I'll third the NAD. They spend the money on sound and build quality rather than frills and flashing lights. Denon makes some nice stuff too. Consider used stuff also; unless you need the latest greatest surround stuff you can get some great used bargains...especially in two channel.
Speakers: Paradigm Atoms or Titans are great as are PSB Alphas (there is a whole line of them).
If all this detail is getting you down then the easiest route to go is to get some Monsoon flat computer speakers.
If you are a DIYer then go to Madisound.com and check out the Neo3 and 8: small ribbons with spooky good sound and very reasonable prices given the quality. There is an excellent BBS here as well.
Good luck and be sure not to mention cables or measurement methodologies <shudder>.
<strong>You called in the audiophiles to tell them Sony makes the best audio equipment ??? Better don your fire retardant suit. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> I was just gonna say the same thing! Sony makes the worst audio equipment on the market, imho. They are right up there with Bose.
Anyway, I'd go with the Yamaha receiver. They make some of the better ones out there.
As far as speakers are concerned, some of the better affordable consumer speakers that I've ever heard are from Klipsch. I've got some kg3.2 that will blow your mind as to how loud, clear, and effecient they are.
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> I was just gonna say the same thing! Sony makes the worst audio equipment on the market, imho. They are right up there with Bose.
Anyway, I'd go with the Yamaha receiver. They make some of the better ones out there.</strong><hr></blockquote>
You'd be surprised...I recently came across a thread at head-fi regarding best headphones for different price range, and most of the equipment above the Senn HD600 range were Sony equipments...
Sony DOES make some insanely high-end stuff, but you never see those items in Circuit Sh!tty or Best Buy. So for the most part, saying "Sony" and "audiophile" in the same sentence is a bit like following "Burger King" with "haute cuisine" or "Andre cold duck" with "vinophile."
NAD and Rotel make good, consumer-range stuff that will please the audiophile ear. But using your Powermac as a sound source in an audiophile-level listening room doesn't make much sense unless you're going to put it inside some kind of soundproofing cabinet -- the fans and hard drives will make such a racket that your audiophile investment will be drowned out at all but the highest volumes.
Alright cool. Thanks for the all the info folks. Any more is welcome of course. I'm still trying to digest all this info. I'll try and stear clear of Sony. Can't really go too high-end. Only reason is I'm tryin to make sure I can get other things also, and there's plenty of stuff I'm gonna need for college. I found a Pioneer model that I saw online didnt look too bad that they had at Best Buy, so I might just get that one and hopefully it works out. Then sound card...speakers...argh! I'm gonna be left with a few cents in my bank account. Good lookin out.
Just remember the best equipment will still sound like crap through bad speakers. I laugh when people debate the merit of ripping things @ 320 vs 400kbps and judging it through their laptop speakers.
Comments
Speakers: Paradigm Atoms or Titans are great as are PSB Alphas (there is a whole line of them).
If all this detail is getting you down then the easiest route to go is to get some Monsoon flat computer speakers.
If you are a DIYer then go to Madisound.com and check out the Neo3 and 8: small ribbons with spooky good sound and very reasonable prices given the quality. There is an excellent BBS here as well.
Good luck and be sure not to mention cables or measurement methodologies <shudder>.
<strong>You called in the audiophiles to tell them Sony makes the best audio equipment ??? Better don your fire retardant suit. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> I was just gonna say the same thing! Sony makes the worst audio equipment on the market, imho. They are right up there with Bose.
Anyway, I'd go with the Yamaha receiver. They make some of the better ones out there.
Denon AVR-4800
<a href="http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=zrec&id=1990390968&clink=dmss-browse"; target="_blank">http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=zrec&id=1990390968&clink=dmss-browse</a>;
<a href="http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=zrec&id=1990827885&clink=dmss/us/Product_Browse/Electronics_and_Camera/Shop_for_Electronics/Home_Stereo/Find_Products/Receivers"; target="_blank">Denon AVR-682</a>
<a href="http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=zrec&id=1990353671&clink=dmss-browse"; target="_blank">Pioneer VSXD308</a>
<a href="http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-Aw8nGbsFwME/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=4&g=10420&I=580TXSR500&o=m&a=0"; target="_blank"> Onkyo TX-SR500</a>
<a href="http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-Aw8nGbsFwME/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=4&g=10420&I=133SAHE70K&o=m&a=0"; target="_blank"> Panasonic SA-HE70</a>
<a href="http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-Aw8nGbsFwME/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=4&g=10420&I=130VSXD411&o=m&a=0"; target="_blank"> Pioneer VSX-D411</a>
<strong>
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> I was just gonna say the same thing! Sony makes the worst audio equipment on the market, imho. They are right up there with Bose.
Anyway, I'd go with the Yamaha receiver. They make some of the better ones out there.</strong><hr></blockquote>
You'd be surprised...I recently came across a thread at head-fi regarding best headphones for different price range, and most of the equipment above the Senn HD600 range were Sony equipments...
NAD and Rotel make good, consumer-range stuff that will please the audiophile ear. But using your Powermac as a sound source in an audiophile-level listening room doesn't make much sense unless you're going to put it inside some kind of soundproofing cabinet -- the fans and hard drives will make such a racket that your audiophile investment will be drowned out at all but the highest volumes.