BigStew

Any folks out there demoed or have any experience with the Monitor Audio ASW 210. I know it has dual 10" speakers and that they (MA's) are known to be fast and musical. I currently have a KSW12, which has been fine for HT, but I don't think it keeps up very well with music, and it doesn't have that tight thumping bass (you know what I mean?). Anyway, I can get a good deal on a demo model ASW 210 since it is being discontinued and I was interested in some feedback. TIA, Chris

Have you looked at Boltz racks (www.boltz.com)? They make all steel types of racks. I recently purchased a multimedia rack from them online and love it. Heavy duty and all 50 million bolts, washers, etc. fit perfectly. Sorry, but I just read where you have already made a purchase. Anywho, these are dang good racks. This message has been edited by BigStew on 07-24-2001 at 12:21 PM

HornEd, I recently went thru the same receiver upgrade "urge" you seem to be going thru now. I think you would be doing yourself a great disservice if you did not demo the B&K 307. I exchanged a Yamaha RX-V1000 for one and could not be happier (actually there is no comparison between the two). My decision came down to the Denon 5800 and the B&K. They are in the same price range, both have 7 channels and the upgradability that I wanted. Very dificult choice but after all was said the B&K sounded better in my room. The Denon has more HT features and surround modes, but the B&K is extremely tweakable in the setup and crossover areas and sounded much better with music (I am about 60/40 leaning towards music over HT). I don't think you can go wrong with the Denon but at least give the B&K a listen if possible.

Thanks for the reply Ray!

Hey Ray, A question for you from my infinite ignorance. When you measured out for the placement of your speakers, did you measure from the rear and side of the speakers from the wall or the front centerline of your woofers/tweeters from the wall?

David, I just went thru the same deal as you trying to make a receiver choice. I narrowed it down to the Denon 5800 and the B&K307. I purchased the B&K, but you absolutely cannot go wrong with either choice. I highly suggest demoing them if possible in your room and choosing the one that sounds the best to you. If you are into all the diffent surround "modes" then the Denon is probably the one. The B&K sounded better listening to music to me and that is one issue that put me over the edge. Good luck.

Thanks for the input, I decided on the B&K307. BTW, I did also consider the Yamaha RX-V1 (you get their new remote, a pronto clone, with the purchase) but with the setup I have I wanted 7 full amp channels. Very difficult choice between the B&K and the Denon5800. Separate local dealers carried them and I was fortunate to demo them (had to almost threaten them until they realized I was serious). The Denon to me had more "features" and surround modes, but in my room the B&K just simply sounded better, especially in music. I watch concert DVD's almost everyday (Moody Blues Live at Royal Albert Hall, Metallica S&M, Eagles Hell Freezes Over and the daddy Steely Dan's 2 against nature) so I am not a big fan of all the surround modes anyway. Also the B&K seemed to be infinitely tweakable. I bought the Yamaha RX-V1000 from the dealer who carried the B&K and after 7 months he gave me full purchase price towards the B&K (which was great because I thought I paid to much for it anyway). That made it real diffucult not to chose the B&K307.

Well for starters I like the 7 full amp channels and the ability to be software upgraded for future technologies (i.e. DD2, DTS-ES, etc.). It has 6 digital coax inputs (my yammie has 2 and I need three) and 5 optical inputs. You can adjust the crossover frequencies for all channels but I am mainly interested in the subwoofer crossover. The RXV-1000 is fixed at 90Hz and the B&K307 can be set at almost any frequency in 5Hz increments. I like to have HT set around 80Hz and 2ch music a little lower to take advantage of the RF-3's. In a nutshell I don't want to have to make another purchase for a long, long time and I think the 307 and the Denon5800 will more than suffice for the next 10-15 years (after owning the RXV1000 for 7 months I know I would not be happy with it for that long). Also, of course, they sound much better to me than what I have now. I also looked into separates (B&K, Conrad Johnson, Sunfire, Lexicon, Adcom and Parasound) but for the space I have and the budget, I think the two receivers I am looking at would be a better fit.

Okay folks, I am one of those who has totally gone off the deep end since seriously getting into music and HT with my Klipsch speakers. Current setup is: Yamaha RXV1000 Klipsch RF3, RC3, RS3 and KSW12 JBL Studio Monitor 4406 for rear center channel Pioneer Elite DV-C36 DVD changer Yamaha CDC775 CD changer (yes I am lazy and did not want to mix and match my CD's and DVD's) Dilema: I want more flexibility out of a receiver than I have now. I am using an old crappy Technics receiver to power my rear center channel through the pre-out of the Yammie (and I don't like it). I have decided to go big and get either a B&K 307 or the Denon 5800. Based on every thing I have read these are the two finest on the planet in terms of 7 channel, great HT and excellent for 2Ch music. I do not get into the surround effects so that is not an important option to me. I am really leaning towards the B&K, but I know a ton of people on this site have and love Denon's and I would appreciate some feedback before I step into the abyss.

Thanks for your help guys!

The left lower (black) binding post on one of my RF-3's is loose. I noticed it when I went to tighten down a spade connection with a socket. The spade would tighten to the post itself, but the post wanted to turn after the spade was tight (I hope that makes sense). I was afraid to try to tighten the binding post since I asssume a wire is soldered or connected to it somehow in the cabinet and, of course, I don't know how to. Everything sounds fine but I hate loose things on my speakers. Can I turn the post to tighten it down (or some other way) or should I leave it alone? I certainly don't want to break the connection to the binding post. Please Advise.

VERY positive experience w/ Bettercables. Recently replaced some of my Monster interconnects and speaker wires w/ Bettercables. Equipment: Yamaha RX-V1000 Pioneer Elite DV-C36 DVD Changer Yamaha CDC-775 CD Player Klipsch RF-3, RC-3, RS-3, KSW-12 Pair of JBL Studio Monitor 4406's for the rear center channel Sony XBR 32" TV Scientific Atlanta Explorer Dig. Cable box I bought the Premium bi-wire speaker cables (banana to bi-wire spade) for the main and center channels, the premium subwoofer Y cable, the Ultra component video cable for the DVD to TV, the Ultra digital coax for the DVD to receiver and the premium toslink for the CD Player to receiver. I still have Monster XP NW going to my RS-3's because the cables are run under a door and the Bettercables speaker wire is quite large. I was instantly impressed with the quality of the Bettercables compared to my Monsters. They look like "professional" grade cables. My room size is 18'x30'approx. I had LARGE expectations on the Bettercables after all the reviews I read and I can honestly tell you that in my situation they delivered. It sounds like a different room now (much larger). Very smooth sound. I was afraid of some high range harshnesh until they got broken in, but they sound warmer with less harshnesh than the Monsters I used. Bass response seems more pronounced than before (tighter and quicker). BTW my mains and center channels were NOT bi-wired w/the Monsters. In addition, the cost of these cables were not nearly as expensive as other "comparable" cables. I did a lot of reviewing on audio review and went to each cable companies websites and priced their products (JPS Labs, Tara Labs, MIT Cables, AudioQuest, KimberKable, DH Labs, Silver Audio, etc.. you get the picture). I took about 2 weeks for my cables to arrive. You actually deal with the owner of the company (Brad Marcus) instead of a CSR. I hope I did not get too long winded but in a nutshell I am VERY pleased with my Bettercables.