[Philw101]

Originally Posted by magicvinny

philw101 thanks!

How do you find your pre-amp?

It is the one I'm looking for

He would fit perfect with the Onkyo PA MC5500.

Hi there magicvinny - Your welcome buddy!

Yes the pre-amp is fantastic thank you, I have to be honest very similar to the Onkyo TX-NR3008 I used to have, I guess because they have the same processing abilities/specs. (I was only using the 3008 as a pre/pro since I had the Arcam P7 Power amp - also great value for a THX Ultra 2 product!). I do find the video processing features on the Onkyo range to be excellent especially the ability to calibrate each source connected to specific standards (whether ISF or THX picture quality). Overall I highly recommend the Onkyo's as a processor - I don't think you can get better without having to spend a least three times as much (Arcam AV888 or maybe the Classe SSP800 or Anthem).

I have not heard the Onkyo 5500 power amp though and cannot comment on its performance (although reviews online suggest it's pretty good). I guess on a personal note - I do find it frustrating with the japanese manufactuers when they quote wattage with only one channel driven and state that as the load per channel. 200watt per channel with one channel driven at 1Khz is not the same as 200watt per channel 1Hz to 20Khz with all 7 seven channels (like my Arcam). Anyhow! Sorry gripe over! :D

In short mate - I dont think you can go wrong with the Onkyos - they do exactly what they say on the tin - power and control with movies with all the added bonuses of a feature list longer than your arm!

[magicvinny]

Hey Philw101,


Thank you for your reply!

I'm looking for a onkyo pre-amp but I'm hesitating. I can buy a PR-sc5507 or a TX-NR3009 that I can use as pre-amp, for about the same price. The 5507 is a little bit cheaper.

Can you comment on the quality of those 2?

I guess the 3009 has newer tech inside but the power consumption is 1000Watt and the 5507 is 100watt.
Don't care about the video processing as I will be using the Oppo 93 wich has 2 HDMI outputs(just like the 95 ), 1 for video only wich will go straight to the projector.

[magicvinny]

And the other wall:

[Philw101]

Hey MagicVinny

Ok firstly lets consider the 3009 (firstly I am guessing you know its a receiver and not just a pre amp?) - Will you be using a power amp along side this (using the pre-outs on the 3009) or just the AVR as it is? I think the only real difference with the 3009 compared to the previous series 3008/5008 will be the addition of the 4K upscaling and upgraded network features but since you won't be using the video options and placing the video straight to the screen you don't need to worry about that. So maybe an older AVR could be worthwhile - I used to have the 3008 before upgrading to the 5508, while it sounded great with my B&W 600 series - it didn't have enough power to drive the 800 series.

Now talking about the 5507 - yes it is a great processor, however will you be wanting any Room EQ ? I only ask since the 5507 only has the Audyessy XT eq, and not the XT32 (higher resolution filters applied to signal), to allow for increased detailed equalisation. There are a couple of people on here than have upgraded their AVRs and Pre/pros for such technology - one chap is called i_raz - it may be worth asking him how he has found the upgrade. A great compromise to this would either be going for the 5508 if you could, or maybe another brand (unless you wanted to stick with Onkyo?).

Of course for my personal reasons as to the change from the AVR 3008 to the Pre/Pro 5508 - was not enough power from the Onkyo amps for my speaker setup, and too much power consumption from using both the AVR and Power amp together- since you cannot turn off the amps in the AVR while using the pre outs it was still consuming 1000watts + while just processing. I think overall I was using nearly 2.6Kw for just the sound which is way too much for my apartment (had trouble with fuses blowing).

Any how buddy - I hope that helps! If you need any more advice on the Onkyos give me a shout. I do think you would be best going down the seperates route - that way if you do need to upgrade the processing in future (this will be outdated before your power amp), you can do so more easily than if you were going down the AVR route.

Cheers

Phil.

[Philw101]

Originally Posted by stevos

What bugs me (ok small things for small minds) is why they put stupid light displays on high end AV kit, although i am assuming it can be disabled.

That blue light may look cool in the pictures but lets face it, no one is going to have it enabled, since you want dark for a AV setup. So either its the light will have to be turned off or the amp placed in a cupboard, which has the same effect.

I think the blue light is so you can tell the unit is on. European safety regulations state this must be on all objects that consume electricity, other wise someone could get a nasty shock if they open it up and not realise its on.

I agree though it is bloody distracting. I turn the blue light off my Pre amp!

[simonprr]

magicvinny, are those sound insulation panels in your pictures above?

[magicvinny]

Originally Posted by simonprr

magicvinny, are those sound insulation panels in your pictures above?

Yes they are, it's the Isofix sound insulation.

[simonprr]

Originally Posted by magicvinny

Yes they are, it's the Isofix sound insulation.

Cool, thanks! Would be interested to know how well it works in a real life situation The graph on that PDF makes it look like it's quite good even at bass levels...

[magicvinny]

Ceiling is done.

