Desperately Seeking Upgrade Advice - stereo preamplifier, speakers, mult channel power amp

[agarwalro]

deathwantsme - in fact I have not done acoustic treatment of any kind. It is something that I understand - I think - however am unfamiliar with. My listening room is probably not ideal - it is a bedroom which serves also as my study / office. While listening, I typically sit on the bed : )

Okay, hold up. Before you go spending $5K on the R900, you might as well at least get the Q900 properly placed to get the best out of them. No point having top knotch gear in a highly sub optimal listening situation. You might as well bank that cash till it is actually possible to make the R900 (or indeed even the current Q900) play to their potential. Suggested further reading,

RealTraps - How To Set Up a Room

Speaker Placement Tips for Real Sound - PSB Speakers

 

[sharkman]

You are confusing advise grounded on physics and facts, therefore consistent across people and posts, for groupthink. In fact, here folks are bantering about what is a good $10K system, Steve is saying the PSA XS15se is rivaling the Funk Audio 18.0 in output and the PSA owner, Tom is countering him (how's that for not patting on the back) and the DIY section has tons of folk doing their own thing. Heck if someone asks an open ended question, I'm pretty sure the OP checks out long before the discussion peters out.

If your thought is novel or different why not share it, rather than a snarkey 5 word post.

Marvin is the prototype robot in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, with GPP (Genuine People Personality) and he was severely depressed and bored all the time and usually had one line snarkey comments about the situation. Example,
Arthur: "Marvin, any ideas?"
Marvin: "I have a million ideas. They all point to certain death."

"Simple. I got very bored and depressed, so I went and plugged myself in to its external computer feed. I talked to the computer at great length and explained my view of the Universe to it," said Marvin. "And what happened?" pressed Ford. "It committed suicide," said Marvin and stalked off back to the Heart of Gold.

Spoken like a good old boy complete with insults and disdain for one who dares to differ with the group think. There is a reason that this forum gets so little traffic. The amp/receiver section has, what, 3 threads that are active today? Keep it coming, sport.

To the OP, I'd suggest perhaps more than one forum as a source for advice.

 

[agarwalro]

Spoken like a good old boy ... There is a reason that this forum gets so little traffic... Keep it coming, sport.

I did not insult you. I made a comment, on your 5 word unhelpful snark, with what I thought was an obvious reference. I guess it was not and if it offended you, I apologize. The irony of your post is lost on you?

The amp/receiver section has, what, 3 threads that are active today?

Well, you have <250 posts in 7+ years. So, lets see your contribution here before we evaluate others and the website in general.

complete with insults and disdain for one who dares to differ with the group think.

If you have something to add to the discussion why don't you mention it? I am especially interested it is something different, novel or in some way better than what is being discussed. I asked this of you before too.

To the OP, I'd suggest perhaps more than one forum as a source for advice.

I wholeheartedly agree. There is nothing wrong with soliciting advice from multiple sources. The more the merrier.

 

[PENG]

The R900 will be a big step up from the Q900, I would not even think for a second and jump on that. IMO, get rid of the rest of the cruddy speakers and enjoy the R900 in 2.0 before making any additions. If at all, maybe a high quality subwoofer to compliment the R900 and be 2.1. I recommend this sub to pair with the R900, SVS SB13-Ultra - 1000 Watt DSP Controlled, 13" Compact Sealed Subwoofer and that nicely rounds off the whole budget .

Agree, except he should be able to get a better deal for the R900. I think $3500 to $3700 without the trade and $3000 with the trade base on what I paid about a year ago. ADTG may have a better feel for what the where the deals (with KEF full warranty of course).

 

[cpp]

For surround, I use a Marantz AV7701, going into the Mytek which acts as my preamp and has HT bypass capabilities.

Have you ever thought about removing the Mytek DAC and just utilize the 192kHz/24-Bit DAC in your Marantz which is a pre-amp in it own right. I had a Mytek DSD DAC and to me was a little to clinical.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Hello,

I have about $5000...

For 2 channel, I use my laptop as a source, going into a Mytek DSD 192 DAC, into an Emotiva XPA2 gen2 amplifier, and finally to KEF q900 loudspeakers.

For surround, I use a Marantz AV7701, going into the Mytek which acts as my preamp and has HT bypass capabilities. My center and surround speakers are Best Buy Polk crap, as is my subwoofer. As is the Denon receiver which is currently serving as a power amplifier for the center and surround speakers.

That being said, I have some money begging to be spent....Emotiva xsp-1, and the parasound halo p7...Parasound Halo JC2 BP, and the McIntosh C48.

It will likely be six months to a year before I can consider another significant upgrade.

This being the case, would it be wiser to focus my upgrade elsewhere? It would not be out of the question to use the money to buy KEF q-series center and surround speakers, and to buy a 3 channel amplifier for them - such as perhaps the Emotiva XPA-3.

