dedicated 2ch setup for music!

[Timmy245]

Hey guys

Currently i`m in the search for a system that is mainly for music, so i will be focusing on 2ch equipment, i currently have some auditions waiting to take place on some paradigm studio 20s and the rotel rsp-1570, but have realised i dont want to head down the av processor path and instead wish to have this setup completely dedicated to 2 ch.

The electronics i will need to pick up are as follows

.stereo preamp
.2ch poweramp
.CD player

I also havnt made any decisions regarding speakers but as i mentioned am listening to the 20s rather soon and the signature s2s from paradigm.

As for the amplification i was considering the Bryston BP26 paired with their 4B SST2 as the power amp but this could be a little on the expensive side. Perhaps something like the Arcam C31 would be more then adequate as the preamp ?

I was also told from a dealer that i need to audition sonus faber speakers before i make a final decision. Does anyone have any personal history with these speakers? what did you like about them?

So what im hoping is that you guys can give me suggestions on getting an awesome 2ch setup in which i will be happy with for years and years to come!

Thanks in advance guys !!

 

[Zaluss]

Budget? I love Sonus Faber though I'll never have the pleasure of owning one because of the price.

 

[Timmy245]

Thanks Zaluss

I live in australia, which is the only reason i didnt give a budget.
My Australian budget for the electronics cannot exceed $10,000 (stereo preamp, poweramp, cd player)

As for the speakers i dont have a price set on them as i have a very open mindset with speakers and dont want cost to be the deciding factor but if i had to give a limit it would be $15,000 for the 2 front speakers. (remembering this is $AUD$)

Thanks again guys

 

[oppman99]

The Signature S2's you mentioned will blow the Studio 20's away. No contest at all. I haven't personally listened to any Sonus Faber speakers, but I have heard very good things about them. I would personally put more of my budget toward speakers than amps or preamps. If I could afford Bryston gear, I'd go that route. Due to limited budget, I've gone with Emotiva for amps and have been very happy. I won't tell you they are the absolute best, but they are hard to beat considering the price. The only big name player I've seriously auditioned was the Cambridge 840C. I thought it was an excellent player, but wasn't willing to shell out over $1000 for a player when my computer and an external DAC can do the job for much less. I'm looking into a true preamp myself, so I'm hoping some good suggestions will pop up.

Quick Edit: I saw your budget after I posted. Anthem gear pairs nicely with Paradigm speakers if you go that route instead of the Sonus Fabers. I think you have plenty of budget to put together a 2 ch system that will make many envious.

 

[Zaluss]

Wow thats quite a budget! I think this discussion has exceeded my expertise.

 

[Timmy245]

Hey Zaluss

Yes it is quite a lot of money to spend, but what i have listed is the absolute max im willing to go, im quite open to opinions at half the cost of the budget ive provided!

The fact that it is such a big purchase and will last me for years with much enjoyment is the reason im willing to spend so much. unfortunately i have made mistakes in the past with purchases and wish that instead of spending it on something entry level i could have waited and got higher end equipment.

Its also not like i have this money on me at the moment available for me to go out and spend tomorrow (i wish ) but this is more getting prepared to buy later on down the track possibly half a year away. I just love hearing peoples opinions on equipment and it also gives me more options to consider when the time of the purchase does arrive.

Thanks again guys!

 

[JerryLove]

Are you willing to get more than 2-ch and ignore the extra channels?

A good quality (Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, etc) AVR with a pre-amp out attached to the amp of your choice. Better still, it will work while you are figuring out amps (the Studio 20s and even more S2s are very efficient).

 

[djreef]

Since you're down under you could go active - you may want to check these guys out http://www.aslanacoustics.com.au/aslan acoustics spkrs.htm since they're local to you. Looks like they have some really nice stuff, though I must concede that I haven't heard any of it personally. Perreaux components http://www.perreaux.com/home/ are still being made in Australia, and New Zealand. Those guys make some top shelf stuff, as well.

