Expert help required.

[INTERSOCCER]

Need a little help from all those audio experts out there.

I was considering the Marantz sr7500 until at a local store I heard the Rotel rsx-1056. The guy at the store suggested that I should get the rmb-1075, 5 channel amp and get a Rotel pre-amp instead of the receiver. He also tryed to sell me some speaker cables (Audioquest type 8) for my front speakers at $265 for the pair. I have a 61" Mitsubishi HD DLP and for speakers I have the Energy C-5 series which when I bought, was told they were great. The new system will be in a 12x15 room exclusively dedicated for theater and music, and I will be using it for both, so quality sound for both is very important.

Here are my questions:
Do I really need to spend the extra money on a pre-amp? Will it truly make that much of a difference, as compared to the Rotel 1056?
What's everyones opinion on speaker cables? I've always heard that after a certain point it's just a total rip off.

 

[j_garcia]

High margin on the wire I'd suspect, and no you don't need it. If you like the sound of the 1056 better than the 7500, go for it, but I'd say the 7500 will still do well too. IMO, for a room that size, you probably won't be needing an amp unless you are looking for ridiculous levels, so the guy may just be over selling you.

 

[hopjohn]

You can get quality speaker cables for much less than the Audioquest (I would consider them a ripoff), I suggest 12 gauge Speaker King speaker wire from Parts Express, or something of similar quality. I would also agree that your room size wouldn't require an additional amp with the Rotel or Marantz units you are considering. Sound levels with one of these receivers alone should be more than adequate.

 

[Brandst]

Not much of an expert here, but unless YOU really feel it is important to pay that much for cables you shouldn't. I used to run a computer shop and the generic cables we carried were every bit as good as the brand names, better in a couple cases, and our cost was less than $1 on all but the longest and most complex cables, which were still less than $5. We would retail those cables for anywhere from $5 up to as much as $60 for some SCSI ones, the markup was rediculous. I suspect that cables, be they computer or home theater, are for the most part when dealing with reputable sources, cables.

As for the SR7500, I just bought one 2 weeks ago and am very pleased with how it has opened up my speakers and music. It performs equally as well with movies and doesn't seem to break a sweat at the high levels I play it at. The only problem I have is a nitpick that the remote has to be set to amp to power off the unit.

Steve

 

[krzywica]

Need a little help from all those audio experts out there.

I was considering the Marantz sr7500 until at a local store I heard the Rotel rsx-1056. The guy at the store suggested that I should get the rmb-1075, 5 channel amp and get a Rotel pre-amp instead of the receiver. He also tryed to sell me some speaker cables (Audioquest type 8) for my front speakers at $265 for the pair. I have a 61" Mitsubishi HD DLP and for speakers I have the Energy C-5 series which when I bought, was told they were great. The new system will be in a 12x15 room exclusively dedicated for theater and music, and I will be using it for both, so quality sound for both is very important.

Here are my questions:
Do I really need to spend the extra money on a pre-amp? Will it truly make that much of a difference, as compared to the Rotel 1056?
What's everyones opinion on speaker cables? I've always heard that after a certain point it's just a total rip off.

Good god man! Are you serious 120 watt seperates in a 12x15 room. Yea he is definetly blowing sunshine up somewhere he should'nt. And for the cables yea.............................................ok right $265 just for mains, you should tell him to get on his knees and beg for forgiveness. That is for not pointing you to this website right here.(JK)



http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue1/stealthcables.htm

 

[mtrycrafts]

Need a little help from all those audio experts out there.

I was considering the Marantz sr7500 until at a local store I heard the Rotel rsx-1056. The guy at the store suggested that I should get the rmb-1075, 5 channel amp and get a Rotel pre-amp instead of the receiver. He also tryed to sell me some speaker cables (Audioquest type 8) for my front speakers at $265 for the pair. I have a 61" Mitsubishi HD DLP and for speakers I have the Energy C-5 series which when I bought, was told they were great. The new system will be in a 12x15 room exclusively dedicated for theater and music, and I will be using it for both, so quality sound for both is very important.

