JuHorvath

Boa, I know you are getting anxious to get the 4802 as a pre-amp but I would advise to wait and get the Outlaw 950 pre-amp for about half the price. It has features the 4802 does not such as Crystal Audio(?) 7.1 that is supposed to be very good for mulitchannel SACD and DVD Audio, etc. go to Outlawaudio.com to check specs or take a look at hometheaterforum.com and do a search for the Outlaw 950. It also is a true separate and you can get a little cash for your 8000. The best thing about this product (and they won't even tell us everything they are putting in it yet....) is that it is supposed to be software upgradeable. If they can truly offer this for the price of $900 and under I think they have made a customer for life in me....... Most recent updates on the status of the Marantz 8200 and 9200 is that the 9200 will no longer be a preamp. Right now there are a lot of 8000 that need to sell before they will ship these two units. Since the 7200 got to be as good as the 8000, the 8200 is due to come out and replace the SR19EX. The 9200 will replace the SR18EX. This came from one of their sales reps who seemed pretty upset that someone had guessed what it was they were doing before they had actually done it. Of course this means their will be a price increase for each of these models. Ask if you have any more questions about these and as far as I know right now, there is no bass management on it, but I could be wrong...... Juan This message has been edited by JuHorvath on 09-18-2001 at 08:53 AM

Great choice on your set-up. If you are going to pay $4000 for your speakers I might recommend checking out www.sounddistributors.com. The money that you save on speakers you can put towards the SVS Ultra sub. If you want to hear about the Ultra go to www.hometheaterforum.com and do a search for the SVS Ultra or go straight to www.svsubwoofers.com and if you have any questions go ahead and contact Tom and Ron (founders of SVS)directly. They are very good at recommending the best sub for your room and specifications and will get back to you promptly. Hope this helps Juan

First of all, don't give up on this hobby before it even starts! It seems to be consensus around these parts that Denon, Marantz, and Yamaha make the best receievers. How much are you looking to spend all totaled? What model RC's are you looking at? Odds are to figure out what you really like you are going to need to demo these receivers side by side using the speakers you plan of buying. Let your ears make the decision for you. No one has had the chance to make a full report on it here but I have heard VERY good things about the Denon 4802 and it's street price seems to be a little under 2K. If you want to spend the money, it has the features and capability that it will not become obsolete in the near future. Marantz should have the new SR 8200 comes out this month or in October. Haven't found out what the specs are on that one yet but I feel it should be a quality receiever and can be had for less than the Denon 4802. Marantz does beautifully for music IMHO but I have heard the 4802 can more than hold it's own. I'll also throw out the RF series of speakers as options to consider. When I get the chance the RF7's are coming home with me.......... Juan

Boa, with most Klipsch speakers, is there much difference between 200w and 125w? How is the sound? Do you find the Acurus line to be significantly better then your Marantz 8000 set-up? I will only really be using the receiver to run the sides/rears. Do you feel it would be worth waiting until the new RF3's with the Monster interconnects come out or just get the old versions? I am very interested in playing around with the new DVD audio and SACD formats because I think there will be a lot that of great material done in the studios to take full advantage of these mulitchannel set-ups. Still have no info on the new 8200 or the 9200 pre-amp from my dealer but hope that I will be able to get something soon....... Juan

Anyone have some input for me? Juan

OK, I have decided to revise what I am going to do for a system once again. Boa, when you said this would get to be an expensive hobby, you sure weren't kidding! From looking at back posts it seems that bi-wiring produces minor at best improvement in sound quality. It also seems to be consensus that bi-amping can MAJORLY improve sound quality if done properly. I'm looking at a Marantz 7200 as a preamp and to run the rears/sides. I tenatively have decided on Marantz MA 500 monoblocks to run the RF7 mains and RC7 center. The RF7's have a 102 sensitivity and the RC7 has a 98. Are these high enough that the 125w of the MA 500 monoblocks will be sufficient? Should I upgrade to 200w per channel? If so I can look into the MA 700's or maybe the Acurus amps that everyone has been talking about. Now on to the bi-amping question. I believe that what I want to do is called "passive" bi-amping. I was thinking about using one monoblock to run the mids/highs and one to run the bass on the RF7's. Will this improve the sound quality significantly over just running a single amp to the speaker? I have read that you need an external crossover to maximize this but with the RF7's having an internal crossover of 2200 kHz will this be a problem or will it sound fine? I know I can do this kind of an idea with the monoblocks but is it possible with one of the Acurus 200X5 amps? If so, how would it work out? Has anyone compared the sound of the Acurus when paired with RF7's to what it would sound like with the Marantz monoblocks? The last bit that I want to talk about is multichannel music such as DVD audio and SACD. If I have the following set-up: RF7 mains RC7 center RF3 sides/rears would this be more ideal for these formats then RS7's in the sides and rears? I believe multichannel audio, if done right, could be something I find myself really enjoying. The last bit is for Boa. Since you are looking at getting the Denon 4802 as a preamp, what steered you in this direction? What features does it have that the Marantz 7200 does not and vice versa? I have changed my mind on what I'm going to do several times now and after doing some research into separates, feel this is the best way to go. If you let me know your logic behind the decision, maybe I can be swayed......Damn, this hobby is really starting to get expensive though! Juan

