Recommendation For A Decent Sound System.

[RimBlock 0]

Hi all,

I would like u guys to comment on Monitor audio Rx 6, LCR and RXw 12 as sub for HTS choice. I am happy with the center especially. Just wondering if I should get a book shelf of a higher series and replace Rxw12 to something else. I am willing to spend 4 k or a little more for the set up without the amp as i already own one.

I 've checked with the agent for SVS and they currently do not have stock for SVS bp12+(which would be a bit over my budget)

I have no idea what other sub to get as much of those mentioned in the other forum do not have a local agent.

I am totally new to this and my untrained ears could not help much while i am at the shop.

your reply and comment is greatly appreciated.

Hi ve_ve,

What else have you listened too at the same price point ?. 4K is a fair bit of cash. Have you listened to any 3k setu-ps to compare what advantages 1k more gives you ?

Also, just to check, are you looking at the RX6 AV12 package which comes with sub and rear effect speakers (RXFX) ?. The RCFX would most definitely be a better choice for rears. Any bi-polar speakers will beat like spec direct firing speakers for rear effects as they defuse the sound around the rear and not straight from the speaker to the ear. This means the sounds come out as more ambient and so are no 'stuck' in one position behind you.

My Wharfedale 18.DFS speakers were a great improvement on the standard bookshelf speakers for rear channel effects.

RB

Edited April 8, 2011 by RimBlock

[Ve_ve 0]

Hi ve_ve,

What else have you listened too at the same price point ?. 4K is a fair bit of cash. Have you listened to any 3k setu-ps to compare what advantages 1k more gives you ?

Also, just to check, are you looking at the RX6 AV12 package which comes with sub and rear effect speakers (RXFX) ?. The RCFX would most definitely be a better choice for rears. Any bi-polar speakers will beat like spec direct firing speakers for rear effects as they defuse the sound around the rear and not straight from the speaker to the ear. This means the sounds come out as more ambient and so are no 'stuck' in one position behind you.

My Wharfedale 18.DFS speakers were a great improvement on the standard bookshelf speakers for rear channel effects.

RB

nothing much this round as i am afraid i will be more confuse when i listen to more. I dun wanna get poisoned and end up not buying anything in the end. I planed to get it done early last year and didn't managed to. Last time i listed to (b&W,dali Ikon, mythos Dt Ma and Wharfedale)

but this round i am set to getting one of the MA as I am getting sick and tired of reading researching and so on. (call me lazy but this thing is really much tougher than making a choice for pc/tv/ laptop and so on)

What I did was: read abt the MA set and set out auditioning it. I am not getting the Bi-polar rear instead getting a tiny Radius 90HD as I do not have much space and wall for it. (My living room area is connected to the dinning area) I have difficulty placing the speaker due to my choice and arrangement of the tv console and stuff. (regret not deciding on the HTS b4 I had the tv console made.)

Thanks for the reply RB.

[mars73 0]

RB

Nice post re: power vs loudness.

Basically it means that if my current amp in my AVR / integrated amp outputs 100W and I get a loudness of 100dB, switching my output to a power amp with 200W of output only increases loudness by another 3dB.

Certainly makes one wonder about the fuss over super large power amps giving out 4-500W of power and what speakers really need such levels of power to drive.

Comes at a good time. I'm debating the merits of getting an emotiva power amp (to connect to my AVR), as opposed to getting a stereo amp with only about 70W per channel.

Based on this, the stereo amp route towards better music sound quality kind of makes sense - may marginally softer in loudness, but quality components dedicated to improving the quality (as opposed to the amplitude) of the sound signal seems like money better spent.

Or is there more than meets the eye here?

[BlueFly 0]

RB

Nice post re: power vs loudness.

Basically it means that if my current amp in my AVR / integrated amp outputs 100W and I get a loudness of 100dB, switching my output to a power amp with 200W of output only increases loudness by another 3dB.

Certainly makes one wonder about the fuss over super large power amps giving out 4-500W of power and what speakers really need such levels of power to drive.

Comes at a good time. I'm debating the merits of getting an emotiva power amp (to connect to my AVR), as opposed to getting a stereo amp with only about 70W per channel.

