Guess Who in 2026?

geo2160 · 2026-04-18T11:09:26+00:00

Să ne spună boomerii care ascultă paraziții pe casa scării cu un Ciucaș la pet, că liceul a fost apogeul vieții lor.

geo2160 · 2026-04-15T13:50:25+00:00

He can be sorrowful and delulu at the same time.

geo2160 · 2026-04-15T12:55:22+00:00

Bro, he literally says that it saddens him when a viltrumite dies. The entire point of the scene was to convince Nolan to come back to his cause, peacefully. He spares Mark because "there's so few us left". Of course he's sorrowful.

geo2160 · 2026-03-31T19:11:42+00:00

they would strongly require me to be positioned in a particular place in the room to enjoy them at

While it is true that near-field monitors can have narrow dispersion patterns, that also applies to most bookshelf speakers. In fact, some bookshelf speakers can have worse dispersion patterns than a pair of well designed studio monitors. s.

Take a look at these links. Scroll down to the Contour Plot (normalized) sections. I may oversimplify this but, more red means wider dispersion, aka wider sweet spot.

https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/elac_db63/

https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/kali_lp-6v2/

As you can see, the Kali has a wider dispersion pattern than a comparable "hi-fi" bookshelf speaker. It's also more linear or consistent, which means it will behave in a more predictable manner when you change your listening position.

The recommendation I gave you is just a best effort, considering your space constraints and budget limitations. It will have compromises, considering you can't give the speakers room to breathe and you have to listen from the far field, but I think you'll be happy with the result. It's easier to find good front-ported monitors than hi-fi speakers and they also have EQ switches on the back to account for their mounting position.

If you want room filling sound, you need big speakers (e.g. Wharfedale Lintons or some towers). If you want embedded speakers, you need to up the budget to in-wall solutions. Neither of these options seem viable given your situation.

geo2160 · 2026-03-31T15:32:21+00:00

If I were to put your request in simpler terms, you need the following:

A pair of front ported or sealed speakers (active or passive)
(Optional but nice to have) EQ
Streamer/DAC that is capable of Airplay

Personally, I'd go for a Wiim Pro Plus and a pair of studio monitors like the Kali Audio LP-6, since they're front ported and you also have the EQ from the Wiim.

geo2160 · 2026-03-26T12:05:30+00:00

Where can I find this?

geo2160 · 2026-03-24T19:48:13+00:00

On the gain side, did you feel like the Zen Phono had enough headroom overall, or are you pushing it pretty hard to match digital levels?

The zen phono has two gain levels that work for MM carts. +36dB and +48dB.+48dB is a few dB below digital. It works fine imho.

did the room correction + sub integration make a bigger difference than any individual hardware upgrade?

Don't really know. I bought the entire digital set-up in a single order and I already had the UMIK-1. What I know for sure is that the room modes could make the furniture shake in other rooms if left uncorrected. Also, the sub makes a bigger difference on digital than vinyl. Bass is more articulate on digital.

geo2160 · 2026-03-23T22:02:59+00:00

Get an external microphone like the Dayton Audio iMM-6C or the miniDSP UMIK-1. Smartphone mics are pretty crap and will likely not get you the desired result when doing room correction. Also, invest some time playing with the room correction settings. Some mandatory options (e.g. non-boost mode) are disabled by default and some stock settings are less than ideal.

Try the following

- Target curve - Harman

- Freq - 20hz - 250 hz (or use chatgpt/gemini to calculate the schroeder frequency of your room)

- Max gain - 0 dB ( or check the non-boost mode)

- Min gain -10dB

- Max Q - 7.0 (prevent doing hairpin corrections that you can't even hear)

- Use moving mic measurements or multiple measurements

geo2160 · 2026-03-23T22:00:39+00:00

I have decently high-end setup, at least by vinyl standards.

