If you had to assemble an HT system...gradually (1 Viewer)

[Kevin T]

i'll have to concur with the aragon soundstage recommendation (especially since i own one). it's a great piece and the two channel playback on it is the best i've owned. of course, if you get a soundstage...you're gonna need an amp as well. this really depends on your budget. i'd suggest getting an aragon 8008bb (~$1200-$1400 used). it's a great amp (used to own it as well ). perhaps an acurus a200x3 could serve you well for center and surround duties. i think they go for around $600-700 on the used market. i've done things pretty much as you're attempting to do...piece meal. now i'm about "finished". all i need is a widescreen hdtv and a new rack for my gear and i'll be "done" for a long time...i hope.

kevin t

 

[John S]

The audio is important to a point.
But come on, a 27" screen??????

And once you hook some decent audio up to such a size screen, it seem to become even smaller in comparisons.

I'd consider a 32" or so TV about the smallest for any sort of real HT experience. Just my opinion anyways. And I am a die hard audio guy.


"I love the way that HDTV looks, but the combination of dropping prices and developing standards makes me nervous to make a major purchase immediately."

This will only get worse. With that logic you may never buy a new HDTV......

 

[Charles Gurganus]

I probably would not have mentioned the Aragon Soundstage (which I also own) if I had known you already had a 3803. I don't usually go around recommending everything I own to others but if you are truly a music lover, the Soundstage is a great piece. I really appreciate its true analog bypass feature on all inputs.

As far as the video side changing so rapidly as to scare off enjoyment of a great display now, I just don't see that. Sure, plasmas and DLP's are changing rapidly as the price drops but you will be hard pressed to beat a good CRT RPTV when you consider the price. Of course, I would not buy anything like that until I knew WHERE it would go.

You seem to be on the right path and not making any spure of the moment purchases is prudent. Only you will know when you have listened to the right speakers. I love NHT's and they do very well with Denon, JFYI, so a listen to them would be worth while.

Good sources for music is very important. You can get pretty good standalone CD players for under $300 (Cambridge Audio available at audioadvisor.com are bargains). From my experience, the better universial players ($800 and up) are at least as good at CD playing as the standalone CD only players. At least in my case (I went from Cambridge Audio 300se to a Onkyo Sp-800 universal player and sold the CA player). Small steps.

 

[gene c]

I agree with John. That 27" has to go first. Here is what I would do FWIW. Get a 48-55" big screen in the $1000-1500 range (look for close-out and dis-continued items from big-box stores) and either the Onkyo 760 or a factory refurb receiver from Ecost, PCMALL or the like and a better speaker system of your choice and then start saving. The reason for this is life is short and you need to enjoy as much as you can as soon as you can. Gene

 

[Kevin T]

the most faithful reproduction of audio is paramount. all else is secondary.

kevin t

 

[Tom Grooms]

Spoken like a true audiophile. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Enjoy the Music!

 

[ChrisWiggles]

I can't disagree more in respect to HT.

FYI, I am biggest on the music reproduction, which is why I'm pushing to get the best mains I possibly can. However, Audio for HT is much less an issue, IMO. Anything beyond something like PAradigm atoms is just gravy. Most movies don't have the best mixes, and a lot of the greatest movies are old, in stereo, mono, etc. What's the use of having a reference quality 7.1 setup if you can only enjoy it on a few "demo quality movies" that probably aren't that good?

IMO, great video is FAR more important for HT than audio.

This leads me down the road of great mains (for music), non-matched, but adequate centers and surrounds, a great sub for movies, and CRT FP.

If you do a lot of music listening, definitely get great audio gear, but if it's ONLY HT, then if you're a film buff, you're probably going to be watching a lot of smaller films, old movies, foreign films, and not the blockbusters that tend to have the best audio mixes.

 

[gene c]

Steven. After re-reading your post and my reply, I realized I screwed-up! You said no "upgraditis" and everything I mentioned would have to go sooner or later. Let's see if I can get it right this time. Start with speakers of your choice in the $2500 range. Speaker prices and performance don't change as much as everything else. Next, go for a receiver in the $1000 range. After that, a Dvd player and then the display. I suspect prices for displays will drop and performance of the new technologies will improve so as others have said, get that last. But a used/cheap 32" or larger is needed right now. You still need to enjoy life while you are saving for the next component. Sorry for the U-turn. I need to start paying more attention to the post's and not the reply's! Gene

 

[Ernest Yee]

I'll stick with the opinion that you should spend probably around $500 for the display for right now and the rest on the remainder on the receiver/seperates + Mains.

I too wouldn't be able to live with a 27in for HT but I think a 32 or 36 will more than suffice. If it's a dedicated HT, then I would agree that the budget FP projector would be the best option. Personally, I use my setup for regular TV viewing as well so I have a CRT TV and not a FP projector.