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Budget Split: Speakers & Receiver (1 Viewer)

felix_suwarno

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Dec 2, 2001
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1,523
hmmm if i had monitor audio gold, 1 center, 2 towers, 4 bookshelves...+/- 5400 dollar...then i should get a receiver around 3600 dollar? that is 6:4 ratio.

if i get an rx-v2600, around 900 dollar, add a B&k reference s2 125.7 at 1390 dollar...this setup is only around 2300 dollar...does this mean i have to find a much more expensive amp?

i actually dont think so!
 

eddieZEN

Second Unit
Joined
Nov 30, 2004
Messages
411
felix,

No, not at all. Your choice of power source does not need to follow any such mathematical guidelines whatsoever. Just get whatever YOUR ears can truly appreciate.

For $3600 or even $2300 you would be better off getting a separate amp and pre-amp:

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/1070.html
http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/7125.html

Speakers are the one component in the audio chain where you are most likely to hear the difference between a $2000 setup and a $5000 setup. Go out and listen to a variety of price ranges, and see where the point of diminishing returns really kicks in for you. If you don't hear $4500 worth of improvement between say a $500 pair of speakers and a $5000 pair, then you would be simply pi$$ing away money if you buy the latter. There ARE a few people with extremely discerning ears who can really hear the differences---the rest are just suckers for the "you get what you pay for" sales propaganda which is the bread and butter of any commerical industry.
 

Tom Boucher

Second Unit
Joined
Mar 1, 1999
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281
Location
Wake Forest
Real Name
Tom
My $0.02, take it for what it's worth.

Speakers: Find a reputable shop that has them set up in independant rooms and go listen, find what you like speaker wise, find how much it costs, and then go find the rest of your HT.

As far as HDMI switching, don't let that be your driving feature. Expand it to include DVI as there are DVI to HDMI cables out there that can be had for realtively little cost. You're not going to be using the full potential of HDMI because you're not sending audio to your nice screen, you're sending it to your receiver.

I spent about $2k on the speakers with the Klispch Reference 3 series about 5 years ago, with your budget that leaves about $1000 for your receiver.

I'm partial to PreAmp/Amp combos. Outlaw has been my recent purchase to upgrade from my old Sony 9000 ES. you can get their 970/7 channel 75W amp for $1298 or their 970 7 Channel 125W amp for $1598. Pretty good value.

Otherwise if you want a receiver and don't want seperates I'd look at the Denon line and go with what matches your budget. I don't know much about the yamaha so I can't comment. I got my dad the 1706 from Denon and was pretty impressed with the quality and I expect the higher models that have more video switching would be of value. I debated the 3806 for a bit but I'm hooked on seperates. It has HDMI switching as well as HDMI up convert in case you want to watch VHS every once in a while, but I've not had a VCR in my house since 2003 ;)
 

John S

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2003
Messages
5,460
I don't do the split budget method.....


I find what I deem the most bang for buck of each part of the system at the time I am ready to purchase.
 

HarpSingh

Agent
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
39
John,

I want to get the most bang for the buck for each part of my system like you said. However, I currently do not own a receiver or a set of speakers. Thus I HAVE TO do a "budget split".

Thanks guys for all comments. At my budget level now, I guess HDMI becomes standard, not a choice :). As far as the receiver brands go, Denon, Pioneer Elite, Onkyo and Yamaha seem to be the most recommended. Do all these brands have upconversion? Is upconversion in the receiver better than the built-in Panasonic Plasma 50PX500?
 

Mort Corey

Supporting Actor
Joined
Nov 21, 2003
Messages
981


The receivers in your price range actually just convert....ie they don't process the signal but merely change the method of output. The plasma display will take that its incoming signal and up-convert it (assuming it's a lower signal) to its native rate. A receiver that actually processes a signal is quite a bit more expensive at this time.

Mort
 

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