danbry39

Not going against what Mark's Dad had to say, but I prefer the RB-5's. It's probably just listening likes and different ears, but the RB-5's just sound a little smoother to me. Also, it could be the way they're set up in a shop. Yesterday, I listened to a ton of speakers in a Magnolia's. I couldn't put my finger on it, but so many of the speakers seemed to be set up incorrectly or matched with the wrong electronics. It's a new store, but things like subs didn't seem to be callibrated at all. They sounded very bloated, like they wanted to impress the listener with how much rumble they could put out, as opposed to how well they would integrate with speakers. The reason I am writing this is that I'm suggesting that you go audition both, but pay attention to how the store set them up, what power/source is being fed into them, and the software being used. In fact, bring your own CD's, etc. I was there over three hours and noticed that whenever a brighter speaker was being auditioned the salesman would put on a long, long drum solo. Whenever warmer speakers were being played, he'd put on some sultry jazz vocals. Anyway, I really think you need to go and listen to both for a long while. Don't necessarily go with the one that initially impresses you as often the things that initially stand out end up annoying you later on, "Oh wow, I love that bass on the Cerwin Vega" and listen to a variety of music to test the speaker's versatility.

Me too. Tell you the truth, I've never had my Klipsch hooked up to any other dedicated power amp except Parasound, but the sound...I'll tell you the sound is beautiful.

Pyro, Out of curiosity, what color Rotel did you get?

The 72T. I got a display model that the dealer said had less than 10 hours use for $599. I love the thing. It is forward sounding, but with a ton of detail and dynamics. Very musical. Not harsh at all to my ears. I'd definitly audition the thing, as well as the Rega and Rotel. I hear the Planet 2000 is wonderfully laid back sounding, but not for everyone's taste, but never had the chance to audition it.

A great system. By the way, can you describe how the CD player sounds. I just bought an Arcam, but was also interested in the Rotel and Rega Planet 2000. Also, make sure you visit the dedicated Rotel board at http://www.htguide.com/CFBoards/index.cfm?fuseaction=listings&CFB=1&forum=25 for updates on your Rotel equipment and make sure you post what you just got under my thread for power amps people mated with their 1066's. Actually, we'd all also be happy to hear what version software you have, which can be found by looking at the unit's display while holding down the mute button. Good purchase.

I think the Toshiba 4700 has evolved into the 4800. The main difference, from what I've heard, is the DVDA works better on the 4800. I have the 4700 and really like it. For the price, to get a quality progressive scan DVD player is pretty nice. A lot of people would recommend checking out the Panasonics in this price range also.

I love yellow snow!!!

ZDoug, I live in Sacramento. I bought my Rotel pre/pro from the Home Theater Store, my Mitsubishi from the Good Guys near Arden Fair, my Arcam CD player from Audio FX (yesterday), and a bunch of stuff all around. What would you like to know? If it's what store to shop at. I don't feel comfortable at Paradigm (although they have a lot of good stuff, like Anthems), have done Okay at The Home Theater Store (after they find out you're actually buying, they bend over backwards there, but there was a salesperson who seemed arrogant to me at first), and really liked Audio FX (they with their 7 foot tall speakers and 200 pound monoblocks). The guy I was dealing with there yesterday said a new Rotel pre/pro is coming out and he was going to package the Rotel pre/pro with a Rotel power amp and tuner for about $2700. The only places I know that sell Klipsch here though are Magnolias and Good Guys. The best speakers I saw were at Audio FX. Although they've moved before, they've been around the Sacramento area for quite a while. Again, they were great to deal with. At first, they said no discount, but they did me well after a while talking. By the way, I live in Elk Grove.

Sorry, double post.

---------------- On 11/30/2002 10:37:22 PM James D McCall wrote: The plain fact is that most people could not tell much difference between the sound of a properly functioning receiver and any set of separates you care to name, when both are operating within their linear range - that is, not clipping. At least no more difference than might be heard between any two receivers. I guess we're all imagining the difference then. This is especially surprising since I often play my "separates" at low volume and hear a huge difference in things such as sound stage, fidelity, detail, clarity, authority, definition etc. This is strange because I feel fairly confident that my Onkyo was capable of driving my Klipsch reference speakers to 60 decibels without clipping. It must be the placebo effect. As for Sony, I agree that their ES CD players are very good. Just spent an hour listening to them the other day. But, it was too bright to match with my Klipsch. After two days of auditioning, I ended up with the Arcam 72T.

All those that have lauded the Parasound amp/Klipsch combo are absolutely correct. This is a match made in heaven. As for separates, I personally would never go any other way. Mark's dad summed it all up very nicely. Another world completely from what you could expect to find through a receiver. And, with separates, you can go different manufacturers to best suit your taste/budget. I know my Rotel 1066/Parasound 1205A really go well with Klipsch. I hear the Rotel amps work nicely too, but aren't as warm as the Parasounds. The price I paid for both was $1999 plus tax on the Rotel and shipping on the Parasound. I've not heard a receiver that comes close to the sound this combo produces, regardless of cost, especially in two-channel sound. I've heard the Outlaw combo is a bit more to the bright side than Parasounds/Rotels. If so (I haven't heard it myself), it wouldn't be as good a match.

What's the matter with you guys. I'm really very disappointed at how IGNORANT you all are. Bose doesn't have a sub. It is a BASS MODULE!!! As for the treble control on the BASS MODULE. What do you expect. Their satillites don't go into treble range. If you were Bose, wouldn't you put this control on the BASS MODULE??? Is there any other place it could go. Geez I'm disappointed.

