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What is a really good sounding low volume system??

I'm trying to gear up for when I get married this september and move in with my fiance into her place. Living quarters will be cramped and we will share a wall and floor (thier ceiling) with the home owners. Headphones don't sound like fun but perhaps I'll have to bite the bullet and buy some hd 800's or something. I suppose my other option is to build a "second" system that really excels and sounds good at low low volumes. Nearfield listening? I've thought about just adding a nice pair of bookshelf speakers to my current front end, something that lacks bass but excels in micro detail and imaging at low volumes. I guess I could set up a secondary nearfield listening station but don't know where to start. There is a prima luna pl2 integrated amp for sale locally and I'm wondering if this int. paired with a bookshelf speaker that has great detail and imaging might work for me.
What do you guys think??
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frogman
7,409 posts
 
****"I would heed Atmasphere's advice." What advice, to buy his amps.****

I believe his primary advice was about speakers, no?

****You just described all speakers to some degree. However, it depends a lot on how you tune your system. ****

Uhh, maybe. Some speakers decidedly sound inferior at low volumes, regardless of tuning, Maggie's are one of them. You can tune for tonal balance (tonal/tune), minimally for speed/ dynamic get-up-and-go.

****Quads are good at low level listening, but if you ever want to play them loud it is likely they will be damaged and very expensive to repair. ****

Perhaps, depending on what one considers loud. But, so what? The OP is not concerned about loud, he needs to play music softly.
rrog
1,958 posts
 
"Perhaps, depending on what one considers loud. But, so what? The OP is not concerned about loud, he needs to play music softly."

Listening at low levels over long periods of time will only make the average audiophile anxious for the opportunity when nobody is around so he can turn it up.

Even though the NEW Quads claim to have a better protection circuit many have been damaged from too much power. Most of the earlier Quads are due for rebuild simply because the adhesive used has lived its useful life.
rrog
1,958 posts
 
Atmasphere, I was just looking at High Emotion Audio's website. It looks like the speakers and subwoofer will typically cost $10,000. Is this correct?
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drubin
3,274 posts
 
Anyone seen High Emotion at any of the shows? I'd love to hear them some time.
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atmasphere
11,756 posts
 
Rrog, if you get their subwoofers, yes. We don't run their subs here, just the Bella Twins, as they have proven adequate on their own.

FWIW I'm not a big fan of subwoofers- getting them to blend is a real challenge. One of the best I have seen is made by Audiokinesis, called the Swarm. Its a set of small subs that you set up in various places to allow you to get uniform bass throughout the room.

That tweeter on the HEI speakers is very fast and detailed, but also relaxed. ESLs have a tough time keeping up, plus the speaker is fairly small. They are the best monitor-sized speaker I have seen so far and great if you don't have a lot of room.
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