Arcam AVR280 + possible Arcam Muso/Logo. Music listening options?

[admin_exported]

Hi all, after many changes of direction looking for speakers to go with my Arcam AVR280, I've now come accross a one of chance to purchase a set of Muso/Logo 5.1 speakers for £500 which sounds like a deal too good to miss.

The only problem is I was really looking primerally for a set of stereo speakers(and even then on a budget) as music is of great importance to me.

I know in direct stereo mode the receiver runs off the two front speakers only and no sub so obviously the muso's alone are not going to carry much bass here(I mainly listen to hiphop drum & bass and electronica so this does concern me).

Now I am an audiophile noob but if I understand this correctly I have two options(well, a third if listening to cds in 5.1 sounds good through these speakers which I have no idea). Option 1 is to wire an additional pair of speakers into the zone 2(not sure if this still works with the direct stereo mode though), the Mordaunt Short Avant 902i would be my best option as they're about the only speaker I would have budget left to afford and sound pretty reasonable, and drawbacks with this method that anyone can see? Option 2 would be to look into an additional piece of equipment that allows me to integrate the sub into the direct stereo mode, but to be honest I have no idea where to start with this and if it would be do-able on a budget(which is pretty much used up, could maybe afford £100.

If anyone has any advise for me I would really appreciate it, obviously have to make my mind up quick time on the muso/logo bundle as it I doubt it'll sit around for long.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Anonymous]

ok, no repies yet but will keep trying as have a further option/complication now

I've now by chance managed to source a pair of the Tannoy F4 Customs for £120 which is what I set out to get initially but gave up as they seemed to be sold out throughout all the Richer Sounds stores.

Now I know one thing, the missus is gonna kill me with all this spending(she was perfectly happy with me spending a couple hundred pounds on a set of stereo speakers, but that has escallated into £620 for 7.1

).

So my real question here, in the hope that the answer gives me some good ammunition to a enable parting of the funds, would this be a good 7.1 combo for my Arcam AVR280 receiver. It would be set up like this I think:

Tannoy F4 Customs as the two fronts, then the Arcam Muso's for centre and four rears, the the Arcam Logo on sub duties.

Any opinion on the above please kind experts? I can't afford to make any mistakes with this set-up, if it isn't right she'll murder me!

BTW, my two back-up plans incase she goes nuts, would be to revert back to the Arcam Muso/Logo 5.1 only, or to let that go and keep the F4 Customs and get the F1's rears and a matching centre, leaving the sub for later(would obviously save alot of cash, think it would work out around £250 all in).

 

[matengawhat]

i have the arcam muso/logo running with an onkyo 876 for home cinema duties and it sounds fantastic - goes louds and remains clear - i have however never listened to it in stero mode with just two fronts and the sub as i have a seperate stereo solution for music listening.

£500 for the arcam is a bargain and as much as arcam would prob argue otherwise i would only really look at this set up as a sub sat home cinema system as opposed to hi fi

why don't you buy it and try it and see how you feel it is for the stereo duties and if not good enough then buy the Tannoy F4s - as you said you can always use it to make a 7.1 system - i think you will be very pleased.

If worse comes to the worse and your not happy you might have to buy the matching Tannoy centre to allow for better intergration but i think you will prob be happy with the setup as is.

 

[matengawhat]

also the arcam sub has both an lfe in and stereo L&R ins so you could connect to lfe for home cinema duties and connect the L&R ins to a pre out on your amp which would supply a signal in stereo mode to the sub purely for music. So all you would need is set of interconnects

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing your opinion, good to hear from an owner of the Muso/Logo 5.1's as it has to be said there isn't alot of info around on them as far as opinions go, with exception the glowing review on here.

As for trying the Arcams before buying the Tannoys, not much option there as we're out the country for another 4 weeks and either would be sold by then if I don't pay for them now.

I guess if the front lacks synergy with the mix of Arcam and Tannoy I could always revert back to 5.1 and use the zone 2 of the receiver the the two Tannoys independantly, although I understand in this mode I wouldn't be able to use the pure stereo setting of the AVR280.

Argh, if only money wasn't an issue, want them all but I'm not sure I can do it(letting either bargain go will cause me nightmares!).

 

[Anonymous]

matengawhat:also the arcam sub has both an lfe in and
stereo L&R ins so you could connect to lfe for home cinema duties
and connect the L&R ins to a pre out on your amp which would supply
a signal in stereo mode to the sub purely for music. So all you would
need is set of interconnects

Interesting, although I guess the direct stereo mode of the AVR280 would still rule out the sub, or would it? If I knew I could utilise the Logo sub in stereo direct mode then I'd probably be happy with just the muso/logo set-up for now(or would it be either or, I mean would this only work if I have 7 speakers connected?)

Stereo Direct:
< Off : the AVR280 functions in its normal way.
< On: the AVR280 uses the analogue input signal for the source, bypassing the digital circuitry.
In this mode, the AVR280 functions like an analogue amplifier: it also shuts down all the unused
digital circuitry

Important: When 'stereo direct' mode is enabled, bass management is disabled. For this reason,
'stereo direct' mode is not recommended in systems comprising small 'satelite' speakers, as the fullfrequency
information that would be directed to these units may cause damage to the speaker.

 

[matengawhat]

not 100% sure - i always find with arcam not good to assume - been caught out a few times thinking what other ppl do as standard they would to - it might be worth an email to arcam technical and also check that you are ok to connect both lfe and L&R at same times - most subs are fine but some may not - you could check the instruction manuals on the arcam website they ae all listed

 

[Anonymous]

It's all so confusing(for me anyway

).

Just been reading the manual from the Arcam site.

The Logo subwoofer has two different inputs. The first is a stereo input that is
routed through the crossover and is designed to be used when the large, fullrange
speakers are being used. The second is a mono input which bypasses
the crossover completely. This is for use with a surround sound system with a
subwoofer (LFE) output. These two signals are mixed together so both can be
attached at the same time if required.
Having independent inputs for left, right and LFE means the system can be set
up to work with a surround sound system with a full analogue bypass mode
without changing cables. This means that in stereo the left and right speakers
can be fed with a signal that has not been through any digital conversion whilst
the sub is still active. To do this the left and right outputs and the subwooferoutput are all connected to the Logo inputs. When the surround sound
processors crossover is used the signal from all the small speakers is
transferred via the subwoofer output. If left and right are set to "small" their
bass signal will also be transferred via the subwoofer connection; if they are
set to large then the full-range signal will be transferred to the crossover via
the left and right inputs.
When the system is switched to "direct" then the bass management in the
surround sound processor will be shut off and the left and right speakers will
be treated as large so the full range signal will be transferred to the crossover
via the Logo's left and right inputs. This allows a set-up with small front
speakers where the surround sound processors crossover can be used for
playback of film material at high level without risk to speakers. Then, using
direct mode, the system can be switched to playing music at lower levels with
the subwoofer extending the bass response of the left and right speakers.

It does sound as though it would work the way I would hope, as in 5.1 for movies, and then 2.1 through stereo direct(courtesy of the sub itself allowing itself to be used as opposed to the receiver which is normally 2.0 only when in stereo direct mode). Still not sure if this would be straining the muso speakers though(I don't blast my music, usually it's medium to fairly loud).

Thanks again for your opinions, don't worry, I won't take what you say as red, but it's always helpful to get other peoples thoughts, especially when they share the same or similar equipment.