winchester21

OK-Here is my point of view on the 2 systems. I am in a long narrow room, 24 x 13 or something like that. Man cave junkroom. Gun safes, computer stuff, cigar end table humidor, 3 large wine racks, office desk,cabinet full of car detail supplies, book case, circular fishing rod carousell, Kennedy tool chest, a couch, 2 chairs ect- ect ect.Floor space is limited. My cornwalls, r3s,TV, sub, components,audio rack on one wall- my Rb81s and my Rb61s are mounted high up on the wall firing down. Not your ideal studio, but it supports enough bad habits to keep me in financial ruin. So- you cram 7 perfectly balanced high end reference speakers into the available space and feed them a s---load of power. The RC 64 driven with 250 WPC of Carver power puts the rubber to the pavement big time. We watch mostly action- shootem up DVDs and everybody wants to come to Chris's house when a new one comes out. I have maybe 4 grand in the whole setup( e-bay and closeouts) not counting the TV. When I upgrade the fronts to RF63s or 83s I will be in it at about 5k including 7 channels of separate power amps. There is something to be said for helicopters landing in your living room and bullets flying when watching my type of DVDs. After I get the fronts upgraded, I will put this e-bay, close out, pieced together system up against anything under 10 large. Except for music. Would a further up graded Heritage system with more speakers and more Mac amps be better- yes- without a doubt. But at what cost? Not saying that I will not go that route but this crummy economy has to improve and I will need a bigger room. Trust me, I am far from finished with my Heritage stuff. Tube amps and nice turntables are in the future as finances improve. At this point I have a nice 2 channel entry level system that I am reallly enjoying. It will get better as I get deeper into this addicting habit. The Heritage stuff is the undisputed top of the line in my book. But dont sell the reference stuff short. Different tools for a different application. Right about now, I am really enjoying having both.

I did not know about the Emotiva when I bought my stuff. I bought some used Carver/ B&K/ HK amps off ebay during my pre- forum days which work great. The Emotiva sounds like a better plan given the price and reputation. I can tell you this.. When I went form 100 WPC to 250 on the fronts and the center- 200WPC on the rears and 150 on the sides- the difference was night and day at all voulme levels. My system went from OK to sounding like one of the high end 15k systems in the audio stores. If I were you I would definitely folow through with this plan in some form or another. Receivers- even the 130 WPC variety are no match for separates.

I was afraid someone would ask that question. Sad truth is that I am presently using my Sony 550 DVD player and an older Panasonic turntable with a shure cartridge. Not the best but not bad either..I have a thread in this section researching CD players. This is my next purchase. Then on to more vinyl and a better turntable. The better quality CDs sound Ok through the Blu ray but I realize that better source hardware is in order.I have dropped over 5k on audio toys since Oct and I am low on $$ so it may be a month or 2 before I can complete the project. Seems like good deals come up when you are least prepared to take advantage of them.

I saw that as well. Must be smoking something. But.. for only 159.00.. YOU could be the first person to write a review!!!!! What a bargain.

After considering and listening to many possible equpment mixtures and options I have come to the conclusion that I need 2 systems. I love the HT aspects of the high end reference speakers. IMHO- the very best out there without spending an absolute fortune. However, I just can't get the reference system to come up to my expectations playing music. This is only MY OPINION applicable to my room acoustics and musical taste- not to disrespect any reference system where the owner is satisfied. I dont have the room or cash at this point to go Heritage for everything so I have found a nice compromise. I was all set to buy a set of RF 83s to replace my 2001 RF3s to complete my reference setup. There were issues of non returned calls which caused problems and pi$$ed me off with the dealer where I was going to buy so I blew the purchase off until later. I took the cash and bought a set of Cornwalls, A Mac C28 preamp, and a Mac 2105 power amp. For 2000.00- the price of a set of RF83s- I now have a 2 channel setup which blows the doors off many other new systems for several times the price.The cool thing about this old steup is that there are parts available and people to work on them for not a lot of money. The Cornwalls did sound great as fronts with the RC64,RB61s,RB81s and I was able to tweak the setup and get everything to sound nice together.I just wanted to pair up the 2105 with a proper preamp even though the Pre outs on the Sony 4300 did just fine with the mac. I tried running my Carver 250 WPC amp through the Cornwalls as fronts and it just seemed too much for them to balance with the other speakers . I know that there are ways to switch stuff off and use the Cornwalls for both with a second preamp but I am not a technical wizard when it comes to switches and wiring so I decided not to go that route. I will still complete my HT system with a pair of Rf83s or RF63s when cash allows. For now it sounds geat with the Rf3s. Put me into the camp of the people who think that you cant do both HT and 2 ch music with one system. This Mac C 28 soungs GREAT- Thanks to USNRET. HT-Sony 4300ES- Sony 550 Blu ray- panasonic 50" plasma-B&K EX4420-Carver 3 ch A753-HK 870- rf3s-RC64-Rb61s-Rb81s-Definitive PF15 sub 2 CH-mac 2105-mac c28- Cornwalls.

