OT: amplifier/receiver for home audio

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by Wattvagen

Thank you for the comments and thoughts.

There were days years ago where i really listened to a lot of music, drank a lot of booze and just stayed up all night binging on great audio. I was broke back then and vowed to have the best audio set-up some day, but life and priorities have changed.

someday though, i will have a great home office/den set up for the audio immersement experience...


...but for now, cartoons on the big screen and big kid movies at night that just work and are simple to operate are on the menu!

Try to get that dream system before your hearing goes bad. :-)

[zap]

edit

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

I have Marantz SR 5009 and it works great both in stereo and 5 channel surround. Depending on the program material and source I sometimes prefer one type of sound and sometimes the other. Out old DVD/CD player just died. It did not have HTMI so I had to use multiple RCA cables. When I replaced to dead player with a new Sony DVD/CD I was able to switch to HDMI from player to receiver which tidied things up nicely.
We have Vandersteen 2CE front speakers, SONUS-FABER center speaker,

Which model Sonus Faber ctr? We have a full complement of Sonus Faber speakers (excl. subwoofer) but our Sonus Faber ctr speaker is not very good. Looking to replace our ctr speaker with another model from Sonus Faber or if needed another manufacturer.

[Matt92037]

You beat me to it. I recently purchased the sub $400 Yamaha from costco and it is stellar. It replaced a 10year old Pioneer Elite and gives up nothing.

Get the Yamaha and dont look back

Originally Posted by tuxbailey

If you shop at Costco just buy the Yamaha receiver there. The TSR-7XXX series.

It does everything reasonably well at your price point.

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by zap

edit



Which model Sonus Faber ctr? We have a full complement of Sonus Faber speakers (excl. subwoofer) but our Sonus Faber ctr speaker is not very good. Looking to replace our ctr speaker with another model from Sonus Faber or if needed another manufacturer.

I think it is a Solo Home. I don't think it's a current offering. When I went surround sound I already had the Vandersteens and Bose rears. I added a Vandersteen sub but my dealer was out of Vandersteen centers in the finish I preferred. He loaned me the Sonus to use while he ordered the V center. I thought the Sonus worked so well I just kept it.

How do you balance your surround sound? Both of my receivers have had Audissey which eliminated most guesswork from my setting up. My Marantz also offers buttons for Movie, Music, Game and "Pure" which allow various emphasis amongst the speaker channels to suit the program material. In each of those options there are additional options for Dolby Pro, Neo6 Cinema, Stereo, Multi Channel Stereo, Virtual under the "Movie" button. Under "Music" I have Stereo, Dolby PLII, DTSNEO:6 Music, Multi Channel Stereo, and Virtual.
The receiver also allows me to tweak the output from any single speaker so I did bump up center channel output in my Dolby Music setting to help me "get" more of the sometimes mumbled dialogue.

What do you find lacking in your center channel? Have you been able to try any tweaks as I have done?

[Toeclips]

With a name like Toeclips I can only go 2 channel

Primaluna Dialogue 2 tube amp
Polk Audio LSiM705
Marantz cd player

I use a 512 GB flash drive with my cd player
Marantz has a decent Dac in it so I can listen to the flash drive

I like a warm sound and the Polks with a
tube amp gets me there

I could do better but this is the best system for me to date

For streaming I bought a dedicated player called Small Green Computer

I have mix reviews about it, too many times I want to listen to streaming the unit requires a bunch of restarts

Once the unit finds the ip address and starts streaming it works great

I stream stations from across the US
WXPN
Psychedelicized Radio
Acid Flashback

That's my set up I'm happy with it for now

[josephr]

Originally Posted by Wattvagen

Ha,

yes, my wife is pulling for the new thing from bose and i'm betting my nice old speakers do wind up with me in the garage, lol.

any input on this thingie?

https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/..._speaker_black

Yeah, No....i had a pair of 301s and my brother had the 901s....this was way back in the 80s and 90s. I moved on after I heard a pair of Infiniti speakers when they were cool. Since then, I find Bose to be muddy on the mid-high range. I know a lot of folks have them and like them, but I just can't. Personally I'd look at JBL, Yamaha, or Polk --- I have a JBL system that handles movies great super clear sound. A buddy just got the Polk and I can't say anything bad about it---very nice sound. What intrigues me about the Yamaha systems is they tout a "Clear Voice" processing and given my tinnitus, it has an appeal.

