bignasty27

im in toronto

im using an onkyo 885 preamp...it received great reviews and was $2k when I bought about 2 years ago...is there a preamp you can recommend??

actually i have been tempted to do the dean g upgrade. anyone have any experience with the upgrade?? what can i expect??

Im currently running a B&K 200.7 (200 watts per channel) with my full RF7 7.1 setup. I have been struggling with trying to improve the sound of my system and I keep reading good things about Emotiva. My question is, has anyone compared a B&K amp to an Emotiva? Im thinking about the XP2 and the XPA5 to replace the B&K. Would this be an improvement? I dont feel the clarity, the soundstage and the in your face sound with the B&K, plus listening at lower volumes simply stinks. I want more power!!!! My room is 25 feet long by 14 wide and I have treated it acoustically with sound panels. My pre is an Onkyo pr-sc886 Any thoughts? Should I make the switch to Emotiva?? Will I be blown away by the sound??

Thanks! Lots of info. Any other ideas?

OK, firstly a big thank you to all those that have helped me so far. I have changed out or upgraded componants, xlrs, speaker wire, power cords but I am still not getting the sound I want. I am fairly certain it is not my equipment or I least I hope not. Im running the complete RF7 package with RF-7 Floorstanders ,RC-7 Center ,RS-7 Surrounds, RCW-5 in wall and finally the RSW-15 Subwoofer all powered by my B&K 200.7 amp and the latest Onkyo preamp so I know my equipment is decent. Im still lacking the depth and clarity in my sound and from all I have read it has go to be the acoustics in the room. The room is 20 feet long by 11 wide and ceilings about 7.5 high. I put soundproofing insulation in the ceiling before we drywalled everything. The walls are all made of cinderblock now covered by regular drywall and painted. The floor is concrete covered by laminate strips. I will include pictures as soon as I figure out how to insert them but I can tell you that my unit is resting in a wall cabinet made specifically for my HT, floor to ceiling. The end wall is also a wall unit/bookcase with a fireplace built in, floor to ceiling. There is also an 8 foot doorway on one side of the wall where you walk in from. My question is how many acoustical panels (sizes) are needed or how do I go about placing them in the room? Do I need any directly behind my speakers? Do any need to be on the ceiling? corners? What type of carpet/rug do I need to get help dampen the sound? Im looking to make the panels myself using DIY recipe I found in this forum. Do I need to close out the doorway by adding doors? There are two 4x3 windows on the one wall, should those be covered by long curtains? I am looking for any advice to help improve the sound and get the most out of my system. I have included some pictures to get a better idea of the room. Thank you!

Yes! All the other channels are dead quiet with the 7th channel making noise. I have connected my rear speaker to it and its not that noticable form where I sit but if I put my ear against it, I can hear it. Just had the amp serviced and it checked out fine.

It seems to follow the amp. Any speaker wire hook up to the 7th channel gives me the noise, nothing else connected.

I am getting a buzzing type noise coming out of one of my speakers. I am running full RF7 package including 2 inwalls. I have a B&K amp 200.7 and a brand new Onyko Preamp. The connections are XLR balanced. If I have the amp powered on with only the speaker wire connected, I get the hiss/buzz in one channel ( Left Front ). It makes no difference if the premap is on or off as well as the TV, cable box, dvd player etc. The sound doesnt increase if I turn up the volume. I just had the amp professionally cleaned and resoldered but I get the same issue. Any speaker I connect to this channel has the same result. For example if I connect the (Right Front ) to this channel there is noise but the ( Left Front ) has no noise because it is connected to another channel and those seem fine. Strange?? Any ideas?? Thanks!

So, I am assuming you are happy with your purchase(Emotiva)?? How did it compare with the rest of the amps you tried out? Thanks for the input, I will check out the forum.

Also what is ELO? Sorry for the newbie question.

Thanks for all the responses. Interesting read and different amp options are great. Have thought about the DeanG crossover.I sent him an email a few weeks back but have still not heard from him. Does anyone have his current email address? Do you know the price range to get this done?? Room acoustics? Well, the setup is in my basement. Cinderblock walls covered by new drywall with drywall ceilings and a laminate floor. I have a Monster Power conditioner. Is the Adcom 7807 a lateral move as well? Have never heard of Emotiva but will look into it but I may just stick with the B&K. Any other amps or suggestions??

I have used 2 other preamps with similar results. the onkyo pre 885 is new on the market and has received great reviews so far.

Im running a B&K 200.7. Yes, I have often heard that Adcom is not a very good match for Klipsch and therefore went with B&K. Adcom has a monster 7 channel 300 watt per channel amp that I was interested in for the reasons mentioned in my above post but now I am leaning towards keeping my B&K unless someone can convince me otherwise.

