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Topic: Back into real HIFI! (Read 5085 times) previous topic - next topic
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Back into real HIFI!

Hi Everyone!

I'm new here

Hope I'm posting in the correct area of the forum as this is about equipment. Anyway I was thinking of giving all my CD's to charity. Well this christmas my friend had a fall and couldn't walk so I looked after him. He's better now  Well I had to go upstairs to get something for him and in the wardrobe was a Sherwood RVD6095RDS with a Eltax Symphony Centre. I had given him this around 10 years ago, as at the time I had a Technics midi system  Both were in mint condition and the Sherwood still had the remote. This got me thinking  That good old CD collection of 200+ could be put to some use. I really wanted that feeling again of choosing a CD to listen to and put it into a CD player. That feeling you just don't get from downloaded files or Spotify. I'm sure alot of you are with me on that. So the journey back into real HIFI began again for me this Christmas 

So EBAY and google came into effect for my next purchases. I had been living in a very small appartment for the past few years so the music I had been listening to was from my laptop and iphone using mainly Spotify and You Tube. I bought some Bose Companion 3's, sold those and replaced them with Razar Mako's. I know this is probably swearing to some of you guys but remember lack of space was the factor. The Razar Mako's were actually really good and have been arguably rated as one of the best desktop 2.1 speakers for the money ever. They were designed internally by THX. Not just certified but designed by them with Razar styling. They only made them for 12 months so they are as rare as Rocking Horse poo now

Anyway back on track with the subject in hand. I love Marantz always have. Especially the Special Edition and KI stuff. My first purchase back in to the realms of HIFI was a mint Marantz CD63SE and then some mint Mordaunt Short 904I's with some quality cable. I don't know about most of you guys but HIFI equipment has to be perfect to look at. None of this missing speaker grills or scratches here and there. It has to look as good as it sounds. It is electrical furniture when all said and done  When they arrived I was like a kid at christmas. Couldn't wait to put it together to hear what is sounded like. I wasn't dissapointed  I actually thought the Sherwood would let the side down, but it's actually a really good amp! If anyone is after a good amp cheap these things are going for next to nothing. You won't be dissapointed. So all in all to get the set up together it has cost me £220.00. I already had a Sony BDPS370 so I was fixed for as blueray player. I must say it's been a great investment

The other day I wanted to see if the subwoofer from the mako would work with the set up, only to find it only works as a complete system. So I connected the mako from the line in to the Marantz headphone socket. With the Marantz having it's own volume control it doesn't switch of the main speakers when connecting headphones like some CD players do. WOW! I was blown away! With two systems on the go, the sound was amazing! This may be controversial to some of you HIFI buffs but the ears don't lie. The next step is to bring the Mako's next to my sitting position with the two satilites on small tables on either side and the sub on the floor. I'm just waiting for 15m of mini jack to mini jack cable so i can connect the Mako to the Marantz.So I was wondering if anyone else has tried this out? Or if you have a decent desktop system, not doing anything, to give it a go. My next purchase will be Mordaunt Short 902's for the rear and a sub for 5.1.

That's my introduction over  Nice to be here and hopefully make a few virtual reality HIFI geek friends in the near future.
Bye for now

Back into real HIFI!

Reply #1 –
I'm glad to hear you're having fun.  That's what it's all about!!!

I would be kind-of nice if you'd tell us what this equipment is...  I had to Google to find out that a Sherwood RVD6095RDS  is a receiver. 

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...a Sherwood RVD6095RDS

...I actually thought the Sherwood would let the side down, but it's actually a really good amp! If anyone is after a good amp cheap these things are going for next to nothing. You won't be dissapointed. So all in all to get the set up together it has cost me £220.00.
Mid-range solid state equipment made in the 60s & 70s or later generally has excellent sound quality.    A modern "cheap" receiver usually has sound quality that's better than human hearing.  Speakers make the difference!!!

The one thing you may be missing...  Does the Sherwood have an HDMI input?  Some of the Blu-Ray audio formats require HDMI for the "full resolution" audio (which may not be that important).

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My first purchase back in to the realms of HIFI was a mint Marantz CD63SE...

...  I already had a Sony BDPS370 so I was fixed for as blueray player.
Blu Ray players can play CDs.


