Life is all about making compromises and this is especially true about our AV gear. We all have the yearning to get the best equipment but are restricted by budget constraints.:sad:The excitement lies in addressing these compromises and improving the performance of the equipment.
I thought I'd pen down my thoughts about the compromises I have had to make about my gear and the way forward, budget and wife permitting.:lol:
So here's my list. Lets have your reactions / suggestions. Room size is 5m x 3m; reasonably damped with drapes and carpet on the floor.
1. TV - Pana TH-42PV7 - At my TV watching distance of 10 feet, I guess 720p is not a constraint, even with future purchase of BD player. However, a significant loss would be the inability to process 24fps from BDP. Another drawback is the single HDMI input but that's been solved with the purchase of a 5 x 1 HDMI switcher from Monoprice.
2. CDP - Marantz 5001 - Considering the partnering equipment and my requirements, I guess there's no compromise here.
3. DVDP - CA DVD99 - Same comment as above.
4. Fronts / Centre - Wharfedale 9.5 & 9.CS - Recent acquisitions. They are just WOW. No compromises here !!
5. Surrounds - Currently Yamaha NS-P430; soon to be replaced by Wharfedale 9.0. So that problem will be taken care of.
6. Sub - Currently Yamaha SW015; planning to replace by Wharfedale SW150. Its just a small matter of 20k.
7. Receiver - Yamaha RX-V 440 [Min RMS Output 6 channels driven, 20Hz - 20KHz, 0.06%THD, 8 ohms - 65W. Max power 1KHz, 10%THD, 8 ohms - 95W] This, in my opinion, is the weak spot. My listening levels are very sane - I rarely go beyond -40dB volume and never beyond -35dB. At these listening levels, I dont find the receiver straining for power (I could be wrong here; Yamaha owners please enlighten me about your normal volume levels in terms of decibels).
8. Cables - All cables are DAC except for an optical cable from Monoprice (used for playing DTS CDs thru the Marantz; normal redbook CDs are played thru 2 channel analog cable). In my view, no compromise here.
Future plans -
1.Wharfedale SW 150 (Wharfedale owners, I hope its OK to pair with the 9.5 - I really dont want to spend the extra cash for SW250).
2. Receiver wishlist - ideally 90W+ min RMS, with pre-outs (for adding a 2 channel amp), DSD on HDMI, if possible (for SACD thru the DVD99), 7.1 channels with assignable back surrounds so that I can bi-amp the 9.5s in a 5.1 environment and obviously HD audio decoding. Comments ???
The idea of this thread is to share the AV compromises that we all make and learn from each others ideas. Lets get started ....
I thought I'd pen down my thoughts about the compromises I have had to make about my gear and the way forward, budget and wife permitting.:lol:
So here's my list. Lets have your reactions / suggestions. Room size is 5m x 3m; reasonably damped with drapes and carpet on the floor.
1. TV - Pana TH-42PV7 - At my TV watching distance of 10 feet, I guess 720p is not a constraint, even with future purchase of BD player. However, a significant loss would be the inability to process 24fps from BDP. Another drawback is the single HDMI input but that's been solved with the purchase of a 5 x 1 HDMI switcher from Monoprice.
2. CDP - Marantz 5001 - Considering the partnering equipment and my requirements, I guess there's no compromise here.
3. DVDP - CA DVD99 - Same comment as above.
4. Fronts / Centre - Wharfedale 9.5 & 9.CS - Recent acquisitions. They are just WOW. No compromises here !!
5. Surrounds - Currently Yamaha NS-P430; soon to be replaced by Wharfedale 9.0. So that problem will be taken care of.
6. Sub - Currently Yamaha SW015; planning to replace by Wharfedale SW150. Its just a small matter of 20k.

7. Receiver - Yamaha RX-V 440 [Min RMS Output 6 channels driven, 20Hz - 20KHz, 0.06%THD, 8 ohms - 65W. Max power 1KHz, 10%THD, 8 ohms - 95W] This, in my opinion, is the weak spot. My listening levels are very sane - I rarely go beyond -40dB volume and never beyond -35dB. At these listening levels, I dont find the receiver straining for power (I could be wrong here; Yamaha owners please enlighten me about your normal volume levels in terms of decibels).
8. Cables - All cables are DAC except for an optical cable from Monoprice (used for playing DTS CDs thru the Marantz; normal redbook CDs are played thru 2 channel analog cable). In my view, no compromise here.
Future plans -
1.Wharfedale SW 150 (Wharfedale owners, I hope its OK to pair with the 9.5 - I really dont want to spend the extra cash for SW250).
2. Receiver wishlist - ideally 90W+ min RMS, with pre-outs (for adding a 2 channel amp), DSD on HDMI, if possible (for SACD thru the DVD99), 7.1 channels with assignable back surrounds so that I can bi-amp the 9.5s in a 5.1 environment and obviously HD audio decoding. Comments ???
The idea of this thread is to share the AV compromises that we all make and learn from each others ideas. Lets get started ....