Parasounds, Adcoms and Outlaws..Oh My!

Lowell_M

First of all a very sincere Thank You to Doug and Brock (aka. dkg999 and Heiney9) for coming over to play today!

Doug brought a
Parasound HTA-1000,
2 Outlaw monoblocks,
and a tube pre of some sort (I didn't catch the brand, so Doug, chime in here)

Brock brought over an Adcom 545, and an Adcom integrated.

I mostly was interested in stepping into external amps for 2-channel audio that would be used in my system for HT as well. So, we listened to mostly 2-channel music with a little bit of the Eagles Farwell tour DTS track also.

First we listened to my system as it is. My DVD player connected thru a tos-link to my H/K 635. The RTi70's are crossed over at 60 hz and all others at 80 hz. I have the Velodyne set 3 db hotter than the H/K EzSet originally set it at. I normally leave the sub on for 2-channel. I will let DKG999 or Heiney9 give their impression of my system if they are interested. At the beginning of the day I was feeling pretty good about my setup and was really wondering what I would hear with the verious amps connected.

First we gave the parasound a listen with my H/K as the Pre. I immediately noticed detail I have never heard from my Rti's. We turned the sub nearly off to better experience the signature of the amps. The Parasound was nuetral to a little bright. I was a little dissappointed in the bottom end. The top end was amazing though. There was tremendous imaging. I also noticed harmonies that I didn't realize were there in the same music we listened to through the H/K. The hi-hat on the Eagles DVD was tight you could hear the strings of the guitars.

Then we moved to the ADCOM 545. I was blown away by this amp. I won't even leave you in suspense...this was my favorite. It sounded warm with solid punch on the low end, but still a clear, detailed top end. It didn't have the same detail in the top end as the Parasound, but I preferred the sound overall. Still, amazing compared to the HK with much improved imaging and forward sound.

I couldn't wait to hook up the Outlaws...Ooooooooo.... 200 wpc of Outlaw might. Couldn't get them hooked up fast enough. .....Hmmm ...Big dissappointment. We did have two rounds of listening between using the HK amp section and connecting the Outlaws, but I'm not sure there was much of a difference in sound. Maybe a little better detail, but the sound was thin and didn't make the music come alive. We actually didn't finish the round of music we were listening to...didn't even get to the Eagles. We did throw in the Matrix and watched the lobby scene and the helicopter scene. This is definately where these amps shine!! Fantastic grunt for the dynamics in these scenes. I can see why so many are a fan the Outlaws for home theater. I unfortunately listen to a 50/50 mix of music and HT so want to try to find a compromise of both worlds.

Then we gave a quick listen to Heiney9's integrated. It had much of the same ADCOM sound as the 545 with lower volume levels. Nice little jewel.

Ok...The next experience was quite unexpected. Doug hooked up his tube pre with BlueJean interconnects to my DVD player and powered the RTI70's with the ADCOM 545. No sub, no HK, straight up tube-pre and ADCOM 2-channel. The result was, as Heiney9 said, the Parasound top end with the ADCOM bottom end. It was the perfect combination of our favorite characteristics of the other combinations. I honestly did not expect music to sound this good through the RTI's. The bass extension was amazing. Vocals were so clear you felt you were sitting on the edge of the stage. The tubes gave the music such presence that the sense of a LH and RH speaker went away. The room was just full of music. We had listened to the new Chili Peppers CD on all of the setups and so far I thought every amp sounded harsh with this recording. It was nearly hard to listen to it. When we put in the CD with this setup, though, it sounded exactly how I was hoping it would sound in the previous configurations.

So, I tried to hide the tube-pre in my pantry while the guys packed their gear back up, but I didn't get away with it. :rolleyes:

I have decided that the next step I am going to take is either an ADCOM 545 or an ADCOM 555. My thoughs are to possibly choose the 555 over the 545 so that I had the extra grunt for HT dynamics.

Any thoughts?

Thanks again, Doug and Brock!

Lowell_M

OH yea... one more thing. I am moving all my gear to my new HT in the basement very soon. Some of you might remember that I was asking for some very small speakers for some lite 2-channel listening in the living room upstairs because my wife didn't want big speakers taking up a lot of space since we were moving the big stuff down stairs.

Well.... after after DKG and Heiney left, my wife told me that she wanted to have a system upstairs in the living room the sounded like the tube pre and the ADCOM. I told here that we would have to have big speakers and big gear to sound like that. She said, "I don't care...that was awesome. See if you can find a setup like that for the living room too."

How sweet is life?.....

danger boy

very cool.. i don't have any tube gear.. but i think you got a taste of what all the buzz is about tubes in here.. ha ha.

Mike Reeter

Sounds like you boys had an awesome day,playing with gear,listening to tunes..wife liking what she heard...

Enjoy your new HT and your new 2-channel rig...you're finding out that it's tough to have a HT setup that will produce the 2-channel sound that you're looking for...

And yes,life is sweet.

dave shepard

Nice wright-up Aaron. Glade to see things are comming together and that you were able to listen to things in and on your equipment, makes the choice that much easier that's for sure. Have you given any thought to what is to be upstairs for the wife? I think my wife knows better then to make me that offer:D .

Dave

Lowell_M

dave shepard wrote:

Nice wright-up Aaron. Glade to see things are comming together and that you were able to listen to things in and on your equipment, makes the choice that much easier that's for sure. Have you given any thought to what is to be upstairs for the wife? I think my wife knows better then to make me that offer:D .

Dave

I loved the sound of the RTi70's with the tube-pre and the ADCOM. I might tryto find another pair of 70's. H9 has a newly aquired pair of LSi9's, though that I'm hoping to get a chance to listen to.

heiney9

Here's a link to my post about yesterday

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45701

H9

heiney9

When I get the 9's dialed in you and Michelle are more than welcome to come over and have a listen. FYI, I am having issues with these which I'll go into more detail about in the "Lsi 9's have arrived" thread.

