Help Needed - I'm an absolute newbie!

[Amit Shetty]

Hello,

I recently kicked off the daunting task of researching a hi fi system for myself, I have found it to be a challenging affair with so many options in the market. I could seriously do with some suggestions on what to buy for my requirements. You may also see from my post that my knowledge on AV components is limited - so please ignore my "ignorance" and help enlighten

Here goes - I currently own a Sony Hi Fi - XO-N255S (its so old I cant even find refernce on the internet) and a Bose Companion 3 Series II. The Sony is really old, i bought it Circa 1990, though the speakers in my opinion provide a full bodied sound. I am ready to offload both these systems to upgrade.

I listen to all kinds of music but gravitate towards Jazz, Blues and Rock. My music sources are usually my iPhone, iPod, CD's, MP3 CD's, FM Radio (thank god for 91.9 Radio Indigo Bangalore) and the internet radio.

After a little research I came up with this list in the sub 1 lakh range:
Marantz CD5004 CD Player |Marantz SR 5006 AV reveiver | BA A360 Tower Speakers |

Do these components pair well? Do you suggest something else?

I look forward to hearing your suggestions. Thanks much

 

[sud98]

Hi Amit,

Welcome to the forum.

A few suggestions
1. Look at an integrated stereo amp. instead of AVR, if its only for music.
2. You might want to look at SqueezeBox or some such option based on the sources that you like instead of the CD player
3. You should look at bookshelves and floorstanders at the 50k range and hear them out, rather than depending upon reviews and opinions.

 

[rraghuram]

Welcome to the nightmare Amit!
Almost everyone on this forum who paired an AVR with a good pair of speakers invariably ended up with a dedicated int. amplifier for their music needs due to the exceptional sound quality an int. amp provides over an AVR which is a compromise between audio and video! So look at it from that angle too! Also, it's hard i suppose to find anyone who paired marantz with BA speakers here! Did you google for such experiences? Generally, for movies and music people seem to like polk rti A5/A7 speakers or Pioneer HT speakers on this forum. Do check those out too. Another one is the Energy Classic 5.1 set which is often cited here.

 

[Amit Shetty]

Thanks for your messages guys. Much appreciated.

I did speak to a couple of other forum members and am thinking of going with the following combo - Marantz SR5006 | CD6004 | Squeezbox| One of the reasons I went for the AVR is the that it allows me potential to expand to surround if needed. An integrated music amp would have provided a cleaner sound I guess, but I was a little wary of not being able to expand after plonking big $$ I'm hoping that the AVR vs the Marantz PM6004 isnt a world of a difference...fingers crossed.

I am still researching floorstanding speakers and it seems like the Quad 22L II, Klipsch RF 62, Polk RTI A7 are contenders. I heard the RF 62 at Cinebels yesterday and they were paired with the PM6004 - absolutely stunning sound. I want to be able to check out the others before I make a decision.

I am told that the Quad are killer combo with the Marantz amps -anyone have any experience with these speakers?

The next few days are going to be spent in demo rooms - hoping to make a good choice with the speakers. Now I know why everyone is so addicted to AV on this forum

 

[A-Major]

Hi Amit

From one newbie to another-
I m going through the similar journey and have already auditioned many of the brands in various settings, various combos....the journey is still on though.

1. Dont mix music to movies. A good stereo would sound good with movies as well unless you are looking to replicate PVR/Inox at home. However a good AVR would take away the music by 20%.....and you dont have a PVR/Inox for music right. So get a Stereo Amp and not AVR if music is important. Else look to build the system with a target o converting it to 5.1 over a period of time. You may actually also explore with Bookshelves and add Sub if thats the purpose, to start with.

2. Always ask the seller to give demo of comparative speakers at same volume for same track with same Amp.

3. To my ear the order of brightness (or in my words the response of the tweeter) - Polk> Kipsch>Quad. And again to my liking, amongst the three Quad was more platable for extended listening.

Would be reviewing the Amp in the coming week and would share my experience. You can also check my thread below...hope it helps.
http://www.hifivision.com/what-shou...-first-hifi-started-floorstanders-2012-a.html

 

[Amit Shetty]

Was reviewing this thread and just had a good laugh.

Just goes to show that as a Noob i should have just shut up and listened to the good folks here who advised me.

I laugh because I went ahead with the AVR for reasons stated above, and paired it with the Quad 22l2's. very soon I realized movies was never going to be a big part of my free time and wanted to concentrate on tweaking my system for music. So I first tried bi amping using the back channels of the avr. There was definite enhancement of SQ. Then I invested in an AT1502 power amp and used the AVR as a pre. It opened up my ears! Soon I was bitten by the tube bug after listening to them at a friends place. So now I have the tube as a pre and loving it

I have no use for the AVR now and will soon put it up for sale. But this chain of events are pretty amusing - I have eaten humble pie

 

[iaudio]

amitshetty, we all have to make our own mistakes and learn from our experiences. Its great that you could accept it. And what really matters is that you are enjoying your music.
Cheers!

 

[apk]

Was reviewing this thread and just had a good laugh.

Just goes to show that as a Noob i should have just shut up and listened to the good folks here who advised me.

I laugh because I went ahead with the AVR for reasons stated above, and paired it with the Quad 22l2's. very soon I realized movies was never going to be a big part of my free time and wanted to concentrate on tweaking my system for music. So I first tried bi amping using the back channels of the avr. There was definite enhancement of SQ. Then I invested in an AT1502 power amp and used the AVR as a pre. It opened up my ears! Soon I was bitten by the tube bug after listening to them at a friends place. So now I have the tube as a pre and loving it

I have no use for the AVR now and will soon put it up for sale. But this chain of events are pretty amusing - I have eaten humble pie

Welcome to the world of 2 channel audio Amit. The quads are very good speakers and are fantastic for fatigue free long listening sessions. I have heard both the 11L Classic and 12L Classic and going by what I heard, I reckon the 22L2's would be fantastic speakers.
BTW, how much did you pay for the 22L2's. I guess these are discontinued now since the new models (Classic) are out. You should have got a good bargain on them!

Which tube pre are you using?

Best,
APK