DrPyro

Bruins- The main question is, what are you planning on hooking it up to? Plasma, Front Projector, Tube TV, what? Also, What kind of interface are you planning on using? DVI, HDMI, Component, S-Video..what? Our suggestions will depend on this. For fixed pixel displays with DVI or VGA, probably the best video quality will come from a computer and running at the native resolution of the display. For a HDTV ready TV with DVI, I would suggest the Bravo DVD player. All reports suggest an amazing digital output (but analog SUCKS) and it upsizes all DVDs to 720p and at $250...you can't beat the price. If you are determined to get CD playback too, i would strongly suggest a univeral player. Sooner or later SACD and/or DVD-A will gain in popularity.... I love classical music, so SACD is the better format to buy since most of the classical titles are on SACD. Of the 20 or so SACDs I have, most are amazing for sound quality. Also, you might think about a player that also includes Microsofts Audio and media, as their HD codec is very nice but requires alot of CPU power.... -Dave

I would also have to disagree with Denon sounding hash & fatiging on Klipsch speakers. I started with a Denon 3801 and was great with movies. However, it sucked the life out of my classical CDs. I really didn't notice it on any other types of music, but I don't have a very extensive collection of "other" music. I finally went to seperates (ACT-3 and Parasound 1205A), even using the external amp didn't really help the music any. The ACT-3 was on a whole different level, but a huge leap should be noticed between a $1000 reciever and the a $3000 pre/pro. Despite all of this, my brother now has the Denon and is happily using it for his infinty speakers.... So depending on what you use your system for, movies or music, should drive your purchasing decision. As for your other options, when i was hunting for a CD player, I went to a Marantz dealer and he was having alot of troubles with failure rates on the Marantz recievers. So definatley look around to see if other users are reporting problems.... Another idea might be to get some seperates...You can get a Outlaw Audio 950 Pre/Pro and 7 channel Pwr Amp for $1600. The 950 is only $800 so you could buy a used amp to knock the price down lower then $1600. I'm not a huge fan of the Outlaw amps with Klipsch, as they are almost identical to ATI which are known for their brighter presentation. -Dave

pmkta148- It really depends on what you are using for your test CDs and DVDs. If its your favorite flic like StarWars, they INTENTIONALLLY supliment the base just to get the feeling of base impact. Most CDs don't over exagerate the magnitude of base nearly to the extent as movies and the base doesn't go much below 60-80 Hz for most music. So you shouldn't expect to feel the base that you would with movies. Furthermore, DON'T compare what you hear on the radio to that of the CDs, MANY stations EQ the music to enhance the base well beyond what is present on the CDs. However, a few setup items you could look at. First, have you calibrated the speaker levels and checked for freq spikes and continuity of the frequencies for both HT & music settings?? Second, have you tried different placements of the main speakers, get away from the walls and toe in or out? Third,I don't use a sub for music, it is very difficult to get the proper blending between the sub & mains for it to sound "right" to my ears, but since you don't have one no worries..... Finally, double check your settings on the Yammie, many pre/pros that i know have a seperate setting for Stereo so it could be defaulting to 80Hz crossover. Try an analog Stereo "Direct" mode which should bypass all of the "features" of the reciever so you can check if its the Yammie. -Dave

Ken hit it right on the head...It ALL depends on room considerations! If you have a room in which you can completely control the lighting...a projector should definitely be considered. HOWEVER, how often have you watch TV in a semi bright room as the wife, g/f, or kids do something else???? Secondly, standard cable TV (analog or digital) will look like crap at 100", but HDTV at that size is absolutely FANTASTIC! Too bad HD programing is quite rare....and who knows when cable stations like SciFi, TNT, TBS will ever have HD material.... I have had my Sanyo Z1 projector for over a year, and I have over 1000+ hours on it. I have a HTPC with a HD tuner card and a DVD player (TheaterTek) and use it every evening to watch some TV and several times a week a DVD (I LOVE Netflix!!). However, the projector is cumbersome when the g/f wants to do something else while I watch TV.... The reason why I wanted the projector is that I almost had complete light control of the room and I didn't want or need the HUGE and HEAVY 60" projection TV taking up a large section of a room. A 10 lb, 1/4 HD resolution projector seemed to fit the bill just fine.... I just can't wait until I get a dedicated HT and FULL 1080 resolution projectors become reasonable in price!!! -Dave

