My 2 Channel Rig

MxStYlEpOlKmAn · April 2003

We should all welcome MX (Vr3) back as if you didnt notice dosnt really care to come here anymore. Anyways, here is my reveiw as I listen to music in 2-Channel more since I purchased the Adcom

Most of you know, my 2-Channel Rig consist of the following ::
Receiver: Pioneer Elite VSX-41
2 Channel Amp: Adcom GFA-545II
Speakers: RT35i
Subwoofer: M&K MX90

To many of you this is not a very impressive setup. However, with a seperate amp the RT35i speakers can literally sing. With a good recording, which I used 12 stones - 12 Stones CD, and Linkin Park - Meteora.

Sound::
Treble - The treble with the Adcom is smooth and not harsh. With the Pioneer Elite my center and surrounds are sometimes etchy at high volumes and at times very annoying. Overall with the adcom and some tweaking, the treble is perfect at -26 on the Pioneer Elite is very loud.
Midrange - The midrange, although not the clearest, is not near as muddy as it was with the Yamaha. It has opened up incredibly. The music is placed much better, which will be covered in another part of this reveiw. Vocals are no longer harsh with female voices and literally sorda come to life. Many people will not agree with this comment as many have not heard this speaker with a seperate amp.
Bass (M&K) - The bass with the M&K is alot more punchy and accurate with the Pioneer Elite. It is no longer loud and boomy. It now is still loud (for my room) and is much more accurate than the Yamaha and sounds better none the less. Its also harder to localize the subwoofer even my room being as small as it is. The bass has improved but nothing to rant about.
Soundstage - The soundstage has improved a whole lot. When I say alot, I mean ALOT. The voices are in the center, sound effects are all over the room. Drums are wheres their supposed to be, guitars are not exactly right but are still done pretty well. They are not totally right as alot of stuff is not behind you, yet you would swear the center channel is on as seems alot of the stuff seems to be coming from the center. This is a major improvement over my Yamaha. When I played 2-Channel music with the Yamaha everything was on the sides and the center was completely empty. To get sound that made sense you pretty much had to sit on the side. The soundstage has opened up a whole lot as I said above.
Overall: I really like the sound of the RT35i now. I use to not favor it much, and felt it was very humdrum in vocals and some instruments. Now it is like a totally different speaker. I remember Mantis saying the RT35i was not up to snuff to be placed with a seperate amp and personally I wish I would of bought a seperate amp from the beginning.
People will say what I am hearing is insanity, and probally if you listened to my rig you probally wouldn't like it. But if it satisfys my Dad, which to me is a great accomplishment. I really like the sound I hear now, the only problem I see is the bookshelfs (being what they are) don't provide an impact to music or movies. That would probally change when I get towers for my own house when I move out in a couple of years.
Anyway, thanks for reading my 2-Channel reveiw, and now to take my adscence. TTU guys later, goodbye.
-MX-

RuSsMaN · April 2003

Sounds like a killer rig to me. Also sounds like you simplified the whole thing for now at least, ie, no surround?

I understand totally 'it sounds like a different speaker'. It's a wonder what an amplification upgrade will do. I'm curious, did you check out the PE on it's own? How did it fare compared to the Adcom?

Try to isolate your 35's a little more, if possible. Set them on something a little more sturdy, a little more solid, see if they tighten up. You still have your little rubber 'feet' that came in the box? If you aren't using them, try them out. A couple extra 'mousepads' or foam coasters might help if you don't have the feet.

BTW, I found a pair of MIT Terminator 5 cables, iconn ends (like a pin, but you can screw on MIT nanners or spades). I'm still game for you to take a free test drive, if you are still interested, IM or email me.

