Question on What to buy next?

[dloweman]

I currently have paradigm cc370 as center, titans as fronts and no namers as surrounds. I am powering them with a kenwood vr-705. The receiver has DTS and DD 5.1. The question is should I buy the monitor 7's and move my titans to surrounds, or should i upgrade my receiver? It will be atleast 1 year before I will be able to buy the one that I choose not to buy. I listen to 50/50 music movies. If i do decide to go with a receiver, which should i go with between denon avr2105, 3805, yamaha 750, 1400, 1500, or NAD 743? According to most people here, including elitefan, these are the 3 best matches with paradigm! Thanks alot for all the input I really appreciate it

 

[petermwilson]

Hi,
I'm no golden ear but I've used Paradigms initially with Onkyo then with Denon. Both times they sounded the same.

I believe that you should have amatched set of speaakers for the front three and all around if possible. When I got my Denon I had Totem model 1 signatures in front L/R with a Paradigm cc370 and it sounded OK. I then switched to a PMB tb2 I think and it sounded ok.

When Totem came out with a sig center I picked it up and the difference was astonishingly better. I had always heard that having the fronts matched was important (and seemed to make sense). Now I'm a true believer.

I decided to get Model 1's for the rear as well for HIREZ music which is wonderful. I have added some Axiom QS4 dipoles as second surrounds and Monitor Audio Bronze for effects speakers. The latter pairs are only on for video.

The Totems are 4ohm so need extra juice. When you get a new reciever it would be good to make sure its up to whatever speakers you buy.

Paradigms I feel are a bargain for the sound quality.

Peter m.

 

[slmcdonald7]

I was running a pair of Paradigm Phantoms off of a Kenwood receiver (it wasn't as nice as the one you're running... maybe it was the 307 model?) until I upgraded to a Denon 3805 and Paradigm Monitor 11's. I bought both at the same time, but since I wanted the 11's shielded, they had to be ordered, and came in after I had already got the 3805 up and running.

The difference in sound on the Phantoms was like night and day. Of course my situation doesn't mirror yours exactly, but I can certainly say that I noticed a huge difference in sound once I entered a decent receiver into the mix. The two receivers are so far apart in terms of quality (entry level crappy brand to upper-mid level respectable brand), I can't say that the difference I noticed was exclusively attributable to brand, but from now on, I plan on staying the he11 away from Kenwood.

Then again, as the previous poster stated, there is something to be said for upgrading your speakers...

I'm not sure this post will be of any help to you, just throwing in my two cents.

Good luck.

 

[Polkfan]

My suggestion is to pitch the Kenwood receiver and get a more robust receiver. The 3805 would be a very good choice. Are you totally opposed to Onkyo?

 

[dloweman]

polkman

I am not opposed to onkyo, my father in law has the sr501, and sounds pretty good, except it seems to have a very noticable hiss. I am in Canada, so I don't really know the pricing scheem, but i am willing to spend around 800-1000 can....which is about 600-700 US. What are you suggesting from onkyo?

 

[Polkfan]

Well, you could get the TX-SR 702 or even the TX-NR 801 if you shopped around. My experience with Onkyo has been very good.
I have the SR600 which is starting to become dated, but the amp section really kicks butt. I have not noticed any of the hiss you describe, but if you can audition before you buy then you should do that.