1 week with my NEW Expert Pro 440!

[WTree]

So about 4 weeks ago, after 2.5 hours of demo listening - mostly between the KEF Reference 3, and the new R11's.  I decided the white R11's were the right fit (but man oh man, do I LOVE the look of the white Foundry edition Reference 5's with the blue uni-q)

Congratulations ! The system looks very nice 

Interesting to know that you chose R11 over the Reference 3 despite having the JL sub. Can you please write a bit more on your thought process in this decision making?

[Pim]

Next thing to experiment with is probably cables.

Nope. Set up.

[SoCalB]

So about 4 weeks ago, after 2.5 hours of demo listening - mostly between the KEF Reference 3, and the new R11's.  I decided the white R11's were the right fit (but man oh man, do I LOVE the look of the white Foundry edition Reference 5's with the blue uni-q)

Congratulations ! The system looks very nice 

Interesting to know that you chose R11 over the Reference 3 despite having the JL sub. Can you please write a bit more on your thought process in this decision making?

The 'new' R11's that came out in late 2018 have a lot of technology that trickled down from the LS50 and the Reference series.  As I listened to the Reference and the R11, was there a 'difference'...yes, and it was pretty small. 

The difference wasn't good or bad.  Had to literally go back and forth to hear these differences, and once I started JUST listening to the R11's I was REALLY enjoying them.  All sorts of music, sounded GREAT!

Like many things in audio, you pay a LOT for that last 1-5%.  I LOVE the white Reference 5's and it would be my pick if money were no object. 

I didn't get to listen to the Reference 5's, and not sure that they would have been $15k 'better' to my ears.  

The extra weight and volume provided by the additional four 6.5's AND the $9000 in savings did it for me in choosing the R11's over the Reference 3's. 

Plus, who knew that savings would allow me to pounce on a killer deal on the expert pro 440 about 2 weeks later.  The expert pro 440 + R11 will sound better than the Reference 3 with my Nuprime IDA-16 (which is a great integrated) for what would have been very similar money spent. 

I've had about a total of 15 people that have listened to the system, and every one has said it was the best stereo they have ever heard.  Again, not audiophiles, just people that got a LOT of enjoyment out of music they had never experienced. 

The value of the R11 is huge to me.  Unplugged and acoustic music FEELS like you are in concert.  And as other people have mentioned, nothing is 'set up properly'. 

I've ordered the book, and we'll see what changed I can make.  In the meantime...just enjoying the system immensely!  REALLY loving the quality and flexibility of Roon Radio as well...strictly through Tidal Hi-Fi. 

I hope this helps!

[SoCalB]

Next thing to experiment with is probably cables.

Nope. Set up.

Yeah, will definitely be set-up. 

Have a nice RCA cable on it right now - about a $300 cable the dealer threw in.  I forget the brand. 

Will listen for a while, not sure my ear would detect RCA to RCA/XLR difference....but maybe so. 

Just enjoying the music right now...and waiting for the Fathom 112v2 to arrive!  The LS50's in the master bedroom are getting the JL e-sub110 that is downstairs right now.

[Pim]

Next thing to experiment with is probably cables.

Nope. Set up.

Just to expand on my very short reply there; the impact sources and cables have on the sound are nowhere near as profound as the impact good setup can make. Case in point; put a $20,000.- cable between your amp and speakers and turn your speakers to face the wall. It'll sound like crap. Now change that 20k cable for some lamp cord and set your speakers up properly. It can sound absolutely fantastic, with probably only a very small gain to be had by introducing 'better' cables. 

This is a bit of an extreme example but what it does explain is how little there is actually wrong with lamp cord and how much improvement can be made by speaker set up and let's not forget listening position either.

[hardcore]

Just to expand on my very short reply there; the impact sources and cables have on the sound are nowhere near as profound as the impact good setup can make. Case in point; put a $20,000.- cable between your amp and speakers and turn your speakers to face the wall. It'll sound like crap. Now change that 20k cable for some lamp cord and set your speakers up properly. It can sound absolutely fantastic, with probably only a very small gain to be had by introducing 'better' cables. 

This is a bit of an extreme example but what it does explain is how little there is actually wrong with lamp cord and how much improvement can be made by speaker set up and let's not forget listening position either.

Sure, the room and speaker / listener setup are important. Especially with a new speaker and figuring out how that plays with the room.

Cables are more like later stage tweaks. But I was specifically suggesting trying the RCA-XLR master-companion link, not because of the 'quality' of the cable but the galvanic isolation that the XLR input provides. I suspect that's why it sounds quite different from the RCA-RCA connection.