb]

@fLUX
In the guest bedroom setup, consider a simple passive switcher to toggle between X4500H and PM8006.
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[fLUX]

@fLUX
In the guest bedroom setup, consider a simple passive switcher to toggle between X4500H and PM8006.
Cheers,
Raghu

Yup have ordered a Taga TVS-4 which has a 2 amp input - 4 speaker output.
Idea is to connect the X4500h(Surround) and PM8006/Saptak speaker inputs, outputs would be the Focal Aria 926 / XTZ Spirit 11 / 1 Disconnected speaker cable to plug and play any of the bookshelfs as fronts.