Help in building hifi setup for 2500$ (1 Viewer)

Hi,
I am planing for a home theater setup for 2500$ approx, i will not be investing entire amount at once, but would like to start with 2.0 to eventually 5.1

After my Internet research and reading some reviews, i am planning to go for m-lore speakers from Tekton, i have contacted Eirc and he quoted around 2050 approx for his 5.1 system,
Hence initially it will be a 2.0 speakers which costs me around 650$, now my concern in what kind of amplifier/receiver should i invest in? either separate amp or integrated av receiver or will i get a good amplifier plus video only receiver in that price? i have set the budget to 500$.

The concept of preamp +amp and receiver is very confusing to me. I understand that if i buy an AV Receiver then i need not go for separate amp and preamp . But i am also wondering that if i get a good amplifier to which i can hook up with the speakers and enjoy music, since i will watch my video from my htpc or laptop or media server directly connected to my TV as of now. I am not understanding the role of a video receiver too,Do i really need one? don't know how it helps in video viewing experience?
My media consumption would be mostly from my PC and 70% of the time i listen music.
Please share your opinions and the actual components that are available so that would help me in choosing the right component for my speakers

Suggestions about the current speakers or other equivalent are also welcomed

Thanks in advance

Most multi-channel pre-amps also have video, many stereo pre-amps are two channel audio only. For $500 a seperate pre-amp and amplifier is probably out of budget. A good receiver should work O.K. and a factory refurbished or last years model on close-out can save some money. Some people use an a/v receiver as a pre-amp if it has the required pe-outs.

The main reason for an amp/pre-amp combination is a seperate amplifier will out perform the amp in most receivers and when it comes time to up-grade you only have to replace the precessor not the amplifier.

Running the video through the pre-amp/receiver allows the receiver to act as a switching device for all the sources so you don't have to switch the input on the display as well. Most will also convert an analog source (vcr?) to digital for output through the hdmi cable. In short, it just makes things easier to use if you have a lot of source players.

I've never heard of Tekton speakers but a quick search shows good reviews.

It would help us, help you, to tell us what your sources are...and the ultimate goals...

Is this $2500 your budget "now" and more later...or is this $2500 the total with "$1000 of it now"?

Sources...
VCR/Wii?
Cable/Sat/OTA?
Internet(streaming movies/music)?
DVD-BD?
PS3/Xbox/WiiU?

Goals...
Multi-room use?
5.1/7.1/height/width?

yes 2500$-2700$ approx on the whole with 1200 $ as a starting point... currently the source is a PC 99% of the time, no vcr or xbox etc... but will be building a compact Htpc with a bluray player in it.

And it will be a mid sized room but not interested in big floor standing speakers bookshelves preferred as currently i rent an apt so it will be easy to transport
Ultimate goal is to listen music most of the time or take the small htpc or media server, hook up to tv or projector and and watch movies

Believe it or not, you don't need "much AVR". You don't need "much Pre-Pro" either.

Since you only have one source(basically), you won't need the "base of your system" to do, or offer, much.

This would serve you well...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Onkyo-HT-RC330-5-1-CHANNEL-HOME-THEATER-RECEIVER-/370800844093?pt=Receivers_Tuners&hash=item565573dd3d

A4L is an authorized re-seller of Onkyo. You can buy via Ebay(which is sometimes less), or buy from their website. Makes no difference.

If you want "better than that" AVR...sure.
Emotiva has this...
http://shop.emotiva.com/products/umc200

That happens to be about the cheapest Pre-Pro there is(There is an Outlaw around the same price). That is more than you "need"(just like the Outlaw)...but there isn't anything more basic.

So...your base of your system...

Stick with a basic AVR for $150(you could spend more...but why?)...

Or spend $600-ish...and find enough amps to run your system. You could buy the UMC(or Outlaw) and use it with a 2 channel amp(tons to choose from...as cheap as $100...to as much as you care to spend) and add another 2 channel or 3 channel later. Or add mono-blocks(essentially a single channel amp).

Basically...for your needs...

Spend the most money on your speakers. (that is the rule of thumb of EVERY home theater)

Buy "what you need" AVR/Pre-Pro wise. (in your case...not much).

These speakers you are choosing are very efficient. 95db means you need less than 10watts to achieve "ear busting volume". I doubt you'd ever push those speakers with more than 20 watts...ever.

By the way, 20 watts would be 108db at 3 feet-ish. Even at 9 feet away your are still at 102db. You can only tolerate 102db for a few minutes(unless you are trying to go deaf).

One of my friends bought two pairs of ORIELten for their 5.1. Oh, my, freakin, God...
Even off a lowly Denon AVR391.

