Thanks on the info. Please feel free to providing me with more ideas. I will look into the separate amp ideas for stereand home theater. I am only planning on 5 channel anyway. Maybe a 2 and a 3 channel?
I will look into the Mirage also. I listened to some Krells the other day and found them to have too much of a "live" sound for me. The Monitior Audios had a cleaner sound, but these were powered individually. I am not sure I want to go that way. Thanks.
Joe in Mobile |
I have an open architecture living space, and am very happy with Mirage OMD-15s. Right in your price range ($2500/pr new). They're 91dB efficient, have bass extension to the low 30s, and have wide and even dispersion, completely filling the living area without hot spots or suckouts. |
Joe - I am recommending a 2 channel (integrated amp or separates) for music and a 5 channel receiver for home theatre.
If you get high efficiency speakers, your amp will cost less. More power = more $ all else being equal. |
Some great speakers out of Europe include DALI Ikon 6s, Dynaudio Excites, and Neat Motives. |
druids have dropped in value over the past 6 months because of he new model coming out so you shoulld be able to get a great buy on a used pair |
So you are recommending separates, such as amp and separate pre-pro or getting a two channel amp for stereo and a five channel system for home theater? I am sometimes slow and just want to make sure I understand exactly. Thanks.
Joe in Mobile |
Joe - It was the B&K receiver. To my ears, it was mid-fi for 2 channel but hi-fi for theatre application. I think putting 7 discrete high-powered amps plus a DAC/sound processor, tuner and preamp into a single chassis with a common power supply forces trade-offs that two channel amps do not face. I am suggesting that it is better value to have two separate units for the two different jobs. The same speakers can work for both. By getting high efficiency speakers, you can use a relatively inexpensive tube amp for 2 channel. And the efficient speakers will be less taxing on the receiver so you should get better fidelity out of it. BTW - in my opinion, the ZU speakers are in a different league from the older B&W and Vandersteens that have been mentioned. Just an opinion. |
Vandersteen 3A Signature. Very full range at the price point. |
Are you saying the cause for the muffled sound was the B&K or the speakers?
Joe in Mobile |
Magsterone - I have a B&K 7.1 for my home theatre. It was a huge upgrade from my old trusty Denon. I ran it with Von Schweikert VR-2.s and VS surround speakers and a Denon DVD player. It sounded so good for movies, I decided to listen to music through the system. I brought in a few CD's to audition for fun. I set it to 2 channel stereo and sat back to listen. Compared to my 2 channel music set-up (which costs about the same) it was just a waste of time. The sound was muffled, tone was not there, imaging was barely present. It was not worth trying to hear the music. Just my expereince. |
Thanks for the input. I agree about being being able to listen to them. The problem is that here in Mobile, AL the selection is very limited. I may have to finally decide by looks and reviews.
Joe in Mobile |
Whatever you buy, you should audition first. Speakers are perhaps the most personal part of the audio chain. Here are some speakers in your price range to hear:
Vandersteen 2C Signature II
Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grand
Ohm Walsh (consult Ohm for model best suited to your room)
DCM TFE200
Silverline Audio Allegro |
Call me @ 727-637-8825 I have speakers that will rock a room that size! |
I am planning to get new equipment. I am leaning towards a parasound 5 ch/2ch amp and their hdp70 proc. I am still looking at both B&K and NAD also. ANy ideas?
Joe in Mobile |
For around $2k there are a couple of very nice B&W 801/3 speakers on Audiogon ..They will perform very in a large room too... |
I would get a pair of ZU Druids. They are incredible at the current prices of $1,700. You can add a $1,300 tube amp and have a system that works for both music and theatre - just switch out the speaker wires. The NAK av receiver is great for theatre but it will never give you fidelity for 2 channel listening. You will just get frustrated. I also love Magnapan speakers but you need the right amplification and the NAK is not even close to what you would want in my opinion. |
i am partial to panel speakers. i would recommend the magnepan 3.6, or quad 63, or a used pair of apogee. |
Out of curiosity what are they asking for them?
Joe in Mobile |
There are a couple pair of used Daedalus DA-1 speakers that I know of, the owners upgraded to the DA-1.1 and are selling their previous DA-1's. I can put you in touch with them if you like. Once these are sold the chance of finding a used pair of Daedalus will be very slim, they are held on to.
check some of the reviews here, ( cut and paste the url in the brackets)
hope this helps,
Lou
[ http://www.daedalusaudio.com/review%20JCC.html ] |
There was a pair of OHM Walsh 5 series 3 speakers ($6000 new) advertised recently here for $3200. Assuming that deal is all kosher as advertised, you could hardly do better at most any price than those IMHO. An amp change/upgrade would probably be in order afterwards though in order to get the most out of them. |
All I can say is get the best pair that you can afford. After purchasing speakers that really reproduce music well you are going to end up spending quite a bit on the upstream components to catch up and fully appreciate their capabilities.
Chris |
