Im new to the site and have been recently wondering about home audio. I stumbled upon the whole 'audiophile' deal when i was looking for a nice pair of headphones about a month back. I just purchased a pair of grado sr 60's and i love them. And now i was looking to get a receiver, cd player, amp, speakers and what not. Acctually I'm not to sure what i need to make a decent system. Plus i dont want to spend more than like 600-800 dollars. And while ive been reading around the forums it doesnt look like i could get a very good system for that price.

I currently have two systems:

System 1 upstairs:
Naim Nait 5i integrated
Naim CD5x
Naim Flatcap 2x
Naim Ariva speakers
(Samsung 42 in HD Plasma)

System 2 downstairs:
Dennon 4800 Reciever
Rega Apollo CD player
Sony 999ES Sacd/DVD player
B&W N805 Fronts
B&W HTM-4 Center
B&W 602 rears
(Sony 50 in HD LCD Rear Projection)

Hello,

A bit of a newbie here.

What is the difference between balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA?) connections?

It seems that some higher-end compnents (both amps and sources) have XLR components, but the majority of them have RCA ones. What does the "balancing" get you (theoretically or practically)?

Thanks for any info.

I am trying to make a decision about the surrounds in my 5.1 home theater setup. I currently have infinity 250 loudspeakers and an infinity c25 center channel. After doing some research I am finding bipole/dipole surrounds.

Will there be a great benefit in having bipole/dipole versus a simple bookshelf speakers for my surrounds?

Will these Polk FXi3's match up with my Infinity Loudspeakers well?

Your responses to my last post have inspired something of an analogue renaissance for me!
They have also allowed me to work out a few things.....

I have extended my budget (bonus just come in!) so that I can afford a well set up local dealer sourced (used) LP12 and I will put in the work needed to maintain the table.

My dilemma is choice of tonearm....

I'm new to the preamp world, been using integrated systems forever. I'm looking into a preamp as an option before I upgrade.

I will be using the amp with a pair of LINN 5140 and a Vandersteen subwoofer. I will also be running a rega p3 or p5 phono as well.

So far I've been pointed in the direction of the VTL TL 2.5 or Modulus 3A as "budget" refence preamps, or the VTL 5.5 as a step up.

Any good advice on these two or comparably prices ($1500 - $2500) preamps that would be viable options?

Thanks in advance!

MAF