Monitor Audio Owners Thread - Page 297

how does the 818 compare to the integra? iv heard onkyo has had some heatting issues?? should i not be worried about that?

Here's the AVS owner thread for the 818:
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1412714/onkyo-tx-nr818-official-owners-thread-discussion/
I've been following it because I'm keeping an eye on the 818, mainly as the cheapest way to get XT32 room correction. I maybe wrong (and I don't actually own the 818), but I don't remember people complaining about overheating for the new Onkyo models.

I had an Onkyo 805 and never had heating issues or any other issue. I think a lot of users had them enclosed or constricted. Just because a few on the forums complained about them,doesn't mean there weren't thousands sold with no issues.. The 818 rocks,it has a lot more to is than just XT32..

I own a pair of RX6s for my living room and love them, but now I am looking for a pair of speakers for my office desktop setup. This will be nearfield lisetning, and with my desk up against a wall the speakers won't have a lot of room behind them. So far I tried a pair of active monitors (Swans) then a pair of Peachtree DS4.5s and was not impressed with either. I figured it's time to look at Monitor Audio.

I want something that gets down to 65hz at least and has a small footprint. Perhaps something like the V10, R180HD, A10 (kinda pricey), MR1, BX1? Has anyone tried any of these for a desktop/nearfield setup? Any thoughts?
Edited by ilmaestro - 11/24/12 at 9:20pm

hi all,i'm thinking of upgrading my speaker system to monitor audio pl200 and plc150,anyone own this?Can i just use my onkyo 3009 or it needs power amp?One thing i'm afraid that they will come out with the new pl series because its already 5 years since it first launched,is it a worth buying now?Thanks

I would strongly suggest:
1) get an external power amp - Emotiva XPA-5 would do the job
2) check out the GX-300 (similar price to the PL200) and the GX center...


I wanted to buy the PL300 .. after auditioning, ended up buying the GX300 ....

I tried with my onkyo 5009, and the difference with an external amp was extremely noticeable..... bigger again with monobloc (but small step from the dedicated external amp).... but for music I use Tubes...

an Emotiva XPA-5 would be an economical addition to set your speakers off....

hey big marcelo,thanks for the suggestion..
are you saying that gx300 sounds better than pl300?can you describe more?

Most reviews that I have read say the PL series are great, but not necessarily thousands of dollars better than the GX. You'll be just as happy and have a bunch of cash left over.

+1

I would also add that the PL series is more power hungry than the GX series and are better served by a separate power source. I don't know if you are going to capture the full benefit of the PL with the Onkyo. There are other posters in this thread that comment about this with respect to the PL and note the difference in sound quality with the separate components.

I had the same questions about 6 months ago when I compared the GX200s to the PL 200/300. What I found is that I loved all of the speakers, but couldn't justify the jump from the GX series to the PL. Instead, I opted for a better pre/pro and ordered the GX300s, without hearing them. I am so happy that I did. The GX300s give wonderful imaging and clarity and are composed at all levels. Great speakers. The other plus, that I didn't realize before, is that I paired them with a GXC350, which may be the most impressive speaker of the trio. Think of it as an unported GX300. Being able to match all three creates an impressive sound stage. That said, I don't think you'll be disappointed between your choices.

thanks mitchpope and luca42,i got your points here..
what i really like about the pl series is their outlooks..ohh,what a sexy looks and read all the positive reviews around really kill me but budget is also a must consider
ok,i will order myself gx300 and gxc350 as you suggest and hopefully it serves me well.One other thing i'm also consider is to trade my onkyo 3009 to onkyo pre/power 5509 and 5501,what do you think?Or u can suggest a better combo?Thanks for enlighten things up

Hi All,

I would like to seek your advice and opinion on a suitable AVR for my soon to be purchased RX6 and RX centre.
The MA salesperson advised that I should get a Denon (he don't sell it so no conflict there) as it fits well with MA.

Going through the Denon site, I believe that only 2 models fit my budget namely the 2113 and 1713.

I'm looking mainly at the Audyssey MultEQ XT as it's highly recommended by almost everyone.
I don't think my current place will ever allow for 7.1 and I'm starting off with a 3.0 setup first and then perhaps followed by a sub and lastly 2 surrounds.
I don't care about Airplay or 4k upscaling as well.
I'm using a PS3 as a BD player and perhaps use a Xbox occasionally.

