Recommend me a great-sounding 2.1 speaker system for PC?

pendragon1 said:

i have zero noise with my setup but going this route youre looking at $4-600 for receiver, speakers and a sub. my super basic 5.1 setup was 6-700...

Click to expand...

Maybe if you buy new gear. If going to separates the used market is way better value and can easily half that depending on particulars.

I personally haven't had a sound card in a computer in over a decade. External DACs with USB is all I use.

OP, I'm with comments above. I don't think it's the speakers or amps. It's the source or delivery cables causing your white noise.

Change cables. Then change source. Try those powered speakers on another source to eliminate white noise origin.

An external USB dac would do wonders to help with that over anything. A iPhone or Android 3.5 dongle can be used if you don't have another dac around. They are after all both DACs

tommyrick said:

Most of the speakers I've had were Logitech. I got some nice Genius gaming speakers 9 or 10 years ago but it seems they don't make them anymore. Can anyone recommend 2.1 speakers you've owned and liked?

Click to expand...

What's your budget?

If you want cheap price but excellent sound, you can't beat the Klipsch Promedia 2.1.

kydsid said:

Maybe if you buy new gear. If going to separates the used market is way better value and can easily half that depending on particulars.

I personally haven't had a sound card in a computer in over a decade. External DACs with USB is all I use.

OP, I'm with comments above. I don't think it's the speakers or amps. It's the source or delivery cables causing your white noise.

Change cables. Then change source. Try those powered speakers on another source to eliminate white noise origin.

An external USB dac would do wonders to help with that over anything. A iPhone or Android 3.5 dongle can be used if you don't have another dac around. They are after all both DACs

Click to expand...

sure but op never mentioned wanting to buy used.
cool for you.
he has said they make noise when its not connected to anything. its the units themselves.
sure, maybe.

Odd to see Klipsch Promedia 2.1 still being praised, but maybe they changed again. I have some from forever ago, but at one point Klipsch was sold and the new Promedias were supposed to be trash. Every pair I had also had issues eventually with the volume knob causing bursts of static. My last remaining one still does but I try not to ever touch it since it also cuts out on one speaker if I do.
This goes into a bit about the changes from the early 2000 models. It looks like there have been 3 or more versions of the Promedia 2.1.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEmRZ4-rcBY

I may need to look at those Edifier since I am going to need a new 2.1 setup for gaming. I find myself listening to a little more music on the computer than I used to though not a ton.

silentcircuit said:

https://www.martinlogan.com/en/product/forte

A nice two channel amp and streamer with room correction for $150. I'd get a cheap dedicated DAC, but you could run it off your sound card to start with.

Really don't need it but still tempted to grab one myself.

Click to expand...

I sat on the closeout sale for this when it was posted by silentcircuit and originally missed out on it. But I periodically messaged Martin Logan, asking if more had come in stock, because they'd told me they might be getting more in a few weeks, which would also be sold at the closeout price. Though none have showed back in stock on their website, they recently offered to sell me one at the original closeout price, and just processed my order. Maybe they kept one or some after the closeout sale, and eventually decided to offer one to me.

So, that'll be what I power my KRK 7000s with. Can't wait to try them out.

I also recently picked-up Kanto speaker stands during a sale. It is a bit nicer having the sound come-out at ear level, and probably not reflect against the desk as much.

I just placed an order for a gen-2 Presonus Sub8 BT. Looks like inventory is low in Canada and it was tricky to find one, but found a basically-hidden Amazon listing with 5 left in stock.

For people in the US, there's a big sale on the 2nd-gen Sub8 BT here - 38% off: https://ggoverstock.com/products/presonus-eris-sub-8bt?variant=44677893095590&currency=USD

And there's still this listing for cheap gen-1 Presonus Eris 5" BT sets. They're going for about the price of the gen-1 4.5"-speaker model, less than the 2nd-gen 4.5" model, and $85 US less than the 2nd-gen 5" model. They're probably dumping remaining gen-1 inventory: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/304445532709


I received an email from Fender yesterday saying the replacement Eris 4.5 BT for my defective set was sent back at the border because they didn't file the paperwork for exporting magnets properly. But they're on their way now, I guess. I'm planning to sell the replacement set, and will see if I can fix the defective one.

