A matter of power amplifiers...

[hifikrazy]

LDTM, the connections that you listed are correct, but not sure what you are hoping to achieve by doing that? Normally people have a setup like that because they only have one set of main speakers which they want to use for both hifi and AV purposes (just like I do). So the main speakers will be connected to a hifi amp, and the center and surround speakers to the AVR, with a cable connecting from the AVR preout to the hifi amp input.

I may not have read all your posts in detail but what's the role of the Dali Lektor 1 and how about the Monitor Audio GS20? The way I would suggest you doing it is this:

- A good hifi preamp and power amp connected to main speakers

- An AVR connected to the center speaker, surround speakers and subwoofer. The center speaker preferably same brand/model range as main speakers

- A pair of interconnect cables connecting the AVR's preout to the hifi preamp's inputs

- Give Yamaha A-S1000 to hifikrazy

So when listening to music, you only need to turn on hifi preamp and power amp. When watching movies, you need to turn on the AVR as well. Of course if your AV setup is in a different room, then your proposed connections does make sense and I would suggest keeping the Yamaha A-S-1000 for that purpose, if only because it looks so nice rather than any real sonic benefits.

 

[LDTM]

LDTM, the connections that you listed are correct, but not sure what you are hoping to achieve by doing that? Normally people have a setup like that because they only have one set of main speakers which they want to use for both hifi and AV purposes (just like I do). So the main speakers will be connected to a hifi amp, and the center and surround speakers to the AV amp, with a cable connecting from the AV amp preout to the hifi amp input.

I may not have read all your posts in detail but what's the role of the Dali Lektor 1 and how about the Monitor Audio GS20? The way I would suggest you doing it is this:

- A good hifi preamp and power amp connected to main speakers

- An AV amp connected to the center speaker, surround speakers and subwoofer. The center speaker preferably same brand/model range as main speakers

- A pair of interconnect cables connecting the AV amp's preout to the hifi preamp's inputs

- Give Yamaha A-S1000 to hifikrazy

So when listening to music, you only need to turn on hifi preamp and power amp. When watching movies, you need to turn on the AV amp as well. Of course if your AV setup is in a different room, then your proposed connections does make sense and I would suggest keeping the Yamaha A-S-1000 for that purpose, if only because it looks so nice rather than any real sonic benefits.

hifikrazy,

Thank you very much for confirming that for me. As for speaker roles and stuff, this is how it breaks down:

Hifi = A-S1000, CD-S1000, GS20's. This lot is in my man cave/listening room.

Home theare = Yamaha 767, Dali Lektor 1's front and back, Dali Lektor LCR for centre, B&W608 sub. This lot is in the other end of the house.

Until I get a better one (P3000r perhaps) I was planning on using the A-S1000 as a preamp in the listening room. After purchasing a new preamp I was just curious if there would be any benefit in using the A-S1000's power amp section to power the Dali front channels as opposed to the AVR's output. Either that or just get rid of it. Speaking of which, what's your mains voltage? I'm on 100V @60Hz

Cheers,

LDTM

 

[hifikrazy]

hifikrazy,

Thanks for confirming that for me. As for speaker roles and stuff, this is how it breaks down:

Hifi = A-S1000, CD-S1000, GS20's. This lot is in my man cave/listening room.

Home theare = Yamaha 767, Dali Lektor 1's front and back, Dali Lektor LCR for centre, B&W608 sub. This lot is in the other end of the house.

Until I get a better preamp I was planning on using the A-S1000 as preamp in the listening room. After purchasing a new preamp I was just curious if there would be any benefit in using the A-S1000's power amp section to power the Dali front channels as opposed to the AVR's output. Either that or just get rid of it. Speaking of which, what's your mains voltage? I'm on 100V @60Hz

Cheers,

LDTM

OK got it, now it makes sense. I would say that there would not be tremendous amount of benefit using the A-S1000 to power the Dali front channels, with the downside being that the tonality of the A-S1000 will differ from the AVR so the front channels may not match the center speaker quite so well.

I'm on 240 volts where I live. Anyway I was just kidding about inheriting the A-S1000 as much as I would love to.

 

[nopiano]

That power amp is a real looker, and so is the preamp and CDP.

I agree!

 

[ID.]

Fair point Dave.

I haven't ordered it yet but quite likely will. I'm interested to see what the results will be. Some chap had an A-S500 and bought the M5000r, said that things sounded tighter and cleaner. Wonder if I will get a similar impression.

I listen to a lot of power metal with lots of double kick drum goodness so control over bass is something I'm looking for.

