Weighed and Measured

[HiDefGuru]

OK. I have finally decided on a pair of Vienna's (Mozart Grands, $1200 for a pair) and the Vienna Theatro Center ($550). (Speakercraft Aim8 3's $325pr, later for the rears). And I wanted some input on a few different possibilities...

Looking to pick up a 4308 ($1300) paired with the 2500 transport Denon BD player ($500).

Considerations are as follows.

CONSIDERING getting the 3800 BD player ($1k) If someone can convince me if the Realta and the rest of the goodies are worth it.

on that note, what effect will a 3800 that has ddsc-hd have on the 2808 which does not. same for Burrbrown DACs, and the dual 32-bit floating point dsp when even the 4308 only has a single 32bit dsp. I'm Audiotarded.

And if pairing the 3800 with the 2808 AND an Emotiva XPA-2 will have an equal, if not better, audio quality then the 4308 and no seperate amp for the Mozarts (I wouldn't mind having HD radio and wireless networking, but I've heard great things about Emotiva for separate amps)

Anyone have any comparable alternatives on any of the components at those Price points? Any and all thoughts are appreciated.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

OK. I have finally decided on a pair of Vienna's (Mozart Grands, $1200 for a pair) and the Vienna Theatro Center ($550). (Speakercraft Aim8 3's $325pr, later for the rears). And I wanted some input on a few different possibilities...

Looking to pick up a 4308 ($1300) paired with the 2500 transport Denon BD player ($500).

Considerations are as follows.

CONSIDERING getting the 3800 BD player ($1k) If someone can convince me if the Realta and the rest of the goodies are worth it.

on that note, what effect will a 3800 that has ddsc-hd have on the 2808 which does not. same for Burrbrown DACs, and the dual 32-bit floating point dsp when even the 4308 only has a single 32bit dsp. I'm Audiotarded.

And if pairing the 3800 with the 2808 AND an Emotiva XPA-2 will have an equal, if not better, audio quality then the 4308 and no seperate amp for the Mozarts (I wouldn't mind having HD radio and wireless networking, but I've heard great things about Emotiva for separate amps)

Anyone have any comparable alternatives on any of the components at those Price points? Any and all thoughts are appreciated.

Nice speakers.

I vote for pairing the AVR-4308 with the BD-2500 and no external amps. Should look very nice. I think the 4308 has top notch decoders already, so the 3800BD would be a waste.

 

[jcPanny]

HT electronics

Nice speakers.
If you are planning on seperates and are not in a hurry, the new Emotival LMC-2 pre-pro is due out in April for about $7-800. The integra 9.8 HDMI pre-pro is out now, but costs $1600. One of the Emotiva amps will have more power and headroom than a receiver. The XPA-2 is a stereo amp, but the XPA-5 has 5 x 200 Watts.

Top of the line upscalling in the Deonon BluRay is nice, but wont look as good as native HD BluRay discs. Also, you can get a really good upscalling DVD player from Oppo for about $200.

 

[HiDefGuru]

I'm not definite on much of anything (except the speakers), until I receive positive input either way on any and all things considered.

What I'm not too sure about is using the FL/FR pre-outs on the Denon with an Emotiva/Rotel/etc. VS. Denon's on board Amps for the Viennas. What exactly would be better for those speakers. They say 30-200w recommended, but thats a wide margin, and from experience I don't use watts as a pertinent measure in selection.... but can someone give me a definite yes or no?

If using an external amp for the FL/FR is advised against the 4308 on-boards or vice-versa. or would it behoove me to reduce to the 2808 when using an external amp. OR will the speakers be worth it to combine a 4308 AND an Ext. Amp.

I'm still a mess on most of this!

 

[Addy]

im still kinda shocked that you can get the avr-4308 for 1300!! thats a wicked price!!

 

[HiDefGuru]

Yeah, I haven't divulged exactly who I'm employed with, so I don't think mentioning my co-workers and my Deals is completely out of order... I just really wanted to explain, in as much detail as possible, what I planned on getting AND prices so that ballpark comparisons could be presented while staying in the same arena Quality wise

But my employer will continue to remain anonymous.

 

[Addy]

yeh i understand what you were doing, im just very jealous

 

[gus6464]

Yeah, I haven't divulged exactly who I'm employed with, so I don't think mentioning my co-workers and my Deals is completely out of order... I just really wanted to explain, in as much detail as possible, what I planned on getting AND prices so that ballpark comparisons could be presented while staying in the same arena Quality wise

But my employer will continue to remain anonymous.

Hehe from the prices you are getting and the gear you are considering I know who your employer is.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Hehe from the prices you are getting and the gear you are considering I know who your employer is.

You mean Magnolia Home Theater?

Vienna Acoustics & Denon are great products.

Heck, just get the AVR4308 & the 3800BD!

 

[gus6464]

You mean Magnolia Home Theater?

Vienna Acoustics & Denon are great products.

Heck, just get the AVR4308 & the 3800BD!