Just a suggestion. Since you already have some Marantz gear you are likely partial to their products. I would advise getting a SR 7200 and using it as a preamp if you want to keep your 2 channel the way it is. This way, if you like you can use the remaining 6 channels to power any of the other speakers you are going to need for the HT. The 7200 comes with most of the bells and whistles you will be looking for in a receiever like Pro Logic 2, and a list of many others. If you'd like to check it all out go to www.marantz.com and find the SR7200 on the site. It isn't the most user friendly set-up but you'll be able to figure it out soon enough. For the most detailed info go to product information once you find the 7200. You can find this receiver for about $630 online right now. If you need to find some places just e-mail me and let me know. This is what I am looking at doing so I have checked into the background on this machine. How many channels is your Rotel amp? Just to let you know, the internal amps for the receiever are pretty good for 2 channel music, better than any of the other receiver I demoed and much better than anything else available at it's price point. For myself, I am looking to get some marantz MA500 monoblocks to power my mains and center channel. I might also look to bi-amp my mains if it seems like it would really improve the sound quality. With the receiver I would power the rest of the sides and rears for a 7.1 set-up. Sorry I can't help with any matching suggestions on the line of speakers you are looking at but you should find plenty of others here with suggestions for you. I will be picking up RF7's for mains and RC7 for the center, with RF3's for sides and rears. Feel free to keep shooting off questions and welcome to the board. Juan This message has been edited by JuHorvath on 09-09-2001 at 10:37 PM

Ed, If they have lived there that long I'm sure they know my friends. Here's a few names to run by them Cole Bryngleson, Terry Haddock, Cary and Gabe Baker. All of these guys are vets from the 'Latch. I don't think RF7's around would be possible (not saying I wouldn't like to try!). I'm just wondering if the RF3's along the sides and rears would match well with the RF7 mains and RC7 centers. I am interested in hearing the new RF3 MkII's to see if the reworking with monster cable really effects the sound or not. Juan

When do you expect to see the new versions of the RF3 hit stores? In particular the Ultimate Electronics chain since they are the only Klipsch dealer here in the entire town of Boise. Any plans to do the RF3's in the different finishes? I am now offically curious to find out what the "little something extra" that will be thrown in with these guys is........ Juan

Ed, I'm sorry that you have any relatives who actually live in Potlatch. I graduated college from the University of Idaho and a couple of guys in my fraternity were from Potlatch. Lets just say, they never lived it down...... Are you recommending that I don't use the RF7's as fronts? When I was talking about "an embarrasment of riches" I was implying having RF7's for fronts, sides, rears, etc. That would be something to behold....... If the Marantz 8200 doesn't have the 7th powered channel I will likely wind up picking up a couple Marantz 500 series monoblocks to power the mains and buying the 7200. Early report on the 8200 is that Marantz still has a lot of the 8000 out there and needs some of this extra inventory sold off before they are willing to ship the 8200's. No specs yet but I have someone checking into it for me and hopefully will have something by the end of the week. I will post the info when it becomes available. If only the SR19-EX had Pro Logic 2 this whole process would be so much easier! Thanks again to everybody for the advice. One quick question, for this set-up what do you think the minimum room size should be? Juan