From what I've heard of the upper level Onkyo integrateds and the Japanese reviews (users and magazines) I've read on them and the pre-power, that is prety much the Onkyo house sound. Detailed. Clean. Tight. If you have an aversion to neutral sounding kit, it might sound a bit bright. I like the sound. One thing that stood out in a lot of user comments were statements along the lines of "I didn't know my speakers were capable of such deep powerful bass". The integrated I listened to certainly had deep, powerful, tight bass.

Sorry, too lazy to go back over the thread, but did I read that you are in Japan? If so, most of the big electronics stores (Yodobashi, etc.) match one another's online prices, but you can usually find prices a bit cheaper on Rakuten from smaller vendors.

Also worth keeping an eye on Audio Union for 2nd hand kit.

http://www.audiounion.jp/index.html

They don't have any M5000r available 2nd had at the moment (they do have a 2nd hand Onkyo pre though http://www.audiounion.jp/ct/detail/used/95635/ ), but they may get their hands on one. They also normally have a huge range of Accuphase and Luxman kit going back several generations, so it can be a reasonable way to obtain something like that. e.g. I'd consider a second hand L-507u (http://www.audiounion.jp/ct/detail/used/100475/) over a new M5000r. You could also pick up something like an Accuphase E250 for a similar price http://www.audiounion.jp/ct/detail/used/104734/ or an E350 http://www.audiounion.jp/ct/detail/used/104640/

Audio equipment doesn't come up that often on auction sites in Japan, but it may be worthwhile keeping an eye on Rakuten auction and Yahoo auction.

 

[LDTM]

Fair point Dave.

I haven't ordered it yet but quite likely will. I'm interested to see what the results will be. Some chap had an A-S500 and bought the M5000r, said that things sounded tighter and cleaner. Wonder if I will get a similar impression.

I listen to a lot of power metal with lots of double kick drum goodness so control over bass is something I'm looking for.

From what I've heard of the upper level Onkyo integrateds and the Japanese reviews (users and magazines) I've read on them and the pre-power, that is prety much the Onkyo house sound. Detailed. Clean. Tight. If you have an aversion to neutral sounding kit, it might sound a bit bright. I like the sound. One thing that stood out in a lot of user comments were statements along the lines of "I didn't know my speakers were capable of such deep powerful bass". The integrated I listened to certainly had deep, powerful, tight bass.

Sorry, too lazy to go back over the thread, but did I read that you are in Japan? If so, most of the big electronics stores (Yodobashi, etc.) match one another's online prices, but you can usually find prices a bit cheaper on Rakuten from smaller vendors.

Also worth keeping an eye on Audio Union for 2nd hand kit.

http://www.audiounion.jp/index.html

They don't have any M5000r available 2nd had at the moment (they do have a 2nd hand Onkyo pre though http://www.audiounion.jp/ct/detail/used/95635/ ), but they may get their hands on one. They also normally have a huge range of Accuphase and Luxman kit going back several generations, so it can be a reasonable way to obtain something like that. e.g. I'd consider a second hand L-507u (http://www.audiounion.jp/ct/detail/used/100475/) over a new M5000r. You could also pick up something like an Accuphase E250 for a similar price http://www.audiounion.jp/ct/detail/used/104734/ or an E350 http://www.audiounion.jp/ct/detail/used/104640/

Audio equipment doesn't come up that often on auction sites in Japan, but it may be worthwhile keeping an eye on Rakuten auction and Yahoo auction.

Many thanks ID.

Funny you should mention Audio Union - I just happened to order their last new M5000R last night (I just saw your post this morning). Got it for JPY184,800 whereas the big name stores were asking about 250,000.

I don't think I have aversion to neutral sound as I always have the tone controls set to zero so it should be fine I imagine. Even so, whilst the A-S1000 is performing the pre amp duties most of the Yamaha house-sound will be preserved, right?

I've really been wanting to move up into separates for years now just to try them out so I might leave the u507 for the time being, but thank you very much for mentioning it.

Cheers,

LDTM

 

[ID.]

Glad to hear that you've ordered it, and at a great price too. I have to say it has always tempted me when I've seen it in my local Yodobashi.

If you'd be kind enough to give it a bit of a write up/review in this thread once you've had it for a while it would be greatly appreciated. Really interested in reading your impressions on the amp itself and how it pairs with the Yamaha. I've only seent the silver in store, but it looks like it is available in black too. Which colour did you get?

 

[LDTM]

That power amp is a real looker, and so is the preamp and CDP.

I agree!

Much obliged, good sirs

 

[LDTM]

Glad to hear that you've ordered it, and at a great price too. I have to say it has always tempted me when I've seen it in my local Yodobashi.

