Lots of constraints in this room. A long and narrow room (15 x 30) that doubles as a dining room and living room. Lots of openings, so speaker placement was limited. Original goal of this system was mostly for background music while dining or entertaining with guests - but it's continued to evolve into much more.
Very happy with the Bryston Mini T's. Only 23 inches tall, they have excellent base extension, and they sound good from just about anywhere in the room.
Cool, enjoy the adventure, Tom. If you do go with the ASW608s be sure to read the setup guidelines in the manual. The basic EQ and DSP B&W put into it is really good. Have fun.
Thanks for taking the time to share your experience and and suggestions Scott and Doug. Really - it's humbling.
I'm going to give subs a try with the Brystons. I've had my current BlackCat speakers cables for a couple years now, and have done a number of system changes since - perhaps it's time to try something there too.
There's a pair of B&W ASW608 subs for sale on us audiomart for only $650. This is going to be fun. Thanks again. Will report back.
Scott is correct; subs are indispensable (unless you have big floor standing speakers of the close to state of the art variety) for improving not only frequency extension, but also soundstage. It's remarkable what those lower frequencies add to the experience, even with solo instrument or simple vocal pieces.
No pre outs, no problem! Simply double up the speaker cables at the EX-M1, putting one set to the Briston speakers and the other to the speaker level inputs (not all subs have this, so check on it). Easy! I have used two sets of spade termination cables on the EX-M1+ many times, but one set of spades and one set of banana terminations is an easy way to bi-wire. You could get upgraded speaker cable jumpers for the Mini T or use a set of shotgun speaker cables to use both sets of binding posts. If you haven't, dump the stock jumpers and get some upgrade wires for jumpers. Much better, regardless.
Before dumping the speakers, try different speaker cables for adjusting the tonality. There is a huge differential between speaker cables, with some having a more rolled off high end, so that might help satisfy you. You don't need to use the same speaker cable if you get subs, but I have found that usually my preferred cable is best for my ears on all frequencies top to bottom. Even trying 2 or 3 different brands/models of speaker cable as jumpers can bring enough of a change to the treble to satisfy.
Many options exist...
You may think differently about the treble if you add a subwoofer or two. Your ear is drawn to the treble now, but adding stronger and deeper LF will pull attention away from the treble, and as such it won't be as glaring. A good sub can partner well with nearly any speaker, but you may wish to try that first before reaching out for other speakers. Often the frequency spectrum balance is nicely influenced when I add subs to small speakers. The King Sound King Tower omni always struck me as having too strong a treble, but with the Perlisten subs and the extreme LF with good output, there is pleasing balance top to bottom.
Accepting the inevitability of changing and upgrading gear, I have not found limits to how much audio systems can be advanced. Every piece of gear that I have owned for about 5 years has been improved with various rigs perhaps 7-8 times, and I believe more improvements would be seen if I kept building new rigs and keep upgrading gear. Considering the range of speakers, components, and cables, in combination there are dozens of levels of sound quality available.
“ Sonically, I'd like a little more depth of sound stage, and something that handled complex music a bit better. That Titanium tweeter can get a little shouty on some recordings too - and my room doesn't help that either.”
What you said in the quoted comment was exactly what I was looking for. Like yours my room is quite large. My speakers and system sounded decent at low to less than moderate volume (say 70-75db) but as the volume went up the lower mids on down simply couldn’t keep up with the mids and highs. The speakers simply sounded too small.
I started looking at larger speakers but they were simply cost prohibitive. And when I would demo them I knew from listening that there was a very good chance they wouldn’t be able to fill my room either.
I then considered subs. So many people swear by them but nearly as many don’t care for them. So with more than a bit of apprehension and nothing to lose I decided to give them a try.
To try to keep this brief, the subs have been a big success. I don’t know if it helped but I went with the same manufacturer as my speakers. As I’m sure you’ve aware Bryston speakers are made by Axiom. One of their subs would work well with you Mini Ts. To get an idea of how I placed my subs check out my system page. I have them crossed at 80Hz and they blended well from the start. Fantastic for music and those little 8” subs make movie and tv watching much more pleasant and entertaining. I wish I would have added subs years ago.
If you neede a smaller footprint I can highly recommend the B&W ASW608
(Which I use) or ASW610. KEF and SVS make small subs that are well reviewed as well.
Well, I hope this helps. Good luck with your search and enjoy the music.
Thanks for the sub suggestion, Scott. I'll give it a try.
I do like the Mini-T's - I think they are a really good, while unknown speaker by most. I wouldn't be afraid to setup my system at an audio show - it wouldn't be the best by far, but from what I've heard at shows it wouldn't embarrass me.
