July 22, 2001
Great site! I'm planning to set up my own home
theater and need your advice on my choice of equipment: B&W speakers and sub (DM604
S2, DM602 S2, LCR6 S2, ASW500) and Denon AVR3801 receiver.
Do you think that Denon AVR3801 is good enough
to drive the chosen B&W speakers? My room is not that big (only 12 'x 12'); is it OK
not to have the subwoofer? Can the three-way DM604s provide suitable sound?
Thanks in advance.
Edgar
The Denon is an excellent choice, as are
the speakers. The subwoofer may be quite unnecessary considering the size of your room. I
would strongly recommend getting the speakers first. Should you feel that you want more
bass, you can always get the sub later, but why commit to it if you may not need it?
July 21, 2001
I'm looking for a new receiver with 5.1 audio
inputs. Which one is the best buy for the buck? Looking for Sony or Denon.
Dan
The Outlaw Model 1050 ($499) is currently
here and looks like an exceedingly well-made, highly ergonomically unit that's very
user-friendly. It does have a 5.1 input. We will report on its two-channel performance,
while our sister site, Home
Theater & Sound, will report on its surround-sound capabilities.
July 20, 2001
Greetings from Singapore! First, my
congratulations on a very well-executed site. I found your articles very rewarding and am
very pleased to have found your site.
I need some help. Due to circumstances too
long to get into here, I am in the process of building a new CD-based system for a small
4x6 meter room. I have an Audio Alchemy DDE v1.0 DAC as my source with a Marantz CD-63
player for transport, and a pair of Dynaudio Audience 42 speakers. Cabling is TARA Labs
Prism 55 interconnects and van den Hul 122 speaker cables. I had the use of my brother's
NAD 350 integrated amplifier for about five months to really get to know my components
well.
My opinion is that the NAD 350 was simply not
powerful enough for the speakers, which always felt like they could deliver much more
detail and punch (I've heard the Audience 60s in a store with a Musical Fidelity X1
integrated, and they were really belting out detail and punch brilliantly). However, I've
read many, many reviews describing the NAD 350 as "very powerful" and
"capable of driving difficult loads," so I'm a little confused. Did I set the
system out wrongly?
Assuming I'm right, I've auditioned the NAD
370 (120Wpc) vs. the Roksan Kandy (110Wpc) integrated amplifiers. I've also heard the
Roksan Kandy vs. its more expensive brother, the Caspian (70Wpc) -- which, from reviews,
has the features and quality I'm looking for. The NAD 370 carries the same NAD
"sound" which, although wonderfully neutral, lacks a believable,
"organic" edge. The Roksan Kandy makes voices and instruments seem much more
realistic. However, I found the midrange on the Kandy to be much more pronounced than the
highs and lows. The Caspian is more uniform-sounding across the frequency spectrum than
the Kandy, and adds a more refined sound and a bigger and better soundstage. However, I
preferred the Kandy's snappy pace over the laid-back attitude of the Caspian (could it be
because of the lower power?)
Can you recommend a remote-controlled
integrated amp (around $1000) for my system or comment on my impressions? The range of
music I listen to is somewhere between Rickie Lee Jones and Nirvana. Ideally (for my
tastes), the amplifier should sound like an Adcom GFA-555 amp.
Earnest Yeow
Have you looked into Musical Fidelity? The
sound you're describing might be found there. Another brand that comes to mind is Cairn,
sometimes referred to as the "French Naim".
All Dynaudio speakers I've ever heard were
capable of very robust high-output bass that requires power and control. As amplifiers go
more upscale, you tend to get better power supplies and higher current delivery. Sometimes
this is mated to lesser power ratings. Remember, though, that the difference between 70
watts and 100 watts is negligible -- not even 3dB of gain at full output. The more
laid-back sound of the Caspian is probably just a function of a different
"voicing" and has nothing to do with the power rating. In fact, we can assume
its current ability is superior. You might be able to "liven up" its sound with
faster, leaner cables -- say, by Nordost, for example.
July 19, 2001
I have a pair of PSB's Image 2B bookshelf
speakers, and I figure that it's time to get stands for these speakers since I'm short on
desk/shelf space. I took a quick look online, and I think I like the look of Sanus stands.
My question is, Does the material of the stand (steel vs. wood) affect the sound of the
speakers?
Thanks,
Eric
Rap a knuckle on a piece of solid wood and
you might get a "thonk" or "thud." Do the same on an un-filled metal
stand with hollow columns and top/bottom plates, and you get a "rinnnng." This
resonance can get excited just by the speaker. The solution is to fill the hollow columns
with sand to make them solid. Most metal speaker stands have provisions to do this before
final assembly. It's a very good idea.
Outside of that, make sure the stand
height aligns your tweeters at about ear level -- 24" stands are the most common, but
some are 28" or even 30" tall. Believe it or not, leveling the stands so they're
both upright and neither tilted backward or forward can also reap (free) dividends. The
soundstage will be more precise. Spikes should penetrate carpet into the subfloor. If you
have hardwood floors or tiles, use pennies underneath the spikes to protect your flooring.