Here are my questions:
Do I really need to spend the extra money on a pre-amp? Will it truly make that much of a difference, as compared to the Rotel 1056?
What's everyones opinion on speaker cables? I've always heard that after a certain point it's just a total rip off.

Firstly, audio cables are a no brainer, unless one sells them

You don't need that $275 cable, unless you can extract the gold and sell it for more Speaker cables around $.30/ft is where you need to look and as was mentioned above, there are a number of such inexpensive cables around. This applies to audio and video interconnects(not the price though)

Amps on the whole are transparent. Price doesn't tell you anything about the amp. Perception is a tricky process as it is and can be very unreliable. So, don't count on your exhuberance of that amp in the store.
Buy one that meets your needs to proccess the signals you send to it, DD, DTS, etc, drives your favorite speakers to the desired levels. Not much more is needed, unless you want it to be an object of art besides.

 

[j_garcia]

I have two different amps with very different specs in my bedroom and they sound very different from one another. The devil is in the specs and how well a particular amp delivers it's power can have an influence on how it sounds, but generally when comparing two amps with similar specs the difference between them won't be very noticable.

While I like Audioquest, I've tried some of their expensive speaker wire and I can say it isn't something I would call money well spent, ESPECIALLY not THAT kind of money.

Video cables have potential to yeild a much more noticable difference than audio cables. IMO, get good ones. Check out the offerings from bluejeans, great stuff and great prices, no frills.

Separates are worth it too, IMO, but only if you are looking to get more than what a good receiver like the 7500 or 1056 already offer. If you need more power, then you can always add an amp to either.

 

[patnshan]

Good god man! Are you serious 120 watt seperates in a 12x15 room. Yea he is definetly blowing sunshine up somewhere he should'nt. And for the cables yea.............................................ok right $265 just for mains, you should tell him to get on his knees and beg for forgiveness. That is for not pointing you to this website right here.(JK)



http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue1/stealthcables.htm

Holy CRAP!!!!!!! $1300 for speaker cables. Wow. You'd have to be on crack to fall for something like that. Or selling it to afford something like that

Pat

 

[krzywica]

Holy CRAP!!!!!!! $1300 for speaker cables. Wow. You'd have to be on crack to fall for something like that. Or selling it to afford something like that

Pat

Yea pretty good deal right?

 

[mtrycrafts]

Holy CRAP!!!!!!! $1300 for speaker cables. Wow. You'd have to be on crack to fall for something like that. Or selling it to afford something like that

Pat

That is cheap. There are cables in the 5 digits, yes, $10k +

 

[mtrycrafts]

Video cables have potential to yeild a much more noticable difference than audio cables. .

Check this DBT out on a video cable and carefully check what it was compared to and especially the lengths. Granted, the TV wasn't high tech but you can extrapolate.

http://www.pcavtech.com/abx/abx_vid.htm

 

[Buckle-meister]

Check this DBT out on a video cable and carefully check what it was compared to and especially the lengths. Granted, the TV wasn't high tech but you can extrapolate.

A man of your calibre extrapolating? Really Mtrycrafts!

Regards

 

[j_garcia]

Check this DBT out on a video cable and carefully check what it was compared to and especially the lengths. Granted, the TV wasn't high tech but you can extrapolate.

I've tried a number of cables and found basically no difference in some, but noticable difference in others. Bluejeans - the least expensive cable I've tried - has had the best picture quality so far, and that's what I use and recommend for progressive signal.

 

[mtrycrafts]

A man of your calibre extrapolating? Really Mtrycrafts!

Regards

Hey, they haven't repeated the experiment with 480P or better res systems so what else is left?
Maybe that 120V power cable at 150 ft length cannot handle the 720P signals Or, a 20ft section might.
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