Bose or klipsch setup? noob here. (1 Viewer)

[Pete Bishop]

o.k.

Went to BB again. I think I'm going to try the Athenas. They have a package(I know you guys tried to steer me away from packages, but I save a lot of cash that way)that includes:

2 AS-F2
1 AS-C1
2 ASR1
1 p400 Sub
and the Sony STR-DE897B for $1299.

I'm going to try and upgrade to the Yamaha 5760 for $100 more, but they don't know if the system will allow them to substitute anything. If they can't, what's the word on Sony receivers?

Also, what's the deal with bi-pole speakers? Are they only good as sides for the 7.1? What's the best way to position them?

 

[Drew_W]

The DEs from Sony are not so good, at least historically. Get the 5760 and be happy.

Now with dipoles. You can use them as sides or as rears, but they should ideally go on the side walls adjacent to your listening position for 5.1. 7.1 adds two on the back wall. Where is your seating position relative to the back wall? If your couch is right up against the back wall, or close to it, you might want to look into direct radiators instead. And the same goes if you're into multichannel music if you want better sonic pinpointing. Di/Bi-poles are "said" to be too diffuse for music, although, as always, YMMV.

 

[Drew_W]

The DEs from Sony are not so good, at least historically. Get the 5760 and be happy.

Now with dipoles. You can use them as sides or as rears, but they should ideally go on the side walls adjacent to your listening position for 5.1. 7.1 adds two on the back wall. Where is your seating position relative to the back wall? If your couch is right up against the back wall, or close to it, you might want to look into direct radiators instead. And the same goes if you're into multichannel music if you want better sonic pinpointing. Di/Bi-poles are "said" to be too diffuse for music, although, as always, YMMV.

 

[Drew_W]

I want to add. You should take all that home and try it out. Don't get locked into a "package" that you can't easily get out of if you're not happy with the sonics. Remember that a room can make or break a pleasant movie watching environment.

 

[Drew_W]

I want to add. You should take all that home and try it out. Don't get locked into a "package" that you can't easily get out of if you're not happy with the sonics. Remember that a room can make or break a pleasant movie watching environment.

 

[Pete Bishop]

Yeah,

BB has a good return policy, and since I didn't get to listen to anything at their store (All of their systems are screwed up), I'll have to take them home and try them. I have a decent Pioneer receiver and Optimus speakers right now that do an o.k. job.

 

[Pete Bishop]

Yeah,

BB has a good return policy, and since I didn't get to listen to anything at their store (All of their systems are screwed up), I'll have to take them home and try them. I have a decent Pioneer receiver and Optimus speakers right now that do an o.k. job.

 

[Tim O...]

Pete,

I don't necessarily think what you're proposing is a bad idea altogether, I just know that you can make your $1500 go further if you stay away from big box packages. Also, you're less likely to have upgradeitis right away. But if you want something now and/or aren't comfortable buying sight unseen over the Internet, then follow Drew's advice and take the package and take it home and listen to it in your own environment. That is an absolute must.

As I said above, I did own a Sony DE series receiver, and my HK totally blew it away after I upgraded. Plus, it really wasn't that much more all told. So, as I also said above, I would not skimp on the receiver and would buy online if necessary to get a good one. I don't know much about the Yamaha, so can't comment on that. It may be good enough for your needs.

Is there any reason you want the AS-F2s? If your intended use is even 50:50 movies:music, let alone something like 75:25 movies:music, you would be fine with bookshelves front and rear (IOW AS-B1s), which would match better tonally, as well as in terms of output, and would save you money. With one of the quality factory direct subs out there right now in your system, you'd be hard pressed to notice the difference between bookshelves and large towers. That's the route I would probably take if I had to do it over again. I have the F1's and love them, but the B1's with my sub are just as good. I think I would have been fine with bookshelves all around.

As far as the R1's, never heard them, but I've read reviews and they were quite positive. Also, the R1's use the same drivers as the rest of the speakers in that line, so I'd guess they sound good. If you intend on heavy movie use, I'd get the R1's, as dipoles/bipoles are generally considered better as surrounds than direct radiators.

