What to buy first..... (1 Viewer)

[ChrisBrander]

Hi, I'm new here so please bear with me. I recently bought a receiver and some bookshelf speakers and am looking for advice on what to add to my setup first.

Here is my setup:
receiver: Yamaha RX-V730
mains: Boston Acoustics CR75
surrounds: cheapo Sony speakers from my college boombox.

I am loving this stuff so far and am totally hooked (much to my wife's delight). I am ready to add another piece of the puzzle. Eventually (meaning when I finally get out of graduate school) the plan is to buy VR2s for the mains and move the CRs to the rear and buy a VRC as the center and a CRC as the rear center. I do about 50/50 music/movies and a lot of TV sports.

My first question is in regard to what to buy first. I am deciding between the CRC center speaker (for current use as the front center), or a subwoofer?

My second question is, is it worth getting a CRC if it will be eventually moved to the rear center, when I am sure a CR5 or something would do fine there?

Subwoofer-wise, I am looking at the Boston PV-500 ($350) and the Velodyne CHT-10 ($250). I don't need a ton of bass, just something to lower the CRs a bit. I know that SVS and HSU are great subs and very popular on this site and would love to get an HSU VTF-2, but just can't afford it right now.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[ScottCHI]

SUB



especially since you're kinda "up in the air" on the other speakers. keep running a phantom center for now, it'll sound fine. in fact, when you DO get a center, you'll miss that phantom center sound.

 

[ChrisBrander]

Thanks Scott, that's sort of what I was thinking myself. Do you or anyone else have any experience with the Velodyne subs? I've heard the amps tend to overheat and cut out a lot. Being new to this and having never owned a sub before, is that something to really worry about with casual use or should I look into other brands in the price range?

 

[Keith Hyde]

I'll second that. 5 channel stereo is usually my norm, but lately I've been finding that normal Stereo (L, R, and sub) has much better imaging. My problem is that my mains are bunkjunk. I have a Paradigm Studio CC470 center which is sweet, and I'm dying to have the same quality out of my mains. I switch between 5 channel and Stereo a lot now. Better mains - Stereo all the time (music) will be a no brainer.

Coming from a music listener (now going about 90% music / 10% HT) I'd recommend you go the way of the subwoofer. Especially if you are running so-so speakers. The sub will give you a MUCH fuller sound than your current system allows. I did the same with my first surrounds - boom box detachables on 40 feet of Rat Shack 16 gauge - hey - it worked! Surrounds are your last big investment if you ask me - as/if you upgrade other speakers, just move the replaced ones back.

:star: Center or sub: no brainer - by the sub now - enjoy your music. Buying a sweet center instead would be like using the finest olive oil on Spaghetti O's. Continue enjoying your music until you can save up for your other HT stuff. A good set of mains and a sub will go as far or further sometimes than a super sweet 5.1 channel set-up - especially when it comes to tunes.

Otherwise, you could buy the center, and still have no sub, and miss out on everything that really hopping bass tracks have to offer in both music and HT lands.

Your next question might be which sub? There is good reason the people on this forum generally push SVS. They are Super Very Sweet man! Got a PB2+ a couple months ago. Lordie, I waited far too long on that purchase!

 

[Jerome Grate]

You will get the most sound impact from the Sub. Your speakers are good sounding speakers that would handle voice and other various sounds that usually come from the center channel and left/right fronts. Get the sub, hands down.

 

[Ken.L]

Get the sub first. You're missing a lot more without a sub than the center. With a sub, you'll be able to feel sound effects such as the dinosaurs walking in your living room from Jurassic Park 3, etc. And if you place the sub next to the sofa like I've got mine, everyone sitting on the sofa will feel all those low frequency vibrations on their posteriors quite impressively.
Then get a center right away because in movies, about 70% of the sound will be from the center. So, a dedicated center will greatly enhance the dialog portion of the soundtrack.

 

[ChrisBrander]

Thanks everybody, subwoofer it is....

I'm heading to the shop to compare a Velodyne CHT-10 with the Paradigm PDR-10. Any other recommendations in the $250 range?