Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Sound of Receivers

Hey Mark,

Nope. Seriously, we all have different preferred playback levels. Unquestionably really loud, clean playback can be thrilling, especially in one's own home, but at least with music, I try and duplicate what I hear at classical concerts, opera, and in jazz clubs and the like. I don't blame some of my colleagues for trying to duplicate what they've heard at highly amplified rock concerts, which I mostly didn't attend.

In fact, one of the reasons Ian Colquhoun began development of the Axiom A-1400 amplifier was because he grew tired of re-setting two or three of the five Denon monoblock power amps, each capable of 350 watts into 4 ohms, that would shut down at parties (I put in ear plugs and went out on the deck!) driving the M80s to way over 100-dB SPL levels in a cathedral ceiling living room of large dimensions.

Regards,
Alan

I think that when reviewers start to talk about receivers or amplifiers being warm, etc. it is mostly B.S. But, I've read many reviews on how a separate high powered amp can be bring out more detail or help the speakers produce more bass than budget a AVR. The higher powered amp helping produce more bass makes sense since there is more wattage on hand and maybe the budget AVR can't keep up with the room/speaker combination even at moderate sound levels. Maybe the claim about more detail also makes sense in the same way. But, past that the rest of it seems to me like B.S.

I would still love to know if they make any sort of difference at the volume levels I listen--60-75dB.

Oh yes it's definately all about personal preference. In no way am I attempting to trash the Sherwood or any other reciever for that matter. As I pointed out up to somewhere between 50% and 70% of it's max volume the Sherwood gave me the exact same sound and performance than my other set-up that had many times the available power gave me. Therefore, anyone who listens to their music and or movies at those levels 100% of the time would be very happy with the unit. And as I mentioned in that post I'm sure the majority of the members on this board have no interest in maxing out the capabilities of their speakers. So in now way was I suggesting everyone needs an external amp.

But there are also others like me out there, that like to supercharge their home theaters. And that was my main point, that while recievers are for the most part identical in the way they reproduce sound, there are still differences between high end and low end recievers. Personally I would never drop more than say $1500 on a reciever. For one thing I've learned that as much as industry standards change in this area, recievers age very quickly (unfortunately). So it's hard to put much more than a thousand or so into something that may become obsolete in 5 or 6 years. I spent over $4000 on my speakers, but they will never become obsolete, I will enjoy them for decades, so I have no problem investing heavily in them.

Re. rock Concerts Alan, you might try picking up a copy of Collective Soul's "Home" DVD where they play along with their home town's Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. It's probably the best rock band/symphony concert I have seen or heard.

The first couple of songs are mostly about the band but if you can stick it out, they do some really nicely integrated stuff with the orchestra. It's also fun to see the kids truly enjoying the experience and perhaps even more fun watching the conductor getting very into some of the tunes.

My Mom is a classical music nut and she adores this concert. Well, Actually, I think she adores the lead singer a bit too much also.

Ian sounds like my kinda dude!

Hey Murph,
If you enjoy rock/symphonic combinations, and I know there's many, try Tom Cochrane and Red Rider: The Symphony Sessions. It's a live CD with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and is mastered really well. If you sit in your sweet spot, you'll swear you're there. I believe it's the last album he did with Red Rider.

Cool. I wasn't aware of that one. I will check it out.

So I set things up over the weekend and last night. I'm still figuring things out with the Denon receiver, and this always could be my imagination, but something seems to sound better with the new receiver than the prior one. Per the earlier discussions, I don't think it's any "sound quality" of the receiver. I'm pretty sure it's the settings that the Audyssey came up with versus the settings from the Pioneer's auto setup. I feel like I am getting much more sound out of the surround speakers and I also seem to get more base. That's not to say I could not have gotten the same exact thing with the other receiver--I'm sure I could have if I'd been willing to adjust the settings from the auto setup on the Pioneer receiver. However, I figured I'd just screw things up so I never wanted to play with them.

Also, the picture on the new TV looks fantastic. Again, it could to some (or all) degree be my imagination, as I'm not sure my wife was nearly as impressed. All in all, very happy thus far with the new setup. After we get the bedroom setup, I'll try to get some pictures up (will need help from the wife with that).

The only thing that seemed a bit weird is I believe crossover was set at 60 hz. I thought I've read on any number of occassions that it should be at 80. I take it I should just adjust that. (As an aside, in a question that will make clear just how little I really understand, by setting it at 60 versus 80, does that mean bass is more likely to go to the sub or less likely.)

Thanks again everyone for all the comments and advice. I'm actually so excited about things I'll probably read up some more on the receiver and TV so that I can play with things and see if tweaks make things even better.

I read a very interesting and "revealing" article on the "Audioholics" front page this morning. When it comes to choosing the next piece of A/V equipment to buy, not that this "revelation" was a surprise, but after reading the column, I don't believe anyone will look the same way at reviewers and their reviews again! (At least with any credibility).