maseline_98 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I have about $700-$800 spend and was wondering which option I should go with. I'm about 80/20 movies/music and I'm trying to get the most out of my system. I've been debating the DeanG for quite some time and with the further delay of the UMC-1, I'm leaning towards that route.... Current Setup: RF-7s, RC-7, RS-7s HK AVR-630 and Emo XPA-5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 The HK you have is pretty nice, and with the XPA-5 you have plenty of muscle. You don't mention your source or screen, so I can only assume you're considering an upgrade to your receiver in order to get HDMI along with Dolby Truehd and DTS-HD Master. So, what is your source and screen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maseline_98 Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 Well...he's the thing, my HK has an audio drop out problem when using the optical inputs. This isn't such a problem for Movie watching purposes because I have my bluray player connection via the analoge inputs. My TV is a sony kds-60a2000 and my bluray is a panny bd-55k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 i am a little lost. i see what you have, but you didn't list anything else. is those the only items you are considering upgrading? to me you have the perfect HT speakers, one of the baddest amps for the money on the planet and don't know much about HK but am considering getting one and trading out my onkyo. i think the biggest improvement to your system is, getting the crossover upgrade. as you can see in my sig, mine are done plus a little extra. i can tell you this with absolute truth, the difference between my upgraded speaker and stock, is night and day. Falcon 7x and i did a little test to prove it. his hypothesis was: "an upgraded crossover only sounds better because it has newer caps in it. if you compare a brand new crossover to an upgraded one, you shouldn't hear much or any difference. caps are caps." he found and bought a pair of brand new in the box RF-7's. don't ask me how, he's got a gift or maybe a curse, depends on how you look at it! lol boy was he wrong! in a nut shell, the upgrade takes the harshness out, adds way more clarity, and gives you an overall better sound. now since i did my own crossover i did a little extra so the next statements are only pertaining to my personal crossover upgrade and not deans. i am not saying mine is better or dean's can't do what i am saying, it's i have never tested his in anyway. when we compared both speakers playing one, then another, it was very clear mine sounded better. then we decided to play them both at the same time. mine was actually "louder" than stock. my crossover doesn't have 4 binding posts, but 2 now. i have no jumpers and my binding posts were upgraded to a bigger plated gold type. they look like WBT's, but are generics. (were only $1.25 each!). on the circuit side, i replaced the input power wires (all 4) with 12awg wire (it was the same wire i use for speaker wire. i had to use it because of the heat you have to put on the binding post to fill it with solder. the monster wire's insulation just melted away when i tried it the first time. fyi, it's aircraft grade wire). then i soldered the 2 pos and neg wires to it's corresponding binding post. while the tracks were playing it was like the stock speaker was unplugged. the only time you heard it was on the highs. which was a bad thing, the 7's are great but are a little on the harsh side. the mod dean does takes that away. here is where mine is different. i didn't add in the resistor to tone down the harshness, i added a certain type of foam to the horn. i tried 2 different thickness and liked the .25" best. the .5" sounded a little bit muddy, not bad, but i liked the .25" more. my speakers before the mod were calibrated to 80db like most peoples. after the mod i had to turn down my speakers .5db to be matched again to 80db. so actually after the mod i increased my speakers by .5db. Wescott, if you read this, i can't wait for you to visit Falcon and come over for a listen! i think this will even impress you more than all the custom cables i made! ps. i made even better custom cables with better results! anyways, to sum up, get the upgrade, it's cheaper, kills the speaker upgrade bug, and will be one of the few noticeable upgrades! i have heard dean has a pretty quick turn around, so you don't have to wait long either. good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maseline_98 Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 InVeNtOR, I'm only really thinking about updating the pre/pro, but if I go with the Denon, I will have money left over to the RF-7 xover(with the RC-7 coming later). The UMC-1 was supposed to be my wedding gift from my wife(she got a golden doodle[:S])....but with the delay from Emotiva, I've been shopping other avenues. The UMC-1 supposedly sounds great, but would it sound better than the Denon and the Xovers is the real question(for both movies/music). Where is money best spent? I definitely need to change out my HK though(the sound dropout drive me crazy!!!!) As far as updating anything else...sure it would be nice to have a new sub(have an SVS 20-39 PC+)and a new display(along with a pair of XPA-1s to power the RF-7s[]), but let's get serious....I'm married now the WAF is definitely not there for all that(well....at least until she buys her stupid Mercedes C350)...I drive a '05 Civic with rollup windows and standard locks-->thus all my cash went to my theater...I think expensive cars are dumb, but that's just me and another story all together...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 i can tell you this, the best AUDIBLE upgrade is the crossovers. (power cords make a difference too, but that's a different topic). you will not go wrong by sending your crossovers to dean. if you do that, your movie and music experience will be exponentially better! as far as subs go, i have a Elemental Designs A-300 and for the price of $350 (shipping and tax included) you simply can't go wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maseline_98 Posted October 14, 2009 Author Share Posted October 14, 2009 Maybe I get convince the ol' lady to get the UMC and the x-overs(that's going take a lot)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 I'd go crossovers all the way. Most bang for the buck and wil actually make a difference. You may not even hear a difference swapping out your HK for the Emotiva, but the Denon's Audyssey might make a large difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maseline_98 Posted October 16, 2009 Author Share Posted October 16, 2009 I think your right. I might just get the crossovers done and deal with the HK for a little longer. As for Audyssey, Emotiva has their own proprietary brand of that called Emo-Q. I’m not sure how it measures up to Audyssey(mainly because the UMC-1 still has not been released). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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