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I'm not a true audiophile by any means, however I do appreciate high quality sound and video on my surround system. I thought I had that for a while but realize now that I am not quite where I want to be with my current system. I am going to upgrade to a higher end AV receiver and set of floor speakers for now and replace the rest of my speakers (7.1 surround) over the next year. I use the system for about 60% movies or TV, 20% music, and 20% PS3. I want the absolute best sound and video quality for the money. My budget is $1600 to $2000.
I would really appreciate any input you can provide based on your own knowledge and experience with mid to high end audio/video equipment. Hopefully the hyperlinks I put in work. Just click on each speaker or the receiver.
Note: I went to Best Buy and Fry's to demo the equipment. I found that the Marantz sounded much louder and as clear or better than the Denon and Pioneer Elite in the same price category. To be honest, I was immensely impressed with the Marantz. I have owned two Denon receivers in my life and both were great but perhaps it's time for a change. The Klipsch were at Fry's where they only have one receiver hooked up, which in this case was a Onkyo 135w/ch (can't recall model). The Klipsch sounded great and I almost bought them while on sale for 20% off but wanted to hear more speakers first. Now the sale is over. Still, they didn't have any good music to demo them with so I am not sure how they sound for my taste of music. Next time I will bring my own CDs and Blu Rays. At Best Buy I was able to use any receiver with any speaker in the Magnolia Room due to the computer system they use. I tested the Definitive Tech, B&Ws, and Energy speakers on all three receivers referred to above. All speakers sounded great but the B&Ws sounded a bit better on the highs and lows, very crisp highs, and never distorted. The Energy's distorted a little at ma volume. The Def Techs were great but they are nearly double the price, plus they have 8 inch 300 watt subs built in to them which defeats my purpose of using a subwoofer.
Current set up:
Samsung Plasma 1080P 58 in
Denon AVR 1611
Mirage Nanostat 5.0 - satellite omnipolar (only using 4 in a 5.1 setup, though receiver is a 7.1)
Mirage OS3 CC - omnipolar
Polk Audio PSW 110 subwoofer
Considerations:
Receiver: Marantz AV SR5007 - 100w/ch 7.2
Speakers: Bowers & Wilkins 684 or Klipsch RF-62 and also considering the Energy CF-50
I may also purchase the matching center channel of whichever speakers I choose.
Thanks for any help.
I would really appreciate any input you can provide based on your own knowledge and experience with mid to high end audio/video equipment. Hopefully the hyperlinks I put in work. Just click on each speaker or the receiver.
Note: I went to Best Buy and Fry's to demo the equipment. I found that the Marantz sounded much louder and as clear or better than the Denon and Pioneer Elite in the same price category. To be honest, I was immensely impressed with the Marantz. I have owned two Denon receivers in my life and both were great but perhaps it's time for a change. The Klipsch were at Fry's where they only have one receiver hooked up, which in this case was a Onkyo 135w/ch (can't recall model). The Klipsch sounded great and I almost bought them while on sale for 20% off but wanted to hear more speakers first. Now the sale is over. Still, they didn't have any good music to demo them with so I am not sure how they sound for my taste of music. Next time I will bring my own CDs and Blu Rays. At Best Buy I was able to use any receiver with any speaker in the Magnolia Room due to the computer system they use. I tested the Definitive Tech, B&Ws, and Energy speakers on all three receivers referred to above. All speakers sounded great but the B&Ws sounded a bit better on the highs and lows, very crisp highs, and never distorted. The Energy's distorted a little at ma volume. The Def Techs were great but they are nearly double the price, plus they have 8 inch 300 watt subs built in to them which defeats my purpose of using a subwoofer.
Current set up:
Samsung Plasma 1080P 58 in
Denon AVR 1611
Mirage Nanostat 5.0 - satellite omnipolar (only using 4 in a 5.1 setup, though receiver is a 7.1)
Mirage OS3 CC - omnipolar
Polk Audio PSW 110 subwoofer
Considerations:
Receiver: Marantz AV SR5007 - 100w/ch 7.2
Speakers: Bowers & Wilkins 684 or Klipsch RF-62 and also considering the Energy CF-50
I may also purchase the matching center channel of whichever speakers I choose.
Thanks for any help.
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