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MJJ Unregistered guest | I am looking to replace an older reciever and some new HT speakers. 50/50 Music vs HT Music- 2 old school Infiniti kappa7 speakers (still sound great) HT- open to suggestions to compliment Infinitis |
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mjj Unregistered guest | I have read a bit here today and would like to expand my question. What is the best reciever out there (50/50 music to HT) to drive my Infinity kappa7's (would prefer to stay in the $6-800.00 range) and what speakers would pair up with my speakers the best to finish out my system? |
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MJJ Unregistered guest | One last try... I know I am new here; but, any advice would be appreciated. I appologize for my lack of knowledge; but all my experience with audio dates back to 1990 and I had no real knowledge of HT prior to reading here. My main concern is what is the best reciever to drive my system. 50/50 music:HT, I would prefer to stay in the 600-800 range but am willing to up the ante if I have to. (Previously running top of the line Onkyo from 1990- pre surround sound) If I have to choose I will say the music is more crucial to me than the HT; although I would not want to take that too much to an extreme. My secondary concern (although I will adress this as soon as I select the reciever) is what speakers can I buy to best match my Infiniti kappa 7's to round out the system. I don't have the specs on the speakers anymore. The kappa series was Infiniti's flagship speaker in the late 80's and early 90's. There were 3 models: kappa6, kappa7, and kappa8. All three were tweeter and midrange biased as opposed to being as 'Base reflex' as a lot of higher end speakers in that time frame. I believe I paid around 1200 per speaker on sale in 1990. Thank you for your input, MJJ |
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Silver Member Username: JohnnyPost Number: 110 Registered: 12-2003 | MJJ, I am not all that familiar with your speakers, but I will give it a go anyway since you haven't had any other responses. At least nowadays, Infinity speakers are very bright sounding...not a flaw...just a charachterisitc. I am guessing your speakers are probably similar since you say they are "tweeter and midrange biased". Therefore, they will sound better when paired with a warmer sounding receiver. In your price range the warmer sounding receivers that I would recommend are HK and Pioneer Elite (although you might have to expand your budget slightly for the Elites). NAD is a more neutral receiver, but you might give it a try. You might like it, but since it is more neutral, it might sound overly bright and harsh. It is just up to your taste. From the title of your thread, I would definately take the Yamaha off of your list. Yamaha is also very bright sounding, and thus would be extremely bright with your speakers. Onkyo does have a warmer sound, but if it were me, I would look at the above brands first due to the fact that Onkyo is known for having very poor power supplies. I hope this helps. |
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Silver Member Username: JohnnyPost Number: 111 Registered: 12-2003 | MJJ, I am not all that familiar with your speakers, but I will give it a go anyway since you haven't had any other responses. At least nowadays, Infinity speakers are very bright sounding...not a flaw...just a charachterisitc. I am guessing your speakers are probably similar since you say they are "tweeter and midrange biased". Therefore, they will sound better when paired with a warmer sounding receiver. In your price range the warmer sounding receivers that I would recommend are HK and Pioneer Elite (although you might have to expand your budget slightly for the Elites). NAD is a more neutral receiver, but you might give it a try. You might like it, but since it is more neutral, it might sound overly bright and harsh. It is just up to your taste. From the title of your thread, I would definately take the Yamaha off of your list. Yamaha is also very bright sounding, and thus would be extremely bright with your speakers. Onkyo does have a warmer sound, but if it were me, I would look at the above brands first due to the fact that Onkyo is known for having very poor power supplies. I hope this helps. |
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Silver Member Username: Elitefan1Post Number: 240 Registered: 12-2003 | You can find the Elite 53 in your price range at several mailorder sites. Make sure it's an authorized dealer or has a good warranty of their own[2years]. This will be a good match with your Infinity's. So would the Marantz 6400 and the H/K models. Good luck. |
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mjj Unregistered guest | Thanks for the responses. I think I will be able to take a couple of these recievers for a 'test drive' from my local stereo shop. I will be able to get this dealer to split the dif btwn his 'sale' prices and what I find on the net (I am willing to pay a little more to have someone to deal with face to face if there is a prob.) I'll report back on Mon/Tues with results. MJ |
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mjj Unregistered guest | Well, here it goes... I didn't like the Elite 53- sounded 'hollow' with my speakers. The Marantz 6400 sounded muffled to my ear, almost like I had earmuffs on. The Yamaha 1400 sounded like the someone removed the woofers from the speakers. Maybe I'm used to the sound of Onkyo paired with my speakers or maybe I am just biased cause I liked my old reciever; but, I was happiest with the sound of the 801 (I jumped up a model at the last minute.) I am now to phase 2 of the project: Which Speakers do I pair with my kappa7's to finish my system? Thanks for the input, MJJ |
