newbie putting together ht-need advice

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  • rcchap
    Member
    • Jan 2004
    • 49

    newbie putting together ht-need advice

    i am trying to put together a decent (relative) ht/stereo system for my one day soon remodeled basement. currently i have two b&w 602's, center-lcr60, sub asw 600 and a denon 2200 dvd/sacd etc. everything else needs to be purchased/upgraded. please tell me what you think.
    rotel rsp 1066 (like the sound. should i wait for the 1068?)
    rotel rmb 1075
    tv: sony kf42 or 50 we610 (best for the price?)
    rear speakers: another set of 602's
    panamax line conditioner

    i purchased a set of audioquest diomandbak interconnects for analog connection between sacd and current reciever. they seem to be nice cables. should i use these between preamp and amp?

    one more question: is my center channel speaker too small?

    thank you for your patience with all the newbie questions.
    your opinions are appreciated.
  • David Meek
    Moderator Emeritus
    • Aug 2000
    • 8938

    #2
    Hi Chris, welcome to The Guide! :later:

    You've got a good start going on your system - keep up the good work. I'll leave the Rotel questions to one of the Club Rotel gang. Andrew, you around?

    At one point I used AudioQuest Topaz cables exclusively in my system and was quite happy with them. AQ interconnects are good, solid, clean performers at a very reasonable price point. You could do MUCH worse!

    As to your center-channel being too small - do you enjoy its performance? Is it clean? NO sibilance? No boominess or chestiness? If so, then no it's not too small. IMO, the only way you can really decide if you want to upgrade there is to audition other CC's in your theater. If you find something better, then you have a decision to make. Othewise, sit back and enjoy.

    Power conditioners/surge protectors are a whole ballgame unto themselves. If you are looking mostly for fairly inexpensive surge protection, then Panamax and other comparable brands are okay. If you are looking for more, such as non-MOV surge protection and better filtering, then look at Brickwall products. They are a cut above the thundering herd. If you are looking for true power conditioning such as regeneration, you are looking at a substantial jump in cost - probably on the order of $1,000 US and up. We can go there if you'd like. Just say when. . . .

    As always, this is just my 2 cents. Good luck!




    David - HTGuide flunky
    Our "Theater"
    Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

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    • aud19
      Twin Moderator Emeritus
      • Aug 2003
      • 16706

      #3
      Welcome Chris

      I'd wait for the 1068, it's supposed to be a couple hundred $'s more but it will have the latest and greatest processing/decoding etc.

      Sony makes very good TV's and if you have the funds they're very nice. Having said that IMO you can do just as well with a TV from say Hitachi or to a lesser extent (money wise, not quality) Mitubishi and get just as good (some might argue better) quality.

      Ditto what David said re: line conditioners. For an inexpensive route for "true" power conditioning, check out APC's Line-R conditioners. That's what I have

      Jason




      Need a new display? Questions about new display technologies? Visit RPTVs, plasmas, and other monitors @ HTguide
      Jason

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      • Andrew Pratt
        Moderator Emeritus
        • Aug 2000
        • 16507

        #4
        I might be inclinded to wait for the new rotel pre amp given it'll have the BM fix already done and has a better by pass mode (at least we think it does).

        For interconnects I've tried audioquest's and IMO the CatCables one's I now own are better quality.

        On the TV have you given any thought to a projector? You can buy a projector and screen for less then a typical RPTV these days and still have some money left over to buy a cheap 32" TV for news shows etc.




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        • rcchap
          Member
          • Jan 2004
          • 49

          #5
          thank you very much. it is a pleasure to be part of such a great group.

          david, i checked out the brickwall products, makes sense to me (non-mov).

          jason, going to check out mitsubishi, thank you.

          andrew, i think that i will wait for the 1068. the bm issue with the 1066 had me worried. i've thought about projectors but assumed they were too expensive for good quality projectors and screens. i will look into them again, any suggestions on projectors and/or screens.
          one question on the cat cables. i checked out their site and the one thing that i noticed is that even on the higher end cables that the connectors are soldered to the wire. i thought that i heard that any type of solder is not a good conducter or at least not as good as a weld especially a cold weld. please correct me if i am mistaken.

          again, nice to be a part of such a helpful and unpretentious group.

          chris

          Comment

          • Lex
            Moderator Emeritus
            • Apr 2001
            • 27461

            #6
            David, what kind of cables is it you use now? I forget, refresh my memory.

