Polk M70s + Parasound HCA 1500a impressions

cnoat

Lietuvis91 wrote: »

Here's a pic of this 2 ch rig. The pic is kind of crappy because I took it with my phone.

...and looking at this pic.... it seems there is room for a 2nd 1500a down there, right next to the first one... hmmm... 2x 1500As in mono mode would mean 635 watts per ch. :eek:


I might just do it, if I can score another 1500a for a decent price(~$400)...:rolleyes:

1500's don't sound that great bridged.They have a little hiss.I run rti'12 and they sound great.

cnoat

Put that money towards dedicated pre.Makes a huge difference.

falconcry72

cnoat wrote: »

Put that money towards dedicated pre.Makes a huge difference.

That would be another good way to spend that money. Plus it would free up your elite to be used elsewhere.

Lietuvis91

Jeez guys.... really?! So a 1500a doesn't sound good in mono... hmmm... ok. Well, the only reason I came up with this idea is because:
1) I have to room in the rack
2) I have the money
3) Curious to see what stupid amounts of power would do for me here (however, sounds like not much based on your comments)

I am actually completely content with this setup as it is and I was just thinking that with more power I was going to get more/deeper bass. This is the only thing I would improve in this system, even though it is quiet solid already, and I could be fine with it as is.

I guess a sub would be the easiest/cheapest solution here, but I was willing to try something different... especially since I don't want to clutter the room with another box.

I don't think a pre/pro would help me to achieve this, would it?

Lietuvis91

cnoat wrote: »

Put that money towards dedicated pre.Makes a huge difference.

what kind of a difference would I expect from one of those. Honestly, I don't know jack about pre/pro's, that entire concept scares me a little. I would need one with hdmi, and that probably means, pretty big money?!

KrazyMofo24

anonymouse wrote: »

How do you buy your music then? Where can you buy FLAC files legally?

hdtracks.com is one site, I believe there are a few others.

cfrizz

Lietuvis91 wrote: »

Jeez guys.... really?! So a 1500a doesn't sound good in mono... hmmm... ok. Well, the only reason I came up with this idea is because:
1) I have to room in the rack
2) I have the money
3) Curious to see what stupid amounts of power would do for me here (however, sounds like not much based on your comments)

I am actually completely content with this setup as it is and I was just thinking that with more power I was going to get more/deeper bass. This is the only thing I would improve in this system, even though it is quiet solid already, and I could be fine with it as is.

I guess a sub would be the easiest/cheapest solution here, but I was willing to try something different... especially since I don't want to clutter the room with another box.

I don't think a pre/pro would help me to achieve this, would it?

The 1500A is giving the speakers all they can handle right now. You most likely won't hear any difference by giving them more since they are getting all they need now. Basically, you have reached the limitations of the speakers.

I should know, since my first real powerful amp was the 1500A on my RTA-8Ts and my center was being run with a Outlaw monoblock. When I got the 405wpc Sunfire in my signature, the only speakers that showed an improvement were my back speakers since they were the only ones not running on an amp. They now sound just as good as my front speakers.

If the money is burning a hole in your pocket then go for a prepro.

tonyb

Or upgrade the speakers. There's a whole nutha world of sound out there beyond the monitor line.

falconcry72

Lietuvis91 wrote: »

what kind of a difference would I expect from one of those. Honestly, I don't know jack about pre/pro's, that entire concept scares me a little. I would need one with hdmi, and that probably means, pretty big money?!

Why do you need HDMI?

AVR's are like swiss army knives; they can do alot of things, but they don't do any of them as well as their separate counterparts...ie, the scissors in a swiss army knife aren't as good as a separate pair of scissors. The plus side to AVR's is the same as the plus side to swiss army knives: they cost less and take up less space than buying individual components of equal or greater quality.

The pre can make a huge difference in sound. From passive lines stages to tubes, there is a lot you can do with a pre to alter your sound.

Parasound's are known for solid bass, so your perceived lacking has nothing to do with that... and doubling the 1500a's up won't increase the bass.

If you want more bass but you don't want a sub, then new speakers are the way to go.

Are you mainly using your bluray as a source or your computer out of the headphone jack still? If you're still using the computer, then before you get new speakers or a new pre, get an external DAC with a USB input and find out what your speakers+marantz+parasound actually sound like.

Lietuvis91

whoa.... ok, a lot of good information here!

Well, I have no doubt that there are better speakers than my m70s out there, but I honestly do like them a lot, and actually don't really want to part with them just yet.

I do use my BR player for music listening and also listen to radio alot. I tried the laptop headphones jack just as a test for mp3s, and it was terrible, so no more of that.

I think the next step will be to add a tv to this setup and move the ps3 from HT duty to 2ch duty, the BR player will go to HT, where it belongs. This way I can stream music off of my laptop through the network with the ps3 and also play CDs.

As for bass, it is really pretty solid already from these speakers. It's just that going from the living room where I have that monster emo 12 inch, which, of course, blows the m70s away, makes me think getting a little more bass out of m70s would be nice. My expectations here are not really realistic, i suppose, and really not necessary in the first place. When it comes to bass, I shouldn't expect my 2ch rig to compare with a HT system that includes a 12in sub.

I guess I will work with what i have for now, and learn a bit more, then I will move on to bigger and better things(sub, pre/pro and a dac), as we all always do...