hello my name is G and I'm a recovering audiophile - question regarding setup

[berlinguyinca]

Hello,

over the last couple of weeks I was researching the whole bottlehead idea and related content. I used to love audio gear, but for the last 10 years funds and neighbours did not allow me to enjoy this hobby in the way I want to and so I'm pretty much starting over from scratch right now and the idea of tubes always interested me.

I am considering putting the following setup together
                                                       
rega-3 ---> seduction ------------------> forplay -> s.e.x -> Klipsch RF 52 or RB-61, not sure yet and Denon AH-D5000
cd      ---> little dot dac --------------------|
sacd    ----------------------------------------|

at this point I own the Denon CD/SACD player and the DAC + the Denon AH-D5000 so my first step would be to buy the S.E.X followed by the forplay and than the speakers.

Interconnect wise I planning on using BlueJeans Cables. And I wont to put this setup together over the next 3-5 months, or sooner depending on time and funds.

Does this sound this like a acceptable setup?

I really like the home build idea of the amps and the small footprint.

thanks for your help!

g.

 

[Doc B]

Sounds like everything should work together well. You might be able to get by with a simple input selector box rather than adding the Foreplay. The S.E.X. amp has plenty of gain and the only function you would really need from the Foreplay is the ability to select different sources.

 

[berlinguyinca]

Sounds like everything should work together well. You might be able to get by with a simple input selector box rather than adding the Foreplay. The S.E.X. amp has plenty of gain and the only function you would really need from the Foreplay is the ability to select different sources.

thanks this was what I was hoping to hear, can you maybe point out a good selector? I looked around and could not really find anything great. Otherwise I might need to wire up my own and copy one of the boxes to make everything match and look similar.

g.

 

[Doc B]

Yeah, I would be inclined to make my own. You could get an inexpensive project box, some good quality RCA jacks and some switches and put it together pretty easily. Good rotary switches are a bit tricky to find. There is either something like the Lorlin switches we use, which are honestly not quite as reliable as I wish but decent and very reasonably priced, or very expensive stuff like Goldpoint and Electroswitch. Not much available in between.

We fabbed up a box that matches our stuff using a 6" x 10" aluminum plate that I got cut at a sheet metal shop for $2, and one of our Seduction/Crack size wood bases. It just has RCA inputs, RCA outputs and the selector switch on top, and right now it feeds a prototype preamp that has a single pair of inputs like the S.E.X. kit. Bigger than it needs to be but matches the look and works just fine.

 

[denti alligator]

Your desired set-up looks a lot like mine. I only have an input selector, a cheap one, too. I did build one myself, but clearly something went wrong, because it sounded like crap. Surprisingly, the cheap-o $5 one I bought on amazon does the trick just fine.

I don't have the Seduction yet, and I went for some used Klipsch Fortes to get fuller bass, but we would end up with something very close. It's a fantastic set-up!

 

[berlinguyinca]

Thanks now I just need to figure out how well the rf-52 work in the combination and to find a place who does chrome over alu jobs in Sacramento.

 

[denti alligator]

The RF-52s will work fine, but I would look around for some used Forte's or Heresy's. You'll get these for cheaper than the price of the RF-52 new.

 

[Grainger49]

I'm going to support Sam on the vintage Klipsch over current production.  They breath more life into the music.  I was sorely disappointed when I heard the recent Klipsch about 9 months ago.

And let's put it in perspective, the vintage Klipsch were what was around when I was selling audio gear, not the new stuff so maybe it is just nostalgia for me.  You should be happy.  Just give a listen to some old ones before plunking down your cash.

 

[glennn111]

For a simple selector switch, I have found this one from Glassware (http://glass-ware.stores.yahoo.net/inseswandpcb.html) to be very good. Especially for the price. It is actually quit robust, and has not affected the sound quality of my system at all.

 

[berlinguyinca]

For a simple selector switch, I have found this one from Glassware (http://glass-ware.stores.yahoo.net/inseswandpcb.html) to be very good. Especially for the price. It is actually quit robust, and has not affected the sound quality of my system at all.

sweet, I definately going to order some of these and practice with them.

