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Upgrading to 802Ds and Need Creative Component Advice
Hi all. I currently have a B&W CM setup, but the local dealer is offering me a pretty great opportunity to upgrade. He is willing to let me trade-in any or all of my gear at the same cost that I paid for it and put the money toward a new system. However, I only have until May (when I have to move to a different city) to decide, and I am working both on a relatively small budget for what I am trying to accomplish and on much less knowledge than most of you.
My current system is
The other week, I made a trip to the store and did some preliminary demoing of speakers to figure out what route I wanted to take. After listening to several speakers, I have fallen in love with the 802Ds and the HTM2D. Then I made a quick survey of what components he has available in my price range so that I could do some research on them and be equipped with more knowledge for my next trip over to the store when I hook up components to the 802Ds.
Unfortunately, the 802Ds are slightly out of my price range, so I know that I will have to make some compromises with the rest of the system if I do get them. I realize budget isn't the word I should be thinking when I am trying to power these beasts, but since I have a great yet very small window of opportunity to pretty effortless upgrade, I think it might be worth the relatively short-term compromise on the rest of the system since I know that I will be able to upgrade the components in the next year or two. To sweeten the deal and my move, the dealer is willing to ship the speakers (after testing them) to my new home; this will also avoid the sales tax. Since this will probably come up, while I did enjoy the 802Ds, I know that I will have buyers' remorse if I don't go ahead and go for the 802Ds; I will always be thinking about the "what-if" if I get the 803Ds—while I can plan on keeping the 802Ds pretty much forever.
I am still relatively new to the audio world and am entirely self-learned, so I could really use some expert advice before making such a large investment—especially since I obviously do not fully trust my dealer to give the best advice. I have been reading websites, forums, books, etc. for about 12 months, and I have an engineering background, so I trust my ability to comprehend the knowledge. However, so many of this hobby's topics are surrounded in debate in online threads or is very subjective and based on experience rather than knowledge.
So, here are the following options that I have available to me, both from the dealer and other creative solutions that I have thought about. In the end, I am sure that I will probably end up going in a different direction than any of these choices once I get some better input from everyone here. I have about $4,000-6,000 to spend on the pre and amp. Obviously, unless I can make a truly satisfying system in that price range, I would prefer to spend less so that I can save up for the real components down the road. Both HT and stereo are important to me, while obviously stereo listening is most important since I tend to have music playing at all times in the background. It is also important to note that this $4-6k budget is slightly flexible because I am able spend an extra couple thousand if it truly makes financial sense to go ahead and get the real parts (real meaning good enough for several years; not real as in 20k components) instead of compromising for a year or two and then taking a loss when I trade up.
In my price range, the dealer's only real offerings in my price range is the following combination. Note, however, (I believe) he has a pretty great price for the RX7. I did not look into all of his stereo amp offerings because I was too ill-equipped to process all of the possible choices.
Here are the ideas that I am considering. Obviously, some of the ideas have some cross-over (pun unintended
h
.
Side note: For all of these options, I am probably going to keep the CM1s as rears and upgrade to PM1s in the more long-term future (after the pre and amp upgrades). Will the CM1s be just fine for now? The dealer mentioned that the Audyssey may over-adjust the fronts and center since they will be truly overpowering the CM1s. Is this a real problem or am I correct to assume this is relatively unimportant for now and just marketing malarkey?
Now, I have spent several weeks researching and searching tons and tons of threads regarding the 802Ds. However, most of the mentioned models, brands, and names go over my head because I am still so new to the world of the separate components. Moreover, I am having an exceptionally hard time finding much info on BOTH the Marrantz AV7701 and the Lex RX7. I realize the AV7701 is the relatively new replacement to the AV7005, so that may be part of the problem. However, I have researched the AV7005 and still have found little info about its pairing with the 802D or equivalent models. I am positive that I'm overlooking very pertinent info because most of models mentioned are unknown to me. Likewise, I have found so very little info on this very heavily discounted RX7, so that makes me very wary as well.
On one hand, I do not want to spread myself too thin and sacrifice too much just to get these 802Ds. On the other, I believe this is a great opportunity to upgrade to the 802Ds, and I would like to figure out some sort of solution.
Can anyone here offer some advice to me? I would be truly, truly grateful for anyone who wants to chime in. I would even love to have an academic discussion over the phone with someone, in-person (I live in Nashville, TN), or via messages/email because this is truly a large and long-term investment—and I do love to learn. Likewise, does anyone know any other resources (websites, consultants or consultation companies, phone numbers, etc—even ones that may cost some money) that would be of benefit? Thanks so much for the help in advice—it is truly appreciated. Let me know if you have any questions!
My current system is
- CM9 fronts
- CMC2 center
- CM1 rears
- Denon 3313CI
- Epik Empire Subwoofer (internetnot purchased through this dealer)
The other week, I made a trip to the store and did some preliminary demoing of speakers to figure out what route I wanted to take. After listening to several speakers, I have fallen in love with the 802Ds and the HTM2D. Then I made a quick survey of what components he has available in my price range so that I could do some research on them and be equipped with more knowledge for my next trip over to the store when I hook up components to the 802Ds.