As far as the AS-P400, I actually did have one before getting my SVS, and it is a very tight and musical sub. It will only extend down to about 25-27 Hz with decent output however, and don't even think about using it in a large room set up if you like lots of bass. While I do like Athena as a company and liked the AS-P400, the SVS eats it for breakfast. And as I said above, you could spend $500 online and get similar performance to what I have, which IMO would be a better use of your money than buying a package with large towers.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Tim O...]

Pete,

I don't necessarily think what you're proposing is a bad idea altogether, I just know that you can make your $1500 go further if you stay away from big box packages. Also, you're less likely to have upgradeitis right away. But if you want something now and/or aren't comfortable buying sight unseen over the Internet, then follow Drew's advice and take the package and take it home and listen to it in your own environment. That is an absolute must.

As I said above, I did own a Sony DE series receiver, and my HK totally blew it away after I upgraded. Plus, it really wasn't that much more all told. So, as I also said above, I would not skimp on the receiver and would buy online if necessary to get a good one. I don't know much about the Yamaha, so can't comment on that. It may be good enough for your needs.

Is there any reason you want the AS-F2s? If your intended use is even 50:50 movies:music, let alone something like 75:25 movies:music, you would be fine with bookshelves front and rear (IOW AS-B1s), which would match better tonally, as well as in terms of output, and would save you money. With one of the quality factory direct subs out there right now in your system, you'd be hard pressed to notice the difference between bookshelves and large towers. That's the route I would probably take if I had to do it over again. I have the F1's and love them, but the B1's with my sub are just as good. I think I would have been fine with bookshelves all around.

As far as the R1's, never heard them, but I've read reviews and they were quite positive. Also, the R1's use the same drivers as the rest of the speakers in that line, so I'd guess they sound good. If you intend on heavy movie use, I'd get the R1's, as dipoles/bipoles are generally considered better as surrounds than direct radiators.

As far as the AS-P400, I actually did have one before getting my SVS, and it is a very tight and musical sub. It will only extend down to about 25-27 Hz with decent output however, and don't even think about using it in a large room set up if you like lots of bass. While I do like Athena as a company and liked the AS-P400, the SVS eats it for breakfast. And as I said above, you could spend $500 online and get similar performance to what I have, which IMO would be a better use of your money than buying a package with large towers.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[brentl]

The Athenas are great speakers, but I worry about the Sony receiver.

With better amps the Athenas will shine.

Brent

 

[brentl]

The Athenas are great speakers, but I worry about the Sony receiver.

With better amps the Athenas will shine.

Brent

 

[Dwayne-S]

The price/performance curve for HT equipment is logarithmic. There exists a point at which you need to spend, say 50% more to get an additional 10% improvement. Then another 100% gets you the final 5%. That is why there are exotic turntables that cost 10's of thousands of dollars. I purchase my products in the middle of the curve. I could spend $12K on a DLP machine with an HD2+ chip, or $3K on a machine with the lower resolution Maverick chip. Is the HD2+ machine "4 times better" looking? The HD2+ res is 1280x720 versus 1024x576. You can see the difference, sure, but is your enjoyment only 25% as satisfactory? Or you can wait for the newer HD3 DarkChip2 machines to come out which (should) lower the price of the HD2+. And the beat goes on......

 

[Dwayne-S]

The price/performance curve for HT equipment is logarithmic. There exists a point at which you need to spend, say 50% more to get an additional 10% improvement. Then another 100% gets you the final 5%. That is why there are exotic turntables that cost 10's of thousands of dollars. I purchase my products in the middle of the curve. I could spend $12K on a DLP machine with an HD2+ chip, or $3K on a machine with the lower resolution Maverick chip. Is the HD2+ machine "4 times better" looking? The HD2+ res is 1280x720 versus 1024x576. You can see the difference, sure, but is your enjoyment only 25% as satisfactory? Or you can wait for the newer HD3 DarkChip2 machines to come out which (should) lower the price of the HD2+. And the beat goes on......

 

[Pete Bishop]

O.K.

The guys at BB wont budge on changing the receiver in the package, so I've been looking at Polk and I think I have found a system that is close to what i was going to get with the Athena's, and still reasonably priced. This is what i'm thinking:

Yamaha 5760 7.1 receiver
4 RTi4
1 CSi3

And i'm stuck between the new PSW12 and the Psw303.
They are the same price, but the 12 has a 12" woofer and the 303 has an 8 inch woofer. They both have the same power output. The only difference is that the 303 is designed to reduce vibration and distortion and has a slot to increase the bass. Does anyone know which of the 2 subs will work best?