Now, as most really good ideas do, this came to me last night while I was lying in bed. Has anyone considered a set-up of the following (or anything similar?) RF7 mains RC7 center RF3 sides RF3 rears SVS Ultra Now I know this set-up is INCREDIBLY expensive but if you do something like this when you set up your speaker system originally won't it help you stay away from the dreaded "upgrade my speakers" bug? In this set-up you have 7 full range speakers (I consider the RC7 full range in this case, should I not?) Boa has discussed this and I have my local hifi guy checking into it since he can contact their sales reps but I believe that the new 8200/9200 Marantz models will be seven(!) powered channels and possibly include THX processing. If they don't I can't see them competing with the 7200 after all of the improvements that have been made from the 7000. A wattage upgrade of the 7200 just doesn't make business sense. This gets me all hot and bothered because the thought of that beautiful Marantz sound spread out through 7 full range speakers in DVD Audio or SACD multichannel........OK, back to the real world here. This set-up leads me to numerous questions. 1. In a set-up like this is THX certification absolutely essential? (once again back to the argument of whether THX is marketing fluff or necessary.) 2. Would it be a better idea to have another RF3 as a center channel instead of the RC7? (if so how would you set it up?) 3. With the full range capabilities in the speakers, would the SVS Ultra be overkill on the bass side?(would a 20-39 work just as good?) Would the range of these speakers make bass management functions (a weakness of the Marantz line) less important or more important? 4. How seamless would the integration of these speakers be? 5. Since the sides and rears are pointing at the listening position, if you are not in the "sweet spot" will there be a compromise in sound or would these RF3's in the rear and the back just serve to "fill up the entire room with that beautiful Klipsch sound" (since if I actually buy this set-up I will need to have numerous friends over to entertain......) 6. Would you need the RF3's on the sides and in the back raised off the ground? 7. Since these speakers are so powerful and efficient I wouldn't need any external amplification if the receiever was pushing 110x7, would I? KLIPSCH MODERATORS I WOULD APPRECIATE SOME INPUT FOR THE FOLLOWING QUESTION 8. How big of a room do you need for this to actually make sense? (I will be bringing my tape measure with me today to get the dimensions of rooms where I would set this up. House hunting.....got to love it!) 9. If I do this, who is willing to come up and help me set this monster up?!? I figure with this set-up the only real thing that I might look to upgrade in the future (easy to say now, isn't it!) is the receiver when new important technology is introduced, like Pro Logic 2 was recently. Sorry, I just can't see setting up RF7's around. That is just an embarrasment of riches if someone has actually done that.......... I am really interested to hear what Sounddog (since you have an INCREDIBLE system) Doug Drake, Boa, Talk to Keith, Anubis, the Borg, etc. and everybody else think about this. Thanks in advance for all your input! Juan This message has been edited by JuHorvath on 09-04-2001 at 10:05 AM

Since I am now offically house hunting what do people believe the ideal size room for the HT/listening area? How much does vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors, carpet, open living room to kitchen areas, dimensions, etc. effect the sound. Funny thing, I don't think they are going to let me bring my set-up over at the end of a build job and say, "If I don't think this sounds good, the deals off." The home is going to be 1680 sq ft. 4 bed 2 bath 2 stories with a family room. No bonus room will be included with this house (the next one that will be a requirement!). If people need more specifics about each room I can call the builder and find out. I think this could be a very interesting thread and would like all of you homeowners out there to put in your two cents worth on your personal experiences. On a side note, is anyone else absolutely amazed at how low mortgage rates are right now? I am looking at about 5.5% on a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage since I don't think I will stay in this house for any longer than 5 years. Sorry about the random tangent....... Juan

I'll put my two cents in for maple. I've always been a fan of that lighter colored wood. The cherry also looks very nice though. I haven't had the chance to see the RF7's in black. How are they, anyone who has seen them? Where did you wind up getting the Rx-7 set-up at and how much did it cost you? Did you take my recommendation or did you go through a different source? I think it is safe to say that you will have the most incredible system any 16 year old on the planet has had. That is a set-up that many people on this board would not be too upset about if it just showed up on their door. Now KaiN64, if your dad really wants to, I might be convinced to let him finance an SVS Ultra for my sub......... Juan This message has been edited by JuHorvath on 08-27-2001 at 09:29 AM

