Hi, I have a Yamaha RXV800 with Klipsch KG 4.2 mains, a Polk 245 center and Def Tech BP2.0 rear speakers with an NHT SubOne Powered Sub. I'm looking to upgrade the power, clarity and punch of my system in both Home Theater and Stereo modes and have never had separates before. Will adding a 7100 do it for me or should I look into the 755? Or should I save the $$$ if there isn't enough difference to justify the expense?

Thanks,
Steve

Steve

Before I switched to the 950/7100 combo, I was running my PSB speakers off of a Yamaha RX-V3200. The 3200 had plenty of power (110watts/channel) to drive the PSB Image series home theater speakers. However, with the swith to the 950/7100 combo, there was more punch and clarity to the movies we were watching. Even the wife, who usually does not notice any changes in the system, commented that there was greater clarity and punch with the new combo. Hope this helps.
Regards,
TCIII

PS: I have two 120mm cooling fans blowing air up through the bottom of the 7100. They are thermostatically controlled to come on at about 80 degrees F. They seldom come on unless there is a lot of high level bass or loud explosions on the sound track. If your 7100 is getting hot enough to burn your hand, then you either have very inefficient speakers, not enough cooling air, or there is something wrong with your 7100.
Regards,
TCIII
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If you are going to send someone to save the world, you better make sure they like it the way it is.

[This message has been edited by TCIII (edited September 24, 2003).]

[This message has been edited by TCIII (edited September 24, 2003).]

I just upgraded to the 950/7100 pair. Got the system yesterday, and had a chance to listen for a couple of hours before we lost power due to the storm Isabell .

Initial thoughts:

If your room is large and you like to listen even at relatively loud levels, then I'd say the 750 or 755 is a better choice. I have a relative large room (18 x 48 x 9 + 20 x 20 x 9) in the basement.

After the quick frantic set up in between the power outages, I listend to music at moderate levels (to me) and watched a few DVD scenes (Matrix kungfu fight between Neo and Morphius, U571 depth charge scene, Monster Inc).

The 7100 got pretty hot. Very hot, in fact. Hotter than my old Sony STR- DE925(rated 110W/ch, .8% THD at rated output, much lower at 60W or so), which is known to get hot as well.

I have them in an open cabinet with plenty of room on the sides, and especially on the top. The 7100 is sitting on top of 950, and there is about a foot of clearance on top of 7100. Front and back sides are open.

If I put my hand on the top of the unit for a few seconds and take it off, my hand felt like, er, burnt. I did not like it. So I guess I better listen at lower levels (or get the 755). Just before this, I bought and returned a NAD T762 receiver, also rated 100W/ch. The NAD did not get nowhere as hot, but it did not get no where near as loud either.

If you are going to take the plunge, I'd say it's worth it to spend the extra $$ and get the 750 or 755. I have to make a decision myself here whether to go for that or not. But, the system is all set up now, and it is such a chore to rip things out, mail back, order a new one, wait some more, put things back... Arrrr...

Sonic impression:

Nice clean sound. Even at loud volume (gets a little thin and harsh beyond 0 dB volume setting). Both the Outlaw and NAD sounded good playing music, but NAD performed *very* poorly with movies. While sounding clean, it had very little bottom end. I felt my $500 Sony (then price) sounded better than the NAD, although NAD was cleaner and tighter with music. At $1200, I guess it should. I kind of like the NAD sound, but I think the Outlaw combo sounds very nice. Did not feel that it was bright, as a few fellow Outlaws felt and noted.

Quality Impression:

The 7100 is very heavy and sturdy. Looks and feels like a quality unit. No complaints whatsoever. In fact, I enjoy just looking at the machine. Ya know?.. One thing I wish it had is a detachable power cord, instead of the captive one. That alone almost deterred me from purching the unit for a second.

The 950 is built with quality and shows no pretence of adding any extra frills in cosmetics. It looks the business and means the business. Very versatile, and a joy of a machine. Works well. Did notice a hiss when volume le set beyond 0 dB, where as I never noticed any hiss when I had the Adcom GFP550 and GFA 545 (100W/ch) combo.

One thing I wish it had is a switched 120v power socket. I am using the Berringer BFD for my SVS sub, and has no way of turning it on/off automatically now .