            RC, I'm owner of CATCables. Yes, we do exclusively solder our connections. We feel they are better connections than crimped connections and are more durable. First, let's establish the fact crimping is not really cold welding. It's pretty much impossible for hand tools to achieve the same degree of even forced closure of a connection as a true cold weld. Machines do cold welds and exert a LOT of force onto the weld.

            Your number one goal for copper based wire is to keep oxidation out. (Really true of any wire, but silver oxidation is conductive, so that's a little different, though conductivity through the oxidation is not ideal). Keeping oxidation out is difficult to do with a crimped connection. Soldering makes the two metals mate, keeps as close to 100% of the oxygen out as possible, and thus inhibits oxidation of the base connector metal and the wire itself. Additionally, we strive for metal to metal contact between the wire and connector, and let solder surround this connection. So, it's not really like there's a large section of solder between the wire and the connector contact point. At least some part of the wire is contacting the connector at the time of solder with at most a very thin layer of solder between them.

            Fact is, the budget cable companies crimp because it's quick, they can turn out more cables in less time. They can sell crimping until they are blue in the face, but the final facts are, experts prefer soldering. Lastly, we don't use the solder you buy at Lowes. We use 4% silver solder, designed for priority connections and ultimate conductivity. We then go one step further in conditioning the entire cable on a cable cooker once it's built. (not true for all video, but most all analog audio, digital, and speaker cables) In the end, we offer you a cable that's designed to do the job right and a cable that will likely outlast it's crimped counterpart by a long time.

            Lex
            Doug
            "I'm out there Jerry, and I'm loving every minute of it!" - Kramer

            Comment

            • rcchap
              Member
              • Jan 2004
              • 49

              #7
              thanks lex!
              i hope i did not offend. i'm just trying to learn and thanks for clearing that up. i will give a set of the cats a try. which would you recomend for preamp-amp interconnects at about $100/m.
              by the way go vols. (i'm originally from nashville and still a big ut fan)
              chris

              Comment

              • aud19
                Twin Moderator Emeritus
                • Aug 2003
                • 16706

                #8
                jason, going to check out mitsubishi, thank you
                You're welcome Just Don't forget Hitachi too. That's what I own and they are definately another high quality option.

                Jason




                Need a new display? Questions about new display technologies? Visit RPTVs, plasmas, and other monitors @ HTguide
                Jason

                Comment

                • David Meek
                  Moderator Emeritus
                  • Aug 2000
                  • 8938

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Lex
                  David, what kind of cables is it you use now? I forget, refresh my memory.
                  Don'tcha remember my story 'bout that seedy, suspicious looking guy that was selling cables on the street corner by the pool hall?

                  Hehe, actually I'm using 1m SilverCat interconnects everywhere except for the L/R Sub-woofer connects, for which I'm using 5m (custom length) BlueTigers. Some guy named Doug convinced me to try them and I've been very, very happy since.




                  David - HTGuide flunky
                  Our "Theater"
                  Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

                  .

                  David - Trigger-happy HTGuide Admin

                  Comment

                  • Andrew Pratt
                    Moderator Emeritus
                    • Aug 2000
                    • 16507

                    #10
                    For projectors the Sanyo Z1 or Z2 are very nice for between $1200 to $1700 (I think that's about right for the Z2) For screens you can make your own very easily for under $100 or invest in a comerical unit for about $500 (though its easy to spend more or less as need be)

                    Honestly if you can do it there's nothing like watching a movie on a big screen. I've watched movies on friends big RPTV's and while its ok you always know you're watching TV...put a movie on a 100" screen and its a whole new ball game. Plus its much easier to move a 1o lbs PJ then a 200 lbs RPTV around There's dedicated forums to TV's though so I suggest you post any further questions in this area of the guide site.




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