Since we had someone chime in for the Outlaw I might also throw the Marantz 7200 into the mix. It has pretty much all the same features (Pro Logic 2, etc.)as the 3802 but is 6 powered channels vs. 7 for the Denon. I'm not sure how important it is to you to have 7 channels since there isn't anything using that many and I'm not really sure if there are plans for it in the near future. If music is important to you take a look at the Marantz model because that is where I feel it excels (just my opinion, but it seems a lot of people agree that paired with Klipsch speakers the Marantz models make for very good sound, particualry in audio, but in HT as well). It came down to the 7200 and the 3802 for me and I decided to go with the 7200 because I honestly liked it better and it saved me over $200+. Since you are pretty far away from a dealer it might be very hard to hear these receivers directly against one another. In my opinion THX is not nearly as important a feature (makrketing hype?) as Prologic 2 and since you have all of those VHS tapes.....Lets just say that the Pro Logic 2 receivers would work quite nicely for you. IF (and that's a big if!) you can get half a day away from your wife, go to the dealer with your favorite music and DVD movies. Your ears are the only one's that can decide what sounds good to you. Hope this was some help to you. Juan

KaiN64 I would say yes, it is a good idea to get the Rx-7 line as they are the best new product that you can buy right now. The price you have been quoted for the set is an absolute joke! Go to www.sounddistributors.com and you can get the RF7's for $1500 and I believe 2 Rs7's and an RC7 for around 1000-1200. On top of that you can probably call them to get a discount by buying the whole package. They are not an authorized Klipsch dealer but they will honor the warranty of any Klipsch product through them. The RF7's I know have a 5yr warranty so that amount of protection is good enough for me. If the address above isn't working go to the link provided in the RF7's- go big or go home thread started by me a little while back. I know that the link works on that. I'm not sure but I think you might be able to get the RS7's and RC7 or reliableaudiovideo.com for about $1000 for all three as well. 2500-2700 is a lot better price for this quality of goods than the 3800 hundred your local dealer is trying to drag out of you...... P.S. I also advise any of the SVSubs found on SVSubwoofers.com. They seem to be the best deal out there as far as quality and price combined. Juan This message has been edited by JuHorvath on 08-26-2001 at 10:04 AM

Boa, What did they tell you about the 8200 and 9200? Much of anything? Any wattage, etc? I really like the 7200 and would be content buying it if the 8200 and 9200 aren't going to be major upgrades. I have to agree that the Marantz line just does beautiful stereo. In my case I will be listening to music almost as much as HT. Quick question, I will be building a house shortly, any advice for room size, etc. for HT/listening room. Are vaulted ceilings bad for sound quality? It will be a Marantz/RF7 based system. Juan

Over in two channel audio there is a thread called Speaker Upgrade where the guys from Klipsch talk about how they had a set-up with the RF5's teamed up with the 7-series centers and surrounds. If they did it, I don't see why it wouldn't sound perfect. Still wondering why they recommend the 3 series for the RF5's though. If you get the chance to compare the RF5's and RF7's side by side, do it. I was looking at doing the same thing in buying the RF5's but after hearing the 7's it just hasn't been the same. Now I just have to save up my money to afford those "towers of power"........ Juan

Have you looked at the Marantz 7200? I demoed it and the Denon 3802 together and liked it better, hands down. Also it will run you about half of what you are currently looking at (probably could haggle down to <$700) Best online price I've seen is $629 at sounddistributors.com. I really liked this unit and if you do a little demo of the two side by side, you might wind up saving a lot of $$! Also, since I can't demo Marantz and the RF7's together in my town, how amazing did they sound? Did you listen to mainly music or movies? How did the music sound (Marantz's strongest feature)? As far as Marantz discussions Boa and I have been talking back and forth on the board and you should check some of those posts for more info. Sorry I don't know too much about the Kenwood model. Juan This message has been edited by JuHorvath on 08-20-2001 at 11:36 AM

IF you are looking at the Marantz 8000 take a look at the new 7200 model. I demoed it side by side with the Denon 3802 (a very popular model around these parts) and thought it was superior. The owner of the most upscale stereo shop here in town personally owns the Marantz 7000 and loves it but said with all the improvements made for the 7200 model wishes he would have waited. He is considering not even stocking the new 8200 when it comes out because from what he's seen of the specs, he doesn't think it would provide enough value to warrant paying an extra $300-400. The Marantz line is excellent and I will be demoing the 7200 and 8000 side by side to find out if there is really any difference between the two. If not, I will buy the 7200 on the spot, if so, well....I guess I'll have to wait until I can hear the 8200 and make my final decision then. Does anyone know much about the feature that lets you program in your Marantz receiever how far you are away from your speakers to "optimize" your listening expereince? I read about it in another forum, and this just sounds like another reason to go with Marantz if you are a music fan who can't make your listening area the "perfect" dimensions like myself. I wish I could have told you a little more about the Arcam models but I haven't really heard enough of their products to make an educated decison vs. the Marantz models. Juan This message has been edited by JuHorvath on 08-19-2001 at 10:55 AM

