Now that everything is installed I thought I’d share my thoughts. But before I do I suppose I should describe my system. It is comprised of ML Ascent I, Theater I, Fresco, Descent; McIntosh MX119 & MC207; Denon 3910; Pioneer DVL-919 (not yet arrived); Comcast HD/DVR Receiver; Audioquest Circular Array CV-8 speaker cables & King Cobra interconnects; Panamax Max 1500; and Samsung HL-R6768W 67” DLP HDTV.
I have now listened to the system with a variety of music, DVD movies, and broadcast HDTV. In a word, WOW! The system is phenomenal and as Robin said in one of her reviews on her Anthem, Master and Commander sounded as if the battle were taking place in my living room. There were things taking place that I previously didn’t even realize were on the sound track. Another fun one was the remake of gone in 60 seconds where it sounded as if they were parking the cars in my garage. I can’t imagine home theater getting better than this.
As for music, it’s been a tale of wow and yuck! The yuck’s are not because my system is lacking (at least I don’t believe that’s the case) but because it is reveals too much. Poor recordings have nowhere to hide and flaws become painfully obvious. However, it’s not always a poor recording that causes problems it can also be an excellent recording that reveals too much detail. An example, at least to me, is an Oscar Peterson SACD that he recorded in his home in front of about 20 of his friends. The music is great but you hear faint voices and an occasional cough in the background. I found this very distracting and an idea that good on paper but the execution I found to be annoying. The wows are just that, wow. The Buddy Guy SACD that I have is excellent as is many other CDs ranging from Peter Gabriel to Miles Davis to Enigma to well the list goes on and on.
Well that concludes my review and I realize that it isn’t loaded with all the normal stereo review hyperbole but, frankly, I don’t have the vocabulary. If anyone is interested in specifics I will try my best to answer to the extent of my limited knowledge/vocabulary.
I have now listened to the system with a variety of music, DVD movies, and broadcast HDTV. In a word, WOW! The system is phenomenal and as Robin said in one of her reviews on her Anthem, Master and Commander sounded as if the battle were taking place in my living room. There were things taking place that I previously didn’t even realize were on the sound track. Another fun one was the remake of gone in 60 seconds where it sounded as if they were parking the cars in my garage. I can’t imagine home theater getting better than this.
As for music, it’s been a tale of wow and yuck! The yuck’s are not because my system is lacking (at least I don’t believe that’s the case) but because it is reveals too much. Poor recordings have nowhere to hide and flaws become painfully obvious. However, it’s not always a poor recording that causes problems it can also be an excellent recording that reveals too much detail. An example, at least to me, is an Oscar Peterson SACD that he recorded in his home in front of about 20 of his friends. The music is great but you hear faint voices and an occasional cough in the background. I found this very distracting and an idea that good on paper but the execution I found to be annoying. The wows are just that, wow. The Buddy Guy SACD that I have is excellent as is many other CDs ranging from Peter Gabriel to Miles Davis to Enigma to well the list goes on and on.
Well that concludes my review and I realize that it isn’t loaded with all the normal stereo review hyperbole but, frankly, I don’t have the vocabulary. If anyone is interested in specifics I will try my best to answer to the extent of my limited knowledge/vocabulary.
