Saturday, March 21, 2015

A sound system journey

After many attempts and configurations the Back Room of the house is finally set up as my little Man Cave. At the very least the audio components are finally in place.

About a year ago I replaced an old pioneer belt drive turntable with an Audio Technica AT-LP60. There have been no problems with it at all. It delivers solid performance. For the price, it's probably the best turntable you can get.

My thirty year old Onkyo receiver was losing a channel frequently. I still have it and if anyone can fix it, come on over, I will pay you in beverages. I picked up a Lepei LP2020A amplifier. This amp about the size of my hand, has a jack to plug in my computer or iPad. I could not be happier with the sound. Obviously it's not a high quality amplifier, look at the price. But for my needs, in a mud room of the house that is only used 2-3 seasons of the year, it's perfect and fills the room with good noises.

This left the speakers. I have shelves up high in the room that are perfect for bookshelf speakers. It may not be the best placement for sound quality but it's a good use of the spacial limitations of the room. I jettisoned a pair of basement warped 30 year old speakers that were the kings of mid-range. Scoured thrift stores for decent speakers. Thought I found some nice old Radio Shack Omnibus speakers but it turned out they were old and messed up. Pro tip: check under the grill for torn and blown speakers before purchasing. Also, check the heights of the speakers. After paying about the same amount in thrift stores for speakers, I finally bit the bullet and bought new Dayton Audio B652s.

These are the speakers I should have had all along. They fit perfectly in the space, deliver very good sound. I tested them with Queen's A Night at the Opera and was very pleased with the separation and depth of sound. They pack a good punch and again, these are not three or four figure speakers. For my purposes though, I love them. Finally, after twelve years of fits and starts, I have built a sound system I'm happy with.

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