Better Home Theater (1 Viewer)

[ScottyH]

I currently purchased an Onkyo 790 7.1 Home Theater in a Box. http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=...ss=Systems&p=i. I was not too impressed with the quality of the sound so im looking to upgrade a little. I am looking to buy new front left, right floor speakers and a nice center channel speaker. My budget is about $800-$900. I was looking at Polk R50 floorstand speakers and a Polk Csi3 center channel. Will cost around $900. I am just curious if this is a good bet for the amount of money and if my reciever is nice enough to handle them. I really have not spent to much time with calibration with this system because i dont see the potential being worth it. Any advise on a better system for my budget or about my current setup i would greatly appreciate. Thanks in advance

 

[Alon Goldberg]

Hi Scott - I highly recommend avoiding HTIB systems.. Unfortunately, you won't be able get much more out of this receiver. If you raise your budget just slightly you will be able to afford a nice system such as:

PSB Alpha Mini Theatre, $800
Denon AVR-1706 Receiver, $300

 

[ScottyH]

Well i guess i accept that answer but i was just in circuit city couple of days ago and they had my reciever hooked up to the above speakers and it sounded great. Why would that be?

 

[Seth=L]

While the receiver may have a little less power than it's seperates brothers you can still get a lot out of it. You might try looking into a more efficient speaker system. Klipsch is a very efficient speaker just go to a Best Buy or other store that carries them and give them a listen (preferable to go to a store with a sound room). Many don't like the sound of klipsch but then a again some do. It never hurts to listen, and listening doesn't cost a penny.

Seth=L

 

[Alon Goldberg]

Hi Scotty - audio is very subjective! If any set of speakers that you audition sound great to you then by all means buy them. Don't let our opinions on speakers get in the way

 

[gene c]

For $900 I hope you meant the RTi8's and not the R50's. You should also think about eventually replacing all seven speakers, not just the front three. To save a little money, think about the RTi6's instead of the 8's. Also, the Infinity Primus 250's with their matching center and surrounds is another option. And don't gloss over this calibration thing. Setup discs are inexpensive, can be used over and over again as you up-grade (and you will) and even if the difference might not seem dramatic, every little bit helps. And I hope you aren't using that thin speaker wire that came with the 790. Replace it with 16g minimum with 14-12g being better.