These go for $999 which is a good price for what they bring - a full streamer, ARC, Chromecast, sub out (with proper bass managment) and some cool stand options.

https://www.wired.com/review/review-kef-lsx-ii-lt-wireless-active-speaker-system/

https://darko.audio/2024/01/heres-the-skinny-on-kefs-lsx-ii-lt/

I've come across some vids looking at the difference between gen-1 and gen-2 Presonus Eris monitors. It turns out they changed the sound of them a bit, giving them more low-end and increasing the mid-range a bit. I like the gen-2 difference in comparison clips of the Eris 3.5s, and it temps me a bit to try the 4.5 replacements I get out, assuming they're gen-2. But I also don't want to lose their unopened resale value.


View: https://youtu.be/T7oPPmn8bs8


View: https://youtu.be/UZju445jUs4

The MR4s, which I'm currently using, come up a lot in the comments on Eris review videos. Here's a comparison of the Edifier MR4s and the gen-1 Presonus Eris 3.5s:


View: https://youtu.be/AKxBJsoeDJA

I have been listening to a lot of night wish lately, the presonus have been incredible for that.

Delicieuxz said:

I've come across some vids looking at the difference between gen-1 and gen-2 Presonus Eris monitors. It turns out they changed the sound of them a bit, giving them more low-end and increasing the mid-range a bit. I like the gen-2 difference in comparison clips of the Eris 3.5s, and it temps me a bit to try the 4.5 replacements I get out, assuming they're gen-2. But I also don't want to lose their unopened resale value.


View: https://youtu.be/T7oPPmn8bs8


View: https://youtu.be/UZju445jUs4

The MR4s, which I'm currently using, come up a lot in the comments on Eris review videos. Here's a comparison of the Edifier MR4s and the gen-1 Presonus Eris 3.5s:


View: https://youtu.be/AKxBJsoeDJA

Click to expand...

Neither the Eris 3.5s nor the Edifier MR4s should be used for mixing. Listening? Sure, maybe.

Algrim said:

Neither the Eris 3.5s nor the Edifier MR4s should be used for mixing. Listening? Sure, maybe.

Click to expand...

Not disagreeing, but I'm sure people are mixing on far worse.

So, I haven't stopped trying out monitors. After I received my Martin Logan Forte amp, I ordered passive Kanto YU6 monitors. And I like them. They're a bit bright, and overall I still think the Edifier MR4 has my favourite frequency response, but the Kantos YU6 are 5.25" and the MR4s are 4", and the 5.25" sounds bigger and more naturally environment-filling, and therefore nicer. Going from the YU6 to the MR4 was very noticeable, with the MR4s sounding small and boxy in comparison. Of all the monitors I've tried, the Kanto YU6 are the most similar in sound to the Edifier MR4s, but have a bit less mids, and a bit more in the highs. They don't put out a lot of bass for their size and would benefit from a small subwoofer.


I've now also tried the KRK 7000s, and I really like them. They actually sound really good for everything I've tried. They also sound different than everything else that I've tried. I thought that I might keep the Kanto YU6 for entertainment use, while using the KRK 7000s for mixing, but now I'm thinking of returning the YU6 and using the KRK 7000 for everything - partly because it's not space efficient to have both, and partly because I think I would default to using the KRK 7000s anyway. I think I liked the KRK 7000s on stands more than on isolation pads, but I'm not yet sure as I'm currently using only one while waiting on some speaker wire to arrive, after I returned the speaker wire I was using for one of the speakers with the Edifier MR4s, which it had come with.

I described the difference between the KRK 7000 and the Kanto YU6 while playing AC4: Black Flag to a friend, by saying that it was obvious that the game's atmosphere sounded more natural and real through the KRK 7000s. They created a sound atmosphere that gave me feeling like I'm actually there. The wind, water, and walking sounds feel balanced, natural, and cohesive. Through the Kanto YU6, everything sounded brighter and clearer, but it sounded more like a bunch of disparate sound effects playing on their own, rather than one cohesive, natural environment.


I've found that the Presonus Sub8 doesn't work for my situation in a smaller room and with the sub right next to me. I found it overpowering with the MR4s where I like having them set, and pretty-much at any level of volume on the sub where I could still hear it doing something. And its thumping was constantly a bit painful for my ears. It's known for being a loud sub, and I guess it's too loud for my PC environment, and its frequency emphasis seemed really in-your-face, to me.


I just received a Kanto Sub8 to try out, which is a sealed sub, while the Presonus is ported. I actually looked for a Kanto Sub6, but didn't find one on Amazon.ca. However, I've since found one for sale nearby and I might return the 8" Kanto sub and get the 6" one, pending my trial of the 8". I don't think my room and monitors need that much from a sub, especially with the KRK 7000s, which already produce a decent amount of bass.


