[Merle]

Quite by accident, I believe I may have stumbled onto the ultimate budget system. I've had my Keelins for awhile now and have found them to be quite good loudspeakers. I've been using them with an Anthem 25wpc tube integrated and they sing very well. Someone here at AC listed a Panasonic XR45 digital home theater receiver. Having heard all the hype about this receiver, I was curious. I bought it for $100 to try out in my bedroom system. I thought it sounded great in the bedroom driving a pair of Polk floorstanders. For kicks, I lugged it down to the basement and hooked it up to my Keelins. HOLY SWEET MOTHER OF JESUS!!! Now I know this will sound crazy but this is one of the best sounding systems I've ever heard, and I've heard a lot of systems. I believe Shamrock speakers are designed with balance as a key design goal. [Mike, correct me if I'm wrong] With Shamrock's, no particular part stands out from the rest, they sound very balanced from top to bottom. This, I also believe, is what the new digital amps do so well. What I think we have here is a receiver and a speaker they play to each others strengths. The bass is rock solid all the way down as far as the Keelins will go. Rock solid, like I'm driving them with 250 watts of Bryston. Mids and treble just are, nothing stands out above or below anything else. This is amazing music making. With the Polks, I just found the Panasonic to be a nice sounding receiver, certainly nice for the money. When hooked up to the Keelins, it's as if both are transformed, giving everything they have with every note. Have any other Shamrock owners tried one of these digital amps with their Shamrocks? Please tell me I'm not crazy. Anyone looking for a great deal on a mint Anthem tube amp, please see Audiogon. : )

[Rocket]

Hi Merle,

Thanks for the information regarding the xr45.  I have read all the hype regarding this receiver and actualy saw one for the first time at a local hifi shop.  They were selling it for $550au.

Is that a good price?  Is it an all in one unit i.e. do i need to have a dvd player attached to it.  

regards

rod

ps glad to hear your liking the shamrock speakers.

[Carlman]

Interesting... I have the Panasonic XR-25 and with my speakers thought it was a good sounding receiver.  I'm of the strong opinion that matching speakers with digital amps is very important... moreso than conventional amp/speaker combos.  Some combo's work magic and all others don't.  I've yet to hear a magical combo with digital in the mix.

So, thanks for the good info!  I may get a chance to hear Keelins with the XR-25 one day so, I'll see if it has the same good magic.

Rod, that's not a great price but, for AU, it may be... They sold for $400USD at full retail.  Sale prices were generally from 300-350.  I think they're discontinued and a new line of Panny's are being released now.  

Why does AU charge so much for hifi?

-C

[bubba966]

550.00 Australia Dollars    =   391.275 United States Dollars  

Is the current exchange rate. So it doesn't sound like a terrible price. Not any great deal though...

[lonewolfny42]

Hello Merle,

You know, sopmetimes I think its only you and I that own a pair of Keelin's....naaa , can't be...their too good !! [/list:u]
I've got mine pair up now with a Carver ZR1600 with 8th. Nerve mods and a Phillips CD-80 player . I'm waiting for some of my other equipement to return from being modded. But the Keelin's are sounding excellent with the Carver. I'm hearing more details using this amp than I do using my Krell amp. The Carver has plenty of power, and at higher volume the Keelin's handle it very well. With all the positive comments concerning all these new digital amps, Keelin's seem like a great match. And I know you've be thru some equipement changes , glad you've come up with a winner !!! [/list:u]

[JohnR]

Why does AU charge so much for hifi?

It's called distributor ripoff... oops I mean markup.

The RRP is $1100 here.

[Merle]

I can only assume this is a result of system matching. I've hooked the Panasonic up to my Polks, a pair of Paradigms and a pair of small Infinity's. It sounded good with any of the above, but once hooked into the Keelins, it's like they just locked together. I've heard people rave about the Panasonic and I've heard others say their nothing special. This leads me to believe it's all a matter of finding the right match for these amps. The Keelin is the right match. The sound is full, fast, and tight as a drum. I have a nice Sony sacd/dvd/cd player hooked into the Panasonic via Toslink, using the Panasonic's internal DAC. The tuner in the receiver is also very nice sounding. Last but not least, an outboard phono preamp run into one of the aux inputs.