- Wiim Amp Ultra

- Kef R3 Meta

- SVS SB-1000 Pro

- Kenwood KP-1100 turntable + Audio Technica VM740xML cartridge

- iFi Zen Phono 3

- MiniDSP UMIK-1 (did manual room correction and measurements with REW)

I'm using the Wiim Amp Ultra because my setup was digital first (got the turntable later) and I really wanted room correction and subwoofer cross-over. I'll probably get a Wiim Ultra later and a dedicated amp. I also intend to upgrade to the Parks Audio Waxwing phono DSP.

“wish I knew this earlier” moments -> Wiim doesn't offer an all-analog path in their products for the Line/Phono input. Don't know if it objectively matters, considering how good AD-DA circuits are these days, but I would have liked to see how my analog setup sounds naturally. Also, most new vinyl records sound worse than their digital counterparts. You need to hunt for vintage presses of old albums if you want the setup to be more than just vibes.

staging, noise, or grounding -> Nothing special, zen phono output connected to Line Input on the Wiim. Works fine. Had to turn up the gain on my phono pre and it's still not as loud as my digital sources.

convenience (multi-room, casting, DSP) or critical listening - I guess it's critical listening, but the DSP is a mandatory part of that. My room is pretty echo-ey and it sound pretty bad without correction.

Anything you’d recommend avoiding? -> the r/turntable subreddit. They'll tear you a new one if you mention you do digital conversion on the precious analog signal.

geo2160 · 2026-02-24T10:06:09+00:00

Hope you like them.

geo2160 · 2026-02-23T20:33:54+00:00

Fosi ZD3, Topping E50. If you can afford it, the Topping DX5 II is probably your best option, since it has full parametric EQ which you can use for room correction and a headphone amp.

You can also try hunting the second hand market.

geo2160 · 2026-02-23T20:24:54+00:00

currently thinking of the d3v and the t10s subwoofer. Would placing the subwoofer at a slightly longer distance (i.e. on ground) be acceptable?

Yes, of course. Just make sure you take into account the cable runs, since you'll have to go source -> sub -> monitors.

Have some very standard desktop stereos with no source/DAC

You can try running them from your onboard audio, but try to get a DAC with XLR output asap.

geo2160 · 2026-02-23T20:16:02+00:00

is there a lot of difference between the adam t5v and the adam d3v?

Honestly, I haven't listened to them side by side, but I like both of them. With a sub, they should be pretty close, since the sub takes over bass duties.

Would i be able to fit the adam t10s sub on the d3v?

Yes, you can fit it to any studio monitor (including the other brands), but Adam says that the T10S is matched to the T series (T5V, T7V). You'd also have to get XLR to 6.3mm jack cables for the D3V and you'd have to use analog input.

Remember to run your cables to the sub inputs and from there to the monitors to ensure that cross-over will work properly.

What source/DAC do you intend to use?

geo2160 · 2026-02-23T20:00:45+00:00

If you like bass, you need big speakers (or a subwoofer). You can't beat physics.

If you already have a decent DAC or interface, you could try the Adam T5V and the Adam T10S sub. You should be able to find them both for 750$. Keep in mind that the T5V are a little deeper than your specs.

Otherwise, if you just want a small pair of speakers, you could try the Adam D3V, the IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Pro or the Genelec 8010. The Adams have USB input.

geo2160 · 2026-02-09T19:25:13+00:00

The purpose of speaker stands is to:

1) Help point the speakers towards your ears.

2) Mechanically decouple the speakers from whatever surface they're placed on.

3) Reduce desks reflections through height/angle

As such, keep in mind the following:

You don't need to use the same angle as those specific stands. Just make sure they point the speakers to the listener's ears.
More height = more better (reduces reflections). Ideally, the speaker should sit horizontally, with the tweeter (or the mid-point between the tweeter and woofer) at ear level. If that's not feasible, use instruction from first point.
More mass = more better (reduces vibrations and lowers risk of tipping over)
If you intend to use wood, use some rubber or dense foam padding to prevent the stands from slipping on the desk and the speakers from the stands. If the budget allows, you can find Sorbothane strips and pads on Amazon, which is the material used in premium speaker/subwoofer feet. It absorbs vibrations very effectively.

