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Amp recommendation and setup advice please

Hello,

I love music and I adore quality sound - I cannot listen to music on ordinary speakers/devices.

I have been trying to do my research on sound systems/speakers/amps etc.. and learn/understand the whole shebang, but I'm not that much of a tech head. 

I want to buy the Klipsch RF-7 II tower speakers (I think they are passive, hence requiring an amp). 

I want them for both my new TV and also the vinyl/turntable setup I am going for, which is as follows:

Turntable - ProJect Debut Carbon Premium with Ortofon 2M RED (cartridge)
Phono (pre-amp) - ProJect Phono Box DS
Speakers - as above
Subwoofer - thinking either Klipsch R-12SW or R112SW
Amp - ??

I have a few questions:

1. Am I on the right tracks for having all the essentials?
2. Can someone recommend a good amp to power my speakers and sub please, and does the sub need powering or does it have it's own amp? 
3. Do I need a DAC for TV and connection to laptop? If so can you recommend a good one please? I was thinking of Audioengine D1 Premium 24 bit DAC Interface Connector.
4. Please suggest any alternative products if any of the stuff I mentioned are no good or don't fit together that well.
5. How would I set all of this up? Do I need anything else?
6. Do I need more speakers? I'm worried that the sub may be too much bass and drown out the tower speakers. 

I apologise for my lack of knowledge - I've just signed up here because I read that I could get advice and guidance from enthusiasts and experts. I know that my questions and post may frustrate some of you as I may have made some rookie mistakes, and perhaps this type of post has been done a 100 or so times but wasn't sure how to get answers/help. 

Many kind thanks in advance!

Mo
laher
laher OP
26 posts
 
@auxinput apologies for the delayed response, it was my sisters wedding weekend. 

I have the Audioquest Redriver interconnects (XLR) from Yamaha monitors to DAC, and Lifatec Toslink digital cable from DAC to Satellite. I also tried the digital cable into the TV and it’s the same as when plugged into the Satellite. 

I changed the sound settings on the Satellite to stereo, and I have the DAC gain set to low. There are 4 gain settings: low, full, high, and super high. I read that a low gain with higher volume will result in a more neutral sound. Is this true? I’m not sure which gain setting I should be using. 

I have played music via Bluetooth on the Satellite (from my iPhone) and the sound is what I expected - the bass is impressive considering there’s no subwoofer. However when watching TV and movies there’s almost no bass. 

Perhaps a subwoofer would make a difference and pick up the 20-80hz range? Also, I was thinking about adding in a centre speaker too. Would this be a good idea? 

Will the DAC be able to power everything if I added the sub and centre speaker? And does the DAC have the availability to output to these?

I was reading that speaker position is vital. My room is 7.5m by 3.5m (roughly), and the TV/speakers are against the long wall. I have the tweeters at ear level when seated, very close to the wall, angled in to the couch creating a triangle effect. The speakers are about 2.5m apart from each other. Any reccomendarions for improving the positioning?

the sub you mentioned is one I short listed but stretching the budget a little bit, especially if I am to buy a centre speaker. I was also looking at the Klipsch R-112SW. Is this a good one? Also, is it better to have two average subs or one really good one?
laher OP
26 posts
 
Ignore the centre speaker parts, I realised that I'm talking garbage. I have a stereo setup and centre speaker is for surround setups so it doesn't make sense. I also don't think I have the available ports on my preamp/DAC after adding a sub. 
auxinput
1,538 posts
 

The gain setting on the DAC just dictates how loud the output will be.  I would say to use Low or High unless you feel that the sound does not get loud enough.  You do have a volume adjustment on the back of the Yamaha, so I think any gain setting will work.

Select the Fast / Slow volume control characteristics.
        H: Fast.  64 steps range.  
        L: Slow. 100 steps range.
        F: (Full ) High gain mode. 100 steps range. (For the low sensitivity headphone like the HE-6 or the source had low output voltage level)
        S: (Super)High gain mode. 64 steps range. (For the low sensitivity headphone like the HE-6 or the source had low output voltage level)

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Relating to the clarity of the sound, make sure that the setting switches on the back of the Yamaha are all set to "FLAT" or "0".  The switches are not always in the middle position for FLAT/0.  If this is the case, you can try doing a "+2" setting on the MID EQ or the HIGH TRIM.  This may increase the clarity of the mids / highs for you.  Play around and see what you like the best.  Alternatively, you could try Audioquest interconnects that have the silver-plated connectors (such as Mackenzie or Sydney).  Silver plated will give faster mids/highs, but may be leaner on the bass.  In my opinion, gold plated connectors sound more natural, but it's all personal preference.

Movie/television soundtracks are mastered with a 5.1 system in mind.  Unfortunately, you might have to live with the sound if you want to keep the DAC.  Also, the Audio-GD DAC will not support a center channel.  Way back in the beginning of this thread, I tried recommending doing an HT processor or receiver, but it seems our discussion went towards a 2-channel DAC.  Sorry about that. 

