Stereo Setup for Metal / Rock Music

Mayank Shah

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Listen to 80% heavy metal/rock (English & Indian) and 20% to everything else. Setup will be in the living room (only space with official access). The living space is approx 23 x 16 x 11 (height), the listening area would be approx 15 x 15 (upper side) as the rest is taken up by dining space and balcony.

Currently, I have the NAD 356 driving Polk Audio Rti A7 and its time to gift them to my "budding baby audiophile" nephew. Can't wait to see the joy in his eyes.

Planning to get some basic living room renovation done in the near future, so prefer to have the new setup beforehand for measurements, wiring, placement etc., and possibly some minimalist room treatment if required. Not that I felt any need for that now as both FS have plenty of breathing space and I am very happy with the SQ. So I won't be losing any sleep over room acoustics. Of course, some treatment could help, but I am fine with that.

All your suggestions will certainly help in filtering all the crazy ideas running in my mind now. A rack setup (preferred) with a Pre out option for a sub is necessary. Not an exorbitant or a ridiculous budget but a controlled one with due consideration for the deserving gear. Then again, the pathetic situation of ridiculous prices and hard choices in India can never be emphasised enough. Given my regular and long travels, time spent listening at home, I do not see any reason to upgrade after this, (I can see all the smiles and the shake of the heads) hence looking for something which will be enjoyable for a long time.

Current inclinations and thoughts not in any particular order, preference or combination are:-

Emotiva XSP-1 (Preamp)
Emotiva XPA 5 Gen 3 (5ch power amp)
Audiolab 8200 CDQ (CD player + Ess Sabre DAC+ Pre)
Audiolab M-PWR (2ch power amp, power, versatility?)
Roksan Kandy K3 amp (Integrated, pre-out)
Anthem PVA-5 (5ch power amp)
Rotel RB - 1582 MkII (Integrated, No pre-out! overkill?)
Rotel A14 (Integrated, DAC, Pre-out, Bluetooth, Phono MM, LAN port?)
Emotiva BasX A - 700 (7 ch Power amp - 110W x 8 Ohms x 2ch driven)
Cambridge Audio Azur 851W ( XD 2 ch Power amp bridgeable, overkill?)
Cambridge Audio Azur 851A ( Integrated, Pre-out)
Cambridge Audio CXA80 (Dual mono 2ch amp, DAC, pre-out)
Marantz MM 7025 (2 ch Power amp, no 4 Ohms spec)
Marantz PM 8006 (Integrated, Pre-out, 4 ohms)
Arcam P429 (4ch amp, Class G, individual channel trim, bridgeable, overkill?)
Primare I32 NOS (Integrated, 4 Ohms, pricey)


Monitor Audio Bronze 6 FS (8 ohms - 90 dB)
Dynaudio Emit 30 FS (4 Ohms - 86 dB)
Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-800F (8 Ohms - 98 dB)
Polk Audio Rti A9 (8 Ohms - 90 dB)
Taga Harmony Platinum F-120 FS (6 Ohms - 93 dB, V.2 or V.3 ?)
Emotiva Airmotiv T2 FS (4 Ohms - 91dB)
Dali Zensor 7 (6 Ohms - 90 dB)
Wharfdale Reva 4 (8 Ohms - 88 dB)

The above speaker list is seemingly short and there could be many many more suitable FS/BS, but these are the ones I am reasonably familiar with most, except the Dynaudios which I understand are finicky about the amp.

I love the Dali's as I have them rigged up in a 5.1 setup driven by a Yamaha AVR in the bedroom.

Rti A7 may not be the connoisseur's choice, but it has raw power and chest thumping slam so well suited for metal/rock and most other genres. Hence Rti A9 with a more musical amp should fill a very large room with beautiful sonic ease.

Taga Harmony FS look very promising, difficult to audition but the build, looks and price cannot be ignored.

Airmotiv T2 in an all Emotiva setup should be good, need to feel of their signature. Fellow FM dr.vinayaka, who has the T1 gave me very positive assurance already.

I had heard the CA and monitor audio B6 briefly a few years back and had liked it very much.

An all Emotiva setup is hard to beat for the quality and price.

4 BS in 4 corners + 1 sub will sound and look classy and unobtrusive. Putting the cost of 4 stands into a better FS has to be considered.

2 Audiolab monoblocks with the 3 in 1 CDQ + a TT is a minimalist setup with raw power and sleek looks.

Roksan amp with Klipsch is sweet. Need to check it out more. Easy to audition in Chennai. (Cinebels Chennai refused Roksan amp home demo). If they would have sounded better different than my NAD (due respect), then I probably wouldn't be posting this and I simply refuse to take my Rti A7 there.

Cambridge Audio with MA Bronze 6 is a time tested match.

Havent heard the Wharfdales yet.

I will not need many channels as of now but gives me some flexibility to add an extra pair of speakers later (contradictory to what I said earlier, I know) and simply because we love to have all the extra headroom we can get. I do play real loud occasionally because I love it and it pisses the neighbours off.

I know that almost all the gear mentioned would be overkill for my space, but want to get the maximum power and options I can have the courage to invest today, because who knows about tomorrow.

A lot of other factors yet to be considered are all your inputs, inter-compatibility specs wise, availability for audition and price. Appreciate your time in taking a look at this rant. Eagerly looking forward to all your inputs. Thanks in advance.
 
