General assistance asked for re integrating 2 channel & AV/HT

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  • Jmacs_Naim
    Junior Member
    • May 2004
    • 1

    General assistance asked for re integrating 2 channel & AV/HT

    Hello All

    I have been a 'lurker' here for a while, and after getting a feel for the place, which BTW seems pretty friendly, and quite knowledgeable, thought i would register as I have something of an ongoing quest to finish my AV/HT journey which I started some 2 yrs ago, and would appreciate some comments from experienced members if anyone would be able to help.

    I have had 30+ yrs experience in 2 channel, but am relatively new to the HT side of things with about 2 yrs experience now. I am discovering that HT is in many ways a different 'animal' to 2 channel, and needs to be assesed somewhat differently, especially when evaluating options re upgrading/finishing a system. My present course is to finish the sound side of it, and then attend to upgrading the display.

    My 2 channel system is all Naim-Audio i.e CD player, pre-amp, pre-amp power supply, power amp and speakers. To this I have added over the last couple of years some Sony ES gear for AV/HT purposes, being the 9000ES series DVD player, AV processor and multi-mode power amp.

    I am running it all as an integrated 'hybrid' system with the Sony processor front left and right outputs going to the Naim pre-power & speakers for the front channels (running in centreless 'phantom' mode) and the rear outputs from the processor going to the Sony amp running in 2 channel mode and driving a pair of Tannoy MX2's for rear speaker duties.

    My thoughts for completing the sound side of the system are thus.

    Purchase Naim Ariva speakers for the rears, to timbre match the Naim SBL's at the front, and add in due course a Naim Acess centre channel speaker and either Naim's forthcoming sub, or REL or Velodyne.

    Pros: The Naim Arrivas are a sealed box/acoustic suspension design like the SBL's and are a full range floorstander with (I believe) the same tweeter, ensuring a similar tonal/timbre match and dynamics. In time, the Sony processor and amp would be replaced with Naim, thus giving a set up that would take maximum advantage of music surround should that become mainstream.

    Cons: Mainly cost, and because of that, the time it will take for me to complete the system. Naim, for those unfamiliar with the brand, is in Krell/Levinson class, and priced accordingly. Second, and importantly, I've read here and elsewhere that in adding speakers to existing 2 channel ones for HT use, that not only should one use the same BRAND of speakers, but also the same LINE, as in speakers that will have the same drivers, crossovers, and cabinets to get the optimum cohesion as regards a uniform wrap-around sound-field which seems to be crucial and pivotal to a satisfying surround sound movie experience. Apart from being the same brand, and I believe using the same tweeter, the SBL's which I own and use for the fronts, have different drivers/crossovers/cabinets from the Arivas, so apart from tonal timbre, and dynamics, they would not be an ideal match re polar response, crossover points, driver materials etc. Unfortunately SBL's are now discontinued so that route is not open to me either.

    My second option, proposed plan would be to separate the two (2 channel Naim & HT/AV Sony gear), and buy a set of matched, reasonable quality speakers, such as the B&W 600 series range, or the Tannoy Sensys range, both of which seem to match quite well to Sony gear, and thus have a matched system as regards 5 matched speakers all round, running off the Sony amp in 5 channel mode.

    Pros: The much more reasonable cost would mean I could complete my system much sooner than going the all-naim route. Second, I would have matched speakers all round as regards not just timbre, but crossover points, polar response, cabinets etc, which I am lead to believe is very important in an HT context.

    Cons: I would believe that my Naim amp and speakers are of much higher intrinsic quality soundwise than a Sony amp/B&W/Tannoy speaker combination such as I have proposed - good though the Sony is. It seems a bit of a waste to not use the Naims, and I wonder if whilst I may gain in terms of a cohesive wrap-around soundstage with this second route, if I may in other ways be stepping sideways re a backwards step in OVERALL quality as regards resolution, clarity, dynamics etc.

    Summing up:

    Normally, coming from my 2 channel experience, I would bite the bullet, take the time, save the money and go the all Naim route. Quality is quality, and sometimes you just have to pay if you want that. Not that it makes it any easier!!

    However, I've been doing a lot of experimenting and reading up on HT v's 2 channel, including auditioning some very high-end processors and have come to the conclusion that one 'listens' or 'hears' sound quite differently with HT as against the more intense listening experience of music/2 channel. Central to this difference I believe is the extra component in the overall HT experience of the picture, and the wrap-around sound-field and the way that soundfield reinforces the suspension of disbelief and augments that 'being there' feeling, where one is 'in' the spaceship for example, as against merely viewing/hearing it.

    In the light of my viewpoint here, I did find when auditioning the Naim AV processor, that it was comfortably the best I'd heard in terms of resolution and thus detail, both in the mix and in any sound one wished to concentrate on, either separately or as part of the overall mix; most noticeable in the dialogue which was the best I've ever heard from an AV component.

    However, and IMHO importantly, despite this, other cheaper processors, such as the Sony, whilst not of the same 'purist' approach, when using their DSP modes to augment the soundfield (and I've read elsewhere of Sony's proprietary DSP Cinema modes being regarded as second only to the high fliers such as Lexicon) gave a much larger sense of soundfield 'space' and 'wrap' which had it's own appeal in the way sound effects were steered around the room, coming in and floating at times from all directions.

    Despite the concurrent slight lack of precision and purity the DSP modes contributed to the sound, which was the tradeoff for the enhanced sense of space, the OVERALL listening/viewing experience seemed to gain from it, such that ones sense of the suspension of disbelief and involvement and 'being there' with the film was in many ways the equal of the much more expensive processors, even with their extra resolution/detail, and of course the openess of the sound re the ambience on the recording being more clearly heard as well.

    So it was a huge and unexpected surprise to hear this, and observe how spending a lot more money on processors didn't bring a commensurate gain re the involvement/enjoyment of the movie, to anywhere near the same degree as 2 channel that such an expenditure would be likely to bring.

    So I am questioning my previous thoughts of saving and spending and going the all Naim route, and instead contemplating as I have discussed going for a different matched set of speakers all round, such as the mid-priced B&W's or Tannoys I have mentioned and coupling them with the Sony AV processor /amp exclusively.

    I would really appreciate it if the mods, or anyone who has had experience building on AV/HT to an existing hi-end 2 channel system could or would comment, and perhaps offer some advice and general wisdom as to which route would most likely offer the best movie sound experience OVERALL...

    This is my first post, and I apologise for the length of it and bending all your ears... :B

    Heh, HT is quite a complicated subject compared to 2 channel, as I'm rapidly finding out...:lol:

    Thanks everyone for reading this, and I look forward to your viewpoints with interest.

    Regards

    John...
    Last edited by Jmacs_Naim; 26 May 2004, 21:51 Wednesday. Reason: add title & note long post
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