My first serious home stero system is almost complete!

[Pibborando]

Well, thanks to these boards, audiogon and lots of Ebay hunting I have just about assembled my first seriously nice sounding stereo system.

I got a pair of Energy C-9s, a Denon PRA-1500 pre-amp, and a Rotel RB-980BX amplifier is on the way. Since the amp isn't here yet, I've been using my old Denon DRA-625R stereo reciever to power the speakers. They sound great, but I'm very excited to hear the difference nicer and separate components will make!

Just today I got a new arrival. The Audioquest GBC speaker cables I won on Ebay came in the mail and boy are they pretty! I scored them for $70 so I'm pretty happy. They're 8 foot pairs, and the first nice speaker cables I've owned.

Old:

New:

As of this post I haven't installed them just yet, but I will do that ASAP. I don't care if they only make the most minute of differences, their looks are worth it.

After the Rotel comes I'll be pretty much set, except I want to get a new DVD player/CD player because all I have right now is a super cheap Philips DVD 623 and a Yamaha CDC-555. I want a universal player with progressive out (for future nice TV) which can play DVD-A and SCAD, and it will replace the Yamaha too because I find it to be just a tad too bright.

I'm looking at the Denon DVD-2200. Very affordable and can do everything I want, and I like the Denon sound.

I think we should all share our recollections of the excitement and joy of getting your first good sounding system set-up.

 

[terrymx]

some good choices, show us more pics and impression after you got everything. I was looking at the integrated denon pma-1500, I heard denon have a bigger than life soundstage and strong bass. I love big soundstage.

 

[Pibborando]

Got the new cables in. It was tricky getting the spades to work with my receiver. The binding posts screw down onto raised plastic rings with semi-circles cut out of them on the top and bottom. I had to make due with sticking one prong into that hole and tightening the post down on top, with the other prong out in the air. Oh well, the Rotel amp doesn't seem to have this issue so the connection there should be better. But anyway, I think I do notice a sound difference. Obviously it will be more apparent with the nicer equipment hooked up to them but what I notice is an over-all smoother sound but without sacrificing detail. There's more detail now, it's just not harsh at all. It also sounds a bit more powerful or robust, especially in the low end which also sounds a bit tighter. Very pleased.

I am so anxious to get my amp. Darn you postal service and your not arriving on weekends!

edit: forgot to mention a bit more focused soundstage

 

[terrymx]

i was shopping for amps myself, but it was difficult to choose because so many of them seem to have their own character and change the sound somehow, i just wanted something that leave the music at is.

looked at marantz pm7200, class A amp, it was too warm. rotel ra-02 too lean on trebles sometimes. but in the end i bought a NAD, but i actaully wanted to get an older model since one of the new one has added bass.

i saw some philips dvd963sa player go for very cheap. impressed with the sound, 120db s/n ratio, especially with some sacd amazed me. the denon looks good with lots of video features though. but now i use my computer for everything, if i was to buy an home dvd player, i'd probably get one that support newer digital formats. especially at around $500-$600 if thats "cheap" then it should be able to find one.

 

[Pibborando]

Well, I just won a Denon DVD 2800. Sure it doesn't have SCAD or DVD-A but I don't even have surround yet and it doesn't matter that much to me.

The best part, it's in great cosmetic shape, works perfect and I got it for $35!!!

edit: Ok, so the DVD 2800 apparently doesn't have Dolby or DTS decoders build into it. What exactly does this mean as far as how movies will sound on my stereo set-up? I was planning on just taking the stereo RCA outs to my pre-amp and then to my amp. Will I not get the whole sonic "picture"? What do those decoders do exactly?

 

[purdue512]

Well done. I'm amazed you had the patience for eBay. I used to, but it's too much junk now. A real shame.

 

[Pibborando]

Heh. As much as I would love to go to a local hi-fi butique shop and buy my dream system there and take it all home with me to set-up that day, the prospect of getting stuff at 50% and sometimes 20% or even 10% of retail is a much more realistic choice for me as I've also got college to pay for.