Wow! That is exactly what I am experiencing. I am constantly in the -30 or -25 range when watching or listening in order to get the details out but didn't think that was normal. The preamp has a built in Audessy calibration which I have used but it turned down all my speakers to the minimum DB settings. I have not used the Avia disk but will try and get my hands on one. I am still unclear about the microfarads. The sales guy indicated that the quality of the amp is in the microfarads rating. The Adcom and the Sherbourn have similar microfarad ratings and like I indicated, I cannot find the B&K rating anywhere. The sales guy also called my B&K a school PA amp and wanted me to "move up" to the Adcom 7807. I have the full Klipsch RF7 package including the RC7 center and the RS7 rears, R5800 in walls and the RSW15 Sub. I have all the parts but feel that my amp is lacking and wanted to know if I could improve with the Sherbourn. The Sherbourn would be a lateral move then?? Thanks for the help

I posed this question to the Griffinator but I thought I would throw it out there to see what everyone else thought as well. I am running the full 7.1 , Klipsch RF7 package with a B&k 200.7 amp and an the Onkyo SC885 Preamp. The sound is decent but I am not satisfied. I have to turn the volume way up in order to hear all the details. I was wondering if the Sherbourn 7 channels amp would be a significant upgrade to the B&K (200 watts per) or would I have to increase the wattage with an Adcom 7807 (300 watts per) in order to get that full detailed sound at lower levels as well. Was told by the salesman that I need to increase my Microfarads? Is this true? Could not find the Microfarads rating on the B&K. The reviews of the Sherbourn amps have been great but since I am in Canada, they seem tough to find. Would love to get your true opinion on my issue here and I am hoping you can help. Look forward to your response. Thanks,

Thanks DKP, Im sure you know what I was asking when I asked about the lower volume sound. I understand that it is quieter but was more interested in the details at lower volume. I just received the Onkyo SC885 Pre amp but haven't hooked it up yet because I am waiting on the amp obviously and for my Toshiba XA2 DVD Player. Hopefully I will have made a decision on an amp by next week and I am leaning towards the B&K. Anyone compared the Sunfire to the B&K? 5 channel 200w models. I guess I will stay away from Rotel after reading the previous posts. Thanks for the info and would love more info.

Thanks DKP for your input. Is anyone running the Sunfire 5 channel with the RF7's as I have heard good things about that amp but would like to know how it compares with the Rotel and the B&K. Looking for that in your face type of sound. DKP, how is the amp at lower volumes? I find the the Rotel does not do well at lower volumes.

Thanks for your inout. Just curious, how is your B&K at lower volumes? Do you really need to crank it up to get a detailed sound? Looking for that in your face type of sound.

Hi Folks, Cant decide between the Rotel 1095 or the B&K 7250. Im running the full Klipsch RF7 lineup. They are roughly the same price but was hoping I could get the opinions of actual owners. I have the Rotel rb 1080 right now and enjoy the sound but feel that something is lacking especially at lower volumes perhaps a higher current amp? Have read numerous threads outlining the positives of each but need something to put me on one side or the other. We enjoy a 50-50 split between music and HT. Would be open to other suggestions as well. Prefer a 5 channel rather than a 3 and 2 split due to the lack of space in my wall unit. Thanks, look forward to your suggestions

thanks for all the suggestions..... I managed to take them out of the wall unit and sit them just in front of it. WOW..what a difference. The bass was there, little details that were not there before are now. Everything came alive. Even my wife noticed the difference right away. I no longer have to crank it way up in order to get great sound. Not sure what I am going to do with the wall unit but I think it needs to come down or altered in some way. Im assuming the center needs the same room to breathe, correct? If the Adcom is not the best choice, could you recommend a replacement? Doesn't have to be 7.1. Again, thanks for all the help!

the subwoofer is not in the wall unit...LOL dont get me wrong, they still sound great but something is missing, Im hoping this does the trick. is it only the back of the speakers that need the air to breathe or the sides as well?? if i pull them forward and cut out the back of the unit i should have about 2 feet of breathing room back there or would that still be considered enclosed? the wall unit is from top to bottom and wall to wall, its going to be hard to tell the wife that its needs to go. LOL

the speakers are boxed in. perhaps, cutting out the back panel of the wall unit would help. could someone explain technically why this would help. thanks! any other suggestions? i will try unboxing them when i get home tonite thanks! I have a Rotel 1080 not a 1095.

I was thinking about moving them around but the problem is that they are in my basement in a custom wall unit I made especially for the RF7's. I insulated the ceiling with soundproof insulation from home depot (I know, probably not the best idea) and there is new drywall over the cinder blocks on the walls. The floor is laminate. The room is 12 wide by 24 long. Would the sound improve if I went with the Rotel 1095? or perhaps a pro amp to increase the power? What can be done as far as a room treatment since I am pretty stuck with the speaker placement? Any other suggestions?? Thanks for the help so far!

i guess what is lacking is that it is not as open and detailed as i would like. only when i crank it up 3/4 of the way does it get somewhat in your face. the word "loud" probably isnt a good word to use but its just not in your face loud as I would like. Maybe its me or maybe its the Rotel. I would have expected to feel the bass coming out of the subwoofer or get a much more detailed sound.Anything I can do to improve my system would be helpful. Thanks