choosing a receiver..

[thejck]

Can someone tell me if this would work and sound decent..I want to power my 2 rti12's with a receiver pre outs to an Adcom amp. I had originally wanted to just use a 2 channel receiver from Harman Kardon but since I want to use the digital output from my computer I was thinking about looking into a cheaper 5.1 channel receiver that could accept an optical input. There are tons lying around on ebay that I could pick up for less than 200 bucks.

Any thoughts about what I could change improve on. I was thinking about getting a DAC but dont know of any good external ones that can be had cheap. I really dont know much about external DAC's so I dont know where to start looking..

[phuz]

You won't get the sound quality that the Adcom and rti12 are capable of if you use a $200 receiver as a pre-amp. You'd probably be better of with the HK.

See if you can find an Entech number cruncher on ebay. Nice, cheap little DAC that is hard to beat in it's price range.

[heiney9]

See the flea market

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56109

The Adcom would be a very nice unit.

[Face]

You can pick up a reman'd HK on ebay for just over $200.

[thejck]

yeah i was going to stick with a H/K 5.1 channel receiver. used ones on ebay
if i go with that adcom dac then the only other thing i should need is a preamp right??

[thejck]

I like H/k products and i was looking at an older generation maybe 1-2 years old 5.1 HK receiver that had optical out. this would take care of my preamp needs as well as the DAC conversion.

if i was able to get a hold or a DAC like the adcom what would the suggestions be for a plain preamp most of my music is from the computer including internet radio and I dont even want a tuner.

[phuz]

Why not get an Adcom pre to match everything else...

[thejck]

You won't get the sound quality that the Adcom and rti12 are capable of if you use a $200 receiver as a pre-amp. You'd probably be better of with the HK.

See if you can find an Entech number cruncher on ebay. Nice, cheap little DAC that is hard to beat in it's price range.

this entech dac how does it compare to the adcom dac

[thejck]

the thing that sucks is I have a nice integra receiver with zone 2 but zone 2 can only be an analog source.
so could i use a dac to convert my digital sound to analog output it too the integra and have the zone 2 preouts go to my amps??
now the catch would be the reciever has to reside in a different room(its in tehe HT setup). how long distances can I run a pair of stereo rca cables and what quality cables would I use here?. i have a way in theory to control my receiver remotely from a laptop from anywhere in my house. which is great cause i can also control the computer thats feeding the dac remotely from the same laptop...

[heiney9]

this entech dac how does it compare to the adcom dac

The entech is a nice little unit if you can get it on the cheap. The Adcom however is the better unit. It should be since the original MSRP was 3 times the entech. If you are talking similar $$$ for both units get the Adcom and don't look back.

H9

[thejck]

am i missing something or all the hk 5.1 receivers without preouts. what a bummer.

[thejck]

The entech is a nice little unit if you can get it on the cheap. The Adcom however is the better unit. It should be since the original MSRP was 3 times the entech. If you are talking similar $$$ for both units get the Adcom and don't look back.

H9

there is an entech on ebay for about half the price of the adcom.
when you say better what does it do better.

[heiney9]

there is an entech on ebay for about half the price of the adcom.
when you say better what does it do better.

It's built a lot better, uses better parts, better power regulation, actually has a chip set for the Left and Right channel (which are completely isolated form one another). The analog and digital sections are completely isolated from one another. No opamps all discrete circuits. 7 different completely isolated power sections. Front end is full Class A.

Soundwise it has better bass, more air around the instruments, more natural decay, very open, smooth, yada, yada, yada.

The Entech is a nice unit no doubt, but if you start approaching $100 then just spend another $50 and get the Adcom. IMO, $50-75 is the max one should pay for the Entech.

YMMV

H9

[thejck]

thanks h9

[thejck]

since the adcom dac is almost sold

any views on the HK avr 235. should fit my needs. does the dac and has pre outs.
would this work good?

[phuz]

since the adcom dac is almost sold

any views on the HK avr 235. should fit my needs. does the dac and has pre outs.
would this work good?

It would "work good" - but it won't be optimal. You'll want to upgrade down the road. Adcom stuff is a step or two above HK.

[thejck]

there are a few adcom preamps out does it matter which one i would select as long as it has what i need? or dos one preamp have something better to offer than the other? also would it be wise to look at preamps that are around from the same generation as the gfa-555 or are newer ones a lot better..