Sure unpacking a brand new and shiny audio device and listening to it for the first time is great, but used can sound just as good or better because it's been burned in. And I don't mind a few scratches here or there as that would probably happen to my stuff anyways over time.

The downside to Ebay is sorting through all the junk and ripoffs. It's easiest when you have very specific things your looking for. Waiting for stuff to arrive by post is the worst part though. My amp is somewhere out there right now and not here in my house!

Just got to try and stay patient.

So here's everything I've bought, starting with the source:
- Denon DVD 2800, $60 shipped, retail $800
- Denon PRA 1500, $205 shipped, retail $400? (haven't found source on this)
- Rotel RB-980BX, $280 shipped, retail $600
- Monster Cable Interlink 300 MkII 3' pair (pre to amp, already have one from a while back that will go from dvd to pre), $15 shipped, retail $30
- Audioquest GBC 8' pair, $75 shipped, retail $250
- Energy C-9 speakers, $670 shipped, $1,300 retail

Oh, and I got a Logitech Harmony 550 universal remote because none of the stuff I bought came with remotes and this thing is actually quite cool. Got it for $72 shipped. I think it's $150 retail.

So I've spent almost $1,400. Yeesh. But if I got everything brand new it would have been over $3,500 so I'm ok with that.

 

[terrymx]

From what I know it is a multichannel digital format, which I think it is necesarily to be use with SPDIF connections. There are many versions of dts, including a 24/96 one.

Older dvd player might not be able to read this format, So I think dvd is now is required to have atleast have the more standard format, like ac-3 (aka digital doubly) or pcm. So if you can't get DTS, I'm sure you will get some sound out of the dvd. most of the time I extract the sound from the dvd its ac3 files.

I feel sorry for the guy who had to sell the dvd player cheap. I wonder how that work. I mean if you are selling a speaker that cost $10k but one person bid at $1, do you have to sell it at $1? I'd probably wouldn't and take the negative feedback, lol.

 

[JXBJXB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pibborando /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I just won a Denon DVD 2800. Sure it doesn't have SCAD or DVD-A but I don't even have surround yet and it doesn't matter that much to me. The best part, it's in great cosmetic shape, works perfect and I got it for $35!!! edit: Ok, so the DVD 2800 apparently doesn't have Dolby or DTS decoders build into it. What exactly does this mean as far as how movies will sound on my stereo set-up? I was planning on just taking the stereo RCA outs to my pre-amp and then to my amp. Will I not get the whole sonic "picture"? What do those decoders do exactly?

$35 for a DVD-2800 is a nice price indeed. Last they were available new, eCost was blowing them out refurbished around $185, that was maybe four years ago. That's when I bought one.

The build quality is great, the audio section decent, and it decodes HDCD. It was one of the first progressive-scan DVD players on the market. It has the "chroma bug": see here,

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...ug-4-2001.html

As for decoding, well, no, it doesn't have built in DTS or Dolby decoders, but most players don't. That's a function of your home theatre receiver or processor. The 2800 will send out DTS or Dolby bitstream information just fine to be decoded. You use the digital out to get these sound formats - analog over the RCA's won't work.

It will play CD-R and CD-RW OK, and does DVD+R ok, I've not been able to get it to read a DVD-RW. For video duty I use a newer Sony player which has better picture quality but worse audio quality.

 

[Fitz]

Son of a bitch, I saw that Denon DVD2800 too. I figured it'd go for more and didn't keep my eye on it. Blegh.

Oh well, at least it went to someone who didn't already have a decent DVD player.

 

[Pibborando]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Son of a bitch, I saw that Denon DVD2800 too. I figured it'd go for more and didn't keep my eye on it. Blegh. Oh well, at least it went to someone who didn't already have a decent DVD player.

Haha. How much would have been been willing to pay? I put my max at $65 because with the shipping that's pretty much all the money I had in my checking account at the time. I was surprised to find that I had won it for so little!

