Page 1 of Using Hi Fi System for Movies - Advice??

I have a Sony DAV300 Home Theater System and it was great for movies, but mediocre for CDs. I listened to the following Home Theater System and had the same experience: Denon 1602 Amp; Pioneer DV636 DVD Player; and Definitive Technology Pro Cinema 60 and 80`s surround speakers. Then I listened to the following hi-fi system and was very impressed: Rotel CD Player and Amp, Quad 11L speakers, and Def Tech sub-woofer. I am tempted to this hi-fi system (or something similar), but am wondering what will I need to have the capability to have surround movie capability also? The Pioneer DVD player should do the trick, but is the Rotel Amp have the right processing capability, or will I need a separate amp for movies? I guess I will have to buy a center and two rear speakers also? Recommendations? Will the Rotel Amp be able to send sound to all 6 speakers? What else do I need to consider when trying to upgrade a great hi-fi system to a home theater system? Thanks in advance for ideas/suggestions/advice!

Zimmy, first things first. Listen to the Quad11L`s with the Roksan Kandy amp. The Quads are a smooth laid back speaker and putting the Roksan with them will open up the higher end a bit and make them sing. Also did you take your owm music. Us retailer allways have a selection of discs that we know are going to get the best out of any given piece of kit. It`s no good saying "that sounds nice with Tracy Chapman" if you listen to Napalm Death all day.

Once you have got your Hi-Fi sorted out you will need something to do your suround processing. You can get dedicated surround processers like the Yamaha DSP-E800 but this is a few years old know and getting long in the tooth. I would go for a home cinema amp with what they call pre-outs. Once they are connected when you want to listen to music you just turn the Hi-Fi amp on. When you want to listen to a 5/6/.1 you just turn on the cinema amp on too. Your Hi-Fi will do the front left and right and you home cinema amp will do the processing and amplification for your center and rears.

Now all you need is a center and rear speakers. I would allways go for the same make center as your front left and right This is for voice matching. If someone walks from left to right across the screen thier voice won`t change when it gets to the center.

Good luck.

All the best,

The 42%er.

Give me a chance to shine and I will blind the world.

Mr Bruce

I 100% agree with you there. However, Until last week I had my Arcam A85 hooked up for Stereo duties with a Marantz SR4300 doing the processing for movies (feeding the Arcam via the pre-outs to drive the main fronts). Having played around for sometime to get the balance right (and fixing the level of the Arcam with the processor function) I hit the jackpot...or so I thought. I listened to the system like that for about a year until last week when I decided that I would much prefer to listen to my "audiophile system" in my bedroom and leave the Marantz in the front room for home cinema duties. Anyway to cut a long story short, I was amazed at the difference driving my KEF`s direct from the Marantz made...its like listening to a whole new set-up (a much much better one at that) its great!. I may have been able to do a bit better with the previous setup if I had employed a sound pressure metre but I doubt it would have made much of a difference.

My question to you Mr Bruce (or Westy) is, I now have my Arcam CD72 and A85 in my bedroom and listen to music on my Grado SR125 Headphones (Magic!) but I don`t have any speakers for listening aloud. I`ve been looking at the Quad 11L`s (which are just plain gorgeous) but wondered what they would sound like with my Arcam`s (the 12L`s are too big for my room BTW). I can`t go to my local dealer really coz he doesn`t carry the Quad`s and the nearest store after that is over an hours drive away. So I was thinking (just this once) to take a risk and order some on-line without listening to them with my system. So, what do you think they will sound like (I think What HiFi said they were a good match)...I know I shouldn`t do this but.....

Are there any reasonably priced amps with pre-outs on them?

I quite like the idea of using my two stereo speakers as well :)

Quote:
Are there any reasonably priced amps with pre-outs on them?

lllllloooooaaaaadddddddsssss of them my friend, infact I think its fairly rare to find a HC Amp without them these days (unless they are dirt, dirt cheap jobs) :D

Quote:
unless they are dirt, dirt cheap jobs

Well I`m looking at two options - get an all in one surround jobby (without the DVD player) for around £200, or buy the amp, a centre and some rear speakers.

I already have perfectly good front speakers and a sub to go with that and due to limited room, I like the idea of buying a receiver and 3 speakers. It seems more efficient.

Zimmy,

Very interesting that you brought this up, since I`ve been unhappy with the sound of my CDs through my LG 4710/Altec Lansang 5.1 system in comparison to my Philips FW930 hi-fi system. Of course the DVD player/5.1 system is wonderful for movies, but there`s so much warmth about the sound of my CDs through my hi-fi.

Trouble is, I don`t want to disconnect my subwoofer from my 5.1 system. That would be too much. ;)


EVH

I have posted this once but it seems to have buggered off so I will try again.

GregWW, a couple of questions.

What type of music do you like and how do you like it to sound? Upfont, bright and attacking or more laid back and smooth.

What size room are you in and what type of floor are you on?

What interconnects and cables are you useing?

If you are going to buy on the net do it very soon as Quad have just closed every account in the UK and are opening up only the retailers who have a high street persence and can dem the entire range of products. When we signed the dealer contract it stipulated that you could sell to personal callers only. To put it another way, no internet selling. So you may have to travel at the end of the day. Saying that, don`t rush in to it.

Answer me the above and I will advise as best I can.

All the best,

The 42%er.

Give me a chance to shine and I will blind the world.

Thanks for that, I did post a reply but it got scrubbed in the timewarp (I saw Westy`s too which recommended the Monitor Audio Bronze B2`s and th EVO 1`s as well as Aego P2 sub + sat, cheers Westy :) )...I was on the site when it crashed advising Rik Booth to go to Uni and not succomb (sic?) to his teenage urges...I`m not havin` a go Rik ok! :D

Anyway back on topic:

1. I listen to sweeping film scores (like LOTR and The Last Samurai), Mike Oldfield, Trance/Dance, Some rock (old and new) and Pop as well as traditional Classical.

2. I like my sound to be smooth and sultry but with LOTS of detail and attack when required.

3. I`m in a first floor flat so the floor is wooden/mdf/chipboard flooring with Carpet (not too thick to dampen the sound...but too thin for the neighbours!!! :D )

4. Interconnects are Sonic Link Messenger`s but I don`t have and speaker cable yet (coz no speakers!) I used to use (and still do on the HC) Chord Company Carnival Bi-wire into my Kef 35.2`s but I was never happy with the sound from my Stereo.

5. Its very hard to find the things online anyway so I probably would travel. Exeter and Bristol are closest and each have an abundance of HiFi shops (well Bristol has anyway)

6. I should also mention that although I am listening to my headphones through the A85 I plan to get a dedicated Headphone Amp like the Graham Slee Solo. To do this I need to upgrade the CD72 to an 82 to get the extra set of line outputs.

Your help is much appreciated!

:D

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