Check my last post, the Marantz dealer had Denon as well and went and demoed the two side by side yesterday. They are not a Klipsch dealer unfortunately so the comparison was done on Paradigm 100's. Both were incredible receivers but I felt that the Marantz had better detail reproduction in music. I could hear every layer of the music no matter what it was. I could still hear this with the Denon but the Marantz was just a little better. Now if only I could have played these on Klipsch it would have been perfect. I did like the Paradigms but I'm not sure they would hold up in my mind when played side by side with Klipsch on the same receiver. I just wish this was actually possible for me! Did anyone else like the Paradigms? Today I will go and compare the Marantz 7200 and 8000 to see if there is enough difference to wait until the 8200 comes out. It was a pretty telling sign when the owner of the store told me he has a Marantz 7000 and that the 7200 has dramatically improved on that model. He thinks that the new 7200 is so good that they might not stock the 8200 because they don't think it will offer enough value as an upgrade from the 7200. Juan

When you were testing out your set-ups what receievers were you looking at? I am likely going to try and get a set-up similar to you guys but am leaning more towards Marantz then Denon at this point after demoing the Denon 3802 side by side with the 7200 Marantz. I don't believe I will be going 7 channel for awhile so a good 5/6 channel receiver will do the trick. Listened to the Marantz and Denon on Paradigm studio 100's since they are the only Marantz dealer in the state but don't sell Klipsch . I've been told the "best" way to go about things is buy the best speakers you can afford by "compromising" and saving some money on the receiver. After demoing these two products, I don't see it as compromising at all! Let me know the experience you went through buying the RF7 series. Also, what is the best price people have seen on the RF7's and from where? My dealer is the only one in the state and will likely try to rape me on price so I need some comparisons to be able to chop the price down. Juan This message has been edited by JuHorvath on 08-18-2001 at 09:45 AM

I am thinking about picking up a pair of RF5's but I was wondering if they really are that big of a step-up from the RF3's. I know that the RF7's are incredible, that has been established, but does everyone think that the step up from the RF5's to the RF7's is a night and day difference? It's one of those things that I don't want to be wondering "what if" 2 months after I buy them. I would listen to them side by side, unfortunately they don't arrive at the only klipsch dealer in the state until sometime next week, and then they likely will have RF7's in one room and the RF5's in another. Maybe I can get them to see the error in their ways!Also, they don't have the receiver I plan on buying there either. I demoed the Denon 3802 and the Marantz 7200 side by side yesterday, but more on that later.... Anybody had the chance to compare the RF7's and RF5's directly? Juan

boa I would gladly compare the 7200 and the 3802 side by side, unfortunately there is no one in my city who sells marantz. Or really anyone in the state for that matter. I did find a tasty price online of $650 for that one though!

Thanks for the reply Doug, I am looking at picking up RF5's in the neighborhood of 1000-1100. Does everyone think that they are worth it? (I don't think I will have enough to go with the RF7's) Also, when comparing the Denon 3802 to the Marantz 7200 which do people think is better and why. Is Marantz better for audio/Denon better for HT? Any suggestions on which model to go for in the RP(C?) series of SVS subs? (powered subs)

I am looking at Denon and Marantz receivers in the 400-1000 dollar range (since these seem to be the best for Klipsch set-ups). I will likely fit these to an RF5 powered set and an SVS sub. It seems that Denon has the biggest following among the board. The 2802 and 3802 are my most likely choices there. Is there a major difference in sound quality between the two? It doesn't really seem like these are very different. Also, with the Marantz models, the 7200 looks quite appealing. I have heard that Marantz receivers are better at audio playback then Denon's. Is this accurate? If so is Denon better for HT? Just counting the days until I join the Klipsch Klub and trying to make an educated decision as far as speaker/receiver match. Also, does anyone have the RP3 or RP5's? It seems like no one really likes these speakers, are they just not very good when compared to the Reference series?