July 18, 2001
I am currently in the market for a pair of
surround speakers -- small size is the key. I have the Pioneer Elite VSX-29TX A/V
receiver, and its nominal impedance is 6 ohms at 120W. I came across a pair of M&K
tri-pole surrounds and they are rated at 4 ohms. Would my Pioneer receiver be able to
drive the M&K speakers? I have a pair of Paradigm Reference Studio/100 Mk II speakers
as my fronts.
Thank you in advance.
Samuel Kong
Some earlier receivers minimized the
amount of power they made available for the rears and reserved the heftier power supplies
for the front channels. If your receiver's power rating is identical for all five
channels, the M&K speakers should work fine. Our sister publication, Home Theater & Sound,
also reports excellent results with the Axiom quad-polar surrounds.
The Pioneer Elite spec 120W @ 6 ohms, is
not a nominal impedance rating, by the way, but a power output rating that inflates what
the more common 8-ohm rating would rate; 120W into 8 ohms is more power than 120W into 6
ohms. This is one sly way in which manufacturers still cheat a bit on occasion.
July 17, 2001
I have an NAD C350 integrated amp. Lately I've
been reading that some folks are replacing the steel jumper between the preamp and amp
with a half meter length of DH Labs or other interconnects for a ''sweeter'' sound. Any
thoughts on this? Thanks in advance for any response.
Tom
I have read many comments that suggest that
replacing the metal jumpers between the preamp and amp section on an integrated amplifier
with high-quality interconnects can improve the sound of the integrated significantly. I
am wondering within the context of my system if adding a quality interconnect between the
preamp and amp section makes sense, or is this just a bunch of tweaky foolishness?
My equipment: NAD C350 integrated amplifier,
Meadowlark Kestrel Hot Rod speakers, Music Hall MMF-2 turntable with Grado Red cartridge,
NAD C320 CD player, Tributaries SCA 300 interconnect between CD and integrated, Carol
Command Studio Grade speaker cable (silver-plated 14 gauge, biwired).
Thanks for your advice,
Pete
I love the term "tweaky
foolishness." That's indeed often the question, isn't it? You're right about the
sonic inferiority of most factory-issue jumpers, both on pre-out/main-in loops and on
biwirable speakers. I would advise against standard-length interconnects, though, and have
your dealer make up something as short as possible. Contrary to common opinion,
interconnects should be kept as short as possible because of the inherent fragility of
low-level signal. High-level signal (as output from an amplifier to the speakers) is, as
the term already implies, "high" in level and thus more robust and less
susceptible to cable-induced losses. That said, these custom jumpers shouldn't cost you
more than, say, $30. Or else I would be liable for suggesting tweaky foolishness in the
context of your system, which, strikes me as very balanced and carefully selected.
July 16, 2001
Thanks for the great website! I am currently
running a pair of NHT 2.5i speakers biamped with a Harman/Kardon AVR-75 receiver to the
mids/highs and an Audio Source Model Amp One to the subs using a Pioneer DV-333 DVD player
with an Audio Magic Scepter II digital cable to the receiver. The mids/highs have older
Monster Cable and I am using (gulp!?!?) Radio Shack 18-gauge cable right now on the subs.
I am looking to do a speaker cable upgrade for
both sets. I have been looking at DH Labs T-14 speaker cable and noticed there is a
significant difference in price when buying unterminated vs. terminated. Being budget
minded, I was wondering if it is worth the extra cost to buy terminated sets or would I
get the same sonic performance buying a length of unterminated wire.
Also, my music room seconds as a movie
theater, so I am looking to get a receiver with DTS and was wondering if you think the
Outlaw 1050 receiver would be a good match with the NHTs and DH Labs cable or should I
look for a different one (Onkyo or NAD). Music is my first love, so I am looking for the
best two-channel audio performance. Any help or other suggestions on cables or receivers
to look at would be greatly appreciated.
Jon Raivala
The Outlaw 1050 is here now -- my focus
will be exclusively on its two-channel performance, while our sister publication, Home Theater & Sound,
will report on its multichannel capabilities afterwards.
On the cable front, unterminated is fine.
If you think about the difference between terminated and unterminated wire, the latter has
one less junction -- no solder or crimp connection between the wire and the banana or
spade. That's a good thing -- it eliminates one molecular barrier (from one kind of metal
to another) that the electrons have to cross.
Tightly twist the stripped ends so all the
fine conductors fit neatly into your binding posts. You'll get the most contact area if
you have five-way binding posts where the nut retracts enough to leave an open space
around the central post. Make an O-loop around the post, then tighten down the nut. Be
sure not to miss a raw conductor. Even a single runaway "copper hair" can create
a short if it inadvertently touches the opposite-polarity terminal or shorts out on the
rear of the receiver.
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