Need help with finding the right gear

[Big Gorilla]

Hi I will soon be purchasing 2 svs ultra towers and a rythmik fv15hp sub. I have a ps3, satelite tv and a sony bravia hx850 led tv. I am not sure what equipment will be best for this setup. I am not too sure how much I want to spend yet, I guess I will see what people think and then decide my budget from their but it will definitely not be over $2000. I will mostly be listening to digital music but will be watching a few movies as well. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Big Gorilla]

For an amp I was looking at the emotiva XPA-2 and my room is 15ft by 30ft but not a perfect rectangle and opens up to the hallway.

 

[GO-NAD!]

The XPA-2 is a power amp; you'll need a separate pre-amp to drive it. Or, go with an integrated amp or Audio/Video receiver (AVR). Do you intend to eventually expand to surround sound? If so, go with the AVR. Since the Ultra Towers are $2000/pair, I assume the $2000 budget is over and above the tower/sub budget? If you plan to stick with 2-channel, you have plenty of options. If you're going surround sound, that will be a pretty tight budget to power the mains, as well as getting suitable centre and surround speakers. You could go with a 3-channel system for now. The Ultra Centre is $700. That leaves $1300 for a receiver and cabling. It's doable, but you really need to decide what kind of setup you want, before we can give any solid recommendations.

 

[Big Gorilla]

I am just planning on 2 channel system as I will be mainly using it for music with the option to get a 2nd sub when the budget allows. Yes the $2000 budget would exclude the speakers and sub. I am new to the scene so I am just learning as I go, your patience is appreciated

 

[Big Gorilla]

I was just told on another forum that I would not need an amp as the speakers are 8 ohm, which is the first time I have been told that, what are peoples opinions on this?

 

[lsiberian]

Why not simply get a receiver? You really don't need a power amp to run a system. If you want a power amp then you can certainly add one.

HK makes a very good 2 channel receiver if you only want 2 channels. Their stereo receivers are fantastic.

 

[Big Gorilla]

If I am mainly going to be listening to mp3s is there anything in a receiver that I should be looking for in particular?

 

[DreamUnicorn]

My advice would be to buy a receiver with pre outs. If you're like most of us, you'll eventually want a separate amp...even if you don't actually "need" it.

 

[Big Gorilla]

My advice would be to buy a receiver with pre outs. If you're like most of us, you'll eventually want a separate amp...even if you don't actually "need" it.

I like to play my music really loud so I probably would get a separate amp at some stage.

 

[DreamUnicorn]

Then a solid A/V receiver with networking capabilities for mp3s paired with an xpa-2, would probably serve you really well.

 

[ImcLoud]

I tend to disagree with everyone on this one, I don't like having an AVR in my 2 channel music system...
First off avr's and receivers have a bunch of uneeded garbage and add cunfusion to everything, plus they break and suck.... lol obviously this is just my opinion and you know what everyone says about them...
You can not argue that the less stuff in the signal path is going to make a cleaner sound... so heres what I recommend, for $2000...
should be able to plug your digital outs rite into this, or plug everything into your tv and then your tv's digi out into this, but better off going from each device.... IMO XDA-2 USB DAC/Digital Preamp/Headphone Amp | Emotiva Audio Corporation | Emotiva Audio | High-end audio components for audiophiles and videophiles, spanning 2-channel music systems, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 home theaters. Products include multichannel
and
XPA-2 | 300W x 2 | Emotiva Audio | High-end audio components for audiophiles and videophiles, spanning 2-channel music systems, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 home theaters. Products include multichannel amplifiers, stereo amplifiers, and monoblock amplifier
Them new svs towers are going to have dual 8's in the base of each one, with sens in the 80's I would want a nice amp pushing them not a cheap built in amp section in a 2 ch receiver....

That will be much less than $2000, I would not get the rythmic sub, I would get a ULS-15 DualDrive Packages these are very musical subs, you wont be sorry.....

That will be one heck of a system, although I would probably also opt for Sierra Tower Bamboo Loudspeaker over the svs's since for music I would cross the towers at 80 and bring the subs in for all the lows....

I have heard this exact system ascend towers, with dual uls15 powered by an emo xpa2 {they had a cd player and a marantz preamp hooked in, not a dac, but same idea} and it sounded amazing, Don't get me wrong I love my 2.2 system and it fits my house and matches well with great sound, but that sierra uls15 combo ROCKED.... {I believe they had the towers crossed at 100}, and them uls15s are FAST DEEP CLEAR AND LOUD... Other good thing is no waiting...

 

[DreamUnicorn]

I really like this idea! But won't he need something else for movies?

 

[DreamUnicorn]

Other than just a DAC I mean?