Cheers,
Rooster

rs159 · April 2003

MX, just curious - how much money do you get/make/steal (JK)? Your system's gotten pretty big for the amount of time you've had it and considering the kind of money most teens get. I'm perplexed

Good to know you're enjoying your system. Enjoy it while you can, I heard the upgrade bug is going to be bad this year

rs159 · April 2003

Originally posted by RuSsMaN
...Try to isolate your 35's a little more, if possible. Set them on something a little more sturdy, a little more solid, see if they tighten up. You still have your little rubber 'feet' that came in the box? If you aren't using them, try them out. A couple extra 'mousepads' or foam coasters might help if you don't have the feet...

Cheers,
Rooster

Don't forget speaker placement which can also have a huge effect. Getting a speaker out of the corner and at equal height to it's mate can make you fall in love with your system just as much as better electronics, etc, and best of all - IT'S FREE!!! (You might need stands, but it's a small cost compared to a $1000 preamp)

MxStYlEpOlKmAn · April 2003

Originally posted by rs159
MX, just curious - how much money do you get/make/steal (JK)? Your system's gotten pretty big for the amount of time you've had it and considering the kind of money most teens get. I'm perplexed

Good to know you're enjoying your system. Enjoy it while you can, I heard the upgrade bug is going to be bad this year

After I add amps, it'll be in the 4,000 range. I purchased most of that in the summer and bought the sub off my dad. I stole nothing, I make 2,000 in the summer, and atleast a 1,000 during the year. (I help build houses during the summer, and do jobs helping my grandpaw do stuff, clean cars, etc...) You also have to remember all my christmas and birthday money goes towards audio. I want audio stuff for presents also.

Don't forget speaker placement which can also have a huge effect. Getting a speaker out of the corner and at equal height to it's mate can make you fall in love with your system just as much as better electronics, etc, and best of all - IT'S FREE!!! (You might need stands, but it's a small cost compared to a $1000 preamp)

I am limited with space since i am a kid and my rig is in my room; so i placed my speakers in the best possible place that sounded best to me, it mostly depends on where I sit other than where the speakers are. (That I have found.)

F1nut · April 2003

Trey,

Get your skinny white **** back here and start posting again.

Jesse

BTW, nice review. Glad you're enjoying the music.

Tour2ma · April 2003

Originally posted by MxStYlEpOlKmAn
I remember Mantis saying the RT35i was not up to snuff to be placed with a seperate amp and personally I wish I would of bought a seperate amp from the beginning.
People will say what I am hearing is insanity, and probally if you listened to my rig you probally wouldn't like it. But if it satisfys my Dad, which to me is a great accomplishment. I really like the sound I hear now, the only problem I see is the bookshelfs (being what they are) don't provide an impact to music or movies. That would probally change when I get towers for my own house when I move out in a couple of years.
Anyway, thanks for reading my 2-Channel reveiw, and now to take my adscence. TTU guys later, goodbye.
-MX-

Sid,
Nice review man. Key is you have found a stop on your audio journey that you are happy with... and that's all that matters. No knock on Mantis, but there are so many different paths that can be taken.
Thing I'd be curious about is whether bringing your M&K into your 2 ch rig would eliminate the impact deficiencies you report...
I look forward to your updates and continued participation in the Club.

pjdami · April 2003

Mx,

Nice review guy. You have an excellent system considering your age (much better than what I had at that age....can anyone say clock radio??). It wasn't too long after that though (I think I was 17) and I owned a Harmon Kardon receiver and some JBL 325a's that I bought used along with a Magnovox cd player that I bought new. Philips owns / owned Magnovox and I think they made one of the first cd players. The first cd I ever bought...Great White (probably never heard of them huh? they were the bomb in 1986 - 87 though).

I have the same tweeter in my center channel speaker and owned the RT35i's too just a few months ago. The harshness of my Yamaha receiver on the center channel for voices for watching movies / cable was driving me crazy. It was very fatiguing to listen to and annoying. Its one of the main reasons I started on an upgrade path.....but I wanted to settle down on my mains first.

