$2500 to spend on seperates (1 Viewer)

[DeanG]

Hi all,

My first post after reading and learning alot from this forum. Hopefully I will be upgrading my whole home theater system. I have an old Sony pro logic receiver, Realistic Mach 2 speakers and Bose for center and surround. I narrowed my speakers to Diva or Axiom. What would be my best bet for $2500. Would a receiver in that price range due or a pre/pro and a amp.I liked the Rotel RSP-1066 and Rotel RMB 1075 and that would be at 2500. I would value any opinions. Thanks in advance

Dean

 

[Brandon Blair]

Dean,
Welcome to the board, what part of Alabama are you from? I haven't seen to many of us on these boards.
I would strongly recomend going with seperates in that price range. I would say to look at Rotel or Audio Refinement (www.audiorefinement.com), personally i like the audio refinement better!
If you send me an email ([email protected]), or put yours on here i'll send you some more info, and I can give you a real good contact in Birmingham with the owner at the new high end Audio/Video store there called Audio Forest.
Good Luck,
Brandon

 

[stephen_z]

Dean,
Definitely go with separates at that price point. I just pulled the trigger on the Rotel combo (see if you're local dealer will discount 10%... can't hurt to ask). Couldn't take it any longer on the Outlaw wait list. The Audio Refinement was also on my short list.

 

[Mike_T_]

The Rotel combo would be great.. I have the 1066 paired with a Sherbourn amp which is in your price range. This combo is fantastic..great bang for the buck. Seperates are now affordable to the average income.

 

[chung_sotheby]

I would suggest the Rotel Combo. But instead of getting a 5 channel amp that pumps out 200 watts to each channeland a seperate 2 channel amp, I would go with 2 100-watt 2 channel Rotel amps to drive the backs and the surrounds, and a RB993 or maybe an Acurus a200x3 to drive the front soundstage. Even in damn near reference levels, you dont need 200 full watts of power going to your surrounds and your back channels. This way, the pricing breaks down as
$1300 for the 1066
~$700 for the three channel front amp
~$300 each for the two two-channel amps
So for $2600 give of take, you have a seven channel system that will compete with systmes costing 5x as much. Hope this helps

 

[Dzung Pham]

If you're going seven channel, the Outlaw combo (950 pre/pro and 770 seven channel amp) is $2500 plus shipping. The Outlaw 950 and the Rotel 1066 have different advantages and disadvantages. Outlaw has been slow with their shipping schedule recently however.

 

[Daniel T]

Dean,

Where in Alabama do you live. I live in Alabaster on the south side of Birmingham. The reason is I own Axiom speakers. My set up is the M3ti(fronts), VP100, and QS4s(surrounds). I would also look at Parasound for the amp. I just picked up the HCA-855a but with the budget you have you might find a reasonably priced HCA-2205. I was amazed at the diffence in sound from the receiver to a dedicated amp. Every is much cleaner and louder. I have a receiver as my Pre/Pro now but hope to upgrade that in the future.

Daniel T

 

[Brandon Blair]

Daniel,

Always good to see some one elso from the area on here. I live off of HWY 119 right down the road from you. Check your email, i just sent you some Birmingham HT information if your interested.

Brandon

 

[Daniel T]

Bradon,

For some reason my e-mail address was not correct. I just corrected it in my profile. By the way I live off County Road 11. I am just on the other side of Oak Mountain from you.

Daniel T

 

[JoelM]

Ok Dean, I can answer this question with ease. I have the Swan Diva 6.1 package and absolutely love them. I have a parasound855($309 on ubid) running the 4 back R3 surrounds at 125X5@4ohm. The frontstage is run of a Parasound2003($700)running the front stage at 200X3@8ohm although it is a little harder to find this amp. For $1000 you really can't go wrong then the remaining money can be used for a pre/pro. Don't forget to pick up dual SVS25-31CS+ with the Sampson amp. Trust me that is the biggest investment you could make.
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/...4542710155.jpg

 

[Steve Morgan]

Daniel,
I have a Parasound 2205a 220 watts x 5 for sale if interested give me an email.This is a very nice amp. Read the reviews at audio review or in any HT magazine they are all positive.

Regards,
Steve

 

[Daniel T]

Steve,

I just purchased the HCA-855 about 2 weeks ago. I know the HCA-2205 probably runs circles around that amp. I just can't buy another amp right now.

Daniel T

 

[Chu Gai]

Before I'd opt for recommendations on amplification, and there are many, my first suggestion would be to arrange for an audition of the speakers you're currently considering at home. Yes, I know you've got an older Sony at the present time, but first I think, is to make sure of the speakers. It may well be that for your particular room, you'll need to move up or down within a particular model. What you've heard in the showroom is merely an indication of how they'll sound in your own home. Once you've gotten that part narrowed down you'll know if you have $2500, or $1800 or whatever it is to spend. Your speakers have the greatest impact. Amplification, whether receiver or separates is a distant second...very distant.
The approach that I take, that I'm proposing, tends to be a slower process. My thinking is more along the lines of measure twice, cut once.

