Guidance on new system.. (1 Viewer)

[BradWI]

I've been reading alot of the threads and am getting some great info, thanks.

I am in the process of finishing my basement, part of which will become a home theater. I don't have extensive knowledge on stereo equipment, so would greatly appreciate some help.

After doing some research, I am planning on purchasing the Yamaha HTR-5790. I would like to finish the theater room with a 7.1 speaker layout. My budget for all the speakers and a sub is around $2500. I would like to get the best system I can for the money, without going with floor standing speakers in the front.

Any recommendations?

 

[SethH]

One system to look at would be B&W 600 series. You could go with:

6 x B&W 602's @ MSRP $300/each
1 x B&W LCR600 @ MSRP $500
1 x SVS 25-31 @ $549

You can get 15%-20% off the B&W's which would put you just under your budget I believe. B&W also makes some surrounds, the DS6, if you don't want bookshelf speakers all the way around.

This is just one suggestion. There's lots of great speakers out there, so take recommendations from here and go out and audition as much as possible.

 

[CurtisSC]

Have a look at www.ascendacoustics.com

 

[Dan Halchak]

MSRP for the 602s is like $500 I thought?

I'd go with 4x602s 2x601s 1xLCR600 and sub.

This will give you about $750 towards a nice sub. GO with an HSU or SVS or Adire would work really well.

If you are looking towards B&W...which I have to say B&Ws mate up with Yamaha extremely well!!!

I've got my 604s, 602sx4, lcr600, & SVS PC+ 20-39 running of my Yammy 1400, and I think the sound is about perfect for the price range it falls into!

 

[steve nn]

Four DM 602 S3s, two 601s, LCR600 and the 20-39 PC+ or the 25-31 PC+ would be very nice. You would be able to fill a good sized room very well. It would also cover the HT and 5.1 music arena quit nicely.

 

[SethH]

Their website has it listed at $300. I assume it is up-to-date.

 

[steve nn]

Their website has it listed at $300. I assume it is up-to-date.
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Reg price is $300 apiece. I guess we kind of missed the mark on staying with-in a budget.

 

[SethH]

Most any B&W dealer will knock 15%-20% off the MSRP, so:

6 x 602's = $1800 - 17% = $1494
1 x LCR600 = $500 - 17% = $415
SVS 25-31 = $549

Total = $2458

With shipping on the SVS it would go over by about $50, but he might could haggle the dealer down to closer to 20% off the B&W's. Also, if he takes the suggestion above of getting 601's for some of the surrounds he'll easily fall within budget.

 

[Drew_W]

My question to you is do you need 7.1 ? What makes you think you do ?

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

I would reccomend Swan's Diva 2.1 mains and surrounds (3 pairs total) and a C3 center. This would run about $1250 + SH in the Black Cherry color and about 33% more in the Rosewood. The guys at www.theaudioinsider.com will usually ship for free on a package deal like that if you call and talk to them. From there I would reccomend a PB2+, or if you would like a nice matching finish, a PB1+ and contact SVS directly about having a stain mixed to match whichever finish you decide to go with. You could also save some money and go with a 25-31 PC+ and have them tune it to 22hz.

The B&W 600 series is a solid speaker but the Swan's offer a level of sound and cabinetry more akin to the 700 and 800 series at a fraction of the cost. Check out the reviews on TAI's site and elsewhere.

 

[BradWI]

My question to you is do you need 7.1 ? What makes you think you do ?

We are finishing our basement for the home theater, and thought it best to do the wiring, etc while we can get at everything. I guess my question would be why not 7.1 if it's the newest thing???

 

[EricRWem]

Buy 5.1 for now. Keep the backdoor open for 7.1 down the road. 6.1 is barely getting supported thus far, to say nothing about 7.1. It's gradually coming on, but I wouldn't spend past 5.1 right now as far myself is concerned.

 

[Drew_W]

How big is the room?

Keep in mind that if you're running a full 7.1 setup off that Yamaha it's not going to preform the same way as if you were driving a 5.1 setup. The 2 extra channels tax the receiver and its power supply more, making all channels receive less power, which means less dynamic ability and headroom. Yamahas aren't known for fantastic power supplies either...the feature list of the 5790 is impressive, but if you want to drive a 7.1 setup in a medium to large size room, I think you should be looking elsewhere.

This is especially true if the theatre isn't completely enclosed and can't benefit from sound reflected from the four walls that would normally be there.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Drew is right about the yamaha not being the right amp to power 7 speakers. It has some amazing processing features and as a pre-pro with some outboard amplification (even just 2ch outboard) it would do a very nice job. That said, it only tested at like 35 watts w/ all channels driven (by sound and vision) so any headroom you can give the internal amp section would help alot.

The 5790 as a pure pre-pro would be a great bargain, especially w/ full YPAO and component upconversion. Might want to look at the Denon 2805 as well. A little bit more money, but better room calibration and a bit stronger amps (but not much).

Hope thie helps

 

[BradWI]

Thanks for the great comments. Our room size is 14 x 22.



Sorry for the dumb question, but doesn't the Yamaha state that this model is 110x7? I'm new at this...!

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Lot of $150 - $200 receivers say they are 100 x 5, 100 x 6, or even 100 x 7, but do you really think they are? ALMOST every company over-rates their true power, but in real world application (especially small rooms) even 35 watter per channel will be plenty as you're only using 2 - 10 watts at any given time. With the yamahas you're really paying for the great features, processing, and room-eq... not a high-power amp section... it'll still work very well, but would be amazing w/ external amps.

 

[Drew_W]

To extend what Stephen said, there is no standard which companies rate their receivers by. Some pump a 1kHz test tone through one channel and put that as the rated power for all channels. This will be some astonomical number. Once you begin driving 5-6-7 channels full range (20Hz-20,000Hz), then you tax the amplifier more, you tax the power supply more, and it is able to put out less wattage (this is true for all amps). Some companies, like H/K, Rotel, Bryston, etc rate their products with all channels driven full range, which gives a true look at how much they can put out. As well, these amps also have high current power supplies, which is actually what drives the speaker.

The Yamahas consistently fall short once you drive all speakers. If you want to watch movies at an average volume, that's fine. And it'll be fine for watching Drama movies with no action at a good volume...but once you start tossing in explosions and all sorts of dynamic peaks, the receiver will wimp out, and you won't get to enjoy the full sonic benefit...it'll compress the dynamic range because the amplifier does not have the headroom to cope with those dynamic peaks...and if you're driving inefficient (~88dB or less), low impedance (4 ohm) speakers in this manner, not only are you wasting the speaker's capability, but you also risk damaging the speaker by underpowering it consistently.

I'd swing more of your budget into amps. If you really like the Yamaha, you can keep it, and add extra amps to it. I'd personally if I was running a 7.1 setup, at least put outboard amps on the front three channels (for consistency, the centre as well, although even the front L/R would be a huge burden lifted off the Yamaha). You could get something like the Rotel RMB-1066 which when bridged does 3x150 for under $500 used (new price is on the Rotel website). Parasound also made a 1203 amp you could find that is a three channel design of ~ the same wattage. And they're both high current.

Even if that leaves you with only ~$1800 to spend on speakers, that will be a *SOLID* investment towards making sure whatever speakers that $1800 buys, that their potential is fully realized.