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Post by steelworker on Jul 30, 2012 18:42:10 GMT -5
Hello all.
I am currently enjoying music more then I used too and I would like to know if adding a dedicated cd player to my existing setup would make any difference ?
Here is a list of my equipment p.
Yamaha 1065 receiver
Upa 5 amp
Klipsch RB-81 mains
Dual SVS PB12NSD.
Sony ps3 that plays blu rays and cds.
I have several acoustic panels spaced out around my room at the first reflection points to help with the terrible echo in my basement.
I love my current setup for movies but it sounds almost hollow with music.
If I have read correctly Yamaha receivers (or at least mine) are not really designed with 2 channel in mind. So would adding a unit like the erc 2 and using its on board dac's help out a lot or is it more of a lost cause?
I have a budget of $500 total so its not enough to upgrade the receiver as well.
Any help would be appreciated.
Nathan
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Post by rclark on Jul 30, 2012 18:59:09 GMT -5
I would honestly put $500 towards room treatments first. I have both an Erc-2 and a Ps3 and you will get far more bang for buck treating your room. I would spend $300 on a Dayton Omnimic, learn how to really, REALLY set up your room using that tool, then spend the other $200 on do it yourself room treatments. I see you are a steel worker so handy with building stuff.
I see you have a few panels, but their placement can be improved by using the mic software, and you'd have money left over to build more, and also some cornet traps.
You'll get a million times more improvement going that route instead of trying to see a difference by buying a player. KLIPSCH RB's aren't the most most resolving speakers in the world either so it's unlikely you will notice much difference beyond the lack of fan noise.
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Jul 30, 2012 19:29:09 GMT -5
OK - say more...what is your basement like" Concrete floors w/o any carpet? "Horrible echo" sounds like concrete w/o any carpet to me.
Mark
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Post by steelworker on Jul 30, 2012 20:49:49 GMT -5
OK - say more...what is your basement like" Concrete floors w/o any carpet? "Horrible echo" sounds like concrete w/o any carpet to me. Mark Hay mark, The room is in the basement that has concrete floors with a thin foam pad and laminate flooring. Its all open but I do have a area rug in the middle of the listing room. The seven panel i have up did cut out on the echo a lot. |
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Post by roadrunner on Jul 30, 2012 21:51:16 GMT -5
Steelworker
I immediately had the same concerns that Rclark and Mark expressed. Can you post some photos or floor plan with a lot of details of your listening room in the basement. Dimensions, location of your gear and furniture and where you have placed the room treatments.
The ERC-2 would be a significant improvement over the PS3, but your room may have too many problems to obtain the type of improvements you are hoping for. If at all possible, document your long term goals are for your HT system/music system.
Once we have a better feel for what you a looking to accomplish we will be better able to provide meaningful advice to you.
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Post by garbulky on Jul 30, 2012 23:55:44 GMT -5
Hi I have an XDA-1 and a ps3 and was forced to use the analog out of the ps3 for way too long.
The XDA-1 uses the same DACs as the ERC-2 and is reasonably comparable. It can accept the digital output of the ps3 for CD's as well as the blu-ray output (xda-1 outputs a stereo signal).
You can use the ps3 with the xda-1 to get imrproved audio quality. I don't believe the ps3 gives bit perfect output for CD's. I've noticed a slight mid-range emphasis on it. I believe that is due to the software implementation of the ps3's playback software. However, all thedetails of the audio come through well. In blu-ray audio the 0.1 channel is not downmixed correctly. But that is somewhat minor. However if you have another cheap CD player that has a digital output it should be able to give bit perfect output.
The xda-1 can be had for very cheap for what it delivers. In comparison between the two, the xda-1's analog output is clearly superior to the ps3's audio quality. It's very noticeable. There's depth information, serious dynamic delivery, clear vocals that hover in the air, clear bass, MUCH better treble delivery etc. all of which the ps3 does a poor job of doing in comparison. As for your room, I believe large carpets should help a lot.
