Need to determine the weakest link

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FatmanSize48

Audioholic Intern
Whoops-forgot to mention the Project Phono Pre-amp
I did some research on turntables, read countless forums, and found that many people are happy with the same cartridge/turntable combo- the Project Debut III and Ortofon 2m Red, which runs at $100 but should be able to get for about 10% off...however, that would improve only one segment of my listening. Being at $100 I am most definitely going to buy it. Now, the only thing to do is to decide to buy a receiver or a new sub or two
Are there any subs and/or receivers that you guys have heard especially good things about for $1100 or below?
 
njedpx3

njedpx3

Audioholic General
Awesome discussion so far!

Receivers I like Marantz: SR6006 http://us.marantz.com/us/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=avreceivers&SubCatId=&ProductId=SR6006
decent power now and preouts if you ever want to add external amplifiers.

Subwoofers: I like SVS 20x20 pretty large room and being squre sucks acoustically, but you can compensate. Need two subs ( better if exactly alike) or one very large: example SVS PB12- Plus ( I have this one in a simlar size room and it is great) http://svsound.com/products-sub-box-pb12plus.cfm

Speakers: Later on you will want to upgrade. There are many,many choices look at Definity Technology among others. One thing to remember is to maintain timbre or a matched soundstage across front and center (for dialog) speakers. Once you have adequate power, then speakers make the difference.

As mentioned previously vinyl will give you a differnet sound presence than igiatl CDs , not necessarily bad but you needd to understand.

Good Luck and Good Sound -- you have received some great advice thus far.

Peace,

Forest Man
 
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FatmanSize48

Audioholic Intern
Can you have multiple subs plugged into a 7.1 receiver?
 
Pyrrho

Pyrrho

Audioholic Ninja
Can you have multiple subs plugged into a 7.1 receiver?
Yes, though it usually is best if they are all the same model, and if you like a lot of bass, then it is best if they can each play loudly on their own.

I think you should think about what, exactly, you feel is missing with your system. If it is deficient in bass, and you have experimented with corner placement of your sub (which typically increases perceived output, though not necessarily providing the flattest bass response), then spend the money on subwoofers. If you are satisfied with the bass, if it plays loud enough for you, then look for either changing the room acoustics or the speaker placement or the speakers or some combination of these things. (If it does not play loud enough for you, it might be that you should replace either the amplifier or the speakers or both.)

Room issues for most people typically involve having too much reflected sound, and so things that deaden the room are usually called for, particularly on at least one of opposing sides (thus, carpet on the floor and the ceiling bare is fine; curtains on one side of the room but not the opposite, etc.). Generally speaking, any furniture or decoration helps, as they tend to break up the large areas of flat parallel opposing surfaces. If there is an echo in your room, kind of like the way a typical empty room sounds, then putting stuff in your room is likely to help with the acoustics.

As others have noted, a CD player will sound different from a turntable, and you may not like the added distortion and frequency response variations of turntables no matter what you do. In the case of improving the sound of your record collection, one can spend quite a lot on turntables and such; analog sources can sound very dramatically different from each other. From my experience with turntables in the past (I no longer use one), I found that it is better to have a really good turntable and a mediocre cartridge than a mediocre turntable and a good cartridge. Obviously, it is better to have both top notch, but I would not bother with a particularly good cartridge on a turntable that was not really good. (That, by the way, is not a comment on your specific turntable; it is a general remark. I have no experience with your particular turntable.)
 
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FatmanSize48

Audioholic Intern
I think I'm gonna go w/ buying a receiver-the Marantz SR6006 seems awesome, but so does the Denon AVR-3312CI...I don't know which is better
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
I don't think either receiver would be a bad choice, but I am a Marantz guy :)

Sub = Epik Legend or if you want more an Empire. The Legend is dual 12" and should handle that room fine. The Empire (dual 15") will do even better in that room :D, and you shouldn't need two of either, but the more the merrier.
 
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BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
I don't think either receiver would be a bad choice, but I am a Marantz guy :)

Sub = Epik Legend or if you want more an Empire. The Legend is dual 12" and should handle that room fine. The Empire (dual 15") will do even better in that room :D, and you shouldn't need two of either, but the more the merrier.
+1

I'd stay away from latest and greatest versions, unless you really feel you'll need 3D and other fancy (and mostly useless functions) and I'd suggest to checkout Denon 3310CI (Refub on amazon) for $450 - rated at 120Wpc/8ohm or more powerful: Onkyo TX-NR808 for $600.
Spend rest on single Epic Empire (or dual Legends) and I think you'd be very happy with results.
 
njedpx3

njedpx3

Audioholic General
Yes. A simple, inexpensive, "Y" connector is all you need.
Mark is right. Remember most subs are powered so the signal you are splitting from LFE is a pre-out signal.

Also, remember to sub-crawl; move you subs around the room to get the best sound placement.


Peace, Serentiy and Good Sound,

Forest Man
 
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flippo

Full Audioholic
Phono input

I would also look at an outboard phono stage if not happy with the built in one
on receiver (if it even has one). My Onkyo doesn't have a phono input and the one on my old receiver sucked. Look at needledoctor.com.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
I would also look at an outboard phono stage if not happy with the built in one
on receiver (if it even has one). My Onkyo doesn't have a phono input and the one on my old receiver sucked. Look at needledoctor.com.
He mentioned already that he has a phono preamp.
 
jinjuku

jinjuku

Moderator
Newegg has some nice deals on Yamaha receivers.

Last week the RX-V867 was $429 shipped and it has pre-outs. I would consider this a good foundation piece that would allow for external amplification and open up the stage to running any speaker under the sun.
 
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FatmanSize48

Audioholic Intern
I've thought about this a lot, and I think that I am going to buy a Denon 3312 CI. Thanks for the help everyone
 
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bikdav

Senior Audioholic
The Liberal's Opinion

Hey I recently bought a stereo system but want to upgrade the lowest performing part. I have a Pinnacle Baby Boomer Sub, 2 Mirage OS3 Fs, 2 Mirage Mx, and 1 Mirage OS3CC. I also have a Denon 1611 and a stock Project Debut-III turntable. I'm pretty new to this, and I have no idea which of these is the worst (or least good, depending on how you look at it)
-Thanks
Call me the Audioholic Liberal if you wish, but I'm familiar with most of what you have. I feel that you should just stay with what you have for a while. Your equipment would blow away some other systems that I've heard _ some costing more than yours.
 
DD66000

DD66000

Senior Audioholic
You do need to do some upgrading of your room. You have a nice wood floor, but I would get a nice looking area rug, to fit between the speakers and the seating. A large round rug would look good. I have a 2.5 meter diameter, multi-color rug that covers that area nicely. It is like a coiled rope, that is quite dense and absorbs the reflections off the tile floor.
 
GranteedEV

GranteedEV

Audioholic Ninja
You do need to do some upgrading of your room. You have a nice wood floor, but I would get a nice looking area rug, to fit between the speakers and the seating. A large round rug would look good. I have a 2.5 meter diameter, multi-color rug that covers that area nicely. It is like a coiled rope, that is quite dense and absorbs the reflections off the tile floor.
I second the room.

The method I like for rugs is what Geddes does. He takes a thinner rug, and puts 2" OC703 panels underneath it. to make it a broadband absorber rather than just high frequencies.
 
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FatmanSize48

Audioholic Intern
I ended up going for a cartridge upgrade (Sumiko Pearl) to buy a new bike-Cannondale CAAD 10 Dura-ace for...but thanks anyway...I will definitely be back for future upgrades, later though.
 

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