Dynaudio S 1.4 causes me to upgrade AV system - advice pls

[gileas]

Well, I think this is a backward way to go about buying a replacement home audio system, an AV system at that, but here it goes. I got an amazing deal from a friend for a pair of new Dynaudio S 1.4 speakers. Now I am going about trying to assemble an AV system around these speakers. I have decided to buy the center channel reccomended with these speakers, so that is done. What I would like is a reccomendation for a receiver - rotel, marantz, krell, dynalab, creston, burmester, benz micro, stuff in this area. Also - what is your thinking on a pre-amp / power amp setup vs. a receiver which has the surround sound/tuner/amps etc built into it, like the rotel 1056.

Pls feel free to help me, Im a total newbie and need all the advice anyone is willing to give.
Thanks,
Gileas

[NickWH]

Those are very expensive speakers, I hope you got a good deal. What you are going to find out is, the cost of those speakers will add up fast in the way of the associated equipment you are going to need to get the most out of them. By this I mean, you really have to go the seperates route (not entry-level, either). The only receiver I would imagine pairing those with would be a B&K (which costs almost as much as good seperates). Sure, a Rotel, Arcam, or NAD receiver will power those speakers, but you will not get the kind of refinement and control that is possible with good seperates. Powering five to seven 4 ohm speakers is not usually a design consideration for receivers. With these speakers you really need the brute force of a dedicated amplifier. The speakers may also show the limitations of the built-in preamp used in HT receivers.

Figure out a budget for your pre/pro and power amp, and then you can determine what you should start looking at. I would recommend getting a pre-amp/processor new, then look to the used market for a good deal on a multi-channel power amplifier. You'll get a lot more for money while getting the 'latest and the greatest' decoding technology. Also keep in mind that an advantage with seperates is that you can upgrade your processor as new surround formats are released, while a good power amp can be kept in service for many years.

Here is a good review:
Dynaudio Contour S1.4 (http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/dynaudio_contour_s14.htm)

[Geoffcin]

Well, I think this is a backward way to go about buying a replacement home audio system, an AV system at that, but here it goes. I got an amazing deal from a friend for a pair of new Dynaudio S 1.4 speakers. Now I am going about trying to assemble an AV system around these speakers. I have decided to buy the center channel reccomended with these speakers, so that is done. What I would like is a reccomendation for a receiver - rotel, marantz, krell, dynalab, creston, burmester, benz micro, stuff in this area. Also - what is your thinking on a pre-amp / power amp setup vs. a receiver which has the surround sound/tuner/amps etc built into it, like the rotel 1056.

Pls feel free to help me, Im a total newbie and need all the advice anyone is willing to give.
Thanks,
Gileas

What's your budget, and what do you want from your system?

You don't want to fall in love with a $10000 system if your on a $2000 budget, so you don't want to audition one of these....EVER! Believe me, it's a mistake to look at stuff out of your budget, it will ruin you for everything else. You have to decide what you want from your system. If you want the highest fidelity for music, or earth shaking bass for movies with special effects, there's always going to be a trade off unless you've got some real $$$ to spend.

[Mr Peabody]

Primare makes a great A/V integrated amp for aroune $4k that should definitely drive the Dyn's. You are probably looking at $8k at least for krell pre/pro and power. If you have that kind of budget T+A has a receiver at $8k, if you want to call it that, that is said to be able to out perform the Krell. I haven't heard this receiver but I have heard a T+A system that ran about $15k hold it's own with a $40k Krell system.

www.spearitsound.com under their "used, demos and specials" link has some pretty good buys if you are looking for used. They had a Classe' SSP 3 that is a good pre/pro but doesn't include any video switching. They have an Krell HTS for $3k that is a very good deal if you didn't need the latest processing. Most pre/pro's will start around $3k. The Rotel 1066 is a good performer that did sell around $1,500. nothing else worth while was available until you get to that $3k mark. I haven't heard one yet but Arcam came out with a new receiver that is supposed to have all the latest digital processing and offer more power. I'm not sure of the price, I'm thinkng maybe mid $2k. I saw the Arcam 100 receiver and it was amazing in both sound quality and what it will drive. Take a look at Bryston, it's very capable equipment as well. I've heard the Anthem AVM-20 pre/pro and liked it, sounded good and loaded with features at $3k but I'd recommend a beefier amp than theirs to drive your speakers. I guess they would drive them they just didn't seem to have much bass slam.

