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  1. John Brill

    Question about NAD 275BEE Stereo Amp for movies

    No, you don't need the NAD preamp, your Yamaha RX-V3900 pre-outs are exactly for this. Personally, the NAD 275BEE is a little bit on the pricey side (~$1300?) when you consider the Emotiva XPA-2 is only $799. However, if you can get the NAD for ~$1000 (or less!) or pick up a used 2 channel NAD...
  2. John Brill

    Narrow space and setting up a 2 channel system....

    I hear you. In my old house, the previous owner had built-ins done next to the fireplace that were only 12" deep not giving me enough room for my AVR at the time. Lucky for me, the back of the built-in was simply painted wall which I was able to cut out and box in giving me another 4 1/2". It...
  3. John Brill

    Technics SE-9021 Stereo Power Amp

    The Technics SE-9021 is already an "external amp". No need to take it apart. Simply feed the Left and Right channels using the analog outs of your Audio/Video Reciever (AVR) into the Left and Right inputs of the Technics SE9021.
  4. John Brill

    Narrow space and setting up a 2 channel system....

    1 and 2) Seems like the H/K BDS series meets your needs. At 10 1/4 inches deep and allow an inch for cabling it will fit. Lucky for you, H/K has a reputation for being conservative with their power ratings. That said, 65wpc in 6 ohms is a good thing for 8 ohm speakers. Not a good thing for 4 ohm...
  5. John Brill

    What product do I need?

    Better than the Onkyo 2-channel amp would be the Emotiva UPA-2.
  6. John Brill

    Need a reciever for new home theater $350 budget!

    Between the two? I'd pick the Denon AVR 1911 simply because of Audessey. If you can squeeze out $100 more, the Marantz SR5005 would be my hands down favourite :rolleyes:. Come on, you know you want to! :D
  7. John Brill

    Separating audio from HDMI to go from Roku to processor with DVI and optical inputs?

    1) Why not upgrade your Roku XD to the XDS model and get the built in toslink and component video?
  8. John Brill

    Been out of the game for a while and would appreciate an opinion...

    Pass on the Polk RM85's. Simply not worth the upgrade as your subs easily handle the lower end of the spectrum and I'm sure what you have now is as good, and probably better than the tiny Polks. On the receiver side, though, an upgrade will give you a couple of added features missing from your...
  9. John Brill

    I cannot seem to get this receiver - amp combo to work

    Its the nature of HDMI unfortunately. Part of the licensing agreement with product manufacturers is to prevent pass through to analog outputs (presumably to deter copying of digital content). You could try an HDMI to 5 RCA (component + audio) converter (~$40 on amazon) and see if that solves...
  10. John Brill

    Searching for AV receiver for my Pack Focal Chorus 836

    When watching a movie, 70% of the sound is vocals coming out of your center channel, 20-25% is music from the left and right fronts leaving less than 5-10% for "ambient sounds and effects" for your surround speakers. Also, surround speakers tend to be be smaller for exactly that reason. Also...
  11. John Brill

    Searching for AV receiver for my Pack Focal Chorus 836

    Absolutely. Don't forget that the Marantz 6005 is also a quite capable 7.1 receiver. You could, instead of the XPA-5, simply get the XPA-2 to drive the front 2 towers and power the rest of your speakers using the Marantz 6005. Or, as many do, get an XPA-3 to drive the towers and center channel...
  12. John Brill

    Marantz 6006 or Denon 2312

    Sound wise, your speakers will play a much bigger role in quality than the AVR. If you hid the two ARV's behind a curtain, I'd be willing to bet that if I switched speakers back and forth 10 times, you would be correct 5 times as to whether it was the Denon playing or the Marantz. In other...
  13. John Brill

    Searching for AV receiver for my Pack Focal Chorus 836

    The main reason why I'm recommending this approach. Marantz has, in my opinion, a better "musicality" sound to it for music listening while the clean power of the Emotiva XPA-5 will surpass anything Denon or Yamaha (or any other AVR) under $2000+ will provide. In fact, the NAD T775 will run you...
  14. John Brill

    Searching for AV receiver for my Pack Focal Chorus 836

    Comparable to the Denon 4311 I listed above. However, if I had ~$1500 as a budget, I'd go the Emotiva XPA-5 ($769) with a Marantz 6005 AVR ($589) as a pre-pro.
  15. John Brill

    Searching for AV receiver for my Pack Focal Chorus 836

    Do you have a budget in mind? Are you looking to buy online or from a local retailer? You will probably need some modest power for the floorstanding speakers and I would recommend using separate amplification such as the Emotiva XPA-5 and then pair that up with a receiver with pre-outs, or, if...
  16. John Brill