Do I need the higher power of the 2113? Or just save the money and get the 1713?

I have the gx300 350 150 5.1 set-up and I power it with the Integra dhc80.2/dta70.1 combo and love it more than I can say. I'm listening to it as I type this and it's awesome. Just saw the hobbit premiere here in NZ yesterday and this system in my theater room has just as much clarity as the Dolby atmos setup! No other theater in NZ comes close.

Greetings from Brazil folks!

I bought recently the PLs 200, what a lovely speakers!

I’m wondering if you guys could help me with the speakers cables. Now, they are hooked with the Chord Carnival Silver Screen. I believe they deserve a better connection and I’m considering the following options:
- Chord Epic Super Twin
- Kimber Kable 12TC
- Nordost Heimdall 2

What cable would you choose? Any other options?

Thanks in advance!

Cheers!

Adler

How big is your room and how loud do you listen? I have RX6s and a Denon 1712 in a 13x17 room and it's plenty enough power for the levels I listen at.

If your room is bigger, and/or you really listen loud, then go for the 2113. Otherwise the 1713 will be fine.

Adler, what differences are you expecting from cables? After all, they're cables.

They should have no sonic character at all. If they do have a sonic character, then there is something wrong with them.

I wouldn't buy any of those because they're all overpriced window dressing.

Amigo Brasileiro. Estes autofalantes devem custar uma fortuna no Brasil, ja que aqui sao uns $9,000 pelo par. Aprendi que os cables nao afetam a qualidade do som tanto, e os mais caros nao sao sempre os melhores, agora o AVR e amplificacao e outra historia:)

Amen.

Mine's 12.5 x 11 living room.
With kids around I hardly get the chance to blast it loud.
So I guess that 1713 is more than enough.
Thanks for the advice.



Edit: 1713 bought and waiting for my RX6 and RXC.

+1.


Well put! Amen!


+1. Se você está preocupado com os cabos ching-ling vendidos por metro, pode comprar cabos em rolo fechado, de qualquer fabricante brasileiro conhecido (ex.: Tiaflex, 2x1.5mm2, ~R$250/100m), e se sobrar muito, divida com alguém, ou guarde para um próximo setup.


I picked RCA's AH14100SR (14 AWG or ~2mm2), and they're good enough for me. Around U$0.66/m at Amazon in 30m spools. I guess I would pick them again without any second thoughts. And I'd put the remaining cash on a better AVR, or an external amp, or a more comfortable couch, or a bunch of movies, or whatever.

I don't know why here particularly, but there seems to be a growing trend in Brazil for spending tons of money in speaker cables, power cords, fuses, and all flavors of snake oil. More than in the US, I mean. Maybe it's because there's not much stuff in physical stores around here for us to listen and compare, so most of the time we need to believe in each other's opinions. And we know many people think their expensive speaker cables did make a difference in their systems.

VMat

Quick question and help please!
I have a pair of RX-2's that are great, but a local dealer has a pair of GR-20's at a decent price. Used of course but would this be a worthwhile upgrade? Can't keep both unfortunetly and an in home demo is out. Right now powering with an Emotiva DMR-1 at 125 watts/channel. I also have an SVS sub, so more bass is not the biggest concern.
thanks

One thing you should ask yourself is how likely you are to need more speakers in the future, to match the existing ones. RX speakers should be easier to find (new) in the next few years than GR speakers (used).

VMat

Hopefully someone can offer some advice on an issue I'm having:

I've got the Bronze BX surround system (sans the subwoofer) and hence running a 5.0 surround stage driven by a Denon AVR-2310, and I've started to notice a very nasty rattle inside my BX2 speakers whenever I have bass low & loud enough.

I first noticed it watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind, about 21mins in during the scene when Dreyfuss's character first encounters the UFOs. There's a very deep rumble through that scene and all through it there's a loud persistent rattle coming from both front stereo speakers (my other speakers sound fine). At first I thought it was something loose in my room (a bookshelf maybe), but no it's definitely coming from inside my BX2s. For the most part bass is ok, it's only when it gets really low. Another example that causes rattle is the Windows 7 Speaker Test (via the control panel), which causes the rattle during the SUB test. It seems to me that my Right BX2 is worse than my Left BX2, rattling at lower volumes.