Damping refers to the system's ability to stop playing a sound after the signal has stopped. For instance, if you have a bass note hit and it continues afterward, it will sound muddy. You would experience a loss of detail. A good system will have a damping rating of over 300. The Rotels is good, the Parasounds is excellent. My vote here, by the way, goes in favor of the Parasound, but only because I own one and LOVE how it sounds with Klipsch. Parasounds have a strong reputation for being warm and their 10 year warranty is nothing to sneeze at. By the way, I really like Rotel stuff too, but, in this instance, the Parasound would get the nod. Does the dealer have a return policy?

I have the Parasound 1205A five-channel amp and COULD NOT believe how much it improved the sound of my system. I had heard over and over at places like Home Theater Forum that separates were the way to go, so, when the right deal came up, I jumped at it. Unless I lose my job and am about to have to live in a car, I'll never go back...absolutely never. Parasounds happen to be warm amps and match up very nicely with Klipsch speakers. I've seen, but haven't heard their new Halo line, but imagine they would be characteristically warm also (plus, they look sweet). Remember though, with the new Halo line starting to come out, the old line has been found for much less $$$, so you might want to shop around some seeing what price you might be able to get one for. I got mine at UBid (an authorized Parasound dealer) for $649. It's been tested at 157 watts/channel with all five channels being driven simultaneously. As for matching it up with your Denon, quite a few over at HTF did just that and proclaimed wonderful results. This included those that matched it up with Parasound's 855, which is rated at 85 watts/channel. I just believe a dedicated amp will have a better power supply than that of almost any receiver. Nonetheless, be prepared. If you really like the sound as I suspect you will, start thinking about what pre/pro you might get down the line. I just don't believe that preouts on most receivers work as well as a dedicated pre/pro. I loved the sound for HT coming out of my Onkyo/Parasound combo, but music increased to my ears VERY substantially when I bought the Rotel 1066 pre/pro. If I were you, I'd definitely try it out and I'd bet you loved it if you matched your Denon with the right outboard power amp. Just make sure that you can return the thing should you not think the upgrade is worth it. I'd appreciate it if you let us all know what you felt if and when you do decide to upgrade. I hope your face looks like this -

By the way Dalton, you might be interested to know that they've just released a few firmware upgrades for the 1066. What version are you running?

Agree with Dalton that, at its price point, the 1066 is a fantastic deal. Wonder why they didn't include the Outlaw. Interesting that the 1066 is the only one that offers HDCD decoding. But, if price weren't a factor, there are, in all honesty, some there that I'd choose over the Rotel. Dalton is right though, it is much more refined than any receiver's processing I've used, albeit I have only owned a few receivers. I've yet to hear a receiver that could touch it in this regard as far as two-channel sound.

Elgrillo, Just be thankful you didn't throw away a couple of hundred bucks on a scam. You were lucky and a bit wise for not taking the bait. Just enjoy those new Klipsch you're going to be getting.

Hi Dave, Is the 797 matched up with Klipsch? If so, I would recommend that you audition outboard amps. I can only speak from my own experience, but, this last year, I put together a home theater for my bedroom. I bought an Onkyo 696, also rated at 100 watts/channel, based on my previous experiences with Onkyos. I immediately noticed that the sound quality and power was inferior to a 10-12 year old Onkyo receiver, which was rated at only 80 watts/channel. I bought a Parasound 1205A power amp and that made the sound better by 54,038,873 country miles (I measured this precisely ). I then sold my 696 and bought a Rotel 1066 pre/pro, which also improved the sound, especially in two-channel, but only by 1,465,412 country miles. I'm sure the 797 has a better power supply and may well sound better all around than the 696, but the Parasound was much warmer sounding to me than the power supply of the Onkyo. You might just want to audition one of the Harman Kardon 2-channel amps, as I hear they match up very nicely with the Klipsch, as do Parasounds. By the way, how does your 797 sound to you? If you like the sound, that's great, as it is a fine receiver. I'm just relating my experiences using my ears with my set up.

My vote would also go to the Denon, but like a couple of others have suggested, try to audition the HK or Rotel. To my ears, all are excellent for HT, but the HK and Rotel and much sweeter sounding in two-channel sound.

I'm with Prodj here as far as Rotel is concerned. The power ratings on the 1055 are likely somewhat conservative and the pre/pro section is very similar to that of their 1066 pre/pro. The preouts hooked up to a power amp will be sonically indistinguishable to most to that of the 1066, yet the 1055 has a lower retail price then that of the 1066. Furthermore, the power of the 1055 is assignable, which facilitates any future decision one might have regarding adding an outboard power amp. This isn't to put down the Denon, but you can't judge a receiver on features and power alone. And, like the HK and Denon, Rotels match up excellently with Klipsch.

Out of curiosity, I measured how loudly my 10 year old daughter was scolding her 15 year old sister this morning and it came out to 93 decibels. I have long suspected that I can sustain ear damage hearing them screech at each other. And, this wasn't even with her "pumped up" volume from when she really gets mad.

I first ordered a Sony, then canceled and switched my order to Mitsubishi. The reason being that I liked the picture better and wanted to place my center channel on top, which would have been much harder on the Sony. I never did a side by side comparison though, so the picture quality thing may be inaccurate. Beyond that, I liked the ability for the firmware to be upgraded. We all know that new products carry with them all sorts of bugs, many of which can be worked out via firmware upgrade.

It's been a pretty long weekend for the folks at Klipsch to still not have responded to this thread.

I tried the same tweek as you, with the same results. My sub is the Hse VTF-2 and the bass became noticably less boomy. I wonder if we got the same tile. Well, looking back, I see you used a paving stone. I just picked up the biggest, heaviest piece of floor slab and it has had the same effect.

What about the Parasound 855A. They can be had for three to four hundred dollars NEW and have a rating of 85 watts/channel X's five. Besides, they sound great with Klipsch. I have the 1205A and it transformed my system. I think they have a ten year warranty also.