Looking for advice for av system

ozzjameson

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Hi All

I need some help, I amlooking for a new AV system, I have just bought the Ectrocompaniet AW3x120-M and Electrocompaniet AW 2x120-M amps, but I need a good preamp, what doe you recommend, I have heard the Anthem Statement D2vand thought it was good, but at this price it should be, do you knowof any pre amp that as good for less money, would pay up to £4,000for the pre amp.

I am also looking forin-wall speakers, I was told that Atlantic Technology IWTS-30L,C,here good, but trying to get a listen to them, do you know of anybetter.

thanks
 
I have just bought the Electrocompaniet AW3x120-M and Electrocompaniet AW 2x120-M amps, but I need a good preamp, what doe you recommend, I have heard the Anthem Statement D2vand thought it was good, but at this price it should be, do you knowof any pre amp that as good for less money, would pay up to £4,000for the pre amp.
Nice amplifcation! If you need the full A/V processor features, then the Anthem D2v is the obvious choice - it has basically everything (decoding, equalization, THX). The Primare SP32 is rather cheaper, achieved by omission of features, but if it has what you want, and your BD player has on-board decoding, it sounds nice and will keep you smiling. In-between in the feature set are the Classe CT-SSP (has HDMI 1.4, meaning 3D) and the Arcam AV888. The Classe is the most expensive option, but it sounds it too.
I am also looking for in-wall speakers, I was told that Atlantic Technology IWTS-30LCR, here good, but trying to get a listen to them, do you know of any better.
At the risk of upsetting you, why are you spending so much on the electronics and ignoring the real factor affecting audio quality? Speakers are responsible for most of the sound quality, pathologically imbalanced setups excluded. You generally need to reckon on spending somewhat more for the speakers than the electronics to achieve even comparability - and you are seriously imbalanced. Whilst the Atlantic Technology IWTS-30SR-P are a sensible option for the surrounds, for the front stage image at your quality level you should be looking at something with better performance (meaning higher price) than the IWTS-30LCR, and if feasible, free-standing. A decent subwoofer is also crucial, also for music when using smaller speakers. A visit to your dealer should get you on-track.
 
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Thanks for your reply, I know you are right about the in wall speakers, but was trying to make the old lady happy, but as you rightly say, you need floor standing, I was looking at the Anthony Gallo Acoustics Reference 3 speakers, like the design and they got recommended, so going to have a listen, as for the amps, already heard the Anthem D2v thought it was great on av, but a bit lacking on the music side, will need to listen to the Classe CT-SSP, thanks for your advice very helpful.
Regards Oz
 
I agree with Mark regarding speakers and total cost of a system.

Regarding av amps the Anthems are very good i.e the AVM50v, but at a very expensive 6K. There have been a few discussions on here with members trying to find replacements for there old TAG processors, but there seems to be a hole in the market in reference to processors costing between 2 and 4K. The Arcam AV888 at around 4.5K , but have not heard this.

I opted for a cheaper Marantz AV7005 and I'm currently experimenting with outboard DAC's with some good results. Perhaps use the extra 1.5K towards your speakers , and as mentioned don't forget the Sub (approx 1K).

The Electrocompaniet's although not familiar with the mono blocks , sound fantastic generally from what I've heard (AW250R)

HiFi Adverts - ELECTROCOMPANIET AW250-R DUAL MONO FULLY BALANCED POWER AMPLIFIER

It would be a crime not to put a decent pair of loudspeaker's on the end of this …

I can recommend B&W inwalls specifically Signature 8nt's £1500 each plus the cost of the back box. I have got 3 of these and have performed flawlessly for the last 7 years. They really do pack a punch for in-walls. I matched them with a set of FPM 4's for the surrounds. Recently bi-wired and amped the 8nt's and its moved the quality up a level with a crystal clear top end.

Others on these forums have used PMC wafer models.
 
Just want to say thanks to you all for replying to my ad, I have decided to get floor slanders for the front and in wall for sides and rear, plus a bass speaker, as I said in the review I like the Anthem but it did not play well with music, I do not know if it was set up wrong, and that was the problem, but just don't know if it's worth £6000, I can get a good deal on a Electrocompaniet EC 4.9 Pre Amplifier and something like the Oppo 95 Blu Ray player, do you think that would be any good, that what the dealer suggests ?
Thanks again
Oz
 
I can get a good deal on a Electrocompaniet EC 4.9 Pre Amplifier and something like the Oppo 95 Blu Ray player, do you think that would be any good?
An Electrocompaniet EC 4.9 Pre Amplifier plus Oppo 95 has the smallest A/V function set possible - almost none. Although I would not recommend this path for A/V use (it's great for CD/SACD), in the end you need to make a decision concerning how important the individual elements of A/V processing are for you. After that determination you will be in a position to choose an option satisfying those functionality requirements, or at least to give us a guideline for making suggestions.

If high performance stereo music and multi-channel A/V are important, but mullti-channel music is not, a cost-effective option is to combine an A/V processor with a stereo preamp having a processor mode input (aka Home Theatre or Unity Gain).

If you like the looks of the Anthony Gallo Reference 3, take a look at the Martin Logan Ethos. I'm currently testing a pair at home to replace my (broken :mad:) ESL-63's, and will either keep them or get the slightly larger Spire if it's still deliverable in dark cherry, and not only white gloss, over here (CH).
 
