First pic of the new room

[ImcLoud]

looks really good, I love the sloping front..

 

[j_garcia]

So when do we get the comparison writeup between the A/V 2's and the new Carnegies?

The comparison is relatively minor. The midrange is identical sounding, but the A/V-2s being more sensitive have a lot more midrange punch and fill the room more easily. With the Carnegies, the highs are on a different level with a lot more spatial presentation and fine detail. As I've said about this tweeter before, it manages to sound crisp but very smooth at the same time, with zero harshness to cause fatigue over long listening sessions. The A/V-2s don't lack any detail, but they sound soft in the upper range compared to the Carnegies. I had heard this tweeter in the N2X demo pair previously and already knew I liked it.

I took my other stands up north so I can't really do a side by side anymore.

Damn phone camera is too sensitive. Indoors it reacts to and focuses on dust in the air in auto mode.

 

[afterlife2]

Oh man I need a pair of those. Looks great JG!

 

[j_garcia]

I took my other stands up north so I can't really do a side by side anymore.

Now that I picked up those FS51s though....

 

[j_garcia]

Depth comparison of the ported A/V-2 and the sealed CSC-1

 

[afterlife2]

Now that I picked up those FS51s though....

Check this out: Turned my Pioneer SP-BS41LRs into SP-SS41LRs (also SP-FS51LR Pedestals and Dual Eclipse 88100DVC Sealed Boxes)

 

[j_garcia]

Very cool. I returned the 51s. Good midrange, but the bass overwhelmed them to the point where I couldn't listen to them anymore and they did not like to be pushed either.

 

[afterlife2]

For me the looks killed it for me. So are you getting the Carnegie towers then? or the 52's?

 

[j_garcia]

For me the looks killed it for me. So are you getting the Carnegie towers then? or the 52's?

I will go listen to the 52s and see if I like them. They are also on the short side, so they'd need to be lifted or tilted a bit, but I already had some ideas about that. The main benefit is that they cost less than a sub for that house because I don't want to pick up a SB1000 and have it get stolen. Plus, I am not entirely interested in putting another AVR in there either; the system may remain 2ch only this time, so it will be some sort of budget tower most likely.

 

[afterlife2]

When I had them(52's) they were pretty much at ear level when I was sitting down on my couch. I can't believe I had them less than 3 weeks. What about those towers from newegg that I posted for $70 each?

 

[j_garcia]

Fits right in with the Carnegies with the trapezoid shape and shiny black

It is already fired up, updated with FW 1.50. Not that the PS3 was difficult to setup, but this one was even simpler. Connected Netflix and Prime and works very well so far. I will say the first difference I notice about this one is, it is noticeably faster at doing everything compared to the PS3. User interface is a bit weird comparatively, but easy enough to use. The controller is a HUGE improvement; definitely the best Sony's made. It has a built in speaker (with a headphone jack!), touch pad, and just fits my hand better. Impressed so far.

 

[j_garcia]

Adam wanted to know about the fan. The slim was pretty quiet. I had to get my head close to the unit to even hear this one after having it on for a few hours solid. A little Killzone, a little streaming, and so far this thing's been a bit better than expected. Its a keeper. Will give a 3D movie or two a try out tomorrow.

 

[j_garcia]

So it does appear to have a few minor issues here and there. #1: 3D is not enabled yet. When I tried to fire up a 3D BD, it says "not supported". Nowhere in the settings is there an option to turn this on, so that means firmware will likely need to be released to turn it on like with the PS3. Second issue, it has some issues connecting to my network sometimes and all downloaded material now checks for licenses before allowing you to use them. I'm not too keen on that one, because with the PS3, once it was downloaded, it would work even offline.

 

[j_garcia]

Only hooked up stereo at the moment. A quick listen to my first SACD and the first track I didn't notice much difference compared to the 83SE except a bit more separation. As the disc progressed to my most familiar tracks though, I started to notice the additional detail and depth on some of the better tracks. Not really things I haven't heard before; they are subtle details that are just more clearly presented than before. On the track Nardis you can hear the skins of the drums and the space normally, but on this one I actually hear better definition of where each instrument is in the kit and how far away from me it is, as if I am sitting in the drummer's chair or right in the recording room. No doubt some of that is due in part to the Carnegies as well, but it is still entertaining to hear. It is a small detail that I wasn't expecting. That's a Mobile Fidelity SACD too, and one of the best recordings I own. I haven't even gotten to trying out something 3D yet...

 

[darien87]

$1,200!?!?!? Yikes.

 

[j_garcia]

83SE was $900 already, but since I did the upgrade, I ended up spending it at separate times and extending the warranty for like 3 years on it that way. Some of the ouch was taken away by the fact that Alex bought the 83SE so my actual out of pocket on this one was less than that.

 

[Alex2507]

Oddly, they did not take my rack, so I still have that...

That kills me.

Adam wanted to know about the fan.

Tell him it's dead quiet ... bzzzzzzzzzz ... bzzzzz.

 

[j_garcia]

That kills me.

Yeah, pretty bizzare that they left it. Clearly they didn't try to pick it up or it would be gone too.

Another thing I like about the 105 is the fact that for all the core functions, I didn't have to reprogram my master remote

One word: ERHMYGHOD. This thing sounds amazing. I didn't think video would be significantly improved, but 3D on this looks even sharper than on the PS3. I haven't figured out how to use the calibrations for 3D on the new Spears & Munsil disc, but their demo material already looks ridiculously good. Very impressed with this unit so far.

 

[j_garcia]

I figured the 22s and 52s were the same footprint, but they aren't. 52s sound pretty darn good in this little budget setup.

I tried them out with the Sony executive system powering them and surprisingly, they do better than expected. It won't get as loud as I would like on occasion, but they have no issues at average listening with just 30W. First placement had them too close together so they didn't image and the bass was overbearing. Pushed them out a bit and adjusted the toe and they sound pretty solid with far better imaging than I expect from a speaker of this price and bass cleaned up noticeably at the listening position. Definitely won't need a sub with them in this setup. Going to hook up the PM7200 tonight. I will eventually pick up a cheap AVR for here to eliminate the unsightly cables going to the TV, and currently back. The BD79 doesn't have analog outs so I have to feed the system stereo analog from the TV for now.

 

[afterlife2]

Looks good. I set up the 52's a couple of weeks ago. I sat and really enjoyed them. Mine are toed in too. They sound so darn good. Glad you're enjoying them. Hopefully you'll play some Melody Gardot on them.