Hello Bearotti, I am considering the JM Labs 926's, are you still happy with yours? How much space do they need around them? I would greatly appreciate if you could share your expertise regarding these speakers. Thank You, Tom
I actually have gotten a few more signal cable power cords in my system now, including the digital power cable for my DAC. I do however take offence to the idea that I would even think about drinking light beer! That would be a waste of time and money...I prefer nice heavy beer with a good body, perhaps this makes the bass bloated and slow (kind of like my stomach and my running ability)! Anyhow, as for the speaker cables, I have just recently upgraded to the MIT 750's with the network boxes. Great upgrade that really tightened things up...It makes me wonder what another grand in cables could get out of this system.
As for your system, it looks amazing! That screen is HUGE! Anyhow, where do you live? It looks urban.
Very nice system you have there. Seems like you put a lot of thought into your choice of components to arrive at the sound you're looking for.
Just messing with you about the Kegerator. I use a Signal Cable Magic power cord myself. It was a nice audible improvement over the stock cord. As a matter of fact, I use Signal Cable throughout my entire 2-channel system with great results. When you save up a little more scratch, give their speaker cables a try. They are very inexpensive and sound excellent. I have tried the high dollar cables and the Signal Cables hold their own against them.
What type of beer was in the Kegerator when you burned in the power cable? I understand that light beer is best when burning in cords with a Kegerator. It tightens the bass and gives you much more air in the midrange.
HOW COME NO-ONE SAYS ANYTHING WHEN THEY VISIT??? There has been more than 300 visits since my last post...Anyhow, lots of new things on the way...New MIT Digital Reference cable, Boulder modified squeezebox, new power cables, power supply for the squeezebox....I have lots of new toys to play with and will be adding them one at a time noting the changes as I go along.
As for the stock SB I got, impresive sound! It sounds pretty good running into my DAC...not quite as good as my Denon, but close. I am hoping that the Boulder modded unit surpasses my current transport...if so I think I will be a computer audio guy from now on.
System edited: Well, I finally installed my new power cable after allowing it three weeks to burn in on my Kegerator...all I can say is that I had always thought that a power cable would not make any difference...well come to find out it does. I put this cable on my preamp, and all I can say is, ok this DOES make a difference. My soundstage showed a bit more depth. Also I heard the "tone" depth a little bit. The trebles seemed to calm and become more relaxed and the bass seemed to tighten and localize a bit more. All of this results in a better image than I was receiving before. I did some a/b comparisons to verify my thoughts, and I now find the experience to be just that much more enjoyable. One of the best $50 I have spent yet...now to upgrade the rest of my power cables as well! Additionally, I just purchased a Slim Devices Squeezebox 3 from a guy here on the GoN. Can't wait to try this simple medium for sound transmission. I will be sure to let y'all know what I think... BRING ON THE UPGRADES! Ben
I heard from a long time dealer of the Classe gear that the old stuff is the best stuff, in most cases outperforming even the new super expensive stuff, so that at least makes me happy about this equipment...FOR NOW! :-)... I keep wondering if I would like a Krell Preamp...or perhaps as I said before a BAT, if I could find something in my price range...I have seen many systems here on the GoN as you describe...$20K in electronics for only $5K in speakers. To me that means that a lot of the sound happens upstage, which we all know is true.
I see where you are coming from with the Pre being the most important part of the setup...It is where the first boost to the signal takes place, so it would be natural that it would be VERY important in the scheme of the system. The classe thirty is my first two channel pre...before this I have always had a multi-channel setup, but I have decided that the two channel route will more than suffice for me until if have six figures to spend on the baddest surround setup ever known to man! Besides nothing really compares with a well recorded piece of music played on a superb two-channel setup.
I will keep an eye out for some great deals on preamps, but I do need a few other cables upgraded in my system before I go all out on a new preamp...namely my Digital Audio Cable, lead from my Pre to my amp, and finally something other than the Home Depot specials running across my floor! Anyhow, I should get back to enjoying some new music, just got three CDs in the mail today!
