Rotel, Lexicon, or Meridian (1 Viewer)

[Rich Wenzel]

I am not saying you will need to have bookshelves, however, I think your shielding problems are not a concern. the Mitsubishi's size will make it okay.

To give you an idea, i have a pair of B&W605S's right next my 56" tv, and i have never hada problem. And my B&W's are not magnetically shielded. They have been together for a year now.

If you get bookshelves, you wuld probably need a sub...but dont rule out towers yet.

Rich

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Ok well at least you have an RPTV which means the sheilding won't be a factor so you'll have more speakers to choose from. As for which ones to try look for ones that are either sealed or have their ports on the front. Avoid rear ported models if they are going to be near a solid boundary. With out an idea of what the cabinate looks like its hard to say if floorstanders or bookshelf models would be best but there's excellent models available in both formats...though most bookshelf models require a sub for music...that said there's VERY few floorstanders that don't need a sub for HT so you'll need one anyway. Is there anyway we can see a picture of your room?

 

[Rich Wenzel]

Again, I agree with Andrew's advice, especially about the flow ports. However, I would say that there are bookshelves you could get away with out having a sub for music.

Most towers that don't need a sub for very good HT have side firing subwoofers built in (not all, like my own speakers which has powered woofers, and stuff like the image 7t). If you get something with a side subwoofer builtin (lots of brands, but def tech, some klipsch, and some infinity come to mind quickly), you will get a lot of it absorbed by your cabinet....you definitely want someting taht gets deep bass response with woofers, or a standalone subwoofer.

Rich

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Rich I agree there are some monitor speakers that could do away with a sub in music but since you need one for HT you might as well factor that into the equation up front....esp when room is an issue like it appears to be here.

 

[Vicky]

So let me get this straight. Because I have RPTV (Rear Projection Television) I do not have to worry about non-shielded speakers. YES ! You made my day. My house is being built as we speak, so it will be hard to provide a picture. I could take a picture of the model home, however. That may give you guys a better picture... Yes, No...

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Yes and yes

 

[Holger]

quote:

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Holger ... what does that mean? (Are you implying that no other PRE/PRO's on the market today can do 7.1 ??)
/TC
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tom,

yes that is exactly what i'm saying. neither do ANY receiver (with exception of the harman avr8000) regardless of brand and price. all other manufacturers do 6.1 dts es discrete at best, a lot of them with two backsurround speakers but that doesn't mean 7.1 surround rather then 6.1 surround with 7.1 speakers. to my knowledge only lexicon and meridian offers stereophonic rearsurrounds. that means four surround channels of independent steering.


regards, holger

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Holger apparently Rotels XS processing isn't strickly mono either for 7.1...I can't say if its as good as Lexicons but it does work very well.

 

[Rich Wenzel]

I understand that the 7th channel is a mirror of the 6th channel in DTS ES, but don't some other companies have some proprietary 7 channel mixes?

Does outlaw (and the clones) with that cirrus?

How about yamaha, with its front fx, now they may not have 7 rear, but i have heard that the front side channels do have some added depth and effect...

How about Sunfire, not sure about their 9.1 stuff...

I guess i am just being a devils advocate....I would imagine that whatever lexicon has, the levinsons have as well..

i really dont care though, i dont have room for 7.1 anyway...

Rich

 

[Simon Barnard]

Hi Vicky

I read with interest your comments about wanting an HT setup, but then focusing more on music quality, a similar thing has happened to me. I recently upgraded an ageing, relatively low budget separates system to a Rotel RSX-1055 and Primare V25 DVD player (for CD use as well), linked to my original B&W 602s. My priority when choosing this system was AV, and felt that the compromise of going for dvd/cd player with receiver would be OK for my current levels of music listening, and compressed 5 units into 2.

I am now very happy with movie performance, both picture and sound, to be honest as long as I feel involved in the film, I'm not that particular about a really great sounding AV setup, like you, as long as its decent.

What this all brings me onto is that I have been going through all my CDs and hearing them in a new light. For example last night I put on a CD I hadnt heard for a while, I wanted to listen to a particular track. In the end I just sat back, closed my eyes and listened to the whole album, it was that involving even though I had things to do. Terrific sound. I'm not saying this is the last word in quality, far from it, from an audiophile perspective this is relatively low end, and I am sure there are other similar priced systems that sound as good, I didnt have time to audition all of them. I just wanted to share with you the fact that I think you won't be disappointed in the Rotel, particularly if you are considering floorstanding B&Ws, and the S models as well presumably.

In the audition my dealer teased me by replacing the B&Ws with a set of 5 Dynaudios, amazing. I now have the bug and I think new speakers will be my next step.

Finally, I don't know your plans for source components but if music is important to you I would consider a separate CD player rather than a combi DVD/CD player, even a £300-400 pound model ($300-400 for you, you're so lucky) would possibly beat all DVD players under £1000.

Best of luck with your selection
Simon

 

[Vicky]

Hi Simon,

Thanks for your comments. I have question, will the B&W sound quality still be clean in a media center cabinet? Just asking, I'm not sure if that's how your speakers a situated. And let me open this up to the forum.

