ztrider Posted January 8, 2007 Posted January 8, 2007 Hi ! I would like to upgrade my home theatre which i have now. This is wat i have Denon AVR 1507 Mordaunt short carnival 2 bookshelves as front mains Velodyne vx10 series 2 sub with 100w rms power wharfedale wh2 center. I would like my upgrade to have dynamics, power and slam when i watch movies which is missing now with wat i have.Have a budget of $1700 willing to top up $300. Any suggestions ?
zapp1624705742 Posted January 8, 2007 Posted January 8, 2007 no surrounds? I would think your amp first needs to be upgraded. next would be a sub.
pcking1624705747 Posted January 8, 2007 Posted January 8, 2007 Hi ! I would like to upgrade my home theatre which i have now. This is wat i have Denon AVR 1507 Mordaunt short carnival 2 bookshelves as front mains Velodyne vx10 series 2 sub with 100w rms power wharfedale wh2 center. I would like my upgrade to have dynamics, power and slam when i watch movies which is missing now with wat i have.Have a budget of $1700 willing to top up $300. Any suggestions ? How about a SVS 12" sub ? ;D
petetherock Posted January 8, 2007 Posted January 8, 2007 Hi IMHO: Keep the amp, its pretty new. $1000 for a sub, if you can, a Paradigm Ultracube 10, or a second hand SVS, or a Velo CHT12R (audition and see which one can give you your required slam - has to give you a kick in the 60-30Hz region, with high SPL) Move your current fronts to the rear, use the centre as rear centre, and get a matching set of fronts, and centre with the remaining $1000. Suggestions: Buy up the MA Bronze B2 or B4 + centre old series - Ban Leong Wharf Diamonds - if you like their sound - KEC PSB Image series. - Merdeka Mission 3 series - Alpha audio Go to Asia sound and see if they have deals on the outgoing JM Lab Chorus series. Good luck and enjoy the upgraditis ;)
ztrider Posted January 8, 2007 Author Posted January 8, 2007 Erm ...i juz sold the amp to my friend. I juz realised that the amp was a major culprit in not giving the dynamics. Very laidback for movies. so i thinking of new amp plus a set of floorstanders to contribute a bit to the bass first then when i save up enough i will change the sub. Is this a good way to go ? Or buy a good sub first and an amp ? petetherock thankz for ur suggestions where do i find the paradigm ultracube ? and this Ban Leong to buy MA bronze ?
ztrider Posted January 8, 2007 Author Posted January 8, 2007 I also listened to the mission speakers at alpha audio. Unfortunately they don't have the m33i model which has received more postive remarks. The mission m34i was demoed to me. He played a the music piece by blue man group. It felt fantastic it had live that my current bookshelves lacked. However when he showed the master and commander clip it was very disappointing.The cannons seemed like shot guns, sound lacked the dynamics i looking for. Will be looking for the monitor audio and jmlab. Pls recommend me speakers that are good with bright sounding receiver.
synthesis1624705793 Posted January 8, 2007 Posted January 8, 2007 Sometimes people forget the importance of the front and center speakers, as long as got SVS then can already. ;) For your case I think it's better to keep the sub and amp and spend your budget for the front and center. The new JMLab 806 plus the matching center should be significant upgrade for you. I saw an older Cobalt center (with metal grill) when I was there a couple wks ago, you may look into it. oops, just realised from your previous post that you just sold your amp. I believe it's your speaker rather than your amp.
