Need input on all new setup
BuckeyeTim
Posts: 486
Hello everyone! Not new here but due to work changes I drifted away 10yrs or so ago. Due to another big life change I came back.
Our house burned down in April of last year. Total loss. 4 sets of polk speakers including mint sda 1c, 2 pair of m10's, and a pair of s10's. A few others, carver amps, adcom amps, dared tube preamp, music hall turntable, etc... Plus 2000+ albums.
So, now. Here I am. Moved into the new house and ready to buy some stuff. I am building a room in basement that will be about 23'×15'. 8.5' ceilings. I keep bouncing back and forth between new and vintage. I really loved my carver tfm 35x with the 1c's. But am kind of afraid of vintage unless it has been recapped and serviced.
What would you do if you had say 10k to put something together with?
Yesterday I almost said screw it and bought a new NAD c399 integrated, c534 cd player, c427 tuner, Polk reserve r700 and two svs subs.
What do you all think.
Currently all I have is a jbl Bluetooth speaker and Pandora.
Thanks
Tim
Our house burned down in April of last year. Total loss. 4 sets of polk speakers including mint sda 1c, 2 pair of m10's, and a pair of s10's. A few others, carver amps, adcom amps, dared tube preamp, music hall turntable, etc... Plus 2000+ albums.
So, now. Here I am. Moved into the new house and ready to buy some stuff. I am building a room in basement that will be about 23'×15'. 8.5' ceilings. I keep bouncing back and forth between new and vintage. I really loved my carver tfm 35x with the 1c's. But am kind of afraid of vintage unless it has been recapped and serviced.
What would you do if you had say 10k to put something together with?
Yesterday I almost said screw it and bought a new NAD c399 integrated, c534 cd player, c427 tuner, Polk reserve r700 and two svs subs.
What do you all think.
Currently all I have is a jbl Bluetooth speaker and Pandora.
Thanks
Tim
Comments
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Welcome back Tim. Man, that has to be tough, loosing everything and starting from scratch again. My advice would be to take your time and watch your local FB marketplace for speakers. Perhaps mix a bit of vintage or even ~10 year old speakers and some newer electronics. Start simple and figure out what works for the room and your current listening habits.
You can build an excellent system with a bit of patience. Honestly, I wouldn't throw my all my eggs into NADs basket. The don't have the best reputation for being reliable as they age. That said, I've had several NAD pieces through the years and they do sound good for the price.
Also, really ask yourself how you want to listen to music (or theater). If you lost everything, I assume that means CDs/Vinyl/DVDs/BluRays...do you want to replace all that physical media or would you be happy with a newer streaming service that offers CD/HighRes quality? There are many all in one streaming boxes now that can replace many of those older components. I still have two component FM tuners in the house, but they rarely get used.
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Welcome back Tim!
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I'm not a fan of the ESS Sabre DAC chip, which that NAD uses. That chip has a strident sonic signature.
Take a look at the Marantz integrated amps and CD players, very musical.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Welcome back Tim,
Man first off sorry to hear, I can't imagine what that was like at all. I know it's only stuff but I also know certain things can be non replaceable. I hope you guys fully recover and insurance makes you somewhat whole.
Anyway your system design. Yes I like it the NAD C399 is a pretty fantastic piece. With the Blu OS card installed, you got one hell of a killer all in one streamer.
The R700's I can't comment on other than they get stupid good reviews. One reviewer says the Reserve line is better than the Legend line dollar for dollar. I have heard the L200's and if the Reserve line sounds like them, you're in for a treat.
The SVS subs depending on which models you go with will be excellent. I'd probably look at the SB-2000 Pro's or the SB-3000 Pro's. With your room dimensions I think either would serve you well.
If you can demo the speakers I would throw in the R600's since you're planning on 2 subwoofers. Floor standing speakers might not even be necessary and you could dig into the R100 or R200 deepening on your likes. I heard the R200's can be a little thick in the mid range to lower extension that they can recreate. Not my words but reviews I have read.
Good luck with your new room and system.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
In addition to SVS, consider the Speedwoofer lineup from Rogersound Labs (RSL). Their 10E and 10S MkII are excellent for the price. SVS does have DSP w/tuning app and a great reputation though.
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Thanks all! And yes, the insurance company did us good. Better than expected. We rebuilt on the exact same spot.
As far as listening habits. Two channel is main concern. Vintage rock.
I am not necessarily tied to any particular brand. Just getting anxious and don't want to get stuff just because I want it now. Here locally we have a vintage audio store. The owner Brian specializes in used/vintage Mcintosh and JBL. He has a store full including a JBL Paragon that he holds listening sessions with. I have been in and out of there every week or two. Afraid to pull the trigger. Had a chance at some beautiful fully rebuilt Krell stuff and hesitated and missed it. -
Oh, and not really interested in streaming. I don't have access to internet unless I go with satellite. I'll never get back the vinyl and cds back that I had but I am going to start somewhat of a collection again.
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BuckeyeTim wrote: »Oh, and not really interested in streaming. I don't have access to internet unless I go with satellite. I'll never get back the vinyl and cds back that I had but I am going to start somewhat of a collection again.
That's a bummer. Hopefully you can find some place that sells used CDs at a good price. Not sure if your area has any record show/swap meets but you might be able to find some deals at one of those.
Streaming music can also come from saved files on a local music server, which can be as simple as a connected SSD, without having internet access in the house. If you have the option to download files on a laptop somewhere else, and save them, that is something to consider. Maybe that's a quicker way to build a collection back up. If you prefer the hands on physical media, that is understandable.
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In that size room Reserve R700s minimum and a couple SVS subwoofers. Build a system around those. Lots of choices.
If starting over I'd consider something like the Anthem STR integrated amp for its dual subwoofer outputs, room correction features, and a MM/MC phono stage.
Whatever is left over for a Rotel RCD-1572 MK II CD player and a turntable.
Sorry about the loss of your home! -
If you're buying a lot at once a dealer would most likely give you a good discount on new products. Just have to call and ask.
For the R700s wait for one of Polk's usual 20 percent off sales. Looks like they're just discounted 10 percent now.