[heiney9]

IMO, the only Adcom pre worth owning is the GFP-750. Be prepared to spend about $600-750 used.

The other Adcoms pre's are just run of the mill. Iguess it depends on how and in what type of system you are using them in. What's you source? Will you be critically listening to a 2ch only system or is this a multi-purpose system?

H9

[thejck]

this a 2 channel only system. rti12's
my source is music stored on a file server anywhere from 192kbps to 320kbps bitrate. i am slowly phasing out all the 128 stuff. also listen to some interenet radio. dont like cd's as they dont hold up.

600 is a little too much. i like the idea of seperates cause i can upgrade as I go. I am starting off with an adcom gfa-555 amp now and I might add a second one and use them bridged mono in the future.
the reason why i was going to go with the HK receiver now is cause it does the DAC and preouts for not too much money right now. that might suck in the future if i do decide to upgrade hence i am looking for non new ones on ebay.

that adcom dac is almost sold now. the guy i am buying the gfa-555 from has a adcom pre(he still has to give me the model number) that i could buy if i had gotten that dac.

you think i am sacrificing too much with the HK receiver instead of seperates?? again if you said that a 600 dollar preamp would be what it would take then money would be the bottle neck issue.

[heiney9]

this a 2 channel only system. rti12's
my source is music stored on a file server anywhere from 192kbps to 320kbps bitrate. i am slowly phasing out all the 128 stuff. also listen to some interenet radio. dont like cd's as they dont hold up.

600 is a little too much. i like the idea of seperates cause i can upgrade as I go. I am starting off with an adcom gfa-555 amp now and I might add a second one and use them bridged mono in the future.
the reason why i was going to go with the HK receiver now is cause it does the DAC and preouts for not too much money right now. that might suck in the future if i do decide to upgrade hence i am looking for non new ones on ebay.

that adcom dac is almost sold now. the guy i am buying the gfa-555 from has a adcom pre(he still has to give me the model number) that i could buy if i had gotten that dac.

you think i am sacrificing too much with the HK receiver instead of seperates?? again if you said that a 600 dollar preamp would be what it would take then money would be the bottle neck issue.

Seriously if your are listeing to MP3's and internet radio then a regular Adcom pre is fine and the Adcom dac is much nicer than the source you are using. You might want to revisit the Entech. People here know my views on Mp3's, etc. so don't throw too much money into your system until you get a real source.

H9

[thejck]

good point.
what sources do you use?

whats your opinion on the amplifier that i will be using

[heiney9]

good point.
what sources do you use?

A cdp as a transport with the digital output into and Adcom GDA600 to a 2ch pre-amp to an amp.

In my office rig I use FLAC files from my computer and using a direct digital output from the soundcard (Kernal stream) into an AMC Dac-8 (dac) into an integrated amp to my Polk Monitor 5b's.

H9

[heiney9]

good point.
whats your opinion on the amplifier that i will be using

Adcom makes soild gear that I continue to own myself.

[thejck]

what soundcard do you use in the office rig?

[heiney9]

what soundcard do you use in the office rig?

Chaintech AV-150 I believe. Very basic, but since I am using an external DAC I am only concerned with getting a bit perfect unprocessed digital stream. Many cards alter the digital output even if you feed it to an external dac.

H9

[blakeh]

I have to disagree with H9 about the ADCOM preamps. Both the GFP-555 and GFP-565 are great preamps that can be found relatively cheaply and would suit your needs perfectly. A search of eBay shows that a GFP-555 goes for between $109 and $165. That's a steal.

My first system had a GFP-565 and I thought it sounded great. And while the GFP-750 is certainly in a class of its own, there's nothing wrong with the two older model preamps.

$600-$750 is a lot to spend on a preamp if you're not really into 2-channel audio.

[heiney9]

I have to disagree with H9 about the ADCOM preamps. Both the GFP-555 and GFP-565 are great preamps that can be found relatively cheaply and would suit your needs perfectly. A search of eBay shows that a GFP-555 goes for between $109 and $165. That's a steal.

My first system had a GFP-565 and I thought it sounded great. And while the GFP-750 is certainly in a class of its own, there's nothing wrong with the two older model preamps.

$600-$750 is a lot to spend on a preamp if you're not really into 2-channel audio.

GTH, blakeh you don't know what you are talking about :D. J/K, I'm sure because I am such a die hard anal 2 ch guy the "other" Adcoms will suffice in most cases. The only one I would personally own is the GFP-750.

