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Excellent Sound Can Keep Friends, Spouses and Even Grand Kids Hanging Around

from the Blog of Oldwaverider:

 

We got a great receiver in and that’s why I’m sharing this blog post and why I bought one for myself at home.

 

SO, PERHAPS WHAT YOU YOU’VE BEEN WANTING 

A modest priced, stereo and/or theater system  to replace that background music piece you’ve been playing all these years.  

YOU MIGHT BE ASKING:

  • Audible Images is known for their ultra high end gear, so how does this starter theater piece fit into their line, in regards to their passion for excellent sound?  
  • For music only would I be able to crank it up without triggering my wife asking me to turn the volume down? Can I also stream music from Spotify, Tidal, etc?
  • Would the system sound excellent enough that my wife or even grand kids would enjoy spending time in the room again and again?
  • With a budget of under 5K, will I feel totally happy with this as a starter theater or stereo system that  I can expand on later with speakers and subwoofers?

OUR NEW SHOWROOM PIECE

The new gear and system that I have played with the last week will solve the budget and lend itself to enjoying company in your personal stereo / theater media room.  

I just brought one home for myself, the NAD T758 v3i , and absolutely love it. (I already had some other speakers)

I’m talking about the new NAD T758 v3i Surround Sound Receiver (only $1500), which has 110 WPC (class A/B) for 2 channel listening and 60 WPC x 7 channel so there is plenty of power in your average sized room. I partnered it with Martin Logan ESL Electrostatic Loudspeakers, along with the ESL C Center speaker and 4 hidden on walls for 7.0, along with 2 REL Acoustics T7I Subwoofers.

A significant point to share is that the NAD Receiver connected to a TV with just 2 channels of sound, those being the Martin Logan ESL’ speakers is all you need to start out your excellent home theater with. You can add the center channel and 2 sets or surrounds along with the subwoofers later on!

For months, we waited for a couple of the new NAD receivers to be sent to our showroom.  The Covid thing really got ridiculous and shut a lot of manufacturers down for quite a spell. NAD included.

Finally we got the new NAD T758 v3i Surround Sound Receiver in. And I will say, it has not disappointed us in any way. In fact, it sounds fantastic. As I mention above, I JUST GOT ONE FOR MYSELF FOR MY NEW SYSTEM AT HOME.

    • Just come in to hear the NAD T758 v3i ($1500) with the Martin Logan ESL floorstander speakers ($2500), a no sales atmosphere for just listening/demo pleasure. It is setup for both two channel listening or 7.1 surround sound. For $4000 (which would not include the other 5 channels), it sounds fantastic as your TV 2 channel theater and/or stereo. And I’m confident, your spouse, girlfriend, grandkids, whomever will enjoy spending time in your room.  (You might need to keep a Playstation around if grands are involved, but maybe not)
    • Here’s the thing; at first it sounds out of your budget, right? It’s not. Truly. You can buy online or go to a department/big box store to get a receiver for maybe $800 and a 7.0 box of speakers for $600 plus a sub for $200, total system price of $1600, but it will 9 times out of 10 sound horrific.  It will probably have really cool visual displays, pretty colors, all kinds of functional bells and whistles, but when you come right down to the Absolute Truth, the sound quality will be garbage.  YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. And someone will always be asking you to turn down the volume. 
    • But for a little more than twice the price of the big box waste, you will have a stereo that is also a solid start for a home theater (it’s all you need for a home theater actually), and best of all, your wife will enjoy sitting with you (and not feel like she’s being tortured) and if you’re older, your grand kids might just come around more often.
    • You can stop reading now and just come on in for a laid back listening demo, with one of us for a few minutes, then we’ll leave ya alone and shut the door so you can critique all by your self

Down below the photo gallery I’ve shared some of the excellent features of the NAD piece. (I share a few details below the gallery regarding features of the NAD and tracks I demoed)

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU ENJOY ABOUT THIS NEW NAD T 758 V3I RECEIVER IN YOUR HOME?