I've also just received the replacements for my defective Presonus Eris 4.5BT. The replacements are the gen-2 model. I'm going to sell them, as I'm sticking with the KRK 7000s, and the 5.25" YU6 are my second-favourite choice.


Postscript: I setup and tried out the Kanto Sub8 a bit after writing the rest of this post. Its sound is more nuanced and its level is more tameable than the Presonus sub, which suits my setup more, which needs only a very-subtle addition of lower bass frequencies. I'm running just one monitor with it, while waiting for more speaker wire to arrive today, and it sounds a bit weird with the sub on one side of my PC and the active monitor on the other side, but I can tell its sound is sitting generally where I'd like it.


Kanto YU6 (Edifier MR4 sitting on the desk):



KRK 7000 on stands:



KRK 7000 on isolation pads:

I am really glad after all that effort you found something you really like! Now to crank the tunes and enjoy!

Keljian said:

I am really glad after all that effort you found something you really like! Now to crank the tunes and enjoy!

Click to expand...

Thanks! Yeah, it's time to enjoy... and to look into repairing the KRK's tweeters (the foam seal around them is largely disintegrated - there are repair kits available), while looking for some backup speakers for the KRKs at as reasonable a price as I can find.

I had to make some speaker wire before I could hook-up the 2nd KRK. It seems that, unless buying by the spool, speaker wire on Amazon.ca all has banana plugs. So, I ordered a pair, clipped the plugs (which are too big for the connectors on both my amp and monitors), trimmed the wire from 12 AWG to 16 AWG, and tinned them. I've got it running now, and it's sounding great and huge with the 7" woofers, 2" tweeters, and 8" subwoofer!

silentcircuit said:

The KRKs and a solid sub with a cheap little chip amp (or an amp / receiver from Craigslist/thrifts) will walk all over that Klipsch set... if you have space on your desk to use the KRKs just return the ProMedias now.

Click to expand...

To confirm, you were right about the large KRKs, versus basically everything.

Something to add about the Presonus Sub8: When I tried it, and it was overpowering compared to my monitors, I was using it with powered monitors. Before packaging it to return it, I tried it out a bit with my ML Forte amp and passive speakers, and it was much more balanced and manageable then. I still prefer the sound of the Kanto Sub8 overall, which seems to fill-out the bass notes in music I listen to more, whereas the Presonus provided a bit less of that (some bass notes seemed relatively absent), but a bit more resonance, and also felt slightly like it was kicking my eardrums. The Presonus probably gets some lower lows, while having a frequency spike somewhere higher.

I found a place I could order a Kanto Sub8 on sale for $116 less than where I got mine (if you're in Canada, here's a great deal, $250 CA, not charged provincial taxes outside Ontario, free shipping, and Coupert added another $11.25 discount), so I've ordered it and I'm returning the one I already got. So many returns, lol. This room and the hallway outside of it has been looking like a Z Reviews video for the past couple of weeks.

Wonder if they'll sell me one of those amps at $150 or whatever it was... Regretting not jumping on that when I found it.

silentcircuit said:

Wonder if they'll sell me one of those amps at $150 or whatever it was... Regretting not jumping on that when I found it.

Click to expand...

Maybe. I was told that they expected they would eventually have some more in stock, and that they would be sold at the same, previous discount.



So, most "copper" speaker wire sold is fake garbage that underperforms, and I was unaware of this.

Speaker Wire: How to Choose the Right Gauge Type for Best Performance



I recently learned that a most of the "copper" wire being sold is actually copper-coated aluminum (CCA), which is about 68% as conductive as copper. The copper cable I'm currently using is also CCA. So, I ordered a 50ft spool of Monoprice oxygen-free, pure copper wire that was more than 50% off in an Amazon Warehouse deal.

But then there's this review says that the Monoprice pure copper wire has even lower conductivity (63%) per gauge than CCA, likely due to the wire being made-up of fewer and larger threads, which leave more gaps between them, and so there's less volume of copper (and therefore more resistance) in, say, a 16 AWG wire of this Monoprice stuff compared to proper 16 AWG spec:



On Amazon.ca, there's really just one other decently-priced option, but its reviews, including recent ones, are filled with people mentioning the copper either arrived greenish and oxidised, or quickly became such after they bought it, or is even visibly corroded. Some reviews for the Monoprice stuff also say the wire arrived oxidised.

