$3000 CAD separates please advice

[romantic]

i'm thinking about upgrading my denon receiver and with this budget i was adviced to go with separates so i move from the receiver forum here

Here's the list what i have now:

Denon avr-788
Samsung 40" Series 550
PS3
KEF XQ30 and XQ50 (fronts and center)

i'm planing to use this system for both music and movies 50/50 with priority to music sq

i dont have any favor in specific brands as long as the quality is good and the look is acceptable for me.

please feel free to advice me anything

[blarneyrubble]

How many speakers are you going to be using?

[blarneyrubble]

Check this out.

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/auc....roc&1249954231

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....dta-9.4-7-chan

[romantic]

Originally Posted by blarneyrubble

How many speakers are you going to be using?

i will be using 3 speakers for now but eventually will be 5.1 system

[Chizzap30]

Originally Posted by romantic

i will be using 3 speakers for now but eventually will be 5.1 system

To add to the PM I just sent you. These would be the pieces recommended from NAD

T175 Pre-amp/Processor and T955 or T973 Power Amp.

[romantic]

Originally Posted by Chizzap30

To add to the PM I just sent you. These would be the pieces recommended from NAD

T175 Pre-amp/Processor and T955 or T973 Power Amp.

I will look into NAD as well. it looks nice. there are so many brands i have to read about. just wondering what the different between these brand?

[Animo]

Originally Posted by romantic

I will look into NAD as well. it looks nice. there are so many brands i have to read about. just wondering what the different between these brand?

With regards to amplifiers, I would check out the Emotiva XPA-5.
One third the price of the NAD 5 channel amp. One fourth the price of the Integra amp, has balanced & single ended inputs, and twice the power. Solid, well built, and sounds great with my Outlaw 970 processor. With the money you save on the amp alone, you can get your 2 surround speakers, maybe the Oppo BDP-83 Universal BluRay player, and you can still choose a good processor and keep everything under your budget. The Emotiva UMC-1 processor ($699) should be available within a few weeks.

I fail to see why when people give a budget, looking for recommendations, others will recommend 1 or 2 parts of the puzzle and wipe out the entire budget. Don't be in a hurry to buy something. DO some research, check other forums for user responses, and look for online reviews from the likes of HT Secrets and Audioholics, just to name 2.....there are plenty more. Just remember ..... expensive doesn't necessarily mean better!!

[CasualKiller]

In Canada the cost of importing that Emotiva gear puts it around the same price as that "budget wiping" NAD setup....

[Animo]

Originally Posted by CasualKiller

In Canada the cost of importing that Emotiva gear puts it around the same price as that "budget wiping" NAD setup....

I seriously doubt that shipping charges for an Emotiva amp to Canada equals 2/3 of the price of the NAD amp.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Animo

I seriously doubt that shipping charges for an Emotiva amp to Canada equals 2/3 of the price of the NAD amp.

Sometimes, Canada Customs charges another 25% or so. It depends on the product and country of origin.

[CasualKiller]

Originally Posted by Animo

I seriously doubt that shipping charges for an Emotiva amp to Canada equals 2/3 of the price of the NAD amp.

Shipping, exchange, taxes and sometimes customs brokerage fees. I've already looked into Emotiva for myself, it may be a great budget audio item for the US but it definitely isn't that great of a deal for us Canucks.

[-DLS-]

For Canadians buying stuff from anywhere outside of Canada, this website is pretty close to what you will end up paying - thefinalcost.com. The Emotiva amps are not made in the U.S. and Emotiva ships through Fedex - I just don't know what shipping rate to enter but Emotiva should include the total cost with duties to Canada if you call them. My total for an XPA-3 came right at $900cdn then a month later they credited $25 cuz I was quoted too much for shipping. This was when the XPA-3 was on sale for $499 but our Canadian dollar was over 1.25 at the time. It is much better now at under 1.10 so I would say for an XPA-3 you would spend between $800-900cdn after duties and taxes - which I don't think is bad at all. Americans get a sweet deal for this stuff but I don't feel ripped off paying $900cdn. Worth every penny since I use it almost everyday!

[Animo]

Originally Posted by DLS_222

For Canadians buying stuff from anywhere outside of Canada, this website is pretty close to what you will end up paying - thefinalcost.com. The Emotiva amps are not made in the U.S. and Emotiva ships through Fedex - I just don't know what shipping rate to enter but Emotiva should include the total cost with duties to Canada if you call them. My total for an XPA-3 came right at $900cdn then a month later they credited $25 cuz I was quoted too much for shipping. This was when the XPA-3 was on sale for $499 but our Canadian dollar was over 1.25 at the time. It is much better now at under 1.10 so I would say for an XPA-3 you would spend between $800-900cdn after duties and taxes - which I don't think is bad at all. Americans get a sweet deal for this stuff but I don't feel ripped off paying $900cdn. Worth every penny since I use it almost everyday!