If you really want a center channel, you could just get an HT receiver to do the dolby digital / dts decoding for center speaker and use different cable for Yamaha (maybe a RCA -to -XLR adapter cable).  Then use the Audio-GD DAC for your own high end system. 

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If you feel okay with the general sound quality and just want more low bass, the subwoofer idea is good.  The Klipsch R-112SW appears to be a good choice.  Yes, having two subs is better than one.  This allows you to place them in different locations and works better to handle room nodes.  Generally, a room will have bass NULLS, which are areas / frequencies where the bass waveforms cancel each other out from wall reflections.  Having two subs will help reduce these cancellations and give you better bass.  The Klipsch have RCA inputs, so you just need RCA cables and use the standard RCA outputs of the DAC.  You can use both the RCA and XLR outputs at the same time.  The XLR will go to the Yamahas.  The RCA will go to the Klipsch sub(s).  Then just set the crossover on the subwoofer to something like 40-50hz and adjust the gain on the subwoofer to your preference for bass.

As far as room, sometimes we are at the mercy of furniture and other restrictions.  Generally, I think the best would be to put the left/right speakers on the short wall for best sound, but other things may prevent this.  If you get subs, it is definitely best to try to put them into the corners to boost the bass.  Having speakers set in the middle of the long wall is definitely going to produce weak bass (in my experience).

laher OP
26 posts
 
I have the gain on the DAC on low, the level on the Yamaha set to +4dB (half way), and all the presets to zero/flat. I may up the mids and highs to see how that sounds but I think it might not be necessary. 

I’m happy with the sound when I play music, but I guess it makes sense that the sound isn’t as good with the movies/TV if they are mastered to a 5.1 surround sound.

Maybe a HT processor or AVR would have been a good idea considering this was supposed to be a TV setup, but I’m happy sticking with the preamp/DAC. Apologies for my lack of knowledge and experience in all of this, but I do think the conversations took a turn for the best so thank you for your guidance. After all, it’s just a TV set up for my father and he is happy. I think the addition of a sub will complete the setup in my opinion (but this will be more for me than for my father lol). 

I’ll probably get the Audioquest Sydney (for example) at some point just to hear the difference between gold and silver plated interconnects, not because I think I need it. 

My DAC won’t support two subs right? I will try to purchase the Klipsch but it’s proving difficult finding a dealer in the U.K.

I could buy the Audioquest Big Sur for connecting the sub to the DAC right (RCA to RCA)? The thing that worries me is that the picture of the Big Sur looks as if the left and right connector split isn’t long enough to plug into the ports on the DAC. Does this make sense to you? I might not be explaining myself very well here.

This may be a silly question, but how worried should I be about knock offs and replicas when it comes to buying audio equipment off eBay or Amazon for example?

Unfortunately it’s not possible to put the speakers on the short walls. Any tips for making the most out of the long wall. I read one theory about putting them as close to the wall as possible, and if you can it’s best to mount them into the wall so that they are flush. The other theory was about putting them a foot or two away from the wall. I want to avoid or minimise the nulls in my room.
auxinput
1,538 posts
 

There are other subwoofers you can get.  Look at these on the ebay UK site:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Speakers-Subwoofers/14990?Configuration=Single%2520Subwoofer&rt=nc&_sop=3&_udhi=500

There is a Revel B120.  Also, several BK subs so that you could get two if you wanted.  Or just get one to start and put it as close to the corner as you can get.  If you get two subs, use Left RCA for one sub and Right RCA for the second sub.  If you only get one sub, use both left/right RCA into the same sub.

You can play with the Yamaha's position.  I think generally, you need a little bit of space away from the wall (at least 1-2 feet) because the bass ports are on the back side of the speakers.  But I think the best bet would be to put a subwoofer in each corner. Then set them at about 80hz (the Yamaha's may not play that low when in the middle of the wall).

I can understand your concern on the "split" of the Audioquest cable.  It is definitely not that wide, and the left/right RCA outputs on the Audio-GD are spaced far apart.  I would look at the Belden 1695A Coax cable for subwoofer.  These come in single cables, so you can get two of these (one for each corner sub).

https://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/subwoofer/index.htm

The 1695A uses a solid-core 18awg copper conductor.  In my opinion, this would be an excellent cable for transferring bass frequencies.  Smaller awg conductors do not transfer bass as well.  In my testing, 20awg seems to be the best overall compromise - small enough for high frequency detail, but still large enough for good bass.  When going to smaller 22awg conductors, I get much leaner bass and too much bright highs.  The Audioquest interconnects typically use 21awg conductors.

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There are definitely counterfeit cables on ebay and stuff.  The Kimber Cable speaker wire is very easy to counterfeit because you cannot tell the difference - it's just braided wire.  There are other Furutech connector counterfeits.  Lots of counterfeit junk on ebay from China - stuff that is "too good to be true".  However, buying something like used Audioquest on ebay or elsewhere is usually pretty good.  I have not seen counterfeit "equipment".

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