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Silver Member Username: JohnnyPost Number: 131 Registered: 12-2003 | MJJ, Congrats on the new receiver! In the end, buying audio equipment is totally a matter of personal taste, and you bought what sounded best to YOU, and your opinion is the only one that counts for anything when all is said and done. You should be commended for that. I hope you enjoy your new system. As for speakers, my best recommendation would be to stick within the brand. Obviously, you will not be able to purchase the same model...but you can still stay within the brand. To me, that will give you the best results. I am unfamiliar with the exact model of Infinity that you have, but I would just look around Infinity's website and see what you can come up with. Try to find speakers that have similar tonal charachteristics, driver size, build quality, etc. to the speakers you already have, and go from there. If I remember correctly, Circuit City and maybe Best Buy (providing you live in the US?) carry Infinity. While these two stores generally are worthless for auditioning audio equipment, they do offer very generous return policies. If you buy some Infinity's there, you can take them home and try them for up to 30 days, and then return them for a full refund. As I assume they do not make your particular model any more, I think a home audition (or take your speakers into a dealer) is really the only way you can find the best match. |
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mjj Unregistered guest | Problem is my Infiniti's were much higher in the line than anything I have seen at BB or CC. In 1990 they were about $2500.00 for the pair. I don't know if Infiniti makes anything this high end anymore; if they do, I haven't seen it at these stores. I have an email into Infiniti asking for their recomendation; although, I am not married to them as a brand name (all the Infiniti speakers I have heard in the last 5 years have not sounded great to me.) MJJ |
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Silver Member Username: Elitefan1Post Number: 250 Registered: 12-2003 | mjj, If you like the Onkyo 801 best then that is exactly what you should buy. I see nothing wrong with a Onkyo/Infinity combination. I have owned two Onkyo's in the past and always liked them sonically alot. Good luck and happy listening. |
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DDW Unregistered guest | MJJ I too have been looking at the Onkyo 801 but I have a friend who is pushing me toward the Denon 3803. This may sound crazy but one of the features I like about the Onkyo is the Net Tunes but it seems that most people don't know anyting about it. Have you tried it or do you plan to? Does anyone out here have any advice about this? Thanks, DDW DDW |
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Silver Member Username: Elitefan1Post Number: 256 Registered: 12-2003 | Do not let your friend push you into anything, especially the 3803. My experience with it was terrible, very bright and sibilant. If you want the 801 but it. I would take it over the 3803 any day, even though it's not one of my favorites in this price range. |
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DDW Unregistered guest | What would you recommend in this price range if it is not the Onkyo 801? |
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Silver Member Username: Elitefan1Post Number: 259 Registered: 12-2003 | My favorites are Elite 53, marantz 7400, H/K 630 and NAD 763. The H/K 7200 is a great buy at under $800 at a few mail order sites. All very powerful and on the warm side. |
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DDW Unregistered guest | So why do you prefer these over the Onkyo? |
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New member Username: LandrovalPost Number: 6 Registered: 02-2004 | Onkyo TX-NR801E gives out 5*33W 8ohm of real constant power. For a 20ms burst it gives 5*34W 8ohm. I dont know what's its problem, but that sounds kinda weak for a 6*~120W product. Other than that it is very good quality. |
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mjj Unregistered guest | DDW, Sorry, I have not used the net tunes feature yet, I have an extensive cd collection (in my 200 disc player) and find little need for other sources of music... mjj |
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Unregistered guest | Hi Guys, I need your opinion Regarding Yamaha 1400 & Onkyo 801. And the speaker options I have Boss small speakers with subwoofer 200W (I don't know the number), Jumo & Yamaha spekers. Which combination I should go for. My Options are limited becasue these are the only models available here. I like rocking bass. Regards. |
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Lisa France Unregistered guest | Are you kidding. There is really no comparison between the two. The 1400 is by far the better receiver. When I listened to the 800 it had no bass. So the 1400 is much better on two channel music. Also with all the surround formats the 1400 has, it sounds much better on surround sound. |
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Bronze Member Username: AvmanKansas City, MO US Post Number: 20 Registered: Mar-04 | mjj i have a onkyo 700 from last year running a full infinity alpha 6.1 system, they work together great, review between the onkyo vs yamaha in your price point, onkyo seems to have more power to drive the speakers and thats what you need your kappas are between 83-90 dbs and run on 6ohm you will need it. speaker to try would be, the kappa center & bookshelf or Alpha50,40,20s with Alpha C37 center. if you like the alpha they are making a new line to replace it called Beta. as subs the matching one is the alpha1200 12" but you can use what you want i use a velodyne hgs 12. good luck |