 

[DreamUnicorn]

Okay hear we go. UMC-200, XDA-2, and an XPA-2. Done and done. Great setup for music and movies and tons of power. Buy it up.

 

[GO-NAD!]

I like the XDA-2/XPA-2 combination. Just check your satellite receiver outputs to be sure you can connect it directly to the XDA-2. And, be aware that the XDA-2 accepts PCM signals only. You need to be able to set the satellite receiver output to PCM.

Those Ultra Towers may be 8 ohm, but with that driver complement and a sensitivity of 88 db, my guess is that they will be power-hungry - especially if you listen at high SPLs. But here is something to consider: they are rated down to 28 Hz +/- 3db. That is quite respectable and when you consider that there isn't much deep bass in most popular music, you might get away with no subwoofer at all, if you feed these speakers ample power. You said that you listen to mainly MP3s. May I be so bold as to guess that you don't listen to classical music? The only music that comes to mind that will go as low as 28Hz is pipe organ music. I understand that some electronica can have fairly deep bass, but I'm not sure how deep. Just something to mull over...

 

[Big Gorilla]

Yeah I had been looking at the XDA-2/XPA combination. Would I also need the umc 200 to hook the ps3 and satellite box up? In regards to the sub the reason I was going with the rythmik was because I could find a retailer over here in australia so shipping made it cheaper than the hsu. I have been considering extending the budget a bit and shipping a seaton submersive over here.

 

[Big Gorilla]

I tend to disagree with everyone on this one, I don't like having an AVR in my 2 channel music system...
First off avr's and receivers have a bunch of uneeded garbage and add cunfusion to everything, plus they break and suck.... lol obviously this is just my opinion and you know what everyone says about them...
You can not argue that the less stuff in the signal path is going to make a cleaner sound... so heres what I recommend, for $2000...
should be able to plug your digital outs rite into this, or plug everything into your tv and then your tv's digi out into this, but better off going from each device.... IMO XDA-2 USB DAC/Digital Preamp/Headphone Amp | Emotiva Audio Corporation | Emotiva Audio | High-end audio components for audiophiles and videophiles, spanning 2-channel music systems, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 home theaters. Products include multichannel
and
XPA-2 | 300W x 2 | Emotiva Audio | High-end audio components for audiophiles and videophiles, spanning 2-channel music systems, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 home theaters. Products include multichannel amplifiers, stereo amplifiers, and monoblock amplifier
Them new svs towers are going to have dual 8's in the base of each one, with sens in the 80's I would want a nice amp pushing them not a cheap built in amp section in a 2 ch receiver....

That will be much less than $2000, I would not get the rythmic sub, I would get a ULS-15 DualDrive Packages these are very musical subs, you wont be sorry.....

That will be one heck of a system, although I would probably also opt for Sierra Tower Bamboo Loudspeaker over the svs's since for music I would cross the towers at 80 and bring the subs in for all the lows....

I have heard this exact system ascend towers, with dual uls15 powered by an emo xpa2 {they had a cd player and a marantz preamp hooked in, not a dac, but same idea} and it sounded amazing, Don't get me wrong I love my 2.2 system and it fits my house and matches well with great sound, but that sierra uls15 combo ROCKED.... {I believe they had the towers crossed at 100}, and them uls15s are FAST DEEP CLEAR AND LOUD... Other good thing is no waiting...

I am quite set in my decision to get the svs ultra towers, I am sure that system you described is an absolute beast but I from the research I have done I am confident the svs towers will be great fro what I want.

 

[Big Gorilla]

I like the XDA-2/XPA-2 combination. Just check your satellite receiver outputs to be sure you can connect it directly to the XDA-2. And, be aware that the XDA-2 accepts PCM signals only. You need to be able to set the satellite receiver output to PCM.

Those Ultra Towers may be 8 ohm, but with that driver complement and a sensitivity of 88 db, my guess is that they will be power-hungry - especially if you listen at high SPLs. But here is something to consider: they are rated down to 28 Hz +/- 3db. That is quite respectable and when you consider that there isn't much deep bass in most popular music, you might get away with no subwoofer at all, if you feed these speakers ample power. You said that you listen to mainly MP3s. May I be so bold as to guess that you don't listen to classical music? The only music that comes to mind that will go as low as 28Hz is pipe organ music. I understand that some electronica can have fairly deep bass, but I'm not sure how deep. Just something to mull over...

A lot of the electronic music I listen to has a big emphasis on sub bass and I really want to feel the bass smack me in the chest

 

[GO-NAD!]

A lot of the electronic music I listen to has a big emphasis on sub bass and I really want to feel the bass smack me in the chest

Very well then. Carry on.

 

[Big Gorilla]

What are peoples opinions on the seaton submersive over the rythmik fv15hp? The seaton will cost a fair bit more in shipping and taxes to get over here in australia.