[Felipe]

I am not quite sure about that phantom mode centre speaker.

I have a perfect positioning of my 5.1 setup and i DO think that the Centre speaker enhances the dialog positioning, better lip reading, stronger vocals, and so less fatiguing.

Even in Music DVDs i found that the vocalist has more presence and carisma.
I always use the centre speaker. Of course...i have the perfect match between front and centre. THAT is important.    

It also matters the distance between the 2 front speakers. The closer they are, the stronger the voice, but worsens the stereo image.

Of course there are adpets of the 2 vertents....

[Martyn]

So to continue in this direction...

At present I use a two-channel amp that is speced at 75W into 4 ohms. This seems to be quite capable of causing permanent hearing loss so let's assume that the AKSA 55 in some form would suffice. My Denon 3300 DVD player was good enough in its day and has both stereo and 5.1 line outs. It has some kind of software menu structure that I've never needed to explore.

If I were to use my DVD and three AKSA power channels (mains and centre), I would need to provide five channels of pre-amp plus two additional channels of power amplification, and I would need to be able to accommodate a source up-grade at a later date.

So what do you guys recommend as a suitable receiver? It must have appropriate processing capabilities (about which I know little), pre-amp stages that are a reasonable fit with the AKSAs, and power amp stages that are of similar power but need only drive the surrounds...

I'm wary of the long-term up-grade path because around here every new capital expenditure on electronics or power tools is always accompanied by a similar capital expenditure on a new sofa, bedroom suite, etc. Sometimes a single large expenditure on high-end equipment can actually save me money  

I'm not even going to ask about adpets and vertents - sounds too much like more furry animals...

[AKSA]

Martyn,

I spoke with a guy in Victoria, but sadly he has not yet built the kit.......

I will keep looking, this can be tricky.

I fear with all this input you might be making this a bit more complicated than it needs to be.  Here's a thought;  the 55W AKSA is extremely powerful sounding for its size, and into 4R will deliver just under 100W anyway.  It will happily go down to 3.5R speaker impedance without breaking into a sweat, where the 100W amp will go down to 2.5R with perfect safety.

I hope this helps, and I hope I can find an AKSAphile in your area!

Anyone here from Vancouver or surrounds?

Cheers,

Hugh

[Felipe]

Hi Martyn,

My vote goes for :

- Keep the Denon 3300 (or get a 2910 if your budget allows it )
- Get a Receiver for about $800 (Pioneer, Denon, Onkyo,Yamaha have good choices)
- Build 3x AKSA 55N+
- Get a similar centre speaker to match your front speakers.
- Get a Sub

This cenario lets you take the digital signal from the DVD, use the DACs in the Receiver wich are pretty good as they are brand new. Use the preamp section on the Receiver to feed the 3x AKSAs and use 2 channels of its power section to feed the surrounds.

IN future scenario.....you can grow to the system i have today :

CD --> GK1 --> AKSA --> FRONT SPEAKERS
DVD --> RECEIVER --> GK1 --> AKSA --> FRONT SPEAKERS

I dont use the HT bypass (i dont have it anyway) ...i like what the GK1 does to the sound  
Cheers mate !

[PSP]

About a year ago I bought a Pioneer VSX 1014-TX for about $375 including shipping.  It has pre-outs, and does everything I want it to do for HT.  It also provides the AM/FM tuner for my main system.  Our local public radio station broadcasts live symphony concerts on Friday nights, and IMO the sound is quite good (with this cheap tuner in my cheap HT reciever).

I am "only slightly serious" about HT... I want to make movies more fun and interesting, but I would much rather spend money to improve my 2ch setup than to work on improving HT.  If I get a better DAC, a better CDP, new tubes for the GK-1, I'm sure that I will hear it.  For me, making my HT a lot better would be like getting gold doorknobs for the closet.... an endless money sink for something that doesn't seriously interest me.

Just my opinion...
Peter

[AKSA]

Martyn,

How is your quest?

