[Johnny122]

Hello,

While surfing on YouTube I found a GR NX-Studio review. The reviewer (NRD) only had good words: almost perfect speakers at an affordable price.  Being a woodworker, I immediately thought it would be a nice project specially as my current system is far from great. After my introduction thread, after reading few Audiocircle threads, I’m no more sure my move would the best one.  So, I need some feedback.

The system I want to upgrade is the living room one.  Our condo (top notch sound isolation) is an open area type. No real divisions between kitchen, dining room and living room.  No need to say it’s where, my wife and I, spend most of our time. There are lot of windows with draperies, hardwood floor and it’s quite large (around 27 feet wide, 40 feet deep and 9 1/2 feet high) with a fireplace in the middle.

Our needs are for TV (very few films to not say no film) and mainly classical music. Right now, I have Audioengine A5+ speakers. For power question, they look more than enough powerful for our needs.  We listen everything at a very moderate level, that may be a problem with the Audioengine ...  Speakers are each side of TV, 2 feet away from the front wall.  I’m looking for better sound quality, specially compared Sennheizer HD595.  I can hear things in the headphones that I can’t with Audioengine.  Now that’s my reference, my target. 

JLM would say “the elephant normally is the room” and he could be right.  To minimize the elephant impact, I had in mind to buy a SS amp with auto room correction to easily enhance acoustic as much as possible.  I’m not looking for a perfect sound, I’m looking to have the best possible sound without moving everything around and without converting my living room in a studio room. 

So here are few questions:
1-   Could the GR NX-Studio speakers be a valid option to replace my AudioEngine A5+ to get better sound? Any other better speakers? Reference North Audi Flat packs + GR kit should be the target price. Size also matters.
2-   Is it worth buying an amp with auto room correction? I imagine price difference is not that great. What could be the best amps to match the speakers with and without auto room correction?  Easy Auto room correction is a must to me, I do not want to play with equalizer, not good enough to do that!
3-   Could a good immersive soundbar finally be a better option? Could AMBEO be a good option? Other good immersive soundbar (AMBEO is expensive)? Again, easy Auto room correction is a must to me.
4-   Is there any other considerations I should look at?
5-   Could that match my Sennheizer HD595 sound quality? Could it be even better ?

Thanks in advance  J Guy

[Phil A]

If you're happy with the Audioengine speakers for TV but want to add a bit more of a bottom end, they have subwoofers (as do other companies).  If you decide to go with something else, can you use the Audioengine for your computer and then perhaps just upgrade what is used for music and the TV?

As for 2-channel and listening to classical music, as long as you're going to use speakers for both TV and music, there are options.  It depends on your goals, budget, etc.  If the room is open and there's no easy means to add surround speakers then you'll probably want something that is around the TV, whether it is an addition of a subwoofer, center channel, sound bar, etc.  For some things, good deals can be had at places like - https://www.accessories4less.com/  (and products like 2 channel receivers, if that is the direction you want to go, including some with HDMI connections for video and network connections to play files, which also can be done over an ethernet to powerline adapter if there are no available ethernet jacks nearby).

In the end you have to decide goals and budget.  There are things that will be more important to others.  There are also threads like - https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=99243.0  and perhaps you can find a GR Research owner locally to audition what might interest you.

[Johnny122]

Thanks Phil,

Happy with audioengine A5+, not really, that's exactly why I'm looking for an improvement. I mentioned that they sound better at higher volume, but it's not fun listening music or TV at these levels.  I'm sure it rings some bells to experts. Is it the speakers themselves that creates that, is it the acoustic. I have in mind it could be speakers. Could they need more power to deliver a good frequency response ?  Could it be the room itself doing that ? I have no clue, but I'd like to know. Right now for TV, I'm not using the A5+ because the TV speakers sound better and it's not a new TV with real good speakers (Sony XBR8).  So it looks like it should be not too difficult to get improvements with better equipment. 

Goals : getting sound quality equivalent to Sennheiser HD595. Is it possible without room modifications like absorbers, diffusers, etc.?
Budget : I would not say open budget I would say it's time to spend some money to get better sound and it's time to buy good equipment known for the sound quality. So far I had in mind to go with flat packs and GR NX Studio probably around 1500 $ and a good amp probably around same price. That's much more than A5+ price. As a second option, I thought sound bar could be another option. Ambeo sound bar is expensive but if it's the best and safest way to improve sound quality, I have no problem.

You say " things will be more important to others". That's what I'm looking for. What would, people with more experience, consider? What will they be looking for? Why would they pick an option compared to other options? 

Thanks for the link but looking for equipment is worth nothing if I'm looking for the wrong things.

   

[Phil A]

The room you describe is huge.  If I calculated it right, it is just under 10,000 cubic feet.  The AudioEngine speakers are probably designed for either desktop listening or a small room given the power.  That's probably part of the issue.  There's probably some info in a thread like this - https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=141782.0

There's also probably tons of sites like - https://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html

If you have a smart phone or tablet or PC, there are Apps/programs with measurement tools.  For example - https://studiosixdigital.com/audiotools-modules-2/the-audiotools-platform/  or  http://www.roomeqwizard.com/

Parts Express (among others) has microphones which can be used with the above - https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-imm-6-calibrated-measurement-microphone-for-tablets-iphone-ipad-and-android--390-810  or   https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-umm-6-usb-measurement-microphone--390-808

The room is very often the most overlooked component.  Obviously, with headphones, there is no room to deal with.

[Digi-G]

Every review I've read of the GR NX-Studio has been fantastic!  I've heard the phrase "A whole 'nother level" more than once.  I haven't heard the speakers but what I've heard about them makes me really interested.  So much so that I've put my name in for a flat pack when the next order ships.

I can't say how these speakers will compare to your headphones, but normally headphone listening is just a different experience from loudspeakers.  One of the things that these speakers are supposed to excel at is soundstaging, especially in regards to depth and height.  I'm just not sure you get that kind of soundstaging with headphones.  One other thing, you said your current speakers are about 2' from the wall.  The NX-Studios are designed so they sound good if they are close to a back wall (i.e. within 3 feet).

As far as a soundbar… I'm just not a soundbar guy.  I'm sure some can sound great, especially for use with a TV.  If you're talking about using the same soundbar to listen to music...  it's not what I would recommend.  I can't imagine that even a decent soundbar would be able to compete with the NX-Studio speakers.  Two totally different animals.

I'm not familiar with your current speakers, but that is a big space to fill.  You said your TV speakers sound better - that's a big red flag about your loudspeakers.  Most TV speakers sound like crap (seriously, they really do compared to real speakers that have bass).  If you said what your amplifier was, I missed it.  To get the most out of the NX-Studio (or any decent speaker for that matter) you're going to need decent amplification.  I can't really recommend anything as I'm in the market myself, albeit for a 5 channel surround system.  I am leaning towards Rotel equipment, so you might want to look at their receivers.  I think that would be a step up for me from my current Denon receiver (that I haven't been happy with).  I suspect the NX-Studios will do circles around your current speakers, esp. if you feed them decent power. 

For the record I have B&W 805 speakers that I've had for more than 20 years.  I like them but think I can get something that soundstages better and has more realistic presence in the upper treble range.

Anyway, just my thoughts.  Good luck.  Let us know what direction you go.