Home office system

by o_holter on Desktop

Description

New desktop system 2021. Arche audio amp and speakers, plus Fostex submini 2 sub (first picture). 
Second picture shows my earlier home office system - Audiotailor Jade OTL amp driving Sony SRS ZX-1 active single-driver speakers.
Both pairs of speakers stand on DIY aluminum stands - this sounds better.
The Arche system is VERY different from my main system. There - tubes. Here - solid-state. There - reverberant sound. Here - pin-point sound. There - two way speakers, here - single driver. Etc.
I bought it just based on reviews, not having listened. Yet with purpose. I did want something quite different. Especially, to judge what digital music can be worth a vinyl purchase. It does this job excellently. It needs burn-in over a longer period, for the drivers to mellow and open up. And a sub for the lower frequencies.
Also, with its somewhat bright and analytical character, the system does an excellent job for a variety of desktop tasks, like voices on zoom or teams meetings.
2022 - no problems, except from some hum from the linear power supply, which was shipped with a wrong hz setting (for Norway). John at Arche has promised to replace it. Meanwhile I've put the power supply in a shoe box with some damping so I don't hear it much.

It does 
Read more...

Room Details

Dimensions: 8’ × 6’  Small
Ceiling: N/A

Components Toggle details

    • Arche Audio FR2 speakers and Opus D50A amp
    Bought from Arche Audio, S Korea, 2021
    • Fostex Submini 2
    Small woofer, can be placed on the desktop.
    El cheapo - but it can be tuned to do the job quite well.
    Sounds best front-firing towards the listening position, along with the FR2 speakers, carefully positioned for the most coherent and time-aligned sound. Using graphite footers and spikes, on my desktop. Some damping on top is good also. 
    I generally don't like subs, after having had a lot of them in my main rig. But these are so easy to adjust and position that they can be forgiven. Not a star Michelin meal, but quite good.

Comments 2

Sign in to comment
Owner
Major revision, March 2022:
Arche FR2 speakers and Opus D50A amp has replaced the active Sony speakers. I keep to the single-driver type, although I was recently impressed by a month with the Audioengine a5+ two-way speakers. I have found that positioning is very important regardless of the system. Since the FR2 are reluctant in the bass, I've bought a Fostex Submini 2 to fill out the lower frequencies. With the sub and speakers in the right positions, this system beats the Sony and Audioengine systems, especially in terms of treble purity.

o_holter

Owner
I like this small system, which has served me well over almost ten years. Why? Does it have a flat frequency cuirve? No. Especially,  it lacks deep bass. Does it sound pure? Yes. Why? Because it is a "straight wire with gain" type of system. Is there an amp output transformer? No, not in the main part of the amp chain. The main amp is OTL (output transformer less). Is there a speaker crossover? No. The speakers are single drivers, plus some innovative cabinet construction to get more bass. Is it the best desktop system around? Surely not. Do I like it, for its specific qualities? Yes. Is it good enough, to distinguish good and not so good recordings and file formats? Yes.

o_holter

Showing all 2 posts
  • 2.1K
  • 2
  •  0
Latest forum discussions
© 2024 Audiogon.com