Have you made any decisions?  Can we help?

Love to get you into the AKSA family!

Cheers,

Hugh

[G Georgopoulos]

>So what do you guys recommend as a suitable receiver

why receiver 3 stereo aksas 5.1 setup GREAT SALE TOO!!

[Martyn]

Hello, Hugh.

I've been hanging around at another forum for the purposes of furthering my education. This has been partially successful since I now have at least a rudimentary grasp of what's going on in the HT world. I've also bought a 50" plasma TV and tested a variety of AV receivers. We still don't watch any TV, but DVD movies are terrific!

I have tested receivers from (in ascending order by price) Denon, Rotel, Yamaha, and Linn. The Linn had great sound but bad video; the Rotel had sound (two channel) that was only marginally better than my existing 15 year-old Linn integrated amp; the Denon was not as good; and the Yamaha was unlistenable in two-channel.

More to the point, my wife is not happy with the TV which dominates our living room. Thus it might end up down in our "quiet room" when I eventually get the renovations finished. However, the stereo audio would need to remain in the living room, thus I seem to be steering a course towards two separate systems. Had I known this would happen, I would have designed the "quiet room" as a home theatre from the outset.

This is how it might pan out:

1. HT
My existing Denon 3300 DVDp (which seems to be quite adequate) with a Rotel AVR and home-built speakers (yet to be determined, but probably a Dennis Murphy design). This would also give me a second stereo audio system of similar or slightly better quality than I have at present. Arcam has a new AVR on the way, so I'll test that first although it'll be nearly twice the price of the Rotel.

2. Two-channel audio
First, get a new CD source. Then add a pair of power amps to my Linn's pre-outs. Then (perhaps) add a pre-amp. There are some interesting options (of course) along the way:

The CDp could be a basic transport (or possibly a media server if I get ambitious) with an external DAC. The power amps could be AKSA 100s, but I'm also intrigued by the idea of battery-powered amps (and DAC for that matter). I might even build a pair of Orions, which would obviously bring further complexities.

So to answer your questions: yes, I have made some decisions, but the quest also continues. Cheers,

Martyn

[stvnharr]

Martyn,
In your quest for 2-channel amplifiers, you'll be happiest with Aksa.  
I'm pretty partial to the 55N+, and find that it betters most everything on the market for quality sound, irregardless of costs.  I've been around, and had a lot.
Just thought I'd add a thought here, FWEIW.

Steve

[LM]

Martyn,

Just picked up on your last post about likely splitting your system and would like to say that I think in the end, this will be the best idea.  By the way, I am the friend with the Arcam AVR300 (and DV78) that Hugh mentioned early in this thread but have been away on hols for quite awhile (Hi Hugh – I’m back) so haven’t had a chance to comment before – (grin).

I've made plenty of mistakes along the way and whilst it can be lots of fun, I don’t envy anybody trying to come to grips with quality surround sound for the first time after a stereo upbringing.  It’s not hard to buy HT in a box for a few hundred dollars but not very satisfying.  I assumed at first (like most I believe) that surround was merely stereo with a few extra speakers, but now I firmly believe that that trying to achieve both in one system will always be something of a compromise.  Why? - three main reasons in my opinion though others may disagree.  Firstly, I firmly believe that the best HT systems have 3 identical speakers across the front (and matching rears) so that the soundstage is seamless.  Secondly, a sub is essential for the LFE and other LF content and thirdly, the room may be better off acoustically treated and equalised for HT.

So my system is immediately a compromise though I think, a good one as I have floor-standers as LF and RF that I run as ‘small’ speakers in HT mode (with sub engaged) and as large speakers (no sub) for stereo.  Even though my centre channel is as well matched as possible, timbre wise it varies a little from the fronts.  Finally, I like a little life in the room with music so just careful positioning of speakers and furniture and no treatments.   The Arcam gear in this situation I would recommend as second to none.  The Denons and Yamahas etc. as you have said do a fine job in general HT.  After all, when Rambo punches someone and the sound effects man hits 2 garbage bin lids together at 110db, hi fidelity is not really involved.  However to me, much of the good movie soundtracks involve soft dialogue, music and ambient effect sounds such as wind and rain.  For this and music DVDs, I want the best possible surround system but with stereo still sounding as good as possible.

