Starting my first home theater system (1 Viewer)

Hi all I am going to start putting together my first home theater system and I have been following the forums for awhile now and would really appreciate your input as to I am no audiophile. I do my homework before purchasing so I have an idea of what I want to do so I will lay out everything and let me know what you think.

What I currently have:
TV: LG 55LM4600
Receiver: What I am looking to purchase next. I would like something that is not going to be obsolete in the near future. Budget ($500)
Speakers: I have old sony speakers for 7.1 set up. The model number I do not have at the moment but they are old (6-7 years old).
Sub: Looking to buy after I purchase my receiver or possibly with a speaker set up. (let me know) ($150 for just sub or $350 for sub speaker combo)
I plan on hooking up my Roku, PS3.
I would like to have an android app with my receiver, airplay is meaningless to me as I do not own any apple products.
The room it is going to be in is 18'X12'.
If you need any more info ask. I want to buy my receiver by the end of the weekend at least.

There's nothing wrong with older speakers, my Vandersteens are more than 15 years old and still sound great. It's more important in a home theater application that they match, especially the front/mains and the center channel.However, you should provide the model number so the specs can be checked. Some low end HTiB speaker kits have weird impedance specs.

I am not aware of any current model receivers that have Android specific connectivity, but most have USB and network connectivity. Many also have wi-fi and/or Bluetooth.

For the receiver you might want to look at refurbished models. Accessories4Less.com has the very good Marantz SR-5007 available as a factory refurb for about $499 and it come with a 1 year factory warranty. You can also buy a 3 or 5 year warranty. For the money I seriously doubt you can do better and unlike many cheaper receivers, the Marantz can easily drive 4 ohm speakers. SR-5007 Link

The sub does not need to be from the same brand as the rest of the speakers, just get the best one you can afford.

Don't be afraid to look at the used market, especially for speakers and the sub. A good quality 5 year old speaker will sound just as good as it did when it was new, but will cost less than half. Just make sure you do your research, know what you're buying and who you're buying from. You don't need to know the seller personally, but they often have feedback on used equipment sites.

Yeah I will post what the model number is when I get home tomorrow. That is what I figured. I am weary of refurb receivers though. To me with everything going on in a receiver I would probably want to buy an open box or brand new one. Maybe an extended warranty would sway me though. Thanks for your input! Seems like the audiophiles like the Marantz brand though. For me being a new guy in this market the Onyko bells and whistles attract me however I guess at the end of the day I just want really good sound.

Onkyo makes me nervous because a number of their receivers have had issues, especially with the amp sections. I also admit I'm not a bells & whistles guy; sound and build quality are far more important to me than wi-fi or BT connectivity.

If the feature set is critical for you, look at Yamaha and Denon. For comparable models both are better options than Onkyo, IMO.

Ok well I have got the model number for my receiver. Sony STR-SE501 and maybe thinking of just keeping it and getting speakers. Any ideas on speakers for like $350?

Speakers most often recommended in that price range are the Infinity Primus, often on sale at Frys if you have one near you, Polk Monitors from Newegg.com and Amazon and BIC's from Amazon and who knows where else.But, as Dan mentioned earlier, used speakers off craigslist or ebay would get you much more for your money. I'm going to be posting some Infinity Beta 20's and a Beta 250 center in Cherry and 2 pair of OSW-1's (on-wall speakers in white)on CL/SF pretty soon for about $350-$400. I'd probably take $330 for the 7 speakers or for $400 I'd throw in a Dayton/HSU 8" subwoofer. Buying a used sub is a little risky but speakers are a fairly safe bet.The Pioneer Andrew Jones line is also very popular but might push that older Sony receiver a bit too hard.

Ok well I pulled the trigger on buying a new receiver the onyko tx-nr626 brand new for $375 (could not pass on that deal. I just really want the streaming ability from any device. I will keep that updated in the receiver section though. Now I am looking for some speakers and sub. Thanks for the offer gene but I think I will pass. Looking for to keep my budget within $225 so I was thinking of just keeping my old sony speaks and getting a real nice sub. However, I was looking at the martin logic ml-2 which is going for $179 at new egg. I saw that many of them had problems with the sub though which is the most important part for me at the moment. I rally like the energy classics with all the raving reviews but don't want to drop $350 on it right now.

Side note: This is a noob question but how important and what are the major differences in speaker wire. It really just seems like there is little difference in the wire I guess that would just because I am uneducated. Next at what point is the upgrade in wires not worth the money

The center speaker wire in two of my systems are...Cord from an iron.Cord from a vacuum.

I get my speaker wire at Home Depot. When it comes to speaker wire the only consideration is gauge.


Max length based on speaker Ohm rating and gauge, courtesy of Audioholics:


8 Ohm Load 4 Ohm Load
Wire Gauge Distance (ft) Distance (ft)
18 AWG 10 5
16 AWG 20 10
14 AWG 35 18
12 AWG 60 30
10 AWG 100 50

That is a great chart. So essentially I could buy 12 gauge wire and as long as all my speakers are no farther than 30 feet from my receiver I can just use that.

I would recommend that any stranded speaker wire you get be OFC (Oxygen Free Copper). Standard stranded copper wire will tarnish and corrode over time and this can affect the connection, either at the speaker or amp end, especially if you go 'bare wire'. OFC stranded wire will still tarnish, but much slower and the cost difference is negligible.

"essentially I could buy 12 gauge wire and as long as all my speakers are no farther than 30 feet from my receiver"

I would recommend the CL2 rated wire from monoprice - runs you $23.00 for a hundred feet....

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023902&p_id=2820&seq=1&format=2

Have u bought your subwoofer yet? If not, here are a couple to consider that are in your price range: http://www.amazon.com/JBL-ES250PBK-High-Performance-12-Inch-Subwoofer/dp/B00166ZFSO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1377645515&sr=8-2&keywords=jbl+subwoofer That JBL is very nice. This one is a bit smaller, but is wireless. It goes on sale quite often: http://www.amazon.com/JBL-ES150PBK-300-Watt-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B00166VDLC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1377645515&sr=8-4&keywords=jbl+subwoofer. The third one is a BIC America, I love this brand. My brother has this subwoofer and it is very nice: http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-F12-475-Watt-Subwoofer/dp/B0015A8Y5M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377645607&sr=8-1&keywords=bic+america+subwoofer. When you come around to buy floodstanding speakers, be sure to consider BIC America, they are a lot of bang for the buck.