Upgrading to HT System

[DLC]

Wow, there is a lot of great information in this forum. Almost too much information. I have spent a lot of time today reading. I am not very knowledgeable about audio equipment and so am I am looking for some help.

I am in the process of upgrading my 15 year old system. Early this year I bought a Marantz DV4300 DVD player and Marantz SR7300 receiver. I still have my old KEF C30s which I plan to use as surround speakers (at least for now). Right now I am looking for new fronts and a sub. I have found lots of good advice in this forum on subs. I currently am considering B&W 604 S3, Boston Acoustics VR3, and Mirage OM-7. I have only had a chance to listen to the B&W 604 and 603s. Hopefully I can listen to the others later this week.

I know I need to listen to them myself to see which I like but can anyone give me their opinion on which is a better match to the Marantz receiver? Unfortunately all three of those are not available from the same dealer so I won't be able to compare them side by side or with Marantz equipment.

 

[hopjohn]

Let me say right up front that I know there will be others who disagree, but I do not put a lot of stock in matching a receiver to speakers.

As long as the speakers aren't ridiculously low in power handling, impedence or sensitvity, you should be okay in matching the large majority of speakers with your receiver.

The better question to ask, and the one I think you really mean, is what speakers would sound best in my room?

All of the speakers you've mentioned have been ones I've audtioned and considered for my own 11 X 12 room, with the exeception of the OM-7. I liked the VR3 for the best price to perfomance, but doubt you'd be disastisfied with any of them. My concern with the VR3 was due to the center channels performance, which I never was able to listen to.

I've read many good thngs about HSU, SVS, and the new Outlaw LFM-1 subwoofers. All seem to offer excellent performance for their cost.

If you could provide more information about your room size and listening preferences, perhaps we can help you narrow down your choices even farther.

My apologies if I've made unjust assumptions about what you were asking.

 

[DLC]

Thanks for your response

I asked for both reasons: In reading through this forum I saw a number of discussions on which speakers were better with different receivers. Since I am not that knowledgeable in this area I thought I would ask about that issue. Secondly, yes, I am asking which would sound best in my room although that is a very subjective question as well.

My room is 18 x 13 with 8 ft ceilings. It is also fairly open into another room which is 18 x 12 making layout a bit difficult. The system will be used for a mixture of HT and music leaning towards a bit more on the music side. Music type is fairly broad but primarily rock.

I have also heard lots of good things about HSU, and SVS subs. I just read a review on the new Outlaw LFM-1 as well as the Velodyne DPS-12. I need to do some research to see if there are locals dealers for any of those. I have seen Velodyne but not the others so far.

 

[Nick250]

Wow, there is a lot of great information in this forum. Almost too much information. I have spent a lot of time today reading. I am not very knowledgeable about audio equipment and so am I am looking for some help.

I am in the process of upgrading my 15 year old system. Early this year I bought a Marantz DV4300 DVD player and Marantz SR7300 receiver. I still have my old KEF C30s which I plan to use as surround speakers (at least for now). Right now I am looking for new fronts and a sub. I have found lots of good advice in this forum on subs. I currently am considering B&W 604 S3, Boston Acoustics VR3, and Mirage OM-7. I have only had a chance to listen to the B&W 604 and 603s. Hopefully I can listen to the others later this week.

I know I need to listen to them myself to see which I like but can anyone give me their opinion on which is a better match to the Marantz receiver? Unfortunately all three of those are not available from the same dealer so I won't be able to compare them side by side or with Marantz equipment.

I have to agree with Hopjohn that the receiver has very little to with the sound of your system. 95% of the sound of your system is speaker choice and room acoustics. Shop for the speakers that provide the sound you like best and go from there.

Nick

 

[nm2285]

Each of those speaker brands will be fine with the Marantz. An few examples of when receiver/speaker matching really comes into play is if you have an overly bright speaker and a bright receiver (which rarely happens anymore), or if the speakers place too much of a load on the receiver. None of these brands should present any problems to the Marantz.

They are all VERY different speakers. Make sure you audition them all. My personal opinion, I wouldn't buy any of them. This is not to say they're not good speakers, just I prefer many others. I find Boston too dynamic - good for movies, not my taste for music. B&W too "blah": not much personality in the way of good or bad. Mirage - I really dislike the omnipolar sound. It takes away the localization of instruments/voices. Imagine listening to a piano solo that comes from everywhere in the room!

If you love any of these speakers, go for them! Those are only my personal opinions.

Good luck!

 

[DLC]

Thanks for your opinions. I'm glad I don't have to worry about matching the speakers to the receiver although it would help limit my choices.

nm2285: As you weren't enthusiastic about any of the speakers I mentioned, I was curious about what your choices would be.

I still haven't had time to go and listen to any more speakers so I am still getting opinions. Hopefully I can have a listen tomorrow or Saturday.

I found the information on the SVS, HSU and Outlaw subs and see that they are all available for sale online.

Dean

 

[sjdgpt]

I disagree, yes; there can be a difference in the sound of a specific speaker and amps/receiver that are used together.

BUT, this is a BIG but, most mainstream, moderately efficient speakers, such as the Boston's or B&W's, will work with virtually every receiver on the market, and changing brands of receivers will not change the sound of these speakers.


So when is there a sound difference?

First:

It is the highly difficult speakers to drive, such as some electrostatic speakers and other exotic speakers, with resistances as low as 1 ohm, or resistances that bounce from one extreme to another, combined with highly inefficient designs, that are critical to match with the right amps.

These big, bad (and absolutely wonderful sounding) speakers are an absolute witch for most receivers, and a lot of amps as well.

Powering up a difficult speaker is not always solved by using a big wattage amp. Many smaller amps with really big power supplies, huge dynamic headroom, and ability to drive varying resistances as low as 1 ohm which are usually a better match for these difficult speakers.

(I just read a review where the reviewer was using a 15w tube amp to power Martin Logan electrostatics to ungodly volume levels... wattage isn’t everything, it is what you can do with those watts that is sometimes important)


Secondly:
It is the low efficiency, or modestly efficient, speakers, especially the lower resistance 4 ohm speakers, combined with room dynamics (size, shape, dampening) at high volume levels that seem to impact the sound of a receiver. This sound difference is most likely a byproduct of a low powered receiver that is approaching its clipping point, rather than a difference in the absolute sound of a brand of receiver. IMHO changing brands of receivers can make a difference in such a case, but that difference seems directly related to power supply and dynamic headroom of the receiver, rather than an absolute difference in the brands of receivers.




By the way, want to change the sound of your speakers? Play with your room acoustics....