Hi,
Thanks all for your time and replies
Does sticking with the basic AVR affects the quality of sound in any ways, In particular to the speaker set i m planning to purchase?
If so is the difference large enough to notice? I dont want LOUD sounding speakers to blow the house off just a set which can play music with nice quality.

A 10 watt, 50 watt, 100 watt...etc...All sound "the same" producing 5 watts...if..Their THD is close. And I mean close at the 5 watts. Unlrss you want to buy the RC330(or similar...Yam 473/ Den 1313) and do a side-by-side comparison with the Emotiva/Outlaw with "some amp"...you are likely to never notice.More power has rarely ever fixed "my speakers don't sound like I hoped".There are three threads on here that more power wasn't the answer...and you have GarySeven(something like that) with Paradigm Studio and a Denon 3313. His speakers "woke up" when ran with an external amp...In other words...there is no "wrong answer". All you can do is maximize your budget. If buying a $150 AVR means you can buy your fronts and center, sure. Then buy your rears. Then...if you think you need to...buy more power then. Speakers is the single most critical purchase. You'll have them 30+ years. How many AVR/BD/TV are you going to have in the mean time?

Hi Sam,
I have read your last post many times, but failed to grasp the essence of it, i don't understand the jargon and i m just understanding these concepts

Mine will be a mid size room, so i would rarely be pushing the volume to max

Can you simplify your above post

Thanks

schan1269 said:

A 10 watt, 50 watt, 100 watt...etc...All sound "the same" producing 5 watts...if..Their THD is close. And I mean close at the 5 watts. Unlrss you want to buy the RC330(or similar...Yam 473/ Den 1313) and do a side-by-side comparison with the Emotiva/Outlaw with "some amp"...you are likely to never notice.More power has rarely ever fixed "my speakers don't sound like I hoped".There are three threads on here that more power wasn't the answer...and you have GarySeven(something like that) with Paradigm Studio and a Denon 3313. His speakers "woke up" when ran with an external amp...In other words...there is no "wrong answer". All you can do is maximize your budget. If buying a $150 AVR means you can buy your fronts and center, sure. Then buy your rears. Then...if you think you need to...buy more power then.Speakers is the single most critical purchase. You'll have them 30+ years. How many AVR/BD/TV are you going to have in the mean time?

Click to expand...

I mean to ignore, for the most part, power ratings.

Okay,does that mean, buy a pair of speakers, purchase an avr with pre outs... later add power amps if required?Or stick to avr?Or buy a preamp, add a 2 channel power amp and more amps later if required?

jrakesh said:

Okay,does that mean, buy a pair of speakers, purchase an avr with pre outs... later add power amps if required?Yes.Or stick to avr?Yes.Or buy a preamp, add a 2 channel power amp and more amps later if required?Yes.

Click to expand...

Notice all the "yes" answers.

jrakesh said:

Hi,
Thanks all for your time and replies
Does sticking with the basic AVR affects the quality of sound in any ways, In particular to the speaker set i m planning to purchase?
If so is the difference large enough to notice? I dont want LOUD sounding speakers to blow the house off just a set which can play music with nice quality.

Click to expand...

Some brands use better DSP chips (the chip that seperates the sound into the 5/7 channels etc.), better room correction (Standard MCACC vs. Advanced MCACC in Pioneers for example), a bigger power supply, better DAC's (digital to analog converter), etc. in their mid and upper priced receivers so there may be some increase in sound quality as you go up in price. Some, like H/K, seem to use more of the good stuff in their lower end receivers.

Matching the receivers ohm rating to that of the speakers is more important than worrying about power ratings. The speakers SPL should also be concidered. Those M-Lore speakers are 8 ohms (so they will work with any receiver and have a 95 db SPL (sound pressure level) which is pretty high (88-90 being average) so they shouldn't require too much power to play fairly loud (and clear). An entry level-$500 receiver like the 6xx onkyo's, 19xx/21xx Denons, 5xx/6xx Yamaha's, 10xx/11xx Pioneers, etc. should be more than strong enough. But the guys at Tekton would know better than I would.

Since so much of the budget is allocated to speakers (a good thing) a pre-pro/amp combo is out of budget so unless you need the greatest and latest, I'd suggest a factory refurbished receiver like the 2 year old Onkyo 709

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKTXNR709/Onkyo-TX-NR709-7.2-Channel-3-D-Ready-Network-A/V-Receiver/1.html

or 3 year old Denon 3310

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/DENAVR3310CI/DENON-AVR-3310CI-7.1-Channel-Network-Home-Theater-Receiver/1.html

or something new like the Onkyo 616, Pioneer 1023, Yamaha 575.