New user based in Indonesia

tommiegunawan · « **on:** 12 Feb 2020, 09:58 am »

Hi everyone, I was following Danny's (of GR Research) videos and ended up here
I'm based in Surabaya, Indonesia (if you have never heard of Indonesia, try Bali

and SB Acoustics, yeah SB acoustics is from my town)
Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself.
My current gear is:
Pioneer VSX933 Receiver
Klipsch RP-6000F
BMB SW115 subwoofer
Audioquest cables

usually I just stream Spotify and use the gear for my TV and Playstation.

Anyways, nice to meet you all.

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #1 on:** 12 Feb 2020, 03:46 pm »

Welcome to Audio Circle!

tommiegunawan · « **Reply #2 on:** 12 Feb 2020, 03:59 pm »

Thank you for the warm welcome. Hope I can learn about HiFi

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #3 on:** 12 Feb 2020, 04:04 pm »

Welcome Tommie

Phil A · « **Reply #4 on:** 12 Feb 2020, 05:37 pm »

Welcome!

ArthurDent · « **Reply #5 on:** 12 Feb 2020, 06:23 pm »

Greetings & Welcome to AC tommie

tommiegunawan · « **Reply #6 on:** 18 Feb 2020, 04:24 pm »

Hey everyone, I'm planning to buy a Marantz PM7000N for my stereo amp/streamer. Anyone know if it will pair nicely with my Klipsch RP-6000F? I have no audio store where I live (where I can try hifi gear) also the stores in my country do not have return policy. So I have to be real careful when I buy stuff. Lucky I love the Klipsch. Now I just need to upgrade my stereo amp so I can experience the "magic of stereo system."
Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #7 on:** 18 Feb 2020, 05:00 pm »

Hi Tommie,
I have no listened the Marantz, but its know that horn speakers have better sound with tube amps. With this 97dB speaker I would say a tube amp of 10W or greater will suit your needs in a small room.

tommiegunawan · « **Reply #8 on:** 19 Feb 2020, 12:28 am »

Quote from: FullRangeMan on 18 Feb 2020, 05:00 pm

Hi Tommie,
I have no listened the Marantz, but its know that horn speakers have better sound with tube amps. With this 97dB speaker I would say a tube amp of 10W or greater will suit your needs in a small room.

there are not many tube amps (affordable anyway) around here, I have seen the review of Reisong A10. Do you think it is a good amp? From the reviews by Sean (Zero Fidelity) and Steve (Audiophiliac) it sounds like the amp is worth the $. What do you think? Again, there are no return policies here

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #9 on:** 19 Feb 2020, 01:10 am »

Quote from: tommiegunawan on 19 Feb 2020, 12:28 am

there are not many tube amps (affordable anyway) around here, I have seen the review of Reisong A10. Do you think it is a good amp? From the reviews by Sean (Zero Fidelity) and Steve (Audiophiliac) it sounds like the amp is worth the $. What do you think? Again, there are no return policies here

Well its not the best amp being Ultralinear, it could be Triode, but at least its not PP. Make sure you get the Point to Point wiring version, avoid PCB amps.
https://www.china-hifi-audio.com/en/boyuu-audio-reisong-hi-fi-tube-amplifier-c-48/reisong-a10-el34b-tube-amp-single-end-class-a-hifi-audio-amplifier-boyuurange-p-1300?zenid=8e614e5da8a7d390f8fa6d3bf6b03580

tommiegunawan · « **Reply #10 on:** 19 Feb 2020, 06:58 am »

Quote from: FullRangeMan on 19 Feb 2020, 01:10 am

Well its not the best amp being Ultralinear, it could be Triode, but at least its not PP. Make sure you get the Point to Point wiring version, avoid PCB amps.
https://www.china-hifi-audio.com/en/boyuu-audio-reisong-hi-fi-tube-amplifier-c-48/reisong-a10-el34b-tube-amp-single-end-class-a-hifi-audio-amplifier-boyuurange-p-1300?zenid=8e614e5da8a7d390f8fa6d3bf6b03580

I think I'm going to go with a Marantz PM7000N for its simplicity. I also heard rave reviews about it. What do you think? Will it match well with my Klipsch?

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #11 on:** 19 Feb 2020, 07:25 am »

Quote from: tommiegunawan on 19 Feb 2020, 06:58 am

I think I'm going to go with a Marantz PM7000N for its simplicity. I also heard rave reviews about it. What do you think? Will it match well with my Klipsch?

I dont know this Marantz, for audiophiles that dont want retube a valve amp a fine Class D as Maraschino STM ($1200) is a great option, better both than the Reisong and the Marantz, they are member here in AC, they can ship this small amp to you:
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=174

https://www.cherryamp.com/the-stm-specs

JLM · « **Reply #12 on:** 19 Feb 2020, 12:30 pm »

Welcome!

Don't know the current Klipsch line up, and online reviews are very sparse for your speakers. Classic Klipsch speakers were designed for use with low powered tube amps and had a forward/rough sound, lacking in deep bass. That well earned reputation has hurt sales for decades as the world largely converted to bigger solid state amps that can cleanly output deep bass and speakers that matched solid state performance. Note that Klipsch is still notorious for over rating their speaker efficiency (not an uncommon practice). But modern Klipsch designs have kept up with the times.