Based on this, the stereo amp route towards better music sound quality kind of makes sense - may marginally softer in loudness, but quality components dedicated to improving the quality (as opposed to the amplitude) of the sound signal seems like money better spent.

Or is there more than meets the eye here?

Yep, you're figuring out quite rightly what's the buzz with each component. There's a reason and place for high-power amp and unless you understd why you'll be misled by sales talk. Keep on reading and understanding the principles behind each component and what each one does and soon you'll find out what determines musicality as opposed to loudness. Obviously the type of music CDs you listen to has impact on yr choice of components, but how do you decide and choose unless you understd what each component does? Many can rattle out the specs but have no idea what the specs mean in real life or how they translate to actual listening experience.

Edited April 8, 2011 by BlueFly

[neubie 2]

as a general rule of thumb it is always better to have an amp that is higher in rms power output.... eg, at least 100Wrms.... not say that you have to use the full output power, but more headroom extension reserved for transients....

[Marc9 0]

Hello I'm back..lol and with some questions.would there be a big diff if I another dedicated amp for my oppo 83se to listen to music?I will be using onkyo 708.

For stereo,what kind of amps are good?tube amp/integrated amp?etc

I will be using a 8 inch velodyne sub and have heard review that for ht,at least get a 10 and above,however I'm gonna use it in a small bedroom,will it be overkill?now backside itchy thought of changing..

[Ely1 0]

Ahh but is it a sharp edged gem d20 or just one of the boring ones.

Although I sold off all my Advanced Dungeons and Dragons books prior to coming to Singapore, I kept the dice in the wooden box with metal inlay. They are safe awaiting the next adventure. I sometimes think I can hear them rattling with impatience at night ready to get in to the fight.

Maybe my sons will take them for adventure next time but with computer games very much taking over I sadly doubt it .

RB

Who thinks these are the boring ones?

One on my lipgloss keychain which I bring with me everywhere.

-Ely

[RimBlock 0]

Yep, you're figuring out quite rightly what's the buzz with each component. There's a reason and place for high-power amp and unless you understd why you'll be misled by sales talk. Keep on reading and understanding the principles behind each component and what each one does and soon you'll find out what determines musicality as opposed to loudness. Obviously the type of music CDs you listen to has impact on yr choice of components, but how do you decide and choose unless you understd what each component does? Many can rattle out the specs but have no idea what the specs mean in real life or how they translate to actual listening experience.

You could enlighten rather then dancing around the subject .

You have a set of power amps so why did you get them other than because you could, and why not just go for an integrated amp.

The fundamentals are set but everyone interpretation and use is interesting to hear .

RB

[RimBlock 0]

Who thinks these are the boring ones?

One on my lipgloss keychain which I bring with me everywhere.

-Ely

Only boring compared to some .

I will take a shot of mine when I dig them out of which ever box they are buried in.

More here.

The added advantage of the sharp ones are that if you find someone cheating they double up as a weapon .

RB

[Drexter 0]

How about SUNFIRE Dual Driver Powered Subwoofer - SDS-10 as compared to velodyne?

[demonyi 0]

Hi can I check with for the pro 800 def tech speakers and SvS SB 12 nsd and Onkyo 708 at $3616 is it ok or expensive?

Or should i get the pro Cinema 1000 with SVS SB12 NSD with Onkyo 708 at $4500? can i get a better HTS then this with 5k?

[Drexter 0]

Hi can I check with for the pro 800 def tech speakers and SvS SB 12 nsd and Onkyo 708 at $3616 is it ok or expensive?

Or should i get the pro Cinema 1000 with SVS SB12 NSD with Onkyo 708 at $4500? can i get a better HTS then this with 5k?

Wow.. Your budget range quite huge... Maybe you need to decide whether u wanna spend how much on HTS.

[RimBlock 0]

Hi can I check with for the pro 800 def tech speakers and SvS SB 12 nsd and Onkyo 708 at $3616 is it ok or expensive?

Or should i get the pro Cinema 1000 with SVS SB12 NSD with Onkyo 708 at $4500? can i get a better HTS then this with 5k?

If you have money to burn then I can find it a good home .

Seriously, why do you want the Onkyo 708 ?, why do you want the pro 800 or pro cinema 1000 ?, why do you want the SVS SB12 ?.

Not saying your choice is wrong but why did you select those ?. How much better are they than the 3k systems demo'd by others here ?.

