Letters to the Editor - June 2005
"Ham on wry
beauty"
June 17, 2005
To Wes Marshall,
Thank you so much for your aware, observant, and yes,
witty, review of The Thin Man. Myrna Loy has always been this gay man's
diva, and William Powell is so underestimated these days. I was so happy to read an
appreciation from someone who gets what they're about.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and you appreciate
their ham on wry beauty. Thank you!
Daniel J. Cowan
Replace receiver with separate amp?
June 10, 2005
To Roger Kanno,
May I pose a technical question? I have Paradigm Studio 100
v.3 speakers driven by a Denon AVR-3805 120Wpc receiver. I was originally looking to do
home theater, but no longer -- just two-channel stereo now. Would I be better off using a
separate amp at this point to drive the speakers, or am I just as well with the receiver?
They do sound good now. I'm just wondering if a separate amp would make a night-and-day
difference.
Ralph
When you purchase a surround receiver you actually get a
lot of technology in the unit -- surround processing, five to seven channels of
amplification, video switching, and usually second-zone capability. In order to get all of
that into a receiver at a given price, manufacturers must split the resources among all of
the many complicated internal components. Thus, if you were to purchase a stereo
integrated amplifier at that same price, the manufacturer should be able to put a
higher-quality and better-sounding design and better parts into the amplifier because
there is much less other "stuff" in it.
I am not sure if I would call it a night-and-day
difference, but all things being equal, it should be noticeable. That being said, the
Denon is a very good receiver and you said that your Paradigm Studio 100 v.3s already
sound very good with it, so you will have to decide whether the benefits of purchasing a
power amp or integrated amplifier are worth the additional cost....Roger Kanno
New Pre-Pro
June 4, 2005
To Wes Marshall
I am in the market for a preamp-processor. I have a
Parasound C2. I would like to know your opinion of the Anthem Statement D1, Arcam AV8, and
the Bel Canto PRePro. I listen to a lot of two-channel music.
Ashley
All of these brands are excellent performers. I only
have experience with the Bel Canto, one of the best 2.0- and 5.1-channel preamps I've ever
heard. Even if I had all three in my home, my advice would still be the same: Before you
sink that much money into a processor, you should go to the dealers and ask for a weekend
trial so that you can get a sense of not only the sound, always a vital issue, but also
the ergonomics, something that carries a great deal more importance today than it did in
the minimalist two-channel preamp days of yore.
By the way, I am a big fan of screen-on-the-processor
designs for music listeners; they allow you to set up everything just so without having to
fire up the projector....Wes Marshall |
