Been out of the game- back now/need some input!

[OZZZ]

Hey everyone, hope your all well!

Ive been out of the game for a good 8 years or so and am currently building a new system to go into my main living area. Previously, I had a dedicated home theater/audio room. Unfortunately my current house does not have that so I have to try to incorporate it into my main living area.

For that reason, there are some cosmetic concerns which makes things more difficult since buying equipment based on appearance has never been a concern of mine, and now, appearance IS part of the equation.

The ONLY equipment I have at the moment is a 65" HDTV wall mounted on a large main wall in my living room as well as a EMOTIVA XPA-5 that is currently on its way. I have a myriad of HPTC's and PC's that Ive built that I want to act as a media server and or connect to the system as a whole. The ONLY equipment I want to be seen in the living room is the TV and the speakers. Im going for a simple, sleek look here. All components will be racked in a spare bedroom with cables and wiring fished through the walls; speakers will connect via plate wall terminals.

With that being said I need advice on a pre/pro or AVR with preouts as well as speakers.

Music and Movies are important to me (although preference goes to music quality), as is network connectivity and other accessibility features such as android phone control, wifi, ect.

Currently, Im considering a Yamaha RX-A830 to act as the pre/pro, but am eyeing the marantz AV7701 pre/pro (but it’s about double the cost).

Now for speakers. I know they aren’t all that highly sought after but I’ve always had a thing for the paradigm studio 100's, they just auditioned great for me about a year ago or so. However, I’ve stumbled across the SVS ultra towers and with their sleek angles cabinets and piano gloss finish they would look bad*** in my room and go well with the decor, plus they have a free in home 45 day audition. A third selling point for me is for about $5K I can get the whole 5.1 system (which includes the $1600 SVS SB13-ultra sub). The downfall would be, Im guessing I could get much better sounding speakers for that kind of money (although they may not fit the décor as well). Im definitely going to audition a pair of the SVS ultra towers combined with a SVS SB13-Ultra sub and hope that I can live with them sonically (these 3 components are almost exactly the same price as the paradigm studio 100's alone.)

If I went with another brand, its not an absolute must that I get the center and surrounds immediately. I may be open to blowing my whole budget on a single pair of fronts, or fronts w/ sub, or as mentioned above the whole 5.1 system for that matter is an option too.

So heres what Im looking for:

1) suggestions on pre/pro or AVR
2) speaker suggestions.

My budget is about $5-$7K MAX for both the pre/pro and speakers, in whatever combination I may choose.

Ive looked at the Salk Song towers, and even some other speakers in the $3-$4K per pair range such as the Anthony Gallo Acoustics Nucleus Reference 3.1. Thiels? Martin Logans? I havent heard either. I have auditioned several models of B&W's back in the day and to be honest I thought the paradigm studio 100's sounded better to me. Also the magnepans didnt sound great to me either, although lookwise, they would be great in my room. So I guess what Im looking for are fronts that are great sonically, but also look sexy as ####


Thanks guys, Im going back and forth all over the place. I need equipment suggestions!

 

[fuzz092888]

Don't forget to look at Salk if aesthetics are a big concern. They can really be statement pieces.

For the Pre/pro, I would get the Marantz just because I like the feature set and looks, I've got the big brother (8801). However, there's nothing wrong with the Yamaha.

 

[OZZZ]

Thanks for the input Ill definitely look into the Salk's. My only concern on the marantz is that Ive always lived by the whole concept of "your money is best spent on speakers vs electronics", when considering its effect on sound quality- and its $800 more than the yamaha. Thats $800 that could go towards speakers if needed.

Although, I that marantz piece is nice and Im definately considering it.

 

[fuzz092888]

Thanks for the input Ill definitely look into the Salk's. My only concern on the marantz is that Ive always lived by the whole concept of "your money is best spent on speakers vs electronics", when considering its effect on sound quality- and its $800 more than the yamaha. Thats $800 that could go towards speakers if needed.

Although, I that marantz piece is nice and Im definately considering it.

Honestly, a more apples to apples comparison would be the Marantz 6008, which is a pretty similar feature set to the 7701 and 830 and closer in price to the 830. Plus both are receivers, whereas the 7701 is is a straight processor.

 

[ReUpRo]

I'll add one to the speaker list,
Ascend Acoustics Sierra Tower with RAAL tweeter upgrade.

 

[maclerensefti]

 

[OZZZ]

Well, I think I've about got it figured out. Im going to be busting the budget quite a bit but what the hell. Looks like Im going to go ahead and go with the Marantz 7701 to an emotiva XPA-5. Speakers will be Sonus Faber Venere 3.0, the venere center, and a pair of either the wall mounted surrounds or the 1.5's for surrounds. Sub will stay SVS SB13ultra.

Im heading down to Phoenix this weekend to audition the 3.0's.

 

[slipperybidness]

Well, I think I've about got it figured out. Im going to be busting the budget quite a bit but what the hell.

That's the spirit!

 

[ReUpRo]

go with the Marantz 7701 to an emotiva XPA-5. Speakers will be Sonus Faber Venere 3.0, the venere center, and a pair of either the wall mounted surrounds or the 1.5's for surrounds.

That has the makings of a fantastic setup! Be sure to take your own music to the audition.

 

[OZZZ]

Thanks guys.

I ended up going down last night and auditioned them. Its official. The equipment list now consists of the marantz 7701 pre/pro, Emotiva XPA-5 Amp, Sonus Faber Venere 3.0, Venere center, and the wall mount surrounds bottomed out with the SVS SB13 ultra.

Now I have another question. I have several PC's, which Ive built myself. The Marantz 7701 has ethernet support, as does my TV. I want to make a central media server to which I can play movies and music from.

Right now, I have INDIVIDUAL PC's connected to each TV in several rooms. I want to get rid of those and create a central server that is always on. Even though Im savvy enough to have built these PC's, Im getting a little lost on how to connect all of them.

If I build a central media server, and connect it to my router, then connect my Marantz pre/pro to the router, then connect my smart TV to the router.... how exactly do I access the media? lol ... through the marantz remote? Through the TV's remote?

Also... do I have to run a media software program on the server? I understand applications in which you run a software program on the server, and then ALSO run the same program on the other devices and connect through the program. That makes sense. In this case though ... Im left with a marantz pre/pro or the TV itself that is connected to the router. How am I going to see the files in order to select which I want to watch or listen to??

Its probably a super simple answer, but Im a bit lost and reading online guides are only explaining how to build and HTPC, I already know how to do that. Im just not sure how to incorporate and use it lol.

Any help is greatly appreciated.