[Rocket]

Hi,

Yeah we are ripped off all the time in oz.  No wonder i deal direct or diy.

Just received a price from audionote in singapore for a nottingham interspace with rb250 tonearm for a friend of mine.  Including shipping it is $350au cheaper (including taxes) than if i purchased it in oz.

regards

rod

[Shamrock Audio]

Gentlemen,

I'm very glad to hear that Merle has found an inexpensive receiver that mates well with the Keelins. You should note that the receiver specifies a minimum 6 Ohms load. The Keelin is a true 4 Ohms speaker (3.5min.). It may be possible to damage the receiver due to the mismatch at high volumes. One option is to place a 2 Ohms 20 Watt resistor in series with the speaker to raise the nominal impedance to 6 Ohms. While this will lower the sensitivity a bit, it will be safer for the receiver.

BTW: Yes, Merle and Lonewolf are currently the only owners of the Keelins.

[Merle]

Please tell me that the speakers are not in danger! I only paid $100 for the receiver, if it blows up, no big deal. I would hate to damage the speakers. As to the fact that Lonewolf and I are the only owners of the Keelins, well, that's just crazy. Is there anything we can do to help? I for one, would be more than happy to audition them for anyone interested in hearing them. If your near Baltimore and want to see and hear what can be done for $750, please feel free to drop me a PM.

[Shamrock Audio]

Please tell me that the speakers are not in danger! I only paid $100 for the receiver, if it blows up, no big deal. I would hate to damage the speakers.

While it's certainly possible, it's not likely. Receivers in general are notorious for wimpy power supplies. This means they aren't as capable of delivering current into low impedances. I believe that the output stages are also weak (read: cheap), and therefore aren't very robust either.

Most of the failures I've seen due to such a mismatch result in an open circuit in the receiver.

As to the fact that Lonewolf and I are the only owners of the Keelins, well, that's just crazy. Is there anything we can do to help? I for one, would be more than happy to audition them for anyone interested in hearing them. If your near Baltimore and want to see and hear what can be done for $750, please feel free to drop me a PM.

Thanks.

[Merle]

Damm Mike, now you've got me concerned. I got home from work, went downstairs and just finished listening for an hour and a half. I'm not mistaken, the sound is as good as I thought. Dynamic, fast, effortless and bass to die for. I'm concerned about the impedance mis-match. Do you think I need to look at another amp? I'd hate to give this up. I've had quite a few expensive amps hooked up to the Keelins but none have made them sing like the Panasonic. I've noticed nothing strange from either the amp or the receiver and certainly no signs of strain. If anything, the Panasonic sounds totally effortless driving the Keelins.

[Wayne1]

While the Panasonic receiver is RATED at 6 ohms, it does not have any problems driving 4 or even 3.2 ohm loads.

The 6 ohm RATING is so they could claim 100 watts per channel. If you are just driving 2 speakers, there is nothing to worry about. The switching power supply is robust enough to handle it. I have customers driving VMPS RM-40s with modded SA-XR45s. That speaker has been know to bring very good power amps to their knees  The Panasonic can handle it without any trouble.

[Shamrock Audio]

I will defer to Wayne on this as he has direct experience with this particular receiver. If he says it's not a problem, then run with it.

I lean toward the cautious side of things by nature - especially when I have no direct experience with a specific component. That said, I still stand by my comments about receivers in general.

[Merle]

Thanks guys, I feel better. I intend to stay with this set-up. It simply makes music in such a way as to make me no longer lust after the megabuck stuff. Who would have thought, a diehard audiophile finding musical bliss from a plastic home theater receiver! Amazing.

[lonewolfny42]

 You know, sopmetimes I think its only you and I that own a pair of Keelin's....naaa , can't be...their too good !!  

BTW: Yes, Merle and Lonewolf are currently the only owners of the Keelins.

Sorry to hear this Mike !! I thought more would give them a try !! At their price, and performance , and a 30 day trial period....these are a great speakers !!! Add a good speaker stand and your set !!!

(this is not a sales line....just telling it like it is !!!!)[/list:u]