I'm at a Crossroad. Need Advice.

dcarlson

I'm looking for a little insight.

Here's my stuff:

Mains - RT1000i
Center - CS400i
Rears - R10
Sub - Boston Acoustics PV600
Receiver - Denon 2802
CD - Rotel RCD-1070
Turntable - Thorens TD-160
DVD - PS2
Integrated AMP - Musical Fidelity A3
Kimber Hero interconnects From CD to integrated
Kimber 4vs speaker wire
Signal Cable Magic Powercord - On the integrated

My problem is the A3 integrated puts the Denon to shame. I watch all of my Music DVDs in stereo through the A3. I only use the Denon for Movies in surround which I don't watch too often.

I'm big on 2 channel. I've been thinking of selling my speakers, receiver and sub so that I can get myself some killer mains. Am I going to miss the surround if I get rid of it? Has anyone else gone this route? Any advice?

Derick.

VR3

sell the surrounds, get the RTi70, sell the RTi100 and get the RTi38 as surrounds...

or...get the RT800i, and the RT35i as surrounds...

RuSsMaN

I've actually been pondering the same thing in my HT rig...

Cheers,
Russ

pjdami

Derick,

I must have missed that you got the MF A3. Did you post a review of what you thought about it?

Nice piece of gear. Did you see the favorable review in last month's Stereophile for the A3? You own some nice stuff so it's always a good thing about thinking about getting into some better speakers.

I'm like you too. I'm big into two channel whether it be my main rig or my dedicated two channel. I'm like 80% two channel and 20% movies.

I say go for it. If you are indeed big into two channel then you will get the most benefit out of getting some nicer speakers that fit well with the electronics that you have.

PJ

F1nut

There are some nice SDA SRS 2.3TL's and 3.1TL's for sale in the Flea Market right now. Either one or both would mate well with the rest of your gear and there is no other speaker that will put a on your face like a pair of SDA's. Just my .02.

Frank Z

I was ignorant in my youth.
I had no direction, I was searching for something in a fog, always seeing an outline, but never what I wanted in sharp focus.
My search took me to the corners of the known world, I meet many Seer's and Sooth Sayers, yet none could or would guide me in quest for knowledge, nay inner peace.

Then I meet a vey old man, deep in a cave. He spoke of his "Precious!" I knew not of which he spoke, but I was drawn to it none the less! I could hear it in the distance, even though it was shielded by a properly designed and constructed sound proof room deep with in the cavern.

I told the old man of my quest, and how I had been searching for so long. I told him of the pain that I had caused my savings account by wasting money on the ellusive "Something" that I could not quite explain.

The old man sat and pondered for a few moments. Then he stood up and came toward me with the light of wisdom radiating from his overly large eyes and he said...."Dude! Your an Idiot! Quit screwin around and get a set of Lsi's!! They rock for both 2 channel and Multichannel listening! Don't you ever read any of the reviews in the magazines or on the internet?" he then kicked me in groin and said it was an ancient blessing handed down through the ages....I don't think it reallly was but I said "Thank You" anyway.

F1nut

GOLD.....Jerry.....GOLD

HBombToo

Is it possible to rebuild RTA8T's with LSi parts?

Twin

Frank Z

Originally posted by HBombToo
Is it possible to rebuild RTA8T's with LSi parts?

Twin

To learn the answer, you must journey to the cave of knowledge, seek out the ancient one.....

and get your groin kicked!

To rebuild that which is old requires the blessings of the enlightened ones, those that can decypher the true meaning of the ARC ports and the mysteries of the anti-chuffing technology that emanates from the base of the Lsi monolith ( available in Cherry or Ebony!).

dcarlson

Originally posted by pjdami
Derick,

I must have missed that you got the MF A3. Did you post a review of what you thought about it?

Nice piece of gear. Did you see the favorable review in last month's Stereophile for the A3? You own some nice stuff so it's always a good thing about thinking about getting into some better speakers.

I'm like you too. I'm big into two channel whether it be my main rig or my dedicated two channel. I'm like 80% two channel and 20% movies.

I say go for it. If you are indeed big into two channel then you will get the most benefit out of getting some nicer speakers that fit well with the electronics that you have.

PJ

I don't have too much to say about the MF, other than it sounds fantastic. Warm and detailed, great Phono stage, wide soundstage, great imaging. Bass is deeper than ever on my RT1000i, I don't use my sub for music anymore. It's really no frills, it just has source selection and volume. I can't heat the thing up unless I'd disturb the neighbors, it's rated at a conservative 85watts per channel and there is plenty of power.

