What would you buy with $1000? (1 Viewer)

[Brian_I]

You guys must get sick of this question, but I'm taking my first step into home theater and I would like your opinions b/c this is the best board around!
I have $1000 US to spend on an A/V receiver and home theater speaker setup. My requirements are the following:

>System will be in a small room, so lots of power isn't a real issue
>System will play 50% music, 50% movies
>I have a turntable, so phono-in is highly desired, although there are obviously ways to get around that
>I would like A/B switching to drive a pair of outdoor speakers on my deck
>I have a progressive scan DVD player, and plan to upgrade to HDTV in the next year or so.
>I would be more than satisfied with a 5.1 setup

My initial leanings are toward the Denon 1804. I don't see many people post who listen to a lot of music on their home theater systems, so my biggest question is what speakers to buy. I'm no audiophile, but I know what good sound is like and I'm afraid the HT in a box won't cut it, even though my budget is closer to that option.

Come through for me guys!

 

[ChrisLazarko]

Well $1000 certainly isn't cheap. Although it will cut out some more expensive products you can still manage. I would recommend just going to your local bestbuy and trying out what they have there for starters. They have Klipsch, Athena, JBL, Yamaha, Sony, and several others.

Although you would probably only be able to afford the satellite systems they should play very well. My personal preference leans more towards Klipsch speakers as I tend to like how the Klipsch speakers all bring out the vocals a little bit better while still keeping a very nice midrange and bass. Of course everyone likes something different... so check that out first..

For a reciever I would definantly have to recommend Harman/Kardon. There AVR-325 offers a multizone out which is a pretty neat feature but I believe you will need another reciever or an amp for that to work. As far as quality, design, power, power efficieny, sound quality, it all goes to Harman/Kardon in my vote. HK has almost no downfalls I can see except they are not cheap which is to be expected.

Hope this helps, enjoy.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

There AVR-325 offers a multizone out which is a pretty neat feature but I believe you will need another reciever or an amp for that to work.

Actually, the multi-zone on the H/K receivers will work right out of the box. You have to designate the rear amps to go to the 2nd zone, then turn on the zone via the setup. That's about it.

In regards to spending $1k on gear, I'm hearing great things about the Onix Rocket ELT package for $1,250. Granted, it's $250 more than you have budgeted, but might be worth a consideration. Here's the link: Onix Rocket ELT
Personally, I would spend a bit more if you can scrape up the $$. In my experience, I was always burned by not buying "enough" quality up front. Then, 6 months or a year down the road, I would desire more. I would then have to invest hundreds more to get what I really wanted. Just my .02

 

[Brian_I]

Guys:
Thanks for your suggestions. I would love to own an HK. Unfortunately I'm pretty limited to $1K, and the prices for the HK 325 and 525 don't leave me much room to buy speakers. The 225 is in the right price range, but doesn't have phono input or A/B switching.
Still leaning towards the Denon 1804 b/c of price, features and reputation. Any suggestions on matching up some speakers that will produce great results for music and movies?

 

[Chris Quinn]

Brian if you're interested in HK go to www.harmonaudio.com for factory refurbs.

Also, check out the Energy Take 5.2 for a speaker package in your price range.

 

[Andrew Pezzo]

I had A Denon 1602 with the Energy Take 5.2 and it worked real nice together. I have seen the Take 5.2 with sub for around 615.00 new on the internet somewhere.

 

[Brian_I]

Chris:
Thanks for the link to harmanaudio.com! Love the refurb option.
HK is back in the running (325 or 525) even though I will have to find a resonably priced phono preamp (suggestions?). I'll match the HK against the Denon. I'm surprised with the lack of Denon support to this post though.

Andrew: I found some local Energy reps in my area, but I was wondering if there are any authorized dealers on the web for price comparison? My initial searches have found any.

I'm also considering the JBL SP1 path, but based on reviews I'm a little worried about how they will handle music.

 

[Chu Gai]

You may also wish to consider some of the Marantz receivers such as those over at Accessories4less where you may find some closeouts and refurbs. Don't know about the phono inputs on those.

 

[ReggieW]

Brian,

As the former owner of a Denon 1802, I would say the 1804 matched with Energy Take 5's would be your best bet. I have NOT heard the HK's, but I really don't see it getting much better at the 1804's price point. The 1804 is now 90 X 6 and has two-zone capability and 32 bit analog DAC's. It finally looks as if the technology has worked its way down from the more expensive models. The Athena and JBL speaker packages also have a nice following as well.

Good luck,

Reg

 

[Matt_Doug]

internet direct speaker manufacturers Ascendacoustics.com and axiomaudio.com have gotten rave reviews and they have sub $1000 speaker systems. Refurb or used receivers is the way to go, try ebay.

