{"id":526,"date":"2018-06-19T17:11:57","date_gmt":"2018-06-19T21:11:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lufamily.ca\/kang\/?p=526"},"modified":"2018-06-20T10:02:03","modified_gmt":"2018-06-20T14:02:03","slug":"the-road-to-harmony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lufamily.ca\/kang\/2018\/06\/19\/the-road-to-harmony\/","title":{"rendered":"The Road to Harmony"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Basement Replacement<\/h2>\n

It all started with me spotting an extraordinary deal for a pair of ELAC Surround Bookshelf Home Speaker (UB51-BK)<\/a> designed by Andrew Jones.<\/p>\n

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ELAC UB51-BK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I purchased a pair from Amazon and saved more than 20% at the time of purchase. Little did I know that this particular purchase is the first step of many on the road to pursue the best sound system for the buck that I can have in our basement and bedroom.<\/p>\n

The ELAC speakers were suppose to replace my old JBL Northbridge (N28)<\/a> speakers, which were my front speakers for my basement home theater system.<\/p>\n

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JBL Northbridge N28<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the heart of the home theater system, was the Marantz NR1408 AVR. Unfortunately, this particular AVR did not drive the new ELAC speakers sufficiently. Rated at 50W at 8 Ohms per channel, I found that the sound coming out of the ELAC, rated at 4 Ohms, was somewhat unsatisfying.<\/p>\n

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NuPrime STA-9<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since the AVR has pre-amp out connections, I started to search for a suitable stereo power amplifier that can output enough juice to drive my new ELAC’s. I settled on the NuPrime STA-9<\/a> power amplifier, with a 120W per channel at both 8 and 4 Ohms. The NuPrime and the ELAC’s were an excellent match. The sound was crisp, and the imaging was superb. You can hear the instrument separations and placements clearly through a wide soundstage. The vocals were warm and super comfortable to listen to. Today I am really happy with my basement setup. Unfortunately this new experience cost around $1200, $520 for the ELAC’s and $700 for the NuPrime.<\/p>\n

The Bedroom Boom<\/h2>\n

Now, what should I do with my old JBL N28 speakers? Sell them, throw them out, or repurpose them? Selling them was not an option. A quick search on Kijiji and eBay yielded less than compelling value to dredge oneself through a resell transaction that is worth less than $100. Throwing them out seems like a huge waste on a perfectly good pair of speakers.<\/p>\n

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Bose Wave Radio\/CD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I decided to put them in my bedroom and replace my aging Bose Wave Radio\/CD Player. The Bose sounded good but nothing close to the fidelity that I am now use to in both the basement and the living room setup.\u00a0The JBL N28 are passive speakers so if I want them in my bedroom, I will need to find another stereo amplifier. However, I don’t want to invest in another NuPrime, which seemed excessive and expensive.<\/p>\n

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Topping TP60<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I found a $293.99, 80W per channel amplifier with many praises called Topping TP60<\/a>. For source, I repurposed my Airport Express that was originally
\nfeeding the Bose and redirected its input into the TP60. This combination gave new life to the N28 speakers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>To benchmark the different setups we were using a Chinese album named,\u300a\u6c11\u6b4c\u00b7\u8521\u7434\u300b. The first song, \u88ab\u9057\u5fd8\u7684\u65f6\u5149, is the same song used in the Infernal Affairs (\u7121\u9593\u9053) movie. You can find the album on Apple Music. We had the following versions of this song:<\/p>\n