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I went from an Onkyo HTIB I bought used on Craigslist to building my first real system.
Onyko 805
340SE's L/C/R and Surround
Hsu VTF-HO recently sold
Dual Hsu ULS-15
PS3
Things I'm looking to add to my system in 09 will be a new 60" lcd and sub eq.
Happy New Year!!!
This year I realized that I should upgrade my bedroom system, since I usually end up retreating there at night from the family room for some moments of musical solitude. I upgraded the bedroom front 200SE’s with 170SE’s, and moved the 200’s to the back, replacing some small Cambridge Soundworks wall-mounted surrounds. I’m not sure what made the biggest difference; 170SE’s in the front, or 200SE’s in the back. Either way it sounds great and I’m very happy with it.
For early 2009 I plan on purchasing a Blu-ray player, probably the Panasonic 35 or 55. Since I’m interested in trying DTS or Dolby Master Audio, my dilemma here is whether to use 5.1 analog outputs (Panasonic 55, +$100) to my old-but-good Onkyo receiver, or upgrade the receiver to hdmi audio and pairing with the Panasonic 35. In the later case, I have to start researching receivers… Decisions Decisions!
Best 09 Wishes to All!
Wow, everyone has made some great changes, very cool. For me and my 2 channel systems
system 1
amp.- Adcom 5400 125/8, 200/4ohms, changed to Red Dragon Amp1 mono blocks 105/8, 210/4ohms, ice power.
preamp - Audionics circa 1980, changed to Bride of Zen, DIY minimalist based on a Pass design solid state,built by Tim Rawson.
DVD player - For playing CDs only, Pioneer Universal player, changed to Toshiba HDDVD X1A, great cd player, and was very inexpensive.
Loudspeakers - Ascend Acoustics 170se stacked, changed to Energy RC-10s stacked.My Ascends were moved to my 2nd. system
Tuner -Rotel 940ax your basic tuner with presets, and remote.
Loudspeaker stands are Sanus Systems steel foundations 24"H. I'm also using Auralex mopads.
Audioclara interconnects, and signal analog and digital power cords. speaker cable,blue jean beldon 10g
Almost forgot Subwoofer - Psb Alpha subzero 8", held over from when I owned a pair of PSB 25s.
Thats it for system1
Most of the above was bought used, discoed or demoed.
System 2 coming up.
System 2 has the most demands placed on it,as it is also connected to my computer. Here is where I watch all my videos and cable tv, listen to lossy and lossless music, My computer can play just about any audio/ video codec out there. Please don't ask me how many players I have on my computer. There are a lot. Currently There is about 650gigs of music mostly lossless files and growing almost daily, an about 300 gigs of video mostly avi files. I am going to start deleting some of my video files. All of these files are kept on external drives. I do not do any gaming. My monitor is 19'.
Amp - Hafler 220, 115/8. 175/4ohms changed to DIY Gainclone (chip amp) about 60+/8, 100+/4 ohms. built by Tim Rawson
Preamp - Adcom 565 changed to DIY Unity Gain B1 minimalist, built by Rawson Here I will sometimes interchange this preamp with a nightshade passive preamp. This passive pre matches up really well with my gainclone.
CD Player - Oppo 970 changed to Toshiba HDDVD A1. Same great sound as XA1 for playing cds
Loudspeakers - PSB B25s changed to Ascends 170ses stacked
Loudspeaker stands Sanus, wood/ metal 30'H
Interconnects are DIY custom made locally. I found him on ebay. Signal power cords Speaker cable purchased here from Ascend Acoustics. No sub woofer connected. Will probably move the sub woofer from system 1 to here at some point.
The quality of sound this system is asked to reproduce can be at times very poor like playing something on utube, as well as outstanding as in lossless music files. It is at its very best, and no less satisfying than system 1, when I shut down the computer and throw on a cd.
Well after several attempts to justify getting a new receiver with the " extras " etc. I squashed that plan and bought 4 sierras to replace other speakers that I felt were decent ......but.... if I had 10 sierrras it would probably still not be enough because I have the dreaded more speaker disease...........http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/ima...lies/smile.gif
I am very happy with that decision as it made more of a difference than the receiver would have made and they sound wonderful. I am watching less TV and movies but still enjoy good HT but do not feel the need to upgrade that so much. It is not blue ray quality but for the amount I watch at this point its good enough and would rather spend $ elsewhere for now. For 2009 the only thing probably for sure at some point would be a sierra--1 center to replace the PSB doing that duty now.........but you never know.
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Good ole Marantz 7200 110x6
Sub HSU VTF-2 MK3
Front LR Sierra-1 ( 4 )
Rear LR Homebuilt JBL 2 way ( 6 -12's in 4 cabinents )
Center PSB Century 300i
Surrounds PSB Alpha
Oppo DV-970HD DVD player
Mac dual gig wind tunnel tower
w/ itunes library in Apple Lossless, AAC and other random MP3's
playstation 2 for my madden football fix.....
Samsung 32" LCD
Sure....I find it very netrual, accurate and punchy much like the Ascend speakers. It is very powerful and needs no additional amplification running my Ascend 340's and 200's. It has plenty of features and looks very pretty! I like the fact that it passes HDMI straight through (no processing). The automatic speaker calibration system (MCACC) is at the top of its game with the SC receivers. Its light years better than on my VSX-1014tx. It also decodes the latest codecs. And it seems like the SC receivers appear to be bug free and no need for firmware upgrades. I think Pioneer has really hit a home run with these units.
http://ultimateavmag.com/avreceivers...ver/index.html
L/R - Sierra Towers
Center - Sierra Horizon Tower
Surrounds - 200SE
SW - Dual PSA XV15's
TV - Panasonic TC-P65VT60
A/V Receiver - Denon AVR-4311CI
Blu-ray/DVD - Sony BDP-S5100
DVR STB - Motorola Arris X1
For 2009, well I'm sort of waiting to see what davefs next bamboo offering is going to be. I have seen others request MTM or floorstanders in bamboo. I'm thinking mini monitors in bamboo. I am also aware that Dave is a perfectionist and his next offering may be a long way off, possibly beyond 2009. That would be ok by me. I'll just have to waite and see.
For 2009 a subwoofer is something I'll be looking into. The Rhythmik subwoofers are no doubt very very good subwoofers. They are just not what I am looking for. I very likely will be seeking something smaller with less extension, and less powerful. Currently I use my subwoofer very lightly, and sparingly, but still feel it is crucial for a full musical experience, and enjoyment.
Not certain about this, it has been 30years since I've owned a tube preamp. So I may reintroduce myself again. Of course I will look in the used market if I decide to go for it.
Thats it for me. Happy New Year!!!
L/R - Sierra Towers
Center - Sierra Horizon Tower
Surrounds - 200SE
SW - Dual PSA XV15's
TV - Panasonic TC-P65VT60
A/V Receiver - Denon AVR-4311CI
Blu-ray/DVD - Sony BDP-S5100
DVR STB - Motorola Arris X1
2008 I replaced a 42in Sony Plasma with a 46in Sony XBR4 LCD and gave the plasma to my ex-wife and kids. Also added a PS3 for BluRay.
2009 will bring a new Pre/Pro (Center channel periodically malfunctions in current Outlaw 1050) with most probably Outlaws forthcoming new processor. I want to demo "Ice Power" amplification to see if I might want to exchange a Lexicon 5 channel amp.
I'm also thinking of the new credenza style audio/video stands. If I can find the right one, I can eliminate my speaker stands, component rack and current tv stand with a nice looking piece of furniture.
Thhhhhat's All Folks
Happy New Year