Sdatch, that's right that pioneer is a value and also good review compare to the pricey universal player but planning to upgrade that pioneer soon. thanks ron.
mike,for home theaters i'm using rotel RB-976 6-channel but i bridge to 3 channel 150 watts not too bad for hometheater and for main channel rotel RB-1080 if you want to try rotel for home theater try RMB-1095 200 watts 5 channel great review on any audio magazine and great value lots of amplifier on the market but too pricey rotel is best buy. ron.
Nice Darth Vader! Great media collection, you definitely have your priorities right. That little Pioneer is a great value, probably one of the best in audio today. I have one in my home theater and my buddy does as well. They hold up pretty well against certain "high-end" universals.
The reason I was asking about the Rotel is that I have the Pre-5 too. I love it. Stepped down from tube pre and this little Pre-5 is spectacular. Not as airy as tubes, but it does so many things right and has a beautiful sound. It is a gem.
I am currently using it to drive a Pass Labs Aleph 30 amp. It matches well but I want more guts. That is my interest in the Rotel. I haven't heard there newer stuff and was interested if there is synergy between the two. It was either that or an Audio Refinement Multi-2, 3, or 5 power amp. They are 125w/ch. Is that enough for Maggies as I have thought about them often, but not with my current 30/ch. I want more flexibility with more power than my 30/ch class "A" amp.
If you listen to CD's a lot a dedicated cdp will really bring your system to another level. I discovered the Cary CD-308 last year and it is spectacular. It can be gotten for about $850 used. Not much can compete ar its price. Great detail, bass, soundstage, clarity, and w/o grain.
What amplification do you use for your HT speakers? Do you use another set of outputs from your Pre-5 to another amp for HT? It sound like a good idea that I may try.
Mjcmt,thanks for your comments rotel is good enough to drive the maggies 200 watts @ 8 ohms & 300 @ 4 ohms about rotel and pre-5 sounds good to me and for the price my pioneer is not to bad for this set up this is a universal player plays SACD & DVD audio the other speakers are energy 5+2 audissey series bi-polar and energy LCR for center and paradigm PW-2200 for my home theaters.
Looks nice and simple. I like simple with good sound. You should be commended on your choices.
How does the Pre-5 and the Rotel match? Both are warm. Is the Rotel powerful enough for the Maggies? Is the Pioneer match the quality of your othe components?
The Eminent Technology LFT-8A's are a hybrid speaker (8" bass driver with push-pull planar mid/high)I had never heard of them, but was interested after seeing some for sale on Agon. They were inexpensive enough to merit buying a pair used from a guy one hour away and auditioning them against the Maggie 1.6's. I have put a more through description of their sound/performance on the comments at my virtual system, but in short they were more robust, rich sounding, had stronger bass and quicker mid/highs. The push-pull design of the Eminents uses two sets of magnets with the mylar diaphram inbetween vs. the one set of magnets used by Magnepan. The difference in speed/detail is quite noticeable. I was an ardent Maggie fan (I still think they're nice) but my world was rocked by the Eminent. I sold the Maggie 1.6's for $1175 and bought a used pair of Eminents for $800, which put $375 into my pocket after an impressive upgrade in sound. That's the holy grail of audio! An upgrade that pays you! I have gone on to build a "super-speaker" system comprised of twin sets of Eminent LFT-8A's. You can also see this on my virtual system. I honestly don't know why the Eminent's are not more well known, but they certainly are an impressive speaker. Aesthetically they are not as "clean" in form as the Maggies, but in performance I put them in a higher category altogether. Their new price is almost identical to the 1.6, but used they can be had for well under $1,000. I would love to hear if you ever decide to take the Eminent Challenge. I believe you'd be well rewarded.
thats energy 5+2 and AC-300 LCR audissey series for my hometheater,sometimes i'm using subwoofer for maggies but for critical listening i'm not using sub i like the sound of maggies with out sub tell me about your eminent technology. enjoy listening.
Simplicitymusic, So what are you up to? Looks like Definitive Technology speakers for surround and Magnepan 1.6's for two channel listening? Are you running a subwoofer with the maggies? Email me and I'll tell you about my switch to Eminent Technology LFT-8A speakers. You can upgrade AND put $ into your pocket.
