jas0_0 326 Posted March 28, 2020 (edited) Hi all, Had to share... Perhaps this should go in the "What's Yer Bits and Bobs?" thread. Mods please move if necessary. Just put together little desktop system in the spare room to make the long hours working from home pass a little quicker. Mainly made up of bits I've intended to sell for a while. Will make shifting them that much harder. Oh well, the funds can wait - I'm not going to the pub for a while anyway! Loaded up my work laptop with Tidal > HIDIZS Sonata S8 DAC > Croft 7R > Proac 1SCs. Sounding sweet... Anyone else used the time to come up with a new system? Stay safe (and sane)! J Edited March 29, 2020 by jas0_0 5 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ipsofacto 59 Posted March 29, 2020 I watched a rather enjoyable video review of your speakers that was posted on YouTube yesterday. May be of interest. The guy speaks very highly of them.. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colinjg 3,084 Posted March 29, 2020 I think he is short changing them a bit. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cable Monkey 856 Moderator Posted March 29, 2020 Any praise the 1SC’s get is well deserved. When they work in a room they are sublime. But when they don’t they can be utterly confusing to someone who wants to listen based on reputation, and confounding to someone who knows how good they are capable of being. When I showed mine at the old Wigwam show at Scalford I transferred them from the smallish lounge in my flat, to a smallish room at that hotel. Both had concrete floors. The transfer was seamless and they sounded every bit as good as at home. I took them to a friends house (bouncy floors and lots of soft furnishing) and they were awful. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jas0_0 326 Posted March 29, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, Colinjg said: I think he is short changing them a bit. Me too. Having lived with them for 3-4 years now, and tried them in a variety of setups, positions and rooms, I’ve come to realise positioning and room treatment/EQ are vital to get the best out of them. The reviewer says he’s not got lower than ~50Hz, but I’ve managed flat to 38Hz with some boundary reinforcement and EQ to remove bass peaks. Maybe that’s cheating but I gather the manufacturer specs are in-room rather than anechoic. Since last night I’ve put the speakers on sorbothane feet, measured with REW and tweaked the frequency response of each channel with a pro PEQ Audirvana plugin. Now sounds superb. Lovely deep bass and the nearfield setup avoids reflections so imaging and detail are stunning. It’s like miniature musicians are using my desk as a stage. Edited March 29, 2020 by jas0_0 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jules_S 663 Super Wammer Posted March 29, 2020 Love your setup, @jas0_0 - great use of "leftovers" I did the same, using my old Cambridge 740 CDP, my ProJect TT, Pioneer A400 and Monitor Audio 14's, makes an ideal companion in the office when I'm working. Mind you, yours is probably a lot nicer-sounding! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popol_vuh 87 Posted March 29, 2020 ProAc 1SC are great speakers. I've had them for awhile with quad 909 power amp and EAR 864 preamp. They need good, heavy stands. They sounded very airy and sweet and disappeared in my room.Sent from my Redmi 4X using Tapatalk 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jas0_0 326 Posted March 29, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, Jules_S said: Love your setup, @jas0_0 - great use of "leftovers" I did the same, using my old Cambridge 740 CDP, my ProJect TT, Pioneer A400 and Monitor Audio 14's, makes an ideal companion in the office when I'm working. Mind you, yours is probably a lot nicer-sounding! Thanks Jules - wish I had a ‘leftover’ turntable too! I think the bang-for-buck star in my new setup is the HIDIZS DAC - smaller than my thumb, useful volume control, and though it’s designed as a portable head amp it feeds the Croft without issue. I bought it to drive my cans while in the office, based on a write-up on AudioScienceReview. Wasn’t sure it would work in this setup but I can’t fault the sound. Pretty impressed for £65! Edited March 29, 2020 by jas0_0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jas0_0 326 Posted March 29, 2020 2 hours ago, popol_vuh said: ProAc 1SC are great speakers. I've had them for awhile with quad 909 power amp and EAR 864 preamp. They need good, heavy stands. They sounded very airy and sweet and disappeared in my room. Sent from my Redmi 4X using Tapatalk Agree about airy - and yes their disappearing trick is really impressive. Never gets old! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DomT 1,056 Super Wammer Posted March 30, 2020 11 hours ago, Jules_S said: Love your setup, @jas0_0 - great use of "leftovers" I did the same, using my old Cambridge 740 CDP, my ProJect TT, Pioneer A400 and Monitor Audio 14's, makes an ideal companion in the office when I'm working. Mind you, yours is probably a lot nicer-sounding! Talking of leftovers I made bubble ‘n’ speak the other morning; bloody lovely! Regarding hifi I have bought a second system based on Marantz PM7000N and Harbeth P3ESR. But as the P3s also need to work in the studio I bought a Quad 909 to power them. And now there is an irresistible urge to get a Music First passive pre as at every one of the MF shows I have always loved their sound. Obviously as MF always use tape I will use a Sony WM-D6C as the source as well as Michell Focus S (owned from new). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tarzan 597 Posted March 30, 2020 13 hours ago, popol_vuh said: ProAc 1SC are great speakers. I've had them for awhile with quad 909 power amp and EAR 864 preamp. They need good, heavy stands. They sounded very airy and sweet and disappeared in my room. Sent from my Redmi 4X using Tapatalk l had my ProAc Response 1S on the end of an EAR 802/509 monos…..why did l flog them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dave 294 Posted March 30, 2020 (edited) I went down with something last Wednesday, felt pretty rough and was bracing my self for the week of woe, mercifully spared, but did not want to touch stereo, so I ploughed through a bit of my must watch them some day VHS videos that I have accumulated over the years, becoming interested in stereo marked my recovery, back to working from home. Edited March 30, 2020 by dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popol_vuh 87 Posted March 30, 2020 37 minutes ago, Tarzan said: l had my ProAc Response 1S on the end of an EAR 802/509 monos…..why did l flog them. Yeah, I definitely see how these speakers could comfortably be all the speaker one needs. Really no need to go over the top money-wise, unless one chooses to, of course. In the end, I went for a different sound with ATC, but ProAcs are truly great speakers. I'd have no problem living with those permanently. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tarzan 597 Posted March 30, 2020 ProAc were on a roll when they made the Response 1S/1SC/Response 2/2S. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popol_vuh 87 Posted March 30, 2020 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Tarzan said: ProAc were on a roll when they made the Response 1S/1SC/Response 2/2S. Yup. I can also imagine how great they sounded with such high quality amplification as the one you used. Ear 802/509...beautiful. What kind of stands did you use? I used steel stands with 4 steel pipes each, pipes and top/bottom plates all 6mm thick steel. Filled with kiln sand and around 35kilo per stand. That worked really well for me. Really made sound images solid and focused. Edited March 30, 2020 by popol_vuh 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
