Need some help.....

[alano]

I have a problem....but its a good problem. A friend of mine is changing his audio/home theatre setup and has offered to give me his speakers. I have modest amount of knowledge in home theatre setup but given the quality of these speakers, I figured I'd look here for some help and advice. The speakers are ProAc Future ones. The center channel and satelites are also made by ProAc but I'll need to confirm the model numbers.

The speakers will be used mostly for movies/tv in a large room with a 106" screen. I'm looking for some amplifier suggestions as I'm not sure if these speakers are real power hungry or not. Also, I'll need a good sub that will complement the setup.

Any advice? Does anyone have any experience with these speakers?

Thanks.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

You have yourself some $10,000 speakers there.(or that was the MSRP in 2000)

Impedance: 8 ohms nominal. Sensitivity: 87dB/W/m.

What kind of budget do you have for the pre/pro and amp or AVR?

Subs are easy, get the SVS Ultra or make a sub that will blow away any consumer sub at a lower cost.

Below is a review of your speakers.
http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/1000proac/

 

[alano]

No specific budget in mind.....I'm not an audiophile so going really high-end would be a waste....at the same time, I want to do these speakers justice with an adequate amp.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Well we need more info than that.

If it were me, I would use a good mid level AVR and power it with a pro amp from Behringer or Yamaha. You could have a very good system for less than 2k (heck you could do it for 1k if you wanted) Are seperates important to you or would an AVR and amp be ok? Are looks important or will it be hidden? Do you need the fancy new codecs? Do you need more than one zone?

 

[alano]

Everything will be hidden. I do have a Harmon Kardon AVR 7200 that's currently powering 2 Totem Sttaf speakers. I could use it for the home theatre, then buy another amp for the Totems. Either way, I'd like to keep my amp costs under $3000.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I would really consider a pro amp then. Check out the Yamahas in the link below. These will blow away most expensive consumer amps and cost a fraction of the price.

Try using the HK as your pre-pro and see if you like the combo.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--YAMP5000S

Behringer EP 2500 would also work well for this and they have a new amp coming out soon with even more power but you probably don't need more. I use the 2500 for one of my subs and it is built like a tank.

 

[alano]

That's interesting, not really what I was expecting but that's why I'm here. I was thinking more along the lines of a Pioneer Elite SC-07 or a Rotel 1068 pre-amp with Rotel 1095 amplifier

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I love Rotel, Classe and BAT but there is no way they will out perform a pro amp. There is a bit of hassle when dealing with pro amps such as possible ground loop issue (which can be addressed for 40 bucks) and figuring out how to auto turn on and off (which can be fixed for 100 bucks).

I use a consumer amp for my front 3 channels but if I was doing it over, I would have saved money and went pro. The biggest hassle to me is if you are trying to power more than 2 channels you need more than one and each one has to be plugged in. The beauty of using an AVR as a pre-pro is you can use the power for the canter and surround plus a second zone.

Another option is Emotiva, which are dirt cheap and most people love them.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Hold the phone....at this price I would get the Rotel.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52619