2-channel advice for a newb

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  • Loud & Clear
    Loud & Clear Posts: 1,538
    edited February 2014
    FWIW, I ran those Diamond 10.1s with a Yamaha Aventage A-820 with excellent results. They're not difficult to drive. They're compatible with 8 ohm amps. A decent AVR can drive them fine.

    Two Channel Setup:

    Speakers: Wharfedale Opus 2-3
    Integrated Amp: Krell S-300i
    DAC: Arcam irDac
    Source: iMac
    Remote Control: iPad Mini

    3.2 Home Theater Setup:

    Fronts: Klipsch RP-160M
    Center: Klipsch RP-160M
    Subwoofer: SVS PB12NSD (X 2)
    AVR: Yamaha Aventage RX-A2030
    Blu Ray: Sony BDP-S790
    TV Source: DirecTV Genie
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  • Doodsmack
    Doodsmack Posts: 21
    edited February 2014
    drummer86 wrote: »
    Seems like a bit of a waste of money to buy a receiver that you won't be able to resell.

    That said, I think you'd be perfectly happy with something like a Denon X-1000 or AVR-1913. Both offer lots of bells and whistles and if you're only running 2 speakers should do just fine. You can get them refurbed for about $300.

    Denon 1913 currently on CL for 275, only used for couple months...in fact just a few blocks away from me lol. I'm tempted
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited February 2014
    I concur with the advice others are giving you - first decide on the speakers you want. They should be your primary "long term" investment. For a nice two-channel rig, the speakers will big, bulky, and heavy. They are the most difficult to re-sell because of the shipping costs involved with shipping because of the size and weight. So they're often the hardest component to get decent value back for if you try to re-sell them so you can upgrade.

    Get your ears on a bunch of different speakers, powered by the best equipment you can find powering them. Then figure out how to get a pair of the speakers you want in a way that fits your budget, and then build a system around what pairs well with those speakers. Then you should be able to upgrade amp, pre-amp, source, and cables and continue to extract better and better sound from the speakers you decided on.

    You don't want to be in a position where every time you have another $500-$1000 to invest into your system, you feel tempted to upgrade the speakers. You want to already be happy with the speakers and upgrade the electronics.
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • Hermitism
    Hermitism Posts: 4,261
    edited February 2014
    http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/ele/4341519459.html

    Yamaha RX-V671 7.1 channel home theater receiver
    Polk Audio RTi8 speakers
    Polk Audio CSi3 center channel speaker

    $550 (Oakton)
    willing to sell the speakers separately for $250.00

    I just wanted to post this as an alternative. I think I remember reading the Yamaha receivers don't pair well with RTi speakers because of the brightness. But he is willing to sell the speakers for $250. But you would really need a sub IMO. Those are the speakers that I am running. They could be driven with just a good AVR, no amp.

    They would be the equivalent to buying this in Polk's current lineup...
    Polk RTiA5 $399.95 each
    Polk CSiA4 $249.95
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  • Doodsmack
    Doodsmack Posts: 21
    edited February 2014
    Got the denon for 275, brought it home and saw refurb sticker on it. The guy claimed it to be brand new in the ad and when I asked in person if he got it brand new, he said "yes it's absolutely new". This receiver goes for 330 refurb on A4L so at first I was thinking 275 still isn't a bad price for a refurb used for a couple months. But maybe this is a ripoff?
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  • Hermitism
    Hermitism Posts: 4,261
    edited February 2014
    Doodsmack wrote: »
    Got the denon for 275, brought it home and saw refurb sticker on it. The guy claimed it to be brand new in the ad and when I asked in person if he got it brand new, he said "yes it's absolutely new". This receiver goes for 330 refurb on A4L so at first I was thinking 275 still isn't a bad price for a refurb used for a couple months. But maybe this is a ripoff?

    I had almost the identical thing happen to me. At the same time I bought my speakers, I bought a six month old Denon AVR-1613 for $160 on eBay. It was listed as used. I emailed the guy before buying it, and he said it was like new. To make a very long story short, when I finally got it, I opened the box and the first thing I noticed was a big silver sticker that said "refurbished" on it. Then the problems started a couple hours after hooking it up. By the next day, I could rarely get it to turn on. Had to pay $31 bucks for return shipping after filing a claim. It worked out for the best, because it didn't have near enough power to drive my speakers at the level I use them for HT. And it sounded loud. That's something I didn't understand before joining here. When you have a lot of clean power, the sound doesn't actually sound loud. It's hard to explain. It doesn't hurt your ears at higher levels, but sounds clear and detailed.
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  • Hermitism
    Hermitism Posts: 4,261
    edited February 2014
    DSkip wrote: »
    When an amp begins to strain, the strain becomes audibly apparent. I believe this is what you are referring to as "sounding loud".

    YES!

    Coincidentally, my lower back is becoming "audibly apparent" after picking up fallen tree branches yesterday evening. I must have "strained" it!
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  • Doodsmack
    Doodsmack Posts: 21
    edited February 2014
    I have a local seller with some "like new" Bowers and Wilkins 685s for 420 w/ stands included. Would you guys recommend that over the Diamond 10.1s for 350?
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,963
    edited February 2014
    Doodsmack wrote: »
    I have a local seller with some "like new" Bowers and Wilkins 685s for 420 w/ stands included. Would you guys recommend that over the Diamond 10.1s for 350?

    Nope, I would stick with the Diamonds, or look at Polks offerings or Kef speakers.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • Doodsmack
    Doodsmack Posts: 21
    edited March 2014
    Thought I might post what I ended up going with in case anyone finds this thread while searching. Basically since I live in the DC area and craigslist is pretty active I went with the best craigslist deals I found for used components. Still keeping with the guidelines of what range of speakers and receiver I wanted. I went with a 2.0 setup, I really think for a small apartment with neighbors nearby, a sub is not at all necessary. The bass on 2.0 speakers can be pretty damn good too. Price tag $725,

    Bowers and Wilkins 685s
    Denon AVR-1913

    It really is awesome to listen to a decent system like this with the music cranked up. But, you can't go too loud with neighbors. Which sucks. We had a neighbor knock on our door already lol.

    I will also be adding the turntable to the top of the stand.

    The speaker placement may not be ideal but we are somewhat limited by space and also aesthetic concern.

    Pls ignore purple spots on camera lol.

    XNJG3ce.jpg
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