 

[Martice]

Your speakers have the greatest impact. Amplification, whether receiver or separates is a distant second...very distant.

I totally agree Chu!!

Another thing to ask when being offered advice on equipment is to find out what the associated equipment is being used and also what other (as in this case) amps and preamps that they've heard in comparison. Find out where they heard them (house, store or friends house) and for how long.

Also, are you really into music? Your answer to that may affect your choices of equipment and speakers you have in your sights.

Me personally, I wouldn't really worry about getting an 'all in one' pre/pro for HT & Music. If you are into movies more than music then sure get a pre/pro. However, if you are a music guy first I would get something like the Outlaw 1050 receiver for movies (used 350.00) (new-550.00) and use it as a processor. Next, this would free up a lot more money for you to not only purchase your speakers but your 'quality' amps (which could last you for decades)source(cd, dvd player)and cables.

Like most of us will tell you, Pre/Pros are probably the first to go in your system do to the constant change in feature offerings. Obviously, if you're not into extra features or extra speakers and like your movies and music to play as the director or music producer intended it to be heard (most of the time being 2-channel or 5.1)then I don't see the need to spend all of your money on pre/pro for the features. As my experience has shown me, features don't necessarily mean sonic superiority over something that has less features.

I personally have owned many 2-channel preamps (Sonic Frontiers, Acurus, Aragon, B&K and the Adcom GFP 750) and have owned a few different receivers and pre pros (HK, Technics, Denon and the Sony 333es)and I now have my HK pre/pro hooked up to a Sony TA-P9000es preamp audio switcher that allows me to keep my 2-channel music system totally separate from my HT processor. I can now sell my 2-channel pre/amp and not have to close down my system until I purchase another one. I can also take my processor out of the chain and still have my 2-channel system in tact.

In short, the key to separates is to realize your core equipment and invest the funds accordingly. The core equipment will transcend time and features and to me that means 3 things:

1. Room

2. Speaker

3. Quality amps

Recommended system:

Sony TA-P9000es 2-channel preamp & audio switcher - $450.00
Outlaw Audio 1050-$550.00 (Use it now and add amplification as needed)
Axiom M3ti- $550.00 ( 2 pairs)
Axiom VP100-$220.00
Acoustic Visions (Adire Audio based) sub, HSU VTF-2 or SVS 2531cs $300-$500.

Estimate cost= $2,270 (use the change for speaker stands, cables and any other unforseen additions)

****The Sony TA-P9000es is recommended because it allows you to experience the separates experience without being handcuffed to any one aspect of your system. It's also a hell of a 2-channel pre amp in it's own right (Stereophile Class A for those that feel it matters) and is setup to allow the addition of any other 2-channel preamp or 5.1 processor you may want to add in the future as your taste changes. It also allows you to input 2 high resolution players (DVD Audio or SACD) which is why this piece was created initially.

Good Luck

 

[JaleelK]

My first post after reading and learning alot from this forum. Hopefully I will be upgrading my whole home theater system. I have an old Sony pro logic receiver, Realistic Mach 2 speakers and Bose for center and surround. I narrowed my speakers to Diva or Axiom. What would be my best bet for $2500. Would a receiver in that price range due or a pre/pro and a amp.I liked the Rotel RSP-1066 and Rotel RMB 1075 and that would be at 2500. I would value any opinions. Thanks in advance

I would go with a receiver, something like a Denon 3802 or one of the Onkyo models that are in the price range of $1,000. I think a receiver like the Denon would represent a tremendous upgrade for, since you presently have a pro-logic receiver. I don't think separates offer that much of a difference in sound quality, marginal at best if at all. Unless you have a large room and you like to play your music/movies loud, a separate amp is not necessary. I would take the $1,500. saved from getting the receiver and spend on all speakers, speakers will make the biggest difference in sound.

 

[Martice]

I don't think separates offer that much of a difference in sound quality, marginal at best if at all.

I've found the exact opposite to be true.

If that's your findings who am I to judge your equipment and experience. However, room treatment, calibration, amplification, pre amps, source, source material and to some, cables all contribute to the end result that you hear from your speakers. How much you get from your equipment is up to the user and may contribute to the overall findings regarding things like the differences in amplification or CD players.

 

[JoelM]

I agree with Martice in all areas except the cable department. I used to work for a speaker shop and the markup was insane. I use to buy a lot a wire and received it at cost(which is %85 markup) So wires that cost 500 only costed me $75. Quite honestly I think high-end wire and regular wire differences are so minuscule. Aside from that separates are the way to go.

 

[AjayM]

I would go with a receiver, something like a Denon 3802 or one of the Onkyo models that are in the price range of $1,000. I think a receiver like the Denon would represent a tremendous upgrade for, since you presently have a pro-logic receiver. I don't think separates offer that much of a difference in sound quality, marginal at best if at all. Unless you have a large room and you like to play your music/movies loud, a separate amp is not necessary. I would take the $1,500. saved from getting the receiver and spend on all speakers, speakers will make the biggest difference in sound.

Are you basing this on strictly adhered to double blind testing?
Andrew