new system setup (1 Viewer)

[JayBird]

hi all, I would like to take this time to say hi to all the members on the forums, it seems like an awsome and very informative forum. I am hoping to learn a lot within my time being here. My first question is, I am looking to build a new home stereo/theatre system, as I am currently just using a mini system with some surround speakers that sound like shit. The room i plan on putting this system in is about 10'x8', but please keep in mind that i plan on moving out within the next few years, and I would like to take this future system with me. I will more then likely be using it just as much for music as I will for movies. I am thinking that I would like a receiver somewhere around the $500 area. I would also like a pair of front floor speakers that will go good with my receiver. I was thinking somewhere around the $700-$800 range. Then for the bookshelves and the centre channel, I really have no clue about. Just to let you guys know ahead of time, this is in Canadian dollars. Thanx guys, I hope to hear from a few of the "experts" around here. ~cheers~

 

[John S]

$500 should put you into a nice full featured mid fi AVR...

Onkyo, H/K, Denon, Yamaha all make robust products than can be had in that price range. You'll of course get more bang for your buck refubished or even used.

On the speaker front, really, there is no other way, except to go Demo and find what you like in your price range. Always good to buy from a place that allows a 30day money back, or even many places will allow you to audition them in your home before purchase.

I looked at speakers up into the $2k each range, and ended up buying some that cost only about $250 per pair over all others for my needs and preferences as an example of why I say this about your speaker purchase. The speakers still were not cheap, I bought 10 of them. (5 pair) and use them in eveyr location.

And last but not least... Welcome to the forums!!!!

 

[JayBird]

thanx john, I was thinking of possibly getting a set of cerwin vega floor speakers, but I heard people saying that the midrange and tweeter is horrible. What do you guys think of cerwin vegas? Could you give me a few of the best models around the $500 price range from those brands john? that would be more then appreciated, thanx

 

[Thomas S]

John said it best, the cost is NOT everything. Remember speakers are very subjective unlike many other components in the audio chain. I have a friend that like John chose less expensive speakers purely on the WAY they sounded to HIM. I would look at Paradigm, I believe they are made up north and are really nice sounding. Sometimes the less expensive speaker may be favorable as most entry level speakers boast a higher efficiency which may be a factor if you have limited amplification. Listen to many, choose what you like, you can always upgrade. You may also want to look on ebay, we audio nuts are a finicky bunch and frequently upgrade to the latest when our "old" stuff is still like new. I recently picked up a butt-kickin' Bryston amp on ebay only one year old for less than half of retail. Good luck!

 

[John S]

Harman Kardon AVR335

Right now, I'd probably spend a little more, and go for a Denon 3805.

But all the products from those manufactures in this price range would probably be fine really.

 

[JayBird]

thanx for the input guys, but those receivers are way out of my price range. The hk is $1300 canadian for me, and the denon would be about $1500-$1600 canadian. Could you guys maybe suggest a couple lower priced ones? That would help a lot, thanx

 

[Gralen]

Hi I'm new to this. I read your forum for years. My advise to getting speakers is to wait till a new line comes out. Then a dealer will reduce the price of the earlier model and in some cases sell it for half price. That is how I got my mirage OM-10. I paid more than half price. right now tweeter in the washington area is doing that. Well they were doing it this Christmas. Try some of your audio shops.And thanks for letting me on this forum

 

[Thomas S]

Gralen is right, end of the year stuff is great! Welcome! I am also more of an audiophile than video but used to do video production work when I was going to school. My next upgrade will probably be speakers and they are so tough to decide on as I use my system for both A/V. I have a Yamaha DD and DTS reciever that I will eventually retire. I like B&W and the Definitive Tech speakers but unsure which to go with as I also use a Velodyne Servo F1500 powered sub with my system.

"It's all in the details............"

 

[John S]

Hmm, I forgot about the candian dollar thing....

$500 Canadian money....

Denon Models AVR-485S AVR-685S AVR-785S

Yamaha HTR-5760 RX-V650


You can get a little more bang for buck, going to like a Sony stuff, but probably a little step down in overall quality as well.

 

[Heath_E]

Thomas,
If you decide to go with Def Tech, I would suggest going with their non-powered towers. You will get better results with those and your separate sub. Then, if you ever feel you need more bass, take the money you will save and buy another sub to stack with that Velo. Just speaking from experience as someone who owns powered Def Techs, and has done it both ways.

 

[JayBird]

thanx for all the replys guys, this is truly helping my decision out a lot. However, I have an odd question that I really don't understand. I was at the store the other day and I seen a sony receiver that was 100wpc x5 channels, and it was $249.99 I believe. Then I also seen a HK in the same store that I thought looked really nice, and was about to grab, until i zomed my eyes in on the specs and realized that it was only 80wpc x2 channels, and $600! So, my question is, why was this HK so much more then the sony, when it only had a quarter of the power the sony had(roughly). I realize it must have had some features that the sony didn't, but what kind of features would justify for that much of a price jump, for less power? thanx for the help.

 

[John S]

Pretty simple.. H/K is a pretty substantial jump up in quality from the Sony. Definelty take Sony's amplifier spec claims with a grain of salt. That H/K would proably blow it out of the water on real world power output.

 

[Girish]

Also keep an eye on harmanaudio's ebay site. They have good refurb stuff.

 

[Tom D]

Hi, I would second the pioneer 1014, I would also recommend 6 Paradigm atoms or titans and a pdr10 or pdr 12 sub. Good luck.

Regards, tom

 

[JayBird]

thanx again for all the help. I checked out those models, and the feedback seems pretty good, now for my last question...does anybody know a good canadian A/V retailer that would seel denon,NAD,marantz,pioneer, etc etc...Thanx again, ~cheers~

 

[Tom D]

Where abouts are you located?

 

[JayBird]

i'm about an hour away from Toronto. If anybody knows any good stores around please let me know. thanx a lot