Exactly my point. While the exchange rate may not be completely favorable, to compare a $1600 amp + unknown shipping charges, to an amp costing half as much and maybe $300 shipping and duties and such is still a better bargain, and regardless of price is still twice as much power per channel.

[CasualKiller]

I'll put it as bluntly as possible, spending 2 thousand dollars ordering something on the internet you've never had an opportunity to listen to, is just retarded.

With a budget of 3 grand you owe it to yourself to audition as much as possible and utilize the entire budget on a set up that you will enjoy for years to come with no regrets or upgrade urges.

[Big Daddy]

NAD is considered to be a Canadian company and is owned by Lenbrook Group. They also own PSB speakers. This is the company profie.

[-DLS-]

Originally Posted by CasualKiller

I'll put it as bluntly as possible, spending 2 thousand dollars ordering something on the internet you've never had an opportunity to listen to, is just retarded.

I've ordered 2 things from the internet now BUT would never have done it if there was no return policy. The SVS had a 45 day trial and Emotiva 30 days. I ended up keeping both. If they didn't offer that I probably wouldn't have bothered trying other amps - since buying used your pretty much stuck with it and that's all I would've been able to get for the same price.

But I agree - audition as much as possible - even better if they let you take some gear home. I wouldn't have tried out the Marantz SR8002 if I couldn't return it. I'm glad I did though!!

[romantic]

Originally Posted by Animo

With the money you save on the amp alone, you can get your 2 surround speakers, maybe the Oppo BDP-83 Universal BluRay player, and you can still choose a good processor and keep everything under your budget.

I fail to see why when people give a budget, looking for recommendations, others will recommend 1 or 2 parts of the puzzle and wipe out the entire budget. Don't be in a hurry to buy something. DO some research, check other forums for user responses, and look for online reviews from the likes of HT Secrets and Audioholics, just to name 2.....there are plenty more. Just remember ..... expensive doesn't necessarily mean better!!

I like your idea on this, but living in Canada is not only inconvenient for shopping audio equipments online, but also hard to find many audio products. I haven't had time to go for audition anything yet but planning to audit Rotel RSP-1570 with RMB-1575, NAD T175 with T973 and maybe Arcam and Integra (if i can find the store carring their separates) in the near future since the stores are in local area.

Thx a lot for all of your advice I will definitely do audition as much as I can and will let you guys know.

[Animo]

Originally Posted by CasualKiller

I'll put it as bluntly as possible, spending 2 thousand dollars ordering something on the internet you've never had an opportunity to listen to, is just retarded.

With a budget of 3 grand you owe it to yourself to audition as much as possible and utilize the entire budget on a set up that you will enjoy for years to come with no regrets or upgrade urges.

I agree completely, but as has been stated by another, if there was no in home trial period, I would have stayed away completely from online retailers. However, with the purchase of my eD kit, I have gone solely on the advice of others and several review sites.

[Animo]

Originally Posted by romantic

I like your idea on this, but living in Canada is not only inconvenient for shopping audio equipments online, but also hard to find many audio products. I haven't had time to go for audition anything yet but planning to audit Rotel RSP-1570 with RMB-1575, NAD T175 with T973 and maybe Arcam and Integra (if i can find the store carring their separates) in the near future since the stores are in local area.

Thx a lot for all of your advice I will definitely do audition as much as I can and will let you guys know.

I originally did not know you were in Canada. Granted, it makes some purchases more difficult. There are some Canadians that own Emotiva equipment. Maybe a good idea would be to go to the Emotiva Lounge, you can post wherever you feel it makes sense, there is one entire thread devoted to Canadian posters titled Emotiv-eh http://emotivalounge.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=eh. Maybe there is someone that lives close enough for you to check out. Not as good as DLS_222's suggestion (quoted below) of being able to take stuff home to audition, but still it's an opportunity nevertheless. And make sure anything you can take home to audition has a return policy that doesn't necessarily lock you into only buying from one specific merchant...(ie return for store credit only).

Originally Posted by DLS_222

I've ordered 2 things from the internet now BUT would never have done it if there was no return policy. The SVS had a 45 day trial and Emotiva 30 days. I ended up keeping both. If they didn't offer that I probably wouldn't have bothered trying other amps - since buying used your pretty much stuck with it and that's all I would've been able to get for the same price.

But I agree - audition as much as possible - even better if they let you take some gear home. I wouldn't have tried out the Marantz SR8002 if I couldn't return it. I'm glad I did though!!