Buying my 2nd Home theater system

[hi-fi4real]

Hi, guys. Im doing my research to buy a home theater system and get a good sound to play movies tru my pc and gaming too. I have two options at the moment 'cause my budget is $ 800. Also, im a novice in this audio's world, thats why im having doubts, but i hope you can help me out. First, aint going to buy receiver and speakers separately (one by one) 'cause of my buget and i want you guys to give me advice about this two Home theaters...

1st option
Onkyo HT-S9400THX 7.1-Channel Network A/V Receiver/Speaker Package


2nd

Denon AVR-S700W 7.2-Channel Network A/V Receiver with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi

Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System

(All these from Amazon)


And guys, i'll be very thankful for your advice or any observation. Btw, im using a gpu that pass through any format of audio...

 

[GranteedEV]

My opinion?

Don't waste your time with quantity over quality. You'll get some cheap thrills from the surround effect for a couple minutes, and then you'll probably just continue on being un-amazed by all the speakers surrounding you (while the front ones anchor 90% of everything anyways).

Two good speakers will beat seven dirt cheap ones all day, every day.

If I had 800 dollars, I'd probably get:

two of these:
JBL LSR305 5" Active Studio Monitor | Sweetwater.com

At the buy one-get one half off if you buy before Sept 1st, that's < $225 for a pair of acclaimed powered studio monitors.

And one of these receivers:

MARANTZ SR5008 7.2 Network Home Theater Receiver with AirPlay | Accessories4less <-- I know it's not the cheapest receiver out there but it has preamp outputs which I find to encourage high flexibility. You're gonna need pre-outs for powered monitors.

And you're gonna be under 800 and leaving yourself open for both future upgrades (surround sound + subwoofers) and current pleasure.

I'm a gamer too, and I've got a full 7.1 system if you wanna get technical. But I'd take a solid 2.0 all day, any day over the Onkyo HTiBs you're looking at. As a rule, if you can get it all in a box, there's some serious compromises being made.

Also, If you're willing to go $75 over your budget, the LSR308s (larger, more powerful version of the above linked LSR305s, same website, same buy one get one half off deal before Sept 1) are probably a no-brainer. Two of those quality, tuned-for-pros 8 inch midwoofers are going to deliver much more accurate bass than any cheapo HTIB sub.

Actually, if the system's only really gonna connect to your PC, I think skipping a receiver for now, grabbing two LSR308s alone,

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LSR308

And one of these:

http://hifimediy.com/sabre-dac-uae23

and one of these:

https://emotiva.com/products/electronics/control-freak

Willl deliver incredible results and pass well under budget.

I know you're probably disappointed. You just want approval on the magical 7.1 for $800. I get it. I'm sorry. But a great 2.0 will truly impress you and give you the foundation for expanding to 5.1 or 7.2 or whatever in my opinion, whereas a cheap HTiB will just be a set-it-and-forget it thing that will probably rarely if ever ::impress:: you.

 

[zieglj01]

but i hope you can help me out. First, aint going to buy receiver and speakers separately (one by one) 'cause of my buget and i want you guys to give me advice about this two Home theaters...

And guys, i'll be very thankful for your advice or any observation.

My advice about your 2 options is, No - neither

My start up preference is 2.0

Boston RS334 towers - and on sale for a serious good price - and way, way better than Onkyo
Bass can go down to 40 hz in room - new in box and sold each
BOSTON ACOUSTICS RS334 Reflection Series Tower Speaker Each Black NEW | Accessories4less

Another option is for 3.0 - is the Boston M250 - also new in the box and sold each
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/bosm250ba/boston-acoustics-m250-2.5-way-floorstanding-speaker-each-black/1.html

And, 1 ea Boston M25 for the center channel
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/bosm25b/boston-acoustics-m25-2-way-5-1/4-bookshelf-speaker-black-each/1.html

Receiver................................
Denon E400 receiver
DENON AVR-E400 7.1 4K & 3D Networking Receiver Airplay | Accessories4less

If you can squeeze it - brand new here
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-E400-Integrated-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B00B7X2OTY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1409461144&sr=1-1&keywords=denon+e400

 

[herbu]

i'll be very thankful for your advice or any observation

My advice... listen to these two guys above. I started w/ a JBL HTIB. (It's stored away upstairs.) Then I upgraded to a KEF HTIB. (It's also stored away upstairs.)
The HTIBs may sound good to you until you actually hear something else. As soon as you hear a real system, or read people who keep telling you that your HTIB is weak, you'll become dissatisfied. Start w/ a good 2.0. You can grow/expand at your convenience, and simply move your first 2 speakers to the back, instead of moving them into storage.

Besides, if you go w/ the HTIB, you'll have to change your forum name, "hi-fi4real".