I don't know your main reason for not wanting to come and post here in the board anymore. Don't let what people tell you bother you too much. As long as you're posting good information like you have here .... things will be fine. You can and will learn a lot in here. A lot of people have different opinions in here and they are entitled to it. Sometimes it seems like it gets to be like a PhD dissertation on audio some folks get into...or who gets the last word in... It really shouldn't be that way though. We all come here for a common cause and that's because we love music and wish to "tweek" or add to our system so that we can get the best performance out of our system. Opinions are opinions and until we try them out we will never know for ourselves.

Paul

MxStYlEpOlKmAn · April 2003

Originally posted by Tour2ma
Sid,
Nice review man. Key is you have found a stop on your audio journey that you are happy with... and that's all that matters.
Thing I'd be curious about is whether bringing your M&K into your 2 ch rig would eliminate the impact deficiencies you report...

THe M&K is ran in the 2-Channel (I think I read this right), The bass on the bottum end is fine, but right there in the midrange; it is just not up to snuff, like it just dosn't make you feel the music, know what I mean? Well I plan to upgrade to towers when I move into my own house, and upgrade to a bigger center and go 6.1, etc.

I really have no reason for stop posting, I just lost that drive to post, it just wasn't fun anymore. Can't post one thing without people jumping on you or anything. I am reading the posts none the less, I might eventually start posting again, who knows.
-MX-

PS: Ohh yeah, Thanx for the comments on my rig, and for the suggestions!

MxStYlEpOlKmAn · April 2003

did you check out the PE on it's own? How did it fare compared to the Adcom? - Russman

No Russ, I never plugged the mains up to the PE, infact all the main terminals have never been moved. lol! The only comparison I have done with the PE and the Adcom is with the surrounds and center. The mains have cleaner midrange and smoother treble. The PE is sorda harsh up top and muddied in the midrange. Its really hard to blend the PE with the Adcom with music, but Its easier to blend them with movies. Soon I will get another Adcom amp, and that should make it easier. After I get the amps I plan to invest in a SPL meter.

Get your skinny white **** back here and start posting again. - F1Nut

I never left, but I stopped posting a little, everyonce in a while I might post on something that seems worth posting on.

It has been a pleasure to watch the maturing of your tastes as you involve yourself further into the world of quality sound. You seem to be traveling this path well. - ATCvenom

This coming from Sean?

Totally weird, thank you!

Satisfaction is what it's all about - some seem to never achieve this despite the investment of thousands. It appears as if you have reached within the grasp of this goal early on. Good on' ya. - ATCvenom

Ah, I almost there!

All I need is some towers with some passive subwoofers in it, I am searching for some impact with movies and music, and that 6.5" drive don't quite cut it. It needs some back up!

I have the same tweeter in my center channel speaker and owned the RT35i's too just a few months ago. The harshness of my Yamaha receiver on the center channel for voices for watching movies / cable was driving me crazy. It was very fatiguing to listen to and annoying. Its one of the main reasons I started on an upgrade path.....but I wanted to settle down on my mains first. - Pjdami

These Tri-Lam tweeters can go insane, I find myself putting them on -1 or -2, with the Mains set back to -3 just to get them to sit still. But once you get them things sounding good they really are accurate. The thing about receivers are they only go 20-20hz. With the seperate amp (like the Adcom GFA-545II) the freq is 50-60hz. The top end is totally exstended to as far as it can go, which in this case is 25hz. So it sounds overall better.

Nice review guy. You have an excellent system considering your age (much better than what I had at that age....can anyone say clock radio??). It wasn't too long after that though (I think I was 17) and I owned a Harmon Kardon receiver and some JBL 325a's that I bought used along with a Magnovox cd player that I bought new. Philips owns / owned Magnovox and I think they made one of the first cd players. The first cd I ever bought...Great White (probably never heard of them huh? they were the bomb in 1986 - 87 though).