I can see that you prefer a laid-back kind of sound judging from the selection of your equipment and speakers. Classe is smooth and warm while JM Labs are warm 'in comparison' with B&W's. I don't think of B&W's as bright so I am guessing that JM Labs will be much warmer than B&W's.
I am guessing that your preamp may be the weakest link at the moment IF the quality is similiar to CP-35. The quality of the Classe CP-35 preamp is not too good being the lowest range in the series after some advice from my fellow mates. I had considered this piece long time ago for my power amp but got the Plinius M7 instead. After I upgraded the M7 preamp to Sonic Frontiers Line 1 then only I noticed the M7 was trash. The jump from the SF Line 1 to the ARC LS-16 was even greater. That was when I realized that the quality of preamp is very important, and in my opinion even greater than power amps. Low quality preamps tend to mask detail, dynamics and transparency. By the way, ARC stands for Audio Research and not Acoustic Research.
I have no experience with BAT but it was said to be a much warmer unit in comparison to Audio Research, so may well be your cup of tea. I am contemplating of moving up to the LS-26 if fund permits but I am quite satisfied with my current setup at the moment.
I think it's worthwhile to spend more on equipment if you like the way your speakers sound. I was somehow influenced by a guy here who used quality electronics costing much more to drive his modest speakers. He was using ARC LS-26 and 300.2 amp(both costing $10,500 retail) to drive some Proac Response 1sc($2,100 retail).
I do like the laid-back sound of my equipment...I find it to add lots of depth to the soundstage...I see in your equipment that you are using a Acoustic Research preamp. What do you think of its presentation. I have thought at great legnth about going to a tube preamp...at the top of my list is BAT, since I can keep the balanced thing going this way.
I just noticed that you were using the Parasound amp to drive the 926 prior to upgrading to the Classe Model 15. I have experience with the Classe CA series of power amps and like their smooth silky presentation. I don't know if these are superior to the older Model 30 and 15 but if the quality of the Model 15 preamp is more or less similiar to the CP-35 or 47.5, I believe the JM Labs are not sounding their best yet, or the B&W 804S for that matter. There is certainly still room for improvement, and a big one that is.
Good to hear that the recent upgrades had elevated the enjoyment of your listening experience.
System edited: Well, there has been a huge amount of work done to my system lately...where to start. I got a new amp, Classe Model fifteen...Huge improvement in the soundstage and clarity of insturments...also the bass became much more punchy, but somehow more clear as well. Awesome improvement over my old Parasound 1500a. Also upgraded my DAC to a Classe DAC-1...once again, more detail, bigger soundstage, more depth. Then I added the MIT Shotgun S2 XRL interconnects...WOW. My system sounds better than ever, but should I stop...maybe for the day! Ben
Maybe...mine are much easier to drive than a lot of other speakers I have had in my system...that is for sure. I find in my room...15'x13' with a 12' sloping to an 18' ceiling that I get great bass response with my 926...even with 175 watts driving them....I am sure that if I had more amps, or monoblocks it could even be better. I got rid of my sub because it just detracted from the music. I do, however, listen at lower volumes...70-80db. The only time I really pump them is on orchestral music, but then you don't really have huge amounts of low frequencies...orchestral peaks around 100db. I guess what I am saying is that I don't really notice all of the same things that Jp1208 notices with his 936's.
Ryder, Fast articulate bass. The bass drivers are tight and when you get them to move they can drain power supply. Depends on your listening level. I have a large room w/ 10' ceilings and love what stereo subs can do for imaging. In a smaller room with the right amp they can give plenty of good musical bass. The 936 can be driven to 30Hz but can rob too much power from the mids and highs. The speaker becomes more forward and not as relaxing as they can be made. I really feel that a high powered ss amp with a good tube pre would be a good match. I am sure there are a lot of good combinations and I would put a lot of thought into the amp. Two subs just gives me a lot of flexibility and are great at any listening level with all types of music. I bet the bass drivers are rated at 88 or 89db and the mid around 90. Two 8" bass drivers at 89db effeciency can drain a single power supply pretty quick. The effeciency of the speaker may be 92db but they sure don't act like it.
