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Thinking about seperates


Thors1982

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Some information first, I have the whole Reference Klipsch line, including the RSW-15. And I love my reciever :-) but its getting old the Denon 3803.

When I first set up my home theater I spent a lot of money on Speakers and whimped out on the amp (I was in college at the time). I knew the speakers would last forever and the amp would need replaced, because of new decoders.

I have been thinking for some time I wanted to do seperates. Because I could spend a lot on a Amp and also keep it for close to forever and just keep replacing the pre-amp.

Now my questions, is this logical thinking?
or am I getting myself into trouble?
Are seperates still a good idea? I don't hear as much about them as i used to. And they are slow to come out with HD-audio and hdmi 1.3 pre-amps.

And lastly, any good 7 channle Amp recommendations?

Thanks a lot for your help :-) this forum and you guys have always been good to me.

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Hey Thors,

Your speaker system is very similar to mine. I am using a B&K Reference 200.5 S2 (200w x 5) and a B&K Reference 50 S2 pre-amp and couldn't be happier. The sound is fantastic and if you like it loud, absolutly no problem there. Plus, B&K makes their equipment upgradeable so if a new format becomes available you can send it B&K for an upgrade! Never buy another pre-amp!!

I do wish that I had bought the 7 channel amp. Even though I don't do the 7.1 thing, I would be using the extra 2 channels for a second zone.

The B&K doesn't offer HDMI hook-up, but quite honestly I don't miss it. I don't know what HD-audio is, so I don't miss that either.

I would give B&K a serious look- the price is very reasonable (especially for the tank-like build quality of this stuff), built in the US of A, upgradeable, and the sound is fantastic. I would put this gear up against equipment at five times the price. As a matter of fact, I have heard a $40,000 system (no mention of names here) that didn't even come close to mine. The salesman even agreed. I'm not trying to brag here, I just give Klipsch and B&K that much credit.

Good luck with your search and I think you would be very happy with seperates. I know I am!!

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I have heard a lot about B&K around here and I am very interested in those :-)

I am hoping the announce a new pre-amp with DTS-HD, TrueHD and PCM (or whatever all those codecs are for blue-ray and hd-dvd).
If I am going to upgrade :-) I want all the new technology, hehe.

I also only have a 5.1 setup, but i figure if im buying an amp for the long haul, I might as well get prepared for 7.1 :-)

I just wanted to make sure seperates is a good way to go, before i continued looking.

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I originally had an older Sony receiver hooked up to my system then found out about Outlaw Audio, I purchased both pre and amp used and still have the pre. I have since sold my amp to a forum member and got another used amp. My current setup is 950 pre and 750 amp, both are discontinued but they have another models. Here is the link to their site of products, http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/index.html

A happy person to switch to separates.

James

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Are seperates still a good idea? I don't hear as much about them as i used to

Separates yes. I think most here have separates so we don't talk much until someone new asks.

For those who have 5 channel amps & want to go 7 just add a quality 2 channel amp. Could possibly get better performance.

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Separates will help the Rx-7 speakers. They need an amp that can drive a low impedance load well and introduce as little noise and distortion as possible. I have Sunfire amps hooked up and enjoy the experience greatly.

A preamp is a problem at this time. The HDMI connection will rule, but the preamp must also be able to manipulate multi-channel LPCM that can be processed from 5.1 to 7.1 and decode Dolby DD+, Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD MA. These attributes are not fully available yet to the best of my knowledge. Of these, processing LPCM fro 5.1 to 7.1 is the most important, as players can decode the new codecs.

Bill

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You might take it step by step by first getting a 5 or 7 channel power amp to use with your receiver as a preamp. Then when you recover from the spending adn more preamp/processors with the latest featuers are available, you can get one to replace the Denon.

OTOH, anybody listened to the new Onkyo $1600 pre/pro?

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After looking around, at mainly just amps, i think I am going to take bobG's advice buy an amp fairly soon and wait for the pre-amp so I can get all the HD codecs and all that fun stuff when they are finalized and more pre amps are available with that technology.

However, does anyone know if there will be a big difference between the 125 watt and 200 watt amps. I want the best sound quality, but if the only thing I am loosing is how loud it can go. I will probably just grab the 125 watt and either save money or buy a higher quality amp. Because I know I could NEVER listen to my denon at max volume and its only 110 watts.

Thanks again for all your help :-)

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Well, I originally had an Outlaw 7100 amp then purchase the 750. The 7100 was rated at 7x100 and the 750 is rated at 5x165. The biggest difference I seen or heard is that the speakers seem to open up with more power. You start to hear a lot more detail mostly in the bass. I am now thinking about getting a 5x200 amp.

James

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You might take it step by step by first getting a 5 or 7 channel power amp to use with your receiver as a preamp. Then when you recover from the spending adn more preamp/processors with the latest featuers are available, you can get one to replace the Denon.

OTOH, anybody listened to the new Onkyo $1600 pre/pro?

What Model # is this Unit? I can't access any Onkyo or integra sites..........I keep getting error msg's............Ahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

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What Model # is this Unit? I can't access any Onkyo or integra sites..........I keep getting error msg's............Ahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

It's the Onkyo Pro PR-SC885P... http://onkyopro.com/model.cfm?m=PR-SC885P&class=Preamplifier&p=i

There's an owner's manual posted on the Eiki site (their US distributor), I believe. http://onkyopro.com/news.cfm?id=115

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