Help me buy a HT system for around $1000 (1 Viewer)

[ronnya]

I would like to buy a home theater for my 55" LCD TV.

My requirements are:

- Good sound quality

- Will be used for movies and music

- My living room is about 20 X 20 in size

- System will be hooked up with a cable box, TV, PS3, Wii etc (most devices via HDMI)

- I do not need a DVD or a Blue Ray player, I have the PS3

- I would like to have the option to listen to my TV with the TV speakers or with the HT system speakers

- Around $1000 (+/-200)


I saw this system -
Boss Acoustimass 10

Onkyo TX-SR508 home theater receiver

this system was recommended on Bose website


[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]Any other options out there? there are many reviews and many products, and everything's so confusing![/COLOR] Any help would be appreciated

Thanks!

 

[winniw]

That system would work but I think that you can do better for speakers. Bose speakers have always been somewhat of a joke in audio forums and I think video forums as well, but I am new here, so I may be wrong. Thirty years ago the saying was, "No highs, no lows... must be Bose", now the saying is "All highs and lows... must be Bose". They lack the midrange that is so critical in music, especially vocals. Everything is boom and sizzle. You would likely be very disappointed in using Bose for music. I would recommend checking out CNET reviews for starters.


Oh, and also read the user reviews on Amazon, there's some great stuff there.

 

[ronnya]

Thanks,


When I started this post I knew nothing about Bose.

Then I went through some Bose posts on this forum and was enlightened about them not being so great

I saw a few speaker systems on amazon -
- Harman Kardon HKTS 20BQ 5.1

- Mirage MX 5.1

- Klipsch HD 500 Compact 5.1


I would love to go to a store and listen to some systems (then I could really make up my mind)

but there are no good audio stores around where I live. There is a local Best Buymagnolia but they have larger speakers.

I am looking for small speakers with good room-filling sound.

 

[winniw]

I just spent about 20 minutes composing a reply and lost it when I hit "preview". Bottom line... I used to design and build speakers as a hobby for several years. I just auditioned and bought the Mirage Nanosats before I read the review on CNET.

The CNET review on the MX 5.1 and the Nanosats, so exactly mirrored my own evaluation that it was as if I had written the reviews myself! It was amazing. What does that mean? Well, it means that I can trust those CNET reviews so well that I could purchase speakers, without hearing them myself and be assured that I was getting what I wanted. Does that mean that YOU would agree with those reviews? Well, no, but at least you know these reviews are accurate and not paid advertising with no bearing on reality.


The Mirage design is omni-directional, so if you are the type who requires a well defined sound-stage, with every performer in their respective position, then you would not be satisfied. You would do better with a conventional design, something like the Energy Take 5.1...


http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-speaker-systems/energy-take-classic-5/4505-7868_7-33310963.html?tag=also


If you value a seamless sound-field where the speakers "disappear" or if you move around a lot while you are listening to your music, the Nanosats my just be your cup of tea.


Nick

 

[ronnya]

Thank you very much winiiw

that's good advice.

For watching movies, which would be better - omnidirectional or conventional?

It seems to me as conventional would be a better pick, because you want to hear the sound coming from

different directions with a surround system, isn't that true?

 

[winniw]

You would get sound from different directions in any mult-channel setup.

The major difference between these is Direct versus Reflected sound. Front-firing speakers provide directional sound and omni-directional speakers will invlove more reflected sound. If your room has vastly different wall surfaces, e.g. the left wall is a hard surface and the right wall is all curtains, direct sound would be a better solution for a uniform sound-field.


A properly set-up system of either type, conventional front-firing or omni-directional speakers, would be fine.


Nick

 

[ronnya]

Thank you for taking the time to help

 

[CB750]

Whatever you do don't buy those Bose Cubes. They are way over priced for what you get and any of the systems you listed will out perform those cubes by a mile. In addition Bose uses specially produced audio tracks to put on in store demos to make the speakers sound much better than the material you will use in your home.

It's unfortunate that you don't get a chance to speakers in person as that is the best way to make your selection is in person because as humans we all tend to be different in how we perceive and process sound. In many instances we have hearing loss in some frequency ranges and some speakers will sound better to our ears than to anothers.

Another frequently mentioned speaker system in you price range that is discussed on this forum is the Energy Take 5 classic which Amazon and New Egg are selling for $400. They are also a satellite type system about the same size as those you are looking at. I listened to them a couple of years ago and my ears liked them better than the Nanostats. I also liked them better than the Kilpsch although Kilpsch now owns Energy. If you like a lively sound with strong high ranges you might like the Kilpsch as they use horn tweeters but after a few minutes they started to bother me.

 

[ronnya]

Thanks CB,

I intend on hanging the center and front satellite speakers around the TV, the Energy Take 5 are a little low on design ... still I will have to decide if I want nice design or good sound

 

[CB750]

I take it that you like the design and look of the Nano's over the others. Design should only trump sound when they sound the better to your ears. My overall comment on all of the $400 to $500 speaker systems I listened to is they tended to be weak in the mid ranges due to the smaller size which leaves too much work for the sub. But the larger draw back is the subs which comes with these units as they are undersized and underpowered.

Don't get me wrong these systems are an upgrade from HTib speakers, but you have to realize that the selling price dictates that compromises must be made. As I remember I listened to many of these systems at Magnolia/Best Buy. You might also check out smaller mom and pop and non chain AV stores. Take some audio sources that you are familiar with you and use that to help make comparisons. These are all good systems in their size and price range but one of them is going to appeal to your ears more than others and that is the system you should buy.


Another popular line which is similar to what you are looking at is the Definitive Technology Pro Cinema Series. But they are cost more, and you can listen to them at Best Buy.

http://www.definitivetech.com/products/Series/ProCinemaSeries.aspx

 

[Jason Charlton]

One suggestion on the receiver front... (I tend to mention this one a lot), but since you specifically mentioned having a Wii, you should consider stepping up the receiver model to the 608. The reason being that the 608 will upconvert analog video sources (including component video) to output via HDMI. This will make setup and operation a lot simpler for you, since you won't ever have to change inputs on the TV.


Without this feature, you will either need to run the Wii directly to the TV (and the audio to the receiver) or connect the Wii to the receiver, but run a second component video cable from receiver to TV (in addition to the HDMI cable). In either case, you'll need to switch inputs on the TV depending on the source (Wii vs. everything else).


Just a thought.

 

[ronnya]

great advice, thanks!

Though I was also looking at the receivers on CNET -
the Yamaha RX-V667 and the Denon AVR-1911

 

[Jason Charlton]

Both of those models would also be good alternatives. I've not owned a Denon product before, but I've heard many people mention that they tend to be less user-friendly than many other brands.