Will post pic later.

[Philw101]

You thought any more about the Pre/Pro?

[magicvinny]

Hi Philw101,

Yes I did. Actually I don't think of nothing else anymore than that Home theatre

I will use a pre/pro configuration anyway as I already bought the PA-SC5500.

I know the Onkyo 3009 is a Receiver that I can use as a pre-amp and it has the Audyssey XT32. The PR-SC5507 has Audyssey XT so to correct the room acoustic problems so I would be better off with the newer XT32 but then ofcourse I will have to look for a PR-SC5508 wich is not so easy to find or go with the 3009 that is cheaper but power consumption is higher.

I could go for another brand but I want to stick with the Onkyo for the uniformity of the system.

Integra would still be ok as it is build on the same chassis than Onkyo but with better quality components, but it's even harder to find.

Choices are not easy

[magicvinny]

Here it is:

[john01707]

magicvinny,
hi, i have been following your thread with intrest and for what its worth can offer this small piece of advice. i have a 9.1 miller & kreisel setup with s150's and ss150's all round and was running them with an onkyo txnr3008. the amp kept turning itself of when i turned it up to say -45/50 db and got very hot , it cannot run a large speaker setup at volume. i paired it up with an onkyo 5500 power amp with the 5500 running the front left/centre and right and also the surrounds left/right, then the 3008 does the rear surrounds and the upper fronts plus all the processing. this combo now works great and i can have the volume at the thx reference level with no problems at all ( not very often,it is very loud) although the 3008 has now been discontinued it has all the audessy xt32 so no need to change the amp. i personally think the reciever/power amp combo is better than the pre/power amp setup as you have more output and less strain on the amps.
regards
john

[aandpwoodley]

Originally Posted by magicvinny

Here it is:

image

It's looking like it will be a great space, jealious

[magicvinny]

Originally Posted by john01707

magicvinny,
hi, i have been following your thread with intrest and for what its worth can offer this small piece of advice. i have a 9.1 miller & kreisel setup with s150's and ss150's all round and was running them with an onkyo txnr3008. the amp kept turning itself of when i turned it up to say -45/50 db and got very hot , it cannot run a large speaker setup at volume. i paired it up with an onkyo 5500 power amp with the 5500 running the front left/centre and right and also the surrounds left/right, then the 3008 does the rear surrounds and the upper fronts plus all the processing. this combo now works great and i can have the volume at the thx reference level with no problems at all ( not very often,it is very loud) although the 3008 has now been discontinued it has all the audessy xt32 so no need to change the amp. i personally think the reciever/power amp combo is better than the pre/power amp setup as you have more output and less strain on the amps.
regards
john

John01707, Thanks for the advice.

Just not really sure if the receiver/amp combo is better then the pre/amp combo.

I will be using 7 channels of the PA-SC5500 and not 9 as I will have a 7.2 set up. But even if you would use all 9 channels of the amp there shouldn't be any problems as it is made to use them all 9, I guess

The pre-amp is made to process the audio and the video so I don't see any problems with that and power consumption is less.

[john01707]

magicvinny,
just trying t save you some money! i stand to be corrected but i think the 3008/3009 have the same processing capabilities as the pre amp apart from 4k so you already have your pre amp. as for the 5500 power amp which i own myself and like,it is capable of running 9 channels but only has 1 channel driven so the more channels you hook up the less watts per channel are available. so in theory if your like me and have it up loud you could still take the amp into uncomfortable territory. plus you have some very nice speakers there that will need driving properly. thats why i like the avr/power combo as there is more output available.i am no expert but was asking all the same questions as you are and i think i came to the best solution after being given what i think was good advice.
i aggree a bit more power consumption but think of all the enjoyment you are getting from all those watts per channel!
regards
john

[magicvinny]

And some more progress:

Had to try to put already one speaker in

The "wall":

[magicvinny]

Here you see the thickness of the wall with the insulation:

This is where the subs will go.

[magicvinny]

Building the backwall:

[magicvinny]

The inside backwall is done:

Sound absorbing panels:

[Smurfin]

Looks awesome

[scatterbug]

I presume you are going to place your equipment in the other part of the attic? Are you going to use the remaining space for anything?

Great build so far.

[magicvinny]

Can you still see pics?????

I already posted all of them twice.

[magicvinny]

Hi scatterbug,


The equipment will go in the home theatre, right side of the back wall.

The other half of the place will be used as a wellness-room with lounge, sauna shower etc..That will be for the misses so we each have our thing

[magicvinny]

pic problem seems to be ok

[magicvinny]

Some nice decoration:

[homethx]

Where did you get that sign from please ?

[simonprr]

Looking good! How big is that room?

[magicvinny]

Originally Posted by homethx

Where did you get that sign from please ?

I got it from ebay.com

[magicvinny]

Originally Posted by simonprr

Looking good! How big is that room?

Thanks but still a long way to go.......

The room is 3.5m on 4.5m.