  • If you like the idea of streaming unlimited music from your Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, Amazon streaming service, well guess what? The T 758 v3i has built-in BluOS wireless streaming technology, letting you stream lossless music to your home theatre system from local libraries, tune in to Internet radio stations, and access popular music streaming services. And yes, it is MQA ready.
  • It is 4K ready
  • It has Pre Outs on the back in case you later on want to add an even more powerful amplifier to your front left and right speakers
  • You have digital inputs, 3 HDMI inputs, and one HDMI to go to your TV, so you have plenty of options to connect to your Receiver.  In most cases you can plug your Amazon Fire or Roku right into the HDMI input ports, and then you’re ready to go. (may be a little tweaking 😉
  • Some of the Video and Music I played:
  • “Midnight in Harlem” from the Crossroads – Eric Clapton Guitar Festival 2010 on Blu Ray.
  • “Chris Botti – in Boston” with a host of special guests on Blu Ray
  • “Nature Boy” – Lisa Ekdahl , streaming from Tidal
  • “Silver Rain” – by Marcus Miller, streaming from Tidal
  • “Hotel California” – Hell Freezes Over , streaming from Tidal
  • “Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30, TrV 176 (Live) Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Both theater and 2 channel listening are a total pleasure on this NAD T 758 v3i mated with the Martin Logan ESL Electrostatic loudspeakers.  

Come in and hear my newest entertainment at home, right here in our Audible Images showroom here in the Eau Gallie Arts District!  You’ll be very glad you did.

Oldwaverider

 

We enjoy being your go to source for all Your High Performance to Ultra High End Home Stereo two Channel systems, Modest to Ultra High End Home Theater home entertainment systems.  We also enjoy Audiophiles just dropping in to talk the hobby, ask questions and even pick Ed Masterson’s brain on questions about your system and also about used and pre-owned gear sales, including in which we are an Audiogon Dealer, to help move your former gear as you pursue upgrading thoughts that you may have now or on down the road.

 

 

Audible Images AV is pleased to be serving: Melbourne, Florida, Rockledge, Merritt Island, Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Port St. John, Satellite Beach, Space Coast, Vero Beach, Orlando,  The Butler Chain of lakes including Lake Butler, Lake Tibet, Lake Down, Lake Sheen, Lake Louise, Lake Chase, Pocket Lake, Lake Blanche, Wauseon Bay, Lake Isleworth, and Little Fish Lake, along with Bay Hill, The Villages, Lady Lake, Daytona, Kissimmee, Central Florida, the entire state of Florida…and even the greater USA, for all their Stereo two channel and Home Theater systems.

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Who Has A Home Theater System With Only Three Speakers?

People tell us all the time upon a visit to our Showroom: “I didn’t know stores like this exist anymore!” Where you can not only hear what you are buying, but actually have it set up in an isolated room without other shoppers or noise around, and focus on the pleasure and your own tastes.

The featured image above is directly from the Bluesound website. Because it works perfect for the point I’m making today 😊 A TV, 2 speakers and a rounded black box (Amplifier).

Your first Home Theater system with in this case, three speakers, not two, 6 or 7, but 3.  (Explained below)

This three speaker theater sounds fantastic, it takes up so little space. You can add stuff to it like a CD player or Turntable and when you’re ready to step into the next level of theater (if you do), this system will make an entertainment center in another room, a college dorm, for visiting family in a guest bedroom or a home office, etc.

Who creates a Home Theater with just three speakers?

Someone like myself: Just starting out with my first system, budget is tight, yet I want something that sounds excellent, and is easy to use.

What is the System?

A pair of PSB Imagine Mini Bookshelf speakers ($750/pair), a REL Acoustics T7i Amplifier Powered Sub-Base Speaker (Subwoofer – $999/ea.), a Bluesound Powernode 2i Digital Streamer – Stereo Amplifier – WiFi – Music Server – DAC ($799 – all in one), a pair of PSB stands ($299), Transparent Audio Cables (approx. $150) and your existing TV (though we can provide your Sony TV needs). All for about $2997. NO PRESSURE.

