Matching a receiver to JM Lab Speakers

[cavokay]

Hi,

I'm new to all this and am looking for some advice. I have a pair of JMLab Chorus 707 Bookshelf and a pair of Chorus 715 Floor standing speakers and am looking for advice on a couple of things:

I want to add a center and sub to make up a 5.1

I will also need a receiver to drive it all that can connect to my Plasma (HDMI, I presume?)

I guess I would like to keep the cost to less than $1500 all up - not sure if that's a reasonable expectation though while still doing the speakers justice?

Any advice welcome.

[RockandorRoll]

you would probably want to go with a Focal centre for correct tonal matching. A sub, i would go with anything that suits the budget and specs your looking for. Doesnt have to be Focal.

For the amp, i used to run my 707's from a Yamaha 661 and they didnt sound that great, moved them to a integrated amp and they really shine. So i would suggest something with plenty of power. Rotel was a brand that was mentioned when i was looking at upgrading

i dont think you would be able to do it perfectly for that amount of money, unless you looked at second hand (doesnt mean second best) i got a sub, receiver and centre for about $1500, but its far from perfect

[cavokay]

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated! I'll scour the classifieds for some second hand gear I think.

[tdunster]

Hi,

I'm new to all this and am looking for some advice. I have a pair of JMLab Chorus 707 Bookshelf and a pair of Chorus 715 Floor standing speakers and am looking for advice on a couple of things:

I want to add a center and sub to make up a 5.1

I will also need a receiver to drive it all that can connect to my Plasma (HDMI, I presume?)

I guess I would like to keep the cost to less than $1500 all up - not sure if that's a reasonable expectation though while still doing the speakers justice?

Any advice welcome.

My two cents worth is this:

Buy a centre speaker to match the fronts you already have (In other words same brand / series). If you can buy one second hand then all the better.

Find a good second hand sub. It doesn't have to be JMLabs as matching is not as sensitive for subs.

Receiver wise perhaps you can check out an older Denon model 2nd hand. I use an old AVR-3803 and while it's not great on music it does pretty well with movies.

I don't use HDMI for sound. I prefer to use the coax / spdif as I find it's better over longer distances.

Cheers, Alan

[Paul Spencer]

I agree with the others. Buy a matching Focal centre (if you need one). In many rooms, a centre isn't needed at all. Careful placement can avoid the need. The need is based on sitting too close to one side so the stereo image collapses into the closer speaker. Depending on your arrangement, this might not be a problem. In some cases, people put their speakers too close to side walls, and moving them closer together eliminates the centre speaker along with it's challenges and problems.

Regarding a sub, there's nothing new I'd suggest under $1k. 2nd hand is a good option, as well as DIY - particularly easy here. About $600+ can do a DIY sub.

Many choices with receivers. The word "matching" implies there is some magical synergy between speakers and receiver, but I suggest the main issue here is how much power you need, and what your amp can deliver. Ideally you want a receiver that has pre-outs on at least the main channels, if not all of them, allowing a future upgrade adding on more capable power amps. IMO this is better than spending more on more powerful receivers, even if just for the mains.

[yhng]

I'm going thru a similar exercise with my electras, and have auditioned some receivers. I previously owned a marantz SR7002 and am leaning towards a denon AVR now. Will definately suggest you audition some of the denon AVR as they tend to match the focals pretty well.

For your budget, I guess I'll suggest you look into a decent 2nd hand AVR before getting the centre speaker/sub. Better to save up a little more before getting the remaining speakers than trying to cover all grounds at one go.