In article ,
says...

What am I supposed to be hearing in 7.1 surround sound? What's the big
deal?

When the sound stage is in front of you as it is in music, there's
little to be gained by surround.

It's supposed to put you in the middle of the sound stage in a physical
environment such as in the middle of a movie set where the world is
indeed 360 degrees. When used effectively, it's pretty amazing. Helps
with suspension of disbelief when watching crappy action adventures,
which is not my habit but I'm sure works on a lot of beer swillin'
Republicans who like Rambo flicks. Probably rattles their trailers
pretty good.

If your primary use is music, there's plenty of audiophiles who can
point you in the right direction. Try posting on one of the audiophile
forums or in the forum of a audiophile magazine.

If I remember properly, didn't you have electrostatic speakers? Someone
might have some advice on which receiver/amp would match up well.

jps

On Sun, 30 Oct 2005 15:22:35 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

jps wrote:

If I remember properly, didn't you have electrostatic speakers? Someone
might have some advice on which receiver/amp would match up well.

jps

I have a pair of Magnepans, plus a powered subwoofer. I've been powering
them with a Yamaha receiver, which has worked out very well, but the
stereo my wife uses is in the family room, and the amp there just died
and is too old to fix. So, I'm giving my wife the Yamaha I have now, and
unless I change my mind, I'll be getting a new Yamaha RX-797 later this
month. It's two-channel stereo, with a subwoofer port.

The mags need an amp that is more capable than the Yamaha you've been
using. They are very inefficient, and also present a low impedance
load to an amp. To get decent dynamic range even at moderate
listening levels, you need a serious amp.

Aragon makes (or used to make) some very good amps that are capable of
driving Magnepans. You really need to go with a "seperates" approach
to get the most from the mags... an amp, pre-amp, etc. No receiver.
You can probably find a pre-amp/tuner combo that has a sub output for
your self-powered one. Just don't cheap out on the amp.

Find a high-end audio store and ask some questions. If you're lucky,
you'll find a saleperson that is knowledgable and will steer you
toward the right equipment. Let them know about the Mags... it makes
a difference. Best Buy, Circuit City, Tweeters, etc... don't have a
clue.

Jack

On Sun, 30 Oct 2005 18:53:15 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

Jack Goff wrote:
On Sun, 30 Oct 2005 15:22:35 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

I have a pair of Magnepans, plus a powered subwoofer. I've been powering
them with a Yamaha receiver, which has worked out very well, but the
stereo my wife uses is in the family room, and the amp there just died
and is too old to fix. So, I'm giving my wife the Yamaha I have now, and
unless I change my mind, I'll be getting a new Yamaha RX-797 later this
month. It's two-channel stereo, with a subwoofer port.

The mags need an amp that is more capable than the Yamaha you've been
using. They are very inefficient, and also present a low impedance
load to an amp. To get decent dynamic range even at moderate
listening levels, you need a serious amp.

Aragon makes (or used to make) some very good amps that are capable of
driving Magnepans. You really need to go with a "seperates" approach
to get the most from the mags... an amp, pre-amp, etc. No receiver.
You can probably find a pre-amp/tuner combo that has a sub output for
your self-powered one. Just don't cheap out on the amp.

Find a high-end audio store and ask some questions. If you're lucky,
you'll find a saleperson that is knowledgable and will steer you
toward the right equipment. Let them know about the Mags... it makes
a difference. Best Buy, Circuit City, Tweeters, etc... don't have a
clue.

Jack


Well, maybe. The new Yamaha I'm looking at puts out about 150 watts per
channel across 4 ohms. My old Yamaha was far less powerful but did a
good job at my listening levels with the Mags.

I've looked at the Aragon line. No output for a subwoofer, which means
you have to run the speaker wires to the subs first, and then run wires
from the sub to the speakers.

Not true. The Stage One preamp is a surround sound
processor/preamp/tuner, and it definitely has a sub out. It can be
used in a 2 channel mode with no processing, and is a top-notch
performer. It may be out of your price range, however... it retails
for $3999.00, and can be had for $2999.00 Add another nearly $2k for
an Aragon 2002 amp, or even more for the 3002. However, it's not
worth it if you can't hear the difference between that setup and a
Yamaha receiver.