It seems u are running the opposite, unless u have lots of $$$, else i suggest u get a good speakers. Amps are expensive, second hand amps costs less, but, electronics can fail, tubes can fail. for speakers electronics i.e. cross overs to fail, i dont really know off.


I dunno what warmer sound u intend to get. but garbage in garbage out, means u spend peanuts, u get peanuts. another way is to save enuf $$$ and invest on the unit that u later wan.


its up to you. british products are more 'warm' or mid like u say. it depends on yr budgets.

I am now using a ciplak amp to drive my 602 S3, pasar malam dvd player and a china made DAC. I am very happy with it. Recently I changed the tubes to Mullard, and I feel more warm and substance that the Mullard brings and I am also surprise by the wider soundstage, and the bass slam (the base attack is not as strong as telefunken tubes). Well that 2xECC82 tubes are not cheap. I wanted to get telefunken, but $$$.

I just found out that my DAC comes with volume adjustment. I am wondering to use following setup

dvd player -> ZERO DAC -> Class A Power amp -> speakers.

This post has been edited by ccschua: May 19 2008, 02:12 AM

any suggestion on which brand onot? which is warmer than b&w around my budget?
how is aegis? or epos m5?

''It seems u are running the opposite, unless u have lots of $$$, else i suggest u get a good speakers. Amps are expensive, second hand amps costs less, but, electronics can fail, tubes can fail. for speakers electronics i.e. cross overs to fail, i dont really know off.''
i dont get what u mean...i explain more?
i plan to output my source from philips aurilium to amp to speaker

You want make zero DAc become preamp? Make sure the Gain of preamp section is enough. If not, sound pressure level will become low.

ccschua, you are lucky guy. My dac cannot accept cheap dvd player become transport, it sound terrible.
Which optical cable are u using??

what do you sound terrible, are u using pre out to amp or not. I am using the digital optical cable (stock cable with the DAC). I just roll the opamp to a more tube like sound, still trying to hear out the difference. the feeling is less fatigue.

I am using Monarchy Model 22 dac, I try to connect it to sony ns76h dvd player. But not success, the sound is terrible, even worser than standalone cd player.

There is no way to make zero as the pre amp. I audition the Krell using my soundstage 1.5 tube as preamp. Marantz as transport to the DAC. no problem in the sound. My tube give superb sweet and warm voice. However when playing Rock song, the setup is gone. the Krell is unforgiving with its source. the bass slam, is loose and weak, and everythings seem to be congested. (wanted to shut my ears). Now i experience the problems with tube amp.

when the preamp is changed to B&K, gosh, the control is turned back. Janis Ian breaking silence is breaking hell lose. well. vocal seems seems sweet but not as mellow if u listen to tube.

its kind of hard to match vocal and rock..



I mean if u read back previous post, invest in your amp last. why?

EPOS and KEF and WF and MS and MA are all around 1K range +-. perhaps u can look into those british brand.

This post has been edited by ccschua: May 29 2008, 11:45 PM

Hi,

I am going to buy a hifi system.

is Pioneer VSX517 good? (I got the price at 700)
is there another amp better than this in the same range?

for the front speakers, i will go for Wharfedale 9.1..

for the center and surround, i will go for Futek.

is this combination good?
Do you guys have any recommendation for the sub-woofer?

i mainly use the speakers for PS3 and DVD-movies.

I can't afford to buy high-end amps and speakers coz my budget is around 2k++ only~~~

Thank You.

It's recommended to match the front with the center speaker using the same manufacturer & series. I think you can get a Wharfedale surround and center (WH2) for less than RM1k. You need sub woofer for movies especially you are using bookshelf speaker like Wharfedale 9.1. Good entry level sub are Wharfedale SW150 (around RM1300). The other option is to get a floorstander instead of bookshelf. I'm using Mission M33i with MH3 surround & center. Total cost RM2050. Wharfedale Crystal CR40 with WH2 surround + center is around RM1680. Then get a sub at a later stage.

This post has been edited by yfyap69: Jun 13 2008, 04:00 PM

Thanks for reply.
For the wharfedale package u recommended which cost 1680, i think the mission is better than this,right?(compared the prices)

for the wharfedale package, can i get Wharfedale 9.1 instead of crystal cr40?
(if can, best get bookshelf speaker instead of floor standing, coz floor standing is too big to fit in my little room.)

Besides, is the amp I've chosen OK? (i am looking for entry-level) (Coz i am not audiophile and budget limited,at first i was thinking for going for HTIB, but many ppl here say HTIB not good even it's cheap)
Do you have another similar amps to suggest?

Thank You.

Yeah, I prefer Mission compare to Wharfedale. You can mix the 9.1 with the WH2. No problem with that. Since you room is small, you can opt for bookshelf but without sub you will lose some bass. As for the amp, Pioneer is ok. Don't buy HTIB. Waste money only.

Really appreciate your opinions.

I thought u said that i can get the sub at later stage?
Are you saying that Wharfedale Crystal CR40 includes the bass along?
If i get the bookshelf and get the sub later it should be better than getting the CR40 right?

You will need a sub eventually. Getting a floorstander can help to increase the bass but it will not be the same as subwoofer. Since your room is small then get the book shelf and if you have the $$$ get the subwoofer.

IC.
How about the price of WH2 and 9.1? Is it more expensive more than the CR40 with WH2?

If the price is below 2k definitely i will go for it.

Ya,one more thing, let's say in the future i might want to upgrade my amp to a better one, the speakers remain the same and the sound quality will be much improved,right?(Assuming I will be getting a good amp).

I'm not sure the price for CR40 alone but I think it's close to 9.1. WH2 is around RM8xx. My personal opinion is speaker play a bigger role than amp provided the amp able to drive it. Therefore I would recommend you to invest more on speaker. Also speaker tend to last longer than amp as the technology in amp will change faster than speaker.

bookshelves won't save space unless u're going to put it in some shelf. u buy stand and put the bookshelf speakers it will also be taking up the same space as a floorstander

Oh...
Ya, CR40 compared to 9.1, in terms of sound, which one is better?

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Added on June 13, 2008, 6:47 pmYou're right!
I guess i have to reconsider whether i should be taking the flood stand type speakers or bookshelf type speakers.
Thanks.

This post has been edited by rockccf: Jun 13 2008, 06:47 PM

I have not try 9.1 but base on the # of awards it win, I think it should be better than CR40. You can consider Mission M33i as it's only around RM1180

Someone pls advise me on which A/V Receiver model best for me an average user. Of course I'm looking for best output and less probs set with a not so expensive price. Heard about Sony SF2300 Receiver, is it good enough? What about a Yamaha? which model of Yamaha doing that class? or is that SF2300 is best?

try to use Coaxial cable (Digital interconnect) bcoz fibre optic transfer the signal too fast maybe this make the sound more worst

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Added on June 16, 2008, 9:32 amfor AV better go for floorstand instead bookshelf

This post has been edited by abel: Jun 16 2008, 09:32 AM

What's your budget?

Yamaha RX-V663 @RM1,900 is a good buy since it is able to decode latest lossless codecs (DTS HD MA, Dolby TrueHD). Other than that, Onkyo 606 is another good option. But, a bit more espensive.