Oh...one more thing....Speaker Cables..... IMHO, the BEST route for speaker cables is DIY. Depending on your amp & speakers, (if they have the 5-way binding posts) then the Radio Shack Gold-Plated Dual Banana Plug (278-308) works great. Other wise, some normal banana connectors need to be used. In a few months I will be uprgading my speaker wire to either Canare Starquad 4s8 (13 AWG) or 4s11 (11 AWG). The prices are reasonable too for the wire guage ($0.48/foot of the 4s8 and $0.82/foot of the 4s11). Plus i can make them any lenght i choose.....so I will likely get a 100 ft roll from Have Inc. and call it a day.... -Dave

Thanks guys.... Actually the cables are VERY easy to make! There are several other recipes to make cables, and some report that they use better materials so they sound better then the ones I made, BUT since i'm a lazy person i wanted a quick and easy way to make good sturdy cables and the Canare system did just that. For premade DIY type cables, there are several sources where you can look. BlueJeans Cables http://www.bluejeanscable.com/ is one, and Vince Mastkeeper over at HomeTheaterForum also builds some for people when he does a batch. There are several other companies that do DIY types, but I can't remember their names at this moment. For Store type cables, I would probably just go with some simple RadioShack interconnects (Gold variety) as I feel the cable is more securely attached to the connector then Monster and others. They all will put a death grip on your RCA plugs and you will feel as if you are going to break your device, but there is no need to spend $$$ on them (yet). Eventually when you get more 5.1 connections or DVD-A/SACD and you need all of those damn analog cables and its going to cost you a bloody fortune to buy, DIY starts to sound REALLY good. -Dave PS: As for the hyperlinks at the bottom, i put them in a long time ago when Klipsch let you use them....I believe now you can't add them, but it hasnt seemed to affect preexisting ones...

IMHO, it would be a waist of $ to add any fancy cables to this setup. Its a good start to a nice HT, but, probably less then 10% of the audiophiles can hear a difference in cables, and this is ONLY with the most unforgiving system possible. I would spend your $ on components, DVDs, music before spending serious $ on cables. You can also build your own cables that will easily beat any Monster type cable for preformance and cost. Check out my DIY cable link below, at the bottom of the page is a few pictures of the guts of those fancy monster cables. -Dave

Fish- This is really THE first time that I have ever heard that B&K is bright with Klipsch atleast more so then any other amp or pre/pro. B&K has been renound for their smooth and warm amp designs using the MOSFET output. Could you please elaborate? -Dave

I have a Parasound HCA-1205A coupled to my Klipsch RF-3s and Acurus ACT-3. I have no major complaints about the amp, it does its job nicely. I just have a little more hiss in the tweeter then i would like, its very low...but i can hear it. I can't be positive that it is from the amp, not pre/pro, but my guess is that it is from the amp. One of these days i'll get a dedicated 2-channel amp for my stereo listening pleasure. -Dave

Billiardicus- I agree that the Denon receivers KILL the sound when listening to Klipsch speakers. I had a denon that I thought sounded fairly good, but with classical music something was serisouly missing from the music. I moved to seperates (Acurus ACT-3 and a Parasound 1205A amp) and I was in heaven! Depending on what type of engineer you are (discipline not skills), you should be earning decent $ so I would save your $ and NOT get a reciever, because that depending on your music preference and how anal you are about sound quality, you will be unhappy with it and upgrade to seperates faily soon. As for the pre-amp/Processor section, there are lots to choose from, Aragon, Rotel, B&K, Outlaw, Bryston, Anthem, Sherborn, Sunfire, Parasound etc..... However, I like a clean simple look to a pre/pro, and I'm very concerned for a good match with the Klipsch speakers and classical music. If i had to do it all over again, the Aragon StageOne, and B&K Ref50 would be my top two picks. As for amps, ther are only a few people on the forum that have choosen Adcom and ATI. The main reason is that they tend to have a bit brighter presentation and might not be a great match with the "brighter" klipsch speakers. Parasound and B&K tend to match very well with klipsch, IMHO. The great thing about klipsch speakers is that they are VERY efficent, and you DON'T NEED 200+ watts of power to drive them to VERY loud levels. However, the curse of klipsch is if you get a cheap amp, you WILL hear annoying hiss from the tweeters. The B&K Reference 200.5 amp or Parasound Halo A51 or A52 would be my preference. However...some is needed.... B&K Ref 50 - $2000 B&K 200.5 - $2500 Klipsch RF-7s $2000 This may be more then you are willing to spend..so some options.... Get the best speakers you can afford first, then worry about the electronics, the speakers make the most difference and last the longest. If you will mainly listen to music, just get two RF7s, you will be amazed on how well a properly set up pair sounds on DVDs and you won't miss the other 3 speakers much.... I would also pay for the B&K Ref 50 right away, however, for the amp, what people have done is get a great 2-channel amp for the front two speakers when they listen to ALOT of music on the system and then add some multi-channel amp when they want that ability..... Cheers and welcome to the Klipsch Nut House!! -Dave

