Affordable HT (1 Viewer)

[ZachW]

I'm really new to home theater and am trying to talk my dad into getting something. He doesn't want to spend too much, less than $1500 hopefully. I was thinking about the Denon AVR-2802 Receiver, or maybe the 1803, the Adire Dharman for the subwoofer, and maybe the polk 6200 series or JBL NSP-1 speakers. Does that sound good? Or does anybody have any better suggestions? Would the JBL's be about as good as the Polk, I'm leaning towards them since they're cheaper. Any help would be great. thanks

 

[Pablo Abularach]

Zack,

I think you are in the right track, my suggestion is

Under $1000 (complete HT)
Receiver: DENON 1803 $ 450
Speakers: NSP1 $209
Subwoofer: SONY SA-WM40 $150
TOTAL = $809 + Shipping ($90) = about $900

For $1500 (complete HT)
Speakers = JBL S26 $170 x (2) + S center 141 = $481
Subwoofer = SVS 25-31PCi = $550
Reciever = DENON 1803 $450
TOTAL = $1481 + Shipping ($120) = about $1600

JBL has very good speakers for the money in the Northbrige or Studio series. Any of those two sets would be a great set.

Hope this helps,
Pablo Abularach

 

[ZachW]

What do you think about the Dharman for the sub? I really wanted this sub, but if you don't think it will be as good then should I get something else? thanks

 

[ZachW]

^^^^

 

[Steve Zimmerman]

Zach, the Dharman is a very capable subwoofer and depending on your room size may be perfect for your needs.

--Steve

 

[Brian Bunge]

Zach,

The Dharman should be an excellent sub for you. I think it would be fairly comparable to the SVS and leagues ahead ahead of the Sony.

Brian

 

[Bill Panterica]

Pablo,

Where did you find the S26 for $170 and the S Center for $141?

Bill

 

[Pablo Abularach]

etronics.comEtronics

 

[Joe Szott]

Zach,

That NSP-1 package from JBL is a great deal for the price. if price is a concern, I would do that first thing. For a receiver, you have a few options, here's some to check out:

* Harman Kardon 325 (or 125?)
* Denon 1803
* Outlaw 1050
* Panasonic 100E (check the forums here, I think that's the name but it's brand new so I'm not sure)

Get whatever sub you want to go with it. It is a good idea to balance all your speakers, but subs and speakers are pretty forgiving on pairing them up. The sony, SVS, and Dharman are all just fine to go with any of the speaker setups mentioned.

Only other thing to look at is how old is your DVD player? You want to make sure it is passing the receiver all the goodies it needs to make beautiful sound (DVD optical out is the best bet here.)

 

[RandyKudor]

Hi,

I think the very best you can do for that budget is the ascend acoustic 5.1 system 22-1001. 3 cbm-170 in the front, htm-200s in the rear, hsu VTF-2 subwoofer included.

Noticed that ascend is having a sale so you can pick this system up for approx $1100 with free shipping. The system comes with the hsu vtf-2 subwoofer which i think is better for HT then the adire dharman (it goes way deeper).

$1100 for speakers & sub + $400 for denon 2802 and you have a kick ass HT system that will rival anything you hear in retail stores for twice as much $$$$.

I own an ascend system (with VTF-3 subwoofer) and it is leagues above the other systems you mentioned. Buying direct has many advantages and I am all for it!

Best of luck!

 

[Brian Bunge]

Randy,

I'm pretty sure a ported Shiva (the 12" driver that's in the Dharman) would go lower and louder than the 10" in the VTF-2. The 12 is just going to have more displacement.

Having not heard them directly, I guess I could be wrong though.

Brian

 

[Frank Carter]

Another sub option is the 16-46CS and the 250w Parts Express plate amp. That would put you around the same price as the Dharman and go lower. If you have an available amp channel or can pick up an older receiver or amp from ebay or a pawn shop cheap you could go with the 25-CS Plus which is quite a sub for the price, putting in one of the port plugs would also allow you to tune to 20Hz.

 

[RichardH]

The Ascend system that Randy mentions is exactly what I got for my friend's setup, and it absolutely rocks!! I hooked them up to an Onkyo 595, and he has a Sony projector w/ 100" Stewart screen. Let me tell you, the sound definitely keeps up w/ the picture!!

Of course, if there's any way to get an SVS in there, it would probably take the Hsu.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

, which certainly pleased our hosts.

For the price & blind test conducted above, your Dad will be happy!! Being a Dad myself & picky semi-pro musician, I'm extremely pleased with the JBL S-Series & SVS 25-31PCi performance! So are my usual family/friends once or twice Friday NITE DVD sessions!!! My brother now has the JBL NSP1's & SVS 25-31PCi and is enjoying 'better than local Cinema Theater' SPL's @ home!
For more JBL S-Series Speaker INFO & Reviews w/links, see my web page Why you should add JBL N & S Series to your audition list!.
NOTE: Because my website is 'free', hosted by GeoCities, if too many HT enthusiasts visit, GeoCities will shut it down for an hour or so because it exceeded the specified 'freebie' Data Transfer Rate. Sorry about that, just bookmark it and visit my site an hour later or when everyone has gone to bed!
Phil

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Opps - double post!:b

 

[Iver]

As a general rule, if you are spending around $1,500 try to keep the receiver at or below $400 and spend the rest on the speakers.

I'm not familiar with the going price on the 2802, but I believe the 1803 is around $400. Make sure to check out the Denon Web site and their warning about buying from non-authorized dealers (plus their list of auth dealers, of course).

The Denon Web site is well worth a visit anyway. Very informative.

I got a 1602 a couple of weeks ago and, so far so great. If you happen to want to economize, the new 1403 appears to have the same amp and processing as the 1602 and lists for only $300. That would leave beaucoup bucks for the speaks, so to speak.

If you get a chance, listen to some Paradigms (Atom, Titan, Focus, CC-170, CC-270) before coming to a final decision on the speakers. It's not common to find a retailer who will A/B Paradigms with JBL's, but it would be best to compare them that way.

But still try to give the Paradigms a listen, even if you can't directly compare them to your other candidates. You might also give the PSB's a hearing, though IMHO these are a bit pricier for what you are getting than the Paradigms.

And, naturally, if you have the chance to buy in Canada you can get great deals on Paradigm. Just put the name in the search function and you can get leads on good Canadian dealers.