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mjj Unregistered guest | Thanks Gabriel, I will look for someone who carries the full line and see which sounds better to me... I'll report back after some auditions. MJJ |
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Silver Member Username: GmanMt. Pleasant, SC Post Number: 275 Registered: Dec-03 | I don't know what your price range is for speakers, but Infinity does carry higher end speakers--the Intermezzo series and the very expensive Preludes. Have you heard the more upscale Infinity Intermezzo speakers? Spearit Sound carries the Intermezzo 2.6 that is a bookshelf speaker that lists at around $2,000, but is available at $995/pr--and it has a built-in amp for the woofer. It also comes in a passive version for $595/pr. Audio Advisor sells the big tower Intermezzo 4.1's at $500 less than Spearit sound at $2,495/pr. These have great built-in subwoofers that are self-powered with the great R.A.B.O.S. sub woofer balancing system. If you bought a pair of the 4.1's for the front and moved your other pair to the rear, you'd never need to buy a subwoofer---unless you have a very big or acoustically "dead" room----and even then I doubt you would need a subwoofer. They also sell an Intermezzo center channel--only possible downside is that it is quite large. If you want to keep your current Infinity towers in the front then the 2.6's would make a great pair of surrounds. Of course, there are numerous other good speaker manufacturers. It depends on your budget, taste in speaker sound, size and acoustic character of your room, and power envelope of your receiver. Paradigm, Monitor Audio, PSB,(and quite a few others) have very good speakers at various price points. What might be attractive of the Infinity Intermezzo 2.6's with self-powered woofer is that it takes a lot of strain off the receiver amp. |
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Bronze Member Username: AvmanKansas City, MO US Post Number: 23 Registered: Mar-04 | Sorry to report that those two lines of infinity, the prelude and the intermezzo are discontinued I will very hard to find, I can tell you my company Ultimate Electronics, only has some Displays left and there not in great shape. |
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Silver Member Username: GmanMt. Pleasant, SC Post Number: 276 Registered: Dec-03 | They have been discontinued, but some new ones are available at the places I mentioned. Audio Advisor sold out of the Intermezzo 2.6's, but still has the 4.1's and center channel speakers at very good prices. Spearit Sound has the 2.6's in both passive and woofer-powered at very good prices. I realize the stock won't last long, but they are quite excellent and have remarkably flat frequency responses, which is most always beneficial. I would think that Floyd Toole and his staff at Infinity (owned by Harman International) will be releasing new models that fit near the price points of the Intermezzo's and the Preludes in the not too distant future. |
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New member Username: W9cwPost Number: 4 Registered: Mar-04 | Re. the Yamaha RX-V1400 output into 5-channels . . . Hi-Fi Choice magazine, a respected U.K. magazine which conducts thorough hardware reviews, had an interesting Group Test & Lab Report in its March 2004 issue. The test included: Two-Channel Amps, Arcam Diva A80, Creek A50IR, Roksan Kandy KA-1 MKIII, and Rotel RA-1062; Six-Channel A/V Receivers, Denon AVR-2803, Pioneer VSX-AX3, Sony STR-DB790 (same as USA STR-DA1000ES), and Yamaha RX-V1400RDS . Interestingly, here is what the objective lab test analysis determined for the RX-V1400: Continuous Power Output Two-Channel, 175W/8 ohms; Continuous Power Output Five-Channels driven simultanteously, 107W/8 ohms. In dynamic conditions, the Five-Channel readings were: 210W/8 ohms, 330W/4 ohms, and 380W/2 ohms. The test stated that loads as low as 1 ohm were detected by the Yamaha's protection circuit as a "short" and the protection circuit acted accordingly by shutting down the outputs. The only difference between the U.S.-marketed version and the European versions are the following: European versions have the RDS tuning, configuration for the difference AC mains voltage, and have a captive AC line cord. Otherwise, the preamp, amplifier, and the power supplies are the same. Thus, it appears that the RX-V1400's power supply is up to the task, and certainly better than that of Yamaha's previous models. BTW . . . the Denon AVR-2803's Five-Channel output with all 5-channels driven simultaneously dropped from its Two-Channel level of 130W/8 ohms to only 36W/8 ohms. Its Dynamic power output was very good however. I don't often buy one of the European magazines due to their equivalent cost (in this case $9.00), but I found this one interesting, so I splurged! |
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mjj Unregistered guest | I tried out the Infinity center channels yesterday. kappa: Sounded brighter than my speakers intermezzo 3.5: can't put my finger on it exactly, but it didn't sound quite right with my speakers (or maybe it just didn't sound the same as my speakers) Alpha37: Best match of the 3, but still not good enough. I think the big problem is that Infinity no longer makes anything w/ the Emit tweeters and that is really what I need to match my speakers. Guess I'll start to look into different brands now... |
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Unregistered guest | mjj, I own an Infinity Delta Center made in Denmark with the renowned EMIT-R tweeter. Mint condition. You can email me at nottoworry@charter.net |