AV receiver for music & movies - So Confused !!!

[duaplex]

Funny, that's exactly what Pioneer said to me when I gave them a call and spoke to them about needing a Headphone AMP to power some 600 Ohm heasdet. They made the point that high receivers are amplifiers and will perform just as well and output the same power you expect. Essentially everything you said.

I am on the fence for this one, I will need to demo them and see for myself.

 

[sound10]

Hi, just a quick question with regards to speaker options if I do go down the AV route for music & movies.
As mentioned earlier, I really do like the Bowers & Wilkins CM8's.
If I were to get a suitable amp to drive those, eg Onkyo 809/1009, SR6006/7005 etc etc, would I need to match the CM8's with the rest of the CM series to get the correct surroind sound quality, or can I mix & match.
From reading other posts with regards to this, I am aware that it's important to have a matching centre speaker. I wouldn't mind spending the money getting the CM centre speaker, but can I get away with choosing different rear speakers/subwoofers, eg B&W 685's as rears etc etc.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

buy a second hand onkyo and second hand stereo amp, you will get two cracking units for 1500 notes.... i have an onkyo 905 and a nait xs and i reckon you could get them both within that kind of cash. both stonking bits of kit. go for neat motive 3's all round, that'll sound pukka.

 

[Anonymous]

buy a second hand onkyo and second hand stereo amp, you will get two cracking units for 1500 notes.... i have an onkyo 905 and a nait xs and i reckon you could get them both within that kind of cash. both stonking bits of kit. go for neat motive 3's all round, that'll sound pukka.

 

[duaplex]

Of course, if you look at my setup my I have the B&W DS3 as rears, which are from a different family to the CM's. You can mix and match speakers to a certain degree, keep the center the same as you have mentioned for tonal balance.

I use my CM8's for music and they are a very well balanced speaker, with a fantastic mid range. Of course for Music I am considering getting some T1 Beyers. After all it has been stated on the site that the T1 headphones with beyer headphone amp provides the most satisfying music listening experience to date, even better than a well assembled 20k system for HIFI. My point is, focus on AV and the Music will sound great anyway (especially with an Arcam AVR400 or better yet AVR 600) and if you want more you know you can get it with headphones. I see that as a satisfactory compromise in my opinion.

BTW im listening to some lossless audio through the CM8's as I type this and it sounds incredible to my ears!

 

[sound10]

Hi duaplex, many thanks for your reply. You have a fantastic av set up and i'm sure lossless sounds absolutely fab.
When I come to buy, I will just audition and audition until I find what I'm looking for in terms of sound quality. The CM8's are a definite as they are my favourite speaker.
Just got to try and find an av receiver that sounds similar to the Roksan Kandy K2 when it comes to music.

Cheers

 

[Timbot]

Not really sure if this is a good suggestion as I don't have much experience but would it be worthwhile getting a Blu-Ray player with both an HDMI out and an optical out and investing in a DAC for the optical out for stereo duties into a different input in the receiver?

 

[duaplex]

Because you are going down the Music route more I would recommend trying these out, the first two are a must

1. Arcam AVR600 - Renowned for being the best Musical AV out there

2. Arcam AVR400 - The next best thing to the AVR600 (AVR500 is an option, but has less functionality)

3. LX85 Pioneer, Peerless for AV and great on Music

4. LX83 Pioneer, Great for Music, superior on AV to the Arcams but not the LX85

Thank you for the compliment there Sound10, It took me a while to choose the CM8, they had strong competition from the KEF Q900

Let us know how you get on, I would love to hear what you decided!