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The other day I wanted to see if the subwoofer from the mako would work with the set up, only to find it only works as a complete system.  So I connected the mako from the line in to the Marantz headphone socket.
The Sherwood should have a line-level "subwoofer" output.  You'll need a couple of adapters to go from the "mono" RCA jack to the 3.5mm stereo input on the speaker.

The reciever should have "bass management" settings so that you can send the bass from all 6 channels to the sub, or only the bass from the "point one" LFE track on a DVD/Blu-Ray.

In a typical home theater setup, the 5 main surround speakers are powered by the recever/amplifier but reciver usually doesn't have a built-in power amplifier for the sub.  The subwoofer is normally "active" or "powered" with it's own built-in amplifer.  (So it needs to plug into wall power.)   

Computer speakers and studio monitors are generally active so you don't need a separate amplifier/receiver.  Active speakers don't work properly with a typical receiver (except for the active sub).

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This may be controversial to some of you HIFI buffs but the ears don't lie.
Whatever works, man!

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...with some quality cable.
Regular 16 gauge (or "fatter") zip-cord is fine.  The speakers won't sound any differnet  with expensive "audiophile" cables (in a proper scientific, blind listening test).    There is a TON of nonsense in the audiophile community, but you won't find any of that here at HydrogenAudio.

For your signal connections you just need shielded cables.  You don't want anything super-cheap that's going to break, but you don't need to go crazy either.  Monoprice.com has really good heavy-duty cables for about the same price you'd pay for "average" cables in most stores.  (And standard cables for even less.)

The same is true with any digital cables.    As long as the data gets "from point A to Point B", everything is fine.    If the digital audio data gets corrupted it normally gets horribly corrupted and it's obvious.    We send digital data around the world everyday and if there's a typo in this post you can be pretty sure it's not the fault of the miles & miles of cable or the Internet!    If you read anything about jitter or some other nonsense, try to ignore it.  All of this stuff gets corrected and if the data gets corrupted you'll know it.

Back into real HIFI!

Reply #2 –
Thanks Doug!

Yes the Sherwood is a belter! I'm not sure what you mean by base management? I know I will have to buy an active sub :-)There is an option for having the sub on or off and how much base you want from -10 to +10 as with all 4 of the other speakers. Quick question the input for the sub on the Sherwood receiver has just one connection. I have read somewhere that you just need one RCA to RCA from receiver to subwoofer. Is this correct? I did try connecting the mako sub. But it won't work without the satellites connected.
The Sherwood receiver doesn't have HDMI. So I bought a Toslink optical cable to go from the Receiver to the blueray player and the HDMI cable from the blueray player to the TV.
The Sherwood receiver then displays Dolby Digital or DTS depending on the signal it's receiving from the blueray player. I know that blueray playerS can play CD's. However I've tried both the Sony blueray player and the Marantz CD player back to back and there is a big difference in quality. The blueray player sounds harsh compared. Thanks for the information on the cable. I won't be wasting money now :-)
Oh sorry for not explaining what the equipment was. I will take note for future posts :-)

Back into real HIFI!

Reply #3 –
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I know that blueray playerS can play CD's. However I've tried both the Sony blueray player and the Marantz CD player back to back and there is a big difference in quality. The blueray player sounds harsh compared.
A friendly WARNING!  There are strict rules here about making claims concerning audio quality.  All claims about sound quality have to be supported by proper blind listening tests.    That's how we avoid all that nonsense about better speaker cables "lifting a veil", etc.  See the "famous"  TOS #8.

In fact, it's VERY unlikely that either of these players has ANY audible defects.  (But I'm not trying to argue, and we can't discuss it without violating the rules anyway.)

It's not easy to do a proper level-matched blind listening test on hardware.    Often, one unit is a little louder than the other and we think it sounds better.  Or, we get the placebo effect and we think the newer or more expensive item sounds better.  (It is easy to do a blind ABX test on your computer comparing MP3 to WAV, etc.).

In any case, the rules are serious and if you can't prove it, be careful about what you say, or just don't say anything!     

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I'm not sure what you mean by base management? I know I will have to buy an active sub :-)There is an option for having the sub on or off and how much base you want from -10 to +10 as with all 4 of the other speakers.
Do you have the owner's manual?    My receiver has settings for something like "small" or "full size" speakers.    If you set it up for full-size speakers, all of the "normal" bass will go to the regular surround speakers, and ONLY the "point one" low frequency effects (booms & explosions) will go to the sub.  If you play a CD with that setup, there is no "point one" channel and no sound will come from the sub and all of the bass is sent to the regular speakers. 

