HI-FI

I am upgrading to a 5 channel setup - based around my Mission 753 Freedom
floorstanders and an Audiolab 8000S amp. The room is about 11ft square,
quite small really, so Im concerned about excess power being too much.

For the whole upgrade, I really want to spend not much more than Ł1000, for
AV amp, 3 speakers, stands, cable etc. I think thats realistic bearing in
mind the rest of the system.

1. Should I try and get a Mission centre (I know they do some for about
Ł150), and rears (I assume I can buy Mission home cinemas speakers
separately, rather than as a set of 5 - maybe the m70 series as that
mentions designed with the smaller installation in mind). Sure I read
somewher that you should aim for all speakers the same make - or is that
baloney, really? I feel a subwoofer may be unnecessary in a room that size,
but Im happy to be shown the error of my ways!

2. I aim to power the fronts via the Audiolab, to allow me still to listen
to stereo sound on CD/MiniDisc as now. So AFAIK I just output the fronts to
the Audiolab from the AV amp. Anybody have any recommendations of an AV amp
that would be good specifically, or should I just audition all the usual
recommendations? I quite like Sony products, but I suspect Denon, Yamaha
and others are worth auditioning too. My DVD player is a Sony DVP-S725, a
few years old, currently linked via S-Video to the TV (Panasonic) and normal
interconnects to the amp.

3. Speaker cable: I have speaker cable which cost Ł25/m IIRC - should I try
to replicate this for all the others speakers, or is that not so important
for home cinema?

Thanks for any replies.

Alex

Akiralx wrote in message
news:bpal5t$n0r$1@newsreaderg1.core.theplanet.net...

You cannot have excess power. I have over 2.2KW of amp output (into 4Ohm)
in a 3M x 4M room. Sounds nice. Just means lots and lots of headroom. Having
a powerful amp is a bonus- cleaner power at any level; it will sound better
and wont sound harsh or clip at loud volumes, although eventually ramping
the volume up either your speakers will blow up or youll go deaf. But
thats just daft. ;-)

Decent AV amps start at Ł500. A quality centre to (ideally find the matching
centre to your mains) will cost at least Ł300. Say another Ł200 for surround
speakers. Ł30 for speaker cable. Depending on the matching Mission centre, I
would check this amp will drive it adequately.

Dont buy a crap centre just to go into 5.1 No point scrimping on one of
most important channels. Save up and buy a decent centre. I would seriously
consider a subwoofer. I have floorstander speakers (down to 40hz) and my
subwoofer reproduces frequncies WAY below the main speaker LF ability. And
sounds better outputting 40hz at (loud) volume, compared to my mains (which
would start breaking up) Also setting the mains to higher crossover gives
better control, as the driver cannot reproduce really low stuff, compared to
a proper subwoofer- which has no problems.

Tonal matching is more of a further improvement in sound. I changed my main
speakers to match my centre- overall its more seamless. Before the centre
outclassed my mains.

Your 753 go down to 45hz, a decent subwoofer can output 20hz sound- and will
be louder and cleaner also reproducing 45hz compared to your mains- which
would struggle at high SPL output, and take alot more power from your 8000S.

I have a SVS 20-39 PC Plus in a 4M x 3M room. Evil :-D and not overpowering,
you can tailor the subwoofer to how loud you like it.


Sony AV amps are the worst - harsh sound, poor power supply, IMO- also JVC,
Kenwood, Technics & Aiwa are pretty low quality av amps. Consider HK, Onkyo,
Yamaha, Denon, Arcam, Nad & Rotel instead.


I bought some JVC cable from Dixons- Ł17 for 25M. Fine for the rears, due to
extra length (and cost) although centre will be close to the amps- so buy
better stuff. Although Ł25 M is a bit OTT- I wouldnt spend more than Ł5 per
M.

Akiralx wrote in message
news:bpal5t$n0r$1@newsreaderg1.core.theplanet.net...

Gorgeous speakers, they are a bit big for your room, but you can swap them
for my 733s (OK and a bit of cash) since my room is quite a bit bigger.

I assume you still want to play music so keep the 753s


No problem.


