Hello everyone!
I'm so excited about this journey I've decided to undertake. I love music. Absolutely love it. It moves me to my very core, and I simply can't get enough of it. Unfortunately, I can only listen to it four ways right now, all of which suck:
1) Via my car stereo (a stock Bose system in my 2004 Mazda 6 wagon)
2) Via my PC with a SoundBlaster X-Fi Platinum wich plays my song library on iTunes through my Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system
3) Via the same computer (above) through a pair of Sennheiser HD 555's.
4) Via my iPod played through my Klipsch iPod dock thingy.
Obviously, I'm yearning for more -- much more. I was Googling the other night, and ended up here at stereophile.com, and feel like I'm where I need to be. The first article I read was Wes Phillips' glowing review of Definitive Technologies' Mythos STS SuperTower loudspeakers. I was hooked.
I was so hooked, in fact, that I rushed out to my local Magnolia to see if they had the Mythos STS in stock so that I could give them an audition.
Oh. My. God.
As I listed to various songs from my collection on the STS's, I couldn't help but think of Jodie Foster's Dr. Ellie Arroway in the movie Contact. As she travels through the wormhole and gets her first true, unadulterated look at the universe she breathlessly exclaims: "I had no idea." "I had no idea." "I had nooooo idea."
Well, I had no idea. No idea what music could really sound like. I heard things I'd never heard before in songs I'd listened to dozens of times. I was moved in ways I've never been moved before. I was uplifted in ways I've never been uplifted. I was taken to places I've never been before. I sat there listening to music for an hour, completely immersed.
And then I thought: Holy crap, I'm going to need to find some money. Fast.
Luckily, I have some of that covered. I'm getting an $8,800 bonus in a couple weeks, so that will help out. I've earmarked $3,000 for my new hobby, and need to know what to spend it on.
Unfortunately, I have only one component so far. A buddy gave me his 1999 Yamaha RX-V2095, a 100-watts per channel integrated receiver that I'm hoping will provide at least a decent foundation from which to jump into this beautiful -- yet scary -- new world.
Can I even get where I want to go with that receiver, or is it best just to start with something completely different? I'm thinking that I'm going to go ahead and buy the Mythos STS Supertowers, but could be talked out of that if you guys have a better idea. I can get them at a good price through a friend, but I'm still going to be out $2550.00 (+ tax) just from purchasing those. The cool thing is that they don't need a subwoofer, which is nice.
But I'm wondering what else I should get at this point. Should I go with less expensive speakers and buy some other stuff with what I save? Can I use my PC to take my music from my PC to the Yamaha via optical cable? Will that work? Will it cause any problems? Any and all thoughts, critiques, ideas, etc. are welcome.
I'm looking forward to this....
David
Hello everyone!
I'm so excited about this journey I've decided to undertake. I love music. Absolutely love it. It moves me to my very core, and I simply can't get enough of it. Unfortunately, I can only listen to it four ways right now, all of which suck:
1) Via my car stereo (a stock Bose system in my 2004 Mazda 6 wagon)
2) Via my PC with a SoundBlaster X-Fi Platinum wich plays my song library on iTunes through my Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system
3) Via the same computer (above) through a pair of Sennheiser HD 555's.
4) Via my iPod played through my Klipsch iPod dock thingy.
Obviously, I'm yearning for more -- much more. I was Googling the other night, and ended up here at stereophile.com, and feel like I'm where I need to be. The first article I read was Wes Phillips' glowing review of Definitive Technologies' Mythos STS SuperTower loudspeakers. I was hooked.
I was so hooked, in fact, that I rushed out to my local Magnolia to see if they had the Mythos STS in stock so that I could give them an audition.
Oh. My. God.
As I listed to various songs from my collection on the STS's, I couldn't help but think of Jodie Foster's Dr. Ellie Arroway in the movie Contact. As she travels through the wormhole and gets her first true, unadulterated look at the universe she breathlessly exclaims: "I had no idea." "I had no idea." "I had nooooo idea."
Well, I had no idea. No idea what music could really sound like. I heard things I'd never heard before in songs I'd listened to dozens of times. I was moved in ways I've never been moved before. I was uplifted in ways I've never been uplifted. I was taken to places I've never been before. I sat there listening to music for an hour, completely immersed.
And then I thought: Holy crap, I'm going to need to find some money. Fast.
Luckily, I have some of that covered. I'm getting an $8,800 bonus in a couple weeks, so that will help out. I've earmarked $3,000 for my new hobby, and need to know what to spend it on.
Unfortunately, I have only one component so far. A buddy gave me his 1999 Yamaha RX-V2095, a 100-watts per channel integrated receiver that I'm hoping will provide at least a decent foundation from which to jump into this beautiful -- yet scary -- new world.
Can I even get where I want to go with that receiver, or is it best just to start with something completely different? I'm thinking that I'm going to go ahead and buy the Mythos STS Supertowers, but could be talked out of that if you guys have a better idea. I can get them at a good price through a friend, but I'm still going to be out $2550.00 (+ tax) just from purchasing those. The cool thing is that they don't need a subwoofer, which is nice.
But I'm wondering what else I should get at this point. Should I go with less expensive speakers and buy some other stuff with what I save? Can I use my PC to take my music from my PC to the Yamaha via optical cable? Will that work? Will it cause any problems? Any and all thoughts, critiques, ideas, etc. are welcome.
I'm looking forward to this....
David