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Wow really? Well thanks for your honest reply Foster_9. That sucks.
Its sad if its a matter of name brand and not its merits if its being panned. Im really wondering what would be an upgrade because as I said Im a budding audiophile and really want to refine my ears not my ego. I hate the snob factor. Just want honest opinions based on fact not emotional attachment to a name brand. Oh well, I guess you cant get away from peoples need to feel superior with silly things like this. You get tons of this on car forums lol. Really takes away from the joy of the hobby if you let it get to you.
Oh well, I guess Ill have to find a high end store in Manhattan and go listen for myself. |
Thanks Larryi. Im not too worried about others irrational opinions. Its the honest, non biased opinions from audiophiles with properly tuned ears that Im looking for. Now I know that may mean the XTR's are garbage and Im good with hearing that but at least I was looking for some constructive criticism and maybe being pointed in a better direction. Isnt that what a forum is all about?
Thanks for the info on the magazine. Ill look it up and see what their recomendations are. |
Well thank you Robert. That is the kind of reply I was hoping to get. I have a Denon AVR 590 powering it with no pre-amp. Im not well versed in the hooking up of these other components but Im planning on picking up a Marantz AV 7005. The Denon is rated at 75 watts per while the Marantz is 125 watts per. It sounds as if the Denon cant drive the speakers fully. Volume gets cut at about -12 and the speakers sound like they can take a whole lot more, especially considering they are rated to 200 watts.
So the Merlins would be a great upgrade to these speakers per your post. Ill have to put them on the list when Im ready to spend that kind of money..Thanks again Robert for taking the time to educate an up and coming audiophile.... |
Thanks again for your reply Larryi. with what you wrote do you think the Marantz AV 7005 reciever would be a good choice? |
Thanks for the advice Robert. I will look into it as soon as possible. From what you said it sounds like I can save the money for the Marantz and just add a preamp to boost the power output. That will drive the DT's much better than the Denon or Marantz by themselves I gather.
Since the speakers are rated at 30-200 watts then I imagine the amp I purchase should be rated at no more than 200 watts right?
Also I have a 5.1 surround sound setup. DT's all around except for the sub. I gather the 2 or 3 channel amp would only power the right/left speaker or right/left/center respectively?
Thanks much Robert in advance. |
Just looked at the Emotiva UMC1. Its a nice piece indeed and affordable...Hmmm |
Tpreaves thanks for your reply. I know where you are coming from and I agree to a point. When I wrote honest opinions I meant in regards to actually hearing the XTR's vs what they went with and giving their honest opinion if its good or not. Maybe they owned one or went and listened to it and may have a rational conclusion, of course based on their likes, which may be different than mine. Point is they heard it or gave it a try.
A biased person would not even buy a DT or even listen to it since its beneath them, hence those are not the opinions I'm looking for. I'm not looking for blind, fanboy opinions.
As you can see from some of the comments I valued like Robert's and Larryi's they both gave me some info that was constructive. Robert actually had experience with some DT's and mentioned his Merlins are better. So you can get constructive, reasonably unbiased opinions. There are people out there that can step back from the ego, brand loyality etc and give a useful reply. This is what Im looking for. Is it totally unbiased? No, but it is much more informative than a fanboy post and will help me refine my choices as they are more experienced then I am in this hobby.
I will be listening to some Merlins, and Snells in the future based on some fairly unbiased, good reading on this site. |
Larryi thanks. Lol. Yeah the Denon ergonomics is very trying. You should check out there remotes. Horrible. But the AVR 590 is what started me on this path. Im ready to move on to something much better. Ive been reading about the Marantz AV 7005 on here and another site and it seems some really like them. I cant afford the highend stuff that I know is much cleaner and clearer but Id love to get "close". What would you reccomend I consider before making a reciever purchase? |
Wow. Just looked at the Emotiva XPA-5 along with the UMC1. The Marantz I was going to buy would have costed me $1600. For less than that I can get these two Emotiva units and have even better power output and clarity. Thank you for suggesting this Robert. I think Im going to go down this route instead. |
I have a studio apt so I cant add too much audio equipment as room is limited. My a/v equipment is stuffed in one of my closets. Hence why I was looking at replacing the receiver and not adding too much bulk. I will add the amp to the receiver as you suggested as the Denon does run out of gas at high volumes and shuts down. Ill have to take baby steps I see before I get to where I want to be sound-wise.
Thanks for your advice and recommendations. I have so many questions but I think Ill hunt down the answers instead of being a pain lol.
