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Seeking Stereo/Home Theatre System Advice

Please accept my apologies in advance for the lengthy post.

It is time to upgrade/replace my home stereo system and I am seeking some advice on the manufacturers/components that I have narrowed my selection to. First some background information.

1. My listening room is 12.5ft (exterior wall in front) x 11.0ft (wall on right side) x 8.0ft (wall on left side) and is open to the remainder of the floor to the rear. Ceiling height is 9ft.

2. I have a wall mounted Sharp Aquos 37" LCD on the 12.5ft. wall.

3. I have a 7ft. x 3ft sofa centered to the 12.5ft front wall and it is placed approximately 12.5 ft from the front wall.

4. The components that I currently have and will be retaining are: B&W in-ceiling speakers above the sofa (although I may consider replacing these based on your opinion), Music Hall MMF5.1 turntable, Revox B77 reel to reel player (still looking for this), and an Oppo DV-970HD DVD player.

Based on some preliminary and rudimentary research the components that I am considering are as follows:

Speakers
- Verity Tamino X2 (front), Tamino H2 (centre), Rocco (subwoofer) and Tamino V2 (rear)
- Totem Forest (front), Model 1 (centre), Thunder (subwoofer) and TAC 8 (rear)
- Totem Staff (front), Mite-T (centre), Storm (subwoofer), and TAC 6.5 (rear)
- PSB Synchrony 1 (front), Synchrony 1C (centre), Subseries 9 (subwoofer), and CW180R (rear)
- PSB Synchrony 2 (front), Synchrony 2C (centre), HD10 (subwoofer), and CW180R (rear)

Amplification
- Bryston SP2, 9BSST, & potentially 4BSST
- Simaudio Moon Stargate Processor, Moon Titan Amplifier, & potentially Moon W-7 amplifier
- Mcintosh MX120 or MX136 Pre-Amplifier, MC205 Amplifier, & potentially MC252 or MC402 Amplifier

CD Player
- Raysonic CD168
- Ayre CX-7E
- Mcintosh MCD301, MCD201, or MVP871

I would appreciate your input into the above components based on my room's dimension. I am a music listener first, movie watcher second - so the primary focus for this equipment would be 2-channel with vinyl, reels, or CD's as the source.

Thanks in advance.
remedy451
2 responses Add your response
drew_eckhardt
394 posts
 
What are your speaker placement constraints? An installation allowing the speakers to be 4-6' off the front wall gives you a lot more options that will sound decent (especially without equalization) than if they have to be against the wall or in some sort of entertainment center.

How live is the room? If you have a lot of uncovered glass, tile, etc. speakers with a lot of off-axis high frequency energy are going to sound brighter than if you have walls lined with stuffed book shelves, wall to wall carpet, etc.
northwoods_maine
70 posts
 
I'll only address the one component that I researched and auditioned, and then bought slightly used for $1,800. - the Ayre CX-7E. It is so good that I can't imagine ever upgrading to something else. It was like I had given upgrades to my amp/preamp and speakers all at the same time. I'm hearing nuances in the music that were undetectable before. There might be others out there at a much higher price level that would do a better job, but I feel strongly that you'll reach a point of diminishing returns for the money spent. Just one guy's opinion.
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