newbie looking for advices (1 Viewer)

[Francois Levesque]

Hi,
Here's my situation: I'd like to own a good sound system to hook up to my television and computer. My television is a Panasonic 24" WEGA, bough it about 2 weeks ago. My bedroom is big enough for it but quality was much more important than size. Another thing, I'd rather buy 2 very good speakers now and buy the rest later than buy 5 cheap ones at the same time... especially since I listen to music most of the time.
Still here? Amazing. Here's what I'm thinking of buying:
Hitachi DV-415 (330$ canadian @ futurshop)
My computer doesnt have any remote control, plus I have to shut it down for the night because of the fan noises.. so I'd really appreciate having a good MP3 player included to have music playing at night. The Panasonic DVD-R31 also looked good, but doesnt seem to understand MP3 directories which make it almost useless to me.
JBL S38BK (400$ canadian & consumer-direct.com)
I heard a lot of good things about these speakers but never actually heard one. I heard the JBL N28 though, which looked incredibly similar, but was not impressed by its sound. Anyone know if the S38 are much better? I'd also appreciate suggestions for speakers in the same price-range (400$ canadian is for the pair).
Receiver
I have absolutely no idea. Any suggestions on which has the best price/value ratio, considering the speakers/dvd player I'm thinking of buying?
Finaly, I'm not sure if this is relevant for the speakers, but I mostly listen to Jazz, Rock, EBM, Psychadelic, Punk, Classic, Goth, Industrial, Experimental.. no rap, country or heavy metal though.
Thats about it I think... Thanks everyone
[Edited last by Francois Levesque on July 25, 2001 at 06:29 AM]

 

[Saurav]

If you're in Canada, I would suggest you check out Paradigm speakers - they are much cheaper in Canada than they are in the USA, and even at US prices, they represent incredible deals for the money. In your price range, you should easily get the Atoms, and maybe the Mini Monitors. If you're interested, try www.audioreview.com and look at speaker reviews there - you'll see lots of satisfied owners of the Mini Monitors. I believe Energy is a Canadian company too (I might be wrong on this), and their home theater speakers are pretty well regarded. If music is a priority though, I would go back to my Paradigm suggestion.
I've heard the JBL S38s at Best Buy. Granted, not the best setting to audition speakers in, but I think my Mini Monitors are quite as bit better. To answer your question, yes, I thought the S38s were the best bookshelf speakers in the JBL section.
Receivers: depending on your budget, look at Onkyo/Denon/Harmon Kardon/Yamaha/Sony/Kenwood/Pioneer/... the list goes on and on. You'll have to provide more information about what you're looking for and how much you're willing to spend, before anyone can give you meaningful suggestions.
[Edited last by Saurav on July 25, 2001 at 12:06 PM]