Replacing the coupling capacitors absolutely can make a difference. When I first got my Yaqin MC13S amp I read about people replacing the (possibly fake) WIMA caps with Russian military NOS paper in oil caps. I got 10 of them for $14 and a month of waiting. An engineer friend helped me do the swap as I had no idea how to go about it then. He asked if I got the amp used or something and I said no, why? "Well why are you replacing perfectly good capacitors then?" I told him the PIO caps supposedly sounded better. He gave me a long look and said; "A cap is a cap. If they are in spec they should all sound the same."

After we were done, I fired up the system and let it play for a few hours by itself. I had done a spectrum analysis of a FR sweep with the old caps before he came over. After a few hours of sitting around and bullshitting I invited him to join me in seeing if there was any difference. We found an increase in FR from around 300-800hz by 2-3 dB. He seemed a little shocked that it would make such a difference. Since then, I have replaced those Russian PIO caps with Mundorf Supreme Aluminum, and this week I'll be upgrading to Mundorf EVO SGO in the same amp.

Anyway, IMO, caps make a pretty big difference. At least as much as tubes.

As far as reducing the gain; just get a simple inline potentiometer. You can get them super cheap, like the ones people use for bass control in cars, or go all the way up to stepped attenuators with balanced I/O. It's a super easy way to control signal strength.

This would work fine, and I have one for the exact same purpose;

https://www.amazon.com/Axxess-AALC-Controller-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B003FPD3IS/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2TL1K0ZD252P0&keywords=rca+volume+knob&qid=1556694539&s=electronics&sprefix=rca+volume%2Celectronics%2C169&sr=1-4

Little fancier;

https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Fully-Balanced-Single-Ended-Pre-Amplifier-Controller/dp/B01MXC9HHW/ref=sr_1_27?crid=2TL1K0ZD252P0&keywords=rca+volume+knob&qid=1556694590&s=electronics&sprefix=rca+volume%2Celectronics%2C169&sr=1-27

Gettin' Fancy!

https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Potentiometer-Preamplifier-Attenuator-Preamplifiers/dp/B076BP2QM6/ref=sr_1_3?crid=39OGPQAGHQBHU&keywords=stepped+attenuator&qid=1556694651&s=electronics&sprefix=stepped+att%2Celectronics%2C169&sr=1-3

It all just depends on what you want to do with it. Think about it a bit in the long run. If you want to keep with powered speakers for a while, don't sink money on a power amp. If you want to hook the TV or what not in, the Onkyo may be a good choice.

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If you're going to stay with what you have for a while then you don't need much. The system is good but not audiophile or anything (neither is mine...lol) so you could go with something like THIS. Which will leave you $150 bucks more for records. (This is just an example, I haven't used this unit but it's well reviewed and would suit your needs as I understand them. YMMV)

I'm new to audiophile gear in general and I need some help with my setup.

If anyone could help me find a budget way of doing this that would be great.

I currently have a Yamaha v683 AVR, I went for an AVR because this is my media centre. It's connected to the tv, the consoles, the pc, the cable box, and the music source, as I always intended this to be my media hub. So currently I have the receiver connected to the Kef ls50s via banana plug, but what I want to do right now is add 2 Monoblock amplifiers for my ls50.

I know mono blocks for ls50 is a bit extreme but there's a second reason too, I eventually want to get the kef blade if possible. I listen strictly to stereo, better for music. So currently I'm looking at thinking of getting 2 Vidar's in monoblock for my ls50, but the problem is my receiver doesn't have xlr outs, and apparently all monoblock setups need an xlr input.

I found this, as I was thinking of using this as a in-between my receiver and the Vidars, as it gives me two xlr outs.

https://www.amazon.ca/Nobsound-Fully-Balanced-Single-Ended-Pre-Amplifier-Controller/dp/B01MXC9HHW/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1539216924&sr=8-6&keywords=balanced+preamp

or this, but its a lot more expensive when I factor in the prices of the 2 Vidars

https://www.amazon.ca/Cambridge-Audio-DacMagic-Digital-Analogue/dp/B0074EGIGU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539247998&sr=8-1&keywords=Cambridge+Audio+DacMagic+Plus

I don't know how that will do, but if anyone could suggest a better quality/price ratio gear for me that would be great.