 

[Anonymous]

I recently bought an ex-dem Arcam AVR-500 with 5 yr warranty for 999 after demoing it against a SC-LX73 and a Yamaha 3067. TBH I wanted the 3067 or the 73 to sound best as I'd heard on forums of some issues with the 500.

but within a 2 channel demo the 500 sounded leagues better than the 73 and much better than the 3067 as well which I placed in my mind in 2nd place

took the AVR500 home on approval as was concerned about (1) lack of power - the 7x85W seemed way down on my current pioneer AX10Ai which manages 7x130W and (2) bugs

but once home - WOW - the sheer clout the 500 has blew me away - this is for movies- my speakers sounded more dynamic than ever and went very loud without breaking into a sweat - by far the best I've heard my system. Music in PLIIx mode (expanded out across my speakers) sounded sublime and Dolby Volume was quite a revelation for late night movie playback (something the Yamaha and Pioneer don't have). The build quality of the Arcam is excellent- its a very heavy receiver and is dominated by a huge heatsink front left and a suprisingly large Torrodial transformer - it looked about same size as the one in the Arcam AVR350 I owned a few years back in the pics - but in person I could see it was far deeper/taller - so overall looked almost twice the size of the one in my previous Arcam

BUT it shut down due to heat (with a pop through all 7 speakers!!) - phoned Arcam and had to be sent back for mods - this leftme a bit of a sour taste so in meantime I borrowed the Yamaha 3067 (2nd place in my demo) for a night -incase the sound quality was nearly as good - but with less bugs - more functionality etc. Also the Arcam does make some annoying pop noises through random speakers as it negotiates the HD codecs

For my 7.1 system (YMMV) though - there was no contest - the Yamaha wasn't in same league as the Arcam - gone was the open/dynamic/ movie playback and within scores in movies seperated instruments sound of the Arcam, and gone was the power and dynamics at volume. Sort of to be expected as at different price points, but the Yamahas are very good for movies, and 90% of my viewing is movies/TV - so I wasn't quite sure what to expect

to be fair to the Yamaha though it did sound amazingly good for the £750 or so you can pick them up for now - but I far far preferred the Arcam

Am I concerned I may need a spare cheap receiver if the Arcam has to go back for repair (my TV is a panel with no speakers) ? yes ... Do I think I can get similar SQ sub £3k - no - hence why its a no brainer really when you get a 5 yr warranty. It genuinely sounds so good that you can live with some of the drawbacks

oh btw - for movies (even HD codec Blurays) I still preferred the sound and power of my Pioneer AX10Ai over the Yamaha - even though I'm limited to legacy codecs to the Pioneer vs I was using bitstream HDMI lossless into the Yamaha Source input isn't everything

 

[duaplex]

A good way to sum it up Buckshar. I went for the LX83 when i tested it against the Arcam, but only because thought it sounded better with the CM8's for AV. With Music I have to agree with your summary!

 

[natstick]

For what its worth, I felt thst the mcr603 and the Rega dac/amp were at the same same level listening to mp3 and flac files through B&W 685's.

After demo'ing the VSX LX55 ( only in stereoi) (AV reciever, to save me buying two boxes) with the same speakers (which I bought), I've no doubt that the Pioneer sounded far superior (be it only with mp3's, as it wouldn't read flac files from usb)

Much more vigour, drive and clarity, and so much more headroom. I was concerned it may sound a bit too trebbly, but that wasn't the case. In my opinion the 685's, with their easy compatibilty take the edge off the LX-55, so much so that I have bought both the 685's and the LX-55, and I'm absolutely delighted , and I consider my myselfy a novice whose looking for a warm, bassy but detailed sound.

 

[natstick]

For what its worth, I felt thst the mcr603 and the Rega dac/amp were at the same same level listening to mp3 and flac files through B&W 685's.

After demo'ing the VSX LX55 ( only in stereoi) (AV reciever, to save me buying two boxes) with the same speakers (which I bought), I've no doubt that the Pioneer sounded far superior (be it only with mp3's, as it wouldn't read flac files from usb)

Much more vigour, drive and clarity, and so much more headroom. I was concerned it may sound a bit too trebbly, but that wasn't the case. In my opinion the 685's, with their easy compatibilty take the edge off the LX-55, so much so that I have bought both the 685's and the LX-55, and I'm absolutely delighted , and I consider my myselfy a novice whose looking for a warm, bassy but detailed sound.

 

[natstick]

Will someone please tell me the secret to avoid continuosly double posting?

Sorry, AGAIN