I guess if I'm not liking the sound I could try a different receiver, the Anthem MRX 300 is about $1000 + tax. If I sold my Elite it wouldn't cost me very much, but I'm getting ahead of myself, I haven't even listened to this combo yet.

Speaking of Inception, I went into BB today to pick it up and when I came out somebody had run into the side of my car. A nice big dent in the passenger side front fender, of course no one could be found anywhere. Looks like a good $1500 damage.:angry:

awesome I liked Inception........... have fun with the monos... im watching the tudors right now

Man that is aweful.

That really sucks big time man.:mad:

Just finished Inception and obviously they want you to believe it's another layer, but who's and why? The totem seems to be just about to fall over when the scene ends, did the kids look any older to you? I have to say that I was pleased with the performance of the UPA-1's, I had much better bass down to the crossover. That made the sub blend absolutely seemlessly with everything and the horn sound got louder and more intense as the movie progressed. I watched this at -12mv and didn't get any brightness from the horn sound, what mv level did you watch this at? Do you think the brightness was a result of your receiver clipping? I have to spend more time with the new amps to determine if they're going to stay, I just got them yesterday and tonight was the first time I've used all five together.

To say I was pissed is the understatement of the year. It didn't cause any damage to how the car drives, purely cosmetic. Some of the paint is scraped off and with how much salt they put on the roads at this time of year it'll rust in no time. I'll have to get a repair estimate next week and decide whether or not it's worth making an insurance claim. The dent is about a foot high and maybe 15 inches wide right above the front tire, it would have had to be a big vehicle to cause a dent in that location.

well I was thinking it was another layer.... and no the kids werent any older. but yes, the totem was wobbling.... which is why I was wondering what you guys thought.

Um no, not any distortion, I know what that sounds like. I think it might just be that I am more sensitive to highs then you might be. And bright might be the wrong way to describe it.... going from the Energys, which really rolled off the highs and lacked that ability to get high in the highs, to the Dyns which can do it all.... may explain why it seemed to get really loud.

It seemed like he had been away from his kids for quite some time so they would have aged. If he was still in a dream then the kids would still look like his last memory of them would they not? Or has he been stuck in limbo the whole time and just been jumping from dream to dream? Then who's the dreamer each time? That's what I'm wondering, if it's another layer who's the dreamer? I use a function on my receiver called the X-Curve which you can roll off the highs on a slope and use THX Ultra 2 processing which also rolls off the high frequencies. I've had to use that when using the avr on it's own and with every amp that I've tried. I think it's just the sound of the pre-amp section of the Pioneer, luckily it has features avalible to tame the brightness. I've got that feature dialed in to my liking, I don't like any brightness either. I also don't like really warm and laid back speakers for HT either, I seem to like it right down the middle. I found the Mission's that I had too laid back and the Paradigm Monitors too bright, the Studio's are right in between those two, for my taste's anyway.

I will get the Movie to day watcht it and let you know how this sound with the Rainmakers on my HK.

That Travis is so great :D le ve what you are doing :D

Aces High needs a pic in his gallery.

see, that is what I was thinking too with the movie, why are his kids still the same age? So yes, either they aren't real and he was still in another layer or that maybe HE was the one they were doing the inception on or extraction on. I just wasn't sure....

See I think you would like the Excites then, they aren't as laidback as the missions, which are at +3.5 dbs to match the X16s, they aren't as laidback as the Energys, but they don't sound like Digms or Monitor Audios either. They get to that quasi-bright sound, but always sound smooth and silky... hard to explain. You just have to go hear it.

NICE.... and they were a GIFT from Santa i can tell you that.

Then you need to chage your AV Steve :laugh:

They feel really smooth and natural with what should sound smooth like vocals Jazz and all that sutff and that is where they perform best, and possibly bright at time reveling so much details in the highs with some material but not always, I feel the same way about the Rainmakers. Details, Details, Detaisl as you like to say.

I'm not saying our speakers sound the same but I feel they are some similarities in the sound which is why I loved both so much.

yeah, they will take whatever is given to them and reproduce it. so if the recording is bright they will say so. If the recording is laidback and flat they will sound like that also. Very much a speakers that lets the soundtrack and movie or music come thru as it is. Details are overwhelmingly present. Let me know what you think of Inceptions music score. I think are speakers would share similar tonalities.... different but similar.

I was talking with Rhett yesterday and we were discussing the tweeters the Excites use, and it turns out they use the tweeter from the previous Contour series(3.3s, 1.3s etc). The Contours(current 3.4s, 1.4s, etc.) got an upgrade to what you see now and use the esotec+ tweeter, and replacing that old Contour line was the Focus line, then the Audiences were replaced with the Excites. In any case, I guess I get the late model Mercedes tweeter in my speakers. Its no wonder they are so revealing and spot on accurate.

What kind of music have you been enjoying lately Steve? And is there anything that the Excites truly excel at?

John

HEHE John I heard them (X32) and Vocals like our beloved speakers are amazing on pair of Excites, Jazz is great and not to shabby with Rock and Roll, (classic Rock). Accoustic guitar and piano are beautifully reproduced. I would think they also perform well in HT but that I did not experience but judging by Steve's posts I think he loves movies with them. :D

Hi Olivier!