So you are using two subs with the 936's? The 936 alone would not give a decent bass response? Will the 926/936 go below 30Hz without the employment of subwoofers? Since you mentioned these speakers like to be bi-amped and the impedance can drop to 2 ohms, looks like they are not that easy to drive at it seems to be. I had previously thought that they would be quite easy speakers due to the high sensitivity. I like the Mezzo's cabinetry more, but they cost considerably more as well...
Hi Ben and Ryder, I have the 936's and I can tell you that the Electra series really like to be bi-amped. I would get the Electra 946's before the Mezzo's and bi-amp them. The Electra's really suck the power out of amps because in large passages the can drop to 2ohms. When this happens you lose what is needed on top. I use two Linn Klouts and they have two power supplies in each amp so basically they are mono blocks in one chassis. This added tons of headroom and the size of the stage about doubled. There are other high powered amps that can do the same but I would look to see if they had two good sized power supplies. Eventually I will probably throw a tube pre in the mix as I think this could be a perfect match. The Mezzo has a better build quality but when I heard the 946's compared to the Mezzo's on the same system the Mezzo's had a fatter slower sound but with a deeper stage. Some may like this more but I liked the slam and speed of the 946. The wife said no on the 946 so I settled for the 936 and use two subs. Ryder, the 926's with two subs could match the Mezzo's but I think it would be personal preference and room size that could dictate which one to go with. Mezzo's would need a fairly good sized room and room behind them and to the sides. This would be less critical with the 926 at least regarding the room on the side of the 926.
Thanks for the insight Ben. Looks like the Electra 926 is the more musical speaker here. One more question if you don't mind. Have you heard the JM Labs Mezzo Utopia? If you have, do you feel it's a much better speaker overall than the Electra 926, or the perceived improvements may be not too significant? The build of the Mezzo Utopia is much better than the Electra series IMO.
YES! The JM Labs have a more laid back sound IMO, while the B&W's have a very forward sound. The imaging properties of the B&W's are much more precise, but the brightness of the speakers leave the speakers sounding much less musical to my ears than the JM Labs. I also found the bass response of the B&W's to be pretty flaccid in comparison to the JM Labs.
I feel like the JM Labs sound is much more refined and gives a better sense of the inner detail of the music. With the JM Labs I was able to hear the "layering" of the instruments, while the B&W's were so forward in their presentation that the instrumental soundstage came from "in front" of the speakers rather than being brought in by the "depth" of the soundstage of the JM Labs.
I compared these speakers using a variety of different music, mostly because I wanted to hear the differences between these new B&W's and my JM labs, because I had owned B&W's before purchasing the JM Labs in the first place. I found that the differences were most noticeable with Classical Music...particularly orchestras. The instruments actually sounded like the instruments sound with the JM Labs, while the B&W's fatigued my ears, and made me listen too closely to really hear the detail that my JM Labs do seemingly effortlessly. My girlfriend said it best when I asked her to compare the differences in these speakers...she said..."these are speakers for music" when speaking about the JM Labs.
May you describe briefly how the JM Labs Electra 926 compare to the B&W 804S driven by the Classe amp? I know listening preferences will dictate which suits you best, but which speaker do you prefer more and why? In your opinion, which is the overall better speaker in terms of transparency, refinement, detail, soundstage, bass etc?
System edited: Changed my category to getting started as I am turning over a new leaf of dedication to the two channel setup. I have some new stuff on the way and should be awesome to get it in my system. Also thinking of adding analog at some point in the near"ish" future. All I know right now is that I am really in for a new journey! Ben
I don't know, I go through phases....thinking that my girlfriend always sits in the sweet spot when she is home (she pays most of the bills oddly enough) don't like the lack of center when I am sitting off center...Maybe then again I just need to assert myself as the MAN of the house!
No, I have added the Classe to my system, but the web page that does the systems wouldn't let me put it on for some odd reason...I suppose that I will try again sometime soon.
