A.V. Suggestions !

[camac]

I currently have a Sony STR-DA 5400 av receiver running M&K k7 fronts and k4 tri-pole rears and a Monitor Audio RSW sub. I have a Denon DVD-2500bt player and a Sony 46" t.v.

I am happy with the screen and the blu ray player, but I have an itch i want to scratch and would like to upgrade either the speakers or the amp, I can only afford to upgrade one of them at this time, but when finances allow (hopefully the end of the year) I will upgrade the other, be it speakers or amp.

My budget is around the £1800 max.

Which one would you upgrade first and with what ? bearing in mind the rest of my system.

Any thoughts ? as i want to have something in mind before i audition.

My room is 7m long by 4m wide.

Thanks.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

It is a tricky one but at this stage I would change the amp first. The Sony is very good but may limit your choice on the speakers should you upgrade them first. Between the two the M&ks are the ones to stick with as you can get more from them with a new amp. My main choice for your budget would be the Anthem MRX500 - we find it wokrs well with almost all speakers - and due to the very powerful room equalisation it will make the most of your set up in your room.

With the Anthem at the heart of your new system you can then take your pick of the speakers on the market when funds allow.

 

[camac]

Hi Nick,

Thanks for the reply.

On checking the specs I noticed that the MRX500 puts out 100 watts per channel but that the MRX700 has 120 watts.

In your opinion will the MRX500 provide enough power to get the best out of my current speakers or might i be better waiting till funds allow and looking at the MRX700, bearing in mind that i plan to change my speakers later in the year. Or do you think i will notice such a difference that i might just be tempted to stay with the M&K`S ?

The reason for asking is that if i don`t need to upgrade the speakers i would be tempted to spend more on an amp.

I am not a serial upgrader but when i do i tend to stay with what i have for a period of time .

Thanks.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

You will hear gains going to the 700 but I would stick with the 500, keep the M&Ks and upgrade your sub at a later stage. We recently set up an MRX700 with some MKs and the results were great - a nice sub finished it off.

 

[hunnyy]

Sorry to "hijack" this thread, but I'd really appreciate your advice on a similar theme.

I have the Anthem MRX700, which I'm very happy with, connected to Spendor A9 speakers plus Spendor C5.2 centre speaker (and decent surround speakers). Source is a Cambridge Audio 650 blu-ray player. My sub is an Epos ELS. Would I benefit from a better sub, say up to £1,000?

System used for movies plus blu-ray/DAD music (not CDs).

Many thanks.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

Sorry to "hijack" this thread, but I'd really appreciate your advice on a similar theme.

I have the Anthem MRX700, which I'm very happy with, connected to Spendor A9 speakers plus Spendor C5.2 centre speaker (and decent surround speakers). Source is a Cambridge Audio 650 blu-ray player. My sub is an Epos ELS. Would I benefit from a better sub, say up to £1,000?

System used for movies plus blu-ray/DAD music (not CDs).

Many thanks.

The Spendor's will be giving you a good amount of bass but they wont give you the real authority to the LFE like a sub will. Hook up a Paradigm Ultracube 12 and use the PBK ( Paradigm Room EQ) and the bass will be more controlled for sure. As an experiment you can use a movie setting to crossover the A9's a little and route some of the pressure to the sub. I doubt you will need the sub for music but depending on your room size and music preference you may find a little helps - all very easy on the Anthem.

 

[hunnyy]

Thanks for your reply, Nick.

Are you suggesting that if I were to swap my Epos ELS sub for a Paradigm Ultracube 12 sub I will notice only a little difference with music; perhaps a greater improvement with movies?

Are you also suggesting that the Paradigm sub is particularly well-suited to my Spendor A9s, or just that this is amongst the best subs at that price, or both?

And finally, if I were to purchase the Paradigm, would I just need to utilise the Paradigm Room EQ, or would the Anthem MRX700 "ARC" have to be re-run also?

Kind regards.

 

[camac]

Thanks Nick for the help.

I will see if i can arrange an audition with the Anthem MRX 500 over the next couple of weeks.

Anywhere I have looked it seems to get very favorable reports and excellent reviews.

Once again many thanks.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

Thanks Nick for the help.

I will see if i can arrange an audition with the Anthem MRX 500 over the next couple of weeks.

Anywhere I have looked it seems to get very favorable reports and excellent reviews.

Once again many thanks.

You are welcome.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

Thanks for your reply, Nick.

Are you suggesting that if I were to swap my Epos ELS sub for a Paradigm Ultracube 12 sub I will notice only a little difference with music; perhaps a greater improvement with movies?

Are you also suggesting that the Paradigm sub is particularly well-suited to my Spendor A9s, or just that this is amongst the best subs at that price, or both?

And finally, if I were to purchase the Paradigm, would I just need to utilise the Paradigm Room EQ, or would the Anthem MRX700 "ARC" have to be re-run also?

Kind regards.

Sorry I didnt see the sub as part of you system. Are you running it with the Spendors for 2ch? I think a sub adds massively to stereo but with the A9's you might be getting enough already. I was reluctant to state you will get a large improvement with your speakers as you may not like the sound/ your room may not agree with the extra bass.

The Paradigm is suited to any set up really as like the Anthem it can adjust to your room. To my mind Paradigm are offering some of the best subwoofers available today and the Ultracube would be my choice at your budget.

If you run a Paradigm sub you are best to use the PBK first and then use the ARC within the MRX.

 

[hunnyy]

Nick, I never use my system in 2 channel mode; always 5.1. That's primarily because I don't listen to CDs, all music on this system is of the audio-visual variety, blu-rays and DVDs.

The room , by the way, is approx. 18 feet long x 12 feet wide. That being the case, do you think it's worth changing my relatively inexpensive Epos ELS sub for the Paradigm?

Thanks.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

In that case yes you will hear the difference immediately and I would advise on the upgrade. If you can push the budget ( what are you doing with your Epos sub, is that factored in your budget?) you may get to a Seismic 110.

 

[hunnyy]

Nick, my budget is flexible, if it means I will hear a really worthwhile improvement to the SQ! (I'd sell the Epos).

And do you think the biggest audible improvement will be with music, movies, or both equally?

Many thanks.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

A new sub will really lift the system. We have been experimenting with all sorts of combinations in store and if you get the sub right everything just gels together. When you are at the level you have your system at I would always suggest investing in the subwoofer - it is a relatively safe bet as it wont exactly go out of date.

 

[hunnyy]

Thanks, Nick, I appreciate your advice.