October 8, 2001
I'm trying to decide what to get for my mid-fi
set up, the Dynaudio Audience 40 or the Polk RT25i. The Polk has gotten rave reviews,
while the Dynaudios have too. I already have Audience 50s that I chose over the B&W
601 and 602, Energy C2 and Mission 773. I'm really big on the sound of the Dynaudios, but
would the Polks come reasonably close to their sound? They are a lot cheaper.
Unfortunately distance keeps me from auditioning these speakers myself, and I'm willing to
make a leap of faith based on an educated guess. Hope you guys can give me your opinion.
Thanks.
Terence
Not being familiar with either speaker you
are considering, I'll give you one approach in making that educated guess. First, I have
also heard good things about the Polks from trusted sources, so this is not to discount
them. However, since you already own Dynaudios and chose their sound over some highly
regarded competitors, it makes sense to me to simply move up in their line. This will
typically yield all that you have come to like about the brand with added bass extension
and possibly more refinement. When I find a speaker, or electronic component I like and
have the itch to upgrade it, I always look first at the same manufacturer. If you can
preserve the qualities you like and build upon that, you may just find what you are
looking for.
October 7, 2001
My current system consists of the following:
Yamaha RX-496 receiver, Sony DVP-C660 DVD player, Infinity IL10 speakers, Monster 400 Mk
II interconnects and Monster 12-gauge "wire on a spool" speaker wire with Radio
Shack banana plugs (the heavy gold-plated jobs). The speakers are biwired. I plan to stick
with two-channel stereo.
I'm planning on overhauling the entire system,
one component at a time, and spinning off my old system as a second system for another
location. My main limitations are cost ($600/component) and listening room (I don't have
room enough for Magnaplanars, though that may change in the near future). Right now I'm
planning to start off by replacing the receiver with an integrated amp, but I'm torn
between the NAD C340, NAD C350 (about which I've not seen any reviews yet), the Cambridge
A500, the Yamaha AX-592 and the Yamaha AX-596 (both Yamahas are locally available at the
same MSRP; anything else would be an online purchase). I've not found an online-licensed
Rotel outlet, or else I would have included the Rotel 971 in the list. Given its local
availability, and my general satisfaction with my current Yamaha receiver (given its price
point, that is), I'm starting to lean toward the Yamaha AX 596. Am I making a mistake
here?
At the moment, my goal is to clean up the
little grain that I can hear in my system, while still retaining the ability to drive my
current speakers (which are only about 87dB efficient). Anything I buy has got to be
reliable and durable; it will have to last for a while. Which would you recommend, or am I
missing an even better bet in the under $600 market?
Thank you, and my compliments for a fine
website!
Doug
According to Yamaha, the AX-592 has been
discontinued, while the AX-596 is the only current integrated they have. I would, at the
same price that is, choose the current version for sure. At 100Wpc, it will be plenty
powerful enough to drive most speaker systems, and with local service available from a
dealer, it seems like a no-brainer to me. Also, from what I can tell, the AX-596 has some
additional features that the older Yamahas do not have, such as gold-plated RCA jacks for
all inputs. Rotel does not sell online and you may run into warranty and service issues
without buying from an authorized dealer (no matter the brand). I'd say you're on the
right track for sure and would have a good base to build upon in the future.
October 5, 2001
Your glowing review of the Outlaw Audio 1050
receiver has me on the verge of purchasing one. However, I see that for just slightly more
money (through certain discounters), I can purchase the Marantz SR7200 or SR7000, which
offer 105Wpc, or 40W more than the Outlaw. Can you offer any insights into how these
models compare or, more generally, whether the added 40Wpc are a "true" 40W more
and are worth an extra $100? Given the possibility that I may upgrade speakers in the
future, I'm inclined to try to buy as many quality watts now as I can afford.