ztrider Posted January 8, 2007 Author Posted January 8, 2007 I came to the conclusion it was the amp because i tried the same setup i bought from the same shop with a different amp like a yamaha rxv 659 and the diff was significant.But the fronts still lack the top end i guess
SiriuslyCold Posted January 8, 2007 Posted January 8, 2007 if i remember correctly, the Ultracube 10 is 1.7K. could be wrong but not far from there
ztrider Posted January 8, 2007 Author Posted January 8, 2007 That's like buying only a sub considering my budget ! haha
petetherock Posted January 8, 2007 Posted January 8, 2007 Hi I think that if you sold your amp already, your options with 1.7k are hamstrung. Why do you want a bright sounding amp? Do have a look at the threads on 1 to 1.5k choices for speakers and amps, but some choices: Onkyo 6xx Denon 17XX Marantz SR 4XXX - not bright sounding though PS: Seng Heng at Adelphi (most of the shops are at Adelphi) might have an older gen amp for less, try them. Speakers, it looks like you have less $$ for speakers now. I agree with synthesis, matching centres and fronts are needed. Fix that first and a decent amp, but you can spend 1.7k alone on an amp with slam, eg Garydrums just bought a THX select-cert Pioneet for 1.7k at Merdeka. Lacking dynamics? Listen to the MA B2, but do review your room to see if that is an issue. ( i was running just the MA B2 and centre and my friends who came over were enjoying themselves, so with a 6.5" woofer bookshelf, I was having fun) I think you like HT more? If you weren't impressed with the M34i with 2 woofers, the M33i will be worse, but I don't think that's the issue. The floorstanders have extension, but the 'kick in the nuts' slam with the canon-shots will need a decent sub, so it may not be realistic to expect the speakers to do that. The amp will also not give you the 'boom boom' factor either. I have not used the Yam 659 but I don't think it will give you this slam and if you equalise all other factors, it may not sound so different from the Denon. Try the JM Labs at Asia Sound (Paradigm is also located there) --- but they are bright, but have decent bass. So Plan I - get an amp since you don't have one, hopefully with more balls if you can afford it (i.e. real world quality power supply) Higher end ones -- Yammy 1XXX, Marantz 5 or 6XXX at least, THX select and above Pioneers, Plan II - budget amps like those above (may not have HDMI) Plan IIb - matching centre and fronts - MA B4 and centre for example Plan IIc - save for a better sub later Plan IV - for the amp, look about for an old model THX Ultra one or use a budget amp with a power amp - some one is selling a Rotel 5 channel 100pc power amp I think, look around. This option is more complicated and needs careful audition. Hope this helps bro.
ztrider Posted January 9, 2007 Author Posted January 9, 2007 Denon 1707 goes for $514 but i do not like the sound. For music its ok. For movies which i am mainly after it lacks dynamics also very laidback. More of a lazy amp i muz say. The marantz SR4001 had the dynamics driving MS 914 floorstanders. However wen i looked at the volume it was driven at i became worried. it was at -4dB playing master and commander.Might not have enough headroom.
petetherock Posted January 9, 2007 Posted January 9, 2007 IMO Many of the budget models give out about 40-50 watts per channel when running 5.1 So dynamics may be wanting in some of these. HK, Marantz and Rotel tend to give realistic power ratings. Use more sensitive speakers eg 89db and above. Set them to small and let a good sub (your next target purchase) do the hard work. Choose a couple of amp models you prefer, and audition speakers based on them. KEC has quite a few, including Epos and MS. Audition and trust your ears, buying the max your budget will allow and come back in Phase II when funds allow rather than get something you feel is a gap-filler.
naglfar Posted January 9, 2007 Posted January 9, 2007 Denon 1707 goes for $514 but i do not like the sound. For music its ok. For movies which i am mainly after it lacks dynamics also very laidback. More of a lazy amp i muz say. The marantz SR4001 had the dynamics driving MS 914 floorstanders. However wen i looked at the volume it was driven at i became worried. it was at -4dB playing master and commander.Might not have enough headroom. Hi, I'm not quite sure why you need a bright sounding amp. I agree that the Denon lacks th dynamics. I auditioned for that some time back, and didn;t like what I heard. Opted for the Marantz SR5001 instead. More muscles (compared to SR4001), and more musical too, when compared to the Denon. I think Pete gave some pretty good suggestions. Let your ears do the work, and set your budget to the max (strecth a little if you can) so that you'll be totally happy with what you have. No point buying something that is cheaper, then wanting to upgrade again in 2 months' time.