Amazon.com offers this good-reviewed, decently-priced, oxygen-free, pure copper 16 AWG stereo wire, but it's absurdly expensive on the Amazon.ca site.

And I haven't yet found good OFC stereo wire on local store websites. Kind of amazing how almost the entire market for stereo wire is filled with pseudo, bogus, and tainted products.

If I can get away with it (i.e., length), I use standard zip wire.

Barring absolute junk, wire makes no difference.

Many (many!!, 10+?) years ago I went shopping for a basic computer speaker set and it was back when there were "stores" (good heavens) and you could actually listen and compare (you know, the red buttons, etc..). So I picked the following:



https://www.carousell.sg/p/philips-pc400-speakers-56389647/

Phillips PC400 (? I think that's what it was called) Mine has colored swappable plates for all speakers.

To this day, when I have it "out" doing a demo somewhere, I get people wanting to buy it off of me. So, so, so many years later. I either did "good" listening when I bought, or people are very desperate.

It does still sound good to me. I use it when I need to for more than mere "computer", but as a sound stage for media and music as well.

Delicieuxz said:

So, most "copper" speaker wire sold is fake garbage that underperforms, and I was unaware of this.

Speaker Wire: How to Choose the Right Gauge Type for Best Performance
View attachment 632186

y-

Click to expand...

AH's distance chart is way more conservative than it needs to be. If you want to save money just go buy some lamp cord at your nearest hardware store. If you want to buy from Amazon and pay more, installgear. If you want to start at the lowest lowest end of esoteric BlueJeans cable. From there the sky is the limit. Awg 0 platinum coated copper power cord anyone?

https://www.parts-express.com/Audtek-SKRL-16-50-16-AWG-OFC-Speaker-Wire-50-ft.-100-016

Comes in up to 12ga. Very ok for the price.

I've decided to keep the Kanto YU6s. They sound really good and are a nice contrast to the KRK 7000s, which, being mixing monitors, don't try as much to flatter the sound. Both are excellent. The KRKs sound a bit meatier and more natural, with lots of detail in the low-mids, and the YU6s make music sound pristine and like the sun is shining and everything's sparkling like it was just wiped with Windex (or something more aesthetic-sounding), while still having good body and creating a very-nice soundscape with the Kanto Sub8.

I want to try running both the KRKs and the YU6s at once. The KRKs are 8 ohms, and the YU6s are 6 ohms. My amp is 4 ohms per channel. Will running two sets of stereo wire out of each of the amp's channels, into the two sets of monitors, be safe? And will it lower the output volume at the speakers significantly, or disproportionately between the 8 ohm and 6 ohm monitors?





I was looking for info on proper speaker wire-length practice, and found this interesting tidbit: https://forums.whathifi.com/threads/speaker-cables-do-they-have-to-be-equal-lengths.2630/

In short it, it doesn't. Mr_Poletski will no doubt argue that with different length of cables that the signals will arrive out of phase at the speakers. Not to any significant degree they won't. And not compared with any phase differences introduced by the speakers being different distances from your sitting position. For those with a strong stomach, here's the sums:

Human hearing tops out at about 20kHz. So, at the highest frequency we can hear, one cycle of sound takes one twenty thousandth of a second, or 0.00005 of a second.

Electrical signals travel at close to the speed of light. They take about 3.3 nanoseconds to traverse a meter of cable. That's 0.00000003 of a second.

So, at 20kHz, for each meter of difference in cable length, the phase difference will be 0.00007 of a cycle. In other words three fifths of naff all.

Click to expand...

kydsid said:

AH's distance chart is way more conservative than it needs to be. If you want to save money just go buy some lamp cord at your nearest hardware store. If you want to buy from Amazon and pay more, installgear. If you want to start at the lowest lowest end of esoteric BlueJeans cable. From there the sky is the limit. Awg 0 platinum coated copper power cord anyone?

Click to expand...

Lots of reviews for Installgear point-out that it isn't its rated AWG: its 16 AWG is either 18 AWG or, many reviews say, 20 AWG. The Wild West lives on in the speaker-wire market.

https://www.amazon.ca/InstallGear-Gauge-Oxygen-Free-Copper-Speaker/dp/B0848L385Y/


My initial experience with comparing Monoprice 16 AWG OFC wire to the thicker, non-OFC wire I was using just prior, by hooking one KRK speaker to the Monoprice and the other to the other wire, and then panning audio from one speaker to the other, was that the Monoprice OFC wire sounded duller across a bunch of different music tracks. But I'm going to try other things to see if it was due to some other factor, like phase from the speaker placements, or maybe the one KRK speaker itself being brighter than the other. If I switch the wires across the speakers and the effect doesn't move with it, then I'll know it isn't the wire.

