need feedback on home av system

[dEthANGeL]

ya. Thanks for you guys advises. Tentatively, I will keep an eye on the Aegis Evo1 pair of speakers. Did some read up on its web site, the design, size quite suits my requirement and available space.

As for the DSP or AMP, still need to do some more research and asking ;p
Is the Cambridge Audio Azur 640A a good match with the speakers?

Probably that would be my Christmas gift

Suggest you try taking a listen to Arcam's line rather than diving straight to specs ... The CA looks promising, but do bear in mind the heat issue since its a class A (not to mention the surge in electricity bill :sweat ... Take a listen to NAD / Rotel as well. For stereo setup, i'd advise you to let your ears and wallet decide ... also do use quality cablings for your connections if you don't wanna waste the ability of your amp.. seriously cannot stress this enough.

 

[rahul]

DethAngel's advice is spot on.

I have NAD C350 amp coupled with B&W 602S3 speakers for my HiFi needs.
They rock.
Make sure you budget for very good interconnects.

And of course HiFi lust is just as bad if not worse than Lens lust.And it costs even more. So Be careful before you jump in

 

[ST_sg]

ya. Thank you for all kind & informative advise.
I won't repeat the mistake twice (since knowing what "L" is) :bsmilie: :bsmilie:

As for the AMP, ya, will take note on NAD and Rotel.
Any particular models should I narrow down, just for a start?

Cheers!

 

[dEthANGeL]

ya. Thank you for all kind & informative advise.
I won't repeat the mistake twice (since knowing what "L" is) :bsmilie: :bsmilie:

As for the AMP, ya, will take note on NAD and Rotel.
Any particular models should I narrow down, just for a start?

Cheers!

For NAD wise, you can go for the C320's successor - C320BEE or the C352 or C372... all models dervied from their succcesors (C350 and the C370)... I'm using the older C300 which is no longer in the market and its pretty decent sounding paired up with a pair of KRK ST6 Studio monitors.

Rotel, you can take a look at the RA-01,02,03. .. same as above, these are entry level to mid market level integrated amps. Should be quite decent for the AE Evo 1s.

As for Arcam, it'll be around Cambridge Audio's pricing or slightly more... If time and wallet allows, you can check out the new Audiolab 8000S.. this bugger is derived from the legendary 8000A in the past and seriously won't disappoint.

NAD can be found in Adelphi as they have a showroom there. Rotel - Asia sound equipment if i'm not wrong.. and Arcam (the shop near to NAD's showroom. Can't miss it) ... and Audiolab - Atlas Hifi (distributor for Bose)...

 

[GitS]

i thot audiolab long dead and now superceded by Tag McClaren?

 

[buddy]

yes, as a rule i prefer to buy from owners but after getting "burnt" on echoloft, i am quite hesitant now. to tell you my sad story, i bought a second hand naim amp and the volume started fluctuating after a while. i later discovered that the amp had gone through several repairs at the dealer and even the remote wasnt original. lost quite a bit in the end..

 

[buddy]

i think some of the advice here is very valid.

specs in hifi really do lie sometimes. e.g. a class a sugden a21 with 25w sounds a lot better and has no problems with hard to drive speakers compared to a 100w rotel. the quality of sound is a lot better as well.

 

[dEthANGeL]

i thot audiolab long dead and now superceded by Tag McClaren?

They switched back the brand to Audiolab recently (or is it quite some time) due to marketing and sales issues

 

[GitS]

update on my franken-system...ok guys, got an old Denon AVD 2020 DSP today..hehehe

dEthANGeL or anybody else out there: u familiar with the audiolab 8000A? i want to use it to drive my front channels. do i feed it from the denon into one of the analog inputs on the 8000A?

 

[dEthANGeL]

update on my franken-system...ok guys, got an old Denon AVD 2020 DSP today..hehehe

dEthANGeL or anybody else out there: u familiar with the audiolab 8000A? i want to use it to drive my front channels. do i feed it from the denon into one of the analog inputs on the 8000A?

Basically, if you're not using the power amp for anything else, hook the pre-outs (labelled "FRONT") from the Denon to the Audiolab's RCA inputs which should do the trick. Do the same for the rest of the channels - Centre, Rear, Subwoofer. Unless you're intending to share the amp, then its another way of wiring altogether.

 

[GitS]

thanks! wah saw the silver 8000Ms and the 8000Ps today....wah.....;p

looking at wharferdales bipolar's for my surrounds and the 9.0 for my dining room...fits my limited budget...hehehe but will keep looking...

any suggestions?

 

[shinken]

Denon AVR 3805. Smooth delivery of all the power that you need, coupled with decent cables. KEF speakers are not too bad. Can explore Sonus Faber Concertino if budget allows. Avoid B&W unless aesthetics is priority. Quad is fine too. 11Ls for rear, 22L for front, can't remember the centre speaker model.

 

[dEthANGeL]

thanks! wah saw the silver 8000Ms and the 8000Ps today....wah.....;p

looking at wharferdales bipolar's for my surrounds and the 9.0 for my dining room...fits my limited budget...hehehe but will keep looking...

any suggestions?

:bsmilie: went to listen? ... :devil: buy buy buy

I'm not too sure about wharfedales (they've been shunned since the review by what hifi for the diamond series - alot of people claimed wharfedale paid what hifi for the review to come up with 5 stars) ... have always found their sound to be muffled and laid back... which is a bad characteristc for HT. You can check out Asia sound equipment for Paradigm's solution... You can also head-on down to KEC to check out Acoustic Energy's EVO series. If time allows, head down to SLS to Merdeka Audio to check out their line of PSB speakers (check out the Alpha line) and they rock for HT.. you'll be amazed.

