At $4k the choice is simple: Raven Blackhawk integrated. I've had mine a while now, run it with speakers as power-hungry as 87dB no problem, with sub out and remote I use it for music mostly but also movies. You will not believe this but 20W is plenty, we had no problem even with the 87dB power hogs. But the real reason to recommend it is the magical sound quality. Simply superb! You will not touch this with any $4k of separates, certainly not when the extra power cord and interconnect are factored in.
$4000 budget for amp and preamp
Hi all,
Been a while since I posted here... Been searching the hell out of AVS, ASR and Agon and I can't decide on next steps for my system. My 2-channel set up has been, for a few years now, QoBuz > Audirvana > Wadia Di122 > Simaudio i-3 > Totem Rainmaker. This sounds pretty solid in my 10' x 10' home office. I've been trying to listen more in my living room since I bought a new house. I've got my older HT there - Streaming or PS3 > ifi DSD or Simaudio D100 > Integra 50.2 > and my new Revel F35's + SB 1000 Pro (plus a Wharfedale center that I picked up on the cheap because wifey liked that it was the same color as the F35's). I'm pretty satisfied with this set up - but really just for HT. I'd like to make this my main listening room and I'm wondering if I should just switch to a 2.1 set up.
I've tried my i-3 with its HT bypass > Integra and I wasn't impressed. I really couldn't tell the difference, to be honest. I tried Direct, Stereo and my native 3.1 with various sources. I have six Acoustimac 2x4 foot panels that I've yet to hang. I tried this with and without Audyssey, Dynamic EQ, etc.
So. 2-channel with a nice amp and pre combo - maybe SS amp with tube pre (+ remote)? I'm good with used and have always loved the thought of owning an AR tube preamp, but I haven't heard one in such a long time. I was thinking of going a couple different ways. On the lower end, two Schiit Vidars and a balanced preamp? There's a mint LS17 SE listed here for $2,200 and I could stretch to allow another $2k for an amp. I'm also wondering how modern preamps stack up to the older AR models. Or, should I be looking at something like the Parasound P6?
If the Benchmark AHB2's were available, I might have already pulled the trigger. Anyway, I'm spinning around here trying to figure out this first world problem. I've got a 14 X 12 x 11' ceiling room and I listen to rock and hard bop most of the time. I think I'm okay with the F35's and I'm glad I didn't spend a couple thousand more on the Klipsch Fortes that I so desperately thought I wanted. When I had a chance to audition them, I thought they were just awful. To be fair, the room was a warehouse, they were about 5' apart and they were hooked up to a Denon AVR.
If I got this set up right, I'd probably spend about 80% of the time with music and the other 20% with Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. After rereading this, I'm not sure what I'm even asking because there's so much information. Maybe it's how can I best spend $4,000 for the F35's?
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.
Been a while since I posted here... Been searching the hell out of AVS, ASR and Agon and I can't decide on next steps for my system. My 2-channel set up has been, for a few years now, QoBuz > Audirvana > Wadia Di122 > Simaudio i-3 > Totem Rainmaker. This sounds pretty solid in my 10' x 10' home office. I've been trying to listen more in my living room since I bought a new house. I've got my older HT there - Streaming or PS3 > ifi DSD or Simaudio D100 > Integra 50.2 > and my new Revel F35's + SB 1000 Pro (plus a Wharfedale center that I picked up on the cheap because wifey liked that it was the same color as the F35's). I'm pretty satisfied with this set up - but really just for HT. I'd like to make this my main listening room and I'm wondering if I should just switch to a 2.1 set up.
I've tried my i-3 with its HT bypass > Integra and I wasn't impressed. I really couldn't tell the difference, to be honest. I tried Direct, Stereo and my native 3.1 with various sources. I have six Acoustimac 2x4 foot panels that I've yet to hang. I tried this with and without Audyssey, Dynamic EQ, etc.
So. 2-channel with a nice amp and pre combo - maybe SS amp with tube pre (+ remote)? I'm good with used and have always loved the thought of owning an AR tube preamp, but I haven't heard one in such a long time. I was thinking of going a couple different ways. On the lower end, two Schiit Vidars and a balanced preamp? There's a mint LS17 SE listed here for $2,200 and I could stretch to allow another $2k for an amp. I'm also wondering how modern preamps stack up to the older AR models. Or, should I be looking at something like the Parasound P6?
If the Benchmark AHB2's were available, I might have already pulled the trigger. Anyway, I'm spinning around here trying to figure out this first world problem. I've got a 14 X 12 x 11' ceiling room and I listen to rock and hard bop most of the time. I think I'm okay with the F35's and I'm glad I didn't spend a couple thousand more on the Klipsch Fortes that I so desperately thought I wanted. When I had a chance to audition them, I thought they were just awful. To be fair, the room was a warehouse, they were about 5' apart and they were hooked up to a Denon AVR.
If I got this set up right, I'd probably spend about 80% of the time with music and the other 20% with Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. After rereading this, I'm not sure what I'm even asking because there's so much information. Maybe it's how can I best spend $4,000 for the F35's?
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.