 

[JohnnieB]

I agree with the previous posts. Don't go quantity over quality.
Ascend Acoustics CBM 170SE's 380.00 shipped
Emotiva XDA-2 DAC 219.00
Emotiva UPA-200 299.00
Emotiva control freak, for convenient placement volume control. If you don't need it save 50 bucks.
You can also go with one of the recommended AVR's instead of the separates route. The CBM 170 make excellent near field monitors and can be put to the rear channels in a surround setup.

That's just under 900.00 and all of it can be allocated to a different duty when you expand the system.

If I were stuck on the idea of the two HTIB's, I would probably go with Denon.

You are of course free to go which ever route you wish, this is just food for thought.

 

[hi-fi4real]

Thanks guys, i learned a lot in this few minutes reading your comments. And im thinking that i ll go for a 2.0 audio system and then propably ask again for your help to expand it.

 

[GranteedEV]

Jump on that JBL LSR308 deal! Today's the last day on some fantastic powered monitors. And if you wanna use your PC motherboard / volume control, you can do that too, temporarily - avoiding any other purchases besides the speakers as you gather your thoughts.

 

[hi-fi4real]

My opinion?

Don't waste your time with quantity over quality. You'll get some cheap thrills from the surround effect for a couple minutes, and then you'll probably just continue on being un-amazed by all the speakers surrounding you (while the front ones anchor 90% of everything anyways).

Two good speakers will beat seven dirt cheap ones all day, every day.

If I had 800 dollars, I'd probably get:

two of these:


At the buy one-get one half off if you buy before Sept 1st, that's < $225 for a pair of acclaimed powered studio monitors.

And one of these receivers:

MARANTZ SR5008 7.2 Network Home Theater Receiver with AirPlay | Accessories4less[/URL] <-- I know it's not the cheapest receiver out there but it has preamp outputs which I find to encourage high flexibility. You're gonna need pre-outs for powered monitors.

And you're gonna be under 800 and leaving yourself open for both future upgrades (surround sound + subwoofers) and current pleasure.

I'm a gamer too, and I've got a full 7.1 system if you wanna get technical. But I'd take a solid 2.0 all day, any day over the Onkyo HTiBs you're looking at. As a rule, if you can get it all in a box, there's some serious compromises being made.

Also, If you're willing to go $75 over your budget, the LSR308s (larger, more powerful version of the above linked LSR305s, same website, same buy one get one half off deal before Sept 1) are probably a no-brainer. Two of those quality, tuned-for-pros 8 inch midwoofers are going to deliver much more accurate bass than any cheapo HTIB sub.

Actually, if the system's only really gonna connect to your PC, I think skipping a receiver for now, grabbing two LSR308s alone,



And one of these:



and one of these:



Willl deliver incredible results and pass well under budget.

I know you're probably disappointed. You just want approval on the magical 7.1 for $800. I get it. I'm sorry. But a great 2.0 will truly impress you and give you the foundation for expanding to 5.1 or 7.2 or whatever in my opinion, whereas a cheap HTiB will just be a set-it-and-forget it thing that will probably rarely if ever ::impress:: you.

Thanks for being so honest, i just want to be instructed in this field. However, i need a receiver to connect this one to my hd tv and watch my movies (my pc to the receiver then to my tv). And the things i would like to do with the home theater is to get dts, DD, DTS HD and Dolby True HD. Im highly interesting in the speakers that you posted : JBL LSR305 (A pair) But then how do i connect this to my receiver.

If you show me how, i ll go for this purchase but with a receiver that cost no more than 400 bucks, with the speakers of course. TY

 

[hi-fi4real]

My advice about your 2 options is, No - neither

My start up preference is 2.0

Boston RS334 towers - and on sale for a serious good price - and way, way better than Onkyo
Bass can go down to 40 hz in room - new in box and sold each
]BOSTON ACOUSTICS RS334 Reflection Series Tower Speaker Each Black NEW | Accessories4less[/URL]

Another option is for 3.0 - is the Boston M250 - also new in the box and sold each


And, 1 ea Boston M25 for the center channel


Receiver................................
Denon E400 receiver


If you can squeeze it - brand new here

Thanks, pal. Aint going for tower speakers at this moment but i got available this pair ( a friend will sell it to me): Pioneer SP-FS52-LR Andrew Jones Designed Floor standing Loudspeaker with the following receivers:

Denon AVR-S500BT 5.2
Denon AVR-E400 7.1

What do you think?

 

[GranteedEV]

Thanks for being so honest, i just want to be instructed in this field. However, i need a receiver to connect this one to my hd tv and watch my movies (my pc to the receiver then to my tv). And the things i would like to do with the home theater is to get dts, DD, DTS HD and Dolby True HD. Im highly interesting in the speakers that you posted : JBL LSR305 (A pair) But then how do i connect this to my receiver.

