What stereo(s) do you listen to? What do you want?

Originally Posted by dkzzzz

Click to expand...

Sonus Faber Concertino Speakers

Ditto.

Plus Naim red book CD player, power supplies, pre-amp and amp.

Originally Posted by dkzzzz

Click to expand...

Yamaha amp from 90s
Sonus Faber Concertino Speakers
Denon semi auto turn table.
Queen "News of the World" currently playing, next up Sharl Aznavour.

Sonus Faber is one of my favorite speaker lines.

I have two Jolida systems one with Magnapans and one with B+W Pods. I love the sound of tubes.

Jolida is hands down the best value and sound for the money in a tube amp. I love them.

Then, there is my little iPod shuffle that I take when I travel.

What Would Mozart Say?

High end audio set up in my listening room:
- YBA monoblocks & pre-amp
- Modified Eastsound and Marantz (tube output) CD players
- Green Mountain Audio Calypso speakers
- Virtual Dynamics wiring

Verdict: Music nirvana!


Bedroom set up:
- Marantz separates (amp/pre, tuner, CDP)
- Green Mountain Audio Callisto speakers (monitors)
- Atlantis stands
- Signal Cable Silver Resolution cables

Verdict: Very spacious sound that spills into the rest of the house and still sounds great several rooms away.

Commentary:
- For those of you looking into high end speakers, check out GMA. They are truly amazing. No affiliation, just a very happy customer.

Onkyo receiver from late 80s, newish Sony DVD player, decent Cerwin Vega speakers.

I'm planning to buy a 5.1 or 7.1 surround receiver in a year or two but I care more about music than DVDs. Does stereo (2 chan) music sound weird on a surround system if all the speakers are turned on? Or is it best to use only the front speakers?

I'm wondering whether to spend big money on the front speakers and get cheap stuff for surrounds/center chan/sub or spend equally on all the speakers?

Sonos

Originally Posted by greg_atlanta

Click to expand...

Does stereo (2 chan) music sound weird on a surround system if all the speakers are turned on?

If you're using good matrixing algorithms (eg. DPLIIx or Logic 7), and your speakers match in timbre and are set up correctly, matrixed 2-5 or 2-7 can sound significantly better than just 2-channel.

I'm wondering whether to spend big money on the front speakers and get cheap stuff for surrounds/center chan/sub or spend equally on all the speakers?

Click to expand...

Spend the most money on your front 3 speakers and a good sub. You can cheat a bit on the surrounds.

--Andre

Usually just my imac hooked up to HK soundsticks II. At home in the UK, I have a modest set up with NAD amp, NAD tuner, Denon tape deck. And a modest collection of vinyl, mostly blues/jazz and opera. All this talk has me thinking about shipping the stuff to me in HK

Bedroom:
Yamaha RXV-2095
Phillips 963 SACD
Polk R50

Main/HT:
Marantz SR-8001
Phillips DVD player (transport)
Quad 12L in Birdeye's finish with center channel
Target stands filled with sand
Generic glass and aluminum rears
Monoprice HDMI cables from TV/cable/DVD to receiver
Monster Cable V1 speaker cables
Sharp Aquos 32" LCD TV

Only one setup

Pioneer ELITE VSX-84TXSi receiver and the accompaning CD player and some Klipsch reference speakers and , most of the time though, we listen to music on a mini Philips CD player we got at Costco

Originally Posted by sonick

Click to expand...

Bedroom:
- Early 90's Pioneer Elite Reciever
- Athena AS-B2
- Panasonic F87 5-disc DVD/CD/DVD-A changer
- 60GB 5G iPod

Audio Room:
- Vintage Luxman seperates system (Pics: Pre-amp, Amp)
- Vintage Denon CD player
- Vintage JBL Studio Monitors

Headphones:
- Portable Amp V2
- iPod + TurboDock
- AKG K81DJ / Grado SR80 / Koss KSC35

I have the AKG K518DJ, which I think is the same as the K81's except that they're black. They sound pretty good for the money, but being closed phones they make your ears sore after awhile.

I also have the Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1's for my computer. They are awesome.

After I'm done school, I'm going to save my pennies for some Wilson's

Bedroom: Technics SL-1200M3D turntable Stanton SK 2 Mixer/pre-amp M-Audio USB audio interface (for MP3's on computer) Mackie HR 624 monitors Living Room: Technics SL-1200M3D turntable (another one) Sony receiver/stereo/amp (weak link in the chain obviously) An occasional iPod plugged into the Sony stereo Infinity RSIIIa speakers I'm pretty content with what I have, although replacing the Sony someday would be nice. Of all the gear, the Infinity speakers are the ones I'd most like to keep. They were gifted from my uncle who was an executive a Pacific Stereo back in the 70s. They were custom ordered in rosewood cabinets. Simply beautiful pieces of furniture. So, I'd almost rather keep them for their looks than their sound. Oh, and about 30,000 MP3s and 4,000 records

Originally Posted by RJman

Click to expand...

I want some killer styrofoam Dixie cups.

Dream on.

Originally Posted by greg_atlanta

Click to expand...

Onkyo receiver from late 80s, newish Sony DVD player, decent Cerwin Vega speakers.

I'm planning to buy a 5.1 or 7.1 surround receiver in a year or two but I care more about music than DVDs. Does stereo (2 chan) music sound weird on a surround system if all the speakers are turned on? Or is it best to use only the front speakers?

I'm wondering whether to spend big money on the front speakers and get cheap stuff for surrounds/center chan/sub or spend equally on all the speakers?



I prefer to listen to 2-channell recorded music in 2.1 mode (left, right and sub) which is easily switchable on the receiver.

Originally Posted by Andre Yew

Click to expand...

If you're using good matrixing algorithms (eg. DPLIIx or Logic 7), and your speakers match in timbre and are set up correctly, matrixed 2-5 or 2-7 can sound significantly better than just 2-channel.

Spend the most money on your front 3 speakers and a good sub. You can cheat a bit on the surrounds.

--Andre

I agree with Andre. You generally do not want to skimp on the center channel or you may have difficulty understanding spoken dialogue in movies. Timbre matching is important to get a seamless transition when a sound moves across the front soundstage.