What's new

Comments on proposed setup. (1 Viewer)

TimTurtino

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Dec 17, 2002
Messages
156
This is a standard "Here's what I'm thinking of doing" post. I'd appreciate any and all input.
Here's the restrictions:
It's a smallish listening area (12' x 13') in a larger room. Big speakers aren't going to happen, thanks to a certain love of my life. ;) Front proj is almost certainly out of the question; not only is size an issue, but so is budget and ambient light. I will probably be buying most of my stuff from Circuit City, since I work there and can buy significantly lower than retail, unless someone can convince me that I'm turning down a _great_ deal elsewhere for similar $$$. Video quality is probably slightly more important than audio, but both are fairly important.
What I currently have:
Panny CT-27SF35W
Aiwa DD-ready shelf system
Pnny DVD-CP72S
MOT DTC 5100 Digital/HD Cable box (from Comcast)
1 random VCR
JVC HRS39112 U S-VHS VCR
Where I'm going, in order:
Onkyo TXSR700 -- Is this overkill for the speakers (see below)? I'm planning on keeping this for a good long while and upgrading speakers when I move into a new house and can build the HT room from scratch. I really like the sheer number of inputs and will probably be using video switching (others that use the system are remote control challenged) until such time as I get the Pronto, so I also appreciate the RCAS-vid conversion.
vs.
The 600 or the 800. All seem to have enough power for the room and good enough sound quality (certainly for the speakers)-- the only real question is whether I want the extra goodies or can do without the zone 2
Polk Audio RM7200s -- Subwoofer doesn't go down far enough, and the whole system isn't quite as tight as I'd like, but it meets my other constraints (size and $$$).
vs.
Polk Audio RM6700s w/ Polk PSW404 Subwoofer. I'd like to pair a better subwoofer, but then I'd lose some mid-bass, so I'm going to have to be satisfied without a lot of low bass (and some directionality with the bass I do have). Again, these will definitely be upgraded when I have a dedicated HT room.
Some sort of relatively small RPTV-- I'm leaning towards the Sony KP46WT500 because I like the PIP functionality and it seems to have an okay reputation with the ISF calibrators. That's the farthest purchase away, so it's currently a very small lean. :) I need to look at some calibrated screens
Eventual upgrade paths:
SACD Player (or universal w/ SACD + DVD-A?) -- nice thing about the Sony is it has two 5.1 channel inputs...
D-VHS
HTPC
Pronto(perhaps other brand, but something like this)
DVD recorder
Front projection (not until I can build the room for it)
Better Speakers (as above)
Thanks in advance for your careful and kind consideration,
h Me
 

John Garcia

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 24, 1999
Messages
11,571
Location
NorCal
Real Name
John
YES that receiver is WAY overkill for those speakers.

Polk doesn't really make any outstanding subs, and I don't particularly like their satellite systems either. If you are going budget Polk and get a discount, go with RTi28s and a CSi30. A decent sub can be had for ~$400 and that will get you a much better system than the 7200 for about the same price, not including your discount (you will probably need stands in either case though).

You will find much better subs on this forum than at Circuit City. The two most notable: Adire Rava and HSU Research VTF-2. You won't get your discount, but you will get a better sub.

It's a smallish listening area (12' x 13') in a larger room
You can't account for just the listening area, you have to factor in the entire room, since that is where the sound will be bouncing around and this WILL influence the sound.
 

Ted Lee

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 8, 2001
Messages
8,390
tim - i worked at cc for a couple of years
do you work in the audio department? i'd be surprised if you did and would still compare an onkyo to a sony. ;)
take the onkyo and don't look back.
i also have polk speakers, but mine are classified as bookshelves (rt-7?) but they're darn near floor standing sized. i'm not familiar with the models you listed so i can't really comment.
i do like my onkyo/polk combo though.
you mention on keeping the receiver for a long time? if i were you i would concentrate more on the speakers in terms of longevity than the receiver. speakers don't really change, but receiver technology definitely does.
considering your discount (should be about 40% on the speakers alone correct?) if you can find stuff there, definitely go with it.
 

TimTurtino

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Dec 17, 2002
Messages
156
do you work in the audio department? i'd be surprised if you did and would still compare an onkyo to a sony.
Yeah, that was mostly to get peoples' attention. ;) Sony ticks me off-- now you can't even get manuals for their products on-line. I went to SonyStyle, and one of their reps tried to _sell_ me a manual (and I'd told him that I was trying to get the manual to look up specs for a potential purchase). Oh well-- c'est la vie.
John-- I agree 100% about the subs, but my main constraint right now is an SO that will not accept large speakers in the rear. If I do what you're suggesting up front, then my fronts will be out of proportion to my rears, and since I mostly do movies (not music), that's not acceptable to me. Unfortunately, in-walls are not an option (basement room-- they'd be in concrete), and I can't think of anything else. When I get a better room, I'll get better speakers.
Ted-- I'm coming around to this way of thinking myself, and thinking seriously about just being satisfied with the SR600 or 700 until I can do a real HT room with a front projector, and using the $$ I save to go for a nicer TV.
Me
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Forum statistics

Threads
356,814
Messages
5,123,769
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top