engagement ring budget for newbie audiophile

[craayzie]

If you wise up and decide to go cheap.
just get a couple pairs of behringer 2030p monitors, Dayton Sub-120 subwoofers and an Onkyo 807 receiver and a few of those cheap onkyos accessories4less sells for surrounds.

lol! thanks for all the links/advice - will review them and let you know what I think

The Magnolia rep I was working with suggested not getting a sub and instead spending as much as I could on two speakers (which I agree with). He also mentioned that I would need to purchase an rDAC (he recommended Arcam). He also recommended purchasing an integrated receiver/amp combo rather than getting separates as it would control costs and allow me to get better speakers. He suggested an Arcam integrated receiver to match the Arcam rDAC and explained that Arcams IR quality and design were excellent.

Do you guys have any thoughts on the advice? He seemed very knowledgeable and was great to work with.

 

[Mike Ronesia]

He is a salesman that wants to sell what he has. Not saying it's a bad recommendation but I would take his advice with a grain (or two) of salt. I still think you should try the Emotiva gear. You can always return it within 30 days. No middle man means better value.

UMC-1 Pre-Pro $699 + $100 off on another product
http://emotiva.com/umc1.shtm

XPA-2 2x300wpc $709
http://emotiva.com/xpa2.shtm

XPA-3 3x200wpc $529
http://emotiva.com/xpa3.shtm

USP-1 Stereo Preamplifier $399
http://emotiva.com/usp1.shtm

XDA-1 DAC $299
http://emotiva.com/xda1.shtm

That's $2,535 to your door for a excellent 5 channel and 2 channel package. That leaves you 5K+ for speakers of your choice. This setup will rock and Emotive has great products and customer service.

 

[GranteedEV]

lol! thanks for all the links/advice - will review them and let you know what I think

The Magnolia rep I was working with suggested not getting a sub and instead spending as much as I could on two speakers (which I agree with). He also mentioned that I would need to purchase an rDAC (he recommended Arcam). He also recommended purchasing an integrated receiver/amp combo rather than getting separates as it would control costs and allow me to get better speakers. He suggested an Arcam integrated receiver to match the Arcam rDAC and explained that Arcams IR quality and design were excellent.

Do you guys have any thoughts on the advice? He seemed very knowledgeable and was great to work with.

Well brick and mortar subs are underwhelming, I can see where he's coming from. But a great ID sub like Epik or HSU is well worth it especially for movies. I understand your position but "spend as much as you can on towers" just doesn't sound right to my ears.

Now regarding receivers vs separates...

arcam is a higher-end brand.. isn't their receiver alone like 3-4000? I'd take the aformentioned separates any day.

 

[lsiberian]

lol! thanks for all the links/advice - will review them and let you know what I think

The Magnolia rep I was working with suggested not getting a sub and instead spending as much as I could on two speakers (which I agree with). He also mentioned that I would need to purchase an rDAC (he recommended Arcam). He also recommended purchasing an integrated receiver/amp combo rather than getting separates as it would control costs and allow me to get better speakers. He suggested an Arcam integrated receiver to match the Arcam rDAC and explained that Arcams IR quality and design were excellent.

Do you guys have any thoughts on the advice? He seemed very knowledgeable and was great to work with.

If you simply want the best pair money can get make sure to check out the B&W 800 series towers.

 

[craayzie]

Ok - got my Mac mini w/ HDMI out and discovered the Vizio home theater system only supports RCA and optical in Nice!

So - my plan is to audition more speakers tomorrow, will let you know how that goes.

The Emotiva gear looks slick but it sure is a lot of hardware! I don't think I'm going to have room for all of it! Do I really need all that for a 2 tower setup (no sub)? Thanks for confirming.

The more that time passes the more I'm leaning towards the MartinLogan Ethos. http://www.martinlogan.com/ethos/index.php

It's more than I want to spend on speakers but I just don't know if I'm going to find anything better than those - both from a sound and aesthetic perspective.

Will let you know how tomorrow goes!

 

[craayzie]

Also am I going to need something additional on the electricity side to power all of this equipment or will a power strip and wall socket do the trick? Started looking at power conditioners and wondering if I need to add it to the shopping list

 

[Mike Ronesia]

Power should not be a problem. A 20amp breaker would be better then a 15amp one but either should work. I'm running a XPA-5, UPA-2, 2 600w subs, 52" tv and a computer all off the same breaker and I've never had a problem.

If you are only going 2 channel then no need for the XPA-3 amp and the UMC-1 prepro. That would leave you with a killer 2 channel setup. I guess it depends on if you want a 5.1 HT setup that works well for 2 channel as well or just a 2 channel setup. I use my prepro for 2 channel duty and find it does an excellent job IMO.

Hope that helps some.