BTW I just looked at your system. My goodness. That is a home theater/audio heaven. Very very nice. |
Thanks for that Bondmanp. Yes the highs are piercing and brite as you say. It does overpower the midrange. Im currently looking to see what the best amp/reciever combo I can find. Im looking into the Marantz av 7005 since it has balanced preouts and will support 5.1-7.1 and also 2 channel. Looking at pairing it with an Emotiva XPA-5 200 watt amp or something better. I dont expect to get it right the first time as I cant plunk down the cheese for the high end stuff. But Ill try to improve a lot on what I have now which is not close to audiophile. Ive heard some say the DT's can be audiophile if driven by the right equipment so they will stay for now.
The Denon AVR 590 powering it just doesnt cut it even to my novice ears. Just not powerful enough to drive the speakers and the soundstage [if Im understanding the terminology correctly] isn't reaching where I sit to listen, even after running Audyssey. So Im going to take it slow and learn along the way until I can get up there with some of you guys equipment-wise.
Money is a factor for me. Are DT's considered lo-fi or mid-fi? Is such designations based on ability or price? |
As usual thanks Robert. You are right. Right tool for the right job. What would you recommend I get for a pre/pro and amp? Doubt I could swing both a Manley tube amp and pre/pro at the same time right now. Just dont have the budget for it...yet. |
I appreciate your opinion Audiofreak but Ill decide for myself if that is the case for my ears once I get a proper pre/pro and amp hooked up to it. I am at a learning curve now and Ive from a few Audiophiles, on here and off, that say other wise. So I kinda want to see for myself since I did plunk down the money for them.
I will definitely upgrade in the future but Id at least like to know what good mid-fi sounds like so I can really appreciate the high end stuff when I get around to it.
Appreciate your perspective but please tell me what you have hooked up to your DT's. |
So you have just a Denon receiver driving your DT's...That seems to be the limiting factor for the speakers from what others like Robert who has DT towers have said. A better setup with these DT speakers would be a pre/pro and amp capable of driving the DT's. I will find out when I pick up a proper pre/pro and amp combo. My Denon at 75 watts cut out video or audio when I try to push the speakers. Id like to at least drive these speakers to their potential before panning them. My Denon is clearly not up to the task for music it appears.
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Yes I'm noticing that Robert. I will look into the Rogue and parasound options you mentioned as well. Im going to take my time on this and be very deliberate with the pre/pro and amp purchases. For now I will stick with the DT's until I become better aquainted with my ears and musicality of the components. Gotta crawl before you walk :)
The Merlin and Manley combo will definitely be a consideration for me in the future. Every review Ive seen speaks highly of that combo. Also the Maggies.
Audiofreak thanks for your imput. I think Ill try and make the DT's work to there potential before I cast judgement. Everyone is different so it wont please everyone. |
Audiofreak how can you come to the conclusion that DT doesn't make speakers for music when all you have experience with is their lowend "THEATER" speakers? This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Thats like me buying a low end video card from nVidia thats not for gaming and then pronouncing to the world that nVidia is not the company to buy from for serious gaming.
You should have said the Pro 2000 aren't for music instead of saying across the board that DT speakers aren't for music. You dont have the experience to say that and be taken seriously just by virtue of what you revealed about your setup and equipment. |
Audiofreak this is the internet and anyone can say anything. All I can go by is what you wrote. You started out by saying this:
"I own Def Techs for theater setup... I have never heard any sound good enough for dedicated 2-ch music." This was specific and you refered to your Pro 2000's. If you had experience with other DT's you would have said so initially imho.
Now your are saying "Ive heard many DT speakers...etc" in your last post, when I took you to task about your "expertise" in DT's. Especially when we consider what you are driving your low-end Theater speakers with.
You are entitled to your opinion as I am entitled to my opinion that you are not a good source for an educated/constructive critique on DT's. But thanks for your reply.
I will upgrade these XTR's in the future to be sure. But Im going to give them a chance with the right equipment before I do. Im still learning. |
Ok that adds some depth to what you have said before. BTW I dont mind if someone bashes the DT's. Im not married to them at all. Id just prefer constructive responces over just arbitrary bashing with no real experience with the speakers or the speakers hooked up to good equipment.
Hmmm...So music specific speakers will work better for both music and theater....Why dont mfg's then just make musical speakers and leave the theater speakers off the table then? I guess they use the low budget speakers for home theater app I guess. Make money both ways since most people can afford say a Pro 2000 than pony up for Maggies or some other high end speakers like you have. ..
Ill have to look into this further. I listen to music more than movies lately so I wouldn't mind centering my system towards music, both multi and two channel. |
