Gear upgrade - need advice!

[JamesK]

Hi gearslutz,

I recently posted a tread of a semi-flawed but valid DAC comparison and came to the conclusion that the increase in price that is required for any significant upgrade of quality was too great in the DAC world. Therefore as controversial as it seems I am going to keep my embarrassing DAC/interface and spend my very limited amount of money on something more essential.

From mostly an ergonomics point of view (as well as sonic) I've decided to get a Weiss EQ1 + AES blah PCIe and new monitors.

Monitors are the bit I am stuck on, as the weiss and card won't be less than £3000 and it gives me another max £3000 before I have to call it a day. Because I actually have no money at all and I am going to get a bank loan, I definitely don't want anything that is "good for the price". I won't something that is good full stop, or I'll save myself getting into debt and stick with what I have until I can afford. I am just very conscious that, although my current setup works incredibly well for me, my gear list looks terrible and I could attract more clients by upgrading it (I'm aware this is stupid if my setup works, but everyone knows the deal!)

Given this, I know of only two decent choices of monitor in my budget:
- ADAM S3As
- Lipinski L-505 + amp

I am swung towards the 505s but don't know of an amp that would be good for less than £900...? I am completely open to second hand stuff but am finding it impossible to get hold of any (especially weiss!)

Thanks in advance,
J

[Andy Krehm]

Originally Posted by JamesK

Monitors are the bit I am stuck on <edit> I know of only two decent choices of monitor in my budget:
- ADAM S3As
- Lipinski L-505 + amp

I am swung towards the 505s but don't know of an amp that would be good for less than £900...? I am completely open to second hand stuff but am finding it impossible to get hold of any (especially weiss!)

Thanks in advance,
J

I use and recommend Lipinski L-505s. When I upgraded my studio, I had an unlimited budget for a monitoring system but due to the size of my room and distance I am from the speakers, my designer suggested staying on the small side.

I use a Bryston 3B SST which is what Lucas Lipinsky recommended for the 505s. Of course this was before they had released their own amps but you can't afford those, at least at the moment. I'm sure you could find a used Bryston for half of what I paid! I believe we ran the 505s on a Hafler amp while we were testing speakers and it was fine. Sorry I don't remember the model.

However, you cannot use the 505s for mastering without a sub. They simply do not go low enough.

I use a pair of Velodyne DD-10s but you can probably get away with something less expensive. Before the Velodynes, I used a single Yamaha SW10 which was so good that it took a stereo pair of the Velodynes to significantly improve on the sound. The Yamaha was only about $1,200 US new so I bet there are some floating around at half that price. That is an amazing sub for the price!

The key with sub(s) and satellite speakers is to get an active sub with a variable roll-off and volume control. If you don't have that, you may find it difficult to make the satellite and sub sound right.

[Luna Sound]

I too can highly recommend the Lipinski L-505s, when they are set up right they sound excellent. However Andy is absolutely right that you wouldn't be able to use them for mastering without a sub (preferably two). I use a pair of REL subs which have the necessary roll off and volume adjustments. These can often be had s/h on ebay for next to nothing but really do work well.
To power my 505s I'm using a pair of Midimono amps by MM Audio based around Hypex modules. They are incredibly clean and detailed. I see they've put the prices up since I bought mine earlier this year but they're still not far beyond your budget. Alternatively you could buy the kits from Hypex and put them together yourself if you're any good at that sort of thing.

[Riccardo]

I agree with Luke about the amp: Hypex!