Help!! Putting together a new system

[TommyP]

Hi all, I'm a new guy. I've been trying to put together a new home theater system and have pretty much narrowed it down to a fight between Rotel and B&K. Looking at the Rotel RSP-1098 and RMB-1075 vs. the B&K Ref. 50, the Ref 200.7, and the AVR507. The first thing that pops into my head is the B&K system has one extra component vs Rotel...or am I missing something essential in the Rotel setup? I have listened to them both and they sound great but I can get the B&K locally but must send for the Rotel system.

What about the Denon 5803A as another choice....aaahhh. Should I stick to components?

How about the Rotel RDV-1060 VS Denon 5900 DVD payers

I have spent a lot of time looking at both sytems in Audiogon. I could save some money buying used or "B" units...is it worth it? I know the answer is personal choice but I would really appreciate oppinions from some of the experienced folks out there.

The system I am looking to put together is...
Samsung HNL617W DLP
Vienna Acoustics-Beethoven front speakers(the only purchase so far...Audiogon)
Vienna Acoustics-Waltz for rear
Vienna Acoustics-Maestro for center
Panamax 5510 or ???
Rotel or B&K
Room size is 14x20

[jimmyp58]

Tommy:

You are right where I was at about a little over a year ago. I took the plunge and bought the Denon AVR-5803. Very, very nice receiver. Lots of features and other bells and whistles. I kept it a total of one month! So why did I get rid of it? The amps were rather wimpy and couldn't push my Def Tech BP7000SC's (that I had upgraded to when I bought the 5803). It sounded really good in the store but that was in an enclosed room with completely different acoustics than my house/ht room. So, I took a listen to some B&K (Ref 50) and Rotel RSP-1098. By the way, I had auditioned the B&K AVR 507 when I was considering the Denon 5803. I immediately went for the Rotel RSP-1098. Hands down, the winner. Take a look at my personal profil and you can see the other equipment I now own. Perhaps that will shed some light and give you some other ideas. Shoot me an e-mail and we can discuss further.

Jim

[TommyP]

Update....

I have purchased the Rotel RSP-1098 for my processor and The Earthquake Cinenova Grande 5 amp. Suggestions for my next move?

[Aussie Geoff]

TommyP,

Way to go...

Suggestion 1: Enjoy your investment - it should have you grinning...

Suggestion 2: A 2 Channel Amp for the fronts (Earthquake is excellent match) and go 7.1....

[B]Geoff[/B]

[TommyP]

Going 7.1

I am not sure my room will support 7.1. Our seating is all the way in back of the room... the side speakers should be closer to the middle area (if the seating is there) shouldn't it? I would love to go to 7.1 if speaker placement would do us any good. Would side speakers add anything if they are positioned in front of the seating area?

[jimmyp58]

FYI for everyone, Earthquake is releasing within the next month their Grande 7 amp. Same stats as the Grande 3 and 5 but 7 channels in one box.

Jim

[aud19]

Personally I'd probably go with something like a Denon 2200/29000 (or their soon to be replacements) and a DAC-1 for upsampling CD's and save your money for now until HD/BlueRay DVD come out and DVD-A and SACD are more mature (ie: better bass management/delay settings/digital connections etc) Don't get me wrong, the 5900 is a beast and if money isn't a concern for you go for it, it's a great machine. I just think your money may be better spent elsewhere.

Jason

[Adz]

As alluded to above, if money is no object and you are hooked on Denons then you may want to wait for the entire new line coming out at the end of the summer/beg of fall. The 5910 is expected to take the 5900 up another notch (if that's even possible!) but I understand could retail as high as US$2,400-2,500.

[TommyP]

Update 2...

I stumbled into a pretty good deal today and instead of the Rotel 1098 I picked up a Krell Showcase Processor demo for less than the Rotel 1098. Couldn't say no....

[aud19]

Nice grab! :T

Jason