Building an A/V system and what I'm working with

[1leggedduck]

I've got the last kid almost to the door and now I can start having nice things again. The last time I was really proud of my stereo, I had a Sansui receiver, Technics table, and Cerwin Vegas shaking the floor joists.

I have a Bic F12 sub and a Bic 514 center on the way. I know I could spend more and get better speakers, but I don't think I could spend less or the same and get nearly as good speakers. For now, these will be driven by a Yamaha 377. For the two fronts, I plan on using old Pioneer 303s I have had for about 24 years.

When my checking account rebounds from the sub, center and receiver purchases, I will replace these. In the meantime, what do I have with these? I know they are not great speakers, but have always sounded o.k. with cd player or even as stereo for TV. Anyone have any experience with these particular Pioneers?

I also plan on replacing these with Bic towers at some point. Which are the best for my application?

Thank you folks for any input.

 

[rojo]

Hello Mr. Duck, welcome, and sorry about your leg. But congratulations on your new AV room when the last kid moves out!

Let me preface this by saying I hope I don't come across as disrespectful. I am genuinely glad you stopped by and joined our obsession with audiophilia, and I hope you stick around.

There are some things that are impossible to describe effectively with text. What I recommend is to get out from in front of the keyboard and go to a brick and mortar high end audio shop (not a chain like Best Buy or HH Gregg, but some place locally owned). Take some music and maybe a movie or two with you that you enjoy. Tell them your Internet friends said they (the audio shop guys) could probably let you hear something amazing that you might not have heard before. Trust me, they love to show off and will be glad you asked.

These days, shaking the floor joists isn't terribly difficult. Such brute force is not even always desired. On the other hand, musicality and finesse, tonal clarity, accurate sound stage, an enveloping sweet spot... that's what I'd like you to hear. Unfortunately, my words can't do the emotion justice. It's the sort of thing you really ought to experience in person. There have been a lot of improvements not only to electronics, but also to speakers since your Cerwin Vega days. And if you don't hear what I'm talking about, then your current plan is a good one.

After all, it's the enjoyment and satisfaction with your setup that is the common goal.

In the meantime, be sure to configure your receiver to play those Pioneers as "small". With only a 60w max rating, I worry about bass leaking into the tweets and blowing them if you aren't careful.

In any case, we'd love to see pics of your system as a work in progress and when completed.

 

[1leggedduck]

I get it. I've been into the "Magnolia" room at Bestbuy and I understand that what they are selling, for the most part, is still mass consumption equipment. You folks are different in that audio is THE thing on which you expend expendable income, and less than excellent is unacceptable to you. I can't afford that. At least, not at present. I'm trying to put together something better than the routine sales floor stuff at Bestbuy. That's why I went with the Bic stuff. It isn't true audiophile quality, but it sounds better than a lot of equipment in the same or slightly higher price point. I appreciate the advice on setting the fronts as "small" to keep the umph out of the tweeters. However, me posting here is like showing up in a Pinto at a Pony Car rally. Everyone else is driving a vintage mustang. Am I wrong?

 

[rojo]

Mmmm, I can't say I agree. I'd say a good part of the community here is all about bargains. For myself, my bookshelf speakers were closeout liquidation, my first sub and center channel were store demos, my second sub was a Craigslist find, my receiver is a refurb.... You'll also find many people who build their own speakers from kits, and some from scratch. But it's true that upgrade-itis is pretty rampant around here. (I just won an eBay auction for an older MB Quart Center at a great price a few days ago.)

We're a diverse community bound together by a love of sound. Bring on your Pinto. My Mustang is a fourth-owner secretary model. We'll both admire Eleanor as she drives by, but we'll enjoy our rides home nevertheless.

I apologize for seeming elitist in my last post. I still believe a trip to an audio shop would be worthwhile. You might leave with a different goal than when you arrived. Then again, you might not. Either way, it'll be an experience.

Sent from my LG-VS980 using Tapatalk

 

[zieglj01]

I get it. I've been into the "Magnolia" room at Bestbuy and I understand that what they are selling, for the most part, is still mass consumption equipment. You folks are different in that audio is THE thing on which you expend expendable income, and less than excellent is unacceptable to you. I can't afford that. At least, not at present. I'm trying to put together something better than the routine sales floor stuff at Bestbuy. That's why I went with the Bic stuff.

Mercy, I have been around and toyed with a lot of speakers. You can do better than Bic.
You just need to know how to find (fish) for good deals.

However, your call

 

[JohnnieB]

Having heard as many different brands of speaker as you can come across and then having a solid budget in mind will help narrow down your search. I too used to run CV and for what they were I loved em'. I now find myself in a whole new world of sound I didn't even know existed. I got here for much less than I thought it would take. Pretty much all thanks to people on this forum. Yeah some on this thread are total audiophiles, with more money in their system than I have in all my toys put together. Some, however, do not.

BTW welcome to the forum.

 

[1leggedduck]

Allow me to apologize for my smart ***. I think maybe I will back up, read a lot of these threads and try to learn some things. For the den A/V system I'm going to go pretty conservative. Maybe I'll learn enough to create an audio system that takes my breath away. I appreciate the friendliness.