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Originally Posted by ctctc
I'd rather not limit myself to what is on the shelf. I would like to buy the best in my budget range and then purchase it from whoever has it.
I am considering the $450 JoLida, and if I had to take a step up for some compelling reason it would be their $650 model.
I was confused. I thought you were looking for an H/T receiver still. You want a 2 channel amp now! And Tube nonetheless. This is very different from a Denon.
Have you heard of Grant Fidelity? Check these out, ignore the MSRP and look at their actual selling price. Essentially tubed pre sections with SS power....
http://grantfidelity.com/site/sheng_...ated_amplifier
http://grantfidelity.com/site/Jungso...ated_Amplifier
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I was confused. I thought you were looking for an H/T receiver still. You want a 2 channel amp now! And Tube nonetheless. This is very different from a Denon.
Based upon the varied response from experienced audiophiles in this forum, the one common recommendation that makes the most sense to me is a two channel piece of equipment.
Some have recommended an audio receiver and some have recommended an integrated amplifier. I have not yet made a decision on which to choose. I see numerous recommendations for Denon, including yours, so I thought I would explore that possibility. My hi-fi guy recommends an all tube integrated amplifier above all others, and was gracious enough to lend me a low-end model to try. I do like it which is why I am using it as a basis for comparing my other options.
Thank you for your input, I will explore these products.
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One extreme to another...
Nothing against tubes, but you don't have to go that route for good sound. Also, I'm sure your dealer wants to help you, but keep in mind that his recommendations are limited to what he sells. Click here and explore this site to see some examples of what's also out there.
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OK, could you please share with me your analysis of these two pieces?
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Also, I'm sure your dealer wants to help you, but keep in mind that his recommendations are limited to what he sells.
Yes, that's good to keep in mind, I guess that's why I'm here too. You don't have a horse in this race.
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Click here and explore this site to see some examples of what's also out there.
OK, It seems that the NAD - C -326BEE - Stereo Integrated Amplifier is in the same price point as the JoLida. And it's obvious that this price point is at the bottom of the Hi-fi game. It's interesting that they are including tone control bypass in some of these amps. What is your opinion of NAD in general? I would need to find a shop that has these on display to hear them.
If you wouldn't mind, could you please share with me what types of amps you went through to arrive at the one that I see in your setup? How did you get there?
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First, choose a direction.
I'll just shoot off a few random thoughts and perhaps others can expound on them.
Select your speakers first. These determine what sort of amplifier you need. In your case, I would concentrate on the front right/left pair and use music as your gold standard. If speakers sound good on music, you can be sure they will do at least as well on HT.
Once these are selected, if HT is in your future, get the matching center ASAP. Just because it's available today doesn't guarantee it'll be there next year, or even in a few months.
Now, what receiver/amp you choose is a decision you have to make. You cannot really "upgrade" a stereo integrated amp/receiver into a multi-channel HT system but you can get a HT receiver that sounds good on music. A lot (not all) of HT receivers play games with their specs (as you found out) but stereo units are bound by law to adhere to more stringent standards.
In my case, for the stereo, I started with the front end and sources. I had smaller speaker and what was, up until the maggies, more than enough power (NAD 214, 80 wpc) to drive them. When I moveed to a larger space, they did need a sub for the lowest two octaves, but otherwise they were great. When the maggies arrived on the scene, I was forced to upgrade to a more powerful amp to drive them. Enter the Rotel 991.
As for when I was planning the the HT, I tried the main R/L speakers on the recommendation of AudioAdvisor, who has a very fair return policy, and got lucky. They more than satisfied me and my old NAD amp drove them cleany to crazy loud levels. I then ordered the center and surrounds. I was looking for a good brand that could deliver the power and found a deal on my Denon 2802 as a leftover.
Basically, it's pick a direction, set a budget and listen/try whatever you can. Remember, nobody here has a dog in this race and you're getting some pretty decent, non-biased advice, but you gotta pick a direction.
As for an upgrade path, I started out with basic stereo units in the 60's but would up with a Marantz 2270 for many years (It's still driving some old JBL speakers in the man cave/gym/basement/office). I then got the NAD 1600 tuner/pre ans used the 2270's power amp, which was replaced by the NAD-214, which begat the Rotel RB-991B when more oomph was needed.
As for speakers, K went from Lafayettes in the 60's to Wharfedales 40-C's in the 60's, to some small Goodmans, to JBL- L-55's, to Sound Dynamics RTS-3's, to DCM CX-21's, to the Maggies and finally to the Athena HT setup you see listed.
So, any of my systems do well on music but only one can do MC for movies. The beauty of having two standalone systems sorta makes making a choice pretty moot, but honestly, I do quite a bit of music listening on my HT system. The seats are more comfortable...
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New speakers
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Try some different speakers first.
OK, MarkW also suggested that I start building my new system by selecting some speakers. I see that your speakers are vintage. My room measures 14' x 16' x 9' but is part of a larger 700 ft.² room. My budget is under $800. What do you recommend that I take a listen to?
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Select your speakers first.
This makes perfect sense, after all it is the speakers that we are listening to.
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Once these are selected, if HT is in your future, get the matching center ASAP.
This makes great sense too, however I have made the decision to stay with what I have always had...two channel audio.
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You cannot really "upgrade" a stereo integrated amp/receiver into a multi-channel HT system...
Understood. What I meant by "upgrade" is that I could add additional components later, such as a better CD player or tuner etc. as my budget allowed.
So I went to a local shop today over my lunch break to listen to some speakers. Their listening room was set up using a very large Denon AVR-5XXX something or other. They had maybe 16 pairs of floor standing speakers by various manufacturers in one huge wall and were selecting which ones produce the sound via some type of a computer console.
I listened to KEF, Klipsch , Polk Audio, Sony, and Definitive Technology all floorstanding models. They all sounded terrible! No highs, no lows, no depth, and just plain flat. Upon questioning the salesman, he said that the music was in mp3 format on a hard drive, however he didn't know what bit rate it was.
I stopped back home to listen to my system with the JoLida [on loan] and old Marantz speakers [with new tweeters on loan] on 320kbps mp3's which sounded much much better than anything that I heard in the store.
So the problem could have been the room acoustics, the Denon AVR, all of the speakers, the controlling computer interface, or low bit rate mp3 files.
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B&W DM600i
Having struck out at the big shop yesterday I went back to my hi-fi guy today who lent me a used pair of B&W DM600 speakers and a couple of stands. I found a PDF in B&Ws archive of the DM600i which matches the appearance of these speakers.
While they have only half the presence of my old Marantz speakers, they are clearly cleaner and more articulate in the mids and especially the bass response. I can now easily hear the bassest plucking the strings. However these speakers are missing the sub-lows of the Marantz.
I guess I would equate much of the Marantz presence, at least in part, as noise...much of it seems to come from the 14 inch woofer and is not terribly focused.
Any recommendations would be appreciated.
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All speakers sound different.
B&W are fine speakers but I think your dealer is leading you to what he wants to sell you.
Each speaker has their strong points and they each have their weak points. Comparing one element to another is good, but there's a bigger picture to be considered. Personally, I think the best way to choose a speaker is to go for the one that does thenfewest things wrong.
Your basis for comparison base is way too small to make a rational decision as to which is better overall. I suggest you keep listening to everything available, and this means trying some of the better on-line dealers, to see which works best in your home for your ears.
Also, remember, speaker technology has come a long, long way since you bought your speakers, and they don't have their original tweeters.
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