Topic: new system - ?'s about components; subwoofer; universal player

[Simp-Dawg]

ok, so I am picking up skalinder's b&w DM610i's, Adcom GFA-555, and Art DI/O w/ Bolder upgrade.

I also have my Grace m902 to consider for the a/d, though i'll have to see how i like the DI/O with my reference/pc system.

For playing discs/watching videos i will probably pick up one of those Denon universal players, either 1920 or 2910.  these supposedly have nice enough d/a, though i'm not sure how i'd hook them up to the adcom with only 1 stereo pair, which woulc be connected to my d/a/pre.

i could go through the passthrough on the m902 i suppose and use that for switching inputs for something like SACD audio which won't pass a PCM digital cable, from what I've been told.  otherwise, for normal CD and DVD I would use the s/pdif optical out, and use coax for the htpc.  the m902 has usb input but is limted to 16bit.

here's some questions...first, what do you think of what i've described above? will it work and be a quality setup?  it's my first real playback system so i could use some encouragement/criticism from you all.  i have not made an effort to listen to most of the gear however i have read up quite a bit and trust most people's discerning tastes on this board  

the b&w's only go down to 70hz so i'm thinking i'll want a subwoofer, i have seen some velodyne woofers on audiogon and read good reviews.  they seem less expensive, some in the $300 range.  is that enough to spend on a subwoofer?  anything else you'd recommend, close to that price range?  also, is there any disadvantage to having the crossover in the sub rather than in the amp?

how are the denon universal players?  any other recommendations?

thanks for the help, just trying to think out loud here.

[jpschust]

denon universals are awesome

velodynes are great subs, especially the direct drive series

[Daryan]

Is this for an integrated home theater/2 channel set-up, or strictly music?  I think you will most defainetly want to use the 902 in the system, it should be quite noticeably better than the dio.

[Nick's Picks]

yea, make the grace the "heart" of the system.
everything plugs into that.

it has analog inputs?  if so, then that is where the sacd signal goes. analog out from the deck straight into the 902.

[pfife]

I have a Velodyne VLF-810, and it's great.... I strongly recommend it.  Very quick and musical, IMO.  But, if I were you, I'd give it a spin w/o a sub to see if you think it has enough bass.  My Klipsch Heresy II's don't go low on the frequency spectrum, but I think the bass is more than sufficient now that I have them hooked up to a ss amp, rather than a tube amp.

[Simp-Dawg]

yeah this is for both home theater and music, and i was definitely leaning towards making the m902 the heart of it...but it sounds so nice driving my studio monitors   i'm sure the dio will do fine there.

what's up with the outputs for sacd?  it seems there are more than just 2 channels to worry about, and the m902 only has 2 channels at any one time, but can take either balanced or unbalanced and switch between them.

[wboswell]

I can't say enough good things about the Onix Rocket UFW-10.  Its a 500wpc active sub and can be had for $400 used.  Very musical and accurate and easy to integrate into a system.  Build quality is excellent as is the appearance.  The Velo DD line is an amazing line though it'll cost you.  Another that I liked when I was shopping was the Martin Logan Grotto and the Sunfire Super Jr.  Both impressed me for their size.

[Daryan]

The ONIX should do quite well if you aren't looking to spend a fortune.   Probably the best bargain you can find.  I would buy used, and head over to av123.com and search the classified sections, as they just came out with a model 12, so they are popping up quite often.  The VMPS subs are the most musical I have ever heard, but are pricey unless you can find one used.  They are also very very big (mine is my lcd tv stand as well .  I believe SACD is compatible with dolby 5.1, thus it can utilize 5 channels I think (I don't do sacd, so I am going off of what I have read in 'phile.)  Last suggestion is to pick up cables, as your system should be approaching the level where you are going to hear an audible differnce in wire.  Don't settle for HD14, at least move up to the dogstar/legeddy silver/coppers, and that's at minimum.  Hope this helps a bit.

[Simp-Dawg]

i'll definitely be enlisting todd for my cabling needs

[Daryan]

Good for you Josh!  The comments that home depot cable is anywehere close to even mid-fi grade drive me nuts

[jpschust]

Good for you Josh!  The comments that home depot cable is anywehere close to even mid-fi grade drive me nuts

werent you a big proponent of these cables when they first started getting hyped?

they are ok, almost as good as that cat 5 crap.

[Daryan]

Nope, I haven't ever been a proponent of hd cable.  I did try the venhaus recipe of cat 5 cable, and the capicatance with my amps caused problems in my set-up.  That said, I thought they sounded quite good, but a little harsh on the top and a little round on the bottom.  I think what people hear, myself included at the time with any of these cables is that they are better than the mass maket crap a person can buy at the shack and worstbuy.  The best buy in cabling to my ears has been the Bolder m-80, which is essentially the same as what Todd etc. make for you guys here.  I would venture to say you get about 90 percent of the performance of much more exspensive cables out of them.  I currently use Bolder Nitro wire, and while I think it is insanely exspensive priced at retail, it sounds abso0lutely fantatstic and worth every penny (so much so that all of my compnents, speakers included, are rewired with Nitro).

[Todd R]

i'll definitely be enlisting todd for my cabling needs

 

[Simp-Dawg]

so the denon 2910 universal player is what you'd all recommend?  nothing else to throw out there?

[nickgregory]

I have a pioneer elite dv-45a and love it..plays everything you throw at it...192kHz/24-bit Burr-Brown audio DACs ...fantastic picture....they show up on agon used for $2-250 regularly.  I actually got one new off agon from a retailer for $219 a couple of months back.  Only criticism is it has a clunky remote, but since I use a universal it hasnt been an issue

[Nick's Picks]

the marantz 860 is supposed to be hot shit as well.

[hzgone]

how much do the 2910's go for?

[Simp-Dawg]

i ended up getting the 2910...a friend at the store got it down to $600 for me which is pretty good.

[hzgone]

cool, i was looking online for some prices and was curious if someone knew where the best price was