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  1. #1
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    Purchasing a new stereo system

    I've got around 1000$ that I would like to spend putting together a new, loud stereo for myself. I listen to all kinds of music especially classic rock and rap, so bass is definitely a must.
    I try searching through the existing threads for advice, but everything seems to sway according to everyone's personal experiences and some will say 'yes' to one component and others 'no'. What I need to know mostly are companies to stay away from if I go to a retailer. For receivers: It seems a general trend that Yamaha gets bashed... and I was not impressed with my previous roommate's Marantz at all. Denon isn't that high up on my list either. Speakers: I don't know much...

    Ideally I would only want to purchase 2 floor speakers and an amp because that is all I need right now for a 12x18 ft room. Personally I like the sound of bass from floorstanders better than a sub, so I would prefer spending more money on just speakers than speakers and a sub. Any ideas?

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by bpward
    I've got around 1000$ that I would like to spend putting together a new, loud stereo for myself. I listen to all kinds of music especially classic rock and rap, so bass is definitely a must.
    I try searching through the existing threads for advice, but everything seems to sway according to everyone's personal experiences and some will say 'yes' to one component and others 'no'. What I need to know mostly are companies to stay away from if I go to a retailer. For receivers: It seems a general trend that Yamaha gets bashed... and I was not impressed with my previous roommate's Marantz at all. Denon isn't that high up on my list either. Speakers: I don't know much...

    Ideally I would only want to purchase 2 floor speakers and an amp because that is all I need right now for a 12x18 ft room. Personally I like the sound of bass from floorstanders better than a sub, so I would prefer spending more money on just speakers than speakers and a sub. Any ideas?
    Buy used.
    Space

    The preceding comments have not been subjected to double blind testing, and so must just be taken as casual observations and not given the weight of actual scientific data to be used to prove a case in a court of law or scientific journal. The comments represent my humble opinion which will range in the readers perspective to vary from Gospel to heresy. So let it be.

  3. #3
    Forum Regular PAT.P's Avatar
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    Dont know where you see that Yamaha gets bashed .I have a Yamaha receiver and for the price and the least in the repair shop is why I bought it.For the $1000 you want to spend look in the use gear.

  4. #4
    Suspended
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    If you do buy used Adcom would give you good bass and play loud enough for you if you get one of their 125 wpc power amps. I have the gfa 5400 on one of my systems and it has a nice little bass hump for rock and pop recordings. A pre and power amp used will run $500 to $600.00 give or take. In receivers I like the slam of Onkyo or HK. Onkyo did have a 100 wpc, stereo only, for around $299.00. Either of these brands used vintage receivers would rock.

    I'm not up on entry level speakers but you might give a listen to Klipsch which are very efficient, so they play very loud with little effort. I don't think they have any real bass but others seem to like them. You might also listen to brands like JBL or Cerwin Vega for some bump.

  5. #5
    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bpward
    I've got around 1000$ that I would like to spend putting together a new, loud stereo for myself. I listen to all kinds of music especially classic rock and rap, so bass is definitely a must.
    ...
    Assuming you prefer to buy new rather than used, the following are conventional but reliable choices:

    Speakers: Athena F2.2 floorstanders, about US$400
    Integrated amp: Cambridge Azur 640A, about $400
    CD/DVD-A/SACD player: Pioneer DV-588A-S, about $130

    The above keeps you under $1000 including basic speaker cables and interconnects. The order of priority in terms of sound per $$ is speakers, amp, source as listed above. So if you can see your way to do so, you might consider spending more on speakers, say PSB Image T45 or T55; prices would be $600-800.

    At this stage of your hi-fi interest, I suggest that a basic, universal player like the pioneer is quite sufficient.

  6. #6
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    Athena f2.2

    Alright so I was looking on ebay...
    There's a few sets of these speakers and they look pretty good, but under the specifications it says power handling: 250 watts per channel. Now does this mean 125 watts per speaker? Or 250 per speaker? What would this mean in terms of what kind of receiver I would need for them? I do not want to fry these guys due to clipping, which is what happened just recently with some B&Ws my roommate had.

    There were some sweet looking PSBs on there as well.....

  7. #7
    Linear Guy
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    no danger

    A speaker rated at 250W can handle a lot of power without failure. Concentrate on sound quality and value. Feanor's recommendations are solid. If I were looking for the type of speaker you are, I would definately scarf up the Athenas F2.2. They have gotten incredible press and the Cambridge Integrated he is recommending is 65 watts and high current output to drive almost anything.

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