Feedback on New 5.1 System Plan
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New member Username: MarlinfAustin, TX USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Dec-05 | My wife and I have been shopping for a 5.1 home theater system and we have narrowed the list to a small set of alternatives. I'd appreciate any feedback people can provide on what we are considering. This is a significant investment, so any advice would be appreciated. Front speakers: Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Concert Grand or Beethoven Baby Grand Center Channel: Vienna Acoustics Maestro Grand Surround speakers: Vienna Acoustics Waltz Grand or PSB Image S50 Sub: Martin Logan Depth, 2 Grotto's, or one of the new REL R series subs. Receiver: Arcam AVR300, Rotel RSX-1067, or Integra 6.6 DVD: Undecided We really like the Vienna Acoustics speakers for the mains. We also use this system to listen to music a fair amount and to our ears we liked them much better than Paradigm's Studio series, DynAudio's Focus and Audience series, and any thing from B&W. We felt the DynAudio Focus line was our second favorite. We've listened to a few other speakers, but not as critically. Since we like the VA's for the mains we figured the matching center was a given. On the surrounds, we found the Waltz's to produce a little too "weak" of a sound field. The much less expensive bipoles from PSB seemed to do a better job of surrounding us with sound. The difference though might have been the quality of the AV receiver being used. When listening to the PSB speakers with Dynaudio for the fronts and center we were using an Arcam AVR300. When listening to the all VA setup we were using an Integra 7.6 Receiver. All the VA listening was done with an Integra receiver. We are attempting to get everything I listed above in one room all at once for a final listen and decision. I'm really interested in how the VA's sound with the generally better reviewed Arcam driving them rather than the Integra. It's a long story how we've sort of settled on the Martin Logan subs. Let's just say we were originally attracted to them because of the shape being a better fit in our room. We learned though that the Depth has a great sound and the Grotto a pretty good sound for the money. The Depth clearly has a deeper response even though it's listed as only being 2Hz deeper. I'm much more confused on the receiver. The only reason the Integra is on the list is because its the unit that's been driving the VA speakers and these speakers have been sounding great! I'm expecting either the Rotel or the Arcam unit to do even better, but I'll wait for my ear's to tell me. I want to stick with a receiver for now. When we move in a 2-4 years we are going to design a home theater room into our house. Then I'll purchase some separates and move the receiver to a different listening area. I plan though to use the speakers for a while though, so I'm willing to splurge a bit on them. |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4630 Registered: Dec-03 | Marlin, I have listened to the Arcam AVR 300 compared to the Integra. I think I preferred the sound of the Arcam over the Integra driving a set of SF Cremona. However, I prefer Outlaw Audio components to drive my speakers over Arcam. You should check them out as well http://www.outlawaudio.com/. Indeed, you have to let your ears decide  |
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New member Username: Les_kPlacentia, CA USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Jan-06 | Marlin, Very interesting, as I am running the older Vienna Beethoven's and have just added the Martin Logan Depth to the system. The Depth is up front, between the equipment and the right speaker, and I too had one of the top priorities as being the apperance of the unit, along with low end reinforcment for music. I had actually purchased two of the depths and had one each between the main speakers, but it actually sounded worse to me. To try and integrate and adjust both of them was just too much and as you know they are expensive, so I felt that for the price, two wasn't worth it although combined they produced a tremendous amount of "room lock", the sound didn't seem as clean. As you know, the Beethovens are fairly full range, but the depth added a lot that was missing. It is accurate, punchy and very extended. My media mix is about 90% music and 10% movies, so for me the music comes first and this combo delivers. One word about the Grotto- I auditioned one of those and it can go fairly deep, but the cabinet was really dancin' when pushed hard and it even bottomed out once. Cabinet resonances can hardly be felt on the "balanced force" models. The Depth is far superior to the Grotto in my opinion. It is also the most attractive sub on the market right now in my opinion. The phase adjustment made a big difference in my room and you'll have to play with that. You didn't mention room size, but unless your room is very large, you should be very happy with your choices. Regards, Les. |
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