Home Cinema..What to Buy?

Okay im a complete idiot to most home media speakers the only brands i know of are klipsch,JBL,And BOSE because im more of a computer person...but anyway ive been browsing for some speakers for our new home the dimensions of the room are 16'-2" all around the room but the speakers i was looking at was the Definitive Technology Speakers There is no set budget as of yet however i would like to keep the price at a minimum but i was looking at their towers the 7000 series i believe..but it doesnt even have to be definitve i was just told they were a very good brand if there are any better please tell me!!

however i would like to keep the price at a minimum

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What is your budget, and are you looking to purchase a 7.1 surround setup? So it's a square room with an 8' ceiling? Def Tech's have built in subwoofers. You can get better bass from a stand alone subwoofer, and even avoid the need for two front tower speakers if budget is a concern. Do you have a surround sound receiver yet? If so, which one?

We can direct you to some online speaker purchase that will blow away offerings from JBL/Bose and compete with Klipsch for a fraction of the price.

DarkManiac7 said:

Okay im a complete idiot to most home media speakers the only brands i know of are klipsch,JBL,And BOSE because im more of a computer person...but anyway ive been browsing for some speakers for our new home the dimensions of the room are 16'-2" all around the room but the speakers i was looking at was the Definitive Technology Speakers There is no set budget as of yet however i would like to keep the price at a minimum but i was looking at their towers the 7000 series i believe..but it doesnt even have to be definitve i was just told they were a very good brand if there are any better please tell me!!

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IMO there are much better offerings out there than the 7000 series of speakers (for the $$$). I demo'd those and didn't care for them much at all. We have the room size, now as Buck said, can you fill us in on the rest of your system/requirements?

well i was looking at the sony ES recievers.....they are a good brand arent they? but as for price.....I dont know id say anywhere from 1-4or5000 if thats a good range...like i said we havent exactly set up a budget yet but am hoping to do so within the week.

oh sorry didnt see that as for requirements...idont know i liked the bipolar towers but as you said they werent worth the money.....i liked the 7.1 setup and I also liked a 10' or 12' sub and center channel audio(dont know if center matter..just read on another forum it did)

You might want to look at an Axiom setup. A 7.1 setup from Axiom with the EP500 sub will run $3263.25 shipped. This includes their second in line towers, the M-60s, 2 pairs of QS8 surrounds, a VP150 center, and of course the EP500 sub recently reviewed here.

There's also a review of the Epic 80 system, which is similar, only with slightly more powerful towers and a less powerful sub.

If you went for this setup, then you'd have a little less than $2k left on the budget for electronics and cables. In this range, you could get the new Yamaha RX-V4600, but not really have money for anything else. However, if you don't need all the extra goodies the 4600 has, a Denon AVR-3805 or a Yamaha RX-V2500 would do well. The only caveat with these two receivers is the fact that you can't really drive the 4-ohm M80Ti speakers (but the 8 Ohm M60Ti's will be just fine). Additionally, if you feel that you want to upgrade and get more power to your setup, the RX-V2500 has excellent preamp outputs that will send good, clean signal to a separate power amp.

The RX-V2500 can be had for under $1000, but since $1k is its MSRP, we'll figure that. So that leaves you with around $800 for cables and whatever else you want to buy. Speaker cable for your setup shouldn't run much more than $100 ($113.08 for 500 ft of 12ga Belden cable shipped from Westlake Electronic). So now we're down to around $700 for other stuff. If you already have a good DVD player, then that's awesome. Otherwise you could go for something like the Pioneer DV-578A-S, which can be found for about $100 online. It isn't a stellar player, but it's something to get you started and it won't be garbage like a $40 Wal-mart special.

You should also budget a few hundred for room treatments. A few hundred in working the acoustics of your room can improve your sound VASTLY. Check out the article here.

Of course, these are just ideas. Do you need to get a TV too? Were you thinking about putting in a projector? If so, then then my suggestions kinda fly out the window.

Some other options:
Instead of the EP500 sub, the SVS PB-12 ISD/2 for $899 plus shipping
Instead of the RX-V2500, the Denon AVR-3805, which is going for $700 right now on ubid.

Good luck!

Yeah...i dont really know what you said through most of that, but i do have a sony DVD player and we are going to get a projector but thats not included in the "audio" budget but the video one.....does anyone know any high quality HD projectors?
any way..Axiom ive never heard of them ill have to check in on that.

It's a brand that sells direct to the consumer.

Axiom.