Most home theater setups have small surround speakers, so you configure it to route ALL of the bass to the sub (and filter it out of the regular speakers).   

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The Sherwood receiver doesn't have HDMI. So I bought a Toslink optical cable to go from the Receiver to the blueray player and the HDMI cable from the blueray player to the TV.
The Sherwood receiver then displays Dolby Digital or DTS depending on the signal it's receiving from the blueray player.
That should work fine.  All of the DVD & Blu-Ray formats should "play" and you'll get the 5.1 surround and all. 

And, you probably wouldn't hear any difference with HDMI.  But, there are several DVD audio formats that are automatically "scaled-down" by the Blu-Ray player because S/PDIF (TOSLINK) doesn't have the required bandwidth.  (And of course, your receiver can't directly decode these formats.)

Again, this is NOT a big deal!  I just wanted to point it out. I don't have a receiver with HDMI... yet...  And, I have some concert DVDs that sound amazing in 5.1 surround!

Back into real HIFI!

Reply #4 –
...Missed a question.

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Quick question the input for the sub on the Sherwood receiver has just one connection. I have read somewhere that you just need one RCA to RCA from receiver to subwoofer. Is this correct? I did try connecting the mako sub. But it won't work without the satellites connected.
I assume your computer speakers have a 3.5mm connector.  I assume it takes a cable like this and an adapter or cable like this

You can probably get-by without the Y-adapter and only one speaker-channel connected (left or right), but you need to put some tape on the unused connector, or maybe plug-in one of those male-to-male RCA adapters (with female connections each end) so that the "hot" signal line doesn't touch something and make noise.

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I did try connecting the mako sub. But it won't work without the satellites connected.
Bummer!  You shouldn't be getting anything but bass out of that connector, so you shouldn't hear much from the satellites.  (Filters are not perfect and you might hear something.)

Back into real HIFI!

Reply #5 –
Thanks again :-)

Yes I can understand opinions regarding HIFI equipment can be subjective. Without someone putting a blindfold on you and switching between equipment you really can be disillusioned with the badge and price of the equipment. I will be very careful in the future when posting.

I managed to find the owners manuel on line. It has the options of FS-CS-FS (Front small, centre small, rear small) or you can change each to large. I did some homework last night and found on the internet, if you set the speakers to small, it lets the main speakers concentrate on the mids and hi's and the sub gets more of the low frequency signal. Is that what you meant?

The computer speakers have 3.5mm connecter I already have a phono adaptor for it to be inputted in the the CD player. I'm just waiting on the 15m mini jack to mini jack cable now. (3.5mm Stereo Male both ends) Although looking at that link you provided, do you think it would be better with 3.5mm Stereo Male to 2 RCA Male instead as the sub has left and right RCA inputs as well.

I've heard about these Y connectors. Please could you tell me the best place to get them from?

The Razer Mako will be part of my stereo setup now, just for music. Where as I will be buying a seperate sub and rear speakers in the near future for the 5.1 setup, just for movies.

Thank you for the information on monoprice. Their cables are amazing value 

Back into real HIFI!

Reply #6 –
Thanks Doug for the warmest of welcome's. I would just like to say where are the rest of you?? Bad bad etiquette not welcoming a new member. As for not being allowed to express your opinion on which HIFI you think sounds better just sucks. What's the point of a HIFI forum if you are not allowed to state which equipment you think sounds better? That's how forums work don't they? Opinions? Opinions make a forum and create debates. As long as the debate is managed by precipitates in a friendly courtesy manner there isn't a problem. This also creates interest within a forum group. I have never heard anything as ridiculous. Thanks Doug again and maybe you should find a new forum. I'm out of here.

Back into real HIFI!

Reply #7 –
You've misunderstood. You are absolutely free to talk about the sound quality of hifi equipment...provided you can objectively prove that said difference is real and not subject to expectation bias. IE you must be able to prove you heard a difference with your ears, not your eyes/brain/wallet.

Back into real HIFI!

Reply #8 –
The ears may not lie, but the brain surely is pretty bad at the game of telephone.

I'm glad that CD playing is becoming for you what vinyl has for many others though. We've come full circle I guess.