Which way to go?

[tony25]

Well, this is the Beginners forum and I am a beginner looking for some advice. I have decide to take the plunge and invest in some nice audio equipment. I need some help to understand which direction I need to take in my search for componenets.

My budget is about 3K. I listen to music much more than I watch tv or movies, so to start, I want to satisfy my desire for hi fidelity. However, at some point, in the not so distant future, I would like to expand whatever I invest in, to use for movies (that means adding a center channel and rear speakers in a year or so). I was thinking to invest (about $1500) in a pair of good quality floor standing speakers (B&W DM604, PSB Image T65, Ohm Walsh 100 MK-2). The rest of my budget would go towards a CD/DVD player and amplification.

A source of confusion for me is whether I should use the rest of my budget on a home theater receiver (Arcam 200, NAD 753, Yamaha 1500, Denon 2805) or go for an inegrated amp? What are the trade offs?

 

[jaxvon]

Well, with your desired path, I think a high-quality HT reciever would be teh best bet. Most of these reicevers have a "Pure Direct" mode for 2-channel listening that gives you a straight-up analog signal path with no filtering or conversion from A-D and D-A. Some recievers will even shut down all unnecessary components when running in this mode. What's even better, is that when the time comes to step up to HT, you already have the reciever to do it, no hassles.

If you were just doing a pure 2CH system that would never be part of an HT system, then yeah, I would go for an integrated amp.

As a word of advice, don't forgot to budget for some room treatments. The acoustics of your room are at least half of what you hear, if not more. If your room has garbage acoustics, then all the expensive gear in the world won't make it sound awesome.

And lastly, don't get sucked into the expensive cable lies! It's just a waste of money.

 

[nibhaz]

I have to agree with jaxvon 100%. However while going the receiver route I would make sure that whatever receiver you decide on has preouts so you have more flexibility down the road if you decide that you would like more amplification or channels. Many of today's receivers can function surprisingly well as pre/pros from a value standpoint.

 

[tony25]

Thanks for the info! Now for the follow up question: which receiver?

I have been doing some reading on the internet and it appears that there is quite a bit of debate over whether to go mass market or the higher end components. It seems that there is a question of whether the mass market products can delivery the necessary power into low impedance for 4 or 6 ohms speakers. And then there is the "noise" factor, the noise to signal ratio, THD .....

Of course there are a lot of bells and whistles on mass market products, they come with cool logos and neat lighted dials. But how much of the criticism is just Audiophile Elites snubbing the mass market products ?

 

[nibhaz]

As far as an auditable difference between separates and a mass market receiver…there shouldn’t be…as long as both are using good designs and you are not exceeding the design specifications for a particular unit. However an out board amp may have more dynamic head room allowing more driver control during transients at more extreme play back levels, but with the increased efficiency in most of today’s speaker designs this is less of an issue than was in the past. The mid to upper level mass market receivers can handle all but the most demanding and extreme situations you might throw at them…for most applications and people they will never break a sweat.

Now as long as you stay in the upper end of receivers they shouldn’t have a problem driving the more demanding loads you mention in your post. But you always need to check the specifications first. If you find a particular model that you are interested in you can always place a post asking for owners to comment or give advice about that unit.

Yamaha, Denon, Harman Kardon, Marantz, Onkyo/Integra, Pioneer Elite, NAD, and Rotel all have units that would be worth your time to investigate further.

 

[Nick250]

Of course there are a lot of bells and whistles on mass market products, they come with cool logos and neat lighted dials. But how much of the criticism is just Audiophile Elites snubbing the mass market products ?

I would venture to say 30% snubbing, 40% justifing the rediculous prices they paid for their "high end" stuff and 30% placebo effect. Bragging rights fits in here some where too. Don't get sucked into this. The sound one hears in their listening room is 95% speaker choice and room acoustics.

Nick
IMHO, YMMV yadda, yadda.

 

[TMASD2002]

The sound one hears in their listening room is 95% speaker choice and room acoustics.

Nick250 hit the nail on the head. You can have the greatest system in the world, but if the system isn't dialed in for the room it is in it can sound like a $100 HTIB.

Make sure you take that into consideration when choosing a HT receiver. Make sure you can set delay times between the front and rear speakers.