Just come in to hear it. And then go home and think about it. Also, think about every night when you get home from work, bad day or good day, you will have this little escape area in your home to chill out.

How Difficult is the Setup?

Take the optical or coaxial audio out connection on your smart tv into the back of your BlueSound Powernode 2i, Make your left and right speaker connections, plug your powered subwoofer into the Subw connection in the back of the Powernode, then you’ll need to get into your TV settings and turn off the TV speakers and since all TV’s are a little different, you may have to modify a couple other TV audio settings and also choose Surround sound or similar and naturally one confusing thing will hit you, and when you figure that one out, You’re Done!

Negative Comments

This is the part that the big box stores or online vendors that sell a 5.1 system in a box for $399 do not tell you. It’s going to sound like garbage. You would have been better off buying a $200 set of headphones and an iPhone dock.

Systems that actually sound good do in fact cost some money. Ya do need to spend at least a couple grand to have something that you will not get a headache listening to, and something that when company comes over to your home, they actually tell you that it sounds great.

Summary

Bluesound products have been around for quite a while and we have many happy customers who have bought them from us. PSB speakers including the ones in this story, Won TAS (The Absolute Sound) 2017 Editors Choice Award. REL Acoustics has the Sub-Base speaker system down, (has earned a number of great reviews, Tone Audio and The Absolute Sound) where it sounds great as a home theater speaker that goes boom, or for 2 channel stereo, it takes a modest pair of speakers and fills in the dynamic range of sounds in the low end that you’d normally be missing.

Also, this Powernode 2i has a really excellent DAC at it’s price point, and when you connect this system with your favorite music streaming service, of which I strongly recommend Tidal for your service, and you now have most any music in high resolution at your fingertips.  Later, you can look into Roon (because Roon and Tidal have the ultimate Audiophile combo) to organize, search and expand your listening library.  Check out Roon here. 

Ed Masterson at Audible Images AV is an Audiophile at heart. He hates sales, does not allow sales pressure, however, he does insist (without pressure) that you let him give you a brief listening tour of all 3 of our Reference Listening Rooms so that you experience something you never have before in your life.

Come in and treat yourself to a relaxed, no sales, listening experience. Ask all the questions you want!

Thank you.

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Two Great Sounding under $800 NAD Amplifiers Reviewed for Audiophiles on a Strict Budget

Before I delve into my plug about two NAD Amplifiers, I’d like to mention the RMAF , the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest and how it appeared to have not only a revived entourage, but has been stated by many, WHAT A GREAT SHOW FOR THIS 2018 YEAR!.  For those not in the know, what is it specifically?

Well, from the Company, here’s their definition/description: The Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest (RMAF) is the largest consumer audio and home entertainment show in the United States. Simply put: “mega stereo systems!”

Okay, nuff said on that. “mega stereo systems” is the take away.

Here at Audible Images AV, we are all about excellent, spectacular sound.  Not fancy bells and whistles of mass market that distract from an excellent sound emphasis, but just really really well chosen and designed Audio Systems.  Ranging from Modest High Performance to Ultra Ultra High End systems.

So needless to say, I was pretty stoked to read the excellent reviews by Neil Gader of TAS (The Absolute Sound mag) February 2019 issue in his portion of the SHOW REPORT for Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2018 about a couple of NAD products at the show.  The NAD C 658 BluOS DAC/Preamplifier/Streamer, the NAD D 3045 Integrated Amplifier.  And in the same magazine  issue, Paul Seydor wrote “Prepare to be astonished” review (not mentioned in the RMAF section) , but nonetheless a very upbeat 7 page article and plug about the NAD C 328 Hybrid Digital DAC Amplifier and C 546BEE CD Player.

If you are a new Audiophile, or a seasoned one looking for an Amplifier that sounds great and is priced under $800, then you’ll be pleased to find this post. I just want to focus on two of the NAD products mentioned.  The NAD D 3045 Integrated Amplifier and the NAD C 328 Hybrid Digital DAC Amplifier.