Will the B&W speakers still have a clean sound in the media cabinet? Also, anyone heard of definitive technology speakers? Any input on these...

 

[Rich Wenzel]

Vicky, Definitive Technology are well known speakers. However, almost all of their models are side and/or rear firing speakers (even their towers are bipolar, which is unusual), which means they will be sending out sound directly into our cabinet. They are not a good choice for that reason.

On the B&W's, if you are looking at the 600 series, they do have a particularly good advantage for you, starting with the 601 model and moving up, they have a front air flow port, which is something you will desire given that they will be placed in cabinets.

Rich

 

[Simon Barnard]

Vicky, my honest answer has to be I don't know since I don't know what the cabinet is, shape etc, however I would suspect that you may well be limiting the speakers potential. Whether you would hear that is another matter. If you are considering stand mount speakers, I would say a decent set of stands is a must.

My advice would therefore be to heed the advice of others in this thread and find a competent, reputable dealer that will allow you to demo the speakers at home, ultimately its your ears that need to be satisfied. If the cabinet is not in place yet (I understand you're having the house built) I would recommend waiting until you can hear them in what will be their final environment. I know how you might be feeling though - money, pocket, smoke...

Simon

Edit - sorry forgot to say, my speakers are on Atacama stands, close to a wall on one side and about a foot from the rear wall. Space restricts me from trying alternative positions.

 

[Vicky]

Thanks guys. Don't shoot me, but I have a few more questions. You guys are the best.
As I said before I am seriously looking at the Rotel RSX-1055. I was reading the spec. sheet and came across some technology that I am unfamiliar with. Here they are as follows:
1) What is component video switching?
2) What is independent Zone 2 output? My guess is it's a multi-source receiver, where I can play music in the back-yard and watch HT at the same time...
3) What is 12-volt trigger?
4) What is RS-232 interface?
Sorry there are so many questions, but I thought since you guys are the experts, why not ask.
Thanks again...

 

[Simon Barnard]

Vicky, I assume you're asking about the Rotel, alot of what you're asking will be answered in the pdf manual, downloadable from Rotel's web site, but I'll have a go at answering them, someone please correct me if I'm wrong
Edit - LOL, sorry should have read more closely, obviously the 1055 you're asking about....
1. Firstly, a component connection enables a particular type of video signal to be carried, like composite and and s-video (and also scart, but I dont think you have that). Its often felt to be the best possible carrier for quality. So component video switching is just like s-video and composite switching, it allows you to connect component outputting sources (eg DVD player) to the receiver (which get allocated to Video 1 and Video 2 inputs), and it will switch to the appropriate video signal when the video input selector is changed - hope that make sense.
2. Independent zone 2 output - you're pretty much spot on, it allows selection of different sources (connected to the receiver) in another location, and also separate volume control. You need speakers and an amp in the second zone and an IR repeater system if you want remote control.
3. A 12 volt trigger is commonly used to daisy chain device power up, so rather than say switching on 3 components with separate remotes or power buttons on the units, just power on one and the trigger 'triggers' power on in the other units. I think common uses of this are with power amps and motorised projector screens.
4. RS-232 interface - in simple terms (no offence intended, I'm not sure I know enough to desribe it otherwise) its a connection that allows the unit to be linked to, for example, a computer. Its the connection thats used to perform firmware upgrades, and I have read also allows remote control from a computer.
Its actually a general purpose connector/protocol that allows serial transfer of data, and is commonly found in PCs, though its a dying format.
Hope that helps some.
Simon

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Simon covered them really well but if you want to know more about the Rotels feel free to email me since I'm the moderator for Club Rotel

 

[Vicky]

Thanks Simon,

I knew I could count on someone on this thread. You guys have been the best.

 

[Rich Wenzel]

Just out of curiousity, are you getting a dvd player?

Rich

 

[Rich Wenzel]

Also, here are some front flow port speakers in your price range

B&W DM series (601 and up, you could use the 600's as rears if you dont have to put them in a cabinet, wall)

PSB Image series

Paradigm Studios 60's and up, and you could use the 20/40's like the 600's as well as the monitor and performance series

Possibly the KEF Q and XQ series, not sure on the pricing of the latter, and not sure if they are ported in the back as well as the front

Possibly the Energy Connoisseurs...not sure if they are ported in back as well as the front

Many people will have different suggestions, but this is where i would start....

Rich

 

[Vicky]

I already have a DVD player, progressive scan by Mitsubishi. I contacted the B&W distributor for North America, technical services department, and he commented that all the CDM NT Series speakers are ported in the front. I went to check some out, and I heard the CDM 7NT's. Astonishing sound! I couldn't help but smile. I tried to keep it in though, so I wouldn't give the sales person the upper hand. Anyway, I am leaning towards the CDM 7NT speakers now. The Tech. guy also recommended the DM603 and DM604, which I was eying first on this journey, but said they were ported both front and rear. He told me I could plug, the rear, but that I probably would be better off with the 7NT's.

I will definitely check out the PSB Image Series, and the Paradigm Studios. I'm also thinking about Dynaudio and Sonus Faber. Don't know much about them, but I'll find out.