Need opinions on upgrading from consumer market crap electronics!

[Daffypuck]

OK, Im going to try and be as concise and to the point as I possibly can. I know newbie questions get old really fast. For years Ive been a consumer level A/V enthusiast. I bought my first A/V rcvr in late 1989/early 90'. Since then Ive owned many, many different A/V rcvrs ranging from $300-$1300. Every time Id get a new one, I'd read a review on a better one and want that one. But, no matter what I bought, they always never impressed me. Yeh sure, movies sounded OK on them, but music typically sucked IMO. Oh, I also went through many different speakers as well. So, fast forward to now. I finally gave up and lost interest and just settled for an Onkyo mid to upper level A/V receiver and some Infinity Beta series speakers. I know, crap to an audiophile. But, after listening to my girlfriends set-up (Krell Power amp, Theta pre, B&W mains, 18" Velodyne sub etc) the audiophile bug bit me again. Unlike in the past, I can now afford higher end gear, but I dont wanna spend untold amounts of money. I simply want a pre-amp/power amp set up that will blow the doors off of my run of the mill set-up I have now. I know that everyone has their opinions on different makes and models and what turns them off or on for a certain set-up, I just want some opinions on a good pre/power amp set-up that would address music and home theatre. Ive considered the Marantz MM7055/AV7005 combination. After reading a post or two here on the forums, I know the Marantz arent the most adired gear, but all I want to know is, since I cant listen to it anywhere before buying, will it NOTICABLY sound better than what I have currently? Im looking to spend $2000-$2500. Ill address speakers after Ive settled on the equipment. Thanks for any opinions or help.

[decal]

Going on what you say your girlfriend has,why not ask her to help you out?

[nhhiep]

+1 it looks like your gf should be the first person you should talk to :)

[mantis]

Where do you live? No shops around to go demo anything? I can help you dial in a really musical theater system. It's going to strongly depend on some factors.

1) What is going to be your primary source to play music? CD , Vinyl , computer music?
2) Tell me about your room , furniture , floor , ceiling height , size etc
3) I see you budget and I think we can put you into a very nice AVR thats very musical and theater like
4) Gotta know what kind of music you enjoy and what style of movies you mostly watch.


Start with that and we can move forward. Speakers are the biggest decision before any gear. You need to focus on them first , then build a system around them , not the other way around.

[cfrizz]

Why are you asking us when it's clear your GF obviously knows her gear. You would be giving her the biggest compliment and boost to her ego to know that you trust her to give you good advice about good equipment for you.

So go ask her, because some of us DO know what we are doing! Welcome to Club Polk!

Cathy

[pearsall001]

Sell your stuff & move in with the girlfriend!!! Problem solved.

[tonyb]

Sell your stuff & move in with the girlfriend!!! Problem solved.

Now thats solid advice.

[dhart86]

Going on what you say your girlfriend has,why not ask her to help you out?

^^^^^ What he said^^^^^
BTW, how did she figure out how to put quality separates together? Is she an audio enthusiast?

[Upstatemax]

Sell your stuff & move in with the girlfriend!!! Problem solved.

That was the first thing that jumped into my mind also.

Put a ring on that girl!

[GlennDog]

You're GFs got good ear . . . follow the path, my friend . . .

And WELCOME to Club Polk!

G

[Msabot1]

Your gal is into equipment like that? She sounds like a keeper to me! Welcome to what some of the guys call the Rabbit Hole!!

[Daffypuck]

Haha, thanks for the replies. First off, if your buddy or GF has a Porsche 911 Turbo, yeh its fun to drive. But you want one for yourself, one that fits your personal nuances. Second, she had a rich ex-husband who had some connections with high end audio and he purchased a lot of the equipment they shared. Dont get me wrong, she has a good working knowledge of audio stuff and what not, but she no longer has any connections and cant really give me a good opinion on a brand she has no experience with. As far as my preferences go, I will be using it for CD's & digital media (Ipod etc). I have a friend who is building a vinyl setup, so Im even considering that for the future, but not right at the moment. I really watch all types of movies, but if I was building a setup with one movie in mind it would be Star Wars I guess. After watching that movie on opening day in 1977, I said to myself shortly thereafter, "Im gonna have my own home theatre and watch this movie over and over". As far as music goes, once again I listen to most everything. But classical, metal and rock would probably be my top 3. As far as layout of the room its gonna be in, thats where I have issues. Its vaulted ceilings, big and open with a lot of reflective surfaces like walls , hardwood floors and windows.

There are so, so many different makers and models to choose from out there. As an audio/videophile, we're constantly trying out a new piece of equipment. Ive gotta start from somewhere and then see how I like it and keep it for a while or move to something new. Ive been reading up a lot on the Marantz AV7005/mm7055 combo and like what Ive read. I dont wanna drop $2000-$2500 and not notice a difference. Like I mentioned earlier, I noticed a huge, massive difference when listening to my GF's setup, but I dont wanna drop $15000!!!
Oh, one last thing. One of yall mentioned buying speakers first. Isnt that kind of like trying to hang a picture in a house you haveent built yet? Tell me if Im wrong, but I figured an average to above average set of speakers will sound their absolute best when a really good, clean signal is passed through them. The speakers I have arent high end quality, but theyre not absolute crap either. I just figured Id get a decent pre-pro and amp and see how they make my current speakers sound. If Im happy, then I can save for a few weeks and start looking and demoing different speakers.

As far as high end dealers in my area go, I dont have much to choose from. We used to have a place called Nicholsons that was very high end, but they closed a few years ago. Now all we have is Hi-Fi Buys. I plan on visiting them this weekend and seeing what all they have for me to listen to.

[B Run]

There's nothing wrong with getting the gear before the speakers, but you'll have to keep your gear in mind before making a speaker purchase. If (just an example) you went with all Emotiva gear then you'd prob want to avoid going with B&W or Klipsch since they can both be considered bright and wouldn't play as nicely together. You have a lot of options in that price range: Nad, Rotel, Anthem, Outlaw, Pioneer Elite, etc. Keep in mind you can always buy a nice new pre/pro and pick up a used amp to keep everything in the budget.

[dragon1952]

Any way you could either borrow her amp/pre or take your speakers over to her place? If you still don't like your speaks on her rig maybe that's where to begin.

[Daffypuck]

Ive thought about just buying the Marantz Pre-pro first and using her Krell to power it just to see how my current speakers sound. Then I can decide what amp to buy. I went to my local hifi shop this past weekend and the sales guy was really pushing a JBL AVA7 power amp on me. Thats why I started the other thread here. It seems no one knows very much on this amp other than the fact that its a clone of the Lexicon GX7. Well, it isnt, IMO. If it was, it wouldnt be going for $325 used online. I can find reviews all day long on the GX7 but nothing on the JBL. I just dont want to go spend $2500-$3000 on a bunch of seperates that sound pretty much like my Denon A/V receiver does. I want a noticeable improvement, not a glorified version of what I already have.
I just found out that Emotiva is built right down the road from me. I see their name thrown around a lot but no real breakdown of their gear. From what Ive see, theyre not high end, but rather mid to upper level consumer market. How good is their stuff?? How good are their amps??

[ViperZ]

Marantz gear is excellent and great sounding. It just depends, which speakers you'll pair them up with. Personally, I heard these paired up to Paradigm studio references and they sounded too bright to me.

[Moose68Bash]

You might want to have a look at the following Perreaux integrated on Audiogon. You might be able to get it for $2,500.00.

http://app.audiogon.com/listings/sol...plifiers-75035