Oh no!
What have I done? Finally got my Sonos Connect plumbed in via optical cable to the Pioneer amp in the dining room - the combined sub/amp I got to satisfy Mrs. Scene's desire to have a more discreet system - set it to pure direct and ran some test tracks through it.
Then I put the main living room system in synch with it and walked back and forth between rooms to see if what I was hearing was true. Then I asked Mrs. Scene what she thought... And we agreed, the cheap and cheerful, cobbled together system in the dining room sounds better than the Arcam + Monitor Audios in the living room. Even when I put that on stereo direct as well. 
I may have to lie down for a bit...
Those KEF KHT2005.2 are excellent speakers. I have a pair integrated into my kitchen run by a T amp, the results are great. Fantastic design.
So your thread should read Oh Yes! not Oh no!
Rooms effects perhaps? Of course the only way you'll find that out is if you swap the systems between rooms...
Good call. Weekend project.
Oh dear... the wife effect. Had the same thing with a Rega Apollo a few months back. I thought it sounded better than the Arcam. Once Mrs. P said she preferred the Arcam I was then convinced she was right.
I would say what you're experiencing isn't a better sound but a different one.
The other thing is those MAs of yours. Good speakers in their day but the newer MAs are better IMO. If you was to stick a pair of RX1s on the end of your Arc you would probably hear a decent uplift.
Oh dear... the wife effect. Had the same thing with a Rega Apollo a few months back. I thought it sounded better than the Arcam. Once Mrs. P said she preferred the Arcam I was then convinced she was right.
I would say what you're experiencing isn't a better sound but a different one.
I wish it was just different...
The Arcam+MA system sounded muddy and soft, lacking in clarity - basically mulchy
The Pioneer+KEF system sounded clear, detailed timing, clear notes.
The other thing is those MAs of yours. Good speakers in their day but the newer MAs are better IMO. If you was to stick a pair of RX1s on the end of your Arc you would probably hear a decent uplift.
That's a good point... Maybe I'll have to persuade the Mrs. about that RX6 upgrade...
Rooms effects perhaps? Of course the only way you'll find that out is if you swap the systems between rooms...
Good call. Weekend project.
Ho hum. Not sure this is going to fly with the Mrs...
Oh dear... the wife effect. Had the same thing with a Rega Apollo a few months back. I thought it sounded better than the Arcam. Once Mrs. P said she preferred the Arcam I was then convinced she was right.
I would say what you're experiencing isn't a better sound but a different one.
I wish it was just different...
The Arcam+MA system sounded muddy and soft, lacking in clarity - basically mulchy
The Pioneer+KEF system sounded clear, detailed timing, clear notes.
The other thing is those MAs of yours. Good speakers in their day but the newer MAs are better IMO. If you was to stick a pair of RX1s on the end of your Arc you would probably hear a decent uplift.
That's a good point... Maybe I'll have to persuade the Mrs. about that RX6 upgrade...
I'd always say MAs, regardless of model, would be a great match with Arcam. If the budget could stretch the new GX 100 are superb.
Gotta chuckle at people saying that you need to upgrade the other system. Why not just move the better sounding system in to the room where you will listen to it most?
Does it really matter if it's not the one you've spent the money on? Surely the idea is to listen to and enjoy the music? If that's the cheaper, cobbled together system, so be it....
Gotta chuckle at people saying that you need to upgrade the other system. Why not just move the better sounding system in to the room where you will listen to it most?
Does it really matter if it's not the one you've spent the money on? Surely the idea is to listen to and enjoy the music? If that's the cheaper, cobbled together system, so be it....
I actually agree with you! If only it was so easy...
All the cables for the Dining room system are routed in to the wall (see here) and the main system has big speakers - Floorstanders + full fat centre + big surrounds. Not really suitable for the Dining Room which is only 12ft x 11 ft (give or take).
Also I have to factor in (dis)approval of the Mrs. 
This is going to be fun...
I'd be willing to bet it sounds different, not better. Regardless of how old your MAs are, there's no way the other stuff should sound better unless there's something very wrong!
I had the same thing when I bought a Panasonic surround sound system. I thought it was better than the Rotel/MS gear that I had at the time. Then I gave my girlfriend a loan of that Rotal/MS system, and when I set it up at her house I thought it sounded amazing.
When we moved in together I tried them both again and the Panasonic sounded awful when compared to the hi-fi. My brother-in-law has an LG 5.1 system, and when I heard that for the first time I went through it all again!
I actually agree with you! If only it was so easy...
All the cables for the Dining room system are routed in to the wall (see here) and the main system has big speakers - Floorstanders + full fat centre + big surrounds. Not really suitable for the Dining Room which is only 12ft x 11 ft (give or take).
Also I have to factor in (dis)approval of the Mrs.
This is going to be fun...
oh EDITED! Well, for what it's worth, good luck with whatever you decide :D
I'd be willing to bet you just lot your bet. It's all subjective. If Scene says it sounds better, then that's all that matters to him isn't it? Doesn't matter if it's again 50k's worth of equipment, if somebody prefers one sound to another and they think that's better, then you can't tell them it's not!
It's also not like normal testing where you would listen, change something, listen again. By the sounds of it it's both sync'd playing at the same time, so you only have to walk between rooms - that in itself is a fantastic way to hear the differences (yes, I'll include the differences of the rooms in that as well). Doing the stop start thing is as reliable as a politician keeping their promises as your mind and ears just can't retain enough information in order to make a good enough comparison.
No better would be my description (which I realise is obviously subjective). That's why I got the Mrs to listen - wihout telling her... She commented that the Dining Room sounded better (unprompted)
I had the same thing when I bought a Panasonic surround sound system. I thought it was better than the Rotel/MS gear that I had at the time. Then I gave my girlfriend a loan of that Rotal/MS system, and when I set it up at her house I thought it sounded amazing. When we moved in together I tried them both again and the Panasonic sounded awful when compared to the hi-fi. My brother-in-law has an LG 5.1 system, and when I heard that for the first time I went through it all again!
*sigh*
And yes, I know room acoustics make a lot of difference...
Back to basics time.
I'd be willing to bet you just lot your bet. It's all subjective. If Scene says it sounds better, then that's all that matters to him isn't it? Doesn't matter if it's again 50k's worth of equipment, if somebody prefers one sound to another and they think that's better, then you can't tell them it's not!
It's also not like normal testing where you would listen, change something, listen again. By the sounds of it it's both sync'd playing at the same time, so you only have to walk between rooms - that in itself is a fantastic way to hear the differences (yes, I'll include the differences of the rooms in that as well). Doing the stop start thing is as reliable as a politician keeping their promises as your mind and ears just can't retain enough information in order to make a good enough comparison.
There's a difference between him preferring it initially and it actually sounding 'better'. That's what I was getting at. I thought my Panasonic system sounded 'better', but it didn't. It was actually just different, and after using it for a while I realised it's limitations.
It makes no diffference to me either way, but I'd be very suprised if he doesn't go back towards the more expensive kit after a while, once the novelty of the new kit wears off.
Why the *sigh* scene?
This is what I alluded to in my first post.
"I would say what you're experiencing isn't a better sound but a different one."
Rooms effects perhaps? Of course the only way you'll find that out is if you swap the systems between rooms...
No signature worth mentioning...