The Marantz would seem to be a good choice. I'm a satisfied BlueSound user, so would also suggest looking into the NAD BlueSound Powernode 2i (should be a bit cheaper but "only" 60 watts per channel and lacks analog inputs). With your highly efficient speakers 60 vs. 120 watts makes virtually no difference (the math would say 3 dB).

tommiegunawan · « **Reply #13 on:** 19 Feb 2020, 01:36 pm »

Quote from: FullRangeMan on 19 Feb 2020, 07:25 am

I dont know this Marantz, for audiophiles that dont want retube a valve amp a fine Class D as Maraschino STM ($1200) is a great option, better both than the Reisong and the Marantz, they are member here in AC, they can ship this small amp to you:
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=174

https://www.cherryamp.com/the-stm-specs

Thank you all for your replies. Currently my budget is 1000 and i don't want to go into that audiophile rabbit hole chasing and chasing for the ultimate sound and can only buy well known brands because the less known brands like Tekton or Triangle even SVS are really hard to find here. The only available amps are like Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, McIntosh and Vincent. The lesser known brands are really hard to find and even if I can find one usually it's non-warranty or "Black Market" as they say it around here. Imports will cost us 30% in tax also. Ugh!

Quote from: JLM on 19 Feb 2020, 12:30 pm

Welcome!

Don't know the current Klipsch line up, and online reviews are very sparse for your speakers. Classic Klipsch speakers were designed for use with low powered tube amps and had a forward/rough sound, lacking in deep bass. That well earned reputation has hurt sales for decades as the world largely converted to bigger solid state amps that can cleanly output deep bass and speakers that matched solid state performance. Note that Klipsch is still notorious for over rating their speaker efficiency (not an uncommon practice). But modern Klipsch designs have kept up with the times.

The Marantz would seem to be a good choice. I'm a satisfied BlueSound user, so would also suggest looking into the NAD BlueSound Powernode 2i (should be a bit cheaper but "only" 60 watts per channel and lacks analog inputs). With your highly efficient speakers 60 vs. 120 watts makes virtually no difference (the math would say 3 dB).

As for these Klipsch speakers I find them not very sharp like Klipsch used to sound like when I tried them before. This one is softer and has similarities to non-horn speakers (less shouty). I'm not an audiophile but I think I can tell if a speaker is shouting or not haha. These RP-6000Fs don't have a tight bass and I find the snare hits on the drums are not very sharp or accurate and I'm trying to fix that. What I mean is the Mid is not very appealing. It lacks something and I can't put my finger to it. But hopefully by getting a stereo amplifier to replace my av receiver I will get that extra snap that I'm looking for.
I will update you guys once I tried the Marantz.
My choices for amplifiers are very limited here. The prices also almost double than what they retail for in the states and we don't have a return policy. Mind boggling eh?
Anyways, thank you for your inputs. Very much appreciated!!

Btw, you guys should feel really lucky living in the states because you have return policies and some stores even offer tryouts. In Indonesia we don't have that. Our only choice is to buy stuff and when we don't like it then we sell them used for like almost half the price. Also NO HIFI STORE in my city!

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #14 on:** 19 Feb 2020, 05:01 pm »

Imports will cost us 30% in tax also. Ugh!
You are blessed man, in my country the Customs duties reach 100% over product, ship and insurance prices.

For around $750 there is this fine Class D NuPrime STM-9 also is a Member here AC, with 120W modeled to sound as a tube amp, you will a need source with volume control.
https://nuprimeaudio.com/product/sta-9/?v=b0c4bc877c29

djpk · « **Reply #15 on:** 20 Feb 2020, 04:53 am »

I didn't realize SB Acoustics is from Indonesia. I rented motorcycles in Bali and the Bandung area and did some travelling there. Bali is one of the more interesting places I've been.

tommiegunawan · « **Reply #16 on:** 21 Feb 2020, 04:11 am »

Quote from: djpk on 20 Feb 2020, 04:53 am

I didn't realize SB Acoustics is from Indonesia. I rented motorcycles in Bali and the Bandung area and did some travelling there. Bali is one of the more interesting places I've been.

Neither did I, until I went to their website and saw that it is based in my city. The designer, however, is from Denmark. I think they outsource the design, maybe split the earnings or something like that.
But it's awesome to know that from my small city comes a speaker brand that's quite popular.
Oh yeah, SB acoustics is a branch company of "Sinar Baja Industries" a steel production company! Easy for them to get the materials for magnets housings, etc eh?

tommiegunawan · « **Reply #17 on:** 21 Feb 2020, 04:13 am »

Quote from: FullRangeMan on 19 Feb 2020, 05:01 pm

Imports will cost us 30% in tax also. Ugh!
You are blessed man, in my country the Customs duties reach 100% over product, ship and insurance prices.

For around $750 there is this fine Class D NuPrime STM-9 also is a Member here AC, with 120W modeled to sound as a tube amp, you will a need source with volume control.
https://nuprimeaudio.com/product/sta-9/?v=b0c4bc877c29

I decided to go and get a Yamaha A-S501 for my stereo amp, I want to try Yamaha sound. I'll use Zone 2 out from my Pioneer receiver. See how that works. If it still doesn't sound good, i might get a DAC, a Dragonly or an SMSL. Maybe, I don't know. lol

tommiegunawan · « **Reply #18 on:** 28 Feb 2020, 07:27 am »

So I decided to get the Yamaha A-S501 and an SMSL DP3 player. It sounded very nice indeed!
I notice dramatic improvement from streaming Spotify through my AV receiver to the SMSL DP3 Player connected to the Yamaha A-S501.
Night and Day difference!
So excited to finally hear the details of the FLACs that I have managed to sample!

Now onto the subwoofers I guess. The journey continues

JLM · « **Reply #19 on:** 28 Feb 2020, 11:19 am »

Before buying sub(s) suggest reading Floyd Toole's "Sound Reproduction" 3rd edition, the consummate audiophile guide for learning how speakers behave in-room. I have 3 subs to controls inevitable in-room peaks/dips which can reach 30 dB!