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Just stumbled upon this
NHT C4 FS (6 Ohms 86 dB)
 
Presently............PC with Foobar / JRiver 24 going to Schiit Modi Multi-Bit DAC.
 
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Would you want to try a better DAC and see if that is worth it?
The other thing in my experience is that it is better to upgrade one component at at time. I would say upgrade your amp or your speaker or your DAC and let your nephew cool his heels for a bit! Personally I would keep the NAD, sell your speakers and buy the small KEF LS50. You will get a very clean and dynamic sounding set up. They are great all round speakers and have a small footprint.
 
Star Trek motto of "To Infinity and beyond" holds true for us too with respect to AV gear. If I get to keep my gear, then I will keep the NAD. Space is not an issue so not looking for a small footprint. Will factor in your feedback. Thanks.
 
I'm still telling u @Mayank Shah the ahuja speaker's with those big grills and white paint will be best suited for you and your rock genre! U can listen to Metallica all day long! Buy a matching 2000watts pmpo amp with it from same brand.

Stay clear of amps like creek and speakers from tannoy ;)
 
I'm still telling u @Mayank Shah the ahuja speaker's with those big grills and white paint will be best suited for you and your rock genre! U can listen to Metallica all day long! Buy a matching 2000watts pmpo amp with it from same brand.

Stay clear of amps like creek and speakers from tannoy ;)
Ya sure, it's a shame that for the ridiculous cost of those, you can't even play Metallica. Surely staying away from those tin cans.
 
Listen to 80% heavy metal/rock (English & Indian) and 20% to everything else. Setup will be in the living room (only space with official access). The living space is approx 23 x 16 x 11 (height), the listening area would be approx 15 x 15 (upper side) as the rest is taken up by dining space and balcony.

This is a large room and you are bound to have some room resonance due to room dimension, especially below 80Hz, which are practically not possible to address with acoustic panels..

One possible solution is adding subs (or) through EQ.. You are anyways planning to add sub (or) subs .. The longest dimension of you room will need atleast 2 subs, to reduce the room resonance below 80Hz.. Above that range, panels would help you to an extent..

In that regard, i would suggest an AVR over stereo amplifier, which have pre-out for adding subs and a crossover to route the low freq to subs.. It also has inbuilt EQ to tame some room issues..

Choose any 2 subs, preferably identical and pair of BS from a brand that you like and make it 2.2 set-up..
 
This is a large room and you are bound to have some room resonance due to room dimension, especially below 80Hz, which are practically not possible to address with acoustic panels..

One possible solution is adding subs (or) through EQ.. You are anyways planning to add sub (or) subs .. The longest dimension of you room will need atleast 2 subs, to reduce the room resonance below 80Hz.. Above that range, panels would help you to an extent..

In that regard, i would suggest an AVR over stereo amplifier, which have pre-out for adding subs and a crossover to route the low freq to subs.. It also has inbuilt EQ to tame some room issues..

Choose any 2 subs, preferably identical and pair of BS from a brand that you like and make it 2.2 set-up..
Hello elangos, point very well noted. Thanks.
 
For Rock/Metallica genre, Larger Room with Focused listening area, Previous speakers being Polk RTI A7, who's wants to Rock the neighborhood...

My choice will be Klipsch Rp800F with Roksan K3 or CA Amplifier. Add subwoofer based on your requirements later, because I felt the Klipsch have a very good low end performance.. The Newer Klipsch RP Series has some modifications to its horn tweeters so it doesn't sound as harsh as the previous models (at least I didn't find them very bright) . Higher end monitor audio speakers are way better than bronze. Consider auditioning Paradigm Monitor 6000f and Fyne 502 as they're quite versatile speakers and can handle most genres with pretty ease.
 
You may not need very "refined" or nuanced or detailed speakers because the genre of your choice does not need those characteristics. That's not to say that refined, and detailed speakers will not work well - far from it.
You need loud. You need a sub (or two) even though most tracks in the genre do not have looows but even then subs do make a big difference. There is no room small enough to which a sub will not make a difference.

Back in the day, when I still had them, I used to use a pair of tiny NHT SuperZero's crossed over to a 12" Infinity sub at 80-100 Hz I think - they rocked the house beautifully doing rock and metal! And even that would be considered a bit of an understatement by my buddies who used to hang with me to listen.

I'd go with an all Emotiva rig.
 
Does one only have to listen to 'rock' very loud. Not all the time in my view. After all does one listen to to Beethoven at concert levels in the home, surely not too frequently. I think the genre is being uncharitably dissed in some of the earlier posts, even though in jest. I listen to old rock late into the night (Hendrix, Clapton, Grateful Dead, Doors) sometimes and it is lovely even when not so loud. In my view the OP will benefit with a well balanced system on the leaner side rather than a boom-box, which sad to say is what some of the lower end floor standing speakers unfortunately are. I would advocate a high power amp (like tha NAD he has) with quality stand mounts as the way to go (Proac Tablettes for example, are terrific with rock). They will sound open and dynamic in his medium-largish room, with decent imaging if he can leave space around them, on proper stands. Bigger speakers are harder to manage in the room and best approached at a higher level of system development; IMHO of course!
 
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