Is this a fault with my speakers, or could it be that I'm simply driving my stereos too low because it's a 5.0 set up without the woofer to take care of the lowest frequencies?

Hi,

I was looking at getting exactly the same setup as you have got...but everywhere I have asked, people have said 1713 is not good enough for RX6....everyone said I should get an AVR with pre-outs

So please suggest what should I do...my budget was very tight too...

Get RX6

Get Denon 1713 - 600 SGD (singapore) - basic reciever with multiEQ XT

or

Get Denon 3312 - 1200 SGD (singapore) - high end last years model - multiEQ XT - with pre-outs and better sounding than 1713

you see the price doubles from 1713 to 3312.

If I get the 3312 I will postpone buying the RXC for now

The fact will remain that I will not get a AMP to connect to the AVR atleast for next 2 years since I dont have the space and my kid is too young....so can I just buy the 1713 and sell it off 2-3 years later and rebuild my electronics again...

confused

Hard to tell without knowing the exact conditions (volume, etc.), but my first thought is that you may be pushing them beyond their capabilities.

I do have a sub, so I don't send LF content to my BX2's. And never noticed anything like the issue you're describing.

VMat

I have them set up in a medium sized upstairs bedroom (UK house). They're fairly loud when watching Close Encounters and getting the rattle (-15db to -20db on my amp), but I wouldn't say it's floor-shaking, however I get the rattle on relatively low volumes when I play the Windows 7 sound test & the subwoofer test kicks in. It's only my BX2s that are producing a rattle.

I have a wonderful pair of RX6's that I've been using for 2 channel listening but have decided to implement a center channel for home theater use now.

Problem is, the space I have in my cabinet is very limited in size and this is the only option I have to place a center channel in. Can anyone tell me if the R180HD, which I would place horizontally and would fit my application, MATCH my RX6's?? Or are those with the RX models stuck having to use the RX Centre?

Has anyone compared the two centers(GX150 & GX350)? I'm looking at a pair of GX200s and was wondering which center would match best. I would let my two subs take care of the low end so I'm not concerened with deep extension.

Although Im quite a fan of Dali speakers I can get my hands on a second hand (1yr old) pair of Monitor Audio Gold GX200 speakers to hook up on my DENON AVR-4311... I plan to use my dali 505's as rear speakers.

Any thoughts on this combo of receiver / MA's and mixing the MA with the Dali's?

I have a Yamaha SW-YST320 and although I read many mixed reviews on this SW it sounds quite controlled running on the 4311...

Any thoughts on this are very welcome, thanks in advance!!

the PL300 requires a lot of room and nice amp to sound its best ...

with my room limitations (about 10m x 5-6m ) I didn't think my room was big enough for the PL, and the PL needs a lot of space behind it also.... the GX is like a mini-PL ....

if I thought the differnce of the G and PL was large, I would have bought the PL ... and probably waited a little longer to buy the Sub.. I had a good price on the PL300... but with my set up, and my environment I thought the GX300 would be a better fit ...

ie: I would have needed to upgrade my amp from Cayin 88 to something larger, and needed to upgrade from Linn Akurate to Linn Climax (another $10k upgrade just for that) ...

what I am aiming for is 'balance' .. no point having one component much better than the other, or not suitable for the location .... I do prefer the looks of the PL300 ... I was also not sure how the leather face of the PL300 would whistand the humid and hot environment here in Singapore.... I don't think there has been any issues with owners.. but ...

another point I took into consideration was the fact that the existing PL range is about 5 years old or so ... a lot of the PL technology has trickled down to the GX range making it a great value for money buy .... now, if/when they release an update to the PL range... would be a different story...

if you have the room (specially a dedicated audio room) ... definitely go for the PL300 ....

I think the 150 should be ok with the GX200 .... what amp do you have to drive it? I have the 350 but I have a dedicated XPA-1 for it .. sounds awesome ad blends in perfectly with the GX300 ..... the cabinet and drivers of the GX350 is a match to the GX300 .... if you watch a lot of movies, and have a good amp for the centre channel ... go for the 350 ... otherwise the 150 should be fine .... big difference in size too .... check your room to see which one has the best WAF .....