B&W with Rotel

[van_jas]

hi all.....i am fairly new to the audiophil world....but i do enjoy or am starting to enjoy this beauty of sound and vision.
Anyways....i currently have the following equipment:
Pioneer Elite (i know....this is next for an upgrade!)
Rotel RSP-1098
Rotel RMB-1095
Center Channel: B&W CC6 (This also needs to go!)
Front Channel: B&W 802D (love these!)
Rear Channel: B&W 602s (I think)
SUB: B&W 2 of them....cant remember the model number.

I use this setup for movies and stereo.

What should i be looking to change or upgrade.

[kmcheng]

I would add blu-ray capabilities to the mix.

What is your Pioneer Elite? Is it the display? DVD player?

[van_jas]

no...its the cd and dvd player....its not bad...it does have sacd and other stuff....but the display is a infocus sp7210

[garak]

Welcome to the forum.

First, I'd recommend getting an HTM2D for your center. This will create a nearly seamless front soundstage.

As far as other upgrades, those of us that are afflicted with upgraditis knows that it is never ending. So the next question is, how much are you looking to spend?

[van_jas]

well i slow keep getting the budget approved by the boss...(wife)! But i hope to be able to spend about $30k this time next year.....hence iam here to see if i should wait for new products that are comeing down the pipe.....

[van_jas]

btw....yeah the HTM2D is most likely the next upgrade......and maybe go to classe pre and amp.....

would a classe ca-5200 or should i be looking at the ca-m400

[garak]

btw....yeah the HTM2D is most likely the next upgrade......and maybe go to classe pre and amp.....

would a classe ca-5200 or should i be looking at the ca-m400

I'd definitely recommend the Classe pre and amp. I have the SSP-800 and CA-5200, and really love them. As far as the CA-5200 vs the CAM-400, I think it probably depends on how much music you listen to compared to how much you use your system for movies.

If you listen to a lot of music, I'd say go for the CAM-400, as they sound tremendous with the 802Ds.

If you mainly watch movies, the CA-5200 is probably the way to go.

[van_jas]

what do you think of the Krell over the classee....

[htsteve]

what do you think of the Krell over the classee....

van_jas,

I'll give you my opinion, and throw McIntosh into the mix. The best thing to do of course, is to demo any make you are interested. I've tested all three of these: Krell, Classe and Mac. Here was my assessment.

Classe: Most refined mids and highs, not as profound in the bass as the other two.

Krell: Best bass, not as refined in the other areas as the other two.

Mac: Smooth, best blend of performance.


Again, my opinion. As you might suspect, I went with the Mac's.

Also, having said that, all three are very high performing units. Listen and hopefully your ears will settle on what you like.


Hope this helps.

[kmcheng]

well i slow keep getting the budget approved by the boss...(wife)! But i hope to be able to spend about $30k this time next year.....hence iam here to see if i should wait for new products that are comeing down the pipe.....

With that budget you can almost get anything you want: HTM2D, matching rear channels, better amplification, new processor. The possibilities are endless. It is a nice problem to have.

Since you are into movies as well, I would recommend again getting a Blu-ray player of some sort. The jump from regular DVD to blu-ray is, I think, the best bang for the buck.

[1oldguy]

van_jas,

I'll give you my opinion, and throw McIntosh into the mix. The best thing to do of course, is to demo any make you are interested. I've tested all three of these: Krell, Classe and Mac. Here was my assessment.

Classe: Most refined mids and highs, not as profound in the bass as the other two.

Krell: Best bass, not as refined in the other areas as the other two.

Mac: Smooth, best blend of performance.


Again, my opinion. As you might suspect, I went with the Mac's.

Also, having said that, all three are very high performing units. Listen and hopefully your ears will settle on what you like.


Hope this helps.

Have you tried the Bryston/Any thoughts would be welcome.

[Oddiophile]

Have you tried the Bryston/Any thoughts would be welcome.

FWIW:

There is a review of the new (and expensive at $8,000.00) Bryston 28B monoblocks by Harry Pearson in a recent issue of the Absolute sound. He raved about them.

http://www.avguide.com/review/bryston-28b-monoblock-power-amplifier

Jim

[htsteve]

Have you tried the Bryston/Any thoughts would be welcome.

1oldguy,

I heard Bryston years ago, but only briefly at a dealer. I recall liking it.
Unfortunately, I have not had any real time with Bryston.

[van_jas]

Bryston is NICE...i've nver heard the sound....the warranty from Bryston...is VERY sold.....

also i think i will need to upgrade the centre channel to B&W 802D HTM and then Infocus 7210 just died on me! Only had less then 400 hours!