Scott
I'd say you're on the right track with
your thinking, but I would offer one caution: specs don't always tell the whole story. One
way to tell the relative quality of the power supply is to look at the weight of the
receiver. Since the weight is primarily composed of the transformer, heat-sinks, and
filter capacitors, you can get a pretty good idea of the beef inside by looking at this
specification. I've seen some 100W models weigh in at around 20 pounds. I'd be real
skeptical here, as this would suggest little in the way of a high-quality transformer, and
hence the power supply to back up the power rating.
The Outlaw 1050, at almost 40 pounds, has
power that belies its modest rating. Having heard this unit drive some demanding speakers,
I would not let the power rating concern me too much. I have not heard the Marantz models
you list, but I do know Marantz to make some rather high-quality components as well.
October 4, 2001
My home is located within five blocks of the
World Trade Center disaster. While we won't be moving back in for a month or two, we have
been working with several EPA-recommended professional cleaning services that will come in
and clean everything. None of them will handle my audio/video equipment. They recommend
"sending it somewhere" to get cleaned.
I own a 36" Sony Wega TV, Yamaha
receiver, Bose Acoustimass speaker setup, Sony DVD and five-disc CD players. How do I get
this equipment professionally cleaned? Any ideas?
Ted
Look in your local phone book's Yellow
Pages for "electronic equipment service and repair." Most of these centers offer
general as well as specialized service for a variety of repairs, maintenance, and
cleaning. Most will offer some warranty work for certain manufacturers too, so I would
look for a Sony-authorized center as most of your components would be seen by a technician
experienced with their products. You may just luck up and find one that does Yamaha too.
This way, if they find any issues covered by the warranty they can take care of it at the
time of the cleaning. Good luck.
October 3, 2001
In my effort to build a stereo/home-theater
system, I have acquired the following: Cambridge 500se CD player, MSB Link III DAC
(w/upsampling), Outlaw 1050 A/V receiver, Sound Organisation A/V table, Hsu VTF-2, Sony
MiniDisc recorder/player, Cambridge isolation platform, with various cables (home-brew
interconnects, BNC, Zu Cable Speaker, TosLink, HAC Stealth power cord).
I have a pair of Vandersteen 1Bs that probably
are more like 1Cs (factory refurbished ten months ago with new woofers to factory
specifications). My questions are: should I add more Vandersteens (pair of 1Cs and center,
around $850 used) or go with the nOrh video package of 5.1 pair, 4.0 pair, and 4.0 center
($950 new)? I figure the cost for each avenue to be about the same, with the nOrh giving
me all new speakers -- allowing the Vandersteens to live in a second system. What would
you do?
Thank you for your advice, and keep up the
great work with this site. I look forward to your upcoming system recommendations and
equipment reviews.
John
If you are happy with the Vandersteen
speakers, my first thought would be to stick with them and simply add more. I am of the
opinion that you can optimize one system for both music and movies, Sure, you can spend a
great deal of money for two systems and do both theater and music wonderfully, but when
most people split their systems, they have to split the budget to an extent too. I would
opt for a one-system approach using speakers that I am familiar with, in this case a known
commodity for you, the Vandersteens. Mixing and matching in a home-theater environment
rarely works. Stick with one good system using what you like, and I'm guessing you'll not
be disappointed.
October 2, 2001
I currently have the following equipment:
Parasound AVC 2500 preamp/controller; Parasound 2205A amp; Paradigm Studio 100, Servo 15,
and 9se speakers. I also have a Yamaha C900 DVD player, Kimber 8TC speaker cable, and
Straightwire Chorus interconnects. I want to upgrade to a better CD player and
interconnect cables. What would you recommend? Also what's better, TosLink or coaxial
digital cables?
Kevin Porter
There are several options available to
you. As far as a new CD player, I'd personally consider staying with a DVD player for CD
duties. There are several models that offer outstanding performance at a reasonable price.
I have the Technics DVD-A10 here, with a street price under $400. It not only offers
excellent CD performance with 24/192 DACs, but adds DVD-A and great video performance as
well. It is a steal for the money. As for cables, we have heard good things from JPS Labs,
Analysis Plus (review coming), and TARA Labs. This would be a good place to start. As for
a digital cable, most of our writers prefer a coaxial cable to a TosLink.
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