I've spent the last few weeks lurking and finally built up the courage to make my first post.
When our son was born nearly five years ago, I was pretty much forced to give up my speaker-based rig. That led me to www.head-fi.org, where I experimented with virtually every flavor of headphone. Finally, I reached pretty close to the zenith of headphones (imo) - the Stax Omega II, and paired with a valve amp made for me by Singlepower Audio. If you're curious, pics can be found at:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=183581&highlight=es-1
Well, we are now in the initial throws of taking one of the rooms in our house and making it a media room. And, given my love of Stax, it seemed logical to move to MLs. This weekend just confirmed that choice, having auditioned some Clarities. I fell in love.
I need your help in putting together my new system. I want to try to hit that audio sweet spot, to make choices that are sound, that represent good value, yet choices that don't cause me to start researching upgrades a few weeks later.
The ultimate goal is a home theater, but I lack the cash to do it right away (or, more properly, I don't have the cash to do it right). So, I want to start by building a *strong* 2 channel system that has the capacity, over time, to be a 5.1 system (at least). The only pieces of the puzzle that are already in place are a 57" DLP and a source for redbook CDs (Accustic Arts CDP). So, initially, I need some floor standing MLs, an amp and pre/pro (having decided to go with separates if at all possible).
The room is approx 18 x 15 feet. Probably the only option for the tv and speakers is against one of the two 18 foot walls. That wouldn't be a bad choice necessarily, but for the fact that there is a door at either end of that wall (one leading in from the living room, the other into a bathroom). That leaves 90" (7.5') with which to work. The television takes up 51". So the floorstanders would be placed slightly in front of and to either side of the widescreen. I think it's wide enough to accommodate all three pieces.
My budget for the first components (amp, pre/pro and MLs) could be as high as $6500.
First off, I would love to hear some arguments in favoring of upgrading to the Vistas.
Also, I am presently looking at the Reference Series combination from Emotivo (http://www.emotiva.com/products.html) . The amp has 150W x 7. I do wonder if 150 watts will do the MLs justice.
Alternatively, I am considering buying the Outlaw pre/pro 990 and (at least initially) two of the 200W 2200 model and then adding 2200s as my home theater develops.
Final alternative is to get some mono blocks for the two channel and add something amps later as I move toward multichannel. But, I really have no idea what represents good value in the monoblock realm.
Any suggestions? Newbie mistakes? Many thanks in advance for your help.
When our son was born nearly five years ago, I was pretty much forced to give up my speaker-based rig. That led me to www.head-fi.org, where I experimented with virtually every flavor of headphone. Finally, I reached pretty close to the zenith of headphones (imo) - the Stax Omega II, and paired with a valve amp made for me by Singlepower Audio. If you're curious, pics can be found at:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=183581&highlight=es-1
Well, we are now in the initial throws of taking one of the rooms in our house and making it a media room. And, given my love of Stax, it seemed logical to move to MLs. This weekend just confirmed that choice, having auditioned some Clarities. I fell in love.
I need your help in putting together my new system. I want to try to hit that audio sweet spot, to make choices that are sound, that represent good value, yet choices that don't cause me to start researching upgrades a few weeks later.
The ultimate goal is a home theater, but I lack the cash to do it right away (or, more properly, I don't have the cash to do it right). So, I want to start by building a *strong* 2 channel system that has the capacity, over time, to be a 5.1 system (at least). The only pieces of the puzzle that are already in place are a 57" DLP and a source for redbook CDs (Accustic Arts CDP). So, initially, I need some floor standing MLs, an amp and pre/pro (having decided to go with separates if at all possible).
The room is approx 18 x 15 feet. Probably the only option for the tv and speakers is against one of the two 18 foot walls. That wouldn't be a bad choice necessarily, but for the fact that there is a door at either end of that wall (one leading in from the living room, the other into a bathroom). That leaves 90" (7.5') with which to work. The television takes up 51". So the floorstanders would be placed slightly in front of and to either side of the widescreen. I think it's wide enough to accommodate all three pieces.
My budget for the first components (amp, pre/pro and MLs) could be as high as $6500.
First off, I would love to hear some arguments in favoring of upgrading to the Vistas.
Also, I am presently looking at the Reference Series combination from Emotivo (http://www.emotiva.com/products.html) . The amp has 150W x 7. I do wonder if 150 watts will do the MLs justice.
Alternatively, I am considering buying the Outlaw pre/pro 990 and (at least initially) two of the 200W 2200 model and then adding 2200s as my home theater develops.
Final alternative is to get some mono blocks for the two channel and add something amps later as I move toward multichannel. But, I really have no idea what represents good value in the monoblock realm.
Any suggestions? Newbie mistakes? Many thanks in advance for your help.
