JamesF

I have tried a similar PS3 setup prior to switching over to a laptop running mediamonkey. I still have my ps3 hooked into a PS Audio DLIII DAC along with the laptop, the ps3 is connected with a Chord Optichord and the laptop via USB; I ripped CD's to the PS3 hard drive initially into WAV, and then into AAC. It does sound very good, much better than expected, although I couldnt tell if wav or aac was a more accurate sound. However after much praise for MM off this site I hooked up the laptop and ripped cd's into FLAC to find the sound is more dynamic and much more 'HiFi' to my ears! My point of reference for sound quality came after using a Cyrus CD8x cd player for a year prior, which as you may know is a comparitivly high end machine and well regarded. Im pleased to say the laptop, MM, DAC route sounds much better, IMO of course, although the ps3 is very good indeed, just no flac support and the MM interface is more versatile.

I found that price on ebay and from a company on the internet, however 6 months have passed since then and your looking at about £1400 now im afraid! I still havent bought my active speakers, Dynaudio is releasing an active version of the Focal 110 called the 110a very shortly, and will try an audition these. Also quite interested in Quad 12L2 active speakers if anyone has heard them, Quad certainly has a long heritage of fine equipment!

Thanks for your views there Vincent, a compelling read. I did think Focal may have struck the right balance being a consumer and pro speaker manufacturer and their Be tweeters are used in both sides of the company! I listen no more than 3m from my speakers so these could be ideal, I wonder if the missing low end is really just an accurate bass response, a fast thud more than a slow thump perhaps. However with the focal sub im sure it sounds deep. I think my power amp and passive speakers may make an appearance on ebay this year!! Jim

So what model of M Audio speakers were they using? and did you get a good listen? just had a browse at their website and some of their kit certainly does appeal, the Studiophile DSM2 in particular, dsp active speakers, with a built in dac too, capable of 24/192. But what do they sound like i wonder!

Ah thankyou for that Ashley, intersting to know the history and evolution of such things. I think my confusion also stems from what some makers call 'near field' monitors, and also assumed studio monitors would be brash and totally ruthless in the sonic reproduction, compared to the classic home hi fi speaker. I hope and sure this is not the case as im sold on actives already and havent even listened to any. It seems their benefits are greater! And its certainly my next big hifi purchase, I just want to get it right, as you know speakers are a large percentage in the final 'fidelity' and often owned for long periods of time. James

So Vincent, how do the studio monitor focal 6 be's compare to normal home speakers? do you use them in the home environment? I was always unsure wherether studio and hifi speakers are two entirely different things. Also have heard from my reputable hifi dealer that there are some new active speakers released this month (january) circa 2k gbp that impressed him greatly, compared to his reference 9k passives, however the manufacturer has sworn him to secrecy and I couldnt get anymore information than that! Jim

Yep there seems to be only one dealer in the states, although im sure they can deliver to you, or you can buy direct from the site direct I beleive! may be worth getting to the checkout to see the delivery costs. I suppose you could always visit a metal fabrication company or the like, and see if they have small metal off cuts. I would think steel ball bearings would be another solution however I imagine that could be costly and even harder to track down! Just to add to your list of options!! Jim

The other option for you Jeff, is a purpose made item called Atacama Atabites, http://www.atacama-audio.co.uk/atabites.htm Hope this helps, seems to be the best of both worlds and not too costly in the UK.

I agree with your comments on what hi fi, although you could call it what tv sometimes!! However I think they play a very important role in the UK, Its a great source of information to those who are new to REAL Hi Fi, and provides such people with a stepping stone into the hobby, if you can call it that, and as such I think they are also benificial to the industry. Loved your post on the cables, Mr james. had a chuckle as I changed expletive deleted in my head to a four letter word with ing or er on the end haha.

Yep have been reading the reviews of the new ones, and certainly have been on my list for a while. Like to say thanks to darren, have been reading his posts on CU and on this forum, in fact I think it was his videos on youtube that initially got me thinking about computer audio and such like, the simplicity and convenience thats demonstrated cant be ignored, also the value for money aspect, getting high end sound for mid price money in a smaller user friendly package.

I meant this video, http://uk.cinenow.com/videos/1461-avi-puts-hi-fi-system-inside-their-adm9s-speakers-sound-vision-bristol-show-2008 Thanks for adding some input, however the talk of khz and hz is lost on me, not technically minded in that dept. Id love to test these out side by side but unfortunaltly im commiting a hi fi sin and buying blind, but with the guidance of the vast knowlege on this forum! so im sure i wont go too far wrong! As you may know im considering focal solo 6 speakers too. fronted by ps audio equipment, their pre amps use a gain stage, unlike a normal preamp i beleive, though i could be wrong and im stepping into waters beyond my knowlege anyway possibly similar thinking to your pre amp gain in the adm's! Jim

Thanks for your reply cj. I had a similar experience auditioning a few mid end systems, naim and cyrus mainly, and unfortunatly I did shell out the cash, and now one year on I find myself drawn to the flexibility and ease of use of computer based audio, also wishing to ditch the speaker cables and go for actives like yourself. However this brings issues of needing longer than normal interconnects from the preamp to active speaker! what lengths do you use? Any loss in quality? I also have a smallish apartment and think these may be the ideal solution for quality sound in smaller space, unfortunalty due to work and location an audition isnt an option. An interesting video on active speakers by meridian's bob staurt... http://uk.cinenow.com/videos/318-meridian-bob-stuart-on-digital-dsp-loudspeakers also if you look around on that site, you can see ashley demonstrating his adm9's

When i said it must be hard for reviewers, I really meant it, wasnt being sarcastic. I suppose though, as you say a revealing reference system that you are used to makes it much easier to pick out the nuances of equipment. Im certainly open minded towards all things hifi, I can certainly hear the differences new components bring to my system, interconnects and such like. I guess whats important to me in reviews apart from the sound quality matters is the how well they may work with other equipment, i.e is a speaker particularly difficult to drive, will x & y work in synergy.

I couldnt agree more with the previous posts. I have pretty much given up on magazine reviews as I find more satisfaction reading posts/threads from real people who use the items in their own homes, from the horses mouth you could say, instead of some perfect listening room. It must be hard for magazine reviewers in a way, they listen to so much kit it seems, how do they remember so many intricacies in one components sound, after listening to so much kit!! Another thing that seems to never be mentioned is, when did you have your last hearing check? everyone is different and its almost impossible to tell if your missing some really high treble. so theres room there for misinterpretation of the exact sound, even during blind listening tests. And Chris, not blowing your trumpet but, your reviews are very informative I find, down to earth and can make informed descisions from them, plus I can always ask you if I need more info, can't do that with a magazine!! Jim

Hi cj, and welcome to CA. would love to know how your speaker system sounds, im currently considering the mc15 sub250 package, although they are very hard to find here in the UK. are the speakers on par with good standmount speakers, how do the sats blend with the sub? im sure other people on the site would appreciate your feedback. Jim