I think Costco carries a Yamaha that has built in subwoofers that sound decent enough for a family room. Of course, some of the soundbars have subwoofer outs, but that depends on if your current subwoofer is powered, or you find yourself back in the market for an amp. I have a Yamaha powered sub sitting in my closet that could use a good home. I saw above where a guy has a used Onkyo amp hanging around too, you should be checking in with him.

[9tubes]

Originally Posted by Wattvagen

this is living room audio for a family of non audiophiles and kids, so simple to use and decent audio quality are the goals.

is a $500 budget sufficient here?

This gave me a bit of a laugh. You know what's coming, some wiseguy like me will ask "sufficient for what"?

Everyone has an opinion and mine counts for no more than anyone's, but here goes. Think of this in three categories:

Inexpensive. For 2.1 you can get the job done for $300-400, a bit more if you need power for a large room or you like it loud. Something with decent sound correction like Denon (Audyssey sound correction) or Pioneer (MCACC). These days that price point will have all the bells and whistles (meaning wifi and bluetooth, Airplay, etc.)

Medium. At the $500-800 range you can get more power with the major brands, or go with a nicer amp (e.g. NAD 3020) for a real but small improvement in sound quality.

Higher. The key these days is the sound correction software. The difference between a Denon/Pioneer/Yamaha with Audyssey/MCACC/YPAO and an amp with Dirac sound correction (like NAD or Emotiva) is very noticeable. Very noticeable. I switched from an expensive Pioneer Elite to a NAD 758v3 and I've never heard so much difference in comparably priced amps. The price of admission to anything with Dirac software is a jump. The best value I found was that NAD 758v3 which you can find discounted from $1300 to $800-900.

My point is that if you're not willing to jump that far (and most sensible people would not) then just pick up a Marantz or Pioneer and save yourself hours of reading equipment reviews.

You might also consider a 5.1 A/V receiver because there so many more of these manufactured that the prices are very close (sometimes better) than a 2.1 receiver.


.

[el cheapo]

Pawn Shops are great for bargains. These people will negotiate to make a sale. Legit shops always test merchandise and have a return policy.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

Try to get that dream system before your hearing goes bad. :-)

No kidding...

If you're already on the downslope, it's not too late to retain some of your hearing...wear protective ear plugs whenever you'll be in a loud environment...

And if you're still young, wear protective ear plugs whenever you'll be in a loud environment...

I graduated from foam plugs to a good assortment of higher quality plugs. Vibes is currently my ear candy of choice, so to speak.

Funny story... I went to a Nikon photo clinic at Lime Rock Park and had full access to the (live) track and the pits.

I had not thought of bringing ear plugs and just a few minutes in the pits was really uncomfortable. A more experienced attendee noticed my discomfort, reached into his pocket and handed me a couple of foam plugs. Much appreciated!

Now I always have a pair in a case in my pocket, whenever we go (or used to go) to organized events -- weddings, bar mitzvahs, etc. Probably should even take them to "action" movies....not that I'm going to any of these anytime soon...

[zap]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

How do you balance your surround sound? Both of my receivers have had Audissey which eliminated most guesswork from my setting up.

What do you find lacking in your center channel? Have you been able to try any tweaks as I have done?

I think this (Audissey) is what my Pioneer Elite receiver has as well. Also have SF Solo ctr. Vocals are a bit muffled and it very well could be due to the AV cabinet that it sits in. I raised the cutoff to the ctr speaker a bit and that helped some. Might raise it another 100hz.

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by zap

I think this (Audissey) is what my Pioneer Elite receiver has as well. Also have SF Solo ctr. Vocals are a bit muffled and it very well could be due to the AV cabinet that it sits in. I raised the cutoff to the ctr speaker a bit and that helped some. Might raise it another 100hz.

Depending on how deep the speaker sits in the cabinet its sound distribution especially of higher frequencies can be affected to a greater or lesser degree. Did you have the speaker in this position when you used Audissey to balance your sound?

[9tubes]

Pioneer A/V receivers use Pioneer's own MCACC sound correction rather than Audyssey.

[zap]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

Depending on how deep the speaker sits in the cabinet its sound distribution especially of higher frequencies can be affected to a greater or lesser degree. Did you have the speaker in this position when you used Audissey to balance your sound?

Firstly, 9tubes is correct. Pioneer has MCACC. For some reason I thought it was developed by Audissey. I ran Pioneers MCACC system with all speakers in current locations. I need to re-cable my REL sub as well....and make changes to the sub settings in my receiver. Rainy day project......