2. home-theater
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Home theatre and Musical Experience

Current system driven by Denon avr 2800 and does anadequate job for ht but only mediocre for music. Have been planning to add a power amp for the mains driven by the pre outs from the denon. Hoping to find the sound. Current system is muddy on music until I go to higher spl's. Want the dynamics and airiness that I am missing at lower spl's. Looking for what you would hear at a nice jazz club where the musical presence is there without the volume. Auditioned B&w naut805 and found the same thing so have turned to possible amp upgrade. Am I on the right track? Anyone gone through this upgrade and had success? Any amp suggestions? Feel sure this will lead to future upgrades just want to start where I will hear and feel a difference and go from there.
Thanks
Steve
scoly

Showing 2 responses by gunbei

gunbei
2,327 posts
 
Scoly,

I haven't experimented to the extent of the other respondants here, but here are my experiences.

My HT setup was assembled in mid-1998 and is comprised of Marantz AV550, ATI AT1505, Sony DSS, Pioneer DVL700 combo player, NHT SuperOnes and SuperZeros, and NHT SW3P sub. I tried using a Musical Fidelity CD player with this system, but wasn't even close to being satisfied. I even tried adding a Z-Man tube buffer stage after the CD player, and experimented with different affordable cables. The music was just plain lifeless.

In early 2000, I decided the only way I was going to be satisfied was to build a separate and dedicated music system. So far my music setup consists of a Sim Audio Moon I-5 integrated, Sonus Faber Concertinos, the same MF CD player [soon to be a transport only], with a Bel Canto DAC 1.1 on the way. I use the NHT sub for both systems.

From my example you can probably surmise that I didn't take the most affordable route. Even on my modest budget. The music bug bit me hard, and I ended up spending much more on cables for my current music system than I would have dreamed possible 3 years ago.

You might want to consider a nice pre-pro like a Citation, Classé or Proceed and a good multi-channel amp for example and use that for both music and HT. It sounds like SDcampbell has a really nice setup for both.

Good luck, and I hope you find something that works for you.
gunbei
2,327 posts
 
Steve,

I saw in some of your other threads that you are now considering McCormack as your amplification. I think this is good move. Good deals on used DNA 0.5s and DNA 1s are easy to be had. And if you so incline in the future, you can have Steve McCormack upgrade the amp driving your mains to one of his mods to enhance you music listening sessions.

Your journey will be fun and expensive. Ever since I got bit by the audio/music bug I'm finding that out everyday. My HT setup has remained the same for the last 2 years, but my music system is always in metamorphosis.

Doing the research is sometimes as fun as actually finally getting the stuff. There's no harm in taking your time.

Enjoy!
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