Sonically, I'd like a little more depth of sound stage, and something that handled complex music a bit better. That Titanium tweeter can get a little shouty on some recordings too - and my room doesn't help that either.
I realize this could be my room and placement, but I'm pretty limited there in this shared space.
Speakers I'm strongly considering: NSMT Model 75 and ATC SCM 40.
Some of the thoughts about a change are just to hear if there is a "next level" in SQ I can achieve, and the need to hear something different.
I'm open to any suggestions or further insights you might have.
Nice, tidy system! If you haven't read my review of the Kinki Studio EX-M1+, I encourage you to do so. I discuss opamp rolling, and it makes a distinct difference in the unit's performance. Take your time, research opamp rolling, and have fun with it. The newer generation of opamps are better than several years ago. Like the electronics, they keep improving. It's not an expensive upgrade and well worth it. Some might think changing opamps in an integrated is undproductive. I checked, and it's very productive.
If you sometime wish to branch out, the integrated also works quite well as a dedicated power amp or dedicated preamp. I have used it as dedicated preamp with the Legacy Audio i.V4 Ultra Amplifier many times in reviews. I am currently using that setup with the PureAudioProject Quintet15 10" Coaxial Speakers and it is most gratifying.
An upgrade idea that would utilize one mode of the EX-M1; it has an "Out 1 + 2" mode that makes it work as an integrated, but also sends the line level signal from the preamp outputs. You could add a lovely subwoofer such as the smallest Perlisten D12s, which would transform your listening experience. That sub would have no problem keeping up with the Bryston speakers. See my review of the Perlisten D212s subs I wrote for Dagogo.com. It would be a great way to maximize what you have without having to change a lot of gear.
Great looking room and stereo setup. Really like the credenza, chair and lamp. From all accounts the Mini T is a great speaker. Out of curiosity what are you looking for sonically in a different speaker? I ask because if you enjoy the Mini Ts you might want to consider adding a sub or two. I just added two small 8” subs to my stereo and I’m really enjoying it. Feels like I got a big speaker upgrade for a fraction of what an upgraded speaker would have cost me. Wish I would have tried it years ago.
Well, great room and stereo. I hope you enjoy it for years to come.
Added some updated pics: the Mojo Mystique EVO B4B, and a picture of the DCS Network Bridge and the power and filter conditioning (these are in the right side of the credenza, and I keep this closed and out of view).
A couple recent upgrades:
Sent the Kinki into TDSS for their EFI and vibration mods. A nice upgrade in SQ. I've also upgrade the opamps in the Kinki to Sonic Imagery.
Added the ENO ethernet filter to the digital front end. Using with the Gigafoil.
Ben at Mojo recently upgraded the opamps in the EVO dac.
My system is never sound better. Thinking about trying the PMS156 in place of the UberBuss power conditioner.
Oh - a major change since my first virtual system post a year ago: replaced the Yamaha A-S801 integrated with a Kinki EX-M1. The Kinki can grip the Mini-T's with much much more authority than the Yamaha. I'm surprised at how much better it is at driving these pretty difficult speakers.
A couple of recent tweaks and additions with updated pictures.
Like a few here had recommended, I purchased stands for the Mini-T speakers. Found some heavy duty 16-inch Target HR stands. It was a bit challenging to find shorter speaker stands - these are working great.
I also added the Mojo Mystique V3 DAC. It replaced a Schiit Modi Multibit. Huge upgrade.
New speaker and interconnect cables by Signal Cable.
A few little changes with the Sonos Connect (W4S mod) was helpful: switched from wireless to wired. Moved the unit to a circuit that was different than the amp/dac. Upgraded ethernet cables. Turned off wireless module inside the Connect - this cuts power to that module.
Loving what I'm hearing right now. Playing around with power conditioning, filters, etc. right now.
Next upgrade will probably be to upgrade the Connect to a higher quality streamer.
I hear you, guys. I'm shopping for stands but having trouble finding ones that look pleasing, will support 42 pounds, and are short (10 inches?). Any recommendations?
FWIW, the speakers are not laying directly on the floor today. The Mini T's come with factory feet that screw into the bottom of the speakers. They are about 1 inch high. Tough to see in the pics.
I'm begging you man, get those speakers off the floor! And even if you can't, place them on spiked slabs of oak or concrete, blocks, tiles or something!
Your setup looks quite nice to me. I like how the Yamaha fits into the credenza, too. Just make sure guests don't set their drinks on top of the speakers!