H9

[blakeh]

GTH, blakeh you don't know what you are talking about

Watch it -- I know where you live! ;)

I only commented here because I just finished reading through some reviews of the GFP-555/565 and I was reminded of just how well they were built. I think they're a great value on the used market -- especially in that sub-$200 arena.

No doubt the 750 would run circles around them, but at five times the cost!

Personally, I would stay away from the old "GTP" series that were both preamps and tuners. Those aren't generally very highly regarded.

[thejck]

Chaintech AV-150 I believe. Very basic, but since I am using an external DAC I am only concerned with getting a bit perfect unprocessed digital stream. Many cards alter the digital output even if you feed it to an external dac.

H9

is that the av-150 or the av-710. i am looking at the av-710 fr the same reason. i have one on my HT rig and I go kernel streaming when i listen to 2 channel music.

[heiney9]

blakeh care to chime in, you set mine up for me I think the AV-710 sounds right. It was a cheapie like $30 if I remember right. Serves it's purpose very well.

H9

[blakeh]

Yeah, it is an AV-710. They still sell them on newegg.com for about $23.

It's been a while since I set one up (both H9 and I use them in our computer systems), but I remember having to flash the board to make it an Audiotrack Prodigy in order to get bit-perfect digital output.

I think this thread describes the process:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=132155

Works wonderfully. I get bit-perfect output from the card. Even HDCDs that I've ripped into FLAC play corrrectly when outputted through the AV-710 to my ADCOM GDA-700 DAC.

[snow]

I have to disagree with H9 about the ADCOM preamps. Both the GFP-555 and GFP-565 are great preamps that can be found relatively cheaply and would suit your needs perfectly. A search of eBay shows that a GFP-555 goes for between $109 and $165. That's a steal.

My first system had a GFP-565 and I thought it sounded great. And while the GFP-750 is certainly in a class of its own, there's nothing wrong with the two older model preamps.

$600-$750 is a lot to spend on a preamp if you're not really into 2-channel audio. Actually I think Dudeinaroom has a GFP-555 for sale in the flea market if im not mistaken. It should be in very nice condition. It was probally an 8 out of 10 when he got it from me the only reason for that rating was simply due to age. there was not one scratch anywhere on it, and I think it was in the $150.00 range.


Ok i found a link. http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55394&highlight=adcom+gfp-555

REGARDS SNOW

[thejck]

any views on any of the adcom preamps with tuners?

[snow]

any views on any of the adcom preamps with tuners?
Yes I have had the GTP-500 and 600 both. they sounded nice but for some reason they both developed problems. The 500 would once in a while go crazy and start zooming from station to station lol. I have no idea why and it would only happen every so often.

The 600 one channel would go in and out periodically it was probablly a bad solder joint or something but aggravating.

Other than these minor problems they were both nice units.

REGARDS SNOW

[thejck]

the guy thats selling the amp has a gtp 400 that he can sell too. think I should go for it or try looking for something else.

@H9 I know the limitations provided by MP3 and the quality they offer. I want to build a system that I can grow into. I have read that your listening ability grows with time and I dont want to be able to build upwards and not have to tear it down and then start rebulding.

I also use Kernel streaming from my chaintech however I didnt have to flash my card. The driver that I used had the option to select between 44.1 and 44 on PCM. I tried it out my playing a dts 5.1 song from my PC and the receiver detects it and plays it out in 5.1. I use foobar as my media player.

[thejck]

Yes I have had the GTP-500 and 600 both. they sounded nice but for some reason they both developed problems. The 500 would once in a while go crazy and start zooming from station to station lol. I have no idea why and it would only happen every so often.

The 600 one channel would go in and out periodically it was probablly a bad solder joint or something but aggravating.

Other than these minor problems they were both nice units.

REGARDS SNOW

Do i sacrifice anything by going with the adcom preamp/tuner compared to just the preamp. like how you are saying that just a preamp will give you a lot of advantage over a receiver?

[gdpeck]

Adcom makes soild gear that I continue to own myself.

I know picking on typos is juvenile, but dude you should clean that soild gear up. Start with a damp cloth.;)

[snow]

the guy thats selling the amp has a gtp 400 that he can sell too. think I should go for it or try looking for something else.

Hard to say without knowing what it is that he wants for it and the condition of it. I have personally never listened to the GTP-400 so I cant voice an oppinion one way or the other regarding its sound qualitys.

