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jbliz | I'm a newbie that's been spending way too much time this past week reading through old posts. Unfortunately, the more I read, the more I change my mind, but I think I'm closing in on my decision. The opinions of Hawk, G-MAN and John A have led me to choose a NAD receiver, most likely the T762 but perhaps the T752 to save cost. Also based on the old posts of our resident HT gurus, I've narrowed my decision down to two speaker packages: 1. Ascend Acoustics Series 2000 (System 23-2001) Fronts - CBM-170's Center - CMT-340c Surrounds - also CBM-170's Sub - Hsu VTF-2 (well maybe the VTF-3) 2. PSB Concert Theater System Fronts - Image 4T's Center - Image 8C Surrounds - Image 1B's Sub - Image SubSonic 6 So what does everyone think? My room is big and I'll be listening to music and watching DVD's. Probably 70% HT use and 30% music. As a third option, I was intrigued by a post a read about the Magnepan MMG's, but I think they would blow my $2500 budget if I bought the MMGs for fronts and surrounds, a NAD receiver and a center and sub. I asked for recommendations about a Magnepan system in another post, but didn't hear back from anyone yet. However, I'm still interested how people think a Magnepan system would stack up against the two systems I desribed above. I plan on heading to a dealer just down the street in Falls Church, VA that carries PSB's and NAD equipment later this week to hear a demo of that system. I guess I'll have to just do the in-home 30-day trial with the ascend acoustic speaker package, sense they are internet sales only. Any help with these decisions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, jbliz |
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John A. | Sorry, I personally don't know those particular models. I will watch with interest. Posts of satisfied Magnepan buyers include https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/5234.html https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/4109.html ..you have probably seen these. |
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jbliz | Thanks John A. Yes, I have indeed read through all the posts I could find regarding the Magnepans, including the two you have listed. It seems like the MMGs are a really good deal for $550 a pair. I would be very interested to hear from someone who has these speakers incorporated into a 5.1 system. Thanks again. |
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John A. | jblitz. I believe Hawk has these, also there have been people who have taken his recommedation and have only good things to say. Some of these posts are under "Receivers" https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/5417.html and https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/4251.html There was also a post somewhere about Magnepan introducing surrounds and a center speaker. |
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jbliz | thanks again John A. I went out to a local dealer that carries NAD, PSBs, and JMlabs last night. I got a demo of a NAD 742 with a JMlabs bookshelf speaker surround package, and a NAD 752 with the PSB concert theatre system. From what I heard, I prefered the PSBs. However, the speakers were in two different rooms and hooked up to different receivers, so it wasn't a fair comparison. I'll go back to the dealer when I have more time and get those speaker packages hooked up to the NAD 762 in the same room and see how they sound. OK, I've definitely decided to suck it up and spend the extra cash for the NAD 762 (in lieu of the 752). The 3 component inputs are a major plus for me, not to mention the extra power. What online dealers should I check out for these products. I've seen dmc-electronics and elegant audio video thrown out there. Has anyone bought from these web sites? Would you recommend them? Are there any other dealers that you would recommend that offer good prices? |
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John A. | jbliz You need some advice from someone in N. America/US I think. I am in "Old Europe". I remember seeing some posts about something called Saturday Audio, or similar, I think. Even if your local dealer's prices are not the lowest, you may find in the long run it pays to buy there. |
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Hawk | jbliz: Sorry I haven't been around to answer your questions as I made the suggestions about the speakers (I have had the flu). As for your questions about the 762 receiver, check with Kiefs (www.kiefs.com, where you can get the phone number to call). They are an authorized dealer. Last spring they wanted $1050 for the 762, but it may have gone down a bit since then. Concerning speakers, I am not suprised you liked the PSBs over the JMlabs. I find most Jmlabs speakers to be a bit bright and somewhat "edgy" sounding (although, not true of their Sib/Cub mini system). PSBs are smoother and more musical to my ears. Magnepans would be my first choice. There is no finer speaker for $550 than the MMGs, or for less than $1k for that matter. They are big enough that they can fill my big family room (14 x 20 x 18) which is also open to the kitchen and living room areas. Since the MMGs can be had from Magnepan on a 60 day audition, I would sugggest you get them and see for yourself. If you like what you hear, simply fill out your Magnepan system. If not ship them back. I have not been up to it to check myself, but we had a post a couple of weeks back from someone who claims to have called Magnepan about MMGs and was told that they were planning on coming out with matching center and surround speakers for the MMGs this month, so the whole system should keep you within your budget. But you need to call Magnepan to confirm this. It is my guess that the center speaker will simply be the recently replaced CC2 at a greatly reduced price and available directly from Magnepan (that would be a good thing). My second choice is the PSB system in your first post, especially since you have a large room. I really like the Ascends, but they are more suited to a smaller room than the PSB towers. |
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jbliz | Thanks alot for the input John A. and Hawk. I'll definitely check out kiefs.com and Saturday audio. The NAD and PSB dealer close to my house charges MSRP for everything, but perhaps they would give me a deal on a package. Who knows? I don't mind paying a little more to a local dealer that helps me out with demos and such, but I still want a competitive price. With regards to the MMGs, man I really want to hear a pair. There is a dealer that carries Magnepans that's about a 30min drive from my place. I may head over there this weekend and give them a listen (not the MMGs cause I know they are only factory direct, but perhaps the next model up). One concern with the MMGs is that my girlfriends cat will decide to claw them. In which case the cat would likely have an unfortunate "accident" and my girlfriend would likely break up with me, kidding of course. But I am worried about the cat damaging these speakers. How durable are Magnepans? Also, I read some bad reviews from people who received damaged MMGs in the mail, and Magnepan's customer service not responding to there problems to their satisfaction. I guess this is a risk you take when shipping anything though, it could get damaged, but customer service complaints worry me. On the other hand, everyone that received there speakers in good conditioned seemed to love the sound. My guess is Magnepan may be experiencing some growing pains do to the large amount of orders they are getting for the MMGs, it seems like they are very aggressively priced. Anyway, whatever I decide to go with, I'll give a thorough review once everything is all set up and I have time to test everything all out. Thanks again for all the help, without this message board, I would have ended up with a Yamaha 1400 and Bose Acoustimass 16 system. And Hawk, get well soon, people need your help. |
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Hawk | jbliz: The dealer will not carry MMGs as you observed, but he should have the MG12s, which are almost identical. Listen to them and you will become a believer. I don't know about the cat. However, I am going to consult my MMG owners guide to see if it has any info--I'll let you know. |