IN one simple word...NO brandnamez.com is autorized dealer of klipsch. The only authorized online was ubid. As they were getting rid of some of Klipsches old products over a year ago. Klipsch has a very strict policy about "grey market" products and have gone after their Dealers who sell to these grey market stores and the stores themselves. My recommendation is that you buy from an authorized dealer, due to warrenty concerns. Of the past 3 HT components i have purchased from authorized dealers, two have had to be returned for warrenty work. But have i had any problems with my speakers...nope. I purchased them from a local authroized dealer since we all know how UPS, FedEx and most other shipping companies beat the heck out of any packages and I almost gaurantee you that they WILL NOT double box the speakers when shipping. -Dave

If you are looking for a fixed frame screen, probably one of the most economical companies is Carada Screens http://www.carada.com/ Their 100" fixed frame screen is less then $600. You can check out all of the responces on the AVSForum, but they have had outstanding recomendations from almost everyone who has bought their screens. Kinda think about it...I don't remember ever reading a bad review of them.... Check them out.... -Dave PS: I'm not associated with Carada, nor do I have their screen. But they are #1 on my list when I buy a house with a dedicated HT......

artto- I'm glad you don't like that SACD too, I absoutly agree that it is too fast. However, some of the bells do sound much better the some of my other recordings. But IMHO, that is realy benifit of SACD, high freqs sound more "right". My personal favorite is Ozawa, its a dark and slower version, but it sounds fantastic on Klipsch. Also, the male and female solist have IMHO, great voices! Ozawa is my reference for Carmina Burana!!! I have another highly recomended version, don't remember who, but it SUCKS...there is NO other word for it. It has many of the same qualities of tempo and stride as the SACD, but HORRIBLY mastered. They obviously turned the gain all the way up, cuz it sounds like it clips on every note. I'll have to check out some of your guys other recomendations!! -Dave

Mike- Aragon offers a "psuedo" upgrade program for their processors. When the new stage one came out, current ACT-3 owners could get a $1000 tradein on the purchase of a StageOne and/or could have the ACT-3 upgraded to same processor which is in the StageOne for $900. I went with the upgrade of my ACT-3, and have never regreted it for more then a minute. (I believe that they did this for the Act1 owners when the ACT3 came out) I did alot of hunting and listening to the StageOne, its a fantastic processor, the ONLY problem that i had with it is that I'm a fan of hard button remotes and I had gotten a very nice Home Theater Master MX-700 remote for use with the ACT-3. Looking at Pre/pros, I had looked at several (Athem AVM-20, B&K Ref 30/50, to name a few) and I was always impressed with the simple but eligant designs of the Aragon and Acurus lines, many of the other pre/pros just looked complicated. I'm smart, and I can deal with complicated, but why should I have to? Any of the new pre/pros I have looked at, really haven't impressed me any in sound quality or features.....The "little" ACT-3 holds its own for sound quality! As for Amps, I run a Parasound 1205A for my Reference 3 system. I have been very happy with it (except for a minor issue which required a service repair). I think any of the Halo/Parasound, B&K, Aragon amps would work great with any system. The really nice part about Klipsch is that they don't NEED 250+ watts/channel to sound great...So you can get a better amp for cheaper since you don't need all of that power. But, I'm not sure if the THX2 speakers will be as easy to drive, but keeping with klipsch tradition, i would think they would be. -Dave

i'll second the Sony XA9000ES, it sounds as good as it looks. I have had mine over 6 months and have been very happy with the preformance of the player. Its detailed yet smooth. But this player may be way out of your price range (~ $2000 @ Oade brothers) -Dave

basse- Although I don't have Reference 7s, I do have a SVS CS-Ultra. I purchased when SVS was just getting started, and sent many emails to TomV @ SVS to try and select the best one for my room & speakers. At the time I had a KSW-12, and many memebers on this forum will agree that this sub just can't keep up with the Reference speaker line. So a low distortion sub was a priority, SVS easily filled that requirement. The advantage of SVS is that they have excellent preformance, expandability, tweakability, reasonable price, and top notch customer service. An almost unbeatable combination! -Dave PS: TomV from SVS ownes Klipsch speakers, IIRC, Hershey, so they blend very well with Klipsch.

