mars73

Very nice, thanks! Besides the one on cables, I must say that electronics burn in and biwiring has always stumped me as well - couldn't figure out why it would make a difference from a physics stand point. I supposed as a newbie, I haven't been exposed to some of the other voodoo (poison) yet (e.g. power cord, CD treatment). Was quite intrigued about the tube amp bit though. I suppose the colouration or distortion from tube amp is what appeals to tube amp lovers? Have not had a chance to do an A/B with tube vs solid state amp to figure this one out.

Seems like the second hand mkt in Singapore isn't too great compared to overseas. Would love to get some nice equipment on the cheap since I do not need to be on the bleeding edge of technology.

Thanks! Good to know that the 667 will bi-amp in stereo mode. Didn't realise that speaker cables need to be of the same length Think this will be my preferred plan. Was also thinking if more power is needed, I can get one of those emotiva power amps

Bro, may I know what you are using as source for music? Also what speakers are you using? Sorry if I missed this in your earlier posts. Is your set up for music like this: Source --> Yamaha 667 --> L/R Speakers (bi-amped) Did you add power amps to your set up? Reason is because I'm thinking of doing the same, and wondering about the quality of stereo music using the Yamaha 667 bi-amped. Thanks!

You have a 7.1 set up?

Over the weekend, I managed to listen to some PSBs. Sounded really good. The PSB Image T6 is in the same price bracket as the KEF Q500 and B&W684, but better than both in my opinion - downside is that it is huge! Comparable to KEF in my opinion but with much better bass. Then I listened to the PSB Imagine Ts. Wow! It's a small floorstander with a huge and smooth sound. Nice price too lol, similar to the 683s. Next up are the Paradigms and Focals. I was sure that KEFs were the ones for me until I listened to the PSBs. Now I'm not so sure... But I'm glad I kept my mind and options open

I saw it on xtremeplace too, was tempted. Is the 10R the previous version of the 10Q? Or is it the US (110V) version?

Hi all, Since I'm not in a hurry, house isn't ready yet. I think I'll go audition other speakers. Thinking of listening to the PSB Image and Focal 700 series. Already listened to B&W 600s, Monitor Audio RX and KEF Q series. Any other suggestions or comments on the PSBs and Focals?

Mainly cos my needs are 50% music, and I was told that the Onkyo (608 at least) is more for HT than music. Was told by Alan in KEC that Yamaha kind of sits in the middle of the spectrum between HT and music, with Denon leaning more towards the music end. Intending to audition them at Anson Audio since they seem to carry both Yamahas and Onkyos. No idea about subs to be honest. Haven't really listened to them yet. In terms of price, cheapest 'decent'(reputation wise) sub seems to be the CHT-8Q ($799). Am willing to go up to about $1k or so but not alot above that. In any case, I'm not really intending to annoy my neighbours (too much)

Thank you. Would like to seek advice on the following set-up: Front L/R: Kef Q500 Centre: Q200c Rear Surrounds: Q100 (wall mount) AVR: Yamaha 667 or 1067 I have listened to MA RX6 (good bass, but 'hollow' sounding for musical instruments), B&W 684 (not bad, good bass, but I read somewhere that they need really good amps to play well). The Kefs are weaker in terms of bass, but has really full and nice sounding instruments and vocals. I'm not really into rock music that much so I guess it suits me better. Would the 667 be sufficient to drive my Q500 properly? Or do I need to go for the 1067 (quite a big jump in price though, +$600)? Usage is 50% movies, 50% music. Onkyo 608 has no pre-out so I think it will limit my choices should I want to add a stereo amp later for music. Alternatively, I can look at the Onkyo 708 but quite reluctant to go above $1k for my AVR at this moment. Have not quite decided on the sub, as floorstanders means that I have very little space for one, may end up putting it behind my floorstanders Thanks!

Hi Quick question. How is the SPL compared tothe B&W ASW610 sub? Also the CHT-10q? I'm looking for a compact sub, around the $1k price bracket. Thanks!

Got it

Testing again... Trying again...

RB Let me see if this works...

Yup... that is precisely my concern - is it worth doing all that? I think the prudent way is get a Yammy 667 to bi-amp to have a listen. If its good enough then don't need to add a stereo amp into the mix. Main concern is whether the 667 would be able to do sufficient justice to the speakers. Thinking of getting Q series floorstanders for front L/R.

E77 (4th level, next to KEC) has some B&W speakers. KEF dealer at lvl 1 if you're interested in KEF.

Hi... dumb question: How do you multi-quote like you did here (split up the quote in order to reply to different sections)?