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Post by steelworker on Jul 31, 2012 12:23:48 GMT -5
Steelworker I immediately had the same concerns that Rclark and Mark expressed. Can you post some photos or floor plan with a lot of details of your listening room in the basement. Dimensions, location of your gear and furniture and where you have placed the room treatments. The ERC-2 would be a significant improvement over the PS3, but your room may have too many problems to obtain the type of improvements you are hoping for. If at all possible, document your long term goals are for your HT system/music system. Once we have a better feel for what you a looking to accomplish we will be better able to provide meaningful advice to you. Thanks Roadrunner,at this time I dont now how to upload pictures from my camera to my tablet so I'll give exact dimensions for now and hopefully I can figure out the camera thing soon  Basically 2/3 of my basement is my listing room, its closed on three sides but open on the right side (stairwell and door to the laundry/furnace room) The room itself is 16 wide and 25 feet deep, there is wainscoting halfway up the wall 3 1/2 feet high. There is seven panels all together, they are 2x4 feet oc 703 2inches thick. Two panels are behind the front channel speakers, there is one more panel on each side close to the corner and on the side wall there is two more panels. Basically two panels on the front wall, 3 panels on one side wall and two panels on the other side wall that is partiality open to the stairwell. I have 5x10 area rug in front of my entertainment stand. I would like to improve the quality of of music, for HT use im very happy. I almost forgot that I'm using a Auralex great gramma under one sub and I just ordered a second one for my other sub. I know without pictures its hard to imagine so ill try my best to post pictures tonight. |
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Post by steelworker on Jul 31, 2012 12:33:31 GMT -5
By the way I would like to thank everyone for there time and effort in the matter  |
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Post by steelworker on Aug 1, 2012 15:43:28 GMT -5
Well I think I'm going to start doing some research into bass traps and some other acoustical treatment.
I know the panels I have now made an improvement but I'm sure it can be improved.
Does anyone have an recommended reading material they could point out to me?
Much appreciated
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Post by rclark on Aug 1, 2012 15:53:24 GMT -5
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Post by steelworker on Aug 1, 2012 16:08:56 GMT -5
So without sounds really dumb is that omni mic an advanced mic like the Yamaha one? And what exactly does it do? |
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Pauly
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Post by Pauly on Aug 1, 2012 16:11:43 GMT -5
Here's some good reading material from the Decware site. There's a room treatment article about halfway down, but I suggest reading some of the other articles as well. www.decware.com/newsite/articles.html |
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Post by rclark on Aug 1, 2012 16:13:00 GMT -5
It's a high quality mic that includes all the software you need to measure your room (your system), and it's plug and play.
It will tell you everything that's going on in your room/system, and you can take your time and learn what all the graphs mean, there's tons of tuturials and message board posts on more technical forums than this one (Audiocircle, diyaudio.com are both far better than this one for real knowledge base, no offense fellas).
That right there is basically the key to unlocking the performance of your system.
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Post by garbulky on Aug 1, 2012 18:29:31 GMT -5
I think a simple low cost solution would be a rug or carpet.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2012 18:34:14 GMT -5
I think a simple low cost solution would be a rug or carpet. +1 I have a big area rug from Ikea. Very comfortable on the ears and feet  |
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Post by rclark on Aug 1, 2012 19:11:05 GMT -5
Lol, yeah you could just deerp your way through it. Most people do. I'd rather try to achieve as close to world class sound as I can. A rug will give you a slight improvement on a hard floor, but nothing to write home about. Take your hobby to the next level. It doesn't have to cost fortune. |
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Post by garbulky on Aug 1, 2012 19:23:46 GMT -5
Hey more power to you rclark. Someday if I have the motivation and cash I shall set up some sound absorbers to see how much better things can get.
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Post by rclark on Aug 1, 2012 19:35:17 GMT -5
I called around for prices on 8lb rockwool, fabric, etc, and I've found you could build 32 full sized 4'by2'by4" traps, including corner traps, in other words a fully treated room with traps to spare (for regular box type speakers, dipoles need less, more diffusion apparently) under $500. It doesn't have to cost a lot.
My setup won't require as many because I will have multiple subs (just bought the first one).
Right now I'm at the stage to where I need to start planning this, I almost have all the components for my system, waiting on a few pieces (ahem, Emotiva), but I will be there soon.
I've been in fully treated rooms and it's quite something.
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Post by Entity on Aug 1, 2012 19:42:12 GMT -5
Yep, it's way cheaper to do them yourself. Cheap investment for some great sound quality improvement.
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Post by rclark on Aug 1, 2012 19:44:46 GMT -5
BTW I want to clarify something, I absolutely love my ERC-2 vs my PS3 for cd's.
But I have really nice planar type speakers and a very resolving battery powered attenuator and amp, not Klipsch's in a concrete room. That's why I said what I said, he's likely to not hear any improvement. In fact, he probably needs a ton of basstraps.
Won't know for sure until he can measure it! Otherwise, we're all just talking for nothing.
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