 

[Zerstorer]

update on my franken-system...ok guys, got an old Denon AVD 2020 DSP today..hehehe

dEthANGeL or anybody else out there: u familiar with the audiolab 8000A? i want to use it to drive my front channels. do i feed it from the denon into one of the analog inputs on the 8000A?

Not advisable to use an 8000A for front AV duties. It doesn't have the power for really loud passages despite what What Hifi says.

A Cheap Nad poweramp would be a better option for movies.

 

[dEthANGeL]

Not advisable to use an 8000A for front AV duties. It doesn't have the power for really loud passages despite what What Hifi says.

A Cheap Nad poweramp would be a better option for movies.

:think: ... somehow i guess he doesn't want to lose the "good stereo" portion of his hifi ... that's why he's going this way... have to agree with you a rotel / nad 5-in-1 option would be a better bet.

 

[GitS]

point taken Zerstorer. yeah, dEthANGeL is right, dun want the 8000A to go to waste. right now, budget is tight (very tight) and not looking to start another hifi-only system elsewhere in the house...heheheh....also...u know what they say about the log relationship between wattage and loudness....

update: got a "vintage" NAD 2100, i'll see how it stacks up against the 8000A. the NAD is circa mid-80's but has a claimed abiility to handle 200-330W( depending on speaker impedence) and according to the manuel, "this high level of tone-burst power is available not just for brief transients but for the full duration of complex chords and musical climaxes."....should prove interesting....

also got a pair of vintage TDL Near Field Monitors for my dining area or maybe as my rear surrounds...these are circa early nineties...fyi, they sound better than the Wharfedale DFS bipolars i auditioned yesterday....me still considering the 9.0...also auditioned a tiny pair of monitor audio satellites and some other mission bookshelfs but they fell flat...

last one on the shopping list is a very loud and rude sub....akan datang...:bsmilie:

will keep u guys uodated and keep the advice coming.....

 

[afbug]

For NAD wise, you can go for the C320's successor - C320BEE or the C352 or C372... all models dervied from their succcesors (C350 and the C370)... I'm using the older C300 which is no longer in the market and its pretty decent sounding paired up with a pair of KRK ST6 Studio monitors.

Rotel, you can take a look at the RA-01,02,03. .. same as above, these are entry level to mid market level integrated amps. Should be quite decent for the AE Evo 1s.

As for Arcam, it'll be around Cambridge Audio's pricing or slightly more... If time and wallet allows, you can check out the new Audiolab 8000S.. this bugger is derived from the legendary 8000A in the past and seriously won't disappoint.

NAD can be found in Adelphi as they have a showroom there. Rotel - Asia sound equipment if i'm not wrong.. and Arcam (the shop near to NAD's showroom. Can't miss it) ... and Audiolab - Atlas Hifi (distributor for Bose)...

C320?

My C520's left/right button conk out and no more warranty. Do you think its better to buy the new model or repair it? I dunno how much does a new model cost. C521? My budget low these days.

 

[dEthANGeL]

C320?

My C520's left/right button conk out and no more warranty. Do you think its better to buy the new model or repair it? I dunno how much does a new model cost. C521? My budget low these days.

Repair it lah :bsmilie: .. not cost effective to just chunk it man If i'm not wrong, the C520/1 was derived from one of NAD's THX power amps. So its good stuff in there...

MY C300 has also got problems. Turned on, the usual click sound from the amp's switching/staging went halfway, sent down to agent (Macpherson) ... since then, no problems.. The C300 amp still sounds sweet paired with my KRK ST6s ... :lovegrin: ...

 

[dEthANGeL]

point taken Zerstorer. yeah, dEthANGeL is right, dun want the 8000A to go to waste. right now, budget is tight (very tight) and not looking to start another hifi-only system elsewhere in the house...heheheh....also...u know what they say about the log relationship between wattage and loudness....

update: got a "vintage" NAD 2100, i'll see how it stacks up against the 8000A. the NAD is circa mid-80's but has a claimed abiility to handle 200-330W( depending on speaker impedence) and according to the manuel, "this high level of tone-burst power is available not just for brief transients but for the full duration of complex chords and musical climaxes."....should prove interesting....

also got a pair of vintage TDL Near Field Monitors for my dining area or maybe as my rear surrounds...these are circa early nineties...fyi, they sound better than the Wharfedale DFS bipolars i auditioned yesterday....me still considering the 9.0...also auditioned a tiny pair of monitor audio satellites and some other mission bookshelfs but they fell flat...

last one on the shopping list is a very loud and rude sub....akan datang...:bsmilie:

will keep u guys uodated and keep the advice coming.....

Believe me ... the NAD will do a great job for your mains ... 200W RMS @ 8ohms is no joke man ... but whether you crank up that much is another ... (i got neighbours complaing their mirrors rattle when i play movies with my setup - 15" monster powered by a Rotel RB-970 Bridged mono) ....

The TDL NFM, i've auditioned them before, definitely they WILL SOUND BETTER over the wharfedale. MA is more for stereo seriously. Missions also, but it depends. I'm using a pair of Mission 700 as my main channels on my HTPC system in my room. Good enough, they're bassy enough (even w/o subwoofer!) ...

Have you checked out the PSB speakers @ Merdeka Audio?

Rude sub? - SVS :devil: ... else, musically rude - REL Acoustics / Definitive technology / Paradigm (Highly recommended).

 

[GitS]

the clowns at merdaka not very helpful and had that "no money dun waste my time kinda attitude", i pretty much walked out of there...idiots...

mmmm, must listen to your missions one day....

will update you guys on the sub in a few days....i promise it will be a rude, obnoxious mutha...hehehehehe