Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Epic Grandmaster and amplifier

Hey guys recently I've been looking at getting a home theater setup going and would like some input from you pro's. Just some info for starters. I live in a one bedroom apartment, my living room/all-purpose room is 23'L x 12'W x 8'H.
My usage would be 60-70% 2.1-channel music, 30-40% Blu-ray movies.

At first I was looking at just purchasing a set of M60's and work my way up over time to a 5.1 setup. Now I am looking at the Epic Grand Master, either 175 or 300.
The amps I have in mind are the Yamaha RX-V365 and the Denon AVR1610.

I have a limited budget at the moment but am open to any suggestions and recommendations anyone may have as far as amps and speakers go.
Also if anyone has experience with either of those amps how good are the headphone outputs as I have a pair of Sennheisers that I enjoy listening to on occasion.

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long winded post. I can post some links to specs on the amps if need be.

Welcome to the Axiom forum jumbo_tron!

The epic grandmaster 350 is a great choice for your room size. Any popular receiver manufacturer models 5.1/7.1 (Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, Harmon Kardon, Sherwood Newcastle etc) will be able to power this system without any issues. Between the Yamaha RX-V365 and the Denon AVR1610 pick the one you feel has better features. Denon is very popular amongst the Axiom owners on this message board.

As to the headphone out, can you be a bit more specific on the model of your Sennheiser headphones you own because the impedance and sensitivity vary within the different models making some more easier to power than others.

Cheers!

Thanks for the reply I was leaning toward the Denon in fact, I'm a beginner to most of this stuff but the Denon's seem like pretty good amps for the price.

As for the headphones they are Sennheiser 580's, 300 ohm so I am in need of a little power for the headphones.

Denon makes a excellent product . I would suspect there will be not much of a difference in the headphone out between manufacturers. You might find that you need to turn the volume knob up considerbly to get the volume you want with your headphones. That could introduce hiss but I can't tell you for sure. I would try the headphones first with whatever receiver you buy and if you are not satisfied that the receiver can power them adequately then there are quite of few of us on here that can help you out with recommendations for a budget headphone amp .

What are you currently powering your headphones with and are you satisfied with it?

Cheers!

To add to what the Doc says, you can save some coin by going through the Factory Outlet. Many of us have done so, don't worry about ordering through the FO as most of us can't find any blemishes(v. minor if you CAN find one) and there is nothing wrong with them sonically. Five items will net you 5% off and the FO will give you another 10%!

The Epic Grandmaster350 indeed would be a nice system. Denon is very popular amongst Axiom owners, shop around for the best deal or maybe consider picking up a used/refurb if you are on a budget.

Hey, thanks I'll definately checkout the factory outlet and refurbs for the Denon. I am actually only powering the phones with my computer audio out at the moment which sucks, but I have been browsing around headwise.com at some of the diy headphone amps, (maybe put my electronics degree to some use).

Thanks alot you guys, I think the next step is to get my damn finger to push that checkout button.
When I get around to ordering and get everything set up I'll be sure to post some pics.

Anyone else's input would also be greatly appreciated!!!

Jumbo, welcome. Although you won't find any "pros" here except when Axiom audio expert Alan participates, we do try to share the knowledge which we've accumulated over the years. Yes, the EP350 sub would be a better choice than the EP175. As to the receivers that you mention, the 1610 would be my suggestion because of its set of features, such as Audyssey MultEQ.

I'll add that there's no good reason to limit yourself to listening to 2-channel material on a 2.1 setup, as you were first considering. Using processing such as DPLII which extracts the natural surround ambience from the front channels(where it had to be mixed since there was no place else to put it)and sends it to the surround speakers where it belongs results in a bit more natural listening experience.

Hi, John thanks for the info on the Dolby Pro Logic II. I have actually been reading up on this in the forum and elsewhere and it has pique'd my curiosity. If I do end up getting the EGM system, which I am looking at ordering soon, I will definately give that a shot and see how I like it!
Also I think I am set on the Denon. I really can't wait to get all of this together with my 61" Samsung DLP which is gorgeous BTW.

Very nice jumbo. Blu-ray movies will look spectacular on that t.v and they will sound great as well with the EGM 350.

Hey guys another question if anyone knows, otherwise I will call Denon. With the AVR-1610, can I just pass through my 1080p signal without the Denon doing any processing? That is what I would like to do.

Thanks

*NM, I think I found it on the specs on Denon's site 1080p output.
Oddly enough on Denon's site it shows it as being able to upscale analog input up to 1080p and no where else says it has this capability.