petetherock Posted January 9, 2007 Posted January 9, 2007 Bro Why not join us in our shopping, kopi and chatting session at the end of this month. Make some friends and get tips from real pros (not me) who have loads of experience. There are a few of us, S.C., Gerald and Rahul who like MA. Look up the thread to see dates. Cheers
naglfar Posted January 9, 2007 Posted January 9, 2007 Bro Why not join us in our shopping, kopi and chatting session at the end of this month. Make some friends and get tips from real pros (not me) who have loads of experience. There are a few of us, S.C., Gerald and Rahul who like MA. Look up the thread to see dates. Cheers Yo Pete, Would love to join you all, but 31st is a Monday, a bit hard to take leave. Some more wife is pregnant and expecting to deliver in 2 months time, so need to conserve all the leave I can. I'd love to meet you guys in person, and learn more from you all. Right now I am quite happy with my set up, but I'm sure after getting to know you guys and after the countless auditions, the upgraditis will hit me like a truck and $$$$$$$ ;D Maybe I should invite you over to my place, and a listen to my humble set up and see what you think...
SiriuslyCold Posted January 9, 2007 Posted January 9, 2007 Maybe I should invite you over to my place, and a listen to my humble set up and see what you think... your invite sounds more like a threat than anything *LOL* ;D mr pedantic
petetherock Posted January 9, 2007 Posted January 9, 2007 Yeah Nalgar, if you come, the nasty upgrade bug will bite big time. I will do a kopi and review thing later on when I am done setting up. That's for another thread.... ztrider : A bit more $$ into the amp may help, then test it with some of the speakers. Audition and get the ones you like, but try and avoid diluting your money too thinly. Or just enjoy with what you have first til funds permit more upgrading.
naglfar Posted January 9, 2007 Posted January 9, 2007 your invite sounds more like a threat than anything *LOL* ;D mr pedantic Oh no no...trust me, my setup at home is VERY VERY basic. Definitely not a threat at all ;D I don't have buddies that are into HT, so really no one to compare to or give comments about how my setup sounds like. What I know, I learn by reading from the forums here. And don't even know if the execution is correct. But wife and I am happy lah. But really one day I'd love to join the bros here, or even pay a visit to one of the houses and listen to what the other bros here have. But sure will kena the upgraditis big time....
ztrider Posted January 9, 2007 Author Posted January 9, 2007 Thankz for the invitation petetherock. I will be buying the receiver tmrw see how it goes with my current speakers and sub. i have set $1000 for the receiver.After i have tried and if i am not satisfied i will join u guys on fri to try the much talked abt MA.
petetherock Posted January 9, 2007 Posted January 9, 2007 With 1k, your options are better, so the middle level Marantz, HK Pioneers, Denon, and Onkyo are possible. There is the Panny XR57 ordered from USA if you like. Some bros really love it. Try and get one with HDMI, preouts if possible. Good luck!
Guest jonlee Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 In past experience, for dynamics when watching movies, usually the yammies will do a good job. Relative decent in stereo also from 1400 onwards. The earlier yammies cmi in stereo. I used a marantz 8200, changed to a yammie 1400. Stereo both equally good (normal listening with ears, not one-to-one A/B comparison). Currently on pre-power-int. ;D
petetherock Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 Yammies are pretty good too, but I think the 1xxx or 2xxx are more than the 1k budgeted, but if you can stretch it, do audition the 1700. P
SiriuslyCold Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 And don't even know if the execution is correct. But wife and I am happy lah. this is a good place to be. in the end, "correctness" of a setup is irrelevant although mostly that translates to better sound. My setup is entry level too - and I'm reasonably happy with the sound ;)
ztrider Posted January 10, 2007 Author Posted January 10, 2007 Narrowed down my choices to pioneer and yammy.
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