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Hi Mark, I would go for the spire I liked them allot, I was looking at these, but being I wanted a AV room mostly, and a decant music room, I would have to put the Logan's to far out from the wall, do not want to keep moving speakers. Going back to the Electrocompaniet EC 4.9 Pre Amplifier I thought people would think that, because that's what I thought, by on the other hand the salesman could of been telling the truth, I guess not, Just need to find a good pre amp, which is not going to cost an arm and a leg, I just noticed the Anthem Dc2 is £8,000 for pre amp, so not willing to pay that kind of money, would go to £5000, any ideas?
Regards
Oz
 
Just need to find a good pre amp, which is not going to cost an arm and a leg, I just noticed the Anthem D2v is £8,000 for pre amp, so not willing to pay that kind of money, would go to £5000, any ideas?
It is crucial that you work out what you want in terms of the feature set; so far your list has ranged from the 6 channel purely analogue Electrocompaniet EC 4.9 preamp to the full-feature 8 channel THX Ultra 2 HD digital Anthem D2v preamp / A/V processor / tuner. Only when you say what you need can we suggest possible candidates.

Needless to say, as the feature set requirements increase, so does the price - or you need to reduce your performance expectations. Hence my previous question concerning whether a stereo preamp + "cheaper" multichannel processor/preamp (Anthem AVM50v, Audiolab 8200AP, Marantz AV7005, Onyko PR-SC5508) might not address your requirements. It didn't for me, as such a combination can't support multichannel SACD.
 
Hi mark
I'm looking for, a AV system, so it's a good pre amp I require, only mentioned Electrocompaniet EC 4.9 preamp because that would be a good way to go, because your keeping everything analogue till your getting to the Blu-Ray player, but I did not know if that was correct or not. Will be going for a good AV pre amp, after what people have said, just missed an Anthem D2v for £5000 that would have done the trick, I heard a MC-12 HD controller and amp, yesterday but thought it was bright, the sales man swapped the processor for Arcam AVR600, and this sounded better more natural but not as many inputs, I am trying to source a dem with the Primare SP32.
Regards
Oz
 
Hi mark
I’m looking for, a AV system, so it’s a good pre amp I require, only mentioned Electrocompaniet EC 4.9 preamp because that would be a good way to go, because your keeping everything analogue till your getting to the Blu-Ray player, but I did not know if that was correct or not. Will be going for a good AV pre amp, after what people have said, just missed an Anthem D2v for £5000 that would have done the trick, I heard a MC-12 HD controller and amp, yesterday but thought it was bright, the sales man swapped the processor for Arcam AVR600, and this sounded better more natural but not as many inputs, I am trying to source a dem with the Primare SP32.
Regards
Oz

I am also interested in the SP32 as I have Primare for the 2 channel side of things. Although I am not in a position to get serious about it yet and am not looking for a dem. Meanwhile I still have my AV9 which, although now termed a legacy processor, will take some beating.

Please let us all know how you get on. :thumbsup:

GD
 
I heard a MC-12 HD
Please try and make a decision as to your feature set requirements. At the moment, I get the feeling of total chaos: there's no direction except that it produces sound. Perhaps you need to spend some time reading up on what a processor is and does, what different processors contain or don't, and specifically why you may or may not want each specific feature? This will enable you to set up an annotated checklist ("must have", "nice to have", "irrelevant"), and will help prevent purchasing something that quickly disappoints due to a lack of some "essential" functionality.

The Lexicon, like the Primare, is a processor with LPCM over HDMI, but no HD decoding, which is fine if your bluray player has onboard decoding and you don't need advanced facilities. Of course, if you're happy with this option, you could also look at pre-owned processors supporting LPCM over HDMI, such as the Anthem D2 or Audiolab 8000AP, that have since been replaced by newer models incorporating full HD support.

The AVR600 is a receiver: it incorporates power amplification. I thought you were looking for a processor / preamp (Arcam's AV888 is the processor).
 
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You might want to consider the ADA Suite 7.1 HD, it is a very capable HDMI 1.4 Pre-Amp, very flexible and good for both music and AV, THX Ultra II, Dolby Volume etc. if that floats your boat and manual PEQ if you need EQ, although professional calibration would provide optimal results.

It is available around your budget, there are a few threads on it in this forum and you can read my gibberings about it from the link in my signature :)

Adam

Sent from my iPhone using AVForums
 
I'd second the ADA, but then I would wouldn't I?
IT is quite extraordinary, even if it looks less than impressive!!
Enormous detailed etched soundstage, but with absolutely no sense of aggressive shrillness, just a really natural, organic, full sound.
 
Peter Baker said:
I'd second the ADA, but then I would wouldn't I?
IT is quite extraordinary, even if it looks less than impressive!!
Enormous detailed etched soundstage, but with absolutely no sense of aggressive shrillness, just a really natural, organic, full sound.

I'll third that not just because I own one but because there's really not enough talk about it on here :)
 
Hi All

I need some help, I amlooking for a new AV system, I have just bought the Ectrocompaniet AW3x120-M and Electrocompaniet AW 2x120-M amps, but I need a good preamp, what doe you recommend, I have heard the Anthem Statement D2vand thought it was good, but at this price it should be, do you knowof any pre amp that as good for less money, would pay up to £4,000for the pre amp.

I am also looking forin-wall speakers, I was told that Atlantic Technology IWTS-30L,C,here good, but trying to get a listen to them, do you know of anybetter.

thanks

I will be selling a new sealed av888 arcam black unit with 5 yr warranty if interested, for a good price.
 
Hi ozzjameson,

I can get a deal on those exact same amps, what is your experience with them?
 

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