I have Krell 250 watt amp on my Dyn 2.1t's but I drive the 2.5t center with an Arcam Diva 100 watt amp. It's a 3 channel that drives my center and rears. I'm pleased with the Arcam amp. I have my center set to large and it drives it fine. Arcam's pre/pro is $5k though, they priced theirselves about out of the market with that. If you aren't going over 5 speakers for HT and not into DVD-A or SACD you should check out the used market there are some good deals on slightly older technology. Take that Krell HTS for instance, originally $8k. That would be an awesome preamp for 2 channel and 5.1 but is limited on processing past a certain point. That's the route I took. I bought a $4k Primare pre/pro for $1k. I got a great preamp and it met my needs because I only want 5.1 and have no interest in 5 channel audio at this point.

[gileas]

Thanks for the attention and assistance. The questions you suggest I ask myself, and the varity of amps / preamps (and telling me I need to get them) is a huge help. I got the Dynaudio S1.4 pair for $799.00 total. It was such a good deal I thought I would be stupid to let it go. Little did I know - without planning a budget ahead of time, it was more stupid to buy them and try to assemble a midlevel system off the cuff with no thought ahead of time.

Well atm I have the Rotel 1056 receiver, 75 watts x 7 channels, a preamp out option to hook a 2 channel power amp up and drive the S 1.4s and let the 1056 run the sats. Well, I dont think the Rotel 1056 is really *enough* power to make these speakers sing. I definately can hear the potential, (at the store they had Krell seperates, for example a 250w x 2channel amp driving these speakers.

I agree that preamp / poweramp is the solution here, and fortunately I have a bit of money to spend, around 5,000 Not enough, but I have never had "enough" money for something like this project. More money - more expensive amps, etc.

I am definately looking at used items - ebay is a killer for mid/high end stuff like this. I see a 8,000$ amp retail, selling with minbid of 6,500$ and its got 32 bids on it stopped at 7,850$ - thats ridiculous. Any suggestions as to WHERE else to go shop for used items (pre and power amps, mostly) and *what* make and model you would suggest would be great, everyone.

My goal= to have a surround sound system for my TV, I *had* a Dennon AVR2400 receiver, and Infinity surrounds, a 12" infinity powered sub and C2 infinity center channel.

This should take its place, plus give me a nice option to listen to music with the S1.4s in stereo if I dont want to use the 5.1 I dont need 6 x 7 x 8 + .1, just dolby digital (AC3?) and surround sound, dts if its riding for free.

Aside from the amp and speakers, I have a high def TV set top box (Sony HD200) and a Sony progressive dvd player.

Thanks again, all help greatly appreciated,
Gil

[gileas]

Ive found some changes which appear to be more compatible with this system I am building as I go, like some kind of audio-junkie I am hooked. Must...not...spend $295.00 a foot for speaker cable...

I think these are good components, (used, obvi) and the cost is reasonable.
1) remove and return the Rotel 5060 receiver
2) replace it with Krell KAV300iL and get seperates as I can, powering the Dynaudios with this Krell, OR
3) get the Krell HTS Preamp 5.1 for 1250.00 and run with an adcom amp until I get upgrade...

I have about 6,000 to spend. I have $1450.00 in credit at the store.

As always, anything relevant you can add or obvious things Ive overlooked you can point out, etc. is appreciated.
Gil

[Geoffcin]

Thanks for the attention and assistance. The questions you suggest I ask myself, and the varity of amps / preamps (and telling me I need to get them) is a huge help. I got the Dynaudio S1.4 pair for $799.00 total. It was such a good deal I thought I would be stupid to let it go. Little did I know - without planning a budget ahead of time, it was more stupid to buy them and try to assemble a midlevel system off the cuff with no thought ahead of time.