DJ

 

[agarwalro]

Are you planning for purely stereo? as in 2.0?

You could get the DEQX HDP-3 as your pre-pro and go active. Anything that can help get an in room response like the one below is worth looking into. Here is the writeup from which the graph is taken.

In fact, Salk Sound gives the option to make some of their speakers active and can bundle in a DEQX and multi channel amp to create a complete package deal. I have heard the Salk Sound speakers (Songtower QWT RT, Veracity HT1, HT2 and Soundscape at the AH Oregon GTG). The sound pretty much blew me away. I would definitely recommend looking into their higher end offerings. If you look into the GTG thread, you will find that eveyone in attendance came away with very positive reviews of the speakers. The main problem is, amplification. All of a sudden, from 2 ch amp you just went to a 6 or 8 ch amp. Though, not all channels need to push massive amounts of power.

That said, the Behringer DCX2496 can do the job of the DEQX at a small fraction of the cost.

 

[gago1101]

hey man, I have been doing research for some time. I have read many, many threads and reviews. What I have come to find is that Axiom M80V2 speakers perform like speakers in the ranges of $20-30K, but they cost $1400 a pair. go to axiom's website and compare the lab numbers to others, also read reviews. These are awesome speakers.

In term of the amplifier, NAD 2-channel amp, NAD C 275BEE, will probably be your best bet for the amp. You can chose any pre-amp you want. You can even chose a Denon or Pioneer receiver as your pre-amp processor-save a lot of maney and get great results.

All in all, the set up above may cost about 2.5-3K but sound like 30-40K sound!!

 

[JerryLove]

hey man, I have been doing research for some time. I have read many, many threads and reviews. What I have come to find is that Axiom M80V2 speakers perform like speakers in the ranges of $20-30K, but they cost $1400 a pair.

Axiom certainly has a good reputation and I've no doubt these are excellent sounding speakers: but what $20L-$30K speakers are you thinking of?

 

[gago1101]

I am talking about paradign and equals. Those expensive speakers are great and may be slightly better than Axiom, but Axiom is way better than many others. Compare Pollk, Klipsch at the same price, none to compare. Axiom's linearity is close to Paradigm's 25K speakers, but Pol and Klipsch are way off

 

[Timmy245]

Thanks Guys

Sorry i havent been able to reply to anyone lately, just been flat out busy in the last week.

Unfortunately i have not been able to get out and review any more speakers, but will certainly put the recommended such as the Axioms into a high consideration.

Thank you all for your suggestions and help, unfortunately being in Australia proves to have quite limited range in comparsim to America and the likes.

Thanks once again guys, ill do my best to keep you better informed of my ongoing situation with this process and am hoping to have this audition take place at home in no more than 2 weeks . Please do keep the recommendations coming!! IMO the more recommendations = more options to put into consideration = a well informed and knowingly correct decision come purchase time!

Thanks again guys i look forward to hearing more!

Tim

 

[JerryLove]

I am talking about paradign and equals.
[...]
Axiom's linearity is close to Paradigm's 25K speakers

Paradigm doesn't have a speaker at $25k not even close. Paradigm's most expensive speaker is the S8, which is something like $6k per pair.

It's very hard to take a claim of performance seriously when the "compared speaker" is fictitious.

Again: not knocking the Axiom speaker, as I've heard wonderful things about it: but your statement seems hyperbole at best.

And wile it's likely there's a lesser performing $25k speaker out there somewhere: there are also some killer speakers in the $12k-$20k range.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

$10,000 Australian Dollar = $9,150 US Dollar

Forget the brands and all the reviews. Just listen to all the speakers for yourself.

Since speakers may sound very differently when they are inside your house, make sure the dealer will allow you to return/replace them for other speakers if the speakers don't work out.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

...not knocking the Axiom speaker...

Agree, but I just can't take a company like Axiom seriously when they actually recommend using DUAL center speakers.