CosmicOne said:
Dude,
why it seems that u don't belive on performance differences between different audio equipment & differnet levels of them (entry level ,mid level,high end)???
if this was true so why people upgrade there audio components atall???
Would u rate the quality & performance of for example a Yamaha RXV750 to a Yamaha Z9?????
As Polkfan said,while i didn't made up my mind (if so i woudn't even need to post to ask advice)many people told me to change the KenWood Reciver & that KenWood is not that good neither in power nor in quailty.
Polkfan;
offcourse there's noticable difference in sound between the Wharfedales & the old speakers but it's not very much a diff. it's so little like better sounding Bass (deep bass coz spec is that the 8.4 can go to 30HZ) & more natural sound but the imaging & sound staging doesn't get better & sound doesn't became louder.
Frankly my problem is that i don't listen to the RXV1400 or the 750 well till now, far from this the only time i heard a massive difference in sound quality than my system wheni heard a pair of B&W Natualus800 powered by Rotel amp in which they cost 8000USD for the speakers & 1200USD for the amp & while they where in very very narrow place & i was listing while i was standing & while i listeing for 5minutes( i wasn't having any time to sit & listen also i wasn't planning in any way to buy them coz my whole budget was 800USD which can only get me a max of RXV750 considering prices in my country) only but from the first sound it was something i never heard before.
Thanx guys for all ur help,it's really apreciated & keep the posts coming.
Cosmic One,
You seem to have an ear to distinguish between a truly excellent set-up from a merely adequate set-up. And I can very well relate with your dissatisfaction on your current set-up - which is often the first step in this hobby's unending quest (expensive one) towards sonic nirvana.
There are a number of factors to consider first before you plunge into the right upgrade. A number of my colleagues have done the same without first considering room accoustics and speaker placement and they got roughly about the same quality of sound with their new more expensive equipment. Try to do a little research, inspection and analysis of your listening conditions. I think there are some good articles on room accoustics in this forum and elsewhere. And speaker placement as well. One of the real gems I learned in this hobby is that what gets to your ears is not entirely coming from speakers. But so much of unwanted reflections from your room shapes what finally gets in those ears. You'd be surprised that some of the most expensive hardware can sound unlistneable in a very live untreated room. And conversely, a mediocre system can sound adequate in a well-treated room. Until you have done some resaonable room acoustic treaments, you may not be maxing out the potentials of your current set-up. The results can be very dramatic.
And regardless of what some pressumptuous gurus will tell you, there is good reason why some brands are more expensive than others. And why some brands are preferred than others when it comes to serious listening. While we should be careful to spot snake oil claims and marketing hypes out there, the old dictum that you get what you pay for applies in this hobby just as anywhere else. Up to a point, beyond which the laws of diminishing returns apply as well. The problem is, you can only extract so much from what most consumer goods can deliver - what with so many compromises made between production cost and quality in order to deliver a mass-friendly sticker price. When you heard that Nautilus being driven by Rotel amps, pressumably in the right room conditions, your heard the big difference right. I know the feeling. I was in a similar situation in the past. With apogee speakers driven by Bryston amps in a nicely appointed listening room.
So start first treating your room and moving speakers around for their optimum performance. That should max-put your current set-up. A well treated room will always max out the potentials of any hardware set-up, be they mass-fi or high end. Then if still unhappy, save up for that Rotel and B&W speakers you were impressed with. Frankly, I don't see any point settling for anything that doesn't impress you just because they're within your budget. It just doesn't work that way in this hobby. If you do, you'd end-up feeling that you are still missing something for not getting what you really wanted. That's so much like marrying someone for convenience and not having the spouse you've always wanted. You're creating an avenue for immediate future dissatisfaction.
And let me say, if you are just getting similar mass products from Yamaha, Pioneer, Onkyo, Sony, etc., you really can't expect that much difference from your current Kenwood-Wharfedale set-up. You will just be moving around in circles. Never getting any higher to better sonics. Try auditioning separates from NAD, Rotel, Arcam, Krell, Lexicon, Bryston, Parasound, etc., and speakers/subs from B&W, REL, Sonus Faber, Martin Logan, Mission, etc. And hear for yourself the differences that can define excellent sonics from the merely adequate. I know you've heard a Rotel-B&W set-up. And rightly impressed. That's a start. Now hear the others.
Also I would suggest that you get hold of really audiophile-grade recordings that can really tax the hell out of any system. Depending on your music genre preferrence, you may not be getting the most out of your current system, nor will it extract the most even with high end systems. This is actually one of the factors to consider when setting up a system. Most popular CDs are highly compressed so your system's dynamic abilities won't show. Some audiophiles are content with ensemble jazz and classical music which, while dynamically taxing, are often not as bass-demanding as most rock/electronic and pop music. Others are into heavy classical and jazz fusion stuff that can do both.
Lastly, your listening levels will also be a factor. For audiophiles who like to listen at podium-realistic levels, nothing less than 300wpc will do. Higher if you listen in large rooms. And the equipment here can be most demanding, if not ultra expensive. But if you just want comfortable listening levels in a small room, even a 5-watt SET gear will suffice. Just my thoughts.
