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March 6, 2008 - 12:37am
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Very green and looking for help on a full stereo system
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Hi, Biju. I guess if you need the DVD player & CDP capability, you shouldn't look further than Oppo 980, which, despite its incredibly low cost, is heralded for its sound quality when playing back CDs, as well as SACDs, etc. Plus it's got USB connectivity, which you can use to great effect (the 981 supposedly has a slightly better video chip, but I guess 980 might be the way to go for audio? Actual owners will chime in here.)
Second of all, if you have the Squeezebox already, I don't see why you also need to hook up the media server. But if you'd like to connect the media server to the system, check out what sound card you have. Some highly regarded sound cards include Lynx L22, Echo Gina 3G, and these will get you to audiophile-quality playback. But you mentioned that you'll be using lossy files, so I don't know. If you're thinking of going lossless files, the soundcard upgrade is a must, in my opinion.
From reading your post, I don't know what exactly you're looking to purchase. It seems that you already have the TV, etc., so I figure a receiver & speakers? Are you looking to stay 2 channel or 5.1? I think you should give some more info. But in the meanwhile, Kal Rubinson of Stereophile wrote about the new trend in hi-fi music: HDMI connectivity, which should be relevant to the system you're setting up. In the article is a great review of the Oppo 980 as well as Integra pre-amp.
http://stereophile.com/musicintheround/108mitr/
Anyhow, if you get a powerful enough amp, I think in your system, Magnepan MMG speakers might be awesome. They'll work fine in your living room now, but probably even better in your larger room that you're moving into. They're only $550 a pair, sold directly by the manufacturer. Comes w/ 60 day money back guarantee or something, so you can't really lose. Plus should you decide to trade in the speakers within a year for their bigger models (since you're moving to a bigger place) you can trade in your MMGs and you can get the bigger models, a pretty good upgrade path. And they're great party speakers, because the listening position is not as critical as the standard boxy speakers.
I should have noted (sorry, I did this late last night) that it's certainly not a requirement to have the CD player be the DVD player. I'm fine with having independent components here as I have the space. Oddly enough, when I did a tiny bit of research about upconverting DVD players a year ago I actually stumbled across the Oppo 980/981 and was intrigued. But I'm almost in favor of getting these separate just so each can be upgraded if necessary, although if there's a great reason why these should be one unit I'm certainly not opposed to that either.
Yes, I think I'm looking to purchase a receiver that is meant to power a CD player, DVD player (possibly Blu ray; not sure if it matters I point this out), Tivo and output video to the TV I have. Also, new speakers unless the ones I currently have can be repaired, as well as some mechanism to play CDs. Again, I already have a DVD player that serves this function but the idea is to get the best quality sound with the new system.
As for whether I want to stay 2-channel or switch to a 5.1 architecture, I can understand the pros to switching to 5.1 for watching video encoded in this fashion, but what are the cons or moreover what are the benefits (if any) to staying in a 2 channel setup?
By the way, thank you for the article. I read it and checked out the website for the Integra. Here comes the questions about this after trying to read through the specs:
Again, thank you very, very much for your help. I'm already impressed with the amount of knowledge I've picked up. It really just takes a nudge in the right direction and then being handy looking up terms.