Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grand + Bel Canto C5i vs..

Just received my Bel Canto C5i and spent most of the day listening and so far it far exceeds my expectations. I've heard my speakers Vienna Mozart Grands powered by a Peachtree Nova and McIntosh MC2102 in two different store settings. I must say it is definitely closer to the McIntosh in sound staging, tonality, clarity, dynamics and authority. Bright highs and colorful mid range with natural and surprisingly deep bass. My listening space is not ideal;- a loft with 18 foot ceilings about 14x20 foot room.

Electronic House and Hip Hop music even played remarkably well with my Mozarts which are known more for classical and Jazz music which performed beautifully. Some of the songs I auditioned included Belfast(Penguins and Cats)-Katie Melua, Walk on the Wild Side-Lou Reed and Somewhere over the Rainbow-Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. I had a big smile on my face after each song.

This is of course my first impression and may change after initial break in time of 48-72 hours on the Bel Canto and 100 hours on my Viennas which are new as well. IMHO, I would recommend these speakers for the Bel Canto. I will definitely write more in the following weeks and would be happy to contribute more to this entry but I have an early morning conference call and have spent the entire evening reveling in my newly complete system. Thanks for everyone that provided advice. I look forward to contributing more to the thread in the near future!

Rodm3878 - Are their any regrets with the Cambridge iD100? Do you have any issues using your iPhone with this? What about streaming Pandora, etc? I am having a frustrating time with streaming audio via Airplay consistently from iPhone 4 to my Apple TV (which has digital outputs to the C5i).

Btw, If you are interested in the Vienna Mozart- I think they fit your style, Jazz,etc. There are a few used ones on Audiogon at your prices range. Check it out.

Hi everyone.

Thanks a lot! I live in Kauai, HI and there are no high end audio dealers here, so I must depend on your opinions and inputs. Appreciated! In fact, I've been listening to some speakers on "You Tube" lately, and honestly, there were few that gave me goose bumps. For example, Dynaudio had an ad for their new DM 3/7 ($1995/pair). Wow, I could buy that, but it's above my budget and probably too big in my room 11x11x9. Then comes the X12's and and DM 2/6. I think these two were my favorites. The X12's paired with Rotel Integrated amp really played very nice with lots of musicality and the DM 2/6 was wonderful with piano music. Some were crappy but I enjoyed the Dynaudios and Totem Mites.

Lajollabiker: So far, my iD100 is wonderful and I like it more than my Wadia 170i. No regrets as yet! Both my iPhone 4 and iPod touch works well with the iD100. One issue I had with my touch and Wadia 170i was, the iPod kept shutting down while streaming music from Pandora. I called Apple 3-4 times and discussed the issue and they said to plug it into the computer and restore it. This problem continued several times for about 4 months; but, one day the problem went away. The Mozarts, probably too big for my room, but I will look into it. Thanks!

Jajur: Based on your inputs re: the X12's, I think they are the ones to get.

Another question, does anyone heard of ERA D4s? Do they really give excellent bass without using a SUB? Hmmmm! Underwood HiFi is selling them for $399. Sounds good though. I would appreciate if anyone could give their inputs. If not, hope to find one on You Tube.

Hey Guys,

I hooked up my two channel set up to my home theater and I realized it would be nice to get a sub. My budget is about $600 used maybe higher if the model was really impressive. I'm looking for a sub that can add the boom in movies and also extend the lower parts of bass in music without distorting the mid-range from my speakers. I have heard good things about the Rel R series with sub-bass systems. Is there any other bass / sub system you can recommend for me?

Thanks,
Daniel

Any further ruminations on the Bel Canto C5i? I'm thinking of taking the plunge and getting one, and would welcome some more insight after you've lived with it for a while.

I'd be switching from a Rogue tube pre and amp, but I'm a little worried I'd be missing the warmth.

Thanks