I'll be moving to Gaithersburg, MD in 6 months or so.... So count me in if you guys get together..... -Dave

Milton- Your commments about the movie are interesting. I wanted to see the movie, but as soon as I heard that they stuffed Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, and who knows what else.... it really really turned me off. Being a big vampire flick fan, adding the "other" characters just seems like overkill. -Dave

Mr. Blorry- What Toddvj is refering to is that both SACD and DVD-A REQUIRE the use of analog connections to listen to the high resolution tracks of the two formats. Again it all stems from the idea that if high resolution tracks are transmitted digitally, then it WILL be illegally copied and shared. SO, someones bright idea was to only alow the use of 6 analog connectors, which has made a complete nightmare for users and a gold mine for cable manufactures. HOWEVER, recently they have approved the use of firewire (IEEE-1394) to digitally transmit high resolution DVD-A and SACD (its encrypted naturally). However, very few players and recievers have yet to incoperate the connector or necessary DSPs in the recievers/Pre-Pros. Hope this helps.... -Dave

Mr. Blorry- I hate to tell you this...but M-Audio didn't answer the question which you really wanted answered. Is the ANY M-Audio card capable of PLAYING the high res layers of DVD-A? The answer is sadly NO, there are currently NO software players and decoders for high resolution DVD-As. M-Audio has continued to mislead its customers with WRONG information and in some instances blatant lies, and false promises. I have a M-Audio Revo which they had a slip of paper and brochures promised DVD-A players and it will NEVER appear. The only cards currently capable of playing the high res DVD-A is the SoundBlaster cards. The reason for this is that the industry doesn't want anything transmitted in high res or decoded by software due to the belief that the encryption protocol could be reverse engineered and thus easily pirated online. The soundblaster does the decryption via hardware. If you look at the AVSForum, you will find LOTS of hostility towards M-Audio due to the lack of the promised DVD-A support and crappy crappy drivers and support. -Dave

ROFLMAO!! Oh, that is a great one, Max, good find!! -Dave

Max- Congrats! Yeah, kids sometimes do the craziest things! Keep spoiling her with the GOOD cartoons! These modern cartoons are HORRIBLE, give me Bugs Bunny any day of the week. If I could burn Sponge Bob I WOULD !!! *Insert your preferred deity here* save the rest of the world from American Television!!! Keep up the good work, Max! -Dave

Leo- Hey thanks...will check under the hood! -Dave

Mark- I purchased a MD Etude tuner used almost a year ago from a local dealer. I probably paid a bit more for it then I would have via Audiogon or Ebay, but it was well worth it to test it out prior to buying it. A few items have made the tuner well worht the price I paid. The build quality is outstanding and it has an extreamly sensitive tuner, plus you can "detune" a frequency to get the maximium signal. I'm in a location that doesn't get great radio reception and I can't use an outdoor antenna . I can now tune in stations that I use to never be able to get and it produces a warm and inviting sound. IMHO, they are well worth the price, HOWEVER, I'm not sure I would pay the new prices for them...... Leo- Could you give more info on the 20uF cap tweek? Or point me in the direction where I can read about it. How does it effect the sound? -Dave

All though BillH is right that there is an Aragon Section in the forum, I hate to say its usually very dead in there. There are several users here that own the StageOne, although not many own the 3005. I have the ACT-3, which has been upgraded to the same DACs as the Stage One. I'm also a huge classical music fan, and 2-channel performance is very important to me. I upgraded from a Denon 3801 as a pre/pro to the ACT-3 upgraded, I was always unhappy with the classical music performance with the 3801, I was dull, lacked a good soundstage, and tonal balance was a bit off, IMHO. The ACT-3 changed all of that, its excellent for 2-channel, and very simple to use! It has analog bypass, if you have a good CDP/SACD. Once I upgraded, I didn't find a need for a good CDP, I was very happy with "only" the DVD transport. I recently upgraded the DVD to a CD/SACD player only (Sony SCD-XA9000ES), I was VERY concerned with the upgrade since I was that happy with the DACs on the ACT-3. But the XA9000ES is an exceptional player (better be for $2000), overall its a bit smoother on CDs, and the highs are not as fatiguing, plus the SACD performance is outstanding! I really don't think you will be unhappy with the performance of the Stage One on Classical Music, but its really about system synergy. IF possible, see about taking home a demo unit for a bit. -Dave