Alright, time to slim down the playback system - too much damn gear at the moment, doesn't suit the new living room very well, PITA to switch between 2-ch and 5.1, PITA to run 5.1 at all for that matter, just plain time for a change, moving some of my old gear into the home office system, blah blah blah.
Soooo...gonna go the Sony route after the rave reviews here, especially by Nick (damn you, encouraging my slutdom). Which to get?
For the moment - though I'd like to swap 'em out in the near future - I'm sticking with my Magnepan MMGs + Babyboomer sub for 2.1. Will use 2.1 setup + MMG-C and -Ws for 5.1. Thanks Todd R for the info on
running 2.1 instead of 2.0 and setting up to switch between 2.1 and 5.1.
WPC specs for the different units:
120wpc | STR-DA2000ES
150wpc | STR-DA3000ES
170wpc | STR-DA5000ES
200wpc | STR-DA9000ES
Will the STR-DAx's even drive my 4-ohm Maggies?!?
I'm thinking minimum STR-DA
3000ES. But also considering the STR-DA
5000ES - but is the extra 20wpc really gonna make that much of a difference? As far as I can tell, no other differences between these two units (though I haven't compared the specs in detail yet). Definitely don't need the extra features on the 9000: extra vid comp, i.Link for SACD, DVI, so I'm thinking no point in spending the extra cash on the 9000.
What say you all?
Edit: FYI, finding online pricing ~$900 + shipping for the 5, $600 + shipping for the 3, though I'll see what Oade can do on pricing as well.