Question/Advice on HT gear

[britrover]

This post is long as I’m new to this hobby so kindly bear with me:

Looking for advice on HT gear as I’m looking to get a Rotel amplifier and HT speakers, I’m listing my questions below and would appreciate direction/advice:

* Which Speakers

I certainly want to get Floor Standing speakers for Front L + R, Center Channel, and two surrounds. I’ve auditioned Klipsch, Polk, Infinity and Kef speakers so far and absolutely love the sounds of Kef Q7’s.

Which other brands should I look at prior to making my mind?

I have a budget of $1500 for the front L + R and $500 for the center channel.

Does anyone here own Kef speakers? Also I want to look at Axiom M 80’s and compare them with Kef to see which one sounds better. For the subwoofer I purchased HSU VT-3 MK 2 after hearing my friends set up.


* Which Rotel Amplifier

Trying to decide between the RMB-1095 and RMB-1075 not sure if I’ll need the extra power but want to get a unit that will easily drive 4 ohm speakers if I ever decide to upgrade and get power hungry speakers.


* Which system interconnects and speaker cable

Looking for advice on vendors/links to hook up the Rotel amplifier with my Harmon Kardon AVR 235.

Would 12 gauge speaker wire suffice in providing good sound quality or does the quality of speaker cable really help the speakers sound better.



I’m posting my questions on this forum as I’m positive on getting a Rotel amplifier and am looking for non-biased information on speakers without bashing any brand.

[gd]

* Which Speakers
Which other brands should I look at prior to making my mind?

Audition as many speakers as you can... add Totem, Monitor Audio, NHT to your list... your Hsu sub is a great choice.

* Which Rotel Amplifier
Trying to decide between the RMB-1095 and RMB-1075... want to get a unit that will easily drive 4 ohm speakers if I ever decide to upgrade and get power hungry speakers.

Follow your good instinct and get a powerful amp that will not need replacing for many, many years... if ever.

* Which system interconnects and speaker cable
Looking for advice on vendors/links to hook up the Rotel amplifier with my Harmon Kardon AVR 235... Would 12 gauge speaker wire suffice in providing good sound quality or does the quality of speaker cable really help the speakers sound better.

The immediate response here is to contact Doug at CatCables, who sponsors this forum... high-Q cables at right prices... that said, with Cat as a forum sponsor, the house rules prohibit discussions comparing cable brands... on the more discussable topic of 12 ga speaker cable -- yup, it's what I use... but comparing brands (house rules notwithstanding) begs very divergent points of view, and tends to get way out of hand, on any AV forum.

Shop around, enjoy the search... good luck.

[lvhung]

I wanna say in the speakers choice
Many Rotel onwers here use BW UK 700 series but I think 704 BW is about 1900 USD
the 700 series center speaker is about 500$ as you want .

Other brands are Klipsh, definitive, KEF ......

[aud19]

Speakers to listen to:

B&W, Energy, Kef, PSB, Paradigm, Polk, Totem and Vienna Acoustics to name a few. Or as many as you can! :P I will tell you that you should get a fairly large centre if you don't want it to sound boxy and compressed during "centre heavy" momemnts in movies. Don't overlook the centre

I agree HSU (and SVS) make great subs :T

The amp? Depends a bit on which speakers you get, what your budget is etc. The 1075 should be suffficient for most speakers in your price range, especially if you plan to upgrade to 7.1 system down the line. Then you could add a more powerful 2-ch amp like the 1080 for your mains Otherwise if you have the money, you certainly can't go wrong with the 1095, in this hobby you can never have too much power :twisted: Though if you have the money for the 1095 I might still recommend loking at the 1075/1080 especially if you plan on doing a fair amount of music listening. You don't really need 200WPC for your surrounds anyways....

As for cables, go with Cat :T Great product, great prices, great service. 12G speaker cable should be fine

[Aussie Geoff]

Hi,

I'm moving this thread to the right forum as it is not Rotel specific...

Geoff