newbie questions(help a newbie out plz) (1 Viewer)

[Jaden Wong]

hi all hows it going?

im a new to this msg board and i have learnt so much in one night hehehehe....

anyways i got a couple of questions as im going to get some component parts for a new HT system..

Right now i have an old sansui stereo amplifier with 2 big speakers...these speakers r australian i think its called RKR KS-230. I looked at the specs of the speakers and i think each speak gives out 50 watt, and the frequency range is about 50-22000Hz.

Im gonna build a new HT system and i was wondering if i can use these 2 speakers as the front left and right speakers as these speakers still sound good u know????

Can u purchase like a 3 speaker package where u can get the front speaker and rear ones for a special price????? What type of speakers to people usually get for the rear ones????

I have like a very small room at the moment where the room has no windows with brick walls and tile floor. The area is about 7 feet by 8 feet. I have a panasonic 68 cm flat screen television and a xbox already.

What is a good reciever i can buy that doesnt cost too much.......
hmmmmmmmm

if u guys think that i can use the old skool speakers, then all i need is 3 more speakers( center and 2 rears), reciever and sub.

I was thinking of gettn the kenwood htb-544 but u know i have 2 speakers here already but u kno i dont want to waste it.

Im in australia and right now my budget is looking at about 600-700 aus max.

Can u guys give me any suggestions based on my budget and my room and my current situation?????????

Any help is appreciated.
Jaden

 

[Jaden Wong]

c'mon guys please give me some input

 

[BrianEK]

Here is some input Jaden.

I work at circuit city (electronics store here in america) so prices I list will be in american dollars. I will try to address all your questions.

You can use your old speakers as front l/r speakers if you'd like. If you like the sound, then cool. How old are they? There is one thing to also consider when doing home theater. It's not necessary but you want to try to "voice match" your speakers. which means you want your speakers to have the same general tone to them so the sound doesn't sound wierd as it travels around you. (i.e. don't buy bassy speakers and mix them with tinty speakers) Matching your rear with your front speakers isn't a big deal but you should at least try to match front L/R and center speakers. And the fact that for a decent subwoofer you'll spend at least $150-$200 us dollars. When you can buy a whole package deal of 5 speakers and a good subwoofer for $300-$400. then all your speakers will be voice matched and they are nice small satellite sized (think of those small bose cube speakers) speakers since you have a small room. Your small room doesn't require lots of power or big speakers so you can use nice small ones and the sub included in the package will be plenty powerful. Harman Kardon has a good set for $399. add in a decent Onkyo receiver (I explain below) and there is your $700 dollar price tag.

You can purchase a center and two rear speakers in a 3 pack but generaly they are pretty basic speakers that run under $100 for the 3. I don't know what kind of sound you are looking for.

A good receiver for the money is the Onkyo TXSR501. it is a 6.1 channel receiver and is high current, so it uses power more efficiently and make the sound better. check out www.onkyousa.com if you want detailed specs. it runs $299 US dollars, much better quality than a kenwood, sony, panasonic, or any of those brands for the same price. onkyo only makes receivers, dvd players, and a couple of speakers but receivers are their specialty. so their products are better than those like sony that make everything electronic under the sun.

for rear speakers people generally will use small bookshelf speakers that can sit on existing furnature, speaker stands, or be mounted on the wall.

So I think I addressed everything, but i don't know what US dollars translates into Australian. so i hope i was some help to you and if you have any more q's. just post'em

 

[Jaden Wong]

hey thanks for ur input brian
i think im gonna go for some HT in a box because of my budget. After reading through the posts i can c that kenwood htb series is very popular but i think in australia they dont sell this. At the moment australia is having a stock clearance sale everywhere and i found this system for $799 aus... can u plz tell me if it is worth it
http://www.kenwood.com.au/home3.asp?...cid=37&pid=350
is this system similar to the htb 504 or htb 544????

plz again thankyou for input

 

[BrianEK]

The Kenwood you posted a list to seems to be a pretty decent system. the .7 THD% isn't the greatest and the subwoofer is passive, which means it won't sound as good as a powered subwoofer. But again you have a small room and it will be similar to the other two systems you listed (htb504/544) although i don't know the exact specs of those system. If you could find a system for about the same price with even just a powered subwoofer included would be a better buy, see if you can find any sony systems on clearance, they are similar but slightly better for the price cause they have a powered sub. Otherwise if you can't find anything for the same price range i'd say go for the kenwood while you can still get it. as you said it's on clearance (for about 1/2 price of suggested retail) so it seems like a good bang for your buck. honestly for what you are looking to spend, whether you buy the kenwood or anything else, they will all sound very similar and it won't make a big difference what you get.

 

[Jaden Wong]

my budget is about$700-800 aus dollar....
i just bought a new tele and i dont wana fork out another grand to buy a HT system....
whats the difference b/w a powered sub and a normal sub???

it doesnt really state the watts in that kenwood sys....is it 5*100 watts????


anyway thanks brian for ur input...i need to purchase one of these systems fast coz the sale is gonna b over soon.

 

[JeremyFr]

I'm will say go for it if it fits your budget one thing though is even though the sub isnt self powered there is going to be a dedicated channel for it on the reciever so dont worry about it not having an amplifier.

The one thing I did notice to be of some concern is that the "surround power" is only rated into 2 channels this unfortunately is a very misleading way of quoting power and should represent all channels driven. Basically if you're looking at 110watts into 2 channels in surround mode your in fact going to probably get closer to 40 to 50 watts per channel all channels driven so I'd be cautious about that.

Best thing I can recommend is that if possible give it a listen with a movie thats going to put it through a workout and let your ears be the judge. If it seems to strain driving all the speakers at low volumes then I'd say find something better to invest your money in. I'm not sure what 700 dollars Australian equates to in American but I'm sure there are other systems you could find in the same price range that may equate to a better listening experience.

One last thing to consider is if you do a search for Kenwood on this board you'll find a lot of people have had problems with the Kenwood recievers dieing suddenly or shutting off for no reason.

like with your budget you may want to consider investing in a good reciever first say a Yamaha or Denon or Marantz or some other mid-high end reciever that fits your budget use the 2 speakers you have for now and upgrade to more or better speakers when you can. I think in the long run you may be much happier doing it this way. Or even get a good reciever and a cheap center/surround package to hold you over for now and then upgrade speakers later.

Remember its always best to do it right the first time even if it takes you a little longer to do it.

Jeremy

 

[Jaden Wong]

hey boys i went to the shops and found thus system
http://www.onecall.com/PID_19553.htm for $880 oz....but the guy says its a 100w sub...what u think this system over the kenwood????