+ 1 on Mark Knoffler- Shangrila- I personally like the studio version of All the Roadrunning- Mark Knoffler/ Emmy Lou harris the best of all his stuff at present. Both are a must have anlong with Kill to get Crimson,and Golden Heart. Also check out Return of the Grevous Angel-Tribute to Gram Parsons. Varoius artists including Emmy lou Harris, Steve Earl, Lucinda Williams, Wilco and Gillian Welch to name a few. The Cowboy Junkies version of Ohh las Vegas on this album is unbelievable. Slight off the beaten path but good stuff. Wilco- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Summerteeth Kenny Wayne Sheppard- Ledbetter heights,Trouble is-and 10 Days Out(comes packaged with an excellent DVD which tells you everything you ever wanted to know about Blues) Lucinda Williams- Car Wheels on a gravel Road Anything by Stevie Ray Vaughn

Agreed- It is a sad state of affairs when our only choices for TVs and non specialty items will be wallmart-radio shack- and the internet. It's coming.

I ended up buying the cables featured on Audioholics. They seem to be top of the line stuff at a very reasonable in price. It is obvious from the reviews offered and opinions expressed that the monsters are a big box rip off for suckers. Many thanks to the regulars who take the time save the rookies like me from making dumb decisions based on BS ads and wasting our cash. Best regards- Chris

I swore i would never go back in there... but ....my Dell monitor crapped out this morning leaving me with business emergencies. So I went into the BB store hoping to buy a 19" monitor- maybe 2 if the price was right. I stood around for 15 mins waiting on an "associate" to help me. Finally this middle aged guy walked up and asked to help. There were like 10 or 12 models on display in the 17-19 range that I was looking for. I made several selections and OF COURSE none were in stock.We looked at some Dells and Acers that were not on display and the prices were WAY out of line for those 2 brands. The only thing available in stock for under 200 was some off brand junk that i had never seen or heard of. The sales guy was actually pretty cool and knew his stuff. he didn't even try to sell me the junk brands. After 30 mins of looking in the inventory and digging around searching for stuff that was supposed to be in inventory and was not he had had enough. He went into the back and pulled out a nice Samsung wide screen model with the fast refresh rate and the high resolution. Of course it did not show up on the store inventory computer. He did some kind of flim flam price match markdown deal and I walked out with a nice monitor for way less than it should have cost. I thanked him and told him that I would be back to buy another monitor from him when they got some in stock. he said" Dont bother- monday is my last day- this place sucks- I am outa here." Great employee attitude- nice huh? This took me an hour and 15 minutes. Should have taken 10 mins- 15 max.Business model for failure.

Typo- Refering to the Emmy Lou / mark knoffler studio version CD of the live DVD.

The studio version CD is absolutely fantastic. My favorite at present. Makes the Cornwalls sing.

I am really anxious to hear your comments. I spent my RF83 cash on a set of cornwalls and a Mac. I am still going to finish out my HT system which needs only front upgrades(Rf83s or RF63s) to complete. I am running a RC64 center which in my opinion is the best center on the planet for less than stupid money. I am looking hard at the RF63 to save cash over the RF83s for my separate 2ch system. Some folks seem to like the RF63 better than the RF83. I have listened to my system with a set of RF 63s but it was before I had my center. I will be curious to see how well the 63s match up well with the RC64. That is a helluvalot of center sound.

Since my Cornwall purchase I have been diggging through my old CD collection. I ran across the Sweet Vine CD- (southern rock/jam band) from back in the day. Forgot how good it sounded. You can buy it dirt cheap on Amazon. Definitely worth a listen if this is this is your taste.

I checked the monster cable website and found several different grades of HDMI cables. I have heard different opinions on the subject. Also there are some places on E-bay that sell similar looking Monster cables that have Ultra 800 and 1000 model series designations for a ton less money- like 29.00 vs 200.00. The models do look slightly different. These stores on E-bay have tons of good feedback. yes- I am also skeptical of Monster cable products as wel but I am not familar with any others Thanks in advance for any opinions/comments.

