Amp to match MA Radius R270

[victorleong]

Hi,

Am planning to get the Monitor Audio Radius speakers for my home cinema setup - for the first time:

Front standing pair - Radius 270 HD

Front middle - Radius 180 HD

Rear pair - Radius 90 HD

Subwoofer - Radius 370 HD

I am uncertain which amp to that both yield the best sound performance out of the MA speakers AND perhaps future proof for future upgrade (e.g. the MA Silver RX6 in the future when my budget allows). I have narrowed down to these 3 amps:

1. Pioneer SC-LX36

2. Pioneer SC-LX56 (quite a significant price difference but is the performance worth the difference?)

3. Yamaha RX-A3020 Aventage (is this Yamaha model easier to pair/match with speakers in general compared to the Pioneer?)

I am also using a Sony bluray player SDP-BD780 and a Samsung SmartTV.

Would appreciate any advice/recommendation/experience you can share.

Thanks!

 

[bigboss]

I have demoed your speaker combination, and ended up getting Radius 225 HD as floorstanders wouldn't suit my room decor.

I found the Yamaha to partner best with Radius HD speakers. I personally found the Pioneer to be on the bright side. Your shortlist is quite odd, as they're all in different classes.

For your speakers I would recommend a minimum of RX-A2020. 3020 will bring improvements, but audition to see if the difference is worth the extra expenditure. If limited by budget, also audition the 1020.

 

[victorleong]

I have demoed your speaker combination, and ended up getting Radius 225 HD as floorstanders wouldn't suit my room decor.

I found the Yamaha to partner best with Radius HD speakers. I personally found the Pioneer to be on the bright side. Your shortlist is quite odd, as they're all in different classes.

For your speakers I would recommend a minimum of RX-A2020. 3020 will bring improvements, but audition to see if the difference is worth the extra expenditure. If limited by budget, also audition the 1020.

Bigboss,

thanks for the advice.

i'm a newbie at this. Re the short list, I reckon that the Pioneer LX86 and the Yamaha 3020 are in the same class. The Pioneer 36/56 reviews on WHF seems good and a much lesser price. I was just wondering if there is a big difference compared to the LX86.

i'm split between the LX86 and the 3020. Both sound and look great.

 

[bigboss]

Higher end receivers tend to perform better sonically. However, the speakers should be revealing enough to bring out the difference.When I demoed, although there was an improvement with RX-V3900, I could not justify the price difference for that improvement. Hence I settled for the 1900.

You need to demo both Yamaha and Pioneer and decide. I personally would go for the Yamaha.

 

[victorleong]

Thanks BB !

Am a newbie with home cinema setup. Did some research and gone around shops. Will be testing the R90HD and R45HD tomorrow. I am based in Stockholm, Sweden - hence, not many shops have the Radius range in store for demo :-(

Unfortunately, they do not have the Yamaha 3020 amp and the R270HD speakers. I'm pretty much set on the R270HD speakers and Yamaha amps - although i think the Pioneer iphone/ipad controller looks good (havent check out Yamaha's yet). My biggest concerns are:

1. the placement of the rear speakers (for a 5.1 setup) in my living room. The distance from my sofa to my 46" Samsung tv is 3.2m, and my sofa has its back to the wall. I can probably move the sofa 0.5-0.8m to the front, but i'm not sure if placing the rear speakers behind would still be too close to my ears? I am trying to avoid wall mounting of the rear speakers - but having said that, how much would that help since my sofa will still be close to the back wall? If wall mounted, how high should it be mounted to have a balanced surround effect?

2. and given (1) above, which would be a better option - the R90HD or R45HD. The retailer suggested the 3-way RA/RX mounted to the wall.

Any advice/suggestions re the placements of the rear speakers would be much appreciated.

Thanks heaps!

 

[victorleong]

Thanks BB !

Am a newbie with home cinema setup. Did some research and gone around shops. Will be testing the R90HD and R45HD tomorrow. I am based in Stockholm, Sweden - hence, not many shops have the Radius range in store for demo :-(

Unfortunately, they do not have the Yamaha 3020 amp and the R270HD speakers. I'm pretty much set on the R270HD speakers and Yamaha amps - although i think the Pioneer iphone/ipad controller looks good (havent check out Yamaha's yet). My biggest concerns are:

1. the placement of the rear speakers (for a 5.1 setup) in my living room. The distance from my sofa to my 46" Samsung tv is 3.2m, and my sofa has its back to the wall. I can probably move the sofa 0.5-0.8m to the front, but i'm not sure if placing the rear speakers behind would still be too close to my ears? I am trying to avoid wall mounting of the rear speakers - but having said that, how much would that help since my sofa will still be close to the back wall? If wall mounted, how high should it be mounted to have a balanced surround effect?

2. and given (1) above, which would be a better option - the R90HD or R45HD. The retailer suggested the 3-way RA/RX mounted to the wall.

Any advice/suggestions re the placements of the rear speakers would be much appreciated.

Thanks heaps!