Help needed for product selection

[nathen]

Hi gents,

I looking for some advise before upgrading my actual 5.1 sound system. I bought some gears two years ago without really any advise and after listening to better system I am looking forward for some improvement.

My system:

• 1- AVR Denon 3313
• 2- Loudspeaker Energy connoisseur RC-70 
• 1- Energy connoisseur RC-LCR
• 2- Energy connoisseur V-S Surround Speaker
• 1- Sub-woofer V-SW10

I am using my system 10% gaming / 10% movie / 80% music. I am listening my music using the three front channel because the center speaker seems to have better tweeter. I am planning adding a good power amplifier and use the pre-out of my denon amps. I am not sure how big of an improvement I can expect from a better power amp and I am not sure about which one I should get. My second step would be a pre-amp and the third one would be the loudspeaker...

Here is what I have in mind for now:

1. XPA-2 (1250$ CAN): Use my Denon amps to drive the central and the surround

2. XPA-3 (1130$ CAN): Drive the three front channels

3. 2 x XPA-1L (1650$ CAN): Use my Denon amps to drive the central and the surround

I listen to all kind of music (Jazz, blues, rock, classic, metal) but I have a preference for acoustic.

Thank you in advance for your advises,

Nathen

[jlafrenz]

If music is your goal then the XPA-2 would be the best bet. Some may recommend the XPA-3 since you are using all three speakers to listen to music. It seems as though there is something else not quite right here. It appears that your speakers are the same line across the front and therefore should have the same tweeters. It sounds like there are some other issues that need to be addressed for your music listening. I don't want to derail the thread, but can you give us more insight on your use of 3 speakers for music listening?

[ansat]

Dec 30, 2014 21:55:08 GMT -5 nathen said:

Hi gents,

I looking for some advise before upgrading my actual 5.1 sound system. I bought some gears two years ago without really any advise and after listening to better system I am looking forward for some improvement.

My system:

• 1- AVR Denon 3313
• 2- Loudspeaker Energy connoisseur RC-70 
• 1- Energy connoisseur RC-LCR
• 2- Energy connoisseur V-S Surround Speaker
• 1- Sub-woofer V-SW10

I am using my system 10% gaming / 10% movie / 80% music. I am listening my music using the three front channel because the center speaker seems to have better tweeter. I am planning adding a good power amplifier and use the pre-out of my denon amps. I am not sure how big of an improvement I can expect from a better power amp and I am not sure about which one I should get. My second step would be a pre-amp and the third one would be the loudspeaker...

Here is what I have in mind for now:

1. XPA-2 (1250$ CAN): Use my Denon amps to drive the central and the surround

2. XPA-3 (1130$ CAN): Drive the three front channels

3. 2 x XPA-1L (1650$ CAN): Use my Denon amps to drive the central and the surround

I listen to all kind of music (Jazz, blues, rock, classic, metal) but I have a preference for acoustic.

Thank you in advance for your advises,

Nathen

To be honest, I might suggest a different direction all together. Replace all 5 speakers with a really good pair of full range speakers. If you like having some bottom end, you might be a good candidate for the Definitive Technology Mythos ST or STS or ST-L (Love my ST-L's) and let the denon take care of a good stereo setup. With the Def-Tech speakers the ST series has built in subwoofers (0 strain on the receiver) and they are quite efficient. I think that this would be the largest improvement. A good pair of speakers will beat out a 5.1 middle of the road set every time.

Tony

[yeeeha17]

+1 on getting different set of speakers

[nathen]

Thanks for your answer jLafrenz... For the usage of the three front channels I dont have any other explanation than when I was trying the different settigns for music (direct/stereo/multi channel stereo/DTS NEO/Dolby/ ect.) It just felt like the music was sounding better when I was using the multichannel setting... Using the multi channel seem to fullfill more easily the room and the vocal are more present.

Thats a part of my hesitation between XPA-3 and XPA-2 because I am wondering if my actual amps was not suffisent to fully deliver the loudspeaker capacity. I hope the addition of the XPA-2 will signifiantly improve my experience two a point where using the center channel would be meanless...

[novisnick]

Yep! I must agree with finding the best set (2) of speakers to your ears, audition, audition, audition!!!
Everyone has there favorite, you need to find what's best to your ears in a price range you can afford.

Speakers are the best money spent. Start there and build over time, there is no quick way to build a system, even if you hit the lottery, slow as you go is the best remedy.
I went about it bass akwards!! But over time I've found what I like. 8)

There's no instant gratification with audio, just whe you think you've found " YOUR " perfect system,,,,,,,,,something else catches your ear,,,,,,,what a terrible desease this hoby is!!!

                                   

Just my two cents.

