Killer on a Budget...


I sort of down graded, and definitely for the best. I've found in the realm of great sound, less is more (at least in terms of music only.) sold my Center channel, and rear speakers. Went with just a simple 2.1 set up. 2 Klipsch RF7 Reference speakers, Power sound Audio Sub, nice Oppo 103, Emotiva 2 channel 600w amp, and Emotiva Pre-amp. (Yes I know to most Emotiva sucks, but they do well for me.)

Audiophile on a budget and I'm even SACD compatible. Huge living space and this set up sounds Awesome and lifts the roof off the house. I think the Klipsch Ref speakers and Power sound Audio sub are way under rated. On a budget they hit everything perfect. Massive loud, but not a loud tone that hurts the ears. Simple and no nonsense great sound. Rush, Santana, Jim Croce sound impeccable... Metallica on this will nearly bust windows. Great punch, great Mid and high tone. All on a poor mans budget. RF7 are just incredible with solid amp. I would suggest them to any budget Audio music freak like me.
pigchild
Excellent! I'm definitely in the "simple is good" camp. And while I've never owned Emotiva, I've heard their components and have been impressed, so I'm not at all surprised that you're enjoying the sound.

Isn't it great when you can arrive at some jaw-dropping good music without having to rob a bank?
Good deal, Pigchild! Sounds like you are enjoying your set up. I'm also of the keep it simple camp. I think it's really cool when you can put together an inexpensive, simple system that sounds great! Happy listening!
Sorry, a little off topic. Emotiva got a bad wrap because when they first came out they were...well, crap. I tried two of their amps (one stereo and a pair of monoblocks) and they were indeed awful. Bright, hard, no imaging or soundstage. Fit and finish was terrible. Binding posts crumbled in my hand when I tried to tighten them. This was a horrible experience, but the company took them back no problem and I moved on.

Fast forward 5-6 years to now. I have listened to (3) of their new amps, a couple of preamps, CD player, DAC. I think they have finally got things figured out. I was very impressed by what I heard and saw with the newer models.

IMHO, Emotiva should at least be considered. They have a 30 day trial, free shipping and a 5 year transferrable warranty. In my book, pretty easy to take a chance on.
I have always tried to make decisions based on 'bang-for-the-buck. Beyond a point you have to double the budget for each relatively small increase in performance. It's kind of like having to double the power output for each 3 DB of volume increase.

Having said that, I do not believe that the many high quality tweaks follow that curve. Mapleshade, Bedini, Audio Prism, Audio Magic (just to name a few) have incredible products which improve performance way out of proportion to the cost. I truly believe that most audiophile have never heard the true capability of their existing equipment if they have not done some experimentation.

Otherwise, congrads on making good choices for a solid system to work with.