REGARDS SNOW

[thejck]

Hard to say without knowing what it is that he wants for it and the condition of it. I have personally never listened to the GTP-400 so I cant voice an oppinion one way or the other regarding its sound qualitys.

REGARDS SNOW
he wants a 100 for it says its unscratched. i can talk him down maybe since i am buying both. also i can have him bring it by to try it out but since I dont have anything to compare it too i woudnt know. anything I could look at if I demo'd it?

also would it be approriate to ask him and a smart idea to open up the gfa-555 and check out the inside for capacitor issues?

[snow]

Do i sacrifice anything by going with the adcom preamp/tuner compared to just the preamp. like how you are saying that just a preamp will give you a lot of advantage over a receiver? Well you will almost certainly sacrifice something of course. How much and will it be noticeable to you is another question.


If you have 2 similarly priced units and one has a tuner and one doesnt, of course the one with the tuner being priced the same has to give up something in quality or features to be sold for the same price. And you have more things that can wrong. If the tuner section does go bad then you will have to give up the entire unit to to the repair shop while its being fixed, versus if you had a seperate tuner than you would still have your pre to use while the tuner is being fixed.

Also I think I think I read earlier that you might try using your receiver in a seperate room some distance away, if so then you will most likely have to give up using a nicer set of interconnects which will almost certainly negate any real audio improvements gained by using a seperate DAC. In my oppinion you would be far better off getting a pre and getting it as close to your amp as possible, then adding a DAC if you want. I happen to have A DAC that I would part with if your interested in getting one for a reasonable price.

Either way if you choose the adcom with or without a tuner section it will still be a vast improvement over your receiver.

REGARDS SNOW

[heiney9]

also would it be approriate to ask him and a smart idea to open up the gfa-555 and check out the inside for capacitor issues?

Inspecting and demoing gear is always a great idea if it can be done. The 555's have no capacitor issues other than old age. The only thing to look for is stuff leaking or possibly a bloated cap. By the time you can visually see the electrolytic leaking there is usually already an issue rearing its ugly head as far as how it sounds. Crackley channel or cutting in and out or not woking at all or blowing rail fuses.

You will need a special (small) Torx type bit to get the top off.

H9

[snow]

he wants a 100 for it says its unscratched. i can talk him down maybe since i am buying both. also i can have him bring it by to try it out but since I dont have anything to compare it too i woudnt know. anything I could look at if I demo'd it?

also would it be approriate to ask him and a smart idea to open up the gfa-555 and check out the inside for capacitor issues? I agree with H9. I think it would be a good idea to look at the inside of the amp yes. If the bue caps are oversize or leaking than avoid it. as far as the $100.00 pricetag goes for the GTP-400 listen to it and if it sounds good to your ears its worth a 100 bucks. if it doesnt then go for something else. The average used retail for the last 2 weeks on the GTP-400 is $88.00 on ebay for whatever thats worth. I would myself rather spend an additional $50.00 and go for the pre that Dudeinaroom has because I know what it looks and sounds like. I owned it before he got it from me. but of course its more money and a little extra time involved with shipping. as far as what to look for on the GTP-400 goes make sure all connections and features work. good luck to you either way. :)

REGARDS SNOW

[thejck]

i am thinking about the pre that dudeina room had i will pm him.
i am not really that interested in getting a tuner right now anyway.
gave up that idea of using a receiver that was far away. i want either a receiver with a dac built in and pre outs or a preamp and a seperate dac. just trying to compare the 2. options i like the idea of seperates cause that way i can upgrade as i go along.
as far as the capacitor issues on the amps. i will listen to it and try to visually inspect it. if there is damage(i will ask to drop the price at that point) are those caps replacable or will the work be worth more that the money to buy it.
he said he used it with a a pair of LaScallas and never had any issues with it.
do you know the number of the torq bit needed is??

[thejck]

well there goes that option for the pre.. i sent him a PM but I guess someone else already had it pinned down.

[heiney9]

i am thinking about the pre that dudeina room had i will pm him.
i am not really that interested in getting a tuner right now anyway.
gave up that idea of using a receiver that was far away. i want either a receiver with a dac built in and pre outs or a preamp and a seperate dac. just trying to compare the 2. options i like the idea of seperates cause that way i can upgrade as i go along.
as far as the capacitor issues on the amps. i will listen to it and try to visually inspect it. if there is damage(i will ask to drop the price at that point) are those caps replacable or will the work be worth more that the money to buy it.
he said he used it with a a pair of LaScallas and never had any issues with it.
do you know the number of the torq bit needed is??

