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David Prall

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:) Just wanted to say hello to everyone. I just bought my first pair of Martin Logan speakers. Prior to these. my speakers were DCM Time Windows III's. ...I originally bought the DCM speakers cause I enjoyed the "spacious" sound compared to the standard speaker. But after noticing the different look of the Martin Logan line, I decided to do a little research. I checked the web for info, and came upon this club. I did a lot of reading here, checked out a link for a review, and then decided I had to audition a pair. Besides, the DCM's were getting a bit long in the tooth at about 17 years old. My wallet isn't very happy about it, but my ears are. I bought a pair of the Vantage speakers this past weekend, and I's STILL auditioning them. :-D ....no pictures yet, but this is my current system.

Yamaha RX-V1600 Receiver (for pre-amp/tuner function)

Krell KAV 400xi (an integrated amp I'm using just as an amplifier. I was going to get a more affordable Rotel, but the salesman convinced me that the Rotel would not sound as warm as the Krell. Though he did offer to sell me HIS Rotel which was 2 models up from the one I was looking at, and for less than I'd pay for the one I originally selected if I still wanted one. But he said he was confident I wouldn't like the sound quite as much. He was even nice enough to let me borrow it to compare if I wished. But I suspect he would have been right... AND I wanted to get those speakers HOME! hehe)

Denon DVD-2910 (to play CD's/SACD's: it was reasonably priced and got me a better DAC to reduce sibilance, and it plays DVD-A as well, although I don't want to mix the Logans with the surrounds I have.)

Not as "high-end" as many of the systems here, but my first and probably for awhile deepest enty into the audiophile world. THis was more than just a little taxing on the budget. Still, the clarity, stage, and wow factor for me has made listening to music amazingly enjoyable again. I never realized just how much detail was missing til I had this pair of speakers and a decent amplifier. Unfortunately, except for one friend in particular, the rest of the crowd and family would think I'd lost my mind spending so much money on a "stereo". :eek: But the funny part is that my wife not only agreed that they sounded great, she was the one that insisted on getting the Krell Amp right away cause of the "awesome difference" it made over just connecting them to the Yamaha. ;) {I got them at Tweeter, which I know isn't a favorite vendor here, but I was able to get the displays which saved me some break-in time, and they gave me 10% off. They even threw in a nice Monster power director and, for my wife, a nice IPOD dock that displays on the video screen. This was amazing cause they gave them to us the day after as a surprise, even though they'd already made the sale and had no incentive to throw them in! Oh, and did I mention the free delivery? They called someone in who had a truck and brought them to the house (in their original boxes of course) by truck at 11 PM the night we bought them.}
 
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Welcome to the club David.

It's always nice to hear dealers and stores giving out excellent service.

Happy Listening.
 
You might want to try using the Krell's preamp section as well. I think you'll get a noticeable improvement over the preamp section of the Yamaha.
 
Using Krell as Pre-amp

That would have been my first choice (AND an EXCELLENT suggestion) too, but my wife is determined to have her Am/FM and most importantly XM accessible. Being as she was soooo understanding about the spending for the speakers and Amp, it seemed a reasonable concession for now. :rolleyes:
 
I think I have a solution for your situation. Use the Tape Out of the Yamaha and plug it into an input of the Krell. This way, the Krell will do all of the preamp duties and you will still be able to listen to your tuner.
 
Agreed with Yogibear - the preamp section of the Krell will be way much better! I do exactly as stated for my FM tuner - I run a Harman/Kardon receiver as a tuner and run its tape output directly into my real preamp. Works a treat!

Welcome to the club!
 
Hmmmm..... that just might work! :) I wonder if XM comes out of the tape out too. I'll have to check that out. Great suggestion!
 
Welcome to the Club!

My wife also agrees that the MLs improve our sound, but it would be hard to get her to agree to upgrade the components. Keep us posted!
 
I haven't yet had the chance to implement this little change,...one of the drawbacks of having a wall unit entertainment system. It can be challenging at best to change things around when it really takes 2 people to "safely" take it apart. But I'll keep you posted :)
 
Vantage, Krell and Denon...

Daivd,

:D Welcome to the ML Club!
I concur with everyone else, your Vantages will probably sound better with the Krell as a pre. It's worth a try anyway. ;) What is your listening room like? What are the dimentions etc.? Do you listen to two channel / Stereo or HT more often?

You have a great system, and it's good to have you here. :D
 
Hi Robin :)

Thanks for the warm welcome! My listening room is my family room and it is approximately 15x19, with the speakers directly accross the 15' width opposite the couch. Since I actually have an entertainment center to hold the TV and other electronics, I am very limited as to how close I can place the speakers together. This leaves me with very little wiggle room to create that nice sweet spot since I can just barely make that equal distance triangle to my couches center. It also limits the distance I can get them from the back wall (1 3/4 feet) and requires that they are only inches from the entertainment center it self on one side. The other side of the speaker is probably a good 3 feet from each side wall. I listen to music in 2 chanel stereo exclusively through the vantages, but I have non-ml speakers (5 definitive and a Mirage sub) that make up my 5.1 surround for ht. I will probably try to change my set up to use the Krell as preamp as suggested on the weekend, but only if XM Radio is output thourgh the tape mon jack as well as am/fm, lest I displease my wife. <grin> She isn't what i would call a critical listener, so I'm fortunate to have her cooperation on this "little" foray into the audiophile world. ;-) She's still determined to be able to connect her Ipod. :eek:
 
Excellent Vantage Listening room...

David,

Your listening room sound like it is excellent for listening with your new Vantages. I trust all will go well with your Krell as a pramp. But please do let us know how it sounds with your Vantages. ;)

Your wife sounds like a super trooper. I hope she loves the her iPod connected to your music listening system visa vee the iPod dock. I've heard great things about that kinda of iPod set-up. :D :p :D
 
David, have you rearranged things yet? What were the results?
 
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