Home Theater/Stereo Thread...

[KvHagedorn]

I really don't want to spend more than a couple hundred bucks on the sub, but if I have to to get a good one I will.

I'm afraid what you described there will cost a bit more than $200, Rev.. That was like saying "I test drove that BMW and really loved it, but I really don't want to spend more than $5000 on a new car" Bass is hard to do well, as you say.. what I like about the Velodyne SPL1200 is that it does pretty much what you are describing there for much less than their higher end woofers. If you want the least expensive sub that is still fairly musical, try out the B&W ASW500. It's $450. It won't crank out huge amounts of bass like the SPL, but it will still sound pretty good. Frankly, the only thing that pretty much meets all your wants for a sub is the B&W ASW4000. It has a 15" woofer, but is still pretty tight and musical, and delivers lots of bass. That one goes for $3000, I believe. I really wish there were more speakers using transmission lines properly, though. Those have the best bass characteristics I have ever heard.

As for cello, the lowest tones that instrument can produce should be well within the range of most good full range speakers. What are you using now for the rest of your equipment?

Jammrock, $215,000? I guess it's been awhile since I priced those things. Frankly, for that money, I'd rather have a new house.

[ALBPM]

LOL.......I like the Rocks. Are they outdoor speakers

Ya, I know how much the Signature 800s cost that was why I made the drool comment. They kind of look like R2 D2.....LOL

Paul

[Jammrock]

Yes, Rockustics are outdoor speakers. And only $500 a pair for the hanging pot speakers. They even come with the pot holders! I want a pair just to scare the crap out of people I'm going to the store that sells them this evening.

Jammrock

[ahartman]

Originally posted by KvHagedorn
The $500 Receiver in Yamaha's main line is the RX-V620.

Can you tell me the difference between the HTR & RX-V series? In particular, the RX-V620 seems to be nearly identical to the HTR-5460.

The only difference I can see is an extra set of inputs of A/V inputs and an extra 8 lbs. somehwere.

[KvHagedorn]

I'm not sure what the differences are exactly. I just remember the bad experience when we got some of those mass market CD players. If one is heavier than the other, it may be due to a heftier power supply. If you could get ahold of a tech guy at Yamaha he might know, but we normally get only RX-V pieces so we haven't had a chance to a/b test them.

I don't know why anyone would buy those dumb hanging planter speakers.. if you have something to hang them on, you have something to mount a pair of B&W outdoor speakers to, and they are the same price.

[Jammrock]

AAAAaaaHHHHH!!!!

[begin breathing into a paper bag]

I just got back from Audio Port, and about a 2 hour visit there. GOOD GOOGLEY MOOGLEY!!! They had $50k+ home theater systems on demo!!! H/K, Denon, Onkyo, Yahama, Pioneer, etc... ALL CRAP!!! IT ALL SUCKS!! Unfortuantely I don't have the money to buy any of the systems that put them to shame. I listened to a Classe powered system. Mark Levinson system powering Wilson Audio speakers (which sounded better than anything I have EVER heard before), Rotel's powering Thiel and B&W speakers... it was all so cool. I even had a cool sales guy that understood there was no chance in hell I was going to buy 95% of the stuff he showed me, but he showed it to me anyway.

Now back to Jammrock's reality...

I listened to the Denon AVR-3802 compared to a simple Rotel setup. The Rotel was better, but cost 2-3x what the AVR-3802 did to get home theater. It was definately and noticably better though on the same set of speakers. But for the money I liked the AVR-3802 as a the best bang for the buck for a home theater AV reciever. The Rotel is still a dream (Classe and Mark Levinson is a fantasy), so unless someone else can inpress me more, it looks like the Denon AVR-3802 will win the reciever race.

I wasn't really looking in to buying speakers until my sales guy informed me that they were running a 12-month same as cash deal. Then things got interesting! The main set of speakers I listened to were B&W CDM 9NT's. They sounded really nice, once again better on the Rotel than Denon, but Mr. Money is not a good friend of mine...I listened to some others, but for the money the CDM 9NT's were the best all around home theater speaker I might be able to afford. Then the sales guy put in a Wilson Audio demo CD to show of what they could do...looks like I may be getting new speakers with my Denon.

This is really going to hurt my wallet. 2 more stores to go, and I only have to Saturday to decide if I want the 12 month no interest loan.

[/continue breathing into a paper bag]

Jammrock

[Wombat]

Heh, and I was going to make a lot of these decisions myself soon. It's much more fun to sit on the sidelines and watch someone else with a small wallet like mine walk the gauntlet.

[KvHagedorn]

When I want to watch a movie, sometimes I just stay late at the store and watch it on the CDM9NTs, CDMCNT, and CDMSNTs with the Velodyne SPL1200.. we have it hooked to a Yamaha RX-V 2200 right now and the video is a Sharp front projector.. we've sold a few systems like these. Really very nice. Unfortunately, this is the highest end system we could possible have on display here. Maybe I should move to KC so I can work at Audioport and stay after hours there

[Reverend Maynard]

Ok, now I have an idea of what I am getting into. Guess I just have to save up a little more before I go about setting this all up. The $200 estimate was just a little wishfull thinking. I really don't mind spending around $500-600 on a sub, so i'll take a look at what Velodyne and B&W have to offer in that price range.

