Old Receiver: Kenwood 1090 First Generation AC3 Receiver. No discrete amplification. 5 X150

New Gear: 950 and Marantz MM9000 (5X 170 THX Ultra)
I read the reviews and pulled the trigger. Wow. I am not an audiophile but the difference was nothing short of amazing. I can finally hear lyrics and music without blowing out my eardrums.

Question 1: I have an ancient dvd player(I am not going to list the make. Just know that it doesn't have progressive scan.) Any ideas on a good Progressive Scan DVD? I have a couple of friends who can hook me up with either Denon or Integra? I am looking for gear that will last a while. Comments.

Question 2: My speaker's are old THX Pro Logic era JBL HT's. The sound is still pretty good but I have a hard time hearing dialogue. Would one of the new Center Channel speakers help with this problem, like Paradigm CC's say? Also, has anyone gone with a stereo amp for the center channel and used 2 speakers?

Question 3: Has anyone used on of the new Hard Disk storage pieces? I am looking at the Marantz and Integra pieces.
Thanks.

Jamestb

1) Denon 2200 or 2900...whichever one fits your budget.
2) Front 3 speakers should timbre match(same drivers across)
3) I have seen one in person. They had just had it in for a month. I don't recall the brand. I think it was not one of the ones you mentioned.

The Denon's are definitely good stuff, from what I've heard. You might be interested in the DVD player shootout maintained at Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity. It does focus mainly on video performance, but with the 950 to do your audio decoding you will be mainly concerned with the video.

I am a huge fan of my Paradigm Studio CC, but cburbs is right to say that it is best to have the front three speakers match. You might double-check your calibration and make sure the center's not set low.

I don't have any experience with the hard drive music storage equipment, although I've been happily using a Panasonic DMR-E80 DVD recorder with an 80GB hard drive for about eight months now. The Marantz DH9300 and Integra NAS-2.3 both look pretty interesting -- in fact, looking at the specs and the front and rear panels, I tend to suspect that they are both derived from the same basic design, although the Marantz adds more video output options for separate zones.

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gonk -- 950 Review | LFM-1 Review | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | Saloon Links

I generally wouldn’t be in favor of 2-channel/2-loudspeaker center reproduction for the same reason that you don’t generally find loudspeakers with more than one tweeter: upper-mid and high frequency sound wave propagation interference patterns coming from more than one source in close proximity. This usually reduces the intelligibility of speech and ruins fine high-frequency detail. There may be some carefully engineered exceptions, but I think it’s rare.

Potential experiments for 2-channel center:

1. Assuming no magnetic field interaction problems with a CRT television, try two speakers in a vertical line, one above and one below the screen. That way, if you have two tweeters reproducing the same information, the tweeters may have sufficient separation to preserve intelligibility.
2. On one of the two speakers, hopefully without damage, cover the tweeter or mount it inside the enclosure (or ???) so that only the tweeter in one of the two speakers is heard. Place the two speakers such that the other non-tweeter transducers are as symmetrically placed as possible around the tweeter that can be heard. If the resulting sound seems to lack high end, raise the treble a bit on the stereo amp.

What else can you think of? Be safe and enjoy trying different things!

best dvd player for the buck (not sacd or dvd-a) is the denon dvd910 retail 300. verified by the hometheaterhifi.com shootout. i could use a hook up for some denon equipment..., do you live anywhere near north carolina or have an internet connection/contact. anyway..

It is admittedly a bit pricey, but I just got the Denon 5900, and it is the finest player I have ever owned. Crystal clear video with terrific color, and audio is superb in every respect to my ears. Had a Pioneer DV47a, and it was excellent as well. Only complaint about the Pioneer was that SACDs sounded somewhat antiseptic.

As for center channels, my wife has always had a hard time with dialogue from the center. We finally settled on a Mirage HDT-F for the center (matched with Mirage's all around - I also agree with that observation) and she is finally in movie nirvana. We, too, bump up the center a few db.

Good luck!

Mike

I agree about the 950. Terrific buy.

[This message has been edited by mgdurand (edited April 09, 2004).]

[This message has been edited by mgdurand (edited April 09, 2004).]

Many thanks. I thought I was cutting edge 6 years ago. I am learning a lot and the benefit is much more enjoyment of my music. Now for movies....

My JBL HT's are 3 speakers with 4 way drivers. 2 mid range's and 2 titanium tweeters: Mid Range- tweeter-tweeter-driver. Might the reason dialogue is muddled is per the response from bestbang, i.e. you only need one tweeter? I am thinking about the Paradigm 20's with the Paradigm CC. My surrounds would be Canton Ergo 32's bi-wired(great speaker). Rear surrounds would be my current JBL bi-poles or anything anyone might suggest.

Lastly, I am thinking real hard about a tube amp for my Zone 2. Is the tube talk for real? Could 50 tube watts power 2 tower speakers. Thanks again.

Comments.

I’m not sure which model of JBL’s you are describing as 4-way, but I think you may have 4-driver/3-way loudspeakers with frequencies allocated something like:

The 2 larger drivers handle the same 80Hz to 800Hz, one of the small drivers handles 800Hz to 3500Hz, and the other small driver handles 3500Hz to 22KHz. This is how JBL divides uses four drivers in the PC600 center speaker to handle 3 frequency ranges. JBL applies the same principle to the PT800 and perhaps others. In this way there are not two tweeters reproducing the same sounds at the same time in close proximity.

I only raised the ‘two tweeter’ issue in case you had in mind to use two identical loudspeakers with tweeters immediately next to each other as a center channel.

I don't know about the JBL's, but I will pitch in my opinion that the Studio 20's and CC are an excellent set of speakers (running v2 Studio 60's and CC currently and am very satisfied).

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gonk -- 950 Review | LFM-1 Review | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | Saloon Links

Thanks again.

I went to the secrets page last night and I am learning.

I appreciate the input.

Any recommendations for an affordable tube amp ($800-$1000) to use for zone 2 or do they lack power.