newbie 1st post 2 channel reccomendations.

thanks rnm;

took a look over at the naim website but couldn't find the nait listed although i did find it in the blue book. having just started researching tube amps, i'm surprised by how low the wattage is on them. i'm sure they're ok but there is such a difference from ss. sure i'll learn alot more when i start demoing them.

as for sources, i hear you. i don't plan to spend more than 50% on speakers, the rest on power and source, luckilly i'm not into vinyl so can save some $$ there.

i'm probably going to end up buying all the gear from the same store, since i can't see a way to demo components from different stores at the same time, unless i get some good reccomendations. i'm also looking at the used market. seems like there are alot of good deals out there.

wrote my last response above last night before i went to bed, but didn't post until i woke up. so the only thing i read before the post was rnm's original informative reply. i'm really astounded by the number of quick responses and thanks to all. by the way, what is PRAT?

i'm aware that there are several camps e.g. source vs. speaker, tube vs. ss, etc. and will look into all options, as i'm not in any rush.

will definitely post after audition, in the mean time just looking for a few product suggestions to be thrown my way to research. are there any widely regarded manufacturers to be sure to check out.

natnic: this will be a totally seperate set up from my ht. but thanks for suggesting using the ht. i guess that i can use the ht to help with in home auditions. my ht is polk lsi 15 mains, b&k avr 507 receiver and phillips 963sa dvd/sacd player. i am happy with this except that bass is loose and muddy, sounds over driven at higher volumes (not even reference), 2d soundstage, weak imaging, and speakers too noticable (easy to localize). i'm quite happy with the tone/timbre in general although brass seems to be distorted and orchestral music sounds homogeonized, but at the same time lacks coherence. hope this makes sense. never described my impressions of sound before.

hi guys;
went to pasadena today and auditioned the dynaudio audience 52 with rotel rdv 995 dvd player and rx1050 receiver. overall, i was quite impressed with this system versus my current system listed above. i would have liked to have demo'ed the dynaudio's at home with the b&k but they don't allow this. sound was alot cleaner and tighter especially in the bass. much more musical, i didn't feel that the trombones in berlioz's symphonie fantastique were a foot away from my ear. i was able to lose myself a couple of times even though street noise could be easily heard in the listening room. piano almost sounded real, the notes seemed to hang on as long as possible. they didn't want to leave. vocals were easily located although multiple voices seemed scruched a little.
spent 2 hours there mostly talking to vince the sales guy about music and gear. i learned alot. he is an audiophile in the truest sense, this guy loves music. he made me want to go home and listen all night. to him, music is a spiritual experience and i think a little bit rubbed off on me today, thank you vince. didn't push anything at me and spent those hours with me knowing that i wasn't going to buy anything today and was planning to audition for several months.
overall, i say today was an excellent first audition for the new system. didn't get to listen to much music but what i learned was worth alot more. i have had several bad experiences recently at the brick and mortar stores but it's guys like vince that keep them alive.

aloha keith

hello all;

demoed thiel pcs (didn't know they were pronounced teel so i thought the guy was talking about colors) and dynaudio contour 1.4 yesterday in santa monica through krell electronics. thiels had huge soundstage sound filled up the whole room, piano was ok but really excelled berlioz. dynaudio's sounded soooo good with the piano (bach) that i was sure that i had found my speaker then put in berlioz and they didn't sound so good. much smaller sound stage than the thiel and easily localized. thiel's were alot more invisible.

left the store happy that i had listened to a couple more speakers but knew i had to do more listening.

went to optimal enchantment also in santa monica and randy the owner showed me the vandersteen 5a which was incredible. i thought i was listening to live. was blown away. we talked alot about the different speakers in the vandersteen line as well as jm labs models but i didn't have time to listen to anything else. he offered to set up a demo of high end vs. lower priced systems as well as tube vs. ss the next time i came which is exactly what i need. he wasn't as outwardly enthusiastic as vince the sales guy mentioned in previous post but was seriously into music, and gave me alot of food for thought.

this brings me to a new dilemna. how do we justify buying used gear here or new gear online when we receive great service from the brick and mortar. this was not a problem for me when i purchased my ht because alot of the places i went to didn't expend much effort on me and i bought alot of gear from an online dealer who happened to have his shop locally. i want to support these dealers, but should i do this at the cost of thousands of dollars. right now, my inclination is to buy local and after i have more experience purchase used gear online and sell it if i don't like it, which doesn't seem very practical to me but will allow me to upgrade at a lower cost, and purchase locally when if necessary. how do you deal with this issue. as always, all input is greatly appreciated.

aloha keith

glad to see that we now have peace in our thread. you have both been very helpful and i appreciate your effort to make my search more fruitful. i agree with the helpful dealer suggestion. i was planning to purchase cables and accessories from them but i also like the audio consultant idea alot. i still think that i will purchase at least 1 component from a local dealer.

natnic: looked at the upscale audio site and they are pretty close to me. alot closer than the other dealers i've been frequenting. i'm not very familiar with most of there lines. which lines and products are you talking about?

yesterday went to garden grove and listened to the psb platinum m2 powered by jolida 302b amp and nad cd player. i had the room to myself so i listened for about an hour and played the bach, berloiz, and added norah jones, diana kroll, and the eagles. very nice system although i would probably get a better cd player. i've been noticing that none of the systems i've auditioned thus far do real justice to the berloiz symphonie fantastique. they all sound fantastic on the smaller works but seem a bit strained with the scope of the full orchestra.

do you guys have any suggestions for the system revealing recordings? have to stay home next weekend babysitting and superbowl. i plan to spend the next two weeks putting together my thoughts on these auditions and planning what to do next. so far i have no favorites and feel overwhelmed but excited.

again thanks for all the help. will keep you informed with what's happening.

aloha keith