Sorry Fitz

edit: Is there any way to fix that chroma bug? I mean, I guess I can live with it because my current TV isn't anything special but if there's a firmware update or some kind of hardware swap that I could do...

Also, how would you say it sounds? I've been using my parents Yamaha CDC-555 for a while now to play CDs and I was wondering how this sounds in comparison. I find the Yamaha to be a tad bright and like Denon's sound generally so I figured I'd like this.

For clarification I want to use this DVD 2800 as a replacement for the Yamaha CD player and the cheap Philips DVD player I have.

 

[SayNoToPistons]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pibborando /img/forum/go_quote.gif Heh. As much as I would love to go to a local hi-fi butique shop and buy my dream system there and take it all home with me to set-up that day, the prospect of getting stuff at 50% and sometimes 20% or even 10% of retail is a much more realistic choice for me as I've also got college to pay for. Sure unpacking a brand new and shiny audio device and listening to it for the first time is great, but used can sound just as good or better because it's been burned in. And I don't mind a few scratches here or there as that would probably happen to my stuff anyways over time. The downside to Ebay is sorting through all the junk and ripoffs. It's easiest when you have very specific things your looking for. Waiting for stuff to arrive by post is the worst part though. My amp is somewhere out there right now and not here in my house! Just got to try and stay patient. So here's everything I've bought, starting with the source: - Denon DVD 2800, $60 shipped, retail $800 - Denon PRA 1500, $205 shipped, retail $400? (haven't found source on this) - Rotel RB-980BX, $280 shipped, retail $600 - Monster Cable Interlink 300 MkII 3' pair (pre to amp, already have one from a while back that will go from dvd to pre), $15 shipped, retail $30 - Audioquest GBC 8' pair, $75 shipped, retail $250 - Energy C-9 speakers, $670 shipped, $1,300 retail Oh, and I got a Logitech Harmony 550 universal remote because none of the stuff I bought came with remotes and this thing is actually quite cool. Got it for $72 shipped. I think it's $150 retail. So I've spent almost $1,400. Yeesh. But if I got everything brand new it would have been over $3,500 so I'm ok with that.

WOW! Great deal on the Denon DVD2800! I'm jealous.

 

[JXBJXB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pibborando /img/forum/go_quote.gif edit: Is there any way to fix that chroma bug? I mean, I guess I can live with it because my current TV isn't anything special but if there's a firmware update or some kind of hardware swap that I could do... Also, how would you say it sounds? I've been using my parents Yamaha CDC-555 for a while now to play CDs and I was wondering how this sounds in comparison. I find the Yamaha to be a tad bright and like Denon's sound generally so I figured I'd like this. For clarification I want to use this DVD 2800 as a replacement for the Yamaha CD player and the cheap Philips DVD player I have.

I'm trying to figure out why this is in the Cable forum, but no matter...

I don't believe fixing the chroma bug would be cost effective, and I also believe that unless you're A) looking for it an B) have a very high quality display it will bother you all that much. There are some displays that have processing that masks the chroma bug - Sony DRC, for example. There may be others.

I was more interested in using the player as an audio source because of its HDCD capabilities. Because it has HDCD, and overall good D to A converters (remember, this was a top-of-the-line Denon player back in 2001) it sounds a lot better than your average, run-of-the-mill $100 DVD player or $200 CD player. Better dynamics and imaging. I wouldn't say it is "mellow" though - then again, I find almost all CDs bright which is why the bulk of my listening is to vinyl.

 

[bundee1]

I dont think there is a fix for the chroma bug as its inherent to the hardware doing the decoding. Check out secrets of home theater and hifi's website for a better explanation. Congrats on the new stereo, I hope you get to enjoy it for a while before upgradeitis sets in.

 

[JXBJXB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bundee1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I dont think there is a fix for the chroma bug as its inherent to the hardware doing the decoding.

Well, not a consumer-level fix that you can do yourself. Evidently, you could send the unit back to Denon for a while and they would fix the bug for you, but I doubt that they'd honor that for a six year old player at this point.