My other question is, should I get the Vidars or something else, as I've said I want to get the kef blade eventually. I would prefer to buy one amp setup and just live with it until the end game if possible. I know the Vidar is more than enough for the ls50, and probably most speakers under 10k. But I hear the original kef blade takes 600w at 2ohm, during its lowest frequency, so should I get something like emotive xpa mono blocks at 1000w RMS at 4ohm.

Or should I just buy the Vidars, or whatever you guys suggest as a better power for money, now and just wait until when I actually purchase the kef to do something about it.

I know you're going to ask, the reason I really want mono blocks is because of symmetry, and I like the fact that each amp is isolated from each other, and there isn't crosstalk through one power supply.

I completely know I'm a noob when it comes to audiophile, but I just fell in love with the ls50s, they were the most amazing sounding speakers I've heard, they were so transparent and brings out all the flaws in bad music. I kind of regret the AV receiver purchase, but I also needed it as my hub, anyone can help me that'd be great.

I'm getting really low volume from current setup:

Turn Table: Pro-Ject - Debut Carbon DC

Pre-amp: Nobsound Mini Fully-Balanced/Single-Ended Passive Preamp

Active speakers: Micca PB42X Powered Bookshelf Speakers


Dialing up both the speaker and pre-amp volume doesn't seem to help.

Do I need a different pre-amp or should I add an amplifier and replace the active speakers for passive? Or is there a setup where I can still use the powered speakers?

What type of connections are you wanting to use from your sources? All RCA?

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One of these should suit you:

Nobsound Stereo 1-IN-4-OUT RCA Audio Splitter/Switcher Selector Passive Preamp

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Nobsound Mini Fully-Balanced/Single-Ended Passive Preamp

Nobsound Little Bear MC403

Nobsound HiFi Selector; Mini Passive Pre-Amplifier; 3-in 2-Out Audio Preamp

Ok great, I think I will hold off on the DAC until and if I might feel I need it. I found this that seems like it would do what I want:

Nobsound Mini Fully-Balanced/Single-Ended Passive Preamp; Hi-Fi Pre-Amplifier; XLR/RCA Volume Controller for Active Monitor Speakers

https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Fully-Balanced-Single-Ended-Pre-Amplifier-Controller/dp/B01MXC9HHW/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1541612767&sr=1-4&keywords=tube+passive+preamp

and connect from there to speakers with (two?) XLR cables:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XK9L1WY/?coliid=I1WI5F3XZHQJJN&colid=2S3E3S2YGUWG1&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

seem ok? thanks!

Oh sorry, it's hard to not go all jargon-crazy sometimes.

So studio monitors are designed for mixing audio, as such they're designed to be very very accurate. The flat response means if you plot a line representing all the audible frequencies from bass to the highest treble the line would be flat, so no boosted bass or lowered midrange or any of those things people usually fiddle with knobs to do. Just dead accurate, which lots of people think they want until they hear it, mids and highs can get a little tiring to listen to and is sometimes considered not a "warm" sound.

B&W is Bowers and Wilkins, a very good brand and I just meant find some from the 1980's because they crop up for sale used from time to time and sound great (check craigslist for B&W, Mission, Elac, Mirage, PSB and Wharfedale). Other options that aren't used would be Cambridge Audio SX50's, Elac B6.2's, and Wharfedale Diamond 210's. (Tons of reviews of all of those out there) As for an amp, the SMSL SA50 is plenty for most people for normal listening levels.

As for a DAC, you wouldn't necessarily need one for active monitors, but you would definitely need some interesting cables like these shitty ones. One of the advantages of pro-audio gear is they use balanced audio signals which makes long runs of cable safe from electromagnetic interference/noise/hum, most people don't have runs long enough for it to matter in their house but they look cool and "pro". Also to actually have a balanced signal going through those XLR cables you need a balanced output, which is where a DAC with balanced outputs or volume controller would come in. Here's a cheap ok controller.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to talk you out of studio monitors, speakers are super super super subjective and if I encountered a set of studio monitors that really blew my skirt up I'd probably buy all the balanced cables and some huge volume knob to be able to listen to them and be happy as a clam. Just hasn't happened yet.

Makes sense, so no balanced phono preamp.

Budget: Would like to keep the expenses low because this whole solution wont produce the best sound anyways, so buying high end components makes little sense.

Found this thing, that would work right? I'd prefer a passive solution over a mixer. Its a cheap china thing though.

DAC and passive volume control IMHO.