FYI, I am using B&W 603S2 fronts, LCR6S2 center, a pair of old Infinity RS5b bookshelves for the surround, plus an SVS 20-39 PC+ sub.

[This message has been edited by BleakShore (edited September 19, 2003).]

At first I monitored the temperature on my 950 and 7100 and found the 950 only 5° or so lower. The 97° (in my case) generated the 950 would be inherited by the bottom of your 7100 which alone was 87° on mine. Some of that transfer must be passing upward through the 7100 and adding to its total heat.

petalas,

I love the 7100; I reviewed it for Secrets (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com) a while back. However, if I was in your situation, I would upgrade my speakers before adding an amp. I think you'll get better sonic results with matching front speakers than a bit of extra extension (particularly since the Klipsch's don't need much power to start off with).

My $.02.

-avi

What suggestions do you have for the speakers? Are you suggesting that I replace the Klipsch or the rears or center? Thanks very much for any input or sugesstions!

Not that it helps with your specific question, but ...

My philosophy on speaker purchasing:

I think choosing a particular set of loudspeakers ends up being both a ‘messy science’ and subjective, both in the establishing of goals and judging the results – not to mention the ‘B’ word: budget. Then there is your particular listening environment, as it is now and perhaps subject to change? I don’t think anyone here can say definitively, “such-and-such speakers are the best for you.” You, in your own listening environment, will have to be the judge.

Personally, I have an ‘engineering bent’ in my ‘philosophy of audio,’ so I try for accuracy and ‘clean.’ Depending on what someone may be used to, over- or under-emphasis of certain frequencies may sound either better or worse to them. Just one example of many: removing large amplitude low frequencies from full-range speakers, and reproducing those frequencies from one or more subwoofers instead, may remove a fair amount of inter-modulation distortion from the full-range loudspeakers and thus remove an illusion of good bass one may be used to hearing. In such situations, I do my best to analyze for accuracy and then it is my ear-brain connection which goes through a ‘breaking in’ period, not so much the equipment or even cables as some claim. I become accustom to the new sound, which may seem to miss certain things I was used to hearing, but which is actually better. After this personal psycho-acoustic adjustment period, I can still recognize the changes, especially when hearing other systems that may still have the problems I worked to eliminate from my system. But I digress …

Even though some effort is involved, best to try loudspeakers that are within your budget in your own environment. That will limit you to those that can be taken or sent back if they don’t meet your requirements. Suppose your tastes are too rich for your current budget? You could build in phases. Think about the final configuration and then progressively assemble the pieces over time. Do research for the best main left, right and center speakers to try. After some auditioning, perhaps buy only the left and right to start, then later purchase the center and surround speakers in succession. If building the system piecemeal, be certain the matching center and other pieces are not about to go out of production!

Don’t stress too much … enjoy the process on the way to good results.

Petalas,

there is a load of tips on speaker choices in this saloon. Go to “Your System Saloon” and look up “Need speaker help” by Dane.

As for getting the best bang for the buck (I mean your buck) on speakers, look into DIY speakers. You can build from scratch or get kit speakers and assemble them yourself. Prices of name brands are set by various factors. Some of them are advertisement cost, cosmetics design, assembling, packaging and middleman’s profit. What you are left with after all that taken out is not much. Don’t get me wrong, you can still get excellent speakers if you pay for it. At the same time, you can also get excellent speakers without paying as much. Give that chat room a try.

Good luck.

Whoa - look at the time. I just completely lost track of this thread. Petalas, for best results, you want the front three speakers to match, as sound is frequently panned across them, and you don't want timbre changes as the sound moves from speaker to speaker. Sound is also panned front to back, so surround speakers that match reasonably well with the fronts are also desirable, but I'd start with getting the primary sound sources (your front speakers) to match, and upgrade the rears as budget and time allow.

So, if you like the Klipsch's, see if you can get either an identical speaker for use as center speaker, or a center channel speaker from the same line -- horn loaded speakers like your Klipsch's sound different than speakers with cone drivers like your Polk. If you like the Polk better, start with that. But I've found five matched speakers of moderate quality usually present a more cohesive, pleasing soundstage than five unmatched speakers that are otherwise superior.

-avi