Well, I went and did it again. I bought something I wasn’t ready to do anything with, but the price was right so I figured what the hell.
Two sets of Anthony Gallo Acoustics A’Diva Ti speakers are now on their way.
Why? you ask. Well, hmm. About that.
I’m currently investing in my 2-channel rig. I might even be able to order some monster mains some time real soon (oh, goody!), which I’m rather tickled about. But I do have this other rig — my home theater rig. And I’ve been thinking about fiddling with that for some time now.
I currently have an Integra DTC 9.8 preamp plugged into a set of 150wpc Bel Canto amplifiers which play into a set of Totem Model 1 Signature speakers. Nothing wrong with that setup, no indeedy, but it’s a bit bland.
I love the Bel Cantos — or rather, their current draw, which I know has led to a dramatically lower power bill. I swapped them in for an Anthem P5 amp, which was a beast (if a bit dry). Using that amp “back in the day” to run music pretty much all day long, I was averaging a $200 bump/month in my utility bill. Yikes! Enter Bel Canto and goodbye power-bill-bump.
The Integra is a great head unit. Clean. Elegant. Sounds great. Truly phenomenal bang-for-the-buck. But since it came out, Dolby did some neat stuff with width/height surrounds. And Apple did AirPlay. And I’ve always wanted to use Pandora on that system. And wouldn’t two subwoofers be great?
Sigh.
So, I think I’m going to get me a Denon 4311Ci to use as my new home theater receiver. I’ll keep the Bel Cantos for now, and use them on the L/C/R speakers, and let the Denon drive the other six speakers (wide/high/surround). Audyssey can handle the pair of Rythmik F12G subs that I’m going to be pulling out of the 2 channel rig. That’s 11.2 for home theater.
Oh, yeah!
The question is what speakers to use? I’ve already decided to move away from the Totems, but what to replace them with? 6moons loved the little Gallo A’Diva Ti, and honestly, they’re small enough that I can sneak at least a couple of them in (height) without throwing off the wife’s aesthetic. The wides are going to be tough, though, but I have high hopes that she’ll get over the willow-stands I can stick a pair of them on. We’ll see. Two more up on the walls where the surrounds go and I’m done.
Oh, right. The left/center/right channels. Yeah. Hmm.
I was thinking that the sealed-cabinet Gallo Reference Strada would be a natural fit, but my worry is that they might be a tad lean/bright for home theater. Not sure. Another approach would be to go with Joseph Audio (definitely not lean/bright), as they’re very similar in form factor to the Totems they’d be replacing (that Strada might be too space-age for the wife). They’re also front-ported, which is good since they’ll be in a cabinet. And since the h/w/s speakers don’t really carry much in the way of musical/theater info (they’re there for effects and ambiance), tonally matching the satellites with the mains is pretty much irrelevant. Decisions, decisions.
Small. Inexpensive. Great sound. What’s not to like?
Well, there you have it. I should have them in by the time I get back from Axpona, so more soon.
