Ben's AV setup

Thanks Sliced Bread The ATCs may not work everywhere or be for everyone, but our new living room is very traditional turn of the century, and I feel they go well, especially when you pair them with some business like stands and a decent cabinet 

The new AV set-up looks extremely high class Ben youve clearly thought it out well & mixed very capable products with a beautiful traditional hand made cabinet to house it all & you've pulled it off very well, equally impressive is you're purpose hi-fi/music room...very nice too, well done Ben
Cheers
Benny.

Thanks very much Benny  I've got a lot to live up to in terms of an ATC AV setup  Thanks also re the music room, I will get some pics up here soon. 

Happy NYE,

Ben

Congratulations on the new Av setup Ben 

I particularly like the very classy looking Av stand and ATC sub 

Cheers

Matt

Hi Matt, 

Happy new year to you and thanks very much for your kind comments  I had a funny feeling you'd like the sub  It's built like a tank and has all the traditional ATC qualities in SQ as well: subterranean bass when present but fast, precise and detailed 

Cheers,

Ben

Hi Ben

Happy new year 

Enjoy the new system and sub 

Cheers
Matt

Nice Ben but I think you should go all the way and use 40s for the front and put the 11s at the rear

Thanks visionary  It had occurred to me  I made the choice tho to have separate systems and now listen to the hifi less often but get more 'quality time'  For music, the cd31 + pre30 is substantially better than the sc886 and I now wouldn't want to lose the 40s from stereo. Plus the driver matching of 11s v C3C is a bonus. 

The av system tho has made me think a sub with the hifi would be a good idea!  Dangerous game, but a C1 might set things off nicely!

this is super neat! Looks fantastic!

Thanks AlmaataKZ!  I know the box count would be a bit high for you, but they are tucked away nicely 

Hey Ben! 

I reckon you still use your Onkyo processor with your Primare amp? I been eyeing the latest Onkyo PR-SC5509 to possibly combine with the slender Primare A30.7, in order to step-up to separates. I tested the integrated Primare SPA22 HD a while ago and its digital amplifier section really impressed me (its processing and other quirks made me drop the idea of keeping it though). You seem confident in your Onkyo+Primare combo? Any particular attributes you care to share in detail? (I'm driving a 7.2 channel Monitor Audio Apex system).

Hi Ricky 

Yep, my setup remains as per the photos. I should say I've not heard any of Primare's new amplification, inlcuding the A30.7, but everything I've read (save for at WHF, as it happens) is very positive and also says the sound signature remains very similar / the same. I've also never heard the Apex, but they seem to be a good enough speaker that you will hear the benefits from better processing and amplification.

For me, the combo continues to delight frequently. I've not been disappointed with a single blu ray, from varying eras, and the system manages to get well-recorded DVDs to sound pretty close to blu-ray SQ. The odd well-recorded thing on SD TV even impresses. The thing that particularly makes me think this is an excellent combination is how it handles music. I notice this especially when listening to blu rays, for example the Breakfast Club a few weeks ago, and if a song comes on there is an immediate sense of pace and excitement, without any harshness or brightness. I feel if it handles music well it is doing a similarly good job with effects. There is real texture in upper bass notes (through the speakers), steering is lightning fast and the starting and stopping of individual effects is excellent.

When I bought the various components, the thinking was I would retain the detail, clarity and speed of the Primare->ATC combo which I so enjoyed from my hifi, but add a little more bite / attack upstream to give a touch more excitement for movie soundtracks. IMO that has worked out as I hoped.

I recently added a ZP90 to the system for music duties. I'm rather spoiled with my hifi and that remains noticeably better in a number of regards, but that's to be expected. It is overall also not as good as when I used the 11s purely for hifi (CD31->Pre30->A33.2->11s) but again a £1500 preamp really should be beating a £1500 pre/pro purely at music. That's the context, but I would be delighted if this were my only music setup, and the overall quality is very high.

Obviously at the money you're talking, I would recommend a demo, at home if possible, to check you like it too and that it works in your room / with your speakers. But for my part it's a whole-hearted recommendation! I can't see me changing this setup for many years 

Thank you Ben, I truly appreciated your input! Thanks for taking the time! A home-demo is a must for me, yes. It always is ;)

No worries Ricky, glad to be of some help  Let me know if there's anything else I can try and help with, and I would be interested to hear the outcome of your demo