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How much better can it sound?

623 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by beboram, Jan 26, 2004

ScotWithOne_t

Discussion Starter · Jan 26, 2004

Hi everyone...I've been reading the forum for awhile now, but mostly about video related stuff, and it occured to me that I don't know much about the auido side of HT.

Anyway, my concern is this:

I currently live with my parents, but just graduated college, and will be eventually gettting my own place, and setting up my own HT. Right now, my parrents have a pretty good HT that I helped them buy/set up about 4-5 years ago. To me the system sounds really good, but in my case, ignorance might be bliss since I have never listened to a megabuck system.

The system I am currently using has an Onkyo TX-DS777 reciever, with Infinity speakers all around. A pair of RS-5' s for the fronts, a CC-3 for the center, and a pair of QPS-1W' s for the rears, and a BU-120 sub. I realize that these model numbers might not mean much to you guys since they are from the last millenium, but maybe some of you are familiar with them. The reciever was around a grand, and the total system was about $2500 give or take. I beilive I like the sound of my system better that my friend's Bose Lifestyle system, but I wonder how it compares to a setup with higher end equipment.

Would a reciever on the order of 3k-4k make a huge difference? Or would I not notice a big gain in overall sound quality until I stepped up to a component preamp/poweramp getup?

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the cheapest

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iqwertyi

· #2 · Jan 26, 2004

I believe it's relative to your own disposable income.

To some 10K is pocket change. and to others, they would need to take a loan to get 1K in their pocket.

But to answer your question, if you're going to be spending 3-4K on a receicer, please consider separates. I believe you can pick up a Rotel or Outlaw set for that price.

And you will notice a differece one you go separates.

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ScotWithOne_t

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 26, 2004

So, If I went the route of getting a preamp/poweramp.EQ etc. (I'm assuming that is what is meant by "separates"), then the next question is: how good of a set of speakers do I need to take full advantage of a higher end reciever? Would a pair of Infinity Primus 360 for the fronts be good? or would that be like serving a fillet mignon on paper plates? How about the Infinity Alpha speakers (about twice the price as the Primus), or am I not looking even in the correct league for speakers to match such a reciever set up?

Also, when you say that "separates" would be better, does that just mean that they can get louder without degrading the sound, or does it mean that the actual quality of the sound is that much better?

-Scot

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HTCrazy

· #4 · Jan 26, 2004

The quality of the sound is in general a big step up from receiver to seperates. Sure there are exotic and expensive receivers that are better than entry level seperates, but dollar for dollar, you'll almost always get better sound from seperates.

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beboram

· #5 · Jan 26, 2004

ScotWithOne_t please do not make the same mistake as all other starters - that spend bug bucks on electronics and then scrimp on the speakers. IMO speakers if chosen right can last nearly a life-time where as electronics will go outdated in 2-3 years. IMO speakers make the system the most electronics are good enough that unless one is into critical classical or jazz type music listening one would likely not hear a difference.

My advice - spend about 60-70% of the budget on the speakers, 15-20% on the receiver and the rest on a CD/DVD player. Unless you buy a power hungry set of speakers like the planar speakers most average receivers will drive regular speakers very well.

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rnrgagne

· #6 · Jan 26, 2004

Quote:

Originally posted by HTCrazy
The quality of the sound is in general a big step up from receiver to seperates. Sure there are exotic and expensive receivers that are better than entry level seperates, but dollar for dollar, you'll almost always get better sound from seperates.

There's the $5 argument again.

I agree to a point, but the gap is narrowing quicker than you might think and mid-priced receivers are available now with very good pre-amp sections that rival separate pre/pros for both sound and features.

They are a very good option as a starting point providing they have pre-outs for adding amps to later.

My opinion is still that the component with the biggest audible effect is the speaker. And therefore should be the biggest chunk of a start-up budget.

(A $300 XR-45 will sound great with some $3000 - $4000 speakers but $3000 - $4000 separtes will not sound good with $300 speakers for example.)

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rnrgagne

· #7 · Jan 26, 2004

Beboram; man I wish I could type faster. You beat me to the punch.

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beboram

· #8 · Jan 26, 2004

Quote:

Originally posted by rnrgagne
Beboram; man I wish I could type faster. You beat me to the punch.

I speak from the experience of my friends who spent big bucks on the electronics and scrimped on the speakers - much to my chagrin. This was true when I was a poor grad student in the 70's and it is true today.

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