Is there anyone here from Southern California that knows of high end dealers in the area? Specs I read on the internet are all well and good, and testimonials from the experts are great, but I simply have to hear a speaker before I buy it.

[ALBPM]

Jammrock, the CDM 9NTs are great but you will need to get a Sub to give DVD's the lower range needed.

I heard a big difference between using my Denon 3300 and the Rotel Amp. The Rotel Amp opened up the 9NTs and created a wonderfully full but sweet soundstage compared to just using the Reciever.

Stevie Nicks voice gives me the chills with this combo

Tomorrow night I get to hear the Signature 800s

Paul

[Jammrock]

Thursday, Classe is coming to Audio Port to demo their new Omega line. They had some of the new 350W amps at the store. They were about the size of a mid-tower computer case and had to use custom power cables to give them juice. Classe is also showing off their new SACD player. Guess where I'm going to be on Thursday =)

Unfortuantely Audio Port will not be carrying the Signature 800's, since they already carry 2 $20k B&W speakers. The CDM 9NT's had good enough bass for me until I can scrap up enough to buy a center and surrounds. At that point I will worry about getting a sub, as the bass on the 9NT's get to 38 Hz, which is good enough for now (I'm talking like I've already decided to buy them, this is scary).

Jammrock

[Jammrock]

Now that I've had a little time to digest my Audio Port experience, it's time to look back and drool...I mean, review a few more things I saw/heard there.

Runco Projectors: By far the most amazing thing I have ever seen! It puts any HDTV I've seen to shame in pure video quality and size. Zero pixelation, perfect color, smooth movement that doesn't ghost, damn expensive! Since they are front projector's, you do need a screen and the lights need to be down to get the perfect picture. That and the $$$ was the only downside to Runco.

Denon: Good for us poor people that only think we are audiophiles.

Rotel: Entry level audiophile equipment. Their all-in-one AV reciever was good, but their seperates system is better than any all-in-one I've ever listened to. $2000 is the entry for these guys and it goes up to about $5000. If you just listen to CD's and don't need suround look into their CD player/stereo amp setup for around $1200. Sounds better than any Denon combo I've ever heard.

Classe: Pretty silver seperates that can pump out some serious juice! Sounds extremely clean and crisp. Makes Rotel seem like a $200 Sony next to it. I'll have more info on Thursday after the seminar.

Mark Levinson: A small step above Classe to my ears. They have a more modern, black with white buttons/knobs look. The sound they pump out is absolutely gorgeous! I listened to some jazz on a $6000 CD player, MLe mono amps and Wilson speakers. It was audio ecstasy! If money is no object then MLe has some toys for you

B&W: Believe it or not, B&W was thier bottom end speakers Good entry level audiophile speakers. The CDM series is a great all around speaker. The Nautilus is a step up in performance/price and gives a much tighter sound stage. For the higher-end stuff you'll definately need a beefy, clear amp/source (it made a big difference). Too bad they aren't carrying the Signature 800's, I'd really like to hear them.

Thiel: Mid-level audiophile loudspeakers. Sound on these was very crisp, powerful, clean and had a great sound all around. They have a nifty sloped design to them and have a very unique, modern look. Rotel's seemed to do a good job, but the Classe's and MLe's made them shine!

Martin Logan: Electrostatic goodness. They have a sound all thier own. Depending on your ear preference they will sound either as bad as B&W or as good as Thiel. I think they are above the Thiel level personally. And on 28 November I get to take a factory tour

Wilson Audio: High-end audiophile loudspeakers. I only got to listen to these on a MLe setup, but boy did these speakers shine! They put everything else to shame. And I listened to their cheapest speakers! Of course those are still $11000 and go up as high as $215000...ouch.

Audio Quest Cables: The main line of cables Audio Port used. They range from cheaper than Monster cable to several thousands of dollars to hook up a home theater. All thier demos used Audio Quest and they made every system shine. Hopefully I'll have enough to get some decent AQ's to power a new system.

That just about covers it. If anyone ever comes through KC, fire me an email and I'll take you for a tour through Audio Port

Jammrock

[Maggi]

Hey Jammrock,

since you already had quite a few comparisons, how about giving Marantz a try ?

[Jammrock]

Marantz is today...hopefully.

Jammrock

[Muad'Dib]

Rev. Maynard - give Audio Den a try if it's not too far from you. It's right off the 405 freeway on Roscoe blvd. in Northridge (just across the street from Galpin Ford). ***EDIT*** Try to speak with Adam. He's been really nice and helpful. And definately buy from him. After all the help he's given me without my buying anything, I can at least hook him up with people....

KvH - What's your opinion of the Marantz SR-19EX? I'm lookin in to that to replace my VERY VERY POS Technics I bought just to power my speakers. I bought the speakers at a really good price, but I still didn't have any money left, so the Technics was the only option at the time - either that or run it off an Aiwa mini-system thingy. Hmmmm, bad choices at the start huh. lol

As for cables, I'm a big fan of Audio Quest if that helps anyone. Right now though I'm just running of 16 gauge electrical cables. Again, price issues....

Paul, nice lookin room you got there.

To be honest with you guys, I've listened to some of the B&W's and they just don't do it for me. Neat lookin, but nothin special. They were runnin off McIntosh seperates, so that may have had an influence.

Someone mentioned Bose in the first page, sorry, forgot who. Their just as bad as Monster. BAD QUALITY, Good marketing strategy. Sound like shit.

-Dimitri