Rate my ~$1000 2.0/5.0 System

My Opinion.... Dump the Dayton amp, and invest in a decent subwoofer. Your idea about using that amp
is incorrect. I would not worry about the 4-Ohm dip. Also with a subwoofer and Audyssey, properly
implemented you will take a large load off off your Denon and getr some very decent Bass.

I am No expert,but I will give you my thoughts. I have been reading these forums a long time
and I have never heard of anyone propose a set-up like what you want to do. In theory
in seems like it would work. But you would need an ACTIVE crossover on your speakers.
your speakers have passive crossovers. Also the frequency respose on those speakers goes
downward pretty fast below 80 Hz. This is why I would recommend a subwoofer... set-up your
system correctly the first time. This Bi-amp your speakers is really a bunch of nonsense.

The Outlaw audio m8 sub is $250. dump the Dayton,spend $120 more on the sub to
compliment a very nice system you are already getting.

The M8 is not going to rattle your apartment windows and piss of your neighbors,
but it will make your system sound much better.

Your main speakers should be set to full-range, large, whatever and allowed to go down to 45 or 50Hhz, which is what their frequency response is supposed to be. Let them do what they are designed to do and lose the Dayton amp.

I would try it without the Dayton amplifier and just use the receiver only. Do not bi-amp or bi-wire.

The power of the receiver is quite adequate. Keep it simple and see what you think.

I think you will like the results.

If you decide you need a sub, which I doubt, get one with a 12-inch driver and at least a 250-watt amplifer and set it to operate from 50 Hz down only.
Edited by commsysman - 12/26/12 at 4:09pm

love the setup, how are those fluance speakers?? im pondering that deal myself right now .
Edited by kronick - 12/27/12 at 2:33pm

BIG problem!!! You are in an apartment! Many guys on this site will tell you to buy huge subs and speakers...YOU LIVE IN AN APARTMENT! The fact that you and millions of others live in an apartment are the reason that Bose does very well.

There are many good systems available, but not necessarily to you. I dislike Bose for the price (and many other reasons) but they work OK in small spaces and have great WAF! I like my girl and listen to her needs, she then takes care of mine!!!

If I lived in an apartment I'd probably spend about $300 on an AVR and the rest of the budget on the best new or used bookshelf speakers I could get hold of and enjoy life. With large speakers and a thumping sub you'll always be wondering if you are getting evicted next month. NHT - Paradigm - B&W - Aperion - its a long list and they all make some very nice bookshelf speakers that play low and clear.

And yeah - dump the idea about that Dayton amp.

I've got some concerns about the quality of the Fluance XL7F speakers based on the NRC measurements of them on the soundstage web site:

http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=835



What I see that concerns me is the notching and irregular response near the crossover points, especially the one of about 12 dB around 800 Hz.

In comparison, consider the following test data from Stereophile of a competitive speaker which contains the same information in a different format:



Frankly the above graph shows a little notching of a similar kind but far less severe.

Yes, not apples-to-apples because the tests are from two different sources, but consider this test of the Primus 360's line mate from the NRC



Similar notch but only about 5 dB - a little more than 1/3 as much.

Even though the P162 has far less hardware in the woofer department, it surpasses the Fluence down to the common 80 Hz crossover point.

I'd love to listen to these speakers live, but based on what I can see in paper the Fluence speakers don't have the driver and crossover quality of the competitive Infinities.

And just to echo what someone else has already very cogently pointed out: lose the amp and forget about passive bi-amping. Buy the better speakers instead!

There's no notching on the audioholics review.

Don't bother with a sub or a separate amp, you are good to go with 5 speakers, there's plenty of bass for an appartment, I have these speakers and I bi-amped them for a while, but in the end I got rid of the second amp as it didn't really add much.

They're great speakers.