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Hi Folks:This weekend past I received a rather desperate plea from my best friend regarding the upgrading of his audio system. His wife gave him an ultimatum: "Spend the 3 grand I allowed you or lose it!!!" Through his tears, he asked me to help him out. I'm a 2-channel kinda guy and, other than casually looking over some 5 channel stuff, I know zilch about AV systems. Even with close to zero knowledge, I suggested that he might want to spend a bit more since, I thought, a decent receiver might eat up better than half his allotment. A look of fear overtook him and he assured me that, "...I got 3 grand MAX." So...
His PRIMARY interest is in music, video second. He has a HUGE collection of music of all sorts on vinyl, cassette, and CD. He is therefore looking for a system that will deliver very good 2-channel sound with adequate resources to give that movies-at-home experience. Since he has to spend the money tout suite, he'd prefer to buy the electronics and the speakers in one swoop. I suggested that he not think about the rear channel speakers for now and blow the total on the front 3 plus the electronics although in retrospect, I do not think this would save him an appreciable amount now. He responded that he might be able to swing this approach past the Warden.
So good people....any and all recommendations will be appreciated.
Follow Ups:
Denon 3300 (includes a phone stage for turntable, im 99% sure) $700
nOrh 5.1 HT system $950
SVS sub $400-700 depeding on modelWhat other electronics are needed here?
For HT you will NEED a sub, no way out of it.
Caught your post late PJ....we're going to the candy store 9/29 :)I'll pass along your recommendations as well.....although I didn't think about the sub.
A DVD player is in the picture but not right now because of severe wifey involvement at this point. So, we're trying to run outta there with the receiver, the speakers, (at least 3,) and MAYBE some cables. Whatever would eat up the 3 grand allottment.
Who knows....maybe even a sub :)
Thanks!
and NO, we'll stay away from the junk mills particularly since my bud's 15 year old speakers came from Circus City! Yikes....come to think of it I don't think I even know the name of the things...come to think of it...I DON'T THINK THEY HAVE A NAME!!!Anyway, as I mentioned, musicality is the first order and phono is a must. Separates are out of the question unless I can convince him otherwise by this weekend. My friend is limited by money and, more unfortunately, by WAF. But I think I'll just take him to a few spots here in NYC and let his eyes and ears bug out on what a quality system can do. Maybe, just maybe he'll spring for a few more duckats even tho it will probably get him an as whippin'!!
BTW, I appreciate your time and suggestions--hopefully it will work out.
:)
Check out the Sherwood-Newcastle preamp/amp combo. It has a analog bypass for the best 2 channel programs. I think the two together are about $3k. I've been told it's pretty nice for the price. I think it even has a phono preamp.Good luck!
Phish,
Your friend should check out a company called Outlaw audio at (not surprisingly) www.outlawaudio.com. They make a good entry level AV receiver for $600.00. It has gotten good reviews. Another option is to buy used on Ebay or Audiogon. I purchased a slightly used Pioneer Elite Receiver for $750.00 that had an original retail of $1400.00.
If there is a good local audio store in your area, have your friend bring some music and have him listen to what the store has set up. Personally (and this is only my opinion), the receivers from NAD and Rotel (both in the $1200.00 to $1500.00 range) sound much more musical than what Yamaha, Denon, and Marantz models do.
For speakers, depending on the size of the room and the what his wife will allow, look at B&W, Acoustic Energy, and Vandersteen. Avoid anything sold at Circus City, Best Buy, etc...
Good luck, Michael
If your looking for a good receiver in the $1k area, that way you can use the other $2K for speakers, wires, etc., look at the Nakamichi AV-10 or the Yamaha RX-V995. Both receivers perform nicely. I prefer the sound charateristics for music in the Nakamichi receiver and for movie playback, I choose the Yamaha. I know that Yamaha is a very flexible unit, that's what I started with because I like watching movies (Bought the Yamaha, the receiver has outputs to upgrade to seperate amps at a later time when I had the money, gradually going towards seperates, and before I knew it, I traded the Yamaha in for the Lexicon DC-1 which has been upgrade to the MC-1). I'm not sure if you can connect seperate amps to the Nakamichi, definitely worth checking out, if so, lean towards the Nakamichi since music is number #1 on your list. If you have time, goto an AV store (not Best Buy or any of those retail chains) and check out the units and see the features and remote. For more info, goto www.nakamichiusa.com/home/AVRECVRS/AV10.HTM or www.yamaha.com/yec/products/products.htmHope that was helpful.
Just a note: I've never really heard the Marantz receiver, but I've been told that it playes music quite nicely as well.
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