Quick update -- Couldn't wait any more to try the Marantz out, and I wanted to have it ready to go for when the speakers arrive -- currently in Houston, which is the nearest Fedex distribution/sort center.
I brought our Mirage FRX-one bookshelves up from the living room to try things out in my office. These are respectable little boxes, and have served us very well for what must be almost 15 years now. Speaker wire was connected, as well as a pair of RCA cables for the ep500s when they arrive. The network was linked in, and I put an old 13" tv nearby to try and do the on-screen setup. (This turns out not to work so well, as the GUI is apparently HMDI only). The firmware update was fully automated (after manual request to initiate) and went cleanly. The absolutely coolest thing is that I can turn the receiver on from my computer via iTunes and stream lossless rips off of CDs from the iTunes controls.
Everything sounds pretty good for the time being. I'm looking forward to comparing against the m80s when they get here. There is certainly room for improvement. I might even chip a few thoughts into the bookshelves vs. towers discussion, with and without addition of the subs, as that will be a natural thing to compare. These little Mirage units have a surprising amount of bass alone though, I should say. Maybe not in the deepest registers, but a decent rendering of a plucked upright acoustic. Clarity and separation could be improved, maybe. It will be interesting to get a better sense of what they are missing by contrast with (what is expected to be) a substantial set of upgrades. The office room is upstairs, with an open railing into the full kitchen, living, dining, breakfast areas. This is a radically different acoustic space than the enclosed ~20x16x8 theater area where things will end up. Excited ...
Last edited by DrStrangeQuark; 07/05/15 05:38 PM.
