Triangle speakers for rock & alternative music?

The problem is that the Yamaha receiver being circa-2000 has no pre-amp outputs

It does have external decoder inputs but that doesn't help my purpose. I posted the following in a different thread in the amp forum. Option 4 is the easiest to try. What do you think?


My options:

# MC preamp with fronts driven by tube/hybrid/ss amp & center/surrounds driven by rcvr. (

# Integrated amp driving Heliades in 2-channel mode & rcvr in HT. (How can I drive speakers with both ?)

# MC preamp/MC amp (expensive, also rears are satellites)

# Good A/V rcvr (don't want to deal with hdmi switching until the whole 1.3 issue is sorted out, might not be good for speakers)



Quote:
Originally Posted by srinivos /forum/post/0


Do you think with a different receiver or amp these speakers will provide a better bass response along with a warmer sound?

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Put those Triangles on audiogon and get your money back. You want a warm sound. You bought a speaker that would be in my top five for the opposite of that.


Honestly, your statement of wanting warmth and low end leads straight to one place. Jolly olde England!


Go audition some Spendors, Quad L's, Wharfedales, and ProAcs if you can. ProAc Studios won't be prohibitively expensive used, maybe you could find a deal on some Response 2.5's. Spendors tend to bring more $, so they might be out of your budget. Quads and Wharfedales will fit the bill though. I wouldn't say that Spendors or Quads would be my first pick for rock. You may find what you perceive as warmth and low end in some classic Klipschs, like KG4's or Fortes. They will certainly lift the roof off your house, even with an avr.


Good luck

I will take that suggestion. I think one of the dealers here has the Spendors & ProAc. Don't think Quad has any dealers in Dallas.


Btw, I am not sure I conveyed the right impression by my use of words. I am still picking up on the audio jargon and concepts. I am not just focused on bass alone & actually big, boomy bass from Walmart type cheap box speakers turn me off.


I auditioned some speakers locally before I purchased the Triangles from an Austin dealer. To give you an idea, these are my impressions:


B&W 603 - good mid-range, slightly bright, decent bass

604 - sounded better than 603, tighter bass but better soundstage overall.

Rega R5 - very neutral, great soundstage, good midrange especially with guitar music but moderate in the low frequencies

Paradigm Ref 60 - compared side-by-side with the R5 & liked the latter. For its size, performance was no better than the R5.

Martin Logan (4K one, forget model) - The best highs & mids I have heard. Long been my dream to own one since I heard it a few yrs back. Impractical for an apartment & budget.

Vandersteen 2Ce - Heard so much but just din't feel it during the demo.

Gallo Reference - same as above, expensive


The CDs I normally audition are: Pearl Jam(Ten), Alan Parsons (On Air DTS), School of Rock soundtrack, Nirvana (Unplugged) & Shakti (McLaughlin-Indian fusion).


I listened to a 10yr old Martin Logan speaker at my cousins home a few yrs back & I have loved it ever since. I am yet to find another speaker in my limited experience with better clarity & soundstage. I could find a used one for around 3K but the power components would cost even more.


My ideal speaker would be something which approximates(don't know if anything cheaper can match) the mids & highs of the ML & provide a tight, punchy bass like the B&W. I can at least dream, right?

Hello. I just purchased a set of the celius's. I first additioned the ones you have, but my room is the size of your approx and the place I additioned at got in a set of celius's and I decided cause my budget had the money to get the larger set. To your question on your music choice and "taming" the speakers. I am a big Nad fan always have been. I additioned the smaller triangles on the tried and true Nad intergrated with their cd player and the sound was great. lots of low end. This is what sold me about triangle. Everything else there Kef and PSB Pl had no where, in my opinion the sound and detail that the triangle had. When I additioned the celius's on the same setup I was blown away. Alot more control and detail. Oh and then we hooked them up to the masters cd and intergrated. Much much more defined. I really never understood how equipment could change the sound of speakers so much, but it does. No I thought that the regular Nad setup was better to me cause it allowed the celius's to play a little more freely, if that makes sence.


Anyway the point is equipmment like others said. These speakers can handle and do what you want, but they got to be teamed up with the right gear.


I would hold onto them. Oh ya and for your info I got the cometes ofr rears and the major noxa for my center along with a 2.5 sub. I love the setup.


My wife and I additioned son fab and vienna acoustics also. The vienna were great, but I just liked the triangle.


jim

I went buy BB yesterday and couldn't find a Marantz or H/K receiver. I am going to the local audio store to see if he will let me try a NAD amp at home this weekend. I talked to the Triangle dealer about returning the speakers yesterday but I plan to first try some separates with them. If it turns out that Yamaha is worst match, I would at least know it next time I audition different speakers.


Thanks mlankton & Absinthe for your insight.


jimim - Its good to know about your Triangle experience, gives me some hope that better electronics can help. I listened to Pink Floyd's "The Wall" yesterday and while they did sound a bit forward, the clarity & soundstate they present is definitely there. I admit that the Pearl Jam "Ten" album might not be the best audition material.


Srinivas


p.s. Any insights into pairing a Rotel preamp with NAD amps? Local dealer has a Rotel RSP 976 AV preamplifier for $300 & I could definitely use it with or w/o the Triangles. I could then trial a NAD amp. Or is it better to have NAD/NAD, Rotel/Rotel combo?



Quote:
Originally Posted by srinivos /forum/post/0


Steve,

I understand the limitations of a mid-fi speaker but I think for the amount of time I spend on music (and HT as such), I cannot justify spending more. Also, my living room is the only place suitable for both music & HT, hence, I need to have them serve dual purpose as fronts in a 5.1 setup. I am willing to spend a reasonable amount on electronics (used like you said) for 2-channel performance but it must integrate into the HT setup i.e. DVR, DVD player connected to either preamp or receiver at the processing end. I don't care too much about the speaker performance during movies/tv (& addl surround formats like 6.1, 7.1, dts-es etc.).

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I thought the Triangles were about the same $$ as what you could get the Hales for used . BTW I wouldn't call the Triangles mid-fi


I could be wrong on this, but I though the newer AVR receivers sounded better due to the higher quality DACs... I don't know how old that Rotel is, maybe it's fine. FWIW the cheap $170 refurbished Onkyo sr504 I bought sounds like honest to god HI-FI with my easy to drive speakers (92/db/w/m). Paired with a powered sub it's fantastic for alt. rock and in some ways it's better than my 2ch setup. Some speakers require $$ amps to sound their best, others do well with relative inexpensive amps. Just trying to throw out some options for ya. But to be clear, I'm not sure on the efficiency of the Hales, you might want to research it. And the onkyo doesn't have any pre-outs, so it'll be a dead end if you want more power down the road.

You might want to also ask around at http://www.audioasylum.com/index.html


Good luck with your search