Onkyo 9300THX vs Building own HT (1 Viewer)

[lcampbell89]

Hey everyone, first post here!



I know most people on here always say building your own receiver and speakers is a a good deal but I had seen the 9300THX for 650 on Amazon Warehouse and was wondering if doing that is better or building something up for about 650 is better? I want something that supports 1.4a HDMI as I have a 3D TV and am about to get a 3D blu-ray player. Also want quality sound with good bass mainly for movies/games but music as well. I live in a fairly small space (entire house is about the size of a garage and area where surround sound will be set up is about 10x10) so I would imagine the 5.1 - 7.1 difference isn't going to make too much difference either way. Also just for info purposes. It will be matched up with a Panasonic 42" GT25 as well as most likely a Sony S570 Blu-Ray player also have Xbox 360 with HDMI.

 

[David Willow]

There was a thread here a few days ago with the same question. I'm not sure what the poster ended doing, but if you can get it for $650, IMO it would be hard to do better. The Onkyo receiver is not a typical HTiB receiver, so you can actually hook things up to it. It comes with a powered sub and the speakers should be decent for the price.

 

[gene c]

I agree. I played around with a 9300 at Frys a few weeks ago and the speakers are definently a little better than those in Onkyo's other systems. Duplicating it for $650 would be difficult indeed.

 

[lcampbell89]

Unfortunately the 650 ones got sold, I'll keep looking the next week or two if they get anymore in that price range. Closest thing to it is 800 but at the same time wouldn't mind saving the 150.

Do y'all think that this system would be overkill for such a small space?


EDIT: Honestly I would be slightly interested in putting together something. Although I do think that the 9300 has very nice looking speakers from what I have seen. Maybe something together for 600-800 bucks or in that area.

 

[gene c]

Ac4l.com has a factory refurb 9300 for $699. But a new one for $650 would have been so much better.


Try and find an Onkyo 508 for around $225, a Partsexpress sub for $125 and some Polk Monitors from Newegg.com. Might come close to $650. Maybe.


BTW, here's an intersesting deal from Tigerdirect. for $449. An Onkyo 508 and Jamo 5.0 speaker package, but it has towers for fronts. You would need to add a sub.


I have Infinity beta's and an HSU 10" sub in a 13 x 10 room. We don't believe in overkill around here .

 

[lcampbell89]

Do you think I should go for a 5.1 or 7.1 system if I have a small space? The living room itself is kind of awkward shaped I guess. Haha I am about to just make a damn sketch up drawing of my house.

EDIT: Would the NR708 be worth spending on for later upgrades? Or would the 508/608 be good enough?

 

[David Willow]

Lee,


7.1 only if you have space behind you. If your seats are against the wall, there' little point in it. Plus, very few films are 7.1. For those that are, they will work with 5.1 without a problem.


Spend more on the speakers. While the 708 gives you more features than the 508 and 608, it is not worth it taking money from the speaker budget, IMO.

 

[lcampbell89]

Thank you David, I think I will be going with a 5.1 setup then. Although I may purchase a receiver that could upgrade to 7.1 in the future if it's in the cards.

I posted another thread about a possibly build here, wondering what you thought of it david.



Receiver: Onkyo 608/708 (319 vs 499 on AC4L) or Pioneer 1020k/1120k (Probably the one I am having the most trouble deciding on not exactly sure if its worth getting one over the other, kind of leaning towards the Onkyo for ARC HDMI compatibility)


Speakers: Fluance SXHTB+ 5.0 Surround Sound (although Jomo is slightly tempting or something like a build your own cabinet)


Sub: Either BIC F-12 or Lava Sub (kind of leaning towards BIC for money reasons)


That is a pretty stretched budget of about 1k or so which is really a little bit over what I want to spend but at the same time I want something that will be good and last a while.

 

[David Willow]

Onkyo or Pioneer are fine, but I would choose the Onkyo for a few reasons (one of which is it includes Audyssey EQ).


I like Fluance speakers as well. I used them for a couple years before I upgraded. Although I haven't heard Jamo, they are popular. Its at least worth a listen. If you are handy and want to build your own, you will get way more for your money. There are a few folks here who can help.


The BIC gets good reviews here. I don't know anything about the Lava. When I have time later I will look it up.


Also, check the For Sale area here and look at Craigslist for used gear. There's nothing wrong with buying older speakers.

 

[CB750]

Lee,


Speaker selection will be the major factor in determining how your system will sound. Therefore, the advantage of going with separates over a HTib is the fact that you can listen to a number of different speaker systems within a price range and select those which sound best to your ears.

While the Onkyo 9300 is their flag ship HTib and comes with with a good receiver it does come with the speakers that Onkyo by a corporate committee decision decided where the best choice for the price point for that product. While these may be some decent speakers for some they may not be the speakers that would appeal to your ears in relation to separate speakers on the market.

