Another Bose sucker (1 Viewer)

I have to start off by saying, thank you for this forum, its great! Recently went to FS where I bit the sales pitch on Bose 601's. I initially tried to convince myself that they were good no matter how mediocre they sound. So then I got the idea to do an internet search for reviews to see what other people thought. Then my fears were answered. I basically went to the store blind, so its my own fault for going un-prepared, asking the salesperson to make up my mind for me, also buying without even hearing them(thank god for 30 day return policy). And of course the most expensive, must therefore be the best right...not to mention I had actually heard of Bose. Anyways they are mediocre at best for music,,, and DVD's dont sound terribly great on them, maybe for lack of the centre speaker.. but anyways, im taking them back to the store ASAP, as Ive only had them for a week, not even. I had bought these expensive junkers with the idea of adding surrounds later, etc. He also sold me a Harmon Kardon AVR 230. After reviewing countless posts on here Im thinking I will take the Bose back in exchange for:

2-Athena ASF2- fronts
2-Athena ASB1- surrounds
1-Athena ASC-1 centre
As for the sub, I have seen 3 from Athena :
As-p300
As-p400
A-p.5 Which one is better? or good enough?

One other question, is the HK AVR 230 going to be powerful enough for all this, will i need an amplifier? Sorry im still new to this , I just want good sound, please help.

I think that Harman Kardon model is rated at 50 watts/channel and that your speakers are 91-93 decibels sensitivity, so you should be fine. Really depends a lot on your listening level habits, the size of your room, how far you sit from the speakers, etc. It might surprise you that you HK might well have more power on tap than some receivers that say in their specifications 100 watts per channel, five channels because the stated specs are deceiving. HK, by the way, is one of the more honest companies in this regard.

One thing I'd do is to use some software like AVIA and get a Radio Shack sound meter to properly callibrate your new system.

Good luck and I hope you really enjoy your new home theater.

By the way, I wouldn't call you a "sucker". A lot of people fall for advertising pitches. You happen to be smart enough to do your own research.

The only thing is, research probably would have been more beneficial in the first place, either way Bose is going back. thanxs for the input

Thought of another question, when setting these up with the onscreen display, you set them to Large fronts, small for surrounds? Do i need that sound meter with the Harmon Kardon, they have that test tone thing with the remote control thats supposed to take care of that, or is it not accurate enough? what does that do exactly,, im kinda ignorant on the subject to be honest, and I tend to not read instructions thoroughly,, I tend to skim through that and read it better a year later.

You might want to still set the fronts to small even if the speakers are floorstanding as this will allow the receiver to not work as hard. I'm assuming the Athena sub is self powered. How much are the Athena subs, by the way. Depending on how much they cost, you might be able to get a better sub for the same money by buying from one of the online companies.

Not familiar with your particular HK model, but usually the test tones still require use of a sound meter. Basically, the receiver emits the test tones and allows you to adjust the sound level up and down. But, to tell how many decibels are being emited, you need a sound meter. Let's say, you want to set all of your speakers at 75 decibels, you play the test tones and adjust the volume so that both the front right and left speakers are registering at 75 decibels, then you play the test tone for the center and it reads 78 decibels and the rear speakers are playing at 72 decibels. The receiver will allow you to adjust the power being fed to the particular channels so that all are sending out sound at the same level.

If you go to the Home Theater Basics area, there is a guide that explains how to do this a lot better than I have though. But, to answer your question, unless HK is different from the receivers I've owned, you still will need a sound meter. Some receivers offer auto callibration which uses a microphone to automatically callibrate the speakers, but I don't think your model does.

It really can make the whole system integrate a lot better to callibrate. It does take some effort, but not that much. And, the good thing is that once you're done, you can just sit back and enjoy your music and DVD's.

I own Harman Kardon and I still calibrate my speakers the old fashioned way , with the radio shack meter. Sound and vision reviewed the AVR 330 and said the SPL meter in the remote was very accurate, so for the time being you should be able to get by with it. I like to set all my speakers to small and send all the low bass plus the LFE to the subwoofer (SVS) and I have dual woofer floorstanding mains. I think the Athenas are an excellent choice , in fact my speakers (Sound Dynamics ) were designed by Gordon Kessler , the same guy who designs the Athenas. I think the P400 sub would be the best choice for your mains , as they already go pretty low themselves. Everybody has made buying mistakes so don't feel bad , you're on the right track now.

