Bret_Salyer

---------------- On 7/11/2005 1:30:11 AM MrMcGoo wrote: Bret, Try turning the Denon off. If the hum stops, the Denon may have a noise floor that is too high. Mid-fi receivers usually produce some noise, particularly during digtal processing for 5.1 sources. If the Parasound has a three prong plug, try a cheater plug, i.e., lift the ground. This is not recommended as a permanent solution, but it will confirm or rule out a gound loop with the amp very quickly. Cheater plugs cost less than a buck at the hardware store. ---------------- I turned off the Denon and there was still a hum. Then I used a cheater plug on the amp with the Denon on and the hum is gone. So I guess there is a ground loop. Next step I unplugged my satellite feed coming into the house and the hum is still there. I checked the wall outlet with a circuit tester and its wired properly. I also disconnected my subwoofer since it is on a separate outlet and the hum was still there. My other components are DVD player, VCR, TV, playstation. Could the ground loop be attributed to one of these? If so, what would be the fix?

---------------- On 7/11/2005 1:30:11 AM MrMcGoo wrote: Bret, Try turning the Denon off. If the hum stops, the Denon may have a noise floor that is too high. Mid-fi receivers usually produce some noise, particularly during digtal processing for 5.1 sources. If the Parasound has a three prong plug, try a cheater plug, i.e., lift the ground. This is not recommended as a permanent solution, but it will confirm or rule out a gound loop with the amp very quickly. Cheater plugs cost less than a buck at the hardware store. There are lots of folks that do not own RF-7s that will tell you you do not need 200 watts. Even some of the tube types do not understand the need for 200 solid state watts on the 7s. If you have a good sub, try running the RF-7s as "small" with a crossover at 60 or 80 Hz. The Parasound may run cooler. Bass may also be better. I run my RF-7s as small with a crossover of 50 Hz. I let my sub handle the lower bass. Bill ---------------- Unfortunately the Denon's low crossover is 80 hz and that is not low enough to run the RF-7's on small. The reproduction of the material in this range is much better handled by the RF-7's in my opinion. I run all the others on small though. The Parasound amps is quite warm in "standby" without running any material, in an open cabinet. (One of the reasons I was thinking of going Sunfire) I will definitely try the above suggestions for noise tomorrow. Thanks.

---------------- On 7/11/2005 1:24:11 AM michael hurd wrote: Shaw digital cable boxes in this area are very, very slow to change channels, as they may also be switching to an analog channel from a digital one and vice versa. As far as rainfade goes, only twice has the KU band Starchoice gone down, very briefly. Both were rainstorms so severe, you could see the rain bouncing off of the street back up a good 3 feet or so, it was coming down in sheets, with a "river" flowing down the street. As far as the Bell system, there is more chance of it going down in a rainstorm, or with snow. I had almost half of the reflecting area covered on the Starchoice, with almost 70% signal strength still, while Bell was unwatchable with the same amount of snow. I have not sampled a DVR yet, although a HD-DVR is tempting, but I still have no display capable of hi-def. ---------------- Just to reply to your post Michael, My local cable company is Cox. There service is almost instant as far as changing channels and retrieving info. On the flipside I have probably only had 5 times of interupted service due to storms in the last year and I live in Oklahoma / tornado alley. I also get soo many channels from Dish. It is a toss up here as far as Dish or cable because of programming and features. I have Dish my bro has cable. I do have cable internet though.

I have Dish Network, the 522 with DVR and I get tons of channels (probably 300 plus music channels and Serius channels and Pay per view) for a reasonable rate. My issues have been: with satellite there is a slight delay when say retrieving info for a program or retreiving your program guide or even switching channels as compared to cable service. If you are patient this is not a problem. I have also had reception problems during severe storms especially when really cloudy. Not to say you wouldn't with cable. And I have had some issues with the DVR HDD having glitches when you load it up with alot of info. And I am not entirely sold on the recording software for the DVR (or maybe I am not a whiz at working it). Dish does update there software periodically via satellite though. Other than these issues I am happy with Dish Network's reception and programming.