1) the dac's built in to the receiver aren't always better than the ones in your player. Most stand alone's are better, again not always. SO don't buy a receiver based solely on this premise

2)Caps are replaceable for not a whole lot of money, personally unless it was a rock bottom deal why mess with a broken component. If there is any spillage the cost will be quite high as the labor to strip and clean parts is tedious.

3) seperates in general will give you better bang for you buck and are gnereally more flexible.

4) I think you are on the right track

H9

AGAIN: The GFA 555 has no known capacitor issues.

[thejck]

if the caps look good and the sound is good. is there anyway to check against cap issues in the future. or is it doomed to happen?

[heiney9]

if the caps look good and the sound is good. is there anyway to check against cap issues in the future. or is it doomed to happen?

Electroytic caps have a shelf life of about 20 years on average. Nothing can be done to prevent them from getting old. Only time will tell and you might start to notice diminishing sound. Don't worry about it, if it sounds good now there probably is no problem.

My Adcom is 20 years old and I notice no problem whatsoever.

H9

[thejck]

any thoughts on a denon pra-1500

[snow]

any thoughts on a denon pra-1500It was around 1k new in 1989 if that helps any. It might prove diffcult to get parts for now would be my biggest concern. one sold recently on audigon for $145.00


REGARDS SNOW

[thejck]

it has a remote woohoo

you know anything about these denon dap-5500 preamp with dac
http://cgi.ebay.com/Denon-DAP-5500-RARE-VINTAGE-DAC-pre-amp-NR_W0QQitemZ230162315021QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item23 0162315021

[snow]

it has a remote woohoo

you know anything about these denon dap-5500 preamp with dac
http://cgi.ebay.com/Denon-DAP-5500-RARE-VINTAGE-DAC-pre-amp-NR_W0QQitemZ230162315021QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item23 0162315021
It was one of there best units back in the day. Very well made it had balanced outputs which are nice. Of course once again there is always the issue of finding parts for this if it fails.

REGARDS SNOW

[thejck]

i hate this goddamn city man i got the 2 rti12 sitting in my basement and i cant turn them on

[heiney9]

i hate this goddamn city man i got the 2 rti12 sitting in my basement and i cant turn them on

Rub and caress them a little bit that'll turn them on :D . I know what you mean just have some patience and make sure toi get something you'll be happy with and not just something so you can get 'em hooked up.

H9

[thejck]

i'm definitly getting the adcom amp for now. i am not sure if i will get a second one in the future to run them in mono. as far as the pre i have been thinking about it and also what you said about my source. maybe i am better off getting a used receiver there is a guy here with a denon avr-1907 for 200 bucks
save some money and then get a good pre and dac in the near future.
reading up some of ure older posts h9 and you have a bunch of guys that live near you lucky fellow. how far are you from collinsville IL.

[Silverti]

I run mine on 2 Outlaw monblocks at 200 Watt each. You can pick 2 up for about $625 strait from outlaw.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/2200.html


Buy them new and live with your warrantee and not worry how old they are of how they have been treated. They run my Rti12's fine. If you think they aren’t enough, then get 4 of them and biamp the Rti12 with all of them :)

RTi12's are GREAT bang for the buck speakers and Outlaws are GREAT bang for the buck amps. Put them together and they are pretty much the best bang for the buck you can get out there :)

[thejck]

nad 1240 preamp???

never mind the guy is not willing to sell it by itself..

[thejck]

or a nad t761 receiver

[thejck]

well crap what a day. this morning i woke up thinking i would be listening to some good music tonight but its all crap now.
the guy with the gfa-555 came by and one of the channels was not working. said he had them for a year not used and i guess it suffered the capacitor fate...he was just as bumed as me. so i guess i am on the market for an amp as well as a pre and a dac....

[thejck]

are there any adcom amps that are comparable to the gfa-555 but newer
i want about the was watts rms and the ability to do bridged mono

[snow]

are there any adcom amps that are comparable to the gfa-555 but newer
i want about the was watts rms and the ability to do bridged mono yes. http://cgim.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/bb.pl?adcom&1&listmodls&3&4&zz&zz simply click on any of these to do a search on google about any of these amps.

