HiFi people, please help me figure out what I want. (Or, the audio gear thread)

[jasc15]

My living room is long and narrow, 11' x 19'-8".  The picture below is a proposed layout, since I currently have a sectional sofa which will soon be moved to my basement (which is another potential AV project).  I have the TV above the fireplace on the long wall, and there is a bay window opposite that.  I am using the leftmost ~5' of the room as an entryway, the right wall is blank, and I would probably put a stereo on a table/credenza there.  It's not ideal having the tv over the fireplace, but using the right hand wall would require putting a sofa spanning the narrow width of the room, with no room for other seating without blocking the TV.  Also, there is no room for stereo equipment on the mantle or elsewhere on that wall, since a rack or shelf unit would stick out too much, and where would speakers go?  So it seems TV and stereo will have to be separate.



Enough with layout problems; now for equipment.  I currently have a giant yamaha RX-V2500 receiver circa 2005, 5 bose speakers (201's, 161's , VCS10 center speaker, and some type of subwoofer).  I have also been hanging on to a pair of 70's vintage JBL L166 speakers that I've always wanted to set up again.  The subwoofer foam is completely gone and I would probably get a DIY refoam kit.

My search progressed from something simple like the Sangean WR-11 to the Denon D-M41 (since we would still like to play CDs), and after learning about HEOS, the Denon CEOL N10, since I have all my music ripped to my hard drive.







Eventually I was considering separate components, since I could get better quality for around the same price.   So I started looking at small Chinese amplifiers that seemed to be well reviewed, like this setup:


https://www.amazon.com/TOPPING-Desktop-Digital-Amplifier-Black-x/dp/B071WNH6KL
https://www.amazon.com/DX3-Pro-Headphone-Amplifier-Bluetooth/dp/B07KG9P3X3

..and eventually to the NAD C 328 and C 338.  Maybe even this Marantz stereo receiver with HDMI, just in case I rearrange things with the TV.  However, I am losing a CD player, and I cant see spending $400 on a matching CD player.

I can't really justify more than $500 given its use case, since it won't be in a dedicated listening area.  However, since I began typing this post several days ago, I think I am leaning more toward the NAD C 328 ($600) and my old JBLs.  Its apparently the 338 without chromecast built in, and I just bought a (now discontinued) chromecast audio which I tried out recently.  I like the NAD because its probably something I will still have and use 20 years from now, it is future proof since it has no trendy tech built in (like the pricier NAD's with Bluesound, Denon/Marantz HEOS, Sonos, etc.), it has a good reputation within the audiophile community, and I just think it looks good.



It might seem like I've made up my mind already, but I am very indecisive and would appreciate some feedback.  Thanks, all!

[Stadler]

I would go NAD.

(I'll show myself out...)

[Stadler]

Sorry, couldn't resist the low-hanging fruit of the testicle joke.   I'm not familiar with NAD, but I do have a Denon unit (X-2400H), my second one (the first one lasted a decade and I only upgraded because I started having to use switches and whatnot to allow all the hookups) and I swear by it.  They can be pricey, but if you shop a little, you shouldn't have any trouble getting a reasonable price.

I understand your point about "future proof", but I've not experienced that problem.   I bought it for the sound and the ease of setup; I too have all my music burned to hard drive (well, in progress) and will be tapping into that funtionality soon. 

[jasc15]

Sorry, couldn't resist the low-hanging fruit

[ProfessorPeart]

As a former mp.com member, this thread just screamed GlassDream at me. 

I don't have a high end setup by any means. I have an mid-range Onkyo receiver connected to a pair of old Fisher speakers. These things have 15 inch woofers. I had a really old Sony from the pre-HDMI days and I thought things sounded good then. The Onkyo changed my mind. I couldn't believe how much better my music sounded through it, vinyl particularly. The first time I threw a Rush album on I was blown away. It ain't fancy but it does sound good.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that it is all connected with 10 gauge Monster speaker wire via banana plugs. I got a deal on it a long time ago at a Best Buy. They were clearing it out or something. It also helps with the sound. It's probably overkill, but I don't care.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

As a former mp.com member, this thread just screamed GlassDream at me. 

I don't have a high end setup by any means. I have an mid-range Onkyo receiver connected to a pair of old Fisher speakers. These things have 15 inch woofers. I had a really old Sony from the pre-HDMI days and I thought things sounded good then. The Onkyo changed my mind. I couldn't believe how much better my music sounded through it, vinyl particularly. The first time I threw a Rush album on I was blown away. It ain't fancy but it does sound good.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that it is all connected with 10 gauge Monster speaker wire via banana plugs. I got a deal on it a long time ago at a Best Buy. They were clearing it out or something. It also helps with the sound. It's probably overkill, but I don't care.

The funny thing is, Glassdream typically had no clue what he was talking about. I've designed and installed high end home theater's and sound systems for a long time now and almost every time I would read something Glassdream posted I could only just roll my eyes.