Why am I focusing on these two? Because NAD has a vastly superior sound to that of equivalent priced products of competitors.  And if you read the intro on our Brands page at Audible Images, and come into our Showroom, you’ll learn that Ed Masterson, Owner, Engineer is all about the Sound Quality and Tuning to make great systems sound even better.  Not pushing product… (that happens just by folks hearing our systems and learning Ed’s passion)

So what’s great about the NAD D 3045?  I offer up a bullet list.  (See the gallery below the bullets)

Plusses

  • the Sound quality is great
  • the price is only $699
  • we have the D 3020 connected to an office computer and with the PSB Speakers Imagine Mini Bookshelf speakers, it sounds great at 30 Wpc
  • the D 3045 has 60 Wpc
  • has an asynchronous USB 24/192 input
  • support for MQA and DSD
  • Bluetooth powered by aptX HD
  • a high quality MM (moving magnet) phonostage for vinyl enthusiasts
  • owners can choose between horizontal or vertical orientation for the amp
  • in addition to BluOS streaming content, MQA decoding is available on all digital inputs
  • both preamp and subwoofer outputs are included for additional connection flexibility
  • and as Neil Gader mentions, “icing on the cake” is the premium quality headphone jack on the front panel

 

So what’s great about the NAD C 328 Hybrid Digital Amp?  I offer a bullet list.  (See the gallery below the bullets)

  • the sound quality is great
  • price is only $549
  • 50 Wpc output (20Hz-20kHz at rated THD) both channels driven
  • THD 0.005% at 1 V output
  • 3 line level on RCA analog inputs
  • 1 mm phono 
  • 2 Coaxial digital input
  • 2 Toslink optical inputs
  • Bluetooth
  • You can run your TV with optical out right into the amp for great TV sound with the onboard DAC in the C 328
  • Line level Subwoofer out RCA jack

Did I mention, NAD is a 45 year old company?  No shame, I know 🙂

Though we don’t stock the 2 Amps mentioned on our floor (we don’t have the room), we have plenty of NAD/BlueSound amplifier products (NAD amps are built into Bluesound units) on the floor for you to completely convince yourself that in the $399 to $899 range and beyond, you will really enjoy the sound of your new NAD Amplifier should you choose to bring one into your home.

In Summary, I mentioned the plug for these 2 NAD items because for years, Audible Images AV in Melbourne, FL has been very impressed with the High Performance sound of NAD Amplifiers.  And when folks walk into our showroom, sometimes they think we only carry Ultra High End gear.  That is not the case.  Now Ed or one of us will do our best to have you listen to all 3 listening rooms so that you will always have a Reference for what is out there, and for the most Spectacular sound you will ever hear.  A visit to our Showroom will blow your mind, and that’s what makes it really fun.  

We all would probably enjoy driving a 2019 Porsche 911 Turbo, even if we couldn’t own one 😉

But we are all about providing you Great Audio Sound in whatever your budget.

Thank you.

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How Do You find your First High Performance Stereo System & within your Budget?

I’m going to step out of my comfort zone and just state it outright, and it comes right from the title of this blog post, this system that I discovered in our showroom, should be anyone’s first High Performance system that actually steps into High End, if they are looking to meet their budget dead on.

Here’s the system, and then I’ll share my experience and what I’ve found out with it:

The Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II Integrated Amplifier, paired with the PSB Imagine X2T Tower Speakers and with the Bluesound Node 2 for a source, which is a Digital Streamer – Music Server – DAC, that’s the system.  With some starter cables, the system comes in at around a $4500 price point.

So the other day during my tinkering hours at work, I wanted to see just how good the Cronus Magnum II could sound with a few modest priced speakers. We just got the Cronus Magnum II shortly before the Thanksgiving Holiday of 2017.  We have never carried any Rogue Audio electronics before this.  One of our moderate to high end speaker reps strongly recommended we try a Rogue Audio amplifier, so Ed pulled the trigger and brought in the Cronus Magnum II.  

