Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Comments on this setup

I think that you have one fantastic setup. I'm sure that you are going to love it.

I would enjoy hearing how you like the Outlaw amp. Outlaw is on my short list for a seperate amp. However, I am leaning toward the 7500.

In any case, best of luck to you on your new setup.

David, the 3806 would be excellent(and would be my suggestion), and the 990 plus 7125 would be equally so, although there wouldn't be any good reason for them to achieve the better sound that you were hoping for. You won't go wrong either way, but also consider cost.

I agree the 3806 would be an excellent choice, that's more than enough to drive your 80's. The 3806 will give you 120watts x 7 and save you some money.

Is there any point to having more than 125wpc for the M80's? I know the new Pioneer Elite VSX-74TXI(140wpc) looks good on paper, would that give me a little more leg room for the speakers? Or is the Denon the best bet for the money?

I've got up to $2,000 to spend on a receiver or seperates, so I've got some options, and I'm not opposed to used gear as well. Any other comments?

Using an amp is a personal preference, I use a 5 channel 200wpc to drive my fronts and surrounds and let my Denon drive the rears. The 80's like more power but it's not necessary. A suggestion would be to go with something like the 3806 and get a higher watt 2 channel amp to drive the 80's. Either way you go the system will sound great.

David, you really appear to be caught up a bit too much in the power thing. The M80s are slightly above average in sensitivity(91dB for 1 watt)and any of the units in the 100 watt or more area should have more power than would be needed. For example, the difference berween 120 watts and 140 watts is only 0.67dB in maximum sound level, which would mean that an M80 playing a peak at 112dB with 120 watts could play it at 112.67dB with 140 watts. The difference would be insignificant and you'd be highly unlikely to have a peak that high in the first place. A more commonplace occurrence would be playing at a comfortably loud average level of 81dB, which the M80s would need about a tenth of a watt to do.

The fact that you have the money available doesn't mean that it has to all be spent on this item. $500-$1,000 can buy you a whole bunch of CDs and DVDs to enjoy.

Maybe I phrased that wrong. What I meant to say is the sound differences and features in the Denon compared to the Pioneer, are they worth the extra cost? Some say the Pioneers are a little "warmer", and the Denon close to "neutral". I guess it's a personal choice which you prefer, and I wasn't sure if people who have tried these components have comments either way.

I'm finding that, for me, the price point and quality at which I would move from a single AV receiver to seperates is about $2,000. At $1,000-$2,000 there are options for typical good receivers, $2,000-$3,000 is the ability to split the components into decent seperates. Whether it's worth the extra cost to split, I guess that's the magic question.

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that's the magic question

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And it may only be answered by your ears. Two schools of thought here. One for receivers. One for separates. A lot of debate!

I started with a Denon 3805 and loved it. I wanted to try a amp and got the monoblocks. "MY" ears and my brain liked what I heard.

Try to audition both setups if you can. On paper the specs say one thing. A trial in your home is another thing.

IMHO.

Bug

Well said, There is no magic answer or we would probably all have the same equipment. Any good receiver will give you great sound, it's up to you and your ears on how far you want to go.

John,
I really like your advice.

I frequent a several photo forums (another expensive hobby and there it is also so easy to acquire a several thousands worth of gear without anything left over for printing or for traveling to places with great photo opportunities.