[Gary Cook]

If buying a power amp is your decision then I'd strongly suggest an XPA-5, it has 200 WPC with all 5 channels driven and 275 WPC with 2 channels driven. So for stereo listening it's up there with the XPA-2 (300 WPC). As a comparison the 3313 is rated at 125 WPC with 1 channel driven, which will mean around 90 WPC with 5 channels driven. The additional power makes speakers come alive, even if you don't use all the power all of the time, it's there when the music/movie demands rapid transients.

The thing with power amps is they last along time, decades even, as they don't go out of date every 3 years or so like AVR's/processors for example. So I'd always suggest buying a power amplifier for the long run. If you like multi channel music and movies then you are going to need a 5 channel amp, so my view is buy it once.


Happy New Year
Gary

[novisnick]

Dec 30, 2014 23:04:24 GMT -5 nathen said:

Thanks for your answer jLafrenz... For the usage of the three front channels I dont have any other explanation than when I was trying the different settigns for music (direct/stereo/multi channel stereo/DTS NEO/Dolby/ ect.) It just felt like the music was sounding better when I was using the multichannel setting... Using the multi channel seem to fullfill more easily the room and the vocal are more present.

Thats a part of my hesitation between XPA-3 and XPA-2 because I am wondering if my actual amps was not suffisent to fully deliver the loudspeaker capacity. I hope the addition of the XPA-2 will signifiantly improve my experience two a point where using the center channel would be meanless...

If I may, consult garbulky! Try this, play just the front two speakers and play with their positions!!  8)
pulled away from the walls and incrementally tow them in from being pointed directly at the apposing walls. Listen for awhile and then tow a little more till you hear what you like, center stage in the middle. Spend some time doing this, it's free and just may surprise you.



Two more cents.  8)  

[nathen]

Thanks Tony,

I am planning to eventually replace the speaker for a pair of Canton Ergo 690 DC (I like how they sounds and there is a dealer in town). I thought it was preferable to start with a power amplifier, a pre-amp and a finally the loudspeaker. I have listen to the Canton speaker drive by my Denon amplifier at the store and after by a Arcam amplifier and they sounded way better (The Canton speaker are 87db sensitivity, lower then my Energy Rc-70). I thought a similar difference would be noticeable on my Energy speaker and bring me closer to the kind of system I am looking for. (At the moment the price range I was looking for the speaker is more around 2K per speaker)...

Nathen

[ansat]

Dec 30, 2014 23:48:16 GMT -5 nathen said:

Thanks Tony,

I am planning to eventually replace the speaker for a pair of Canton Ergo 690 DC (I like how they sounds and there is a dealer in town). I thought it was preferable to start with a power amplifier, a pre-amp and a finally the loudspeaker. I have listen to the Canton speaker drive by my Denon amplifier at the store and after by a Arcam amplifier and they sounded way better (The Canton speaker are 87db sensitivity, lower then my Energy Rc-70). I thought a similar difference would be noticeable on my Energy speaker and bring me closer to the kind of system I am looking for. (At the moment the price range I was looking for the speaker is more around 2K per speaker)...

Nathen

I wouldn't expect you to hear that big of a difference, even with the 690's. did you listen to those speakers in the same space? Was audyssey runing the first time you listened to them (audyssey tends to make speakers sound more accurate)(usually accurate means reduction in liveleness when it comes to music)? While I love my amps, with modern class d amp modules in AVR'S I don't believe that the amp is what's missing from your system.

Tony

[deltadube]

Dec 30, 2014 23:48:16 GMT -5 nathen said:

Thanks Tony,

I am planning to eventually replace the speaker for a pair of Canton Ergo 690 DC (I like how they sounds and there is a dealer in town). I thought it was preferable to start with a power amplifier, a pre-amp and a finally the loudspeaker. I have listen to the Canton speaker drive by my Denon amplifier at the store and after by a Arcam amplifier and they sounded way better (The Canton speaker are 87db sensitivity, lower then my Energy Rc-70). I thought a similar difference would be noticeable on my Energy speaker and bring me closer to the kind of system I am looking for. (At the moment the price range I was looking for the speaker is more around 2K per speaker)...

Nathen

I got to go with new speakers 1st too.. paradigm studio 100s cc 690 adp 590s .. then some bad ass subs.. psa

xpa 5 would be a good pick too xpa 3.. with a set of xpa 1 mono blocks pre amp xsp 1.. keep the denon for movies..

looks like my set up lol

cheers..

[wiskers]

If I read your post right 2k per speaker? I would check out the Tekton line of speakers, you get a whole lot of speaker for your money.

[thorcorps]

The room (acoustic treatments, speaker position and thus their interaction with the room), etc. can be a huge impact as well. If you have a significant amount of hard surfaces and echo/reverb, I would suggest addressing that possibly first. Based on your comment about 3-channel sounding better, it would seem that your imaging is suffering. While the speakers, preamps, amps can absolutely impact imaging, so can the room.