So what’s my next step?

VonHess

VonHess

New Member
Current setup:


AVR: Denon 3806

Front Speakers: Vandersteen 2Ce Signature II powered by

Amplifier: B&K EX 4420

Rear Speakers: MB Quart QLS 830 powered by Denon 3806 AVR

Center Channel speaker: None (thinking of trying to find a Vandersteen single speaker)

Sub: DIY sealed down-firing (12” aluminum cone driver purchased from Epik subwoofers going out of business. I believe it is the same driver used in the Epik Vanquish sub. Powered by Behringer INuke 1000.)

CD/SACD player: Sony DVP-NS775V

Turntable: Harmon Kardon T20 with Ortofon VMS-5E

PS3- Netflix, bluerays etc


My priorities are 50% 2 channel, 30% 5.1 SACD and 20% home theater. For 2 channel, I primarily listen to cds but am delving into vinyl and thinking of some sort of a setup to play flac files. I am fairly happy with the way the system sounds but as with most folks in this hobby/pursuit/obsession I am always looking to improve. I am a bit of a cheapskate so I prefer to buy used or older equipment that is known to have bang for the buck. My thoughts for the next step are as follows:

-preamp with ht bypass and bass management- something like the parasound p5, the older p3 or one of the Emotiva preamps. I’m thinking that bypassing the AVR is going to give me better 2 channel sound and that this type of pre-amp will give me a lot more tweakability.

-better CD/SACD player- it does start with the source, no? The Sony that I have now I got off ebay for $20. Some of the research I did told me that this particular player was a sleeper at the time for sound quality vs price. I’m considering one of the older Oppo universal players. I would also like to be able to play DVD-A.

-newer,better AVR- something like the Marantz SR5009. Accessories for less has these refurbed for about $400. This would improve my home theatre set up but I am also wondering if the pre-amp on these would be better than the Denon and improve my 2 channel sound.
 
Register to hide this ad
What your next step should be, is a very good question. I would say, what makes you happy, as it is difficult to combine everything into a single system. My husband, for example, has his home theater in our family room, while I much prefer a 2-channel stereo setup elsewhere. I would say, if it were my system, I would purchase a 2-channel integrated amplifier and another CD player, take the MB quarts, and the turntable, and set up 2-channel system in another room.

So my recommendation would be to optimize the system for either 2-channel stereo or home theater, separating the two. :)
 
That's quite a system! The only weak link I see is the preamp/processor. I'd recommend going with a real preamp like you mentioned (Parasound is probably the best you mentioned) and use the HT bypass feature. If your Denon has the features you want, no reason to upgrade that part yet. Upgrading the Sony may be the next step after that, but I would go with a new pre first.

As far as a center channel, the best performance can only come from another Vandersteen in the same series as the ones you have. That's not to say you can't have good performance with another center, however timbre-matching the front 3 makes a difference (especially for multi channel music like SACDs) and it can take a while to find another brand that is a close enough match.

Separating the two systems can make a difference, however for multi-channel SACDs it's best to have the systems combined to get the best performance on them.
 
Nightwisher said:
That's quite a system! The only weak link I see is the preamp/processor. I'd recommend going with a real preamp like you mentioned (Parasound is probably the best you mentioned) and use the HT bypass feature. If your Denon has the features you want, no reason to upgrade that part yet. Upgrading the Sony may be the next step after that, but I would go with a new pre first.

As far as a center channel, the best performance can only come from another Vandersteen in the same series as the ones you have. That's not to say you can't have good performance with another center, however timbre-matching the front 3 makes a difference (especially for multi channel music like SACDs) and it can take a while to find another brand that is a close enough match.

Separating the two systems can make a difference, however for multi-channel SACDs it's best to have the systems combined to get the best performance on them.
Click to expand...
Nightwisher said:
That's quite a system! The only weak link I see is the preamp/processor. I'd recommend going with a real preamp like you mentioned (Parasound is probably the best you mentioned) and use the HT bypass feature. If your Denon has the features you want, no reason to upgrade that part yet. Upgrading the Sony may be the next step after that, but I would go with a new pre first.

As far as a center channel, the best performance can only come from another Vandersteen in the same series as the ones you have. That's not to say you can't have good performance with another center, however timbre-matching the front 3 makes a difference (especially for multi channel music like SACDs) and it can take a while to find another brand that is a close enough match.

Separating the two systems can make a difference, however for multi-channel SACDs it's best to have the systems combined to get the best performance on them.
Click to expand...


I think I will go ahead with the Parasound P5. Given that I usually buy used and cheap, it seems like a splurge but it checks off all of the features and more that I am looking for. It has the built in dac, the ht bypass etc. and from the info I can find it performs well above its pricepoint.

On another note, I checked out your systems- I share your appreciation for Boston Acoustics- I have a pair of HD 8s that I bought new in 1994. I just re-foamed them and they sound great. Hopefully I can put them to use soon in a smaller system. I know the earlier A series speakers are considered classics but I also thought the whole HD series and the T series were and are great speakers.
 
One thing I was considering with the p5- when I listen to 5.1 SACDs, the 5.1 signal is still going to have to go through the AVR. I am thinking the only alternative to this would be to get something like the p7. Is the AVR going to degrade the sound quality compared to using a multi-channel like the p7? I have heard that because of all the extra processing with a multi channel pre-amp that the sound quality isnt going to be as good as a two channel pre anyway. Thoughts on this?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom