Home theater audio <$800 (including reciever) (1 Viewer)

[Patrick D]

Having done the Best Buy cheap receiver/amp thing, and being disappointed, I'm going to try out the Panasonic XR55. Supposedly it has a pretty good amp section, and pretty much everything these days does the whole Dolby decoding/PLIIx dance on the processing end.

I just tried to do this myself (spec out a 5.1 system for $500-800). It sucks. Your biggest problem is the sub. Circuit City has an Infinity 8" on sale for $110 right now, and av123 has their X-Sub thing for $199. I'd get good mains and a center, then shove some of those el-cheapo Insignia's in the rear.

So lets say you did a Panasonic XR55 ($219), an X-Sub ($199), and some more X-series stuff from av123 (one x-cs and 2 x-ls = $358), with Insignia's in the rear for $40, and you're at $816, but I'm cheating and not including shipping. Personally I'd get bigger mains for another $50. You just aren't going to get big-time subwoofage at this price point, as the only decent upgrade from here is the SVS PB10 at $399.

So lets say you want to rattle your eyeballs more than anything. Get an open-box el-cheapo receiver from Best Buy ($140 after their open-box coupon), a PB10, two x-CS, two insignias in the rear, and no center (phantom only). That's about $860, no shipping included. But -- it would be a lot of fun.

Oh, and stay far, far away from HTIB's. I've done theater with just stereo mains before, and it works alright, if they're good mains. I'll take quality stereo theater over 7.1 HTIB theater any day.

 

[pcharouz]

I got the setup today:
pioneer elite VSX-80TXV
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pn...966022,00.html
3 pairs of insignias
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1138085354138
polk audio psw10 (10', 100w) sub
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/psw10/
home depo 250ft 14g wire

The setup sounds good, I only have a slight problem with the sub, it sound better if I send the bass to the insignas, lol

The isnignias arent bad at all, althou I really dont have anything to compare it to, this setup sounds better than the bose lifestyle 48, and has more features.

I went a little over my budget, and will go more when I get a different sub, but it sounds great. What sub should I get around $300-400?

 

[Seth=L]

I would suggest starting a new thread for the subwoofer, that should broaden the scope of replies you get.

Aside from that go with HSU or SVS, at least that is what I would do in your shoes. I have the HSU STF-2, it sounds great. Other members will likely reccomend the SVS PB-10.

 

[pcharouz]

what sub would you recomend that I can buy locally? I want to be able to return it if I dont like it. I will make another thread if no one answeres.

 

[Benihana]

get a sony sa-wx700 from circuitcity. I had one before, it wouldn't bottom out, and it sounded pretty good.

 

[Seth=L]

You can return an SVS or HSU. But, I will say you won't likely be dissapointed, especially in comparison to the Polk sub.

 

[pcharouz]

Do you guys think either of those will do better than a hsu stf-1 or 2?
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...roductID=17000
http://www.bestpriceaudiovideo.com/c...iliate_code=PG

 

[Seth=L]

They might out perform the STF-1, but I don't think they will out do the STF-2. But note the STF-2 costs more, you may want to go with one of the JBL's to save some cash. I am not sure which one you should get. The specs on the second one are sketchy. The first one may be better.

 

[pcharouz]

I need a new center, because we are getting a cabinet, and the insignia would look wierd sideways.

Anyways, I came over this, it lookes exactly like the inisgnias, and has a tweeter on top, and can be bi amped(my reciever does that)

http://www.radiient.com/s.nl/it.A/id...=2&category=40

I would pay ~200 for a center chanel anyways, and I thought this would do the best since its the same thing.

Any ideas if those are as good as the insignias?

BTW, this is the sub I got, http://www.sounddistributors.com/buy...red+Subwoofers

and I also got a new 58' panasonic plasma....

 

[gene c]

I believe Radiient makes the "better" Insignia's for Best Buy so their center should be comparable.

 

[pcharouz]

well, do you think its worth it to return the 3 pairs of inignias I have, and buy that set? Is there any way I could get just the center?

 

[gene c]

I have no experience with either Insignia nor Radiient so I wouldn't want to recommend either one. But I would probably try and find (or make) a speaker stand that would hold the Insignia on it's side and use one as a center. Maybe the other in the rear to round out a 6.1 setup. If that's not an option, and $349 is O.K., then I'd return the Insignia's, buy the Radiients (or something else) and not look back. But I would really try and make the Insignia's work. There's something good about having all the speakers be identical. And the price is hard to beat.

 

[Lindahl]

Wow... just my opinion, but I would not have put that much of my budget into a receiver which contributes so little to sound at this price level (what a waste :frowning.

I would've gone with the refurbished Onkyo TX-SR503 from Onkyo online for $180. The Athena setup from audioadvisor.com: $120/p B1.2, $150 C1.2, $125/p AS-R1.2. And for a subwoofer, the Athena AS-P4000 for $180 on ebay. All this for $755, with the leftovers covering shipping (just a tad over $800). This setup will blow away anything you'd find near the price. I really suggest returning what you purchased.

The AV123 X-series will give you better sound quality, but it's beyond your budget and won't quite deliver the same dynamics for HT (which I bet is your emphasis).