Never heard em, sounds like a whale to me or something. My first stereo was a $50 boombox from Walmart, which was about three years ago. Then I blew all the drivers in that. I then worked several months to get a $200.00 JVC shelf system. I liked the sound, 2 months later; it wasn't enough. So my audio paranoya kept going, finally it ended up to what I have now!

I learned one major thing through it all, NEVER buy a Sony receiver.

F1nut · April 2003

Yep, that's the MX we know and love. Now, about your Sony comment, they do make some very nice high-end stuff in the ES series. So, watch it!!!

TroyD · April 2003

Sounds like a pretty good rig to me....

BDT

rs159 · April 2003

Never heard em, sounds like a whale to me or something. My first stereo was a $50 boombox from Walmart, which was about three years ago. Then I blew all the drivers in that. I then worked several months to get a $200.00 JVC shelf system. I liked the sound, 2 months later; it wasn't enough. So my audio paranoya kept going, finally it ended up to what I have now! I learned one major thing through it all, NEVER buy a Sony receiver.

I remember when I thought my computer speakers with their "subwoofer" was the ****. Then I wised up. Blessing and a curse I guess, I get more satisfaction out of real audio but it's EXPENSIVE!

Gary Robertson · April 2003

I told you that the ADCOM is a very "HOT" amp.. I had a gut feeling you'd like it when you fired that puppy up..I literally love all me ADCOM gear and i have a bunch.some times if you close your eyes and listen with a moderately loud volume,you can hear the 3 dimentional stuff like the snare drum popping about 10 to 15 feet behind the singer-but again that depends on speaker placement..

MxStYlEpOlKmAn · April 2003

Originally posted by Gary Robertson
I told you that the ADCOM is a very "HOT" amp.. I had a gut feeling you'd like it when you fired that puppy up..I literally love all me ADCOM gear and i have a bunch.some times if you close your eyes and listen with a moderately loud volume,you can hear the 3 dimentional stuff like the snare drum popping about 10 to 15 feet behind the singer-but again that depends on speaker placement..

That you did, I am glad I purchased that thing - I swear it wont distort, the speakers dust caps will fly off before those LED's even light, ITS EFFIN AMAZING! lol. That thing is a beast also, my god; my friend was in the car when it arived and he thought it was something light, when he tried to move it he was like...hey! what the he** is this?

EDIT: RS U ****! LOL!

rs159 · April 2003

Originally posted by MxStYlEpOlKmAn
...my god my friend was in the car when it arived and he thought it was something light,...

MX knows God? Wow, tell me more man

danger boy · April 2003

Gary, my Adcom 5400 runs "hot" too. hotter than I thought it ever would. I've only had it a week now. I don't have much experince with amps.. but I do like this Adcom. Darn things are heavy like Mx said. I haven't had the chance to push the amp yet.. maybe later today.

danger boy · April 2003

Mx, hey guy what kind of interconnect cable to you use between your PE and the Adcom? I found that getting a decent cable between your receiver and adcom will also bring out more detail and open up the soundstage. I was skeptical till i bought a IXOS 1001 gamma 2 meter silver series cable to run between my Marantz and the Adcom. Wow.. it was a nice and relatively inexpensive tweak.

I found the cable online at audio accessories dot com for $90, the cable usually sells for $230

but i'm interested to hear what kind of interconnect cables you use guy.

MxStYlEpOlKmAn · April 2003

90 bucks is way out of my price range for cables...lol! I use 10 dollar 6 foot runs of Gold Series Ratshack. Works fine for me!

Gary Robertson · April 2003

Take a lil' 10 dollar 4 inch fan and put it in back pf or by the side of the amp and let it blow towards the bottom of the amp s that the aircan rise up through the top vent-you should be ablt to feel a lttle air coming through the top..i gaurantee that you will never ever shut dowm -it just simply runs cooler-i know through trial and error-remember to plug the fan into a different plug than the amp or the pre, or front end --"IT COULD HUM " if you do...

rs159 · April 2003

What kind of hot are we talking about? Heat or trebble?

My 2 Channel Rig

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