New system questions! First plunge into hifi

[hades281]

Hello all,

I always wanted a hifi system but until now could not put one together. I now have some speakers which belonged to my girlfriend's dad:

B&W CDM 7 Special Edition mains
B&W CDM C center channel
Powered subwoofer

My current receiver was a piece of junk (Yamaha HTR-5540... college special) and the speakers sounded terrible. This put me on the hunt for an AVR, and I brought home a demo Marantz SR6005 to audition.

With the SR6005, I noticed a great improvement in sound over the Yamaha, but the imaging is still somewhat poor. It sounds at times that the singer is standing in the middle of the orchestra. With every change in the system, I am using the same song (Josh Groban - Oceano) to keep as many factors constant as possible. We tried connecting the SR6005 to a Krell amplifier that belongs to a friend, and though there was a further improvement, I would not say my complaint with the sound quality is resolved. My friend points his finger at the Marantz, thinking a better preprocessor will likely resolve my problem.

I am running the SR6005 in pure direct mode. Unfortunately my demo unit has no remote or Audyssey mic, so what I can do with the Marantz is somewhat limited.

His suggestion is the Emotiva UMC-1 and their 2-channel amp. I have been sifting through the internet to see if the UMC-1 is a safe bet. Is it? This should give me a lot more room to grow as upgrade fever strikes. There doesn't seem to be another pre-processor in the price range (like to stay around $1k prepro & amp and have satisfactory quality if possible).

My source is a Samsung bluray player connected via HDMI. Could this be the weak link in the sound quality?

Any suggestions or thoughts on equipment choices, my methodology, expectations, etc?

 

[markw]

Have you heard that piece of music on a system you feel does an excellent job of delivering what you hope for?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

B&W CDM7SE has 90 db efficiency and nominal 8ohm impedance (min 4)
50-150W power rating.
Imo Unless your plan is to put this speaker in huge room, you'd be more than fine with good AVR like mid level marantz or denon
ps: Refub 6005 - for $500
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/MARSR6005/MARANTZ-SR6005-110w-X-7ch-3-D-Home-Theater-Surround-Receiver/1.html

Emotiva makes kick-a$$ amps and very good subwoofers.
but umc-1 pre-pro is still considered a beta product - too many bugs and updates. Just ask MajorLooser - one of Mods on this forum.

 

[hades281]

Thanks for the replies!

My house has a very open plan. The living room is open to the breakfast room - the size of these rooms combined is 22' x 26'. Then, on the right hand side, there is a wing wall and a dining room, and the breakfast room is open to a kitchen. It's an enormous space to fill with sound.

So, volume is one consideration. If I stick with a mid-level AVR like the Marantz 6005, I will bi-amp the fronts.

The main issue for me is quality of sound. My friend's system is so exciting to listen to - trumpets, cymbal crashes, a woman's voice on his system give me chills. Maybe my B&W's aren't up to the job -- finding that out is part of my mission -- but if they are I don't want to waste $500 on a machine that won't get me there.

How is the pre-processing on the Marantz SR6005?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Thanks for the replies!

My house has a very open plan. The living room is open to the breakfast room - the size of these rooms combined is 22' x 26'. Then, on the right hand side, there is a wing wall and a dining room, and the breakfast room is open to a kitchen. It's an enormous space to fill with sound.

So, volume is one consideration. If I stick with a mid-level AVR like the Marantz 6005, I will bi-amp the fronts.

The main issue for me is quality of sound. My friend's system is so exciting to listen to - trumpets, cymbal crashes, a woman's voice on his system give me chills. Maybe my B&W's aren't up to the job -- finding that out is part of my mission -- but if they are I don't want to waste $500 on a machine that won't get me there.

How is the pre-processing on the Marantz SR6005?

What speakers your friend has? and btw: bi-amping is useless in 99.99% of time

 

[hades281]

He has a quadraphonic setup with Polk SDA SRS speakers for mains. They are huge, and his system creates an amazing sound.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

He has a quadraphonic setup with Polk SDA SRS speakers for mains. They are huge, and his system creates an amazing sound.

Four of These? :

 

[hades281]

Two of those - Front left and right. The other two are smaller; I'm not sure what those are.

 

[markw]

You're speakers are good, but different from them. You're chasing shadows.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Forget about processors - their impact on sound quality is at best 5% and bit more due to better amplifier in Marantz (vs budget yamaha)

The vast majority of sound quality - over 90% is determined by speakers.
If you don't like how these B&W sound - none of electronics will ever change that.
To compare your friend's system and your's is like he has 2 ton truck and you've Jaguar S-Class and you're trying to haul same cargo as he does ... a bit unrealistic to say at the least...