Why does my system lack punch & excitment ?

[roger06]

Hi

I popped into a 'hi fi' shop yesterday (in quote marks as not a very specialist one!) - and some guy was listening to the Marantz 2.1 sound bar thingy.

Despite the lack or rears it sounded superb and made me realise how flat, and uninspiring my AV system sounds.

To be fair it's a mix of components - some new and expensive (Dynaudio fronts & Naim amp) - and some rather old. I'm wondering whether it's this mix of components that's causing the problem per se or whether one (or more) of them is letting the system down (my suspicion is the sub).

So if you're not bored of this thread and would like to offer an opinion it'll be appreciated. AV system is:

Pioneer DV2626 DVD player

Yamaha DSP 492 surround sound processor (with pre outs for front L & R ) into

Naim Nait5i two channel amp

Main speakers Dynaudio Audience 52 SEs

Centre Dynaudio 42C

Rears Kef 60s (bought '96)

Sub - Paradigm (£150 from Richer Sounds about '98)

Your opinions would be helpful...

Thanks

 

[Frank Harvey]

What source component was being used with the Marantz soundbar? If it was running from a Bluray player, it will sound more detailed and impressive. I can't really see anything in your system to cause any problems, other than the centre needing better amplification. It could be that your system needs a fresh set up and a bit of tweaking. Your surriunds could probably do with being updated at some point. You could loan a Yamaha 763 or 863 AV amp from your local dealer and try it in place of your 492 to see if there's any improvement in detail due to more up to date processing.

I'm not familiar with the sub, but the lack of excitement could be down to the sub not giving adequate kick. See if you can loan a sub from your dealer if the processor isn't the issue.

One thing to take into account is that the soundbar will sound leaner by nature compared to your Dynaudios, possibly giving the impression of more treble detail.

 

[roger06]

Thanks Frank

I'm fairly sure it was a Blu-ray player they were using (well, why woudn't they ?!)

Interesting you mention the Yamaha 763 - as I need 6 channel in (at the moment anyway) and pre outs it seems the best for that money.

I guess there's a lot to consider - I do tend to think the rears and sub let it down as they're totally out classed by the Dynaudios at the front. The amp is 8 years old so i guess a lot's moved on since then. At some stage I'll need HD audio when I upgrade to a BD player...

Main trouble is I don't have a good local dealer where I live near Chichester...

cheers

 

[Messiah]

What about 'Now that's HiFi' in Chichester??

I used to go to this dealer when they were based in Portsmouth and they always provided great service!!

 

[roger06]

Messiah:
What about 'Now that's HiFi' in Chichester??

I used to go to this dealer when they were based in Portsmouth and they always provided great service!!

Indeed - very nice guys and very helpful. Just don't seem to have much of a range... no Arcam, no Naim. I've not really seen much in there other than Sony and Marantz.

 

[Messiah]

Fair point!

Be ok if you want Sony or Marantz though

 

[Messiah]

Or you could pop down the motorway to Audio T in Portsmouth??

 

[roger06]

Messiah:Or you could pop down the motorway to Audio T in Portsmouth??

I've just been looking at their web site! I may just pop down there - are they good ?

 

[Messiah]

I think so.

Very helpful staff and a wide range of kit and 2 demo rooms.

 

[roger06]

I'll pop down some time then. I also want to droole over the next level Naim CD / Amp ! (which could be dangerous!)

 

[Messiah]

Very dangerous but hey, you only live once!

(Although if the wife finds out the true cost of things that life could be very short....

)

 

[roger06]

Very true!

The good thing about Naim kit is that the next two CD players up (Cd5x and CDx2) look more or less identical to the CD5i I have now - so she'd never know!!

Cunning eh? and I reckon a deliberate move by Naim...