If you'd be kind enough to give it a bit of a write up/review in this thread once you've had it for a while it would be greatly appreciated. Really interested in reading your impressions on the amp itself and how it pairs with the Yamaha. I've only seent the silver in store, but it looks like it is available in black too. Which colour did you get?

It would be my pleasure to. I ordered silver to match my other components; I know it sounds a bit daft but the aesthetics of the system is very important to me. I wish I lived around Kanto to get good access to audio stores - not so much in Hokoriku. Still, probably for the best, yeah :rofl:

We now only wait with bated breath for the unit's arrival.:dance:

 

[hifikrazy]

We now only wait with bated breath for the unit's arrival.:dance:

Well done, do let us know how it sounds when it arrives.

 

[ID.]

Silver would be my preference too. Japan is well served with online retailers but that's not much use if you want to audition. I'm in Tokyo myself so I can get to lots of stores but I know what it is like in the countryside/away from major centres

 

[LDTM]

Silver would be my preference too. Japan is well served with online retailers but that's not much use if you want to audition. I'm in Tokyo myself so I can get to lots of stores but I know what it is like in the countryside/away from major centres

Lucky so and so >) I roll through Osaka every now and then on the way to the airport and usually make a point staying a day or two around Namba. Enough to glaze the eyes of us country-bumpkins :rofl:

 

[LDTM]

Morning all,

So I've had the M5000 for a couple of weeks give or take and I think I've put in enough hours of wear on it to give it a fair run against my current kit.

One thing I was planning to do this weekend was to sit down for a few hours and compare how things sound with:

A: Running the A-S1000 as a preamp and the M5000 as a power amp

B: Running the A-S1000 as a proper integrated amp.

Which got me to wondering; I think I might draw up a rough 'score card' with a number of different elements of subjective sound quality, things like bass extension, cohesiveness, etc.

Anyway, in a nod to superior knowledge and experience, do any of you guys have suggestions for some basic criteria I might include?

I will post some photographs of the new kit shortly in the "Your system" thread.

Cheers,

LDTM

 

[hifikrazy]

Which got me to wondering; I think I might draw up a rough 'score card' with a number of different elements of subjective sound quality, things like bass extension, cohesiveness, etc.

Anyway, in a nod to superior knowledge and experience, do any of you guys have suggestions for some basic criteria I might include?

I will post some photographs of the new kit shortly in the "Your system" thread.

These are the things I usually assess on:

Transparency / Clarity

Detail / Resolution

Bass depth / weight

Bass definition / tightness

Focus / Imaging

Naturalness

Timing / Rhythm

Soundstaging - width, depth, height

 

[LDTM]

<furiously takes notes> Much obliged good sir, thank you.

Should be quite an interesting experience, I have a mishmash of music I'm planning to work my way through. Highlights including:

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue. (Let's face it, this is more or less obligatory)

Joe Satriani - (Eponymous album)

Dragonland - Under the Grey Banner (Epic power metal)

Mozart's Magic Flute

Randy Houser - Anything Goes (country)

Loreena McKennit - Ancient Muse (folk)

Serenity - Fallen Sanctuary (More Epic power metal goodness)

Psychostick - We couldn't think of a title

Julia Fischer - Poeme (possibly the saddest violin piece I've heard)

Nakamori Akina (J-pop...don't ask)

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - Rattle them bones (swing renaissance)

You guys probably think I'm completely nuts...:rofl:

 

[Vladimir]

You guys probably think I'm completely nuts...:rofl:

Don't flatter yourself. We are all Napoleon in this lunatic asylum.

Congrats on the new toy. :beer:

 

[Vladimir]

Don't forget to listen to:

Tatsuro Yamashita

Sonorite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz3chTmtkBw

Jheena Lodwick

Getting To Know You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7ztOkwOWMU

Susan Wong

Step Into My Dreams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk4IlQY27UY

 

[LDTM]

Touche. Thanks for the links, I will check them out although I don`t have a direct connection from computer to stereo.

1800, just about time for a beer methinks, cheers Vlad. :cheers:

 

[LDTM]

Double post, sorry.

 

[LDTM]

Vladimir: Those links were pretty cool, thanks very much. Ms Lodwick has very good diction, a trait I find sadly lacking in a lot of modern music.

A bit more up-tempo (1950's rock-ish) but you might get a kick out of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwOWS02RoEw

Still trying to learn the guitar solo...:rockout:

 

[Vladimir]

J-Rockabilly on cocain!

Here is a copy for those that can't see the youtube version. Tomoyasu Hotei "Bambina"