Where is my setup weakess Link ?

[admin_exported]

Need Help. I use this setup 50% Music (mostly vocal) & 50% Movies.

Movies is OK, but Music wise, still lack the warm & details.

Onkyo SR608 AV Amp
Philips 3000 BR Player (intend to buy myself a Sony BDP S370 or 470)
KEF KHT 3005SE Silver
3 x 1.5M Audioquest Indigo + for the Front & Center Speakers
1 pair of 1M Audioquest Quartz X3 analogue inter-connect btw BR player & AV Amp
1 pce of 3M XLO/VDO ER2 cable run as digital inter-connect btw BR Player & AV Amp
1 pce of 1M Wireworld Ultraviolet 6 btw BR Player and AV Amp
1 pce of 2M Wireworld Chroma 6 btw BR player and 42" LCD TV

What cable should I run btw the AV Amp to the Sub ?
Currently don't even know what exactly is the brand use.

 

[Anonymous]

As AV amps go, the Onkyo is one of the better amps for music, but the Philips BR (and most BD decks) are terrible for playing CDs. Changing to the Sonys will be a waste of time for music. I listened to a friends system with the 470 and it was JUNK for music, even his squeezebox ran rings around it. That was through his £1.5k Anthem Amp and £2.5k Paradigm speakers!!

Try a proper CD player, like a Onkyo CS-5VL or a Rotel RCD-06SE if the budget allows.

Oh and get rid of those hideous KEF speakers!! They may sound acceptable for movies, but music will highlight how coloured, thin and veiled they sound. I can only assume most reviewers listen to them for a short period ( 'reviewing' so many products each month surely means each one only gets a blast for a few hours) as they sound "impressive" (not natural!) until your ears start bleeding!

 

[Anonymous]

Change the front left/right speakers, maybe to the new bookshelf Kefs for music. Does your B/Ray have optical if so try that into the Onkyo.

 

[Andrew Everard]

AlanNorak:Oh and get rid of those hideous KEF speakers!! They may sound acceptable for movies, but music will highlight how coloured, thin and veiled they sound. I can only assume most reviewers listen to them for a short period ( 'reviewing' so many products each month surely means each one only gets a blast for a few hours) as they sound "impressive" (not natural!) until your ears start bleeding!

Thank you for your insight into the reviewing process, which is as wide of the mark as most of your comments.

 

[kinda]

Definitely, from demo experience, try changing the 3005SE sub to one that's more agile, (not a sub expert but BK would be worth checking out), and you should start getting a warmer, more musical sound. The 3005SE just wasn't quick enough for music and the lower frequencies and bass were lost.

For more musicality and detail, I also agree, have a look at the speakers. The 3005SE weren't the most musical or detailed, but the 5005s were good and would keep the tone similar.

I haven't heard the 608, but I'd say there are better AV amps for a compromise of music and films, such as Marantz or Denon.

I agree changing the BluRay player wouldn't do much. There might be benefits to having a standalone CD player, or adding a separate DAC, but I don't think it's the main issue in the current setup.

 

[Anonymous]

Thinking maybe to change the front 3 speakers to iQ10or30 + iQ60c. Does it make any different ? Or should just get rid of the complete Sat/Sub system and get 2 pairs of bookshelf + a matching center ?? If so, thinking of Mointer Audio BX2/BX1/BXC/BX-W10 (Cheaper than the B&W 6XX series), will there be a much better improvement over my current setup ?

On the BR player + Separate CD player : Really do not want 2 separate players cause run out of space to put them. Maybe the new Marantz BR player UD5005 & upward will be able to combine the 2 into 1 ??

 

[Anonymous]

My current setup problem : Movies is OK, but Music wise, still lack the warm & details.

I use this setup 50% Music (mostly vocal) & 50% Movies.

Thinking of a few alternatives, which of them is a better choice for my application ??
Option 1 : Replace the front 3 speakers with Kef iQ30 + iQ6c
Option 2 : Mointer Audio BX2/BX1/BXC/BX-W10
Option 3 : B&W 685/686/HTM62/ASW608

Sub : REL T2 or Sunfire HRS10. Recommendation ?

 

[Anonymous]

I have listened to the Monitor Audio and the B&W. The MA were great for stereo, but I found them lacking dynamics and impact in the HT setup. To me, the B&W's excelled in both music and HT. I ended up with the B&W kit with the 610 sub. I'm real happy!

 

[Lee H]

AlanNorak:

Oh and get rid of those hideous KEF speakers!! They may sound acceptable for movies, but music will highlight how coloured, thin and veiled they sound. I can only assume most reviewers listen to them for a short period ( 'reviewing' so many products each month surely means each one only gets a blast for a few hours) as they sound "impressive" (not natural!) until your ears start bleeding!

He asked how he could improve his system, not for someone to insult it.

 

[jarra]

Nothing wrong with KEF speakers......I remember years ago sitting in Lyric HiFi, Belfast just looking at things like you do. Then all of a sudden I heard this wonderful sound coming from the demo room.

I got up to have a look as I thought a band was playing live. Nope it was a Lynn Ghenki or summit like that and some KEF speakers. The sound was awesome.

So I went out and bought a Naim system.

 

[chrisup]

tane0019

I have an Onkyo 905 and use the B&W 685 Theatre with the B&W ASW610 subwoofer this combination really excels with movies and the B&W 685 fronts are fantastic with music. You would get better results with a dedicated CD player for your music rather than relying on the Bluray player to do both jobs.

Find a good dealer and audition the different speakers and compare them to your KEFs and see the difference a cd player v bluray playing music. That way you will have a plan to improve your set up as funds permit.

Best wishes

Chris