All you can do is to compare how the 9300 sounds in relation to other separate speaker options. Granted you may have to spend a few dollars more on separates but you will have a system that sounds better than all others you have listened to. In the long run that will give you piece of mind as you will be less tempted to spend more money on a upgrade down the road.

Granted we all have different budgets and what we are able to spend on our toys, but their is something to be said about doing it right the first time.

 

[lcampbell89]

Thank you for y'alls input!

Bill: I think about set on going separate at this point as it seems it will be the best option and will hopefully allow for room for improvement in the future as well as a little bit more freedom. And getting it right the first time is exactly what I want to do! I am going to see if I can find a place in my town that might carry some of these speakers and check them out tomorrow. Unfortunately we have some bad weather coming in tomorrow and it might make it a little more difficult. Bill I am going to also answer you in the other thread!


David: Do you think that there is a big enough difference in the 608 and 708 to justify one over the other in your opinion? Also curious if either of the brands run cooler then the other, I have read a lot about the Onkyos running quite hot. I am going to search as soon as I am done posting this in the meantime.


Are towers going to sound better then most say bookshelf speakers?

 

[David Willow]

Lee,


The Onkyo's do tend to run a little warmer than others, but as long as you give them room to breath you will have no problem. I've had my 705 for over 3 years now and I have had no issue with heat.


If you are getting a good sub, then book shelf speakers and tower speakers will perform the same (assuming the mids and tweeters are the same). The sub should handle the low end in either case. Just remember to factor in the cost of stands if you go with book shelf speakers.


Jamo you can listen too. Fluance is internet only.

 

[gene c]

I think a 10 x 13 room is a bit too small for a 7.1 system to offer that much of an improvement. But in all fairness I haven't really heard a good 7.1 system. Both of my rooms are 5.1. One room is big enough for 7 speakers, and I even have the other two I would need in the closet, but my back's up against the wall as they say so I've stuck to 5.1.


To throw a wrench into things, Dakmart.com has the Denon 1911 7.1 receiver as a refurb for $349. It about splits the difference between the 608 and 708.


I think towers are better compared to bookshelves from the same series as they should handle the 80 to 150hz area a bit better, but bookshelves that are the same price as those towers, either from a higher end line from the same brand or a different brand altogether, should perform better than those towers of the same price. Did that make sense . Even though I turned them around for a quick $300 profit, and those things were huge, I often think I should have kept them. Like right now.


As for Jamo, like most brands, they make some really good speakers but they also sell some on the net and in big box stores just to get their name out there. Makes sure you know which ones you're listening to.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Lee, for what it's worth, I think the 608 will suit you just fine. The only features the 708 offers over the 608 is Internet connectivity and streaming capability, a phono input (who uses those anyway?!?!) and some S-Video inputs (only useful if you have a laserdisc or SuperVHS machine to connect to the system).


Unless the networking capabilities are a must-have, save money by going with the 608 and take the extra cash to put towards your speakers.

 

[lcampbell89]

I think you make a very valid point as I will already have an internet TV and Blu-ray player. So I guess I will go ahead and take the 708 out of the running. Now that Denon 1911 does look interesting although the Dakmart website seems to be a little "sketchy." The 608 and Jamo speakers seems like a pretty decent deal at TigerDirect.

 

[gene c]

I agree that the Dakmart website is kind of a mess but they are a Denon authorised dealer and I doubt Denon would have anything to do with them if they were "sketchy" . However, I haven't bought anything from them before so who knows...The other thing the 708 and 1911 have over the 608 is a better version of Audyssey. But Tigerdirect does have some great deals going on right now, including the 508/Jamo's I linked to earlier, and I have bought from them before without any issues.

 

[lcampbell89]

Im kind of leaning towards that 1911 or the 608 for sure at this point. Just not sure which will be better for me. I don't know if I will need the 7.2 anytime soon, the idea of two subs sounds interesting to me.

Another thing I stumbled upon was this deal at newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.591976


608 and two klipsch RF-52 towers for 800 then getting a RC-52 center and I believe I saw some open box satellites for RF-52. Haha that'd probably end up being expensive as hell but its an interesting idea.


Its kinda like getting a free 608 for buying two RF-52s

 

[gene c]

The two sub outputs are still mono, not stereo. A single sub output and a cheap Y-splitter will accomplish the same thing. That's what I did.


Be carefull. This can all get outta hand in a hurry .

 

[David Willow]

IMO, if you can get the Denon for the same price as the Onkyo, get the Denon. The only caution is with the Denon you may need a PHD to understand the manual.

 

[lcampbell89]

Ya... defnitely maybe the Klipsch isnt such a great idea lol. What do you think the best place to get speakers is from? And maybe another 300-500 set of speakers suggestion?

Originally Posted by gene c .

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