Well atm I have the Rotel 1056 receiver, 75 watts x 7 channels, a preamp out option to hook a 2 channel power amp up and drive the S 1.4s and let the 1056 run the sats. Well, I dont think the Rotel 1056 is really *enough* power to make these speakers sing. I definately can hear the potential, (at the store they had Krell seperates, for example a 250w x 2channel amp driving these speakers.

I agree that preamp / poweramp is the solution here, and fortunately I have a bit of money to spend, around 5,000 Not enough, but I have never had "enough" money for something like this project. More money - more expensive amps, etc.

I am definately looking at used items - ebay is a killer for mid/high end stuff like this. I see a 8,000$ amp retail, selling with minbid of 6,500$ and its got 32 bids on it stopped at 7,850$ - thats ridiculous. Any suggestions as to WHERE else to go shop for used items (pre and power amps, mostly) and *what* make and model you would suggest would be great, everyone.

My goal= to have a surround sound system for my TV, I *had* a Dennon AVR2400 receiver, and Infinity surrounds, a 12" infinity powered sub and C2 infinity center channel.

This should take its place, plus give me a nice option to listen to music with the S1.4s in stereo if I dont want to use the 5.1 I dont need 6 x 7 x 8 + .1, just dolby digital (AC3?) and surround sound, dts if its riding for free.

Aside from the amp and speakers, I have a high def TV set top box (Sony HD200) and a Sony progressive dvd player.

Thanks again, all help greatly appreciated,
Gil

If your not happy with the Rotel then trade it in.

If your looking at used stuff the best place is Audiogon.com

If your looking at separates I would recommend the B&K Prepro & Amp. One of the flagship receivers from the majors is a good choice too. The top HK, and Pioneer Elite receivers have massive power for stereo, and state of the art processing for multichannel. I haven't heard any of the other brands, but at this level they are all good.

Another way to go is to keep your Rotel, or another moderately priced/powered receiver, and add a quality 2 channel amp for your mains. This is what I do. I'm driving my Gallo Reference 3's with a Musical Fidelity A3cr amp. This setup works wonderfully, and frees up a lot of current in the receiver for the other channels too.

[46minaudio]

Giaels the 1056 is a fine unit..It will also power the Dyns without a sweat...If you add a 150 wpc amp you would only increase 3dbs..That unit has the same preamp section as its big brother preamp only.If you were to go with a new preamp the Anthem AVM 30 is the best way to go..Its one of the few that has BM for the multichannel inputs..IMO stick with the Rotel give it a chance,Add an ext power amp if you feel it does not have enough power..This combo will sound just as good as the other high dollar gear talked about.

[Mr Peabody]

My local dealer has a Primare P31.7 preamp processor and 5 channel amp demo items for $4k. The processor alone retailed for that much. This is a killer combo and price. I have the P31.7 and it is very good. It also is up to date on processing. Primare will drive the Dyn's without breaking a sweat. I don't want to sound like a hard sell here but for $4k you won't find anything to beat this in performance. www.musicforpleasure.com. You'd have to see if they would sell in your area (314) 961-5747. They also have an Arcam 3 channelx100 amp for $700.

Krell has an integrated that costs $2,500.00 new, I think it's the kav 400iL. Krell has a feature called "theater through" that allows you to use the power amp in an HT set up. I'm actually doing that with my 500i. All my 2 channel sources go to the 500i and my satelite, DVD and VCR go to my P31.7 for HT. When comparing cd playback through my Krell 280cd and using my Denon DVD as transport and the P31.7 as DAC it is farely close. The Primare has a slightly smaller soundstage and a more intimate feel to the presentation.

You could get the used Rotel rsp-1066 for $999. and the Arcam 3ch $700. and pick a nice 2 channel, perhaps one of the Classe's and be around $3k.

All of these options would be far superior to a receiver. I think the Primare would be the best, the Rotel,Arcam, whatever combo would be my second choice, only because once you buy the Krell integrated, a processor or receiver and another 3 channel amp you would have spent more money and still wouldn't have the performance of the Primare.