Which AV Amp & Speakers Combination ?

[admin_exported]

Hi all experts & fellows hobbyist,

Been thinking on this topic for quite some time.

The room size is 12ft (TV to sofa) by 14ft. 50% music (mostly vocal) + 50% HT (mostly action movies)

AV amp candidates: either the cheaper Onkyo 608 or the 808.

Subwoofer choice: Rythmik F12 Speaker choices:

Done quite a fair bit of reading & searching through the net. Wondering which brand/make(s) match the Onkyo amp + if the amp(s) is able to drive these speakers + if these floor-stander main is suitable for my room size.

1) Totem : Arro as main + Rainmaker as center

2) PMC : GB1i as main + CB6i as center

3) KEF : Q500 as main + Q600c as center

4) Monitor Audio : GS20 as main + GS LCR as center

Many thanks in advance for your advises & comments.

 

[duaplex]

Welcome to the Forums

I would first of all advise on the Onkyo 808 that is a better AV. Driving the speakers is not an issue, it will handle that perfectly.

I would advise not to mix and match speakers, I would try and stick to the same brand all round as they are very different tone wise and could create a massive imbalance in your room. The only speaker that you can have a different brand for is the sub i would say.

Your budget seems to be about the 3k mark? Would that be right? If this is the case consider the RX6 package for your Music and pair it with the Onkyo 808 or Denon 2311 or 3311 for a warmer sound.

Hope this helps

 

[Anonymous]

try the new pioneer amps with Q acoustics they sound great

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the Forums I would first of all advise on the Onkyo 808 that is a better AV. Driving the speakers is not an issue, it will handle that perfectly. I would advise not to mix and match speakers, I would try and stick to the same brand all round as they are very different tone wise and could create a massive imbalance in your room. The only speaker that you can have a different brand for is the sub i would say. Your budget seems to be about the 3k mark? Would that be right? If this is the case consider the RX6 package for your Music and pair it with the Onkyo 808 or Denon 2311 or 3311 for a warmer sound. Hope this helps

Thks duaplex,

Regarding the 3 front speakers budget, it is up to 3-5K. Intention is to get them last for at least 10 years.

On the Rx6, tried it some time back. Think it is a bit on the bright side.

Had tried the 4 makes of speaker (but all using non-onkyo amp & under diff room condition) and like it. Wondering if I'm to bring them home, which one of them will be best suit my room size & amp.

 

[duaplex]

Thats a good budget to have and is similar to what i spent only last month, you can see my kit below (that sounded very wrong i know lol).

I would say, try the warmer av's too like the denon and the Arcam AVR400. Also dont give the Pioneer a miss. If you did not like the bright sound then steer away from Onkyo combined with MA.

Sample the Q900's too and also the B&W CM series. For that price you can get a very good System!

The MA speakers are great but they seem to lack something in the middle for me. Still this is just what i found and heard. But do go and demo the Kef and B&W too. Any dealer worth thier salt would let you try everything!

 

[duaplex]

My room is the same as yours. Exactly the same dimension. I bought the LX83 because of its MACC feature which automatically configures the speakers to suit your room. I went for the CM8 fronts as the rest look too beastly in my room. However the LX83 would handle anything in your room and adjust the speakers accordingly. It judges distance, vibrations, sound interferance and the acoustics of the room.

 

[Anonymous]

Seem that every one had been telling me that Onkyo av amp is bright sounding.

Personally, I had not tried the Pioneer LX av amp before, do they make use of audyssey to do speaker/surrounding calibration ?

Tried Marantz before & Dennon before, found that they are not as detail as Onkyo (ie they are on the warmer side).

Yamaha on the other hand is a little bit too bright for me.

How does Pioner LX stand among them ?

 

[CnoEvil]

Seem that every one had been telling me that Onkyo av amp is bright sounding.

Personally, I had not tried the Pioneer LX av amp before, do they make use of audyssey to do speaker/surrounding calibration ?

Tried Marantz before & Dennon before, found that they are not as detail as Onkyo (ie they are on the warmer side).

Yamaha on the other hand is a little bit too bright for me.

How does Pioner LX stand among them ?

Slightly confusing posting on both threads; but if you found the Yamaha too bright, then you would probably find the Pioneer even more so.

It sounds as if your taste is similar to mine. If you can manage it (as I mentioned on your other thread), Arcam + PMC is the way to go - if you do a demo, make sure you are prepared to buy, as it really will sound stunning.....all just my opinion of course.

 

[duaplex]

Pioneer uses their own calibrator which they are very proud of and is probably the best out the lot. If you ask me and many other the Pioneer is the way to go.

If detail is what you are after you will be in for a treat.

I did demo the Arcam 500 and found that the detail was lacking compared to the Pioneer and so went for the Pioneer instead.

The Arcam AVR400 is worth a demo too and will probably be to your taste too.

My Advice, Demo the LX83 and AVR400. See what you think of them and try the Onkyo 3008 too as that is in the same lrice range.

 

[Anonymous]

Arcam AV400 only 7.1 @ 90W/C.

The trio Pioneer LX83, Onkyo 3008 & Denon 4311 are all 140W/C.

Both Onkyo & Denno are 9.2 + with Audyssey MultEQ XT32.

Should be a better choice considering power vs $$.

Will find some time to test out both amp.

As on the speaker : Totem vs PMC - going to be harder to compare as will be difficult to find a place where they carry both.

Arros vs GB1i from Front

Rainmaker vs TB2M-Ci (CB6i too x-pensive) for Center

 

[CnoEvil]

Arcam AV400 only 7.1 @ 90W/C.

The trio Pioneer LX83, Onkyo 3008 & Denon 4311 are all 140W/C.

Both Onkyo & Denno are 9.2 + with Audyssey MultEQ XT32.

Should be a better choice considering power vs $$.

Will find some time to test out both amp.

As on the speaker : Totem vs PMC - going to be harder to compare as will be difficult to find a place where they carry both.

Arros vs GB1i from Front

Rainmaker vs TB2M-Ci (CB6i too x-pensive) for Center

I would advise caution in going purely on quoted power. There are ways of "massaging" the figures, and Arcams are inclined to sound more powerful than the figures suggest....they are often more realistic with their figures.

My AVR600 had no problem feeping up with the Pioneer Susano, despite the discrepancy on paper.
If you don't rate the AVR400 vs the opposition that's fine; don't rule it out based on paper specifications