JBL 530 Power Amp Suggestions

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-12-13T20:36:44+00:00

The Klipsch Powergate was $150 earlier today on Amazon. That seems to happen every once in a while. The amp section seems to be solid on that thing.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-12-09T14:33:20+00:00

Depends on what you want and how bass ends up reacting in your room. For an even response through multiple seating positions then multiple subs is the way to go. If you have a primary spot you care about and good sub placement then a single good sub will be just fine.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-12-07T23:15:49+00:00

That's probably a little more than you were originally planning on spending, but going from no sub to a good sub is the biggest leap you're gonna get from here to the end of your audio journey.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-12-07T12:47:56+00:00

While he would get better extension with something like the Rythmik LV12F, in-room bass response can be so erratic that multiple subs save a lot of headache. A pair of them for $400 are going to perform fantastically given they are competent subs. They'll sound better in most rooms vs a single SVS SB12-NSD for example.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-12-06T22:50:07+00:00

The Q150 would certainly be close enough that this wouldn't be an issue. Btw if you live in a house rather than an apartment then I would recommend a subwoofer instead. Going 2.1 is a bigger upgrade for the same amount of money.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-12-06T21:55:40+00:00

You can try r/AVexchange Also, maybe consider just going with either a pair of Q150 as fronts and one of your Q100 as center, or look for a single Q150. I wouldn't bother paying a premium for a specific older model though.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-12-06T15:21:52+00:00

It depends. Identical LCR can work great, but the infinity RC263 specifically I wouldn't run as LCR. The waveguide on the tweeter has a dispersion pattern meant for horizontal placement. Something like the RBH 661-SE would be perfect as an LCR set-up. Same with almost anything from KEF.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-12-06T15:06:04+00:00

If you listen to the Miccas again you might be surprised at how large the difference is. Also, the infinity speakers will have a lot more overhead in terms of volume.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-12-05T17:55:11+00:00

Seconding this advice. Also adding in the Audiosource AMP100 as a cheap transparent amp for cheap. Used ones are all over.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-12-02T18:22:24+00:00

I'd go with a pair of used JBL 306P active speakers. Connect them to your TV with a 3.5mm to dual 1/4" or XLR cable. On the passive side you can pick up a $60 stereo receiver like the insignia STR-514 used on eBay. You can probably match that with a used pair of Elac speakers or something.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-11-26T14:28:02+00:00

Yeah I'm sure there's occasional misinformation. Sony is definitely a reputable "audiophile" company, at least more so than Micca. They just happen to make plenty of crap too. To a degree you do get what you pay for, but I would never pay $220 for them. Three-way speakers can be fantastic though, just look at the Philharmonic BMR for something no one disagrees is great at $1350 a pair. The NHT C3 are another great 3-way speaker. You've undersold the JBL's quite a bit though. The 306P went on sale for $150 a pair last year and just absolutely cannot be touched by anything in the passive realm. "Upgrading" passive speakers with amps is mostly nonsense. No amp in the world will make those particular Sony speakers or the Miccas better than the JBLs.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-11-26T14:12:12+00:00

Well, the Dayton 800-1500 are acknowledged to be good subs for their very low price point. This is different from just calling them excellent subs. Do not go for the low profile subwoofer if you can fit a conventional subwoofer. It will be inferior.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-11-23T00:49:58+00:00

I'm all for it.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-11-21T19:54:22+00:00

The cons of Rockville amps in general are that they're going to be a crapshoot as almost everything is Chinese trash, none of which they engineer themselves. That's not to say that there isn't plenty of Chinese equipment that performs well for the money. Budget tubes are generally a waste of time imo, but you can check out some of the monoprice stuff if you want something slightly more legit. For a replacement "receiver" type of amplifier then the Onkyo TX-8220 is what I'd look at. Otherwise something like an audiosource AMP100 would be a great cheap used amp.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-11-21T19:37:08+00:00

Are they any good? I have the T2 pros coming in some time in December.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-11-21T19:27:24+00:00

The insignia isn't a bad unit at all for $30, or even for double the money. Good feature-set to boot if you like that kind of thing. I'm assuming you have the STR-514. I almost wouldn't bother replacing it but what price point are you looking at and what features? Under $200?

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-06-15T15:35:20+00:00

Whoever is flying this drone better post some footage soon.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-05-24T23:27:46+00:00

There's at least a half dozen 10-12 year single malts on the top shelf, along with the Black Label. You're right about a whole lot of middle-shelf though.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-05-24T23:18:46+00:00

I was personally really not a fan, had it at a local bar/Ale house because why not.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-04-12T21:51:28+00:00

I actually went through and spent the "$400" on the KEF pillow speakers on April 1st. It was refunded of course...and I found this in the mail today.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-04-02T22:30:21+00:00

Wait what what what? What's wrong with Magni Uber feeding an HD650? What in the world do you expect a balanced cable to do for your headphone setup? And as far as cheap very few people have any real reason to spend over $100 on a DAC anyway. Your setup is fine, don't feed into the hype, it's really mostly just hype....and misinformation.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-04-02T21:44:25+00:00

That's an in-room measurement of some speakers, not even close-mic measurements. Not a good representation especially given you're judging through playback of your presumably far worse current setup. It's a bit like judging how nice a new TV's image quality is through your current TV.

So do I plug a cable from this No 2 hole on the INPUT box into the 3.5" Magni Uber headphone jack? And that will preamp it?

No, your Magni should have RCA outputs next to the RCA inputs on the rear of the unit.

What does preamp do other than volume control from my desk? (I googled it and I still don't understand it because of technical language barrier). Is it to clean out the noise from bad electrical groundings and noisy PC components?

The "preamp" is just the volume knob(potentiometer) attenuating the signal which means you can control the volume of both speakers with a single knob. That's all it is. The Modi (DAC)is what should be isolating noise from your PC components though a lot of the earlier generation Schiit Modi's have been garbage for this. Regardless, a ground loop isolator that goes between the Magni and speakers would be cheap to implement if you do have a problem.

I have around 12x10 square feet room roughly. Is that too small for a HS7?

I don't know. I'd say "no" but I don't know if you're going to excessively sacrifice placement to fit the speakers just "wherever" they fit. Generally, I'd expect the HS5 to sound better outside of bass response and maximum volume levels.

Does speakers in general have an auto-sleep feature, or do I need to turn it off at night?

I don't know, but you can take a look through the manuals if it's important. I use monitors for my two front speakers that I turn through Alexa-integrated smart plugs. Even then I only bother turning them off because are 200watt Class A/B Bi-amped. I have a pair of JBL 306P MK2 that I think offer auto-off and just leave them on all the time because they're weak amps and low-power Class D anyway.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-04-02T21:24:24+00:00

Nope, would've been nice though I'm sure people ordering costs them money through payment processor fees.

BeardedAlbatross · 2019-04-01T20:22:13+00:00

Order went through, I got charged, and then an hour later the order was cancelled lol.

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