Recommendation for next purchase?

[Kevin]

The heart of my current setup includes a depth subwoofer, Aeon mains, and there being driven by an Onkyo TX-SR800. I would like to eventually end up with surround sound, but I probably listen to music a bit more than I watch movies. I'm wondering what might best option would be to expand or improve upon my system? Would I be better off to either replace my Onkyo or perhaps add to it so my system is driven better, or should I now work towards purchasing my center channel and surround speakers? Would having better components to drive my speakers really make a large difference in sound quality? If so, I think I would lean towards upgrading or adding to my Onkyo. If the difference would be somewhat small, then I think I might be better off to get the center channel and surround speakers and then work on upgrading or adding to my other components? I would value some of your opinions. Thanks.

 

[TomDac]

Since you're more into music, my advice is this:

get a separate (high quality) amp for your Aeons. You will be AMAZED at how much better they will sound.

Then get a center and then slowly work your way into more high end components..

 

[DTB300]

I agree with Tom.

Add a new amp and use the Pre Outs (if they have it) on your Onkyo. You can add an amp for your mains first, then an amp for center channel and surrounds later on as you add speakers and move into HT. If music is your main concern, then after the new amp for the Aeon, I would consider a new source upgrade - CD, Vinyl, or whatever source is your preferred format.

A new amp recommendation has been discussed here MANY times so doing a search will help you out. There are many great products out there to consider within your price range - whatever that may be.

 

[Rich]

Would having better components to drive my speakers really make a large difference in sound quality?

YES! Absolutely! Driving a high quality speaker like ML's with a home theater receiver is kind of like powering a modern day Porsche with an old VW beetle engine. High quality separate amp and preamp will bring a whole new level of performance to your speakers that you didn't even realize they were capable of. As discussed above, lots of threads on this forum regarding this subject.

 

[JMAUSGP]

To give you good advice, it would help us uf we knew a little more like what kind of budget you have and also does your Onyko have pre-outs.

 

[repman]

To give you good advice, it would help us uf we knew a little more like what kind of budget you have and also does your Onyko have pre-outs.

Just checked online and that unit does have pre outs so he is good to go as far as adding a outboard amp for the mains if he desires

 

[Kevin]

For some reason I was pretty sure this was probably the advice I would receive. My budget I'm working towards would probably be as high as $3000. As much as possible, I would like to purchase something nice to start with as opposed to needing to upgrade again in the future. So would it be best to trade in or sell my Onkyo and start over with separates, or would you recommend just getting an amp to go with the Onkyo? Should I spend the $3000 on an amp and then look to replace the Onkyo as my next step? Thanks.

 

[repman]

For some reason I was pretty sure this was probably the advice I would receive. My budget I'm working towards would probably be as high as $3000. As much as possible, I would like to purchase something nice to start with as opposed to needing to upgrade again in the future. So would it be best to trade in or sell my Onkyo and start over with separates, or would you recommend just getting an amp to go with the Onkyo? Should I spend the $3000 on an amp and then look to replace the Onkyo as my next step? Thanks.

Kevin I think that question has a lot to do with what you have more interest in Theater or 2channel music
If you want a 5 channel setup I would maybe get a Sunfire amp and use your Onkyo as the pre/processor BiAmp the Aeons with 4 of the five channels use the fifth for the center and the 2 rears can use the Onkyos amps

I think that may be the best compromise for you

 

[Kevin]

Thanks. I do want to have the system setup for five channel theater, my room is actually wired for 7 channels should that be a possibility in the future, but I would rather sacrifice sound quality for the theater before sacrificing sound for music if possible. I would be ok with a happy medium for both though. With this is mind would your recommendation still be the sunfire amp using the onkyo as the pre/processor? Also, in choosing the size amplifier, is more power better regardless of your speaker size or are you better off matching the size amplifier with the speakers?

 

[Rich]

Kevin,

First of all, I would suggest that you spend some time searching the forum and reading old threads. The questions you are asking have been answered numerous times in great detail.

Second, I personally think the end result you want to shoot for is to have quality separate two-channel amp and preamp for music, with a home theater pass-through on your preamp which allows you to use your Onkyo as a surround sound processor for multichannel. However, you don't have to accomplish this all at once.

The Sunfires are great amps for both movies and music, although there are many better amps available for music. Asking which amp is better or best is like asking which car is the best. You will get as many different opinions as you get responses. I personally believe that more power is better for driving electrostats, with the caveat that it has to be quality, high current power. A cheap amp rated at 200 wpc is not going to be better than a high quality amp rated at 75 wpc. That said, the Sunfires are definitely quality amps that mate well with Logans. With the Sunfires, lots of people use the 200 wpc amps, but I prefer the headroom of the 400 wpc amps. It all depends on your budget, your timeline, and your own personal tastes.

Start with a quality amp and use your Onkyo as a preamp for now, and later when you have the money/time to upgrade some more, then buy a quality two-channel preamp.

 

[JMAUSGP]

Ditto on what has already been said.

As to whether more power is better or not. Remember you can never be too rich, too thin or have too much power....in your amp that is.

By going with a Sunfire 5 channel amp, say a Sunfire 5400 with 400 watts per channel @8ohms, the Sunfire will double down as the impedance drops on your Logans. This means they will have 800 watts @4ohms and 1600 @ 2ohms and will not run out of juice no matter what you drive and secondly they have lots of reserve power and therefore run very quiet with low, low distortion because you tend not to run them at full throttle.

With the Sunfire you have many options for the foreseeable future. And they can be had on Audiogon for about 40% to 50% off new retail pricing.