EDIT:

When you get $120 more, pick up another pair of B1.2 for the rears if you can go 7.1. Though, I might suggest upgrading the subwoofer to a SVS PB10, first - depends on how satisfied you are with the bass.

If music is your emphasis, do NOT go 5.1. Get the Onkyo receiver and the best 2.1 setup you can, probably the Ascend 170SE @ $350 at ascendacoustics.com and an HSU subwoofer (STF-1). If you have a larger room, I'd skip the subwoofer and get the Ascend 340SE @ $600, picking up the SVS PSB10 later. If you want 5.1 after that, get the surrounds (Ascend HTM200) and then the matching center (you should be ok with a phantom center for the time). Another option would be to get the 170SEs first, then get the 340SEs later, moving the 170SEs back as surrounds for better multichannel. This all assumes you want to do a fair amount of upgrading later, of course. You may be perfectly happy just staying with the Athenas for the long haul. Depends on your long term goals.

 

[pcharouz]

Thanks, thats a very helpfull post, but I really enjoy the sound of the insignias, and the Bic h-100 sub, I just needed a different center.

Did you ever hear, or read about the insignias?

I wanted a reciever that would support hdcp, and have hdmi. So this one fits that, and is pretty too, as a bonus.

Another thing is, I really HATE ebay, I bought two things, and both were DOA. So no more ebay for me. I also dont trust refurbished stuff too much, because there is a chance of hidden errors.

As you can figure out, what I bought is over 1k, so I am not really on that budget anymore, and I also still want to get a center for another $200~,

Oh, and I have a $350 store credit here, so if I could find a good center, or the whole speaker set thats better than the insignias, it would be nice.

 

[Seth=L]

I would say that because the Insignia speakers are the same as the radiient, aside from the top mounted tweeter, I would keep the Insignias. I would try to get the Radiient Center by itself, just attempt to contact the company they should be able to get the center for you even if their intent is to sell it with the other speakers.

I don't think you will find a better system for $350 as the Insignias are very good for the price, and yes I have auditioned them in my home before you ask. They say it is important to timbre match your front speakers, so it would be tricky to make a selection from best buy. If any brand they carry could be comparitive it would be Athena or possibly JBL, definitely not Klipsch or Yamaha.

 

[Lindahl]

That won't get you much SQ at Best Buy. Athena is probably their best offering (the same speakers I suggested). In fact, looking online, the Athena series looks to be cheaper there, so skip audioadvisor. Use your store credit and the Insignia return to buy the Athena Audition series. You can get the surrounds and the center online, if you want, but I don't see the B1.2s available, so you can try calling. Since you didn't mind spending more, keep the Bic - it's probably the best budget sub out there, better than the Athena, but more expensive. I was going to recommend it, but it blew the budget.

Finally, about the receiver. Besides looks, I'm not sure why you'd want the Pioneer. It may have HDMI, but all it does is switch. You can't use the audio over HDMI (see the manual). The Onkyo 604 for $400 would be a much better choice, which has audio over HDMI, is cheaper, and is quite a looker too (black version also available).

 

[pcharouz]

Thanks for the reply again,
The store credit was not for best buy, but "Sound Advice", I somehow forgot to post the link.
http://www.tweeter.com/category/inde...339&cp=1124285

So it really doesnt have audio over hdmi? (I am having troubles with that now..... LOL) Does that mean that I can only have the hdmi to have the sound coming out of the tv?

How about a panasonic XR-57 (Black)? Does that have hdmi over audio? It seems to have VERY good reviews for the price.
http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=34129

 

[Lindahl]

Yes, it does, however it doesn't have HDMI switching (you can pick up the monoprice 5x1 switcher for it, though). The Panasonic is horrible for usability, and ok for features, but has an amazing sound quality. It's worth it's weight in gold for sound quality. However, I wouldn't pair it with the Athenas, and especially not with the Insignias. The Panasonic will really reveal both speakers' harshness in the highs (where the Insignias are even harsher) making listening quite fatiguing. Hence, I still recommend the Onkyo, which has a warmer sound (the Pioneer too, but less so). Ideally, you'd pair either the Athenas or the Insignias with an HK receiver, which is even warmer still, in order to tame the highs. Unfortunately, the HK receivers are quite a bit more expensive if you want HDMI, ~$1000, and the implementation is extremely buggy (see: sometimes works).

I know it's difficult returning things, especially when you've just started to enjoy what you got. But, IMO, it will really be worth it in the long run.

 

[pcharouz]

What features is the XR57 lacking? I went through the manual in pdf, and it seemed to have lots of features.

Could I get that onkyo receiver locally? If I didnt like it, or it didnt work, it would be a pain to return if I bought it online

 

[Lindahl]

I'm sure you can find it locally. It'd probably be around $100-$200 more (MSRP $599). Plenty of very reliable online vendors sell it. Circuit City online has it for $450, so you may be able to return it to a store, if you need to. It's a lot easier than you'd think to return a product online, as long as you buy from a good e-tailer. I'd suggest buying from J&R, as they have a no questions asked, no restocking fee 30-day return policy (providing the equipment is in new condition with all packaging).