Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Receiver: Arcam vs Marantz vs Integra

How does the corn survive in that temperature? lol

I don't think Fresno has ever gotten below that mark in all the years i've lived here. I should keep my mouth shut... because before you know it summer will be here...and I will be paying the price bigtime with these scorching desertlike temps...

Only 70 here today but you are a bit further south. lol

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If you all believe that every receiver in existence sounds the same

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Holy crap.....it's like beating a dead horse. Not a single person here has claimed that all receivers or amps sound the same. We've only claimed that any two receivers that are measurably flat in their amplification will sound the same.

A linear amp changes the input signal only by making it louder. In other words, it changes the source signal's amplitude equally across the entire range of human hearing.

A non-linear amp will not increase a signal's loudness equally from 20Hz to 20kHz. There might be a gradual dip at the high end, resulting in a "warmer" tone. There might be a gradual dip on the low end, resulting in "anemic" bass.

All the "brain trust" -- to borrow a term from 2x6 -- has been saying is that two amps with measurably flat frequency responses will sound the same. To put it another way, measurably flat frequency response results in transparent amplification, as long as you're not overdriving the amp.

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which is the biggest factor in how my Rush CD will sound

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This is the way I see it:
brain
software
speakers
room acoustics....and then
source, pre amp, amp, dacs, etc. (in no particular order).
And last and surely least-wires.

P.S. All bets are off if tubes and vinyl are involved.

Well, then, I'm set - got the Axioms and am on the way to a kick-ass theater.

Probably will go with the Outlaw 990 prepro and 7125 amp. With my smallish theater, don't figure I need the 7700 with its 200WPC. 125WPC should do fine, right?

So, in order to properly beat this thread into the ground, do you figure the speakers are 75% responsible for sound quality, with receiver or amp 20% and source player 5%? Just my newbie (oops, now a regular - wow!) estimation...

medic8r

I would say speakers 95%. Unless, of course, as mwc says, you're dealing with tubes and/or vinyl.

The speakers account for 100% of the sound, without them you don't hear a thing . Seriously I would say the speakers would account for the majority of sq of a system with the source and amp section playing an equal role for the rest.

But once you get the speakers that make you happy, nothing can tighten up the overall resolution of the system like some judicious room acoustical treatments can. Even something as simple as some heavy curtians and throw pillows can make a huge difference. Much more so than electronics, IMO.

Very good point, I do agree.

A-f'in-men, brother. Yet some people still spend thousands of dollars seeking the holy grail of sources or amps -- or even just the holy grail of tubes to replace their factory-installed tubes.....

Truly, the mind boggles.