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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 10:38:43 GMT
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on May 31, 2015 16:09:13 GMT
Have replaced my cheap-ass (Logitech X-230) PC speakers, which were rarely used, for Dali Lektors I had bought a while ago but only used as rear speakers. I was intending to buy active monitors like the JBL LSR 305 or Mackie MR5mk3 and auditioned them last friday. So I listened to a few other candidate speakers as well for quite a while using all sorts of music that was present. The only 'cheapies' that sounded decent enough (for me) were indeed the LSR305 and MR5mk3 For most music my preference was for the JBL as it just sounded more clear/open especially with acoustic music. Only when I heard music that I know well (was Sting in this case) it became obvious the Mackie sounded more pleasant and the JBL too midrangy. If only there was a speaker right inbetween the JBL and Mackie at that price point .... Then I (accidentally) switched to the Dynaudio BM12A (3x more expensive and MUCH bigger in size) and was temporarily reminded what was missing from the cheapies. Switched back to the speakers I went for and switched of the demo and went home. Had also tried lots of other speakers, big and small... Neuman, Focal, Genelec M-Audio, KRK, Yamaha the usual suspects ... The smaller Dynaudios weren't bad but the difference with the JBL was small. Nothing touched that big Dynaudio so I left .... a bit disappointed. Back home I started tinkering with the Dali's. They are now actively filtered (small external amplifiers) and have modified the X230 speaker/volume control so it acts as a volume control only and made a filter that crosses the speakers to the X230 sub at around 100Hz. The Dali's don't sound that good below 100Hz so was needed to make them shine. Really pleased with that setup and is tonally closer to the Mackie than the JBL but more 'hifi' and smoother but not nearly as loud as those monitors (small amplifiers of just 20W were used) Still can easily recommend both the Mackie and JBL. The Lektor 1's are about the same price as the mentioned monitors but should add the price of the X230 + small amplifiers (home brew) + filters + time. In that case the Mackie and JBL's are great value and sound only slightly less 'pleasant' than the Dali's. The picture was taken in low light, cheapy Nikon cam with no flash, from the hand and high ISO so no stellar picture here.
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Post by jhelms on Jun 10, 2015 15:50:51 GMT
Those look fantastic! And I spy a dali zensor up top and an 0204 Frans, I use an LSR2310SP sub for my monitor setup, fantastic buy and I have not had a single thought of upgrading it since purchase which says a lot. I was not a fan of the jbl 305's or the mackie monitors either. I actually auditioned quite a bit more, but the ones that really sing for me are surprisingly the behringer B3030A actives. When setup properly, they are amazing. Hope you get a chance to take a listen to them.
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Jun 10, 2015 18:48:36 GMT
They don't have the Behringers in stock so can't audition them that easily. They are alomst double the price of the 305's but the Behringers do have a planar tweeter.
The 305's are off the wish list as they can't really be used like desktop monitors. They appear to emit an audible noise from close by, this would annoy the hell out of me. Didn't know this nor demoed these in a quiet room at a very short distance. The Dali's sound exceptionally good up close. FAR better than in a room where they simply fall short.
The Dali's are the Lektor-1 speakers. About the same price as the Zensors except the latter has the bass ports on the rear and different looks. AFAIK the Zensors are the successors of the Lektor series, same woofers and tweeters.
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Post by jhelms on Jun 10, 2015 20:56:58 GMT
The zensor I spied is in the first pic by Gordon - right hand corner of the screen Understood on the price, hopefully you can take a listen at some point however! I need to try my Zensor 1's as monitors here soon just to check them out
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2015 21:49:23 GMT
The Zensor's work well with their backs to the wall. Being rear-ported you might expect a degree of boominess but that's really not the case. Each cabinet has a little hole in the top rear to allow for them to be wall-hung so I guess Dali took this into account when tuning the port. They're actually very neutral sounding to my ears. Not too shabby for the money. edit - Wine by the pint is optional.
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Jun 13, 2015 10:39:18 GMT
Those Dali's perform quite above their price point do they....
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2015 13:32:21 GMT
Those Dali's perform quite above their price point do they.... I think so, yes. They're also beautifully built and although they're black & silver they're actually quite tasteful in the flesh. Both drivers look very nice too. I must stress though that I actually bought these to be used on stands in the living room. I'm that environment they are incredible. If I was buying speakers today to go where I'm using the Dali's I'd probably be looking for something smaller, possibly combined with a sub.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2015 20:33:54 GMT
Will sort out some better pics but in the meantime here's some crappy mobile snaps of my desktop & the new 'toy'.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2015 21:10:38 GMT
Pink? Pink? Kept that hidden. How's it sounding?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2015 21:22:19 GMT
Easy tiger! That's purple I got bored tweaking and started listening to some music. Will sort it tomorrow. Sounding great Gordon. Plumped for a Voskhod 'rocket' 6N23P which seems to be a nice match with the Ember & K7XX. Smooth, clean, musical and very more-ish....much like the Franziskaner. Cheers!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2015 21:41:58 GMT
We talked about this the other night & whilst it's true that I never really got on with my Q701 I'd have to say of all my headphones it was them that benefited most from the Ember. They really suck up power. The Q's still had that ridiculous showroom 2k spike though & that was a deal breaker. Shame really. Oh, and the headband of doom.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2015 22:23:30 GMT
Yeah both the AKG I've had (K612 Pro & K7XX) really sing when you feed them power too. I think you'd find both far more hospitable than the Q701 as they're a lot less prone to exaggeration around the 2k mark.
Flat headbands too and the K7XX is possibly the most comfortable headphone I've owned. Dunno why they stuck with those daft wee bumps for so long...
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2015 23:16:46 GMT
Aye, the Q's were possibly the only mistake I've ever made in headphones. The thing was that all the reviews at the time said how detailed they were and that was fair. What they didn't tell you was that it was at the expense of ultimate deafness. Not to mention that headband. Did I mention the headband? Headband. See these smilies? I don't know what most of them actually mean.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2015 13:05:28 GMT
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