I kinda thought that would be the case. I'm in a 70's, 80's mode today so I started off with some 10cc and now have me some Stevie Wonder happening. It's a cold, dreary and snowy day, so a great one for staying indoors and playing some tunes.

John

My music is all over the place, I prefer 70s(AC/DC, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd) and alternative modern rock(Incubis, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, etc). However I do listen to Norah Jones, Michael Jackson, Tori Amos, Classical symphonies, some hip-hop, Plus I like the 80s music that my dad grew me up on, the Police, Depeche Mode, Cure, etc., .... basically I just don't like Country music or club/beyaonce type music.

Same here, especially club music. I do like some country though. I have a mint copy of the original Willie Nelson "Stardust" LP and it is phenomenal. It's definitely worth a consideration .

John

I listen to almost EVERYTHING. I definitely have the most diverse music collection out of anyone I know. The only thing I probably do not listen to is the hardcore heavy metal. Some of the stuff that the guys post over on the "What album are you listening to" thread is what I am talking about. I enjoy the more "commercial" heavy metal/hard rock bands.

I used to love heavy metal, but rarely listen to it anymore. I suppose my age plays a factor in it though.

John

Never... Your just going through a "phase." ;)

The Excites are a funny speaker, as they do really well with just about it all. They have never sounded like the don't do something well. They have enough Chunk to make Rock music sound like Rock music, they have the silkiness to make a Sax sound like a Saxophone should sound... Acoustics and Female Vocals come thru with the delicate sense that they should. Norah Jones, when she gets high in her voice, it comes thru forcably smooth and but delicate. I haven't played to much hip-hop, but Mrs Jackson from Outkast sounded great, but I needed the Sub to get that low end hip-hop effect. Most other music sounds great. I like that the Excites do not offer bass to a song that doesn't have a lot of slam, I can play albums and where one song offers plenty of Thump you hear it, then the next song doesn't, and you don't, and I am comparing songs from the same artists, on the same album.

Movies are intense, the weight of the sound track is always there. In Inception, I was finding myself holding my breath like I was expecting the weight of the water to crush me also. I can't wait to have some Dyn surrounds... and the Center channel. However when my wife and I watched The Tudors last night, the violas sounded bright and sparkly, and friendly....

To give you a direct comparison, on the Sttafs I played John Mayer live in LA and Incubis Live in Australia. With the Sttafs, John Mayer was excellent, spot on and perfectly bluesy and Jazzy. With Incubis, the Staffs sounded great and Chunky, but tempered just a bit. With the Excites, Incubis was great and Chunky also, but not so tempered, more forward as the recording suggested. With Mayer, the Excites revealed all the same detail and depth, but the recording sounded slightly less favorable. I think the Sttafs can make a bad recording sound a little more favorable. However both are excellent speakers. Tone is a little different, but not too far off. I must say that you have an amazing set of speakers. We all do.

OH, and the Excites LOVE vinyl.

Oh, and also, comparing the excites to the energys.... not even fair. I still think Energy makes a nice speaker, but I could never go back.

yeah, some of the stuff they post, makes me nervous to post that Im listening to michael Jackson ATM...... they may think Im rhettarded or something.

The boys over there are hardcore to be sure, that's why I like to post in there. You know, offer some alternative choices.

John

Cool! Glad you like it! Did you get the HD Track or the vinyl?

John

yea, my speed metal days are long over.... oh.. they never began. I like Punk music, Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Decendants, The Clash, Assorted Jelly Beans, older punk like Oingo Boingo... stuff like that... but not speed metal.

I don't mind heavy rock, old Metallica and stuff like that either.

Jason, what DAC are you using?

Honestly my Rainmakers are also a tad more revealing maybe not s forgiving than the Sttaf but also adaptable speaker, a bit brighter at times but not much. I love all 3 speakers to be honest and it,s not a coincidence cause they all seem to perform well all around.

Sweet! The bass player on that album, Niels-Henning Orsted Petersen, was only 18 yrs old and Dexter Gordon considered him to be the best bass-player in all of Europe.

John

right on. you have some good choices ahead of you.

Have a good lunch Steve and change your Avatar :D

I sent my Part-timer to get me a sandwich..... I can't change it till I get home... and that is if the Dialup will let me.

litterally, all hell has broke loose at my job today, there are 2 plant shut downs happening this week and they all need stuff right now that is on my delivery truck that is 3 hrs late, and now I have to driver 30 minutes to go get the stuff on the truck to bring it back here. Then take it out for delivery. I have one customer that has had a waste water breakage and they are in 5 feet of water and want all sorts of stuff NOW, a construction guy that we had to get 15 6' ladders to today.... and so much more... The District is short staffed because of a convention half the employees went to, so my Sales person is covering another store, and I only have 5 hrs of scheduled part time help. Today, has not been a very stress free day.

They're on my list of speakers to give a serious audition before upgrading again. Inception may be one of those movies that require's multiple viewings to catch all the little details.