I first heard it when I was auditioning CD players on the A3 with a pair Paradigm Studio 20 bookshelves. The 20s packed a good punch and were very detailed. Later, I also got to do an in store side by side between the A3 and a Denon 1803. After listening the Denon for a little I switched to the A3 an everything was much better. Listened to the A3 for a while and switched back to the Denon and the Denon sounded like my ears were blocked, literally. I knew I had to have the A3 right then.

One thing to keep in mind is I have the A3 and not the A3.2. The 3.2 is the newer model which is more expensive.

I'm going to have to find an LSI dealer to have a listen. I know Organ bought his in Toronto and I'll probably have to take a 4 hour trip to audition any LSIs. In my city, I'm limited to Paradigm, B&W, Energy, Boston Acoustics, Klipsch and that's about it.

I want to have a listen to these:
http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.models/Label/Model%20CDM%209NT

A good buddy of mine might buy my stuff, I'm looking between $2000-$2500CDN for the speakers, receiver and sub.

dorokusai

F1Nut and I have heard those B&W's(Rotel), and it wasn't very impressive. That was only one demo, so a real picture cannot be had I imagine, but first impression was poor.

Sounds like a great idea to go hardcore 2CH. I would love to have killer 2CH setup.

dcarlson

My last audition of the A3 was on a set B&W bookshelves, I think they were the CDM 1NT and they sounded great. There wasn't any real bass extension, they would need a sub. Other than that they were extremely clear and detailed. Imaging was incredible and soundstage was great. I love the look of the CDM 9NT but would definitely need a listen for that sort of price.

Here's a pic of the A3.
http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?ampstran&1065469093

Tour2ma

dc,

With 2 ch Rock as your main interest, seek out some SDA's. They will do amazing things and, as I suspect Russ was hinting at, do a nice job on the occassional DVD. Surround, not exactly, but as close as I have heard from a single pair of speakers. Fantastic, wide soundstage, but not the deepest. The bigger ones will not leave you wanting for bass.

Have you ever heard SDA's?

If your tastes go beyond rock, then, under the category of "no one speaker will be best at everything", think in terms of additional mains.

Magnepans are absolutely amazing for reproducing Acoustical music. Jazz, light classical, etc... My 1.5's have a deep soundstage with good width and imaging that is breathtakingly sharp. They lack deep bass, but that is their lone shortcoming.

Then there are the Carver Amazings. For full symphony, they are unbelievably accurate and powerful. Also for solo piano works, these are the ones I would choose. Damn good for rock as well, but the width of that SDA soundstage gives SDA's the edge IMO, even with Carver's sonic holography, which is a bit more exacting and less "listener friendly" than the Polk approach.

If I had to pick one pair... but I don't have to and neither do you.

tryrrthg

You CAN have both! You sound like you're going through the same thing I was/am going through. I wanted a killer 2 channel rig more than anything but I also LOVE watching movies on my HT. So I learned over at the HTF that you can have both!

Sell you front mains and get your killer mains, hook your new mains to the MF A3. take the main L & R pre outs of you Denon and plug them into an "aux" input on the MF. Then turn the volume of the MF as high as you'll ever need the volume for movies (or find out where on your volume dial unity gain is). this way your MF will power your mains and the Denon will power your center and surrounds and also control your volume when watching movies. your CDP etc, will be hooked to you MF and your DVD player to the Denon. If you don't watch that many movies then you won't be bothered by the little bit of sound quality loss by using two volume control. once you get enough cash to find a center channel that better matches your new mains then you'll have a good front stage and still have your KILLER 2 channel rig.

here is my thread over at HTF that some guys explain the process to me.

Hope this helps...

dcarlson

Tour, I've never heard SDA's. I'd love to have a listen. Once again I'm geographically challenged, I imagine shipping on those beasts would be ridiculous.

tryrrthg, thanks for the help. I do have my setup as described. I use the Aux in on the MF fed by the Denon, crank the volume on the MF to 12 o'clock and I'm good to go surround wise. I mostly watch music DVDs like the new Zep, Neil Young, Pearl Jam and so on. What I'm finding is I much prefer the Stereo sound over surround for these types of disks. The only time I use the surround is for movies and I think I can survive watching them in stereo. I'm thinking of selling the speaks and receiver to free up some cash to get some new mains.

Tour2ma

dc,

F1 found a reasonable shipper for his SDA's.

When I won my CA's I rented a van, drove to Florida and picked them up.

Where there's a will...

Granted, buying them on faith alone is a hard step to take. There must be a Club SDA owner within a day's drive that would be willing to take you in.

organ

Hi Derick, I've been without surround sound since March when I got my NAD stuff. If music is your main goal you will not miss HT. I plan to get some cheapo receiver with pre outs whenever I'm ready for HT again.

Maurice

dcarlson

I know the MF is capable of a lot more than the RTs are showing. That's where the upgradeitis is kicking in. They do sound really good none the less. If anything, this expensive hobby will teach some patience.