In summation:

Option 1 - Hi-Fi 2-channel Preamplifier - JC2 BP or C48. ~4700$

Option 2 - KEF Q600c Center, 2x Q300 Surround, Emotiva XPA2, Emotiva XSP -1 (or parasound p7). ~5000$

Option 3 - Sale of Kef q900's (10/10 and original owner) >> purchase of new Loudspeakers - ~$5000 plus the 900 or so I would get from the KEF sale.

If you want a high end system, then sell everything (KEF Q, Emotiva, DAC, etc.) first (except for the Polk and Denon). Save up for another 6 months to 1 year. Then buy something like Parasound + KEF R or Reference or Revel Performa or Ultima or RBH SX or SX Reference.

Send me a PM on getting the best deals on authorized high-end.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

deathwantsme - in fact I have not done acoustic treatment of any kind. It is something that I understand - I think - however am unfamiliar with. My listening room is probably not ideal - it is a bedroom which serves also as my study / office. While listening, I typically sit on the bed : )

As far as acoustic treatment is concerned, I'm guessing that it is more than ordering treatment panels online and then just hanging them up at random? Does a proper installation require some sort of specialist to come out to analyze the room?

This is how I feel about acoustic treatments.

I wouldn't spend a dime on acoustic treatments. Many people wouldn't spend a dime on big panels and bass traps either. I've tried it twice with 2 different companies. I couldn't hear any difference whatsoever. Total waste of my money.

Natural acoustic treatments is good enough for most of us - carpets, rugs, curtains, drapes, sofas, pillows, books, etc.

 

[rojo]

This is how I feel about acoustic treatments.

I wouldn't spend a dime on acoustic treatments. Many people wouldn't spend a dime on big panels and bass traps either. I've tried it twice with 2 different companies. I couldn't hear any difference whatsoever. Total waste of my money.

Natural acoustic treatments is good enough for most of us - carpets, rugs, curtains, drapes, sofas, pillows, books, etc.

Agreed! Here's an example of an effective use of natural acoustic treatments:

(That room needed a lot of treatment with its metal walls and concrete floor.)

 

[JonnyFive23517]

If you're ultimately concerned with your 2 channel performance, then I would spend almost all that budget upgrading the L/R towers. If movie watching is also a concern, then you may want to upgrade the center to sonically match the L/R at some point. (Whether it needs to be exactly the same speaker is up to you, and how critical you are during movies). A subwoofers will offer a huge improvement for movies, and possibly on music depending on the towers and your listening tastes.

Your AV7701 has a good DAC. Have you considered removing the Mytek entirely, selling it, and using those funds as well to help upgrade your speakers?

 

[agarwalro]

I wouldn't spend a dime on acoustic treatments. Many people wouldn't spend a dime on big panels and bass traps either. I've tried it twice with 2 different companies. I couldn't hear any difference whatsoever. Total waste of my money.

Blasphemy!!! Burn him at the stake! I kid I kid .

 

[marsupial]

Gentlemen, my apologies for the belated response. To the posters that have questioned my inclusion of the mytek dac unit - while I agree that the capabilities of the marantz av7701 are admirable, unfortunately the unit offers no bitstreaming of dsd material. I have a sizable collection of virtual sacds, and to listen to them via the marantz unfortunately requires down sampling to 192khz. I'm not sure if I'm ready to eliminate the mytek unit at this time.

Adt - you present a very attractive solution, however I'm not sure if circumstances permit my following of your advice. If not spent in the near future, the aforementioned money will invariably be spent for other purposes - something over which I unfortunately have little control. Would you not recommend taking this opportunity to obtain the R900's now, and then save for the ultimate purchase of quality parasound pre and power amps in the future?

And finally concerning room setup and acoustic treatment. The provided articles were extremely interesting. I have spent considerable time in the optimization of my room, however there are certain problems. While the room is of decent size, the placement of the windows and closet makes it necessary to place the speakers along the wide section of the wall. My listening position is similarly right up against the opposite wide section of wall. My seat is of course currently the bed - something which I hope to change to a couch, futon, or daybed in the near future. As far as the orientation of my seat and the stereo itself, however, I don't believe I could set the system up in a way such that it would be projecting into the long portion of the room. I have created measured equilateral triangle for the purposes of speaker placement, and have found that the KEF's provide the best soundstage with no toe-in.

Thank you very much for the replies .

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Blasphemy!!! Burn him at the stake! I kid I kid .

Yeah, did someone say that we all think the same away - like some old boys' club?

We most certainly think differently.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Would you not recommend taking this opportunity to obtain the R900's now, and then save for the ultimate purchase of quality parasound pre and power amps in the future?

Sure. That would work as well.