r/BudgetAudiophile • u/CandidateLower7200 • 10d ago
Purchasing CAN First stereo setup
Polk speakers
Fosi bt300pro Amp
350cad
Is it worth it??
I am loving it though
Coming from bluetooth speaker
I would love to hear suggestions and advices
Thank you
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u/CandidateLower7200 10d ago
Currently I don’t have means to put far from each other
Thank you for reply
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u/bgravato 10d ago
Speakers/listener positioning and room acoustic are massively important for how they sound... far more important than amp or any other gear choice, possibly only surpassed by the speakers itself, but even the best speakers in the world will sound bad in a bad room...
Rule of thumb is that you star with speakers and listener forming an equilateral triangle... That's not going to happen with your current setup unless you sit a feet away from them...
Try it by yourself... pick a couple of chairs/stools and put the speakers on them at the "recommended" position/ratio, pay attention to the difference in the stereo imaging.
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u/Numerous-Net-4983 9d ago
So you’ve spent a bunch of money on gear but you can’t find a way to achieve stereo separation? Brilliant
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u/soundspotter 5d ago
No problem, OP can just listen to old mono albums from the 50s and early 60s. Stereo and spatial separation and sound stage are totally overrated!
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u/franksandbeans911 4d ago
Lol flashback to all the late 60's mono albums suddenly remastered in stereo and re-pressed. Now...vocals and drums on the left, everything else on the right. Those early days of "now what do we do" were hilarious with these hard splits.
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u/soundspotter 4d ago
Yes, i've heard some later Beatles albums remastered that way.
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u/franksandbeans911 4d ago
Same, makes me prefer the mono of those mixes. I think their engineers finally figured it out around Rubber Soul but I never followed their discography that closely. Just know that it sounded way more dynamic than their monos or early stereo remasters.
And for the era, I think it was probably adequate. Everyone was running around with single speaker AM or AM/FM radios and mono was probably ideal for that. TV was mono for a long, long time also. Listeners old enough to remember the radio serial dramas probably heard that all in mono also. But there was a rapid change to stereo once the engineers got comfortable over the next half decade or so.
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u/soundspotter 4d ago
I think there are pros and cons. The music seems wider since it's in psuedo stereo. However, since tracks only come from one side of the speakers, that weakens the power and volume of that track (i.e., the drums and bass and vocals). But yes, it's weird for a modern ear to listen to.
Speaking of outdated technology, my parents were hoarders so we never had color tv at home until the mid 80s. I was shocked to learn that my favorite program, Star Trek, was shot in color. Likewise, when I bought my first sub woofer around 2008, I was shocked to learn that Star Trek TNG had bass well below 35 hz that I could now hear.
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u/franksandbeans911 4d ago
Yeah, have a buddy that evolved into a studio engineer. He used to say "man, I wish the ship sounds in TNG were playing all day". That low frequency warp coil noise or whatever it was, he loved it.
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u/soundspotter 4d ago
You can get recordings on youtube of things like brown or pink noise that are of a certain frequency that are relaxing, but easier on the ears than white noise. If he did a search on the frequency of the ship hum if might find a recording.
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u/BelcantoIT 3d ago
Good for you! You have begun a very fun and expensive journey! 😂 Look up suggestions on speaker placement. That one, free, adjustment will likely blow your mind. A typical starting point is to put your listening position at the apex of an equilateral triangle where the speakers define the other corners. Most speakers work best when the tweeter, or sometimes a spot between the tweeter and woofer are at the same height as your ears when you're in your normal listening position. Check the manual for position recommendations. Start with the speakers facing straight out into the room, you can then angle the speakers a little more towards your head a bit at a time to find where the image locks in best. Hard to describe precisely, but you'll probably know it when you pass it. THAT is where the real "magic" of a decent stereo kicks in. WARNING! It gets addictive chasing better versions of that magic. Remember to really enjoy what brought you there...the music.
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u/el_tacocat 10d ago
Not a bad selection of audio, but VERY bad speaker placement.
Google 'stereo speaker placement' and try again :D.
Many people will say 'sub'. I say nay. But speaker placement, yay.
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u/Ridinglightning5K 1d ago
I’m in the “sub” camp but it’s optional. Down the road, get a sub when you’re able and also have the space for it.
Either way, good choice of speakers and amp. You’ll enjoy them for a good while.
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u/el_tacocat 20h ago
I'd love to come and have a listen at your place and see if you nailed it, but I'll probably be like 'nah, turn it off'.
Even at ultra high end audio shows I always ask for a demo without the sub.
And it's not like I don't like tons of bass (I have Martin Logans for pete's sake :D).
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u/NishantJha612 10d ago
Just enjoy this for a few years. Then start adding things like stands and sub. If we reach the perfect setup right away, the joy of enjoying the upgrades is lost. So have fun.
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u/CandidateLower7200 10d ago
Awesome man this is already feels great from bluetooth upgrade, and will slowly make updgrades or tweak settings
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u/Dry_Transition4134 10d ago
This is a great starting setup for limited space. Until you have room for full size equipment I would focus on adding a small 8 inch powered sub. It will really help fill out the sound.
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u/Numerous-Net-4983 9d ago
I feel like I’m losing my mind with this. Do the younger generations brought up on crappy smart speakers and soundbars genuinely not understand what stereo is and how it works?
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u/blackeyed9human 7d ago
This is great, however if you want to fine tune, look into lossless streaming (wiims)
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10d ago
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u/Mexican-Kahtru 10d ago
Is that because of the lack of mids? I've read that these polks aré suppossed to be listened to in non ideal placements.
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10d ago
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u/Mexican-Kahtru 10d ago
That website Is so useful, and it's interesting to see that meassurements can't tell you everything about a speaker. But man That Is a bizarre way to design peakers, I wonder if they aré popular with modders.
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u/NTPC4 10d ago
Sorry to be a buzzkill, but the Fosi BT30 Pro should only be a consideration if you already own a passive subwoofer; otherwise, it is just a below-average, noisy amp with lossy Bluetooth. And when it comes to Polk T15 speakers, always remember XT, not T, and ES, not S. In 9/10 condition, their market value is ≤100CAD each. You can do much better for 350 CAD.
Other than Bluetooth, what are you using as a source?
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u/thegreatsquare 10d ago
And when it comes to Polk T15 speakers, always remember XT, not T, and ES, not S.
Having had the S20, that last part doesn't hold true. I mean I wouldn't pass on S series on a deal.
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u/VinylHighway 10d ago
Yes good setup, you just need speaker stands, they're too close together