My ultimate goal now is 2 channel stereo and later down the road I may get back to HT.

How do you go about auditioning speakers? Would it be too much to bring my MF and Rotel CD player into the store, set it up on some different speaks and listen away? Or rely on the gear that's in the store already?

tryrrthg

If you're going to be laying down some cash the store SHOULD let you take home the speakers you want to listen to. Nothing is better than an in home audition. if the store won't let you take them home then I would bring in your gear. If they won't let you do that I would find a new place to do business...

dcarlson

I'm sure if I wanted to I could bring some speakers home. I've gotten to know the owner and his son enough from going there and buying stuff and just chatting with them.

I was thinking of bringing my gear in to have a listen to more than one set. Then, once I've decided on a set, bring them home and have a listen.

madmax

You might as well skip taking your gear in to the store. Their room will sound so different that you won't be able to tell anyway.
madmax

dcarlson

So basically, I should simply go in and listen. Choose a set I want to take home. If they sound good at home, keep em. If they don't, bring em back. Sound right?

tryrrthg

I'd listen to a few different speakers in your price range.

What speakers are you interested in? Price range?

dcarlson

http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.models/Label/Model%20CDM%209NT

I listed this link earlier in the thread. I'm interested in these, they may be out of my price range. I think they're gorgeous.

I don't really have one pair in mind and I'll be looking in the $2500 - $3500CDN range. That works out to about $1800 - $2500US.

dcarlson

Of course there are no LSI dealers close to me. My local dealer is authorized for Paradigm, B&W and Martin Logans. Hense the interest in the B&W and also Paradigm Studio 100s maybe. I have to listen to them first. I will be going to Toronto for a Radiohead concert sometime in the next while, I'll be able to get a listen to some LSIs then.

http://www.paradigm.ca/Website/SiteReferenceProduct/RModels/StudioSeries/StudioSpecs.html

tryrrthg

if you're willing to buy used I'd throw in the

Dynaudio 1.3SE (around $3300 new) Don't be fooled by their small size you will get usable output into the mid to low 30's! Arguably one of the best stand mount speakers in the world. These speakers are AMAZING!

or you could get the speakers I have, the 1.3mkII and still have money left over for a killer sub.

If you REALLY have to have a floorstander try a used pair of 1.8mkII or if you can swing a little extra in the budget The 3.0

I'd also suggest listening to some Thiels, Totem, ProAc
JM lab


Good luck and have fun!

tryrrthg

Originally posted by ATCVenom
Tryrrthg

Still wish I had the chance to demo Dynaudio. You rarely read anything negative about their speakers.

Not to step on any toes man, but Im wondering why in the gallery you focus and rave about the Danes - on a Polk website? Granted, its no big deal to me, but it just doesnt seem "right"..

No stepping on any toes man. I have owned and still do own Polk speakers. I loved the ones I had and still use the PSW450 and some R series surrounds. I come here because their's great people who know and love ALL things audio reguardless of brand. If someone has a problem with me posting pics of my beloved Danes I'll gladly take them off, just say the word. I'm just proud of my rig just like everyone else, regardless of what brands are in it... The way I see it, I'm no different than all the SVS people we have here, they own SOME polk speakers, and so do I. But if I offend people then I'll take my stuff down...

On the Dane demo note, where are you located? I know there aren't that many dealers around. I only got to hear them because a friend of mine owns the 1.3SE. The only thing I ever hear people say is wrong with them is they are too "dry." They are a very neutral speaker. every CD I play through them sounds different...

If you're ever in or near Columbus, Ohio you're more than welcome to stop on in. but not until I get a new amp! I don't want to give you false impression of what they're capable of!

tryrrthg

Originally posted by ATCVenom

However, I do carry along with me an ever so slight issue about the text within the description of your item's. I understand the excitement, but I really question statements such as:

"Blew my polks out of the water in ever single way! Of course I HAD to get some Dynaudio!"

Yeah, I had a feeling that's what you were referring to after I got to thinking about it. I think I got a little carried away, and excited about my new speakers. They really don't blow them out of the water, there are just things the dyn's do better. I'll have to make some changes... Sorry that struck a nerve. I guess I'd feel the same way if someone said they had speakers that blew my dyns out of the water... in any case. I'll change my wording to more something more tasteful...

I'm also sorry for the hijacked thread! back to the topic at hand!

dcarlson

Highjack away, it's pretty entertaining.

Now I hear the Martin Logans need tons of power, generally amps that can be stable at 1 ohm.... The A3 integrated, as good as it is, may not be up for the task. I could be wrong though.

The Martin Logans are out of my price range. I was just saying they were an authorized dealer.

tryrrthg, thanks for the links, I'll check em out.