Just got my first place...

[Christian465]

Hey guys!

Well let me start off with a few details about myself.
-I am in the military so I move around every year or so.
-I am in my first apartment so I am hesitant to making any holes in walls since I have no idea how to.
-I don't really know much of anything about putting together a HTS.
-I like to listen to electronic music and play video games so that's what I would primarily be using these speakers for.

What I am wanting is a quality receiver that I can keep for a long time. I don't mind putting down a few more bucks on this since its more permanent. I checked out the Onkyo TX NR609 but wanted your opinions before I do anything.

Speaker and sub wise I haven't been able to narrow my search at all because of the variety. I just don't known what I should look at and what to choose over others. I have a regular size living room but no shelves around to put speakers on. Would floor speakers be more of my thing since I will be moving over the years?

My idea is to buy just a few speakers now and acquire more over time so my current budget is < 1000.

Thanks in advance for the help and advice!

 

[96cobra10101]

I would avoid Onkyo, they have been having problems with boards over heating. No receiver is full proof, but Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer and Marantz seem to have the better track records.
Yamaha RX-V571 is $400, including shipping.

That leaves $600 for a couple towers.

Infinity Primus seems to be popular on here, but I like these;
ERM 6.3.
They have awesome customer service, free shipping, 5 year warranty, and IMHO, I think they are a better built speaker than any other speaker in this price range. 3 of those would be perfect match for LCR setup, too.

 

[agarwalro]

The budget is workable, but, tradeoffs will have to be made between quantity and quality. Unless your room is huge, I'd recommend not doing a surround setup. Instead try the 2.1 or 2.2 (stereo bookshelf speakers with one or two subwoofers).

How big is your listening area?

 

[lsiberian]

With all the moving I'm gonna suggest bookshelves with stands.

CBM-170 SE High Performance Bookshelf Loudspeaker

is 348.

DENON AVR-1612 5.1 Channel A/V Home Theater Receiver | Accessories4less

is 220.

That is plenty for an apartment. I've lived in apartments for a while and towers are really unnecessary given the size of most living areas.

For a subwoofer you'd have around 400 to spend, but honestly
Dayton Audio C1500K 15" Powered Subwoofer Kit 300-770

is an easy kit to assemble and will give you plenty for an apartment space. Be sure to get a subdude.
Auralex SubDude | Sweetwater.com

If you don't want a kit.
Dayton Audio SUB-1200 12" 120 Watt Powered Subwoofer 300-629 is a decent budget option

Of course you can wait on the sub. All you need for any setup is 2 speakers and a receiver. Everything else is icing on the cake.

 

[afterlife2]

Woot® : One Day, One Deal has a nice budget receiver. Hurry...

 

[Christian465]

@96cobra10101, so some tower speakers like that won't be overkill? My living room is estimated to be 12x18 and I also have vaulted ceilings that are pretty high. And I am glad you told me that about Onkyo, guess ill avoid them for now.

@agarwalro, I put my estimated dimensions above. But your right too, 2.1 would probably do me fine for now since my place is small. I would prefer quality for now, I am a patient person.

@lsiberian, ya I dont mind waiting on the sub if I can get some speakers that sound amazing already.

@afterlife2 thanks!

 

[96cobra10101]

I also have a pair of the Emotiva 6.2. I use them as music monitors(hooked to a yamaha receiver) when I practice my bass, which is played through a Peavey. Anyways, I crank up my bass amp, and the 6.2's have no problems playing just as loud, and very clean and clear.

 

[Crackerballer]

If you can deal with the size of these (they are big towers), it's hard to beat these for the money.

EMP Tek Clearance E55Ti Tower Speakers

I have had mine for about two weeks now and they are an absolute joy. I'd recommend them and a nice receiver. That leaves you $600 and you can get a nice receiver for that much, or a decent mid level with preouts and an amp to power the EMPteks, then you could hold off on the sub since the towers will have pretty good bass, especially when drive by a quality amp.

Forgot to add, many will tell you they are more for music than HT or gaming, but HT and gaming is all I do with them. They sound great with GOW3 blasting out at high volumes!

 

[lsiberian]

@96cobra10101, so some tower speakers like that won't be overkill? My living room is estimated to be 12x18 and I also have vaulted ceilings that are pretty high. And I am glad you told me that about Onkyo, guess ill avoid them for now.

@agarwalro, I put my estimated dimensions above. But your right too, 2.1 would probably do me fine for now since my place is small. I would prefer quality for now, I am a patient person.

@lsiberian, ya I dont mind waiting on the sub if I can get some speakers that sound amazing already.

@afterlife2 thanks!

The ascends are amazing, but Energy Cf-30s are my favorite speaker in the price range right now. If you are in DFW Starpower has them for a good deal sometimes. Don't buy a receiver or any cables there(overpriced). Just the speakers. They have a really large port leading to very low distortion. Most ported speakers are under ported in my experience.

 

[Christian465]

Alright, since the weekend is here finally got some time to do some decent research. I decided to focus on the receiver before tackling the speakers. I was hoping y'all could answer some newbie questions to help me along.

Is it worth it buying a Receiver with Ethernet to listen to online radio music or should I just look for a BR player that does so?

I'm debating if I even need a BR player because I don't buy BR movies. I just do gaming and Netflix through Xbox 360, and Electronic music from Pandora and my laptop. Is a BR player really necessary?

I have been doing a little research and it seems these models are the most popular Receivers. In your expertise, which do you think is best for me who is looking for gaming and music and will be able to last?

-Denon AVR-1912
-Pioneer VSX 1021-K
-Yamaha RX V671

Or any other model recommendations? Again, thanks for all the help guys.

 

[sholling]

You've gotten some good advice. I'll start with speakers because you'll be moving a lot and I agree with the suggestion of going with a pair of bookshelf speakers because they are easier to pack up and move. The popular budget solution is Infinity Primus P162 for about $170/pr. They're cheap because they're last year's finish. They aren't beautiful but they sound really good for the money and you won't be heart broken if they get a ding or scratch when moving. The more deluxe solution are the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170SE. They aren't pretty but they sound good. Later as you settle down or have more money you can add more speakers from the same product line and built a larger harder to move system without losing your investment.

The subwoofer is going to be harder to move but good quality subs hold their value and if all else fails you can sell the old sub and buy a new one as you move around. A Hsu Research STF-2 sitting on an Auralex Gramma would work nice in an apartment. The gramma will help reduce, but not eliminate, the disturbance to neighbors. I'd try to save the sub's box for moving.

The receiver is personal taste. Only you know if you'll use all of the internet radio features. You may want to research international compatibility (like voltage) if there is a chance you'll go over seas for an extended amount of time.