REGARDS SNOW

[thejck]

Parasound Power Amplifier HCA 1500A any input is it worth going over to audition those?

[snow]

Parasound Power Amplifier HCA 1500A any input is it worth going over to audition those?
What did a search of reviews reveal for this amp?

We cant possibly do all the work for you. :D


REGARDS SNOW

[thejck]

i know snow. i am researching it as we speak bud. i am not lazy in that respect. it is 205watts stereo and can do bridged mono too. i just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with it. i have been glued to this laptop for the last 2-3 weeks researching this stuff.
people on here talk good about parasound right??

[snow]

i know snow. i am researching it as we speak bud. i am not lazy in that respect. it is 205watts stereo and can do bridged mono too. i just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with it. i have been glued to this laptop for the last 2-3 weeks researching this stuff.
people on here talk good about parasound right??hmmm... I guess that would depend on who you talk too lmaooo:p . But yes people talk good about parasound here.

REGARDS SNOW

[thejck]

tell me i am curious. something i am missing

[snow]

tell me i am curious. something i am missingIt was meant as a joke. Im sure there will be someone though who would say otherewise but as far as I know everyone likes parasound amps.

REGARDS SNOW

[heiney9]

are there any adcom amps that are comparable to the gfa-555 but newer
i want about the was watts rms and the ability to do bridged mono

Yes, the GFA 5400, GFA 5500, GFA 5800, GFA 5802. None of these are bridgeable and bridging is way over rated. I wouldn't worry about finding an amp that is bridgeable unless you need it for a sub amp (1 ch).

[dkg999]

I run two Parasound HCA-1500A's to bi-amp my Magnepan 1.6QR's. It's one of the best dollar to performance values out there. Very musical with loads of reserve power and dynamics. Solid and reliable.

[thejck]

i went with the parasound hca1500a last night. went over to a guys house to check it out and bought it off him. the guy had some awesome equiment. I should have taken pictures. he had 3 different setups for 2 channel listening in his basement in different corners of the house. he had tubes and amps and preamps up the wazoo.
he had a gtp-502 preamp that the top was scratched up and he had tried to cover it up with a black marker and had a parasound p3 halo preamp. i went with the halo. not really sure about the pre but i got it home hooked it up and it ssounds great. i need to rearrange the speakers cause they are in a spare room right now. i was happy just to be able to turn it on.

sorry if i came across as a guy that was looking for other people to do his research. i have been going through this forum and searching and researching i just posted model numbers to see if i got a quick reply.

i read some good reviews on that amp from a few people on this polk forum. the preamp reviews are so so. for the price i guess it will work but its not a waste of money. will be happy with this for a few years :)

any thoughts comments??
one thing that i wonder about it the pre amp is supposed to go from 0-80 as far as sound control and i had it up around 60 to get it loud. is this normal or am i doing something wrong? i was reading about other preamps with analog volume control saying that you should not have your volume past the 12 oclock mark and was concerened??? also as far as the L R balance is concerened when i switched from blacnced to L or R that speaker seemed to get louder but the other one still played is that normal or is somehting wrong?

[thejck]

i figured out the balance thing. what the balance is doing is actully turning up one channel and leaving the other at the same volume setting. i guess thats different from what i am used to where the balance actully turns off one channel when turned all the way.

i plugged a pair of headphones into the preamp with the amp off. i had to turn the preamp up to about 45+ before the sound became audible. is that normal.
i am using an external dvd player with L+r outputs to the direct inputs of the pre.

its been a long time since i have been exposed to the world of seperates so please bare with me if these questions seem stupid.
i was less than 10 years old in the 80's running over to my neighbours house to listen to music and he had seperates then. so its been a while

[thejck]

i emailed parasound support and they said the volume thing was normal. well i now need to get a dac. i already have the chaintech av-710 on the way. this will be my second one i use the other in the HT rig.

H9 do you like the AMC dac you use in the Computer rig?
can you tell me what I am looking for when i research a DAC.

[thejck]

has anyone compared a parasound hca-1500 with a hca-3500.

one is 205 watts per channel and the other is a 350 watts per channel amplifier. what can i expect if I made an upgrade like that. i searched this forum and a few people actully own the 3500. any thoughts about a possible upgrade

[cfrizz]

I can tell you that I didn't hear a difference when I went from the parasound hca-1500 to the Sunfire 405wpc amp in my signature.

But then again, I'm not pushing all those drivers of the 12's So in that case, I would probably go for it.