 

[george king]

The denon is a great unit. Then contact Brian at Link Removed and talk to him about the RADMicro system. Custom built for you, in one of 3 finishes of your choice. Great guy, great craftsmanship.

 

[Lew Crippen]

If you can stretch to $1,250, AV123 has a package deal on an 1804 and their ELT 5.1 system (which I heard in Dallas and can highly recommend).

The speakers are $900 by themselves.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Oops, here is the link for the Rocket ELT system. Here is the bundle package details. You can call those guys for more details.

 

[Greg Thomas]

You could get the Athena Point 5 system with the Onkyo 601 at Onecall for $936. I don't think the Onkyo has phono inputs though.

Or look at the Wharfdale Sapphire 5.1 system for $497 and this leaves your $500 to spend on whatever receiver you want. I'm not familiar with Wharfdale speakers but I've read other post on the HTF site about them. Not sure if you want any floorstanding speakers or not.

$1000 can actually get you some pretty decent stuff.

 

[Brian_I]

Guys:
Thanks for all the great responses! As usual you come through again.
I guess the decision making is the fun part! The Denon 1804 and HK 325 or 525 are definitely going to be tested, but unless there's a big difference in sound, I imagine it will be the Denon b/c of the built in phono capability. I wish HK had phono inputs, but I guess I'm part of a dying breed of vinyl junkies.
Lew/Wayne, the Rocket ELT 5.1 system is beautiful. The bundle offer strikes me as a little odd since they can't name the receiver. I guess you can confirm that it is the Denon 1804? If so, I may do some further investigation into these speakers. Aside from the Rockets, I'm still favoring the Energy set. Too many good reviews have been posted, plus there's a couple of local dealers.
Thanks again. I'll post an update once the equipment starts rolling in!

 

[Lew Crippen]

Brian, I can confirm that it is the Denon. Call Sean or Steve at AV123 and talk with them. If you ask them, they will confirm.

Since you have some interest, I’ll expand a little more. When Mark (the company president), Steve and Sean came to Dallas a month or so ago, they were showing off the ELT system for the first time in public, It was set up in Mark’s hotel suite (probably not the best audio conditions) and Mark demonstrated it for me.

I listened to both music and HT and while I think that the system is oriented towards HT, it performed very well on straight music. For HT it really shone, in large part due to the center channel, which is no doubt the best I’ve heard in this price range. The dialogue was easily understood, both crisp and detailed—you could understand speech during very loud passages (e.g. Matrix).

I also think that the subwoofer performed very well in a system in this price range. Really to do better you would have to step up a class.

The system was being driven by either an 1803 or 1804 (I can no longer remember which) and easily reached reference levels without clipping of bottoming out (in the suite to be sure).

I spoke to quite a few people at this road show, not all of whom (or even most) were Rocket owners and everyone was impressed with this system at $900. One other point is that most of the people attending the road show were there to hear the bigger Rockets (they had 750s, 550s, 300s and a 200), their new UFW-10 sub, the Onix Reference speakers (both the monitor and floor standing models) and some MBL speakers (including a pair of floor standing models at about $10,000 the pair). I mention this simply because the ELTs still sounded good after listening to all of this medium and high priced gear. Of course, not as spectacular, but still, I would have thought best-in-class.

To be sure, I have not the Energy system, so I am in no position to make a comparison one way or another.

 

[Greg Thomas]

I have the HK 325 and Energy Take 5 speakers with a Sony 12" SAWM40 sub. It works very well. The Take 5.2 are supposedly even better.

Take a listen to the Athena Point 5 system. They sell them at Best Buy. Athena is a sister company of Energy which are both under the Audio Products Intl (API) umbrella. The satellites are bigger than the Takes so you'll get a little fuller sound from them. Here are several reviews on the Athena site and at least one compares them directly with the Take 5.2. Best Buy has the Point 5 speakers for $399 w/o sub and you can add the Athena sub for $299, the new Sony sub, or a different one if you'd like. The Point 5 also comes with mounting brackets for the satellites.

Another option since the Denon 1804 is 6.1 is the Athena AS-B1 bookshelf speakers which Best Buy has on sale for $149/pr. You could get 3 pairs, using the last pair for front and rear centers. Add a Sony sub and you might be able to get everything for slightly over $1000. You'll get much bigger sound than with either the Athena or Energy sub/sat systems. Here's a very good review of the AS-B1.

Man, those Rockets do look nice!

 

[Jeff Aguilar]

That Denon/Rocket deal sure looks sweet! I have heard nothing but great comments on the rocket speakers! I bet would would be really happy with that combo!

Jeff