Best buy sucks and sucks and sucks. Went in last week to buy a lousey modem/router setup for my At&T internet that has been acting up- SOLD OUT!!!! Nothing for sale!!!! Not a single freaking modem that would work with AT&T........WTF?????????: Had to drive 29 miles out of my way to another store to get it. Went in yesterday to a NEW store near my office to buy a 19" Samsung computer monitor for my son... you guessed it..... SOLD OUT!!!!!!!! WTF?!?!?!. Nothing in the other stores and no estimated stock date!!!!!!! Employees at my store are rude and look/act like something from the planet of morons. Dont like your job?? Go somewhere else- dont take it out on the customers. Yesterday I found the Sauns LT 25 TV wall mount for half of their price on Amazon. Screw them- I will never buy anything else from them if I can possibly get it elsewhere. And they wonder why people shop on the internet. Soon to follow Circuit ----ty? My money says that they are bankrupt within a year.

Rookie here-- What's a music server? seen them for sale - Don't understand their function. I am using a Sony 550 blue ray for CDs at present. I have heard a number of high end purpose specfifc single CD players- With Heritage speakers- I can definitely hear a difference. Don't have 4k for the Mac.Narrowing down choices from this thread. Thanks for the input. First class advice as expected.

Wise words but one must understand priorities. I had to jump quick or the stuff would have been sold. How often do you see a good deal on a nice Mac and a minty set of Cornwalls?????? These deals are few and far between. In contrast, how often do you see women????? last time I checked the malls and bars were full of them. What to do?? GO FOR THE SPEAKERS!! She will get over it. You are correct in one area. Buy your stuff first and list it in the pre-nup. Man Law # MC2105 PARAGRAPH B SECTION 7.1

I am in the process of upgrading my blues CD collection to listen to on my newly purchased Cornwalls. Any suggestions for high quality Blues CDs would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance Chris

Looking for something new to listen to I purchased 2- JJ Cale CDs off Amazon.com. Naturally and Really. I liked the music back in the 70s. I know these old recordings are hit and miss but the quality on these are HORRIBLE. The old tunes are nice but painful to listen to in this format. Pass on these.

Yes I did- with the hign end CD he played it sounded the best of the lot to me including the Mac. Of course the mac 275 didn't hurt the situation either The Jolida is on my short list.

The RF7s-are great speakers-maybe the best in the reference line. . Do listen to the Cornwalls when you get a chance Got a set of vintage Corns yesterday- I am ruined.

This took a lot of fiddling with the manual setup levels on the receiver GUI but it worked out great.

I love my 550.I am using it with a Sony DA4300ES receiver-panasonic 50" plasma. This combo is particulary good in the area of upscaling my older DVDs to the best possible quality. A professional installer friend of mine who does systems in upscale homes uses this player exclusively if the client will not bite on the state of the art 3 grand stuff. Several features above the base models which are must have according to my tech guy. I found mine at Techonweb/nextag for 300 bucks delivered back in Dec. Got it in 2 days with no issues.I think they are sold out. I would jump on this deal for anything under 400. Highly reccomend.

The meters are barely moving at this point. Wifey is pi&&ed. I used her Tahoe to go pick this stuff up in Ga yesterday. Left her without transportation. My Porsche has a stick and she can't drive it.The listening room/man cave looks like a hydrogen bomb went off in it. Old amps and wires everywhere until I decide where I am going to put these monsters. They are bigger and much LOUDER than I thought they would be. Check back with me after the dust settles and I have had a chance to really crank it up. Low profile for now. I am using the pre out section on my Sony DA4300ES HT receiver at present. Believe it or not it sounds amazing both in 2 ch and HT modes which opens up a world class can of worms in my future system plan. I dont know whether to have separate HT(reference)/2Ch(Heritage) systems or trash the reference stuff and go to a total Heritage setup for both. This deal appeared suddenly and it was just too good to turn down. I am looking at preamps for the not so distant future. I realize that this is not the correct way to do things. However-This is a very acceptable situation and comes very close to a perfect HT/ 2Ch combo for not a ton of cash. I have listened to a number of reference systems in the 2ch mode and nothing comes close to this listening to music.

Picked up my first heritage speakers today- beautiful set of Cornwalls with a mac 2105 amp. I see now what I have been missing. I am sitting here enjoying a cold Pilsner urquell (the 3rd one) listeming to a new ZZ top DVD with my son. These speakers are freakinfg ridiculious. It doesnt get any better than this.