The Amazon Warehouse Deals Monoprice wire I got was cut in half. So, somebody decided to return it after making a cut. And it looks like some of the wire might've been taken off of the roll. But the cut was 1.5 feet after where I made my last cut, and I got all I needed from it, with a bunch to spare, so it's no problem.

BTW, the below disclaimer is a Hard Forum addition. I'm not an Amazon affiliate and I don't earn money from Amazon.

I don't use 16awg for speakers. The 14 and 12 I've used has been that. Can't even tell these days on Amazon if a review is for the actual product or a fake of the product, or a paid for review. Go buy lamp cord if you are worried.

As an electronics engineer - unless you're pumping huge wattage (at low voltage) into speakers, you don't need massive wires. At reasonable volume levels, you're nowhere near the limits of even standard cat 5/6 wires on the majority of speakers/amps.

Keljian said:

As an electronics engineer - unless you're pumping huge wattage (at low voltage) into speakers, you don't need massive wires. At reasonable volume levels, you're nowhere near the limits of even standard cat 5/6 wires on the majority of speakers/amps.

Click to expand...

You are omitting dampening factor in the amplifier and the ohm rating of the speakers being connected. It may be enough for the wattage but that isn't the whole story. 12, 14 and 16 are the common awg for speakers as to be all but universal. That said, more power is more fun. 100w per channel or more please !!!

kydsid said:

You are omitting dampening factor in the amplifier and the ohm rating of the speakers being connected. It may be enough for the wattage but that isn't the whole story. 12, 14 and 16 are the common awg for speakers as to be all but universal. That said, more power is more fun. 100w per channel or more please !!!

Click to expand...

Pumping 100W through small gauge wire is possible, with high voltage 200v x 500mA =100W

Unfortunately most amps run 24/48V typically in my experience. That said 50W out of most decent speakers is well and truly loud enough for the vast majority of people.

ive been using the same 18g wire for 20+ years, speakers still work fine...

op, tried this stuff?
https://www.amazon.ca/Speaker-Stereo-Theater-Install-Link/dp/B0CLQV4BSH/

pendragon1 said:

ive been using the same 18g wire for 20+ years, speakers still work fine...

op, tried this stuff?
https://www.amazon.ca/Speaker-Stereo-Theater-Install-Link/dp/B0CLQV4BSH/

Click to expand...

Nope. It's CCA, but it could be good. If I order more wire, I'm probably going to get this stuff, and hope the stuff I get isn't oxidised when it arrives and doesn't oxidise on me later (like a bunch of the reviews say happened to theirs).

This CCA stuff looks promising, because it's 14 AWG and priced low. I don't know if I can fit 14 AWG into the connector holes for my KRK 7000s monitors, though.

tommyrick said:

My 20+ year old Cambridge Soundworks speakers have finally gone (non-stop buzz). So want some good 2.1 speakers with a separate volume controller that I can put infront of me on the desk?

The two I've spotted so far are:-

• Logitech Z407
• Logitech Z533 - People seem to complain of a noise/hum/buzz when not in use?

Anything people can say about those, or any other options folks can recommend?

Click to expand...

The Klipsch ProMedia and HiVi-Swans M10 Plus are a couple of 2.1 systems suggested in this thread. There may be others. I didn't try out many 2.1 systems, so I can't really comment. The Edifier s351db 2.1 setup I tried didn't give me the clarity I wanted, and the bass was too soft for my liking. My favourite budget monitors I've tried are the Edifier MR4s, but they don't include a subwoofer. I eventually decided on Kanto Yu6 monitors with a Kanto Sub8 subwoofer. I'm also using KRK studio monitors with the subwoofer.

I looked at a couple of Logitech systems, but didn't try any out, so I can't comment on them.

If you mention your budget, maybe someone else will be able to give a good recommendation.

Delicieuxz said:

This CCA stuff looks promising, because it's 14 AWG and priced low. I don't know if I can fit 14 AWG into the connector holes for my KRK 7000s monitors, though.

Click to expand...