I was originally looking at a Polk 7200 package deal, but if i want to upgrade to 7.1 in the future this seems to be the way to go and plus the speakers are better and the whole system will only cost me 50 more than the package. I have also heard a polk system with a yamaha receiver at my bros house and it sounded awesome. What do you guys think?

 

[Pete Bishop]

O.K.

The guys at BB wont budge on changing the receiver in the package, so I've been looking at Polk and I think I have found a system that is close to what i was going to get with the Athena's, and still reasonably priced. This is what i'm thinking:

Yamaha 5760 7.1 receiver
4 RTi4
1 CSi3

And i'm stuck between the new PSW12 and the Psw303.
They are the same price, but the 12 has a 12" woofer and the 303 has an 8 inch woofer. They both have the same power output. The only difference is that the 303 is designed to reduce vibration and distortion and has a slot to increase the bass. Does anyone know which of the 2 subs will work best?

I was originally looking at a Polk 7200 package deal, but if i want to upgrade to 7.1 in the future this seems to be the way to go and plus the speakers are better and the whole system will only cost me 50 more than the package. I have also heard a polk system with a yamaha receiver at my bros house and it sounded awesome. What do you guys think?

 

[Dennis Gardner]

Pete,

You will like the Yamaha/Polk setup just fine, but unless they throw in the sub for free, you are overspending for a Polk sub. Your upgrading from the 7200 to better bookshelves was a great move, but the 303 will be outmatched by your Yamaha with Polk mains and center.

The 12 inch Polk will be marginally better, but I would hold out for an HSU STF-2 or STF-3. HSU Research They are very well known on this forum and very well respected. I know that they are internet direct company, but they have a very liberal return policy with few people ever returning their products. SVS makes great subs also, but they don't have a box sub that is under the $500 level yet. SVSubwookers

These are 2 of the most respected of the sub builders and you will get a sub that will last you for years.

Realize that you really don't need to match your sub brand with your speakers, since there isn't as much of a sonic signature for the low frequencies. A great sub is one that delivers both high impact for movies and controlled bass for music. This is due to the fact that most bass in music is in a higher frequency range than the explosions and effects in film.

I know that you have been overwhelmed with lots of info about your choices over the past couple of days, but isn't it great that the advice is the type from direct experience with products by users and not just from someone trying to "make a buck".

Good luck,

Dennis

 

[Dennis Gardner]

Pete,

You will like the Yamaha/Polk setup just fine, but unless they throw in the sub for free, you are overspending for a Polk sub. Your upgrading from the 7200 to better bookshelves was a great move, but the 303 will be outmatched by your Yamaha with Polk mains and center.

The 12 inch Polk will be marginally better, but I would hold out for an HSU STF-2 or STF-3. HSU Research They are very well known on this forum and very well respected. I know that they are internet direct company, but they have a very liberal return policy with few people ever returning their products. SVS makes great subs also, but they don't have a box sub that is under the $500 level yet. SVSubwookers

These are 2 of the most respected of the sub builders and you will get a sub that will last you for years.

Realize that you really don't need to match your sub brand with your speakers, since there isn't as much of a sonic signature for the low frequencies. A great sub is one that delivers both high impact for movies and controlled bass for music. This is due to the fact that most bass in music is in a higher frequency range than the explosions and effects in film.

I know that you have been overwhelmed with lots of info about your choices over the past couple of days, but isn't it great that the advice is the type from direct experience with products by users and not just from someone trying to "make a buck".

Good luck,

Dennis

 

[Pete Bishop]

Thanks Dennis,

If I chose a comparable price velodyne instead of the HSU, would I be making a mistake? CC caries the velodyne line and I'm trying to take advantage of the no interest for a year.

 

[Pete Bishop]

Thanks Dennis,

If I chose a comparable price velodyne instead of the HSU, would I be making a mistake? CC caries the velodyne line and I'm trying to take advantage of the no interest for a year.

 

[Jeremy Little]

Tell them to ring it up with a HTR-5750 in place of the receiver, it will package out just the same. The package is either a Sony or Yamaha, just like the Klipsch packages allow. If I have any say in the matter, I never let my customers buy a STRDE Sony if there is a Yamaha to be had at the same price point.