Received my Cambridge Audio 540R the other day via UPS. The box looked like it had been dropped from a 10 story apartment building, and the packing job was exactly professional. I contacted Jack at Spearit sound and he assured me that if I had any problems with the receiver he would take care of it. Classy organization, I highly recommend them.
Got the receiver hooked up last night. My first impression is that this is very heavy for a receiver (weighs in at almost 40 lbs). It was late at night by the time I'd finally got everything connected, so I couldn't really put it through some paces, but so far I really like it.
If you like an AVR with lots of bells and whistles and tons of DSP modes, then this one is not for you. Besides the usually Dolby/DTS processing it has about a half dozen DSP modes. The "Theatre" mode seems to sound the best for watching TV.
I'll post some more thoughts and some photos of my new rig once I get a chance to evaluate it more.
One thing I've noticed now after doing some serious 2 channel listening is that CA receiver has a somewhat "laid back" sound that I am not used to. The more I listen to it, the more I enjoy it though. The CA/Bryston/MA combo is nice.
I'm using my left over NAD C272 to drive my Klipsch's in my dining room (as my 'B' channel). This sound I am not enjoying so much.
David were your Klipsch speakers in the dinning room small bookshelf speakers? If so, why not pick up a pair of MA RS1's for total MA enjoyment and throw the Paradigm Atoms in the dinning room? lol just throwing ideas out there man. I am tired tonight man, so I may sound nuts. Please let me know. Busy week....
I'm actually using my Atoms in my kitchen on yet another system (I know, I know...). I'm using a really small pair of Energys as my surrounds on my HT. I'm actually considering picking up a pair of Paradigms for the dining room, though. Maybe some v5 Titans?
The Atoms are good...at work no time to discuss...the Titans are just plain bad...I have a very good source who has discussed the design philosphy of that speaker with those who would know and it explained what we heard...ick! That's really all I can say without causing someone trouble.
Art has a point. The titans play music, and given a good source and amp can sound OK. The new V5 Titans however are all over the map. You should see the measurements of the new titans. Horrible. I know I know measurements again, but these speakers will not sound as good as the Atoms, and nowhere near anything MA makes. I would go with even the little MA Bronze monitors in a heart beat over the new V5 Titans IMO. The Atoms and 9's IMO are the only speaker to look at in the new V5 line. My dealer says the design of the new V5 Titans are flawed all over the place, even their covers are poorly designed.