damonrpayne Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Lets say a higher end AVR receiver was $3-4k. If you were to spend that same amount of money on a separate pre-processor and amplifier, are you likely to get a better sound? I guess it depends on what you're getting, right? My ideal would probably be an Aragon Stage One with suitable amp but to buy that stuff new is a loooooooong way off. I could always get the amp sooner and just use my AVR as a pre/pro? What are some opinions on "really good" and "really good for $4k" separates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Check out used gear. You have options. Do you want all mono blocks or 5-7 channel amp? How high tech of a pre/pro do you want. You want 5.1 or 6.1 or more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Oops, sorry! Thought this was about women's clothing. My bad! fini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 ---------------- On 6/27/2003 9:42:15 AM fini wrote: Oops, sorry! Thought this was about women's clothing. My bad! fini ---------------- Sometimes I just say I LOL but this time I actually did LMAO. Nice one fini. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonrpayne Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 Well, I think monoblocks is probably more extreme than I'll ever go. (thats what I say now anyway) So I'll want a 5+ channel amp and a pre pro that can do 7.1 I'm wondering at what point we'll need to think about 8.1 or 10.1 ? Perhaps I'll look into what a used Aragon Stage One setup would run me. Should I just check Ebay ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrPyro Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 damonrpayne- It really depends on what you are going to use your system for.... I recently upgraded to separates and WILL NOT go back to a receiver, the increase in sound quality was quite substantial. In all fairness, it was going from a $1000 receiver (Denon 3801) to a $1000 amp (Parasound HCA-1205A) and ~$2000 pre/pro (Upgraded ACT-3) so for 3x the price, it better sound much better. I'd suggest getting reasonable priced parts, say around $1000 or so for an amp. You really don't need the $5000 500W amps for efficient speakers. However, you do need a quiet amp, the hiss of sucky amps will drive you insane!!! IMHO, get a 5 channel amp, then if you REALLY want 7 channel sound, you can add a 2 channel monoblocks for the 2 front speakers and use the 5 channel amp for the surrounds. This way you can get good two channel performance on a HT rig. As for the Pre/Pro, alot of people have been happy with offerings from Rotel, B&K, Anthem, and others. This is where I might spend a bit more money, I found that with the klipsch speakers when I simply used the Denon as a pre/pro with the Parasound amp, the improvement in sound quality was slight improvement at best. However, when I installed the ACT-3, the improvement was tremendous (made me not regret moving to separates). You can get a very nice pre/pro for $1000 to $3000. Hope this helps...... -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonrpayne Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 What will the monoblock(s) cost ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 It all depends on what type and brand you want. I am using NAD 2200 stereo amps bridged to 400w mono. They sell from anywhere around 200-350 each. You can find them on ebay. If you can find some that are broke you can fix them fairly cheaply and cut down on the cost. This is what I did. I have seven of them now and only one worked to spec when I got them. Infact I just fixed my last one last night. You can get some parasound amps and do the same, around the same price. Or you can buy 2 two channel amps and one bridged for the center. I like this option. Check out the yamaha m-80. They run in class A for the first 30wpc and can be found for a reasonable price. Plus they have cool meters on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Damon Will have to have you over to hear my separates. They do make a difference FYI. Definetely look at used. I use a Lexicon MC-1 used price now days is $1600-$1800. Like Easy points out NAD 2200 are usually $225 each and are a very nice amp. Easy has been fixing broken ones getting them evan cheaper. Since he is local you may be able to work something out with him and save evan more money having him fix some for you. Ive been buyin used McIntosh MC-250s for $300-$450 ish off ebay. For $4K you can do a really nice job IMO. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonrpayne Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 Thanks to everyone who replied. After reading some of Rotel's literature I'm really questioning how important having a 7.1 system is to me right now. The HK can do preamp out, so after I get my RS-7s I'll probably look to one of their multichannel amps, then do the preprocessor next year some time. So much gear, so little time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TauRus Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Damon, you can also check out Outlaw Audio website. They have decent separates. They were recently reviewed by Secrets of Home Theater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Outlaw amps are suppose to be decent. I have never heard them but they are suppose to be the same as other amps just with differnt badging. I can't remember what brand though. I will try and find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonrpayne Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 Their web site says they use a "Cirrus" digital signal processor. Even if they're using other people's DSPs, a lot of the interconnects and whatnot could still be different? Looking closely, the noise/signal ratio and distortion aren't quite as nice as the Rotel stuff I've been looking at today, nor the Aragon stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 I know what you are saying about the pre/pro I was looking at the same thing. There amps are suppose to be nice though. They are not priced to badly though. One of the guys on the AVS forum has rotel pre/pro and outlaw amp, he says it works good togather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonrpayne Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 Rotel/Outlaw: That sounds like a relatively cost effective solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 my experirence tells me that in that price range you might just check out b&k home page, i ran rotel but b&k is just better especially in that price range Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burtlively Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 if you consider outlaw, visit underwoodhifi.com. walter liederman has some outstanding outlaw & jolida mods which you would be proud of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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