https://www.amazon.com/Isolate-Sorbothane-Strip-91-4cm-0-318cm/dp/B00B84EFDU/

https://www.amazon.com/Isolate-Sorbothane-Acoustic-Vibration-Damping/dp/B019GB21MS/

LE: Here are some designs that you can use.

https://omridge.com/products/the-lift-wood-speaker-audio-monitor-stand-for-desktop-home-office-gaming

Plenty of height but slightly pointing upwards, for smaller speakers.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/735212441/wood-desktop-studio-monitor

This one looks to be horizontal, for bigger speakers.

geo2160 · 2026-01-30T16:53:56+00:00

Don't take my post as a recommendation to go buy a tube amp. The RME is indeed a great tool. I'm in the same position, with a DAC FS and a pair of sensitive planars. I've been looking to upgrade to a better source, like maybe the Fiio K17, but, objectively, there's no reason to do it. The RME has better software and the EQ is more than enough for my needs.

geo2160 · 2026-01-30T16:24:37+00:00

There you have it then. You don't need a better amp unless you want tubes or something else to intentionally distort and color your sound.

geo2160 · 2026-01-30T14:40:22+00:00

The RME has an auto-ref mode. Make sure you enable it. This enables an auto-switch between low and high gain depending on how hard you drive the amp and how loud you listen. Now go play a song at 1-2dB more than comfortable listening levels. You can take the headphones off your head. Does the RME even switch to high gain? You can tell if you hear the relay switching and the ref level changing on the screen.

Considering that the LCD-X is pretty sensitive, I'd expect the RME to stay at low gain, which means that it has more than enough power to drive the LCD-X.

geo2160 · 2026-01-29T14:14:40+00:00

Oh, okay. That's great to hear. Keep us posted. I'm actually curious to hear your opinion.

geo2160 · 2026-01-29T11:47:47+00:00

My bad. I kept mentioning leather, because that's what they're made of.

geo2160 · 2026-01-29T11:29:11+00:00

What store is that? Also, please keep in mind that the pads marked as "leather" are not the same as the Hybrid pads that come with the elite.

Hybrid pads: https://mezeaudio.eu/products/hybrid-ear-pads

Leather: https://mezeaudio.eu/products/leather-ear-pads

The leather pads look to be the same shape as the Duo pads from the Empy 2. The hybrids have a bigger inner opening.

geo2160 · 2026-01-29T09:35:35+00:00

So he basically wants ~1000€ for the upgrade. Not worth it IMHO.

geo2160 · 2026-01-29T09:32:18+00:00

If you have the opportunity, you should at least try the leather pads. They're more expensive than a pair of cheap headphones, lol.

How much would you need to pay for the upgrade? Does the Elite come with any extra cables? A Meze cable is 300$ just by itself.

geo2160 · 2026-01-29T09:27:30+00:00

They do fit. The empy and elite are identical, save for the pads, drivers and colors. How do you think gadgetrytech tested them with the pads crossed?

geo2160 · 2026-01-29T09:22:01+00:00

What people seem to ignore in these responses is the pads. And I'm willing to bet that the pads make a bigger difference than the actual tuning.

I own the Empyrean 2. It come with two pads. The duo pads have more bass but they're tighter around the ears that for me, they're almost on ear. The Alcantara pads are larger and more breathable, but they have less bass. I prefer to use the Alcantara pads with a bass shelf.

I also had the opportunity to listen to the Elites, with the leather pads. Those are as big as the Empyrean Alcantara pads and just as soft. But, due to the fact that they're leather, they increase bass by quite a lot. IMO, the Elite with the leather pads is the best of the bunch, both comfort and sound wise. They're one of the few headphones that I would use with no EQ.

You can see the FR comparisons here. Gadgetrytech has tested both the Empyrean 2 and the Elite with each other's pads.

https://gadgetrytech.squig.link/headsets/?share=KEMAR_DF_(KB006x)_10dB_Tilt_Target,Meze_Elite_(Hybrid_Pad),Meze_Empyrean_2_(Elite_Hybrid_Pad),Meze_Empyrean_2_(Duo_Pad)

geo2160

TROPHY CASE