Sorry, by bi-amping, I was actually referring to using the 'unused' channels of the Yammy 667 in a 5.1 set up (which would be the L/R surrounds) to feed the bass (LF) input terminals of the front L/R speakers. Essentially there will be 2 sets of cables running to each front speaker (1 each for the MF/tweeter and LF) in this arrangement. No intention to leave the linking plate at the back of the speakers connected. I read somewhere that the Yammy 667 has an in-built bi-amping function for this? Don't have one so I can't confirm. I think your arrangement of leaving the linking plates at the back of the speakers connected while driving from both AVR and stereo amp might be abit dangerous IMHO , think I might have read somewhere that this is not really advisable - something along the lines of possibly killing your amplifiers. Fireworks, like you said... One of the arrangements I read when using an additional stereo amp to perform bi-amping was to connect the Pre-Outs of the AVR to the Pre-In of the stereo amp (essentially using the stereo amp as a power amp), and connect the front L/R to the stereo amp. But this still uses the AVR as a pre-amp which is apparently less ideal. Most comments seem to indicate that a direct feed from CD source to stereo integrated amp to speakers set up is the best for music. This set-up is beginning to interest me (using an entry level stereo amp like you said). But this would require a home theatre bypass feature for the stereo amp, if the same front speakers are also needed for 5.1 HT use. This feature is apparently only available in higher end (expensive) stereo amps. What confuses me is this: Most stereo amps don't have a bi-amping feature, I think. Does that mean a non-bi-amped stereo amp is still superior to a bi-amped AVR for music? Not sure if I'm making sense...

Bro RB, Understand you have the Yammy 667. Just curious, did you bi-amp your front L/R speakers? If so, how's the sound quality for music? I read somewhere that AV Receivers of this price range can never match stereo amplifiers in terms of sterero music sound quality. Thanks.

Ely Just curious. How much was the SVS sub that you upgraded to? Have you had a listen and was it worth the difference in price?

Wow, guild mistress leading raids. Rare lady indeed Nothing wrong with being a geek imho

I think I've been poisoned... Now I'm thinking if it is worthwhile to buy floorstanders instead of bookshelves for the front, and if budget is stretched, skip the rears for now (just lay cables). Reason being I was given a listen on the Q900 the other day and was completely hooked! The soundstage is so 3D its amazing. I remember being really impressed by the Q300 up until then... (marginally better than the 685s in my opinion, more rounded) This got me wondering if it is worth stretching for a Q500 or Q700. The Q700 is basically the Q300 with an additional LF driver. The Q500 is similarly based on the Q100 with an additional LF driver. One thing I have decided is to go for wall mounting my rears on the back wall (more options for speakers, especially if I need to upgrade later on). If I go KEF, I'll probably take the Q100, as it costs too much to 'break' a KHT3005 set to buy 2 satellites. One concern is the size of my living/dining space. Its 4m across, and 6m deep. Listening position is about 3m from the front. Rear speakers will be wall mounted about 2.5m behind listening position. There will of course be corridors connecting to this space. One side of the space is completely glass (no walls). I think it is quite hard to find a similar sized space to demo speakers. With a space like this, I wonder if a floorstander will do noticably better than book shelves for the front 2. If I get a floorstander, does that mean I get away with a smaller sub? If I get a big floorstander does that mean I get away without a sub?? I can imagine in the extreme, I just get a set of Q900, with centre Q200, no rears, no subs haha. Kelvin from KEF said that the Q500 will sound better than Q300 even though the cones are smaller, cos the duties are split between 2 different drivers in the Q500. I'm basically going with the principle to buy the best speakers I can afford as they are likely to be around the longest (compared to HD sources and AVRs). Sigh, this is gonna get me into trouble with the missus...

Nice one picking up the second-hand Oppo 93. May I know where you got it from? Thinking of doing the same. Though I will probably stick with getting brand new speakers Would also like some advice from anyone here regarding subs. Is the SVS SB10 still available? Better than the CHQ-8T?

I'm more into pop, jazz, instrumentals. Less into rock. I popped by in the afternoon today to listen to the KEF KHT3005 (not bad), and Q300 (very nice). I think its a close one between Q300 and the B&W685. Probably need to go down to audition the 2 again together. Think I should bring my avatar and dark knight bluray down to test.

Thank you. After the quick run in Adelphi, I've decided to up my budget to $4k =) You're exactly right - I guess I'm an enthusiast - with a budget. Btw, the shops in Adelphi are quoting about $670 for the Onkyo 608 (except E77 which quoted me >$1k!). I just called E77 again. They estimated a 5.1 set up based on 2x685 (front), 2xM1 (rear), HTM 62 (Centre) and ASW610 comes up to about $3.5k, before package discount. This means the total with amp will exceed $4k by a wee bit. Sigh, this is poisonous. But when I listened to the 685s on audio there was a world of difference from the rest I've heard. Keith (E77) also mentioned that it might still be ok for me to mount my rears on the rear wall (about 2.5m away). What do you think of this set up? Is the sub good enough or should I switch it for a Velodyne or SVS? I'm also curious about using an equivalent KEF set up - KEF Q300 in front, with KHT satellites in rear.