Looking to buy a receiver and speakers (1 Viewer)

[Flatsfisher]

I am in the market for a receiver and speaker set. For the receiver I am debating between the denon1912 and the onkyo609. Im leaning toward the 1912 due to AirPlay, pandora, and the iPhone app. For speakers I was thinkIng of either the energy classic 5.1 or the Polk Tl1600 (I will obviously listen to both of these before making a decision). I'm in college and will mainly use the system for music (sometimes at higher volumes) but want to still have a nice system with a zone2 for my house once I graduate. Any thoughts or comments on this setup?

 

[gene c]

The 1912 has a more advanced version of Audyssey room correction but the 609 has a little bette video processor (or so they say).
Neithr speaker system has a very good subwoofer but the Polk sub only goes down to 45 hz. Not very good by any standard. They might be O.K. in a college environment but eventually, you might want to replace the sub in either system.

 

[Flatsfisher]

Is there another speaker system you might recommend that's around the $500 price range?

 

[gene c]

If you want smaller satellite speakers then try these. Very similar to what you were looking at. Energy Classic RC ($199) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882269027
Energy S10.3 ($269) This is a very good subwoofer for the price (goes down to 21 hz). It was on-sale for $199 a few weeks ago. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882269026
The BIC F12 is often recommended around here and is a little cheaper. ($188) http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-F12-475-Watt-Subwoofer/dp/B0015A8Y5M/ref=sr_1_9?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1335302188&sr=1-9
For something a little bigger look at the Polk Monitors from newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008225%2050012345&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&SrchInDesc=monitor&Page=1&PageSize=20
The Monitor 30's have been as low as $69/pr and the CS1 also $69. The price seems to change quite often so check back once in a while and see the latest price.
Jamo often has speaker systems on the cheap as well like this one. But adding a sub mighr put you over your limit. http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/544231343/jamo-s606hcs3?s_c=site_search
I've never heard those but they are the talk of the HT forums at the moment. Lots of speaker for the price.

 

[Flatsfisher]

What about the Energy Classic 5.0 with the BIC sub? How will this hold up at high volume levels? How easy are they to blow?

 

[gene c]

They have an effeciency rating of 88-89 db which is very good for a small speaker so they should put out a lot of volume. You would have to set the crossover fairly high if you plan on cranking it up. 120-150hz probably. It's been a while since I've listened to the Take Classic speakers but I remember being pretty immpressed with them for their size. But how much volume they can handle depends on the crossover setting and the amplifier driving them. Both the Denon 1912 and Onkyo 609 are real good receivers. Distortion (from the amp) seems to damage speakers more than volume. But then again, anything can happen if you get to crazy with that volume knob.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I don't know if this is a system which might interest you, Charlie...but I can vouch for the guy selling it. We've known each other for years.

It is an Energy Take Classic 5.1 system listed in the HTF classified forum.