---------------- On 7/9/2005 6:12:47 AM BobbyT wrote: Congrats on the amp ---------------- Thank you. I wanted to add that after further listening, the hum I referred to is not only coming from the amp, but also the speakers. I have done some online searching but I don't have the answer yet. No matter which source is selected when I raise the volume from --- to -70 there is a slight hum. The hum does not get louder as I raise the volume (of course there is a hiss that gets louder with you ear at the speaker, but the original hum seems to be about the same), but (the hum) is audible from the seated position (about 10 feet) during soft passages. I have already disconnected the Dish Sat feed and also my subwoofer to check for ground loops but the hum is still there. The hum is only audible through the RF-7 mains. I have heard noise that was pretty severe in a couple car audio systems and this is nothing like that. This is very slight, but it is audible during soft passages and I would like to eliminate it if possible. Do you think that this is a ground loop or just the noise floor which is now audible since adding the amp? Or something else? I realize my equipment is not all med/high end and I am using very sensitive speakers, but it was not audible before adding the amp. Also, there is a slight hum from the amp chassis itself. All this is not really audible over my A/C when its on, but I do have a return air in my living room with the A/C just on the other side of the wall (kinda noisy). Long winded, but I thought I would be as descriptive as possible. I wanted your opinions before I started chasing my tail.

---------------- On 7/9/2005 2:31:30 AM Nicu wrote: The Parasound warranty is not transferrable. N ---------------- According to the manual its only a 2 year warranty anyway. This model amp is 6-7 years old. I am happy with the power and the sound though.

Consider this: I had a Synergy system 6 which I was happy with. It is a good entry level system which you can drive hard with about any quality receiver and it sounds really crisp. I thought I just needed some towers for 2 channel listening. I bought the RF-7's and I had to buy all the others 7's to go with them they are that good. Buy the best you can afford and save your money because I am just thinking when you get the RC-7 you will instantly be dreaming about the day you have the rest of the 7's!

Won't the seller take it back? The picture was silver and no other description.

Well I went ahead and bought a used Parasound 2205A. I went against my instincts to buying the Sunfire (high power/low heat), Mr. Mcgoo's recommendation, and my old friend Mike who I remember always used to rave about the Carver TFM-45's back in the 90's - "That's what I'm gonna get!" At first I was delighted then a little mixed emotions. I am putting the amp to the test. I can't believe the sound, you guys were right, the power really wakes up the R-7's. Night and Day from my 90 WPC Denon AVR-2802. My only concerns: A) the high temp. light came on for awhile (it didn't shut down), but I have to admit I was really testing it out with scenes from Master and Commander, U-571, and some Alice in Chains "Jar of Flies" which I dig for the acoustic guitar, but it really puts out the bass too. I went through these over and over setting up my system. and ( There is a slight hum from the amp itself, but it is only audible if "muted". I love the sound though. Really solid! And all at a flat response using my Denon AVR-2802 as a preamp. Basically I just wanted to rave about that, especially the punchy bass that the RF-7's are capable of, the crystal clear highs, and all with my modest setup. Later on until now it feels much warmer to the touch than earlier in the day, but haven't seen the high temp. light again. (Also, the amp has plenty of ventilation). I am going to continue to test this amp and I hope it works out and I don't have any problems. I appreciate all the input and I'll try to wipe this grin off my face. It sounds so good!

---------------- This thread in a general sense is about HT calibration disks and their value for use in setting up a home theatre system. To that end I responded originally that I used the DVE disk (Digital Video Essentials) a similar product to the AVIA disk in the original query. When I responded “RE the DVE” I was referring to the DVE disk, as in “Regarding the DVE” it is more in-depth than your standard THX DVD set up track. In other words the picture and audio adjustments are more exacting. I expect eth AVIA disk is similar in that respect too. Hope this helps. ---------------- I was not familiar with the DVE disk. Thank you for the explanation.

You might try setting them to "large" in the speaker config menu.

<[/blockquote> Does it do more than the THX calibration on DVD's? ---------------- Yes RE the DVE it is more indepth ---------------- Quote:"Yes RE the DVE... " Hunh? Quote:"...it is more indepth" I think I understand that part if it doesn't have anything to do with the first. Maybe RE the DVE is common knowledge, but I'm new.

---------------- On 7/7/2005 10:04:07 PM Speedball wrote: To me it is worth every penny just for the video section. Always thought I was pretty good with the color etc. controls but using the disc provides a far better picture. ---------------- Does it do more than the THX calibration on DVD's?

It may be just me, but could you please restate the question?

Wow! I thought I asked a similar question the other day and with fewer replies. Maybe my budget interfered or maybe I asked it wrong !? http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=67602&sessionID={4F6892D8-8D0F-44D1-BCF0-05EE446389D2} Too late, I already bought something.

