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Buying a new HT system. Seek Advice & LOTS of Answers ... (1 Viewer)

Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Messages
23
I've been researching a new HT system for the past week or so, and based on positive reviews, here's what I've come up with: (prices from www . jandr . com, if you know of better prices, please don't hesitate)

Receiver:
Harman Kardon AVR-525
$699.99

Center:
JBL S-Center II Studio 3-Way
$179.88

Front & Rear Surround:
JBL S36II 3-Way Bookshelf - Pair (x 2)
$219.88 each (out of stock for 2 weeks)

Subwoofer:
SVS 25-31PCi
$549 (from www . svsubwoofers . com)

For a grand total of: $1868.63
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I've heard good things about the SVS Sub, but I'm wondering to myself if something cheaper wouldn't suit me just as well. For instance:

JBL PB12
$269.88

JBL S120PII
$429.99

I'm definitely looking for that inaudible bass that you can feel during explosion scenes, but I don't know if these alternatives have enough of it. Being that these are JBL's, and my main speakers are JBL, the timbre would be matched as well, right? What about the SVS?
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As you can see, this is only a 5.1 setup. I know the receiver supports 6.1 and 7.1, as well as the Logic7 mode. I would like to take advantage of that mode, and the fuller sound, but there are several factors which I'm hestitant of.

#1) Based on current pricing, adding 2 more speakers, in addition to wiring and stands, would bring me well over my $2000 goal. While I can afford to go over, I don't want to. (I'm hoping someone can point out great deals on my chosen items that makes my budget work with 2 more speakers) Would an additional set of the JBL S36II's be overkill for this?

#2) My HT room is really half of a great room (http :// www . homesbypremier . com/resources/images/models/marchello2 . jpg) with a vaulted ceiling with ceiling fan in the center, so having rear center speaker is a little difficult. There's no place to mount them high behind me, unless they were on the same wall plane as the surround nearer to the kitchen, toed-in. I don't know how feasible this would be.

#3) Assuming I didn't mount the rear centers, and just had them on stands which I could move behind me for movie watching, could they easily be disabled in the receiver when resting against the wall out of the way? Also, would they have to be higher up, or could they be under ear level behind the seating in the center of the room?
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I just recent bought a 53" Widescreen HDTV (http :// catalog2 . panasonic . com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?storeId=11251&catalogId=11005&modelNo=PT-53WX42). I am assuming that with this new HT system, I would be disabling the speakers in the TV?
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My Progressive scan DVD player (A JVC model, I don't have the exact model# with me) has optical and coaxial audio output. I would assume that the optical is the one I will want to use?
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I've read that the 12 gauge speaker wire from Home Depot is decent enough to use for the entry level. Is that what my configuration is? It's certainly not as cheap as you can go. If you were buying my configuration, would you feel comfortable with the Home Depot speaker wire?
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That's all for now... I'm sure I'll have more questions at a later time...

(my apologies for the spaces in the URL's.. this site apparently uses anti-spam techniques that prevent newbies from posting legitimate information on other sites...)
 

Bill_Wil

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 26, 2003
Messages
165
Hey Jay welcome to the forum!! That will be a great sounding system. One thing I would recommend because of your room size and if you can afford it is to get floorstanding speakers for the front like the JBL S-310II. I think you could hold off on the additional set of speakers for 7.1 since very few sources like DVD movies are taking advantage of this yet.

As far as the sub goes you could save money buy getting one a little cheaper but you really couldnt find a better one for the money than the SVS...well except for a bigger SVS. haha

Yes, while playing the TV sound through your system you will just turn off the TV speakers in the TV audio menu.

You can use either the optical or coaxial digital cable for your DVD player. Either one will work just fine. Coaxial is supposed to be the better of the two choices.

The home depot speaker will work just fine.

Good luck and have fun!!
 

Bob McElfresh

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 22, 1999
Messages
5,182
Hi Jay. Welcome to HTF!

I've read that the 12 gauge speaker wire from Home Depot is decent enough to use for the entry level.
Yes. Another popular choice is the Sound King brand from places like www.partsexpress.com. Both are in the budget-but-good catagory.

Note that while speaker wires DO make a difference in some sound, it's much more noticible with high-end music systems and with music you are very familar with. Your DVD soundtracks are a lot lower-density and you dont listen to the same disks several times per day/week. You will hardly notice the difference between cheap->expensive speaker wires with movies.
 

Pablo Abularach

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 27, 2002
Messages
526
Jay,

I think both Bobs and Bills advice are very good, but I will just ad my 0.02cents.

I think JBL makes great speakers for entry level setups, I have an S center, four S26 and an SVS 25-31PCi, and you wont believe the feedback that I get. Your setup will impress everybody that isnt in HT that heavy.

That said, I wish Phil could see this email, because he is the most JBL knowledge guy I know, and its a great person, maybe you can catch him in the speakers forum.

I think SVS will give you the edge in your HT, for me it was the best upgrade I could ever make to my setup (havent tried the PC+ or upper SVS models). But it will give your setup a lot of depht, there is nothing more impressive than an SVS pumping deep clear bass in a good movie. You wont regret it.

I've read that the 12 gauge speaker wire from Home Depot is decent enough to use for the entry level. Is that what my configuration is? It's certainly not as cheap as you can go. If you were buying my configuration, would you feel comfortable with the Home Depot speaker wire?
Home depot 12 gauge will work fine, and it is very cheap. Another option could be AR 12 gauge, I bought mine from Accesories4less.

Good luck with your setup,
Pablo
 
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Messages
23
Thanks for the welcome!

I have bought all my stuff from etronics.com very good prices, but the drawback is that they arent an authoriezed dealer of nothing, so it is your call, But the have some stuff cheaper than J&R, but J&R is a very good shop also.
The prices on Etronics.com are definitely better. What does not buying from an authorized dealer mean for me? Is the factory warranty void if I do? If that's the case, I'm not sure it's worth the little bit of savings.


Thanks for the replies so far!

Jay B
 

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