Another such place is AV123 and their Rocket and Onix speakers.

Sorry..what all should I clarify for you? The Yamaha and Denon units mentioned are receivers.

I just didnt understand what themodels like Yamaha and that other stuff was if you could pleas clarify that thanks

The first models mentioned are Axiom Speaker names.

These are the M-60Ti Speakers:


The QS-8 Surrounds:


The VP150 Center Speaker:


The EP500 Subwoofer:


The Epic 80 system is the complete System using different tower speakers and a different subwoofer that Axiom offers. Here's a pic:



The Yamaha and Denon products I was talking about were receivers.

The Yamaha RX-V2500:


The Denon AVR-3805:


The Yamaha RX-V4600:


And lastly, the SVS Sub, the PB-12 ISD/2:



Any other questions/clarifications?

Thanks!

Thanks! that helped a lot...but I was wondering are the SONY ES recievers a good brand I went to a local dealer the other day and they looked good are they better than the recievers you mentioned? also with Axiom how do you think they compare to JBL,Klipsch, and Def Tech (the only reason i was into def tech s because a local dealer supported it and they sonded better, i thought than JBL and Bose.....but i dont know) also thanks for the help!

Also how mu ch better are the M-60 towers
than the Epic 80 towers?

Audioholics recommendations

You might want to look at what the resident experts recommend: http://www.audioholics.com/showcase/systemguide/index.php

They have a section discussing their recommendations in various price ranges. These recommendations include video. In your range I would look at the $5000 and $12,000 systems.

Jaxvon,

I didn't catch the photo of the 3805. Can you repost that again?

Dark Maniac,

Stay away from the Sony ES receivers. They've had a lot of trouble with that line. If your room is 16' square, you have have an issue with a 7.1 system. A 5.1 setup may work in your favor. $5000 is a lot to spend on your first system, especially not knowing really whats out there. For instance, you may be completely satisfied with this setup:
Pioneer 1015 receiver $400
Acoustech 5.1 speaker package with subwoofer $900
42" EDTV Panasonic plasma $1800 (or a projector/LCD/DLP - endless options)

The Pioneer and Acoustech would be more than enough for a nice starter system.

Yeah, I wasn't sure if the pic was big enough. I hope it was

Anyway, Buckeye is right. Axiom IS a good option, but there are many many more in that price catagory that you could go for. The best advice I can give you is to go out and listen. Speakers are a subjective thing, and what i love, you might find to be garbage. So find some dealers in your area that have proper setups (NOT Best Buy, Circuit City, etc), take some of your favorite music, and check it out.

Other brands to consider:

Ascend
Rocket
Polk
Morduant Short
BIC (this is for the lower end of your budget)
B&W
Klipsch (if you like bright speakers)
Paradigm
PSB
Energy
MB Quart

And others...


Edit:

BIC's Acoustech line is definitely a good option if you like the Klipsch sound, as they are another horn-tweeter design. You can get the entire system for $928 shipped from Ubid. Heck, you could even buy a second subwoofer from Ubid and still come in at like $1300. This system will basically kill anything else at its price point, as well as many above it.

hmm i liked it but i wasnt gonna get teh projection tv so that takes a lot out of the overall speakers since i already have a projector.

well i was talking to Jaxvon and liked the setup(tweaked it a bit) he told me he liked....tell me if you like it too
M80ti floors $1240 per pair
2 QS8 Surrounds $500 per pair
VP150 Center Channel $385
M22TI Bookshelf $440 per pair
Denon AVR-3805 $1000
SVS PB-12Plus Subwoofer $900
oh yeah and a projector
around the neighborhood of 4964 S&H not included
let me know if you like it or find lower prices!!
cant wait too hear these

DarkManiac7 said:

Thanks! that helped a lot...but I was wondering are the SONY ES recievers a good brand I went to a local dealer the other day and they looked good are they better than the recievers you mentioned? also with Axiom how do you think they compare to JBL,Klipsch, and Def Tech (the only reason i was into def tech s because a local dealer supported it and they sonded better, i thought than JBL and Bose.....but i dont know) also thanks for the help!

Also how mu ch better are the M-60 towers
than the Epic 80 towers?