The first thing I did was hook up the Martin Logan ESL’s (the $2500/pr) of speakers with the Cronus Magnum along with the Bluesound Node 2 source.  And, yes, it sounded fantastic.  That’s all I’ll say on that.  Why? Because I wanted to see if the PSB 3-way black tower speakers that were sitting out in the middle room row of speakers we have that I know are 1/2 the price of the Martin Logan ESL’s, I wanted to see if they sound good with the Cronus.  That would keep our budget well under $5000 for a starter system.  When I saw the PSB X2T’s were in The Absolute Sound – Editor’s Choice Awards in their March 2018 issue,  I was really stoked.

My simple and important criteria regarding these High Performance starter systems that I am seeking to put together, is that they sound really good not only in the High & Mid-range frequencies, but also,  that they have an excellent low frequency bass sound.  (This is why I started out with my first blog post & starter system, having a Rel subwoofer mandatory to go along with the 2 bookshelf speakers that came with it.  That blog post is here, regarding creating a system under $3K.)

Cronus-PSB-Tower-n-Node-2-1000wHere’s a photo of the system, with the Cronus Magnum II,  PSB Tower Speakers & the Node 2.  (magazines just for aesthetics 🙂

So how does it sound with the black PSB X2T Tower Speakers?

Fantastic!  Absolutely fantastic.

I played at least 10 songs that I like to use for testing my systems.  I confess, that 1/2 of the songs I use, are used by Ed, and I just adopted them. The first test song, was “Fade to Black” – Dire Straits.  I also listen to the same song on the $300 K system in our “Transporter” theater room.  So is there an obvious difference to me, between a $4500 and a $300,000 system?  Yes.  Yet does the Cronus system sound incredible? Yes.  Do I like hospital food?  Well, I can eat it, but I prefer fine Restaurants. 🙂 Am I a well known online reviewer?, nope.  Totally new to this business & with this high end stuff, as far as setting up and testing systems.  Again, did this Cronus $4500 system sound great?  Yes, it sure did.  And a key point here, is this system actually sounded great without a subwoofer.  It covered the low end quite nicely.  

I listened to a couple of Norah Jones songs, like “Come Away with Me” to check out her vocals.  I listened to The Dark Knight Rises – Main Theme, which is excellent to hear Symphony and all the instruments in Symphony.  The bass, the high volume, low volume in that theme song.  And it sounds incredible on this system.  Here’s the Dark Knight tune on YouTube if you don’t remember it. Like 12 million views on it at YouTube.  I also played a Stevie Ray Vaughn song, and a number of others.  All sounded excellent.  So this system I give a powerful thumbs up for your first Stereo system that is High Performance and actually steps into High end a little at the under $5 K mark.

I also tested the Cronus Magnum II with some Martin Logan ESL 9’s which have the Passive subwoofer.  I will say, mind-blowing with those.   I did test 10 or 12 songs, multiple times for some with the 9’s.  So if you want to know, if later on, it would be wise to upgrade to some higher end speakers to the Cronus, if your room stays the same, and you just want to add some more dynamic texture and range, then by all means this Cronus will deliver just fine for you.

I also tested the Cronus with Sonus Faber Olympica I 2-Way Bookshelf Loudspeakers.  And it sounded pretty darn good with those.

The Cronus Magnum II provides a lot of power at 100 WPC in a small room.  Below is a photo of the back of the Node 2 by Bluesound, of which I connected the 2 left & right audio RCA outputs to the back of the Cronus for a simple hook up.  (The Cronus doesn’t have a DAC, thus the connection method & the sweetness of the Node 2 having Coax out or Audio RCA out.)

Bluesound Node 2 back and connections used for Cronus Magnum II

As a few closing comments,  the room I tested this in, as the photo above shows, is like a spare bedroom or office, with a large carpet placed over solid wood floors.  The room had some practical acoustic treatments, like a couple of stand alone sound absorbers.  The photos in the room have no glass over the frames.

