@williewonka would you have an idea on the Grimm SQM cables? I didn't want to go down the rabbit hole of cables because I know that's an extremely slippery slope!
So what about powered Speakers?
Given the quality of affordable speakers like those from Bluesound I decided to try a couple of powered studio monitors.
The first was the Yorkville YSM5 Studio Monitor. These I had for a year. They were most enjoyable, but lacked some bass
The second is the Focal Alpha 65 Evo 6.5 inch Powered Studio Monitor which arrived today - so I am listening to them as I type 
They improved the bass performance significantly, along with a nicer top end and larger sound stage
But this is only a part of the story - you can read about my journey in this thread
The impotus for this change was the realization that I had too much money tied up in my previous audio system and wondered if I could get close to it’s sound for a fraction of my previous system.
I believe I have succeded since I am finding the listening to this frugal system is providing more enjoyment than my old system did
Some may think studio monitors are for Near Field listening - true - but the Focal’s are equally as good at delivering a superb image in my listening room that is 17ft x 40ft
I think todays affordable electronics is far better than many believe it to be.
Powered speakers eliminate the need for speaker cables and since the amps are in the speaker the improvements in imaging, clarity and dynamics is significant.
Granted, this approach lacks the ablity to upgrade the amp or speakers seperately - but with speakers of this calibre, upgrading is the farthest thing from my mind
I would like to add that I using exceptional interconnects and power cables, which I have no doubt contribute to this wonderful sound
Hope some of you find this thread useful in your journey
Regards Steve
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The Absolute Sound review of the ATC EL50 active speakers. |
@rsure - This is the first time I have heard of these cables and as such have no idea as to their performance charactristics. I did look at their web site and could see nothing that would lead me to believe they would perform significantly better than other brands such as Audioquest, Cardas etc. There is only mention of their connectors (the connectors they use are nothing special) and their sheilding. I’m not a fan of heavily shielded cables because sheidling imacts performance Personally - I would not opt for this cable because they do not mention the use of more advanced cable design features like
This doesn’t make them a bad cable. Many companies do not publish construction details to protect their product designs. But companies like Zavfino, do publish the above features because they believe it helps sell their products to a more discerning buyer. Sorry I could not be of more assitance Regards - Steve |
@erik_squires wrote:
With the linked ATC EL50's above you pay extra mainly for the luxury finish and limited production uptick. There's a redesigned amp section, as well as some additional features that don't relate to sonics. By comparison their sibling SCM50ASL Pro uses the exact same drivers and overall amp and filter topology, but can be had for 1/5 the price here in Europe at least (i.e.: €17,500/pair). They sound great, I might add. Taking things a bit further the SCM300ASL Pro with outboard 4-channel 850W total per channel mono blocks + electronic crossover can be had for 2/3 the price (i.e.: €55,000/pair) of the EL50's, and they sport dual 15" woofers per speaker. Great speakers. Still, going by the package of the EL50's at $100k/pair the comparison made in the TAS review to the passive speakers at similar-ish prices incl. suggested amp pairings doesn't put the EL50's in a disadvantage, so it seems to me there may a blind spot when looking at the value of the passive speaker variants - certainly if the EL50's are deemed overly pricey (as anniversary editions at that). Aiming our gaze at their pro siblings just mentioned it should be clear however that these are indeed a good value, also having in mind that they haven't been voiced differently compared to the domestic versions - incl. the EL50's. |
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