Yes get a Mission centre, I think they do cheaper (e.g. M7C1 @Ł50) although
I would aim for about Ł100. The centre is used mainly for dialogue, so bass
extension is not that critical.

You may be right about the subwoofer, especially with the 753s, just get a
good amp, alternatively just get a small one.

For the rears you may be better off just buying a pair of smaller Mission
stand mounted mains (e.g. M71i or M771e), which is pretty much what I did
when I set mine up a few years ago.

Pretty much baloney about tonal matching etc. (see other heated threads)
since all speakers should be pretty flat from resonance to 20kHz (all the
frequencies you can hear), and you can usually adjust for sensitivity by
changing the relative volumes (central & rears) on the amp, if only to allow
for your room characteristics.


No point keeping the separate amp - just run in stereo or music modes IMHO
music is much better with a small amount output through the rears. OTOH if
you run FM or to a lesser extent CDs into Dolby Prologic a poor noisy
signal comes out of the rears.

Sony do some nice AV amps ~Ł300. Yamahas are good, but somehow jump in
price from ~Ł300 in the US to over Ł750 in the UK for the same model
(RX-V1300RDS).

You could sell the Audiolab, or use it in the bedroom, but dont expect a
fortune.

Now you can seriously economise here. Richer sell 315 strand cable at
Ł1.99p/m and 189 strand cable for 99p/m (OK for rears) probably cheaper
elsewhere (e.g Maplin). You can pay anything up to and extra Ł23/m for
hype. In objective tests even bog standard mains cable compared well with
expensive cables (although it lacks flexibility).

What a load of crap. Find a decent high quality (ideally) matching centre,
not a budget piece of junk.


What a load of crap. A subwoofer can reproduce frequencies way below the
753s, and be cleaner. And most small subwoofers are just mid-woofers. With
having decent mains, youll want a subwoofer that can match the SPL output
and be able to reproduce LF cleanly.


Slightly incorrect. Centre matching is pretty important- rears and sides
shouldnt matter, as long as similar sound, good quality sounding speakers
with no colouration.


Dont talk crap. The Audiolab blows any AV amp quality out of the window. I
should know- I own one. Keep the Audiolab to power the mains, and use a AV
amp to power the mains & centre. Running a CD with Pro-Logic- you sir are a
moron.



No they dont. Look at other makes, Sony are poor quality at driving low
impedance speakers.


Dont sell it. Dont listen to this guy, hes obviously got no experience
with this kit of kit.

R. Mark Clayton wrote in message
news:bpc5l8$8tm$7@hercules.btinternet.com...

Dont take the piss. The 733 are the usual boom box speaker and low quality
speaker, the 753 are a whole different animal.

Giving bad advice and trying to con Akiralx? Low life scum.

Nath wrote in message
news:3fb9f52d$0$2391$cc9e4d1f@news.dial.pipex.com...

No sense of humour then? 733 - medium quality please, although at the time
I bought them I was short of the approx. Ł500 extra for new 753s. OTOH my
brother-in-law has a pair and they are as I said gorgeous.

Nath wrote in message
news:3fb9e968$0$2390$cc9e4d1f@news.dial.pipex.com...

That would be the Mission then?


Oh now then, dont 753s go down to ~35Hz. dont they have four bass
drivers, or am I thinking of some other speakers?


Out of the window eh? Well just how much reduction is there in THD,
crosstalk etc. between a ToR AV amp and the Audiolab. Without even looking
it up I think we can say that the difference will be miniscule, even if it
favours the Audiolab.


Well no disagreement there at least.


Even if the assertion is true, AFAIAA Mission speakers are 8 ohms, OTOH
there is Denon, Pioneer, Marrantz and several other makes. Take your pick.
At present the Sony (STB-DD 2000) represents good value for money. So does
the Yamaha, if you live in the USA.


In reality any slight advantage of putting the front through the better amp
(if it is better) will be lost by bringing the signal out. If there is a
big price differential for a slight quality improvement, then unless you
have the [trained] ear(s) of an orchestra conductor, you will be better of
with the money.