Which direction would you go?


I have spent the last ten years living with a system that is to my ears unlistenable. I was sucked in by the stereophile recommended components list, and bought based on cost and ratings, rather than common sense and proper auditions. I ended up with the following: B&W 802 Matrix II's, a Threshold S350e amp, a Krell KBL preamp, and a front end comprised of a Theta pro Gen II and Data Mk II. As you might well imagine, I have endured bright, harsh sound in three different homes over the years. I tried room tunes (any buyers?) all manner of cables (I presently own Cardas Cross bi-wire) a CJ premier 10 pre-amp (not enough of a difference to justify the switch) and Cal audio front end. In frustration, I have sold the Krell, and the Threshold, and have active listings for the B&W and Cardas, and plans to sell the Theta as soon as possible. I listen mostly to small scale instrumental and female vocals from various genres. I enjoy Linda Ronstadt, Sara K, Rickie Lee Jones, Allison Krauss, Annie Lennox, Dixie Chicks, Etta James, Karen Carpenter, Joe Sample, Miles, Ronnie Earl, Govi, Willie and Lobo, Lyle Lovett, James Taylor, and so much more. I have front row center seats for the NY Philharmonic for the last fifteen years and have seen more concerts than I could name. I was set on the idea of downsizing to a home theater setup, Integra receiver and DVD/CD with Definitive Technology pro 100 speaker system or maybe the NHT Super Series SB3. They seem to have OK sound on both music and movies, but I wonder if the trade-off is too great since 98% of the time I will be listening to music with only an occasional music video or movie. I am quite certain I have never heard my B&W's perform the way they should, but am not certain I wish to invest more money chasing the Holy Grail. (Also tried Bryston 4B). I have reviewed threads here and contemplated trying the Classe gear. I have also thought about selling the B&W's and buying a speaker with a silk dome tweeter or a propensity toward warmth. (Mission, Soliloquy, JM Labs, Vandersteen) My room is a LIVING room and dining room L shape, (20 x13 living attached to 14 x12 dining) and it is lively with 11' acoustical ceiling. In any event, I would like to avail myself of the multi-channel options while focusing on two channel performance. I keep my speakers on the long wall and listen near-field. I do not believe electrostats are an option for me due to size, placement, and WAF issues. Please let me know your thoughts, and be gentle as this is my first post here on Agon.
mike7142
I have a dual purpose system and immensely enjoy both 2-channel music and movie playback. The biggest problem for you to get stereo "right" while still allowing for surround capabilities is that your budget will be stretched much further and, therefore, the 2-channel parts will be lesser. Other than that, and some obvious limitations of room placement, TV's between the mains, etc. that limit performance, you can get excellent sound out of a system that will do both.

As a first budget-protecting piece of advice, use whatever you can find for your surrounds. Best not to use something ridiculously cheap and crappy, but I wouldn't worry about matching them to the fronts. You can always upgrade later if you want, and they'll add a lot to a movie by having sound in the rears. The same probably goes for amplification of the surrounds.

There are a lot of very nice amps in a price range (used) that would be the basis of good sound 2-channel system, but it'll be a lot harder to find a good $1200-1500 used 5-channel amp (or combination of amps that total five channels). I don't have any hands-on experience with 5-channel amps in that price range, so I won't attempt a recommendation other than to say Rotel consistently gets high marks from reviewers.

If you're looking for a softer sound to the speakers, I have a lot of friends who are very satisfied with their PSB-based systems. You can get a lot of speaker from PSB for not a lot of money. They even make some incredibly inexpensive pairs you could use for surrounds if you don't have something else to plug the gap. Also nice about PSB is that it's easy to upgrade within the line over time.

You could blow your budget just a bit and look at the Muse Model 9 DVD player, which is also an excellent CD player. You can get them used for $1200-1400 which, again, will probably contribute to putting you beyond where you want to be, but you'd upgrade everything else in your system a couple times over before you'd begin to see this as the weakest link, and it serves a dual purpose (which also greatly helps the WAF).

Hope this helps. I watched the new U2 Elevation concert DVD in surround sound the other night, and it was absolutely electrifying. It's fun to have a system that does both. -Kirk

Get to a top dealer in your area. Figure out what you want there and start unloading your equipment as needed. Trying to piece a system according to other peoples preferences will end up the same way as going the Stereophile Recommended components route. A good dealer is the only way to go especially if they have lots of components
You have and have had good equipment. No need to sell or buy anything else. Your difficulty is speaker placement and calibration. Assuming you have two speakers only, place the speakers against the wall facing directly forward about 7' apart. Your listening area is in the middle about 10" from the wall. Adjust all your tone controls to neutral or at the midpoint. Get a sound level meter from Radio Shack and calculate the channel levels to within 75 db (+3 or -3.) Play the music and adjust the volume to your liking.

Best regards-Henry
MIke-I do not understand your last comment. Would you please explain?

Best regards-Henry