What have you listened to ?

I also do a bit of photography (not so much now unfortunately) and was always asked if someone should buy Canon or Nikon or even Pentax / Sony / Minolta etc. My response is the same as with HiFi, some have pluses where others have minuses and vice versa. If the camera has no reported design defects then go try it out. Is the grip good for you, are the buttons placed logically for you, can you get to the functions you want easily for you, are the available lenses in that manufacturers range good for your use at a price you are willing to pay ?. The common point was 'good for you'. Good for me not always good for you, good for you not always good for me.

Research, try, compare, buy, enjoy. Simple but you have to do some of the work. We can suggest, you can buy but you may be disappointed with the result and there could be better for you. Without doing some leg work, whatever we suggest is unlikely to be the best for what you want. We can help with the research and possibly a little with the compare based on your feedback and maybe offer other solutions but the rest you need to do for yourself to get the best result including the 'enjoy' at the end .

Price wise, I cannot really help as places in Singapore hate advertising prices on the Internet so people can compare. Phone around and get quotes for a number of places and compare.

RB

[RimBlock 0]

How about SUNFIRE Dual Driver Powered Subwoofer - SDS-10 as compared to velodyne?

Sorry but not a lot of info out there on these Sunfire dynamic subs it seems. Go give them a listen.

Report back as I will be after a sub in a couple of months .

Hopefully my centre speaker (Wharfedale WH-2) will be up for sale before the end of this month as I get a replacement.

RB

[RimBlock 0]

RB

Nice post re: power vs loudness.

Basically it means that if my current amp in my AVR / integrated amp outputs 100W and I get a loudness of 100dB, switching my output to a power amp with 200W of output only increases loudness by another 3dB.

Certainly makes one wonder about the fuss over super large power amps giving out 4-500W of power and what speakers really need such levels of power to drive.

Comes at a good time. I'm debating the merits of getting an emotiva power amp (to connect to my AVR), as opposed to getting a stereo amp with only about 70W per channel.

Based on this, the stereo amp route towards better music sound quality kind of makes sense - may marginally softer in loudness, but quality components dedicated to improving the quality (as opposed to the amplitude) of the sound signal seems like money better spent.

Or is there more than meets the eye here?

Ok, as Bluefly is busy or MIA here is some more sense for power amplifiers.

So you have a one box solution... pre-amp and power-amp and controller (switching input etc) all in one box. This is your integrated amplifier. Now imagine you want home theatre as well, you need to have all the HDMI / DTS / DD decoding chipsets etc also included. This all costs money and which parts do you think cost the most ?. More cash is likely to go on the AV tech side of things rather than the signal amplification side of things. So you have a cheap(ish) amp with the AV decoders and controllers but everything is all crammed in to one box. There is interference / distortion all being added by the fact that the cheaper components are all crammed together in a single box. If you have a midrange av amp then you may well have pre-outs which will enable you to use the AV amp as just a pre-amp (or partial pre-amp) and attach a power amp to handle the upping of the signal in a cleaner manner as the circuitry is held in another box away from all the other interference. The components are also likely to be of higher quality as the cost of the product is for just the power amplification part. You can also upgrade the power amp part of the setup, mixing and matching with other manufacturers as better products come along without the need to re-buying the AV decoder tech which you already have.

Now if you wanted to be really funky, you could get something like the Arcam A85, attach it to the pre-out of the AV amp and set the Arcam to power amp mode. Then if you wanted to listen to CDs you would have the CD player directly attached to the Arcam and switch it to integrated mode and get better quality sound by bypassing the AV amp totally. You can even bi-amp the fronts for that truly funkilicious feeling on a budget. More reading here. There are surely other combinations that would work as well from other manufacturers, you would just need to find them.

It is now widely believed (apart from within power amp devotes) that a comparable priced integrated amp should perform as well as a pre-power combination. The pre/power combo will allow you to upgrade a bit at a time though and gives a bigger wow factor for all your male friends. Doesn't have quite the same effect on the ladies though .

So for the purpose of home cinema, adding a power amp to your AV receiver (if it has pre-outs) will add a better quality power section resulting in (hopefully) a cleaner signal without the need to pay to replace the AV decoding electronics in a integrated amp.

RB