I have discussed with Hugh, the idea of building a multi-channel AKSA amp for surround using the AVR300 as a pre/pro and I may well yet do this eventually but in the immediate future I am going to replace my old stereo system from my ‘quiet room’ with a new AKSA 100N+ and some new high quality speakers.  In other words, have separate specialised systems.  I listened to a lot of quality HT equipment including Rotel separates in my home before choosing the Arcam kit.  Likewise, over the years, I have simply never heard better or more involving stereo than through Hugh’s amps and despite the excellence of my current system, that conclusion still holds.  I can only suggest you somehow arrange for a good listen.  Best of luck in your quest.

[pauly]

Martyn,
 
Sorry for not seeing this post earlier.

  I have about 100 hours on my newly completed 100nPlus. I also have the GK1-R.  This 2 channel system is kept completely seperate from my HT rig.
While not too experienced with high end audio, I can say that these componants bring out emotion in music like I've never heard before.
  Feel free to contact me for a listen.

Paul in Victoria B.C.

[AKSA]

Thanks Paul,

Greatly appreciated!!    

Martyn, here's your man!

Cheers,

Hugh

[Martyn]

Thanks, fellas. Now the server is back up I've sent Paul a personal message inviting him to contact me directly so that we can chat. Cheers,

Martyn

[AKSA]

Martyn, Paul,

Great news!  A wonderful opportunity to listen first.....  Paul, much appreciated!

Cheers,

Hugh

[G Georgopoulos]

Hi Mr Dean
May i ask, where do you have your pcb's made in Australia, and at what cost, say 100 boards
,a link would be handy

sorry for commenting off topic

Reagrds

[Martyn]

Hugh, Paul brought his 100N+ to my home last night where we, together with another couple of fellows, listened to a selection of CD tracks first through my Linn integrated amp and then again through the AKSA using the Linn's preamp. The four of us agreed that the AKSA was noticeably faster/tighter/cleaner (those kinds of words) than my Linn. I can't make any kind of quantitative assessment beyond "noticeably" because, while we were switching to the AKSA, the other three commented that they really preferred listening at a somewhat higher level so we cranked things up a bit for the second half of the evening.

Be that as it may, I'm reasonably confident that there was a worthwhile improvement in sound quality, so I'll be in touch once I've got my thoughts in order. My thanks again to Paul for going out of his way to make this happen - he clearly is a staunch AKSA supporter and an appreciative audiophile. Cheers,

Martyn

[AKSA]

Martyn,

This is music to my ears      - even from across the Pacific!!  My thanks for your considerate email, and your measured patience through this assessment phase.

Paul,

My sincere thanks to you for your kindness towards Martyn, much appreciated!  This is quite a community, and I'm proud to have people like you supporting me and my products from afar.   

Cheers,

Hugh

[pauly]

Hugh,
   No problem at all.
   It was a pleasure to meet Martyn and a great opportunity to hear the Aksa through some different gear.  A simple way for me to say thanks for all the support and advice you've given me over the last 3 years.



Martyn,
    Regardless of your preferred listening levels, I beleive that the Aksa will make your Eton 11.2 monitors  sound clearer with punchier bass at any volume. Very good advice on this thread. You're on the right track splitting up the systems. BTW ,the maple birds eye finish on the speakers is just fabulous. Truly a work of art.


All the best,
Paul

[Martyn]

Thank you again, Paul, this time for the kind words. Of course, you probably haven't heard the last from me...if I go ahead with a pair of AKSAs, not only will I be reaching out for help once in a while, but sooner or later I'm going to want to hear your Northcreeks. I'm sure they must sound very impressive indeed, and I'll need to know what I'm missing!