Opinion on a set up I am considering

[Hoops]

Hi Everyone,

I'd like to get an opinion on a 2 channel system that I'm considering purchasing.

Scenario : this is for my home office, a 10' x 12' carpeted room with 8' ceilings. This is for 2 channel music listening ONLY. No movies.

I have a limited budget (don't we all ) of $900 for everything but the wires (i've got enough wire left over from my home theater setup).

Reciever: Yamaha HTR5830 (seems like a good bang for the buck)
CD player: Denon DCM280
Speakers: a pair of Definitive Studio Monitor 350's.

What is attracting me to the DefTech SM350's is that they are full range bookshelves. I don't have room for floostanders (which would probably over power my small room anyway) or a sub. So i'm limited to bookshelves and I listen to a wide variety of music, including new age and rap, containing sounds below what your standard 50-60Hz bookshelf can reproduce.

Any thoughts on this? The only Deftech speakers I've heard are the BP7001's. Has anyone out there heard the SM350's?

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[Doug917]

I haven't heard good things about the DCM-280. I would go for the DCM-380. I picked one up off of ecost.com a while back for $78 and it works and sounds great. It has better components than those found in the 280.

 

[Hoops]

thanks

I haven't heard good things about the DCM-280. I would go for the DCM-380. I picked one up off of ecost.com a while back for $78 and it works and sounds great. It has better components than those found in the 280.

Thanks for the tip Doug, I'll take a look at the 380.

 

[Takeereasy]

If you are going 2-channel my suggestion would be to get a stereo receiver that has some nice power behind it. That Yamaha is Ok I guess, but it's doing all kinds of stuff you don't need. I'd suggest this guy HK amp . As for the cd player I'd suggest you went with a DVD player, a Denon 555s will sound just as good or better than that DCM 380, also check out Audioreview.com, that 380 doesn't exactly get rave reviews. As well a DVD player allows you to connect a monitor to watch movies, and play formats most cd players won't. Yes you loose the 5 disc capacity but the 555 is smaller and the silver matches the Harman better.

As for speakers those Def Techs look hard to beat. The only pair I'd suggest you demo that is in the same neighbourhood are M & K 1600's. I'm really not too familiar with full range bookshelfs, but these guys really get the job done.

My suggestions = $268 for Amp shipped, $99 for DVD player, and for the speakers I'd stick with the Def Techs at about $500. That means you'd be about at $900. If you went with the M&K's you'd come in at about $100 less. Good luck with the office system.

 

[Hoops]

Good suggestions and thanks

Hi Takeereasy,

Thank you very much for your suggestion. I think you've swayed me on the HK reciever. I actually own an 5.1 HK reciever for my home theater, and looked online (at the HK site) at the 3480 but it listed for somewhere between 400-500 bucks so i didn't even consider it. Should have gone to JandR i guess!

The Denon DVD player looks like a great deal, but I'd really like one that would play MP3's as well. I know, I know, the sound quality isn't there on an MP3, but never the less, I've still got a lot of them (headphone listening mostly).

The specs on the MandK's look good too. So many choices. Do you know of any places on the internet (authorized) that sale M&K speakers? Their website only has refurbished and discontinued items? I live a couple hours from the nearest town of any size so it makes auditioning difficult.

One option that I was considering before i found the full range def techs, was a pair of Axiom M22ti's. Then down the road, when i can afford it, add a sub. But the ability for full range in a bookshelf is enticing. I haven't had enough experience yet to know which would give me the best performance for a music only system.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Take, I second that as the best 2 channel receiver for the dollar. Great buy, and JR.com is probably the best place to buy HK.

Miller & Kreisel are wonderful speakers. Our owner has a full 5.1 setup. They are fantastic for HT, but both he and I think there are better speakers for pure audio - especially two channel audio. Make sure to demo a set before you go buying them.

Few say Axiom has a bit of a harshness to it's highs. I can't back that up since I've not heard them. They have a demo program where if you don't like them, return them and only owe shipping. They are very highly rated here at Audioholics.

I can say this about a great set of bookshelves. I own a pair of Venturi DV62's from the mid 80's. They have a 6.5" woofer, and a 3/4" soft dome tweeter, and put out some amazing bass with clean highs. With an HK receiver, they would sound amazing. MacManNM had demo'd a full set of Venturi's not too long ago, and said those were his favorite out of all the speakers he's tested (even the award winning center channel). They are very reasonably priced, and also have a great return policy if you don't like them. Check out their warranty!
http://www.ubid.com/actn/opn/getpage.asp?AuctionId=800320415
Major thumbs up on the HK receiver, and the DV62's. As far as a multi player goes, check out some of Panasonic's high end units. They play everything, and are priced way below the competition. They've been getting very good reviews, too. That would be my pick for my next player. They can't keep up with demand on this one. It flies off the shelves. Good luck getting one at that price.
www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4010533

 

[Hoops]

Hi Buckeyefan,

Thanks for the info. That is a heck of a warrenty on the Venturi's. The Panasonic plays just about everything out there too. Nice.

Well, I've got a couple of months before I will buy, so I'm keeping a list of all the possibilities. It's getting longer day by day. . .

 

[Takeereasy]

I've got to say those Def Techs really impressed me when I saw them online. I honestly thought that their specs were way out of line till I read that there was an 8" woofer in there too. I wish that there was a local dealer for me to audition them, but that's a no go. Those M&K's are strictly dealer showroom speakers, not supposed to be able to order online. That doesn't mean you can't, just that you're not getting a valid warranty most likely.

That denon 555 DVD player does do MP3, and yeah I know that the audio fidelity isn't there, but I've got a buttload of mp3 cd's, all legally downloaded and paid for of course. That's one reason why I suggested a DVD player in the first place. Panasonic does make some nice affordable players. Not the best in the world but a good bang for the buck for sure.

Here's another thought as well. If you go with the Bics (or other affordable bookshelfs) you could snag a subwoofer to fill in the lows. THis will really only work if you have the room. Right now soundcity.com has a 10" Velodyne that retails for $500 on for $278 including shipping. It plays very authoritative bass lower than those deftechs will go and it has a remote control for the cool factor. You could store it out of the way or hide it in a corner as a coffee table because bass is difficult to localize and should seem to come from all over. I know it's probably not feasible, but I figured I'd throe it out there.