New living space - new listening space

[Claus]

Or how I went from audiophile as a priority to music listening and (God forbid) home design as a priority... (i know, just throw me off the bus)

As some of you know I have had a change of listening room over the past year, going from a large (by Irish standards) open plan living room/dining room, to a smaller living room/TV room. The compromise had to be made as the space is used by the whole family and big speakers and lots of gear is not practical (or desirable by some in the household). I have to say that I had a full surround system running at the same time as a stereo system which meant 7 speakers in the room not counting the sub - so not exactly minimalist scandi design here ...

As a consequence I let go of my end destination amp (Jadis sold to Tony👍😉) and returning to an interim (my original for years) system consisting of pre (Ayre (for sale)) power (Cary solid state MB500 (also for sale)) mono block amps driving my Focal 1028Be speakers.

The idea was to have a look and a listen at the Munich show in order to shortlist some options for an integrated, design friendly(😜) TV/Hifi system that would be easy to use when family watch TV, but also high end enough to satisfy when listening to music. Alas, Covid-19 came in the way and instead of writing on the forum about the audio delights of the Munich show, I am writing from my couch in Bray.

As discussed elsewhere I was interested in the Hegel integrated and in Hudo's Nord Hypex based power amps. I have now had the chance to test both options and I was hugely impressed with the Nord power amp. I thought it matched my Cary 500W monos and had perhaps a slightly drier presentation but no hint of class D harshness and a lovely natural mid range with great bass grip. The Hegel 390 was for the high price a bit underwhelming. Hudo came out to listen and we both agreed that it was fairly disappointing in all regards, especially considering the price and the hype it received.

Hudo has the same speakers as me and is therefore in a great position to compare and contrast. He put me on to something by articulating what I had perhaps not been able to put words on myself... The upper mid range in my room is a bit overpowering... I had noticed this when listening in his room how (obviously) different the same speakers can sound in different surroundings. Conclusion: Now I started looking at changing the speakers!

After many weeks of research I have ordered active wireless DSP speakers from Buchardt Audio in Denmark!

https://www.buchardtaudio.com/products/ ... ck-bundle

Delivery in June and hopefully they will live up to the expectations. If not they can be returned for a €25 flat fee....

[Fran]

Thats a big change alright!!


Curious - did you consider ATC at all when you were looking at active speakers?

[Diapason]

Intriguing Claus! I'll be watching with interest.

We got a skip and tidied the playroom (ex man-cave) today, and I was reminded once again what a horrible sonic space that was. "Everything sounds weird in here", was the comment made, so basically I'm never putting a system back in there. Which is my long-winded way of saying that if and when I get back to serious stuff I'll have similar constraints. I'm very tempted by active speakers myself.

[tony]

Pester power landed me the Jadis, Please thank them profusely for me Claus hugely appreciated! Will post all my positive thoughts on the Jadis at some point.

I think with children we all go through that period. You entered it much higher up the HiFi ladder than I did so I recognise a bit like Simon it is hard to fall off that mountain. But I think it is the sensible thing to do and hopefully these system speakers are exactly what you want/need for this period of time. The over the top stuff can always be revisited when you are paying for their college tuition or year breaks away in Australia finding themselves!

I

[tony]

Intriguing Claus! I'll be watching with interest.

We got a skip and tidied the playroom (ex man-cave) today, and I was reminded once again what a horrible sonic space that was. "Everything sounds weird in here", was the comment made, so basically I'm never putting a system back in there. Which is my long-winded way of saying that if and when I get back to serious stuff I'll have similar constraints. I'm very tempted by active speakers myself.

Maybe you deserve a dedicated Seomra in the garden Simon? Acoustically perfect for music

[hudo]

Omg can't wait to hear Buchardts, all reviewers had so much praise for them but never had a chance to hear them personally! For 25hz at -1.5db, you need to have some active crossover and DSP:)
Specially think DSP is a great choice when you don't have an ideal listening room (as most of us don't), where big Focals were just, well too big. Tried once Dirac Live DSP when it was available as sounds driver for Windows, purchased UMIK-1 mic, measured room with Dirac, and was pleasantly surprised with bass/mid improvements! I would probably use it today if Dirac didn't discontinue PC version.

Interestingly that Fran mentioned ATC, I went once to see/hear them at Silk Hifi shop in city center, but found nothing, so not sure are those just offices there or I have to call to arrange listening session? Wonder if they could be alternative for my Focal 1028be, just for sake of change ...

[Diapason]

Are these along the same lines as the Kii Three? I was fascinated by those for a while...

[Diapason]

Maybe you deserve a dedicated Seomra in the garden Simon? Acoustically perfect for music

No space even for that.

Maybe the upcoming Covid recession will knock house prices down and I'll be able to move!

[DaveF]

Nice write up Claus. I feel your pain too! The system I have now is a far cry from some of the gear I've had in the past but truthfully I'm actually enjoying what I have and I've gone back into exploring the music. While headphones even as good as Stax dont give you the soundstage and impact that a speaker setup will give, one advantage is that you don't have to worry about room interactions which can make or break a speaker setup. You can pour more funds into the sources and amps. Late night listening isn't a problem either.
Anyway what I'm getting at is that if the new speakers (or any speakers) don't work out in your room as well as you hope it might be worth trying out some highend headphones. Fingers crossed for the new speakers.

[Georgi]

Nice write up.
That make me curious about these Nord Hypex amps, is there anywhere they can be heard?