As an aside. How far are your speaker wire runs with that 10 gauge speaker wire? Anything less than 300-400 feet you wouldn't know the difference between 10 gauge or 16 gauge. Unless you are running the most ridiculously power hungry amp and speakers. Also banana plugs make 0 difference in sound quality or connection quality (in fact depending on the quality of the banana plug it could actually make worse connection), they only help with the convenience of hooking and unhooking equipment. For a permanent set up I always recommend connecting bare wire to the terminals.

[ProfessorPeart]

My runs are super short. I know it's overkill but it was cheap at the time and I couldn't pass it up. I need the banana plugs because the bare wire is too fat to run straight in. That would be my preference, normally.

[romdrums]

As a former mp.com member, this thread just screamed GlassDream at me. 

I don't have a high end setup by any means. I have an mid-range Onkyo receiver connected to a pair of old Fisher speakers. These things have 15 inch woofers. I had a really old Sony from the pre-HDMI days and I thought things sounded good then. The Onkyo changed my mind. I couldn't believe how much better my music sounded through it, vinyl particularly. The first time I threw a Rush album on I was blown away. It ain't fancy but it does sound good.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that it is all connected with 10 gauge Monster speaker wire via banana plugs. I got a deal on it a long time ago at a Best Buy. They were clearing it out or something. It also helps with the sound. It's probably overkill, but I don't care.

The funny thing is, Glassdream typically had no clue what he was talking about. I've designed and installed high end home theater's and sound systems for a long time now and almost every time I would read something Glassdream posted I could only just roll my eyes.

Oh god, Glassdream.  I've never seen someone so certain in his misguided opinions.  I can't imagine how much noise he introduced into his rig due to the quality and quantity of his components.  I would have loved to have seen his setup, just out of morbid curiosity.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

As a former mp.com member, this thread just screamed GlassDream at me. 

I don't have a high end setup by any means. I have an mid-range Onkyo receiver connected to a pair of old Fisher speakers. These things have 15 inch woofers. I had a really old Sony from the pre-HDMI days and I thought things sounded good then. The Onkyo changed my mind. I couldn't believe how much better my music sounded through it, vinyl particularly. The first time I threw a Rush album on I was blown away. It ain't fancy but it does sound good.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that it is all connected with 10 gauge Monster speaker wire via banana plugs. I got a deal on it a long time ago at a Best Buy. They were clearing it out or something. It also helps with the sound. It's probably overkill, but I don't care.

The funny thing is, Glassdream typically had no clue what he was talking about. I've designed and installed high end home theater's and sound systems for a long time now and almost every time I would read something Glassdream posted I could only just roll my eyes.

Oh god, Glassdream.  I've never seen someone so certain in his misguided opinions.  I can't imagine how much noise he introduced into his rig due to the quality and quantity of his components.  I would have loved to have seen his setup, just out of morbid curiosity.

He posted pictures of his setup over at the MP forum years ago. I literally laughed out loud at it. It looked exactly like a before picture of a job I took over from another company and fixed and use as an example to this day of what not to do.

[jasc15]

Man, I thought there would be a lot more folks here interested in audio equipment.

[goo-goo]

I'm actually interested in this thread. Miss the old GD discussions, but would like to return the OP topic.

So, what would be an intro Onkyo system with CD/vinyl player? Anybody has an idea where to start?

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Man, I thought there would be a lot more folks here interested in audio equipment.

I'd love to give you some more feedback, but I would really need to see pictures of what the room looks like to give any real advice (as far as speaker placement, etc.). Or better yet see it in person, but seeing how you are on the opposite side of the country from me, that isn't going to work 

I'm actually interested in this thread. Miss the old GD discussions, but would like to return the OP topic.

So, what would be an intro Onkyo system with CD/vinyl player? Anybody has an idea where to start?

Depends on your budget. If you are looking for just a 2 channel stereo system a good entry level set up would be a Denon PMA-600NE amp, Denon DCD-600NE cd player, and a Denon DP-400 turntable. This would run you about $1200, unless you need speakers too.

[jasc15]

I meant to add pictures, but forgot in my OP.  These are pictures before we moved in, with the seller's furniture still there.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

If you are dead set on mounting your TV above your fireplace, check out these mounts https://www.mantelmount.com/

The MM750Pro is the one I typically use for installations where the client absolutely must have the TV above the fireplace. It's a little pricey, but worth it, in my opinion. If you have a closet or mechanical room near this room where you could house equipment, it would be fairly easy to retrofit wire for a surround sound system, if that is what you ultimately want to do. Although unless you are proficient at crawling through attics/crawlspaces and fishing wire through walls, you may want to hire a professional to come in to do this.

[jasc15]

I actually already have my tv mounted above the fireplace.  I also ran power to a new outlet, cat5 and cable in the wall behind it, so I have no issue fishing stuff through the attic.  I used a sanus mount that is pretty good.

The wall had 3 damn layers!

[Stadler]

I have the same ground fault detector, and, oddly, the same drapes (in my bedroom, though they are coming down soon).