Small Home Advice


Hey, If anyone has a moment to spare I would like to ask the board (or bored as it may be) about some advice for a small living room sound setup. I take great pride in listening to a WIDE array of music and have an undying love for all things music. So I just need something for a room that will sound warm and welcoming. I've been reading posts on the board for close to two hours now on miscellaneous topics and notice a common idea; that everyone can drop $7,000 on a CDP or Amp. Sorry guys, this isn't feasable at this point. At home I get to listen to Planar speakers in a nice setup. For my personal apartment I want smaller. This is where my thought comes in. I hate Bose, with a passion. Bose systems cost like . . . I dunno... they cost much much much more than they are worth. But then I hear these Anthony Gallo Micro's. And they're like $600 and sound great. So what's out there sneaking around that sounds real good, but doesn't have the insane price tag? I want nothing more than to drop $10,000 on a system, but cannot right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated, or you can just blow me off.
eva01
Thanks for your input! Actually at home we have (we being my family) a pair of Magneplan 1.6's paired with the Maggie MGSSI Surrounds and MGCCI Center Channel. Those five speakers are running off two Acurus amps, the wattage escapes my mind right now, but I know what you mean by they LOVE watts. Oh and the Acurus ACT-3 is at the head. I haven't heard anyone on the boards discuss Magneplan or Acurus (Monorail?) yet, but I think it sounds great! For both music and movies. I just have to get my dad to replace the wiring, b/c right now it is "lampcord."
What are your impressions of your home system? Not many people have the full Magnepan HT system. The Acurus DIA 100 or 150 was one of the integrateds I had in mind. Where in the South are you? I know a place that has a nice Linn display and am wondering where you found those Maggie surrounds.
I am currently living in Birmingham, AL. I goto school up in Huntsville, AL though. That's why I started this thread, so I'd have something to put in my apartment up there =). The Maggie dealer here in Birmingham is a shop called "Sound Decisions." They are a bunch of really really nice guys. Just for a quick example, I was like 17 years old and my 17 year old friend was with me. We walk into this Stereo shop looking for speakers only to find ourselves in the middle of a place selling speakers that were like thousands of dollars. But the associate(s) took time to sit us down, let us demo them, teach us, and get our input. Even let us go get a Techno CD out of the car to hear what it sounded like. The end result? Like I said, I bring my dad back and we buy a complete Maggie HT system with the Acurus Amps and what-not. Originally we were looking for speakers for music specifically. And I have to say that the Magnepan's blew me away. I am more of a Mid - High person than I am Bass. The 1.6's had an astounding image. I worked at *cough*Sears*cough* before this so I had only seen the crap they sold. Needless to say I was lost in glee. Eventually the guy mentioned that Magneplan offered a Center channel and surrounds. So we chucked out the cash and got it all installed. So, a little over a year later I think that the system in my home is one of the best I've heard. Granted I've just demo'd other stuff at stores, but out of all that stuff I just really don't see a big difference. I'm not well versed enough in technical terms or anything to tell you exactly how I like it. I've rambled enough . . .shutting up now. -Ryan
"Sound Systems" in Birmingham sells Linn equipment. I am in the middle TN area...I'll check out "Sound Decisions" next time I'm in AL.
Go but the latest iss ue of "The Absoloye Sound." They are featuring fully configured, and tested, sytems in ALL price ranges. You can never go wrong with: Rotel RCD 951 CD or Rega Planet Rotel or Creek Integrated Amp B&W 601s (Big choice in $250 - $600 range) Good interconnects and wires from Tara, Nordost, Audioquest. All for around $2000 and YOU WILL be rocking.