I've seen 3 different Athena Sub-woofers, ASP-300 which is 300 watts is $299.99 ASP-400 $379.99 and the p.5 is another 300 watt, is also $299.99 (these are all Canadian prices, btw).

The HK AVR 230 has something called EZ set remote, which I used to calibrate my Bose @#$!, you sit with the remote where you are going to listen then it sends tones through the speakers and there is a mic in the remote, it adjusts accordingly, i believe it was +4db or something. it takes a few minutes to finish.

That's cool. Then, you won't need a sound meter, especially if it works well. As far as the subs, I've heard Athena in stores, but at no time were they set up right. Maybe someone will comment who has heard the Athenas and other subs like Hse, SVS, or Adire. Chris's sub, the SVS, is extremely well respected almost universally, as is my sub, the HSU. Both will cost more than any of your present choices though (+ $400 depending on the model).

Again, I think it's cool that HK includes the auto-callibration feature.

If I set my front AS F2 speakers to small wont that mean I won't be taking advantage of my speakers,, I also read in here that underpowering your speakers can cause damage. the specs say 65 watts per channel in stereo mode, and 6X50watts in 6.1. If im only using 5 speakers, I should have a little more power per channel ? does the built in amp in the sub-woofer help with anything?

Instantaneous Current Capability (HCC) : ±35 Amps High
they really bragged this up at the store, i'm clueless. They say the speakers handle 250 watts, whats the point of that if your only putting in 50- 65 watts?

yeah, $400 (CAN) is my limit for a sub-woofer right now, I may look at the fancy stuff down the road, need something to ask Santa for in the distant future... LOL

Dudes,

Bose RULES ! ! ! !

Just kidding

Dudes,

Chester

Are you that Salesman Chester!? I just checked out SVS website.. DAYUM! maybe someday... but they are pretty pricey,, im sure their lower end models are still pretty hot. Considering thats all USA pricing,,, wow, high end stuff. I dont need anything that expensive right now, I just want some decent bass, It doesnt have to crumble walls and make people Spontaneously wet their pants like im sure SVS could... Although that would be cool, hehe

no. you'll take a load off the receiver's amps as the sub's amp will do the work for the really low bass. your speakers, too, will be relieved from the really low frequency duties, allowing them to produce the higher low-end and midrange more cleanly and accurately. 80Hz is still a pretty low frequency, and those speakers will be plenty busy producing everything above that.

Thanxs ScottCHI, I'd hate to spend hard earned money to watch it go up in smoke or something, I trust peoples advice on here, everyone sounds very informed. I think im addicted to this already, I love this site, my eyes are going red from looking at this site so much in the past couple days.

Vince Dude,

You should try HSU subwoofers out of Kalifornia (uber alles). Great products at low prices (relatively speaking of course).

Dude,

Chester

Vince do a search for threads on subs available in Canada it a topic that has come up a good bit lately.

Hsu has picked up a Canadian distributor link.

Creative Sound is a popular Canadian sub source. I just read the News page on their site and they have a Sonotube(think SVS cylinder sub) kit with Adire's Shiva driver debuting at the end of the month for under $400 Canadian dollars.

EDIT- Ooops I reread the News and the ezsonotube is w/o an amp at that price.

i think you'll be really happy with the athena setup that you chose, relative to the bose. you may want to consider the asf1's or the asb2's as your fronts, since you'll most likely run your fronts as small, anyway. then you can sink more money into a better sub and/or receiver. it depends upon your exact bass requirements, room size, and listening habits, though, so only you can really make that decision.

Vince,

I have basically the same setup that you're planning on purchasing.

Athena ASF-1's
Athena C-1 Center
Yamaha Bookshelf for surrounds
HK 225 (prev. model of the 230)

The Athena's sound great and are very well priced. I wouldn't be worried about the power rating on the HK, I have a big living room with cathedral ceilings and my system plays plenty loud for me. As already pointed out by Scott, the asf1's are a good chunk of change cheaper and should suffice if you're planning on getting a sub anyways. One additional piece of advice, ecost has a great deal on a refurbished HK 225. If you don't really need 6.1, you might consider going this route. HK stuff seems to be quite a bit more expensive in Canada.