 

[berlinguyinca]

I'm going to support Sam on the vintage Klipsch over current production.  They breath more life into the music.  I was sorely disappointed when I heard the recent Klipsch about 9 months ago.

And let's put it in perspective, the vintage Klipsch were what was around when I was selling audio gear, not the new stuff so maybe it is just nostalgia for me.  You should be happy.  Just give a listen to some old ones before plunking down your cash.

thanks, but I literally hate the look of the forte/hersey. It has to be somehow optical acceptable, specially since my wife has something to say too.

 

[STURMJ]

RE selector switches: I recently used these, and worked well for me;
http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=C4D0604N-Avirtualkey69000000virtualkey690-C4D0604N-A
very well made, but also a bit more expensive. Should work well for you as well, there may be other variants of this that may be better suited for your intended use.

 

[Grainger49]

I have to support you on this.  If they are ugly to you and have no WAF, and they don't, they should be off the list.

I have a pair of Triangle Zerius speakers, 94dBW in a 13' X 23' room.  They are fine, and get louder than I care to listen.

thanks, but I literally hate the look of the forte/hersey. It has to be somehow optical acceptable, specially since my wife has something to say too.

 

[berlinguyinca]

I have to support you on this.  If they are ugly to you and have no WAF, and they don't, they should be off the list.

I have a pair of Triangle Zerius speakers, 94dBW in a 13' X 23' room.  They are fine, and get louder than I care to listen.

thanks, but I literally hate the look of the forte/hersey. It has to be somehow optical acceptable, specially since my wife has something to say too.

so 94 db are enough? This is rather nice to hear, since this gives me a whole lot of other options regarding speakers.

Well now there are just 2-3 months of time to wait for the money, delivery and coaxing the wife into it.

 

[Grainger49]

94dBW are fine with my Paramours, 3.5WPC.  Looking at the top of the thread you are looking at SEX, 2WPC.  I haven't tried SEX on my speakers.

But there are a lot of high sensitivity speakers out there today.  Speaker technology has advanced.  Somewhere on this site there should be a list of SET friendly speakers.  They include Cain & Cain and Pi speaker kits.  There are a lot of single driver speakers. 

Mine are either 3 way or 2.5 way, it is confusing how much of the music spectrum each of the two bass drivers cover.  I augment the bottom with a sub.  Remember, I have a pretty long room almost 25 feet.  That allows for lower bass propagation than an average 14-16 foot room.  For a long time I didn't use the sub at all.

 

[denti alligator]

94db could be enough, depending on how loud you want to be able to go, and how big your listening space is. 94db is half the power of 97db, which is the minimum recommended for the SEX. I've used the SEX with 89db speakers and it was fine, though hardly robust. I'd go with the Klipsch, as planned.

 

[Grainger49]

There are a lot of things that go into "loud enough."

As Sam mentions you might listen quietly.  Paully listens 6-10dB lower than I do, and many listen 20dB louder than I do. 

Power/speaker sensitivity/room size/listening distance (listener from speakers) all come into it.

Pragmatically you need to try it to see.  I always suggest finding a Bottlehead or other SET fan in your area and ask them to bring their amp over to your room.  That will answer your questions.

 

[Paully]

If you go with Klipsch and like the sound keep in mind that there are a lot of Klipsch Heritage speakers to consider.  I don't know the two your mentioned originally but there is the Chorus (II), Forte (II), La Scala, and Heresy just to name a couple of the top of my head.  There is also Altec such as the Valencias to consider as well.  Single drivers like Fostex.  And there are the aforementioned Pi speakers.  You have quite a few options in the plus 96db range.

 

[Paul Joppa]

My official line has always been that if you can generate 102dB from one speaker at 1 meter anechoic, then you will satisfy most audiophiles most of the time. That would be 99dB speakers for SEX, 96dB for Stereomour, and 93dB for Paramount 300B amps. This is approximately equivalent to the THX home movie standard and is really quite loud!

A lot of people - maybe half? - are perfectly happy with 6dB less. It depends on taste, preferred music, room acoustics, and speaker directivity.