In fact, PM me if you are really interested in a Sunfire 5400, I have one that is only 6 months old that got replaced with something higher up the food chain on my 5.1 music system. I will be putting it up on Audiogon soon anyway, but it is definitely in your budget and it is like new having run a 5.1 ML system number 275.

Anyway, take steps along the journey and you will enjoy the trip more than if you stumble and fall down.....I think that is a Justinism.

 

[MOON]

Get rid of the Onkyo receiver. You need to get good sepates to get the proper sound from your speakers. If you do that , I think it will make surround sound a moot issue.

I have a dedicated room with a Sony 1080 pj and electric screen running 2 channel for music and movies with a depth sub and Odyssey's. Amp is Simaudio W-5 with a Simaudio P-7 evolution pre amp The sound is spectactular in both 2 channel and for movies. A receiver won't give you good sound, period!! Change to a good pre and amp before doing anything else, you will be shocked.

 

[JMAUSGP]

Get rid of the Onkyo receiver. You need to get good sepates to get the proper sound from your speakers. If you do that , I think it will make surround sound a moot issue.

I have a dedicated room with a Sony 1080 pj and electric screen running 2 channel for music and movies with a depth sub and Odyssey's. Amp is Simaudio W-5 with a Simaudio P-7 evolution pre amp The sound is spectactular in both 2 channel and for movies. A receiver won't give you good sound, period!! Change to a good pre and amp before doing anything else, you will be shocked.

Moon, although this would be the ultimate goal or the result of Joeyitis, Kevin has a stated budget of 3000 dollars and he wants this to fit within his current desires and an immediate future direction that includes HT. You may scare Kevin off of the upgrade path, where he could be lost and eaten by creditors and debt monsters.

Remember keep your hands and feet inside the upgrade ride at all times!

 

[JMAUSGP]

Kevin,

One other thought. Before you go down the 2-channel only path and all the compromises that entails when trying to do an HT sytem as well as a 2-channel system, try to listen to a good SACD and DVD Audio 5.1 music system on a good HT system.

You just might find that you prefer 5.1 music to 2-channel music then you can set-up your HT system and with the flip of a switch you can kill two birds with the same stone, so to speak.

Oh and by the way, you can always listen to 2 channel only music on a 5.1 system but a dedicated 2-channel system has a really hard time doing discrete 5.1 channels.

Basicaly with your Onyko as your pre and a $2000 dollar Sunfire 5400 as your 5 channel amp and a new $499 Oppo BDP83 as your universal player, you could have the beginnings of a nice little system that would be a good start along the upgrade path. It would work today and certainly be good enough to blow your family and friends away and then you could upgrade each separate component, pre, Universal Player, DAC, etc. as time and money permits.

I personnally started this way and still have a dedicated HT with a Sony ES5400 as a pre and a Sunfire 7400 as the power amp with 7.1 channels of Logans all around. It is a really nice system that does play music now and then, but the nice thing is that I can enjoy the HT now and I could always upgrade different components and over time I have and I will continue to do so, with a focus on HT stuff.

I am lucky enough to have a dedicated 5.1 music only system and although it has a monitor to control my 5.1 music sources I do not use it for HT, just music and I never listen to two channel on either system anymore, but that is just me, YMMV. I got hooked on MCH and have never been able to listen to 2 channel since.

Many here are diehard 2 channel fans and that is okay too, I understand that. But until you sit down and (experience):rocker: good 5.1 surround sound music you don't know what channels you are missing, so to speak.

Good surround sound is a listening experience, it tends to go thru you, sometimes it gives you an almost out of body experience, and it can wear you out, it is definitely not for everybody.

The point is, try it. Experience it for your self, it may make all your future decisions easier and somewhat less complicated....or maybe not.

 

[DTB300]

Start with a quality amp and use your Onkyo as a preamp for now, and later when you have the money/time to upgrade some more, then buy a quality two-channel preamp.

With this option you may not have to spend your budget amount to get a quality amp for the front two channels and experience much improved sound and you may even have enough for a nice pre amp to go along with it.

Like Rich also stated a nice Pre Amp with HT pass-through can really help it achieving a great 2CH setup but also allowing the HT path too.

Are you looking at strictly new gear or have you also considered used? Great deals for great components on the used market can be had by the savvy buyer.

Good surround sound is a listening experience, it tends to go thru you, sometimes it gives you an almost out of body experience, and it can wear you out, it is definitely not for everybody.

MCH Music is nice IF you like the music in that genre. Go visit www.sa-cd.net and look at the music there (almost 6000 titles). Primarily it is either Classical or Jazz with very limited other genres. If you do not like this type of music, then MCH music may not be for you. Also, IMO I would not use processing to make 2ch music into MCH music.

Finally, IMO buy the Oppo for video and HT duties, not music. Go out and listen and compare against other players if you can.

 

[Kevin]

Thanks for all the information guys. It sounds as though my next step should definitely be to add a quality amp to my current setup to get my best bang for the buck. Perhaps then I'll work on adding a center channel and surrounds and after that I can just begin tweaking my other components for a better sound. I really liked repmans suggestion of biamping my Aeons. JMAUSGP- Thanks for the offer of the sunfire 5400, it really sounds like a sweet deal and one that is hard to pass up. Unfortunately I just recently added the depth subwoofer to my system. I told my wife with the state of the current economy that we really needed to come to grips on our spending for awhile, so she would kill me if she were to notice another piece of new equipment in the setup, and she would notice it! As much as it kills me, I'll probably need to wait awhile before actually adding another piece to my system. Thanks again guys, you have given me some great ideas and a goal to work towards. Perhaps maybe even a sunfire 7400 is in the future.