I would avoid CCA if you can, It just has too many things NOT going for it: 50% more resistance per foot, less reliable in situations where the cable is repeatedly flexed, potential for corrosion at terminations... We're not talking about saving that much money, unless you're planning to run hundreds of feet of wire.

CCA is not even permissable for POE installations, and we're talking like 30 watts at 48v DC, so ~600mA.

Plenty of other options for not much more money. FWIW, 16 gauge pure copper is a better conductor than 14 gauge CCA.

https://a.co/d/0iaWk6A

https://a.co/d/bQ7p2mM

https://a.co/d/hAvqP86

Ain't no one clicking on a word document to read your thoughts or get a virus/trojan.

i understand so here it is in text.
Hope this helps I am a retired professional chemist with a specialty in analytical instrumentation and have a relative in the recording industry. I have knowledge of the consumer and pro side of audio. I have been noticing a lot of posts about speaker and equipment recommendations etc.

Also, some are wondering why their setup disappoints at high SPL or when a quality SVS sub is added. SVS subs are musically accurate, low distortion and have minimal enclosure resonances or added unwanted vibrational modes when properly placed. With some rock music, they can be ruthlessly revealing of bad recordings.

Do not get to caught up in the specs or being a "measurebator" audio is very subjective and personal. Must listen to speakers and base purchase on your personal taste, all are voiced differently so I do not recommend one brand of speaker over another, feelings can be hurt depending on how critique is taken. For example, I was at a high-end dealer (Early 1990) when they were showcasing a Wilson WAMM setup valued at 100K. The customer pulls out a personal recording of an oboe and a bassoon solo that he performed. After listening he says I am done with the Wilsons, why was he not satisfied? It wasn’t the 100K sticker shock, it was the fact that the system couldn’t resolve a A440 hertz note properly. To the untrained ear they sound identical but have a slight timbre difference that is noticeable to a professional Oboe/Bassoon performer. He also would dump a speaker if it couldn’t resolve a piano recording with the lid up or closed. FYI, he settled with the B&W Nautilus at 30K, I believe.

Cheap amp equals poor sound at elevated SPL. More power equals more volume assumption. Sound output is logarithmic not linear, double power not twice as loud.
For example I am a metal fan, the sound system for Iron Maiden is approx. 300 KW at 117 dB this SPL projects thousands of feet. If I do not add speakers or change drivers, doubling power to 600 KW it is only 3 dB louder which is not noticeably louder to most.
The quality of the watt is crucial, for example a discrete Darlington hand wired transistor amp can run over 10K whereas your MosFET receivers are sub $500 (99% of gear bought today). I have a Yamaha DSP receiver, 5 ch which is MoSFET. Infinity frontend, Paradigm center and Paradigm rears, SVS SB2000 Pro sub.

The power rating is irrelevant most sound systems play sound best when at under 5 watts continuous give or take. Efficiency rating will tell you how loud a speaker plays at 1 m away with one watt in. My Infinity speakers are rated at 98 dB/watt. To reproduce distortion free sound field at ref levels you need massive reserves of power for transients.
So my system at 1 meter out outputs the following SPL
1 watt is 98 dB SPL, OSHA states no more than 90 dB @ 8 hrs. at this threshold without hearing protection.
2 watts is 101 dB
4 watts 104 dB
8 watts 107 dB Need to spend ton of money to experience clean uncompressed music at this level or above.
16 watts 110 dB
32 watts 113 dB
64 watts 116 dB
128 watts 119 dB Permanent loss of hearing
Why is this important let say speaker brand X is rated at 80 dB/watt, what power is needed to match my setup?
1 watt 80 dB
2 watts 83 dB
4W 86
8W 89
16W 92
32W 95
64W 98
128W 101 dB
256W 104
512W 107 dB
1024W 110 to get this I need to invest in a Krell, Mark Levinson mono-block in excess of $20K. These high end amps are rated at 1 horsepower which is around 750 W at 8 ohms, 1500 W at 4 ohms continuous), No FET stages, discrete class A.
2048W 113 out
4096W 116 dB out

8192 W 119 dB out

Azzkiker said:

I would avoid CCA if you can, It just has too many things NOT going for it: 50% more resistance per foot, less reliable in situations where the cable is repeatedly flexed, potential for corrosion at terminations... We're not talking about saving that much money, unless you're planning to run hundreds of feet of wire.

CCA is not even permissable for POE installations, and we're talking like 30 watts at 48v DC, so ~600mA.