If you want an excellent system under or around 4500 (including starter cables), that you can also build on, then come in to try out this system in our showroom.

 

 

 

About the writer and purpose of my writings below:

As a side note, another thing I am hoping to accomplish for Ed (the boss) is to create 3 or 4 starter packages of systems, for the new Audiophile if you will.  This does go against Ed’s typical philosophy and what he prefers to offer with folks when they come in the showroom for the first time. He likes them to come in, and hear one or two systems in each of our 3 listening rooms, and let them be broadly exposed to many systems and match ups.  But one day I shared with Ed, that perhaps some people, want a starter system all picked out for them. That maybe they have already done the Appliance store search all over, and maybe they’re tired of trying to figure out who or what they can trust will make them happy.  And perhaps they just want to get started with a system that they know has already been tried & proven to sound great and come in at a very specific budget that meets their personal budget.  So this is the reason why I am first experimenting and blogging about 3 or 4 “Starter” systems if you will.

Here is my bio/purpose for me, Art Hansen on our “About” page, and why I am sharing these blog posts with you.  (Scroll down toward the bottom of the page to get to me)

Additional relevant keywords: Audiophile high performance starter system, audiophile beginner system.  Audiophile questions answered here at Audible Images. PSB Speakers Imagine Mini Bookshelf, PSB Imagine X2T Tower Speakers Transitional 3-Way Tower Speaker. Best Buy and Magnolia Home Theater we welcome you to stop there first, and then Audible Images AV.

 

 

Audible Images AV is pleased to be serving: Melbourne, Indian Harbour Beach, Lansing Island, Tortoise Island, Florida, Rockledge, Merritt Island, Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Port St. John, Satellite Beach, Space Coast, Vero Beach, Orlando, Daytona, Kissimmee, Central Florida, Florida

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Can a simple modest stereo system sound impressive and yet be found at under $3000?

Audiophiles don’t typically start out on a $50,000 system.  First, they have to discover that they are an Audiophile right?

Once they feel the passion from their car stereo that they so proudly installed in high school or college, blowing away their friends systems, they at some point decide, I need something in my apartment or at home.

So I was thinking to myself, what do we have on the floor that I can not only impress myself with, but also someone that walks into our showroom, who desires to get a starter system that can maybe price out at under $3000? 

(Now we know that we can walk into most appliance stores and leave with a stereo for $1000 or 2000 dollars.  But do we really want a system that someone is always asking us to turn it down, because of the distortion coming out of those 100 watts?)  Okay, that said, my quest is now underway.

Okay, so my objective today, was to see what kind of impressive sound I could get out of the Bluesound PowerNode 2.  I wanted something that sounded rich enough in the highs and mid-ranges from our two channel, but also had that powerful low end bass to fill in on the bottom, so today it would be with the Rel T/7i Sub-Woofer.  

To loosely paraphrase what “The Absolute Sound” shared in their September 2016 review of the T7i, when listening to 2 channel stereo, a subwoofer’s role or purpose is to add quantity and quality of those low frequencies that many a two channel system is missing, not to add “boom” per say like in a movie, in order to hear and feel the full breadth and depth of a recording. 

Now granted, even a Newbie realizes that you don’t take an $800 Streaming Media Server/Amplifier and serve it up with some Wilson Audio Yvettes or Martin Logan CLX’s.  That said, I started from our lowest price modest speaker in the house, a pair of PSB Imagine XB Bookshelf Speakers, priced at $499/pr.