H9

dkg999

Aaron - nice write-up! It was a fun afternoon and it was really nice to meet you and your wife, and Brock! I was pretty amazed at how good the RTi70's sounded, I have never used mine for anything other than HT with the Outlaw amps! I also really liked the way the Adcom amp paired up with 70's! You also have a very nice integration with your Velodyne sub, overall you have a great system that sounded really nice. It was really fun to hear all the differences. Look forward to getting together again! And by the way, your home-brew beer was fantastic Doug

Ern Dog

This write up has really got me fired up to introduce some tubes into my rig! I've never heard tubes before, but not for long.

That's cool that you guys all hooked up to experiment and to have a good time listening to music.

cfrizz

Great writeup Aaron! I'm glad you got to see the difference separates could make!

joeparaski

Man I envy you guys that have friends that come over to swap gear and listen to music and try and get the best sound out of a setup. Me, I've got virtually no-one to "play with" in that regard. Heck, my system could sound like total crap and I wouldn't even know it since I have nothing to compare it to.

danger boy

there, there joeparaski, i'll be your friend. ha ha ha. but i don't live anywhere near ya. I bet your system sounds pretty dang good.

Lowell_M

I left my system alone after the guys left yesterday until just now. I've got Nora Jones, Live in New Orleans playing.

I'm definately excited about expanding my system, but by no means think that the H/K AVR 635 is any slouch either. I don't feel dissatisfied with the system I have after listening yesterday, but can't wait to get to that next step either.

I am interested though.... Doug and Brock were impressed with the musicality of the RTi70's. Even compared to the RTi8's. Does anybody else have any comments along these lines?

Lowell_M

cfrizz wrote:

Great writeup Aaron! I'm glad you got to see the difference separates could make!

Thanks! My feable attempt at audio journalism. I just re-read it and really should have used spell check.

It was interestign to hear the Outlaws rather than just read about them. Do you use yours for HT primarily, or do you also prefer them for 2-channel?

cfrizz

I only have one system for both 2 channel & HT!

danger boy

a_mattison wrote:

I left my system alone after the guys left yesterday until just now. I've got Nora Jones, Live in New Orleans playing.

I'm definately excited about expanding my system, but by no means think that the H/K AVR 635 is any slouch either. I don't feel dissatisfied with the system I have after listening yesterday, but can't wait to get to that next step either.

I am interested though.... Doug and Brock were impressed with the musicality of the RTi70's. Even compared to the RTi8's. Does anybody else have any comments along these lines?

I can't speak for the RTi8's, but i have and still use the older RT800i's for my fronts in the HT. I still like me. Good bass output, nice detailed highs and wonderful mids. For some reason.. it just works great. They are similar to the RTi70's.

You would think the RTi8's would be the same.. but so far I'm not hearing comments as much about those ones.

heiney9

a_mattison wrote:

I left my system alone after the guys left yesterday until just now. I've got Nora Jones, Live in New Orleans playing.

I'm definately excited about expanding my system, but by no means think that the H/K AVR 635 is any slouch either. I don't feel dissatisfied with the system I have after listening yesterday, but can't wait to get to that next step either.

I am interested though.... Doug and Brock were impressed with the musicality of the RTi70's. Even compared to the RTi8's. Does anybody else have any comments along these lines?

You're right, you shouldn't feel bad at all about your system. I was quite impressed with the RTi 70's. I thought your sub blended well also. I personally still prefer just the front 2 channels w/o a sub. I thought they sounded fantastic in 2 channel mode with the Adcom running. Lots of extension and punch. Polk really does a great job of designing speakers that always seem to outperform their price point. I don't see any issue with the RTi 70's. You are well on you way.

H9

Sami

danger boy wrote:

You would think the RTi8's would be the same.. but so far I'm not hearing comments as much about those ones.

The newer RTi lineup has much clearer/brighter tweeter. I had 70's and 150's at one time on my HT before I moved to LSi's. Decent speakers, especially considering price/performance I got out of them.

cfrizz

If there is one thing I have learned in this hobby is that newer may not necessarily mean better! Especially if you stick with the same brand!

Lowell_M

I bought the ADCOM 555 from Hoosier21! Woo hoo!!!!

heiney9

a_mattison wrote:

I bought the ADCOM 555 from Hoosier21! Woo hoo!!!!

Way too go Aaron!!! Tonight I'll PM you some basic procedures for running that amp. If you don't get an owners manual you can DL one form Adcoms site.

Congrats

H9

Lowell_M

heiney9 wrote:

Way too go Aaron!!! Tonight I'll PM you some basic procedures for running that amp. If you don't get an owners manual you can DL one form Adcoms site.

Congrats

H9

Sweet! Thanks!!

surfntomm

a_mattison wrote:

I am interested though.... Doug and Brock were impressed with the musicality of the RTi70's. Even compared to the RTi8's. Does anybody else have any comments along these lines?

i own rti70's and i love them to death. i have heard rti8's in store many times and i do find the 8's to be much more bright and the 70's quite laid back. i guess its subjective in terms of how you like your sound. i just got a pair of lsi7's and im using them with a power amp sans preamp (sterile to my taste so im waiting to find a preamp to buy online). now you got me thinking about getting a adcom 545 for my rti70's in my ht rig since they are not much used on ebay or audiogon.

does anyone have a denon receiver with rti70's and has heard 70's with an adcom or the likes because i find the sound with the denon to be very nice and i cant really imagine it getting any better but thats probably me just being naive.

cfrizz

Yes you are being naive!;) Get a nice high powered amp for those bad boys & be prepared to be amazed!!!:)