anything else needed in my setup?...

[slick]

i have been re doing my setup, going from a 5.1 system to a 2.0 since i didnt really need a 5.1 (living in an apartment didnt help).

this is the way i have it setup:

B&W 704 (in beautiful rosenut) run by a parasound a23. parasound p3 pre amp (coming soon). a marantz dv6400 for dvd's and cd's (until the halo dvd player is released) and a roku soundbridge to stream music from my mac mini (all music in wav format).

the p3 will be connected to the a23 via balanced XLR. the dvd player and roku will be connected using rca cables.

i have about a $1000 to use on something, i'm a junkie, i will end up spending it anyways, so might as well see if the home audio side needs anything.

only two things i was thinking of was 1) spend $800 more and get a 32" LCD (i have a 27" flat tube sony tv right now) or 2) buy another a23 and either biamp the 704's, or run each a23 bridged and give the 704's 400 watts of power.

any suggestions or should i just let it be?

[tboooe]

slick,we have very similar setups. I ahve the 805S run by the A21 amp through the P3 preamp. I also use Nordost Red Dawn XLRs. I love the slight warmth of the Parasound and the detail and immediacy of the Nordost + B&W combo. I am also using a Cary 303/300 for my CDP and a Sonos system for my digital music.

I am not sure if you are missing anything but since we have such similar systems here is what I considering:
1. upgrade to Nordost SPM speaker cables
2. add good power cables (looking at Cardas)
3. power conditioning (thinking about a Chang Lightspeed or PS Audio unit)
4. adding a sub (Velodyne or REL)

You cant go wrong with more power. When I changed from Rotel 1080 (200w) to Parasound Halo (250w) the differnece to me was significant.

Anyway, nice system. You cant go wrong with leaving it as is but hey, what the heck...spend the money!!!!

[slick]

I was looking at the Velodyne SPL-R series subwoofer, but living it in an apartment does make it easy to use a subwoofer, so I am rethinking that one.
Cables are an issue for me, I don't think anyone can easily convince me that cables and a power conditioner will make a huge difference. I am using a pair of Kimber Kable 4PR speaker cables, Kimber Kable Timbre from the Soundbridge, Monster Cable Interlink 250 RCA from the DVD cable (Monster Cable Component Video 2 from the DVD to the TV), and a Monster Cable HTS 1000 MKII PowerCenter. Most of this stuff I either got for free or bought really cheap. It seems to work great. I've seen what speaker cables, power conditioners and power cords can cost, and I just can't fathom why.

Question though, how would I biamp with another A23?

[akhter]

Being a fairly new owner of a 32" Sharp Aqous LCD, I have to say get the tv. Cables will buy you marginal performance (not to start a flame war), adding a sub will buy you more substantial performance, but if you are like me and watch a fair amount of tv/movies, then the LCD will probably get you the most pleasure.

[RebelMan]

Your position is a little confusing. Seems like you are downsizing your multi-channel system for a two-channel one. Yet you offer two choices each representing one of the two setups. I would need to know how much time is spent watching movies and listening to music. If you were a movie buff I would say the 32" LCD and if you weren't I would say pass on the A23 as it won't buy you much. For now I say "just let it be".

[slick]

i love music, and i love movies. i have a couple hundred cd's, and an equal amount of dvd movies. 50/50 probably, movies and music.
multi channel in a small room isnt easiest thing to conquer, especially considering that my couch in against a wall. subwoofers are hard to use without bothering neighbors. i'm trying to achieve the best experience i can, within my needs, for both movies and music.
sorry, i should have mentioned what i was using my setup for.

[r100gs]

Since you are going with a two channel set up, I would suggest going with a nice CD player that would take advantage of the XLR's on the back of your P3.

[slick]

Well, I hear that Parasound will be coming out with a Halo DVD player soon with XLR connections, so I was holding out for that.

[Andrew Pratt]

A couple of things I'd consider...

for music...

1) Benchmark DAC or
2) Jolida CD player

for movies

1) projector and cheap screen (or use your wall)
2) biggest screen you can find