Recommended receiver for HT

Tim,

I've got to do a lot of comparative listening, but what I've heard so far from the 205/M22/LS50 chain has led me to question the need for the Ayre 5/20/Ref 1 chain.  It's that good.  I've played CDs and SACDs ranging from jazz (Take Five) to baroque (Corelli), Blu-rays from Legends of Jazz to Aida; the sound is superb for all. 

db

Hello dbphd,

     Awesome!  The audio section of the Oppo 205 is also very neutral and of high quality.  I believe your whole chain, 205/M22/LS50s would be accurately described as exceptionally neutral.  I think you'll continue to notice there's a more direct relationship between the quality of the recording and the quality of the overall sound than most systems due to the high degree of neutrality.  


Enjoy,
 Tim
 

After a lot more listening I’ve decided to use the Oppo 205, NAD M22 & C 268 Class D amps with 6 LS50s and a pair of Velodyne HGS-15s for HT, and the Ayre 5/Twenty series with KEF Ref 1s and a pair of HGS-10s for music. But I don’t really sense the need for any subs with Ref 1s as my preference for classical, baroque, and jazz grows stronger, so I may use the 4 subs for HT.

db

Hello dbphd,

     You're back, I missed you.  I'd like to know more about roughly how much time you spend listening to music as compared to watching/listening to HT (cable tv, blu-rays, music dvds, etc.).

     I believe I need to know the answers to a few questions before I can offer any useful advice.  If you don't mind, here they are:

1. Percentage of total time you spend watching/listening to HT?

2. Percentage of total time listening to music?

3.  Is there any way you'd be okay with using the KEF Ref.1s for music and HT?

4.  Would you rather have optimum bass performance on music or HT?

5.  Are you set on having two separate systems, one for music and one for HT?

6.  If you want two separate systems, does this mean you're okay with moving and switching out the Ref 1s with the LS50s as the front speakers whenever you want to switch which system you want to use,music to HT and vice versa?
 
Thanks,
   Tim

Since you're using the Oppo as a source, I'd recommend looking into getting that modded.  For something like $500 to $800 you can transform an already good player to a much higher level.  Someone like Ric Schultz at www.tweakaudio.com gets consistently glowing reviews for the results he gets from his Oppo mods, if he's still modding the 205.  But there are other good mods out there although I'd hurry because they're likely fading fast with the demise of Oppo.  For the relatively low cost outlay and considerable improvements to be had I think this is a no brainer.  Just a thought, and congrats on building a nice HT setup.