2. home-theater
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Need advice on building an A/V system

I am looking to build an A/V system to work with my Samsung UN55ES6150 TV set and DirecTV Genie box. I'm about to purchase an Oppo BLD-105, and am looking for exactly what else will be needed in addition to a good 5 or 7 channel power amp. I'll be using this system mainly for HDTV viewing, Blu-Rays, DVD's and the occasional CD or SACD - with an eye on digital and streaming music capability in the future when I get around to that. I will be keeping my music system separate and dedicated to music only. (ARC 100.2/Wadia 830/Maggie 3.6R's.)

Long story short: Will I need a DAC, a pre/pro, or both? Will a receiver suffice? Why or why not? I am looking to get the most bang for the buck while minimizing the duplication of features among components. My budget is going to be around $2000 to $3000, but value components that will do the job for less would always be welcome in my house. Any advice or recommendations will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeff
jeff_from_michigan

Showing 2 responses by jeff_from_michigan

jeff_from_michigan OP
4 posts
 
Wow - Thanks so much to each of you for your input.
With your help, I decided to go with the following:

-Marantz AV7005 - $800 factory refurbished from an authorized Marantz dealer.

-Emotiva XPA5 - $809 brand new, direct from Emotiva.

I have an old ACI Titan sub that I'll utilize if it sounds right, and will most likely go with a cheaper blu-ray player. It looks like a lot of performance can be had for a pittance these days.

The Oppo will just have to wait, since the budget is shrinking and I still need to think about speakers. (Maybe a 105 or two will show up used here at AudiogoN in a year or two.)

Thanks so much again for the solid advice and suggestions.

Sincerely,

Jeff
jeff_from_michigan OP
4 posts
 
Soix, thanks for the input. The pre/pro and amp are covered, and I will be looking into the Paradigms along with the Gallos and a couple of others. I hear the Pioneer Andrew Jones-designed (yep, believe it or not) speakers are good performers for the price.

I may decide to go in a completely different direction, though. The possibility of incorporating my Maggie 3.6's into a "tri-center" configuration with a center and a pair of either the on-wall motorized panels or MMG's might be doable. The only challenge would be figuring out what to use for rears, and of course the additional expense of a Maggie bass panel or two.

Has anyone here tried the tri-center approach?

Thanks, folks.
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