A few months back, I did listen to the Powernode 2 and also the NAD C 368 Hybrid Digital DAC Amplifier w/ Bluos streaming media card with a variety of speakers.  And to be honest with you, even after I went up to even a beginning high end speaker, I just wasn’t thrilled.  The overall sound was too much of the tweeter & mid-range and just not enough low end, even when I listened to some Sonus Faber, Martin Logans and others, I was just not impressed.  Now keep in mind, this test was with the Powernode 2 and the NAD C 368 that I tested with just a left and right speaker. (there is a reason why I mention that last sentence)

TAS-2017-Editors-Choice-Award-for-Rel-T7i, along with a few other awardsBut todays quest, as I shared above, is with a Sub-woofer, because we just got in the Rel T/7i.  And mind you, this puppy (the T7i) was on the TAS (The Absolute Sound 2017 Editors Choice Awards). 

 

So after getting the PSB Imagine Bookshelf’s strapped in, and then connecting the Rel T/7i to the back of the Powernode 2 , but NOT IN THE SUB-WOOFER OUT CONNECTION, but instead, I took the 3 copper wires from the sub, and draped the two colored ones around the + on the left and right speaker out, and then the third wire, I just connected to an arbitrary ground connection on one of the speaker out connections.  (Ed told me to hardwire it this way, instead of using a plug into Subout)

It was time to fire it up! And the awesome thing about the Rel T/5-7 or 9 i’s, is that you have like 3 adjustments you can make.  1) You can adjust a high/low level, 2) Crossover adjust between 30 hz and 120 hz and 3) .1/LFE Level to your taste (when setup for surround sound and not 2-Channel stereo setup), so it doesn’t sound like an explosion, when you are just trying to listen to Dire Straits – “Fade to Black” .  

I fired it up, and I thought it sounded pretty excellent.   We had a nice pair of bookshelves at $499/pr, the Powernode 2 for $799 with it’s 60 watt amp, and the Rel T/7i for $999, plus your cables, your coming in maybe under $2500.  It did sound good, and not to just some rookie.

But Ed came in the room, and with his borderline passionate/obsession of sound quality, he first had to adjust the speaker angle as they sat up on the display table. But after a few minutes,  he went to get the Kef LS50’s, and we removed the PSB’s and put the Kef’s on the table.  Within minutes, excessive Ed (kidding) asked me to get the stands for the Kef bookshelf speakers. The speakers just needed to be placed further apart to get that equilateral triangle of sound.  Then we fired it up.

Pretty Mind-blowing.  Sounded fantastic.  We already know the Kef LS50’s sound fantastic, they won the Product of the Year award with “What Hi*Fi”. But now packed with the Rel sub-woofer, it was truly remarkable.  A customer friend & audiophile, named Dave came in asking what was new in our world.  And Ed asked Dave if he’d like to hear the Kef’s and the Powernode 2 system with our new Rel T/7i.  Dave was pretty blown away.

Okay, we did leave the room of $2300-2500 systems (which is still available), but we also stepped into a higher and more amazing level of Audiophilia.  

So with the amazing Kef LS-50’s at the new reduced price by Kef of $1200/pr, plus the Powernode 2 at $799 & the Rel T/7i at $999 plus decent cables, you’re looking at a pretty stellar starter system at around $3200 + or -.

So what is the ultimate take-away here? Adding the REL T7i isn’t intended to add kaboom (as you might want when watching movies), the REL Sub-Bass speaker gives you the full range of what you were missing in the low end

When you listen to our main 2 channel system in “The Transporter” room, an over $300,000 system, it’s pretty fun to see Ed still get excited about a modest priced high performance starter system.  I know I was excited and pumped!

Additional relevant keywords: audiophile beginner system.  PSB Imagine XB Bookshelf Speakers, Audiophile questions answered here at Audible Images. PSB Speakers Imagine Mini Bookshelf, PSB Imagine X2T Tower Speakers Transitional 3-Way Tower Speaker. Best Buy and Magnolia Home Theater we welcome you to stop there first, and then Audible Images AV.

 

 

Audible Images AV is pleased to be serving: Melbourne, Indian Harbour Beach, Lansing Island, Tortoise Island, Florida, Rockledge, Merritt Island, Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Port St. John, Satellite Beach, Space Coast, Vero Beach, Orlando, Daytona, Kissimmee, Central Florida, Florida

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