Unfortunately, the 802Ds are slightly out of my price range, so I know that I will have to make some compromises with the rest of the system if I do get them. I realize budget isn't the word I should be thinking when I am trying to power these beasts, but since I have a great yet very small window of opportunity to pretty effortless upgrade, I think it might be worth the relatively short-term compromise on the rest of the system since I know that I will be able to upgrade the components in the next year or two. To sweeten the deal and my move, the dealer is willing to ship the speakers (after testing them) to my new home; this will also avoid the sales tax. Since this will probably come up, while I did enjoy the 802Ds, I know that I will have buyers' remorse if I don't go ahead and go for the 802Ds; I will always be thinking about the "what-if" if I get the 803Ds—while I can plan on keeping the 802Ds pretty much forever.
I am still relatively new to the audio world and am entirely self-learned, so I could really use some expert advice before making such a large investment—especially since I obviously do not fully trust my dealer to give the best advice. I have been reading websites, forums, books, etc. for about 12 months, and I have an engineering background, so I trust my ability to comprehend the knowledge. However, so many of this hobby's topics are surrounded in debate in online threads or is very subjective and based on experience rather than knowledge.
So, here are the following options that I have available to me, both from the dealer and other creative solutions that I have thought about. In the end, I am sure that I will probably end up going in a different direction than any of these choices once I get some better input from everyone here. I have about $4,000-6,000 to spend on the pre and amp. Obviously, unless I can make a truly satisfying system in that price range, I would prefer to spend less so that I can save up for the real components down the road. Both HT and stereo are important to me, while obviously stereo listening is most important since I tend to have music playing at all times in the background. It is also important to note that this $4-6k budget is slightly flexible because I am able spend an extra couple thousand if it truly makes financial sense to go ahead and get the real parts (real meaning good enough for several years; not real as in 20k components) instead of compromising for a year or two and then taking a loss when I trade up.
In my price range, the dealer's only real offerings in my price range is the following combination. Note, however, (I believe) he has a pretty great price for the RX7. I did not look into all of his stereo amp offerings because I was too ill-equipped to process all of the possible choices.
- pre: Marrantz AV7701 — $1,700
- amp: Lexicon RX-7 — $2,999 (regular $6,999)
Here are the ideas that I am considering. Obviously, some of the ideas have some cross-over (pun unintended
h.Side note: For all of these options, I am probably going to keep the CM1s as rears and upgrade to PM1s in the more long-term future (after the pre and amp upgrades). Will the CM1s be just fine for now? The dealer mentioned that the Audyssey may over-adjust the fronts and center since they will be truly overpowering the CM1s. Is this a real problem or am I correct to assume this is relatively unimportant for now and just marketing malarkey?
- Trade in the Denon and get the AV7701 and RX7
- Keep the Denon and spend the ~$4,000 on a quality stereo amp like a McIntosh or Classé since the 3313 has pre-outs (or 3-channel amp if the HTM2D would be really underpowered by just the 3313 as its pre and amp)
- Keep the Denon and get the Lex RX7 since it is such a good deal. Sell the Denon for something better later down the road.
- Go with Emotiva for the amp (eg, XPA2) or possibly Emotiva for both the pre and amp. There is SO much debate online about whether Emotiva is too sharp, bright, blah blah blah, or worthwhile of using for a high-end system, even as a stop-gap solution so I am hesitant about this option.
- Find other components through a different dealer that would be in my price range (or try to get very lucky on Audiogon). However, I have no idea where to start here so I need large amounts of advice for what components to even consider.
Now, I have spent several weeks researching and searching tons and tons of threads regarding the 802Ds. However, most of the mentioned models, brands, and names go over my head because I am still so new to the world of the separate components. Moreover, I am having an exceptionally hard time finding much info on BOTH the Marrantz AV7701 and the Lex RX7. I realize the AV7701 is the relatively new replacement to the AV7005, so that may be part of the problem. However, I have researched the AV7005 and still have found little info about its pairing with the 802D or equivalent models. I am positive that I'm overlooking very pertinent info because most of models mentioned are unknown to me. Likewise, I have found so very little info on this very heavily discounted RX7, so that makes me very wary as well.
On one hand, I do not want to spread myself too thin and sacrifice too much just to get these 802Ds. On the other, I believe this is a great opportunity to upgrade to the 802Ds, and I would like to figure out some sort of solution.
Can anyone here offer some advice to me? I would be truly, truly grateful for anyone who wants to chime in. I would even love to have an academic discussion over the phone with someone, in-person (I live in Nashville, TN), or via messages/email because this is truly a large and long-term investment—and I do love to learn. Likewise, does anyone know any other resources (websites, consultants or consultation companies, phone numbers, etc—even ones that may cost some money) that would be of benefit? Thanks so much for the help in advice—it is truly appreciated. Let me know if you have any questions!
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