    Help to connect a powered subwoofer to amplified out of the receiver

    Well, he could have bought a powered subwoofer that has speaker line inputs but I don't believe JBL makes one of those. The Polk Audio PSW Series, for example have speaker level inputs. Otherwise, if you want to keep your sub and it only has an LFE input, you need to upgrade your receiver and...
  17. John Brill

    Calling all Guru's Looking for a new reciever

    My recommendation, get a 2 channel external amp (i.e. the Emotiva UPA-2) for added power for your left/right channels and run video directly from your Blu-Ray player to your TV for 3D. Of course, if you have $700 burning a hole in your pocket and you must have HDMI 1.4a, any of the offerings...
  18. John Brill

    what kind of amp is needed?

    You won't need external amplification with those speakers even with the mid-end models from Denon or Marantz (pre-outs only available in mid to high end model ranges already providing 90+ watts per channel.) 3.5" midrange drivers and a 1" tweeter do not require much power to drive. The built in...
  19. John Brill

    best home theatre for private home cinema

    Pick me! Pick me! Of course I would like cash up front :-) BTW, who only has a 15' x 15' "home theater" in a 50 million dollar home. My modest home has a 24' x 18' home theater room and I do not have any equipment in there valued over $4k.
  20. John Brill

    best home theatre for private home cinema

    Personally, a Krell Evolution 707 at $30K followed by 7 x McIntosh MC2K monoblocs at $35k each, and though the Revel Salon2 at $20k a pair are nice, I'd probably go with B&W 800 Diamonds ($24k a pair) or B&W Nautilus for $50k a pair. Round it out with a couple of Wilson Thor Hammer subs ($20k+...
  21. John Brill

    AV Receiver advice?

    I suspect that the the Onkyo menu option that allows you to select 4 ohms probably enables more conservative power fail safes to prevent overloading the amps. With Onkyo's reputation for running hot though, this would worry me as well. What I meant about the Denon's not specifying specs is that...
  22. John Brill

    AV Receiver advice?

    You would have to go pretty high up the Denon model range to get a 4 ohm receiver. For example, the 3312 has a 125wpc rating at 8 ohms with 0.05% THD but the THD jumps to 0.7% at 1kHz for 6 ohms and they don't even mention what happens at 4 ohms. My guess, over 1% THD. The 4311 is the first of...
  23. John Brill

    AV Receiver advice?

    The sister company for PSB is NAD but you would be hard pressed to find a NAD receiver under 3 years old with HDMI for under $1k. The Brits and Canadians receivers tend to be more expensive but have more robust amp sections. Again, I think a Rotel or ARCAM is as unlikely as NAD to be under $1k...
  24. John Brill

    Big question: what is worth? HT "power" or...

    Budget is usually the defining factor. The $500-$1000 range of receivers currently offer the best bang for buck categorie. You can even do better with factory refurbished models. Above the $1000 range, the debate of "full featured/flagship" receivers vs a separates system becomes muddy. Increase...
  25. John Brill

    AR3a's with a pioneer reciever

    The most common problem with older speakers is decomposition or drying out of the cardboard, rubber, etc.. of the speaker cones which will affect performance. Eventually, the material used for the cones will tear. To minimize the risk of tearing, it's best not to drive old speakers too hard to...
  26. John Brill

    AR3a's with a pioneer reciever

    Hmm, 1960's speakers with a late 1980's receiver. The good news is that the late 1980's was when Pioneer still produced great gear. The SX2300 was rated at 60wpc and it probably did produce that. The big question is the condition of the speakers. Specs want 25 wpc at 4 ohm impedance... So... if...
  27. John Brill

    Advice with home entertainment system

    1) You don't need an amp with any of the receivers listed if you are only running a 5.1 system in your "Home Theater". The extra two channels can be used for other room amplifications and should be assignable. For sure the Pioneer and Yamaha will have this feature, not sure why the Onkyo or...
  28. John Brill

    Pioneer vs Yamaha

    I am a relativefan of Marantz. However, I still don't think upgrading from the Denon 1911 to "something else in the $500-$900 price range" is going to give you any noticable improvement unless you really have money burning a hole in your pocket. Most likely, an upgrade to your front 3 speakers...
  29. John Brill

    Yet another "which receiver" question

    Rich, if you prefer music quality over features, let me make an off the wall recommendation... The Brits and Canadians have a reputation at producing exactly the type of gear you are looking for. Unfortunately, you won't find any Rotel or NAD gear, even used and less than 5 years old, in this...
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