Latest state of play

[Mr_Sukebe]

It's been a busy few weeks at chez Suk.

The first part was to swap my SB+/Bel Canto DAC2 combination for a straight full SB+. That nicely simplified the stereo side of things, which is now:
SB+ (squeezebox 3 on steroids) > Bel Canto Evo2i (integreated amp) > Impulse Ta'us speakers. I'm using Coherent systems cables and the SB+ and amp are sat on Stillpoints. Here's a pic:

The change is following a dem I did comparing my Bel Canto DAC2 to the analogue output of the SB+. Overall there was little in it, and outside of the bass area I really couldn't tell any difference. The key changes were in the bass region, where the DAC2 sounded a little overblown and didn't time quite as well. Bearing in mind that the change actually saved me money, bit of a no brainer.


As I've now got the stereo about as far as it'll go, without spending stupid amounts of money, I also decided to have another play with AV.
The first thing was to get myself some half decent rears. To help appease she who must be obeyed, I found some Kef 3001s going for a sensible price.
I did try an Onkyo 875 for a weekend, but just couldn't get my head around the fact that the integration of rear effects wasn't seemless, and for that, I was going to have to pay £1k for the amp alone.
Looking over some old threads, I then picked up a Yammy E800 for all of £47. No it can't process HD sound, but it does a pretty good job with DPL, DD and DTS. More to the point, somehow it does a better job of merging in the surround sounds with my stereo than the Onkyo did. As it cost less than the stereo DAC that it's replaced, bit of a no brainer really.

Lastly was to finish painting the room using Dulux GreySteel4. I'm not sure that the photo shows it as anything but white, but the paint does have a light grey tint. The result has been a massive improvement in the contrast and colours from my projector (the image is displayed on the way between and above the speakers, so it's approx 105" width. I do have a da-lite pull down screen, but much prefer the painted wall solution.

So, a happy bunny here, and the changes have been just in time for the arrival of Sukebe junior, meaning that the amount of time I'm going to get to use things has just been chopped to pieces.

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

I have to admit to not having completed a lot of dems on AV amps, so I've no idea how the E800 really stacks up against the competition. I have owned a couple of Marantz AV amps in the past, and didn't really rate them, it's certainly better than that. The Onkyo probably is better, though I can't quite understand why it wasn't aswell integrated as the Yammy. My personal thoughts are to not bother with an intermediary solution, but to consider moving straight to a dedicated AV processor like the Linn 5103, Meridian 568 or Lexicon MC1. I'd expect any of those to be a match for a new HD capable AV amp even if only processing DTS, and on SD-DVDs to walk it.

Ref the volume thing, I simply set my stereo amp to a sensible level that is pretty loud, but not completely maxed out. A few years ago I blew a tweeter with the kind of issue you mention. My BC amp has the option to preset the starting volume, meaning that it's easy to do and never needs changing.

You're right that I don't have a centre. From reading around, and also from previous experience with AV, getting a centre that would match my fronts is pretty vital. I don't know of any centre that's likely to integrate well, and I'd rather paying for something that is likely to cause more problems than it solves.
The speakers do get down to I believe -6db at 26hz, so they're probably capable of matching anything but a fairly high end sub.

Thanks for the congrats, we're not getting much sleep last night, but he really is cute.

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

Very nice setup

I am looking at DACs at the moment for CD duties so wondered if you compared the Bel Canto to others and how they faired - did you sell yours and if so for how much ?

Congratulations on the baby

I have heard quite a number of DACs, e.g. Meridian 203, *** DACs (several), Beresford 7510, Behringer SRC and DEQs, Benchmark DAC1, Bel Canto DAC3 etc.
I personally felt that the DAC2 was VERY close to the £2500 Bel Canto DAC3 and not far off a far more expensive Audio Research unit. IMO, it pretty much walked all over the other DACs I've mentioned, combining the detail and and scale of the better upsampling units, with the realism of a *** DAC.
I sold mine for £400.

The only potential drawback I've come across is that it is dependant upon the quality of the transport. Despite having the same "jitter immunity" as the Benchmark DAC1, it definitely improve with a better transport. I found that mine sounded great on the backend of a modded Meridian transport. With a DVD player, it was nothing like as good. So don't assume that the chips are what makes you source. Note that I'm not aiming that comment at just the DAC2, I think it'll be true for all DACs.
As such, if you're thinking about a DAC2, then you really need to consider what you'll match it up with. Put the two together and you're looking at close to £1k. When you're into that bracket, you can buy some pretty damn good CDPs and unfortunately (depending upon how you look at it), that includes units like the Densen 400xs, which I heard recently and thought was a good deal better than the DAC2.

So having used DACs for a number of years, I now really struggle to recommend then, as a good CDP is generally better VFM.

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

My projector is an old AE500, so I'm certainly considering an AE2000 at the moment, hence my previous questions to yourself on the subject.
I'm still to be convinced by screens, so will be sticking with the wall at the moment.

"Rich and creamy". You make it sound like a cup of ovaltine. In stereo terms, that's probably an MF system, and definitely not my cup of tea.
What I believe it does well is create the image of a musician being in the room, which IMO is what it's all about. So vocals are smooth, but percussion instruments definitely have that kick that most normal speakers struggle with.