Yeah it's accommodation season right now for MHT brands so there are some great deals to be had for some very lucky people. There is a guy on AVS about to pull the trigger on a pair of Martin Logan Purity for $950. But on a side note accommodation pricing is not the same as cost pricing for stores. Stuff is bought directly from the manufacturers at insanely deep discounts. I have a friend that bought a 5.1 set of Def Techs for 75% off around 2 years ago.

 

[HiDefGuru]

{Cough} {Cough} Sumiko DOES deal to companies outside of... *shudder*... Best Buy.

On that note. Yes, sometimes certain retailers do offer discounts that are better then some Manufacturer-Direct Accommodations. But from my experience (and constant pricing ) Its a rarity.

I still would like to maintain a perpetual state of Employment Ambiguity while perusing and posting in these hallowed nerd halls.

 

[gus6464]

{Cough} {Cough} Sumiko DOES deal to companies outside of... *shudder*... Best Buy.

On that note. Yes, sometimes certain retailers do offer discounts that are better then some Manufacturer-Direct Accommodations. But from my experience (and constant pricing ) Its a rarity.

I still would like to maintain a perpetual state of Employment Ambiguity while perusing and posting in these hallowed nerd halls.

That's true but I have yet to see a shop that carries the higher end sumiko gear like Primare with Vienna. Most I have been to have Primare with Sonus Faber and if they have Vienna they usually don't carry Primare for some reason. It's kind of odd that if a place carries Sumiko stuff they won't carry the entire product line.

 

[HiDefGuru]

Well, I came in 2nd in a poker tourney the other day, so being the impatient financial retard that I am, I opted to buy an HD-A30 instead of waiting for my 360's Add-on drive to come back from Microsoft. I'm watching me some "300" right now!

 

[HiDefGuru]

*bump*

A friend of mine brought up an interesting point... The 4308 are rated at 6~16 Ω loads and Vienna's are 4Ω Speakers. He said they would work with a similar side effect to over-clocking a PC, just more heat generated and will wear slightly quicker.

Any thoughts?

 

[gus6464]

*bump*

A friend of mine brought up an interesting point... The 4308 are rated at 6~16 Ω loads and Vienna's are 4Ω Speakers. He said they would work with a similar side effect to over-clocking a PC, just more heat generated and will wear slightly quicker.

Any thoughts?

The reason Denon only rates their receivers up to 6ohm load is mostly for warranty purposes. I have heard an older model Denon power 4ohm speakers just fine but it did get hotter than usual. So if the receiver happens to stop working and Denon finds out you were using speakers which are less than 6ohm they can void your warranty on the spot. The only receivers I have seen that are actually rated for 4ohm are Pioneer Elite and Sony. Sony ones even have a switch for 4ohm and specifically state in the manual that it can drive them no problem while covering you with the warranty.

But your friend is right that it will have something to an effect of overclocking a cpu. While with a CPU better cooling can be installed and have no side effects I would assume it's a lot harder to implement something like that on a receiver. But heat is the main cause for electronics failure.

 

[HiDefGuru]

So any sort of Cooling fans anyone wanna recommend? Or should I shop for Pioneer now?

Edit; Scratch that... I might think of Changing my choice of Speaker. Anyone know of any Comparable towers to the Viennas that are a 6-8 O Load at around $1500 pair?

 

[Seth=L]

I would absolutely recommend getting the AVR-2808 with the Emotiva amplifier. While the AVR-4308 will power the Vienna's at 4 ohms, it's very likely they dip lower than 4 ohms. This could be troubling at higher levels of output and could cause the sound to compress audibly or cause the receiver to go into thermal protection. Putting a fan on the receiver won't increase it's dynamic power, and the Emotiva amplifiers have tons of headroom that no receiver could ever hope to have.

The BD transport and AVR-2808 will look great together and the Emotiva is rather handsome as well. What's great about having the Emotiva is when your receiver or pre/pro is out of date in the future, you can replace it and still have a solid amplifier with tons of power.

 

[HiDefGuru]

Thanks Seth. I'm thinking I'll pony up the cash or the 4808 AND the Emotiva.

I REALLY want that 4in2out HDMI. I've got plans for a 26" lcd in the adjacent room. As long as I know the Emotiva has the balls for the Viennas.

 

[Seth=L]

Thanks Seth. I'm thinking I'll pony up the cash or the 4808 AND the Emotiva.

I REALLY want that 4in2out HDMI. I've got plans for a 26" lcd in the adjacent room. As long as I know the Emotiva has the balls for the Viennas.

The Emotiva has all the balls you could ever want/need. (sorry, I couldn't resist)

 

[HiDefGuru]

**bump**

Well I'm up another $1k from poker, and I don't know for sure If my regular income will be as steady for the next few weeks, so I'm gonna settle for less now, and upgrade later.

My Amp will be 3808 - That will be a permanent fixture

Rear speakers Speakercraft Aim8ones - another permanent feature

Fronts (all temporary) - Klipsch Rf-62's and and Rc-52.


stuff to come - Rotel OR emotiva 2 channel amp, Vienna Mozart Grands and Vienna Theatro center