My modest setup. My next upgrade is a bigger screen! Synergy system 6 prior to upgrade Upgrade to R-7's I just got the 7's up and haven't decided on placement of the center and surrounds. I've thought of moving the center to where the receiver is and putting the receiver down below. The right surround is on the side wall and I've thought of trying to angle them both down a bit. It sounds pretty good as is, but I might at least try different placements. R-7's and RSW-15 Denon AVR-2802 Parasound HCA-2205A 27" Sony WEGA TV Sony Disc changer

---------------- On 7/4/2005 11:08:39 PM vandec54 wrote: So if I have my receiver set to 5.1, am I going to get the same sound coming out of each speaker or are there going to be different tracks of sound coming out of seperate speakers? ---------------- If you set your speakers to 5/6 channel mode, I believe this is a stereo mode that is mixed to 5/6 speakers. In this case you would be getting much of the same signal through each speaker. For Dolby Digital (5.1) or DTS see above post.

That is really a sharp setup jt1stcav. Does it sound as good as it looks?

---------------- On 6/29/2005 11:00:18 PM MrMcGoo wrote: Older Sunfires had a signal to noise ratio of -100 db and produced an extremely faint hiss with your ear to the tweeter. Current production is -115 or -118 db. I have a -118 db model that has zero hiss and more headroom than I will usually use. Bill ---------------- I did not know that Bill. I also just saw an Aragon 2005 for $1250 that I can throw into the mix. I understand this is just opinion and they may all sound different to my ears, but atleast two of the three units are discontinued models (I believe) so thats all I am looking for are experiences and opinions. Bret

Well I need an amp for my HT. I just upgraded to the R-7's so I am going to have to go used for now. I have seen some of the HCA-2205A's and Sunfire Cinema's for around $1K-1.2K which is about all I want to spend right now. I will be using my Denon AVR-2802 as a preamp. Can I hope to achieve a good sound with either of these amps and my AVR? Has anyone had any experience with this particular setup? Which amp do you recommend? Thanks in advance for any input. Bret PS.. I don't have any Parasound dealers local. I was also going to demo one of the newer Sunfires at Ultimate but one of the salesmen blew it up.

---------------- The RF-7s ... which is different when the impedance is not exactly 8 ohms. Sound and Vision rated them as a 6 ohm speakers. I think that they are closer to 4 ohms, but lack the testing gear to measure for myself. Bill ---------------- I believe Klipsch describes them as "8 ohm compatible". Griffinator, what do you think about Sunfire amps?

Thanks for your feedback Bill. So you are saying I will be able to tell if my amp is clipping even during movies with short dynamic bursts? Definite audible distortion?

---------------- On 6/24/2005 7:57:57 PM MrMcGoo wrote: Movies like Master and Commander in DTS really demand at least a 200 watt separate amp for best results IMO. ---------------- That is one of my favorite recent movies and I agree it is really intense. I am certain that I could get better results and can tell I need more power to really DRIVE these speakers. I am new to this hobby and I guess I was wondering more if I will be able to tell if my amp is clipping during movies since the dynamic bursts are so short and if not are my speakers in danger at these levels on this amp? Or am I just being overcautious? I just don't want to damage my new speakers because I like them so much. Bret

I just upgraded from the synergy series to the Rx-7's. I will soon be in the market for amplification, but my question is for my existing setup. I have heard two sets of opinions: A) The RF-7's are so efficient you can use minimal amplification. This speaker's impedance loads require high power amplification. Can I damage my speakers with my AVR-2802? Or in your opinion can I turn it up to -15 on a DTS movie track with no worries? Bret

Quote: Dude, Bob Carver has been setting up his amps to be stable at 1 Ohm since his company carried his namesake. So what? So why don't you own a bunch of his old M1500 amps, which drove stable monoblock configurations at 2,000 watts into 1 Ohm? Isn't that inherently superior to your current amplification? By your definition, it should be... Oh, and all you tube lovers out there, better throw away your equipment and get some good, respectable Carver gear. It doesn't have the output devices or transformers to keep up with low-impedance loads, because Mr McGoo here says if they don't double power at 4 Ohms, they aren't good enough for your Klipsch speakers... Keep talking, bro. I'm listening... ---------------- So what is your point? All I heard was sarcasm. Is power delivery not important? I'm new and shopping for an amp, please explain it to me. Bret