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the Axiom "Epic 80" is a complete surround system that includes the entire 5.1 system. It actually has better front floorstanding speakers than the M60's are. The Epic 80 comes with the M80's, but they are 4 ohm speakers, which is hard to power with just a receiver, youll most likely want to get a seperate amp of you buy these. The m60's will work fine with any receiver you buy, and they are still supposedly great speakers. The Epic 80 also comes with a cheaper subwoofer, the ep500 is supposed to be a much better sub and after its review its been recommended a lot on here. Most axiom owners are very satisfied, and their customer service is awesome, they will help you out with anything you need.

if you decided on axiom, id probobly buy this

2 m60's
1 vp150
4 qs8's (2 if you only want 5.1)
1 ep500

it comes out to about $3300, but if you want stands for the surround speakers it will be another few hundred. Axiom ships it out to you for free though. but if you called them up they would help you set it up. Im not sure if youd want to get monopole speakers for rear surrounds, or just use the qs8's. Also personally id probobly get a dedicated 2 or whatever channel amp, and go with the m80's. eventually im getting almost the same set up,but have m80's as fronts. the axioms will probobly sound better than the jbl's. The klipsch supposedly are really bright (high cymbol crashing/ screeching) speakers, but they arent bad, you just need to set them up with certain receivers and have a heavily treated room so that the sound doesnt bounce around too much. im not sure about def tech, i think they are probobly good speakes, but the axioms might be more simple and a better deal for you.

denon, hk, and other receivers are much better than the sony es line, so stick with one of the recommended ones.The denon 3805 is a good receiver, or you can get a refurbished HK avr630 on ebay right now for around $500 which is another great deal.. with the 2 year manufacture's warranty.

DarkManiac7 said:

well i was talking to Jaxvon and liked the setup(tweaked it a bit) he told me he liked....tell me if you like it too
M80ti floors $1240 per pair
2 QS8 Surrounds $500 per pair
VP150 Center Channel $385
M22TI Bookshelf $440 per pair
Denon AVR-3805 $1000
SVS PB-12Plus Subwoofer $900
oh yeah and a projector
around the neighborhood of 4964 S&H not included
let me know if you like it or find lower prices!!
cant wait too hear these

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That sounds awesome, but remember you'll probably need a couple hundred bucks for wiring and cables.

Alright Dark...I went shopping again and here's the ENTIRE setup, with prices. This is using the M60Ti speakers which are almost as good as the M80Ti's, only a couple hundred cheaper, not overkill to the max with your room, and will be easily driven by a good receiver (instead of needing a separate amp. This is a 5.1 configuration. It makes more sense to opt for this configuration, as it saves money, saves setup time, and will still provide awesome sound. Besides, there are virtually no 7.1 sources anyway. Besides, going for 5.1 sound leaves room to hook up a pair of speakers for a second zone, so you can have music in the kitchen, other rooms, etc.


Speakers:
1 pr Axiom M60Ti Towers
1 Axiom VP150 Center
1 pr Axiom QS8 Surrounds
1 pr FMSQS Stands for QS8s
Total: $1,952.25 Shipped


Subwoofer:
1 PB-12 Plus in black

Total: $974 Shipped


Receiver:
1 Denon AVR-3805 from Crutchfield

Total: $999.99 Shipped


Speaker Cable:
500ft Belden 5000UE 12ga from Westlake Electronic
5 pk Dayton Banana Plugs (used in article here

Total: $151.29 Shipped (To Zip 75757)


Interconnect Cables from Ram Electronics:
2 2m Toslink Cables (Green) (For X-Box and PS2, assuming you have them)
1 2m Digital Coax (for DVD Player)
1 2m 6ch Analog Cable (for SACD playback on Universal player)
50' of Velcro Cable Tie
1 2m Component Video Cable for DVD Player
1 Custom Length Component Video Cable (~30ft, ~$100)

Total: ~$222.29 Shipped


Room Treatment:
DIY acoustical treatment using methods discussed here
Total: ~$400


Power Conditoner:
Tripp-Lite HT10DBS

Total: $85.83 Shipped from J&R


Miscellaneous Stuff:
Radio Shack Analog SPL Meter
DVE Setup Disc from CD Universe

Total: $65.07 Shipped


Grand Total for All Audio Equipment and Cables, Including Shipping): $4850.72


So for under $5k, you can have one arse kicking 5.1 setup with a sub that will rock your house AND features parametric EQ.

Other ways to save money: Go for a less expensive sub from SVS or Hsu, the QS4 surrounds from Axiom (as opposed to the QS8s), less expensive mains, etc.

Wow!!

WOW!! that sounds awesome and thanks for the heads up on 7.1 i thought itd be just fine sorry any way awesome job!! thanks!!