Plenty of other options for not much more money. FWIW, 16 gauge pure copper is a better conductor than 14 gauge CCA.

https://a.co/d/0iaWk6A

https://a.co/d/bQ7p2mM

https://a.co/d/hAvqP86

Click to expand...

I love copper wires, they work great. The last time I used some was #10 wire from the group 27 agm battery in my f150 to the bed after cutting a hole for https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PT67XBT
and 3x https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001U4ZZPK in the bed on the stb side next to where it turns to the aft and is protected from things being assed and unassed. We use them to run 12 volt fridges from the Gulf of Mexico to here from time to time to have fish for ourselves and our dogs.

I picked-up a Presonus Temblor 10" subwoofer off Craigslist for a really good price, to try out. I'd been increasing the bass on my Kanto sub over time and wanted to see what a 10" can do. But it hasn't impressed me. I find it gives a lot of generic rumbling, sort-of like if you have a gamepad with a cheap rumble effect, and all the different explosions or crashes you encounter give the same generic vibration sensation... I found the Temblor 10" to be sort-of like that - not very musical bass that has character depending on what's playing, but constantly generic, definition-lacking, low-rumbling. The Kanto Sub8 I'm using is far more musical and fills things out much more where I think it matters - for my taste.

Also, I know ported subs are slower than sealed subs, but wow, the Temblor 10" sub is really slow to react. The bass response is so slow that it sounds very de-synced from the audio. The Presonus Eris Sub8 that I tried earlier, which is a ported sub, was also slower than the Kanto Sub8, which is a sealed sub, but it was not nearly as slow as the Temblor 10". There's a significant difference between them. I liked the Eris Sub8 more than the Temblor 10" and found it more complimentary.

The Temblor 10" and Eris Sub8 have some similar characteristics though: I said before that the Eris Sub8 felt like it was punching my eardrums with a certain frequency. The Temblor 10" does the same thing at the same frequency, but it's filled-out a bit more with bulging bass - however, in a way that makes me prefer the Eris Sub8.

The Eris Sub8 had really nice extra-low resonance, while the Temblor has too much extra-low resonance (I don't know why these subs don't also come with high-pass frequency adjustment). Both subs are missing a bunch the musical fullness above that extra-low resonance that the Kanto Sub8 has. I think it'd be awesome to have the Kanto Sub8 sound with the Eris Sub8's bottom resonance - maybe a sealed + ported 8" hybrid sub.

I was thinking of getting a 12" sub to try out, but after the Temblor I think bigger / deeper base is only good until a certain point, and that I've reached that point with my 8" sub. I'm going to resell the Temblor.

I've read some people say on subwoofer forums that the Kanto Sub8 doesn't really qualify as a sub to them because it doesn't go low enough. After trying a few different large subs, those comments don't make sense to me and I wonder if they've tried a Kanto Sub8, and in what situation / room size / user proximity, as, if I turn-off my Kanto Sub8, the impression is like 60 - 70% of the sound is gone. It fills stuff out hugely, and where it matters to me the most.

The Temblor 10" is 12.6” wide x 15.75” tall x 15.75” thick. It's big, and weighs 40 lbs.





I've also replaced the tweeters and woofers in my KRK 7000 monitors. I lucked-out when messaging someone selling used Focal tweeters for 7000 / 7000B monitors (which are rare to see on their own), who ended-up having other same-model tweeters they bought NOS only a few years ago and had barely used in their backup monitors. And they sold them to me for cheap.



I also got a small deal on some NOS 7000-monitor woofers. The NOS woofers are a bit brighter, with a bit higher resonant frequency than the originals, and the newer tweeters seems to also have some more clarity to them. The sound is a bit tighter and punchier now, though the monitors still amazing-sounding before installing these, and I actually think I slightly preferred the slightly-warmer, 30+ years used woofers over the brand-new ones. But that could be a difference of breaking-in the new ones, which I'm working on doing. I think the new tweeters sound better than the old ones, and the combo of the old woofers and the new tweeters was magical.

The whole monitors + subwoofer setup is sounding incredible.

first image: original tweeters and woofers
second image: new tweeters and original woofers
third image: new tweeters and woofers





I might sell the Kanto YU6 monitors now. They sound great, but some of their purpose for me is lost with the new KRK tweeters and woofers giving the 7000 monitors a bit more clarity, while they also are beefier, fuller, and pack a lot more punch.