If you show me how, i ll go for this purchase but with a receiver that cost no more than 400 bucks with the speakers, of course. TY

Powered loudspeakers like these require an analog line-level input such as the RCA. Most low quality receivers eschew pre-amplifier outputs to cut corners. The receiver I linked however (Marantz SR5008) is one that does have pre-outs, and setup will be a cinch. Even at 500 dollars you're still under your 800 budget. The benefit of powered speakers is that when you do add surrounds, they can draw the full amplifier power of your receiver instead of sharing it with your fronts. The Emotiva Fusion 8100 is another receiver with pre-outs. I believe Yamaha receivers may have them too,but i'm unfamiliar with their lineup. Either way I always recommend receivers with preouts one way or another, because often the amp sections in low-price receivers lose composure with many speakers, and it's easier to add a dedicated outbound amp via pre-outs than to have to replace the entire receiver just to get adequate power.

All that said, i'm not sure you "need" a receiver as you believe you do. You can easily output video via HDMI and audio via analog through most sources including PC and PS3, and it's even possible your TV has stereo RCA outputs built-in. Either way, you can always get a receiver with pre-outs after trying out no-receiver. Remember that DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD at the end of the day are just compression formats. Most players will decompress this to analog or LPCM without you ever bitstreaming it to the receiver.

 

[hi-fi4real]

Powered loudspeakers like these require an analog line-level input such as the RCA. Most low quality receivers eschew pre-amplifier outputs to cut corners. The receiver I linked however (Marantz SR5008) is one that does have pre-outs, and setup will be a cinch. Even at 500 dollars you're still under your 800 budget. The benefit of powered speakers is that when you do add surrounds, they can draw the full amplifier power of your receiver instead of sharing it with your fronts. The Emotiva Fusion 8100 is another receiver with pre-outs. I believe Yamaha receivers may have them too,but i'm unfamiliar with their lineup. Either way I always recommend receivers with preouts one way or another, because often the amp sections in low-price receivers lose composure with many speakers, and it's easier to add a dedicated outbound amp via pre-outs than to have to replace the entire receiver just to get adequate power.

All that said, i'm not sure you "need" a receiver as you believe you do. You can easily output video via HDMI and audio via analog through most sources including PC and PS3, and it's even possible your TV has stereo RCA outputs built-in. Either way, you can always get a receiver with pre-outs after trying out no-receiver. Remember that DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD at the end of the day are just compression formats. Most players will decompress this to analog or LPCM without you ever bitstreaming it to the receiver.

Ok. But my Tv doesnt have a hmdi arc so ill have to get the sound from my pc. So, if i use a sound card with pre outs and connected the speakers in it. Do i ll get dolby at least? And if isnt necessary to buy a receiver, can you link me or tell me the types of plugs to connect the speakers to my computer (An XLR to RCA cable?). Please? I know im such a noob XD. If i unmarked the receiver on my list, i ll be able to buy these pair JBL Pro LSR308.

Btw, what would be the advantage of buying a receiver? i mean, sounds better? You know, in this case...

Thanks again, m8.

 

[GranteedEV]

Ok. But my Tv doesnt have a hmdi arc so ill have to get the sound from my pc.

HDMI ARC is not necessary. If you're worried about lip-sync issues, I'd say they're insignificant in most cases.

<quote>

So, if i use a sound card with pre outs and connected the speakers in it. Do i ll get dolby at least? And if isnt necessary to buy a receiver, can you link me or tell me the types of plugs to connect the speakers to my computer (An XLR to RCA cable?). Please? I know im such a noob XD. If i unmarked the receiver on my list, i ll be able to buy these pair JBL Pro LSR308.

Dolby is merely software, and can be decoded by anything with the processing to do it. Something like the Combined Community Codec Pack will decode pretty much anything. Try downloading it. Do remember that you need to set up downmixing for surround formats down to 2.0 (this can be done easily in the FFDshow settings, which is part of the aformentioned CCCP) until you decide to add more speakers to your setup.

<quote>

Btw, what would be the advantage of buying a receiver? i mean, sounds better?

A good receiver should allow for

- amplification for passive loudspeakers. The JBLs have built-in amps, but pretty much most hi-fi speakers do not.
- Source switching without walking over and changing wires. If you have like six things set up, you don't want to do this all the time. If you're only using one source, then it's inconsequential.
- lower noise floor (as far as a sound card goes, external USB stuff is generally preferred for this same reason)
- remote control
- level setting (more useful for surround application than for stereo)
- allows for a subwoofer (I recommend eventually getting multiple subwoofers when budget )
- higher pre-out voltage than built-in outputs - this means you can use less gain and thus lower your system noise floor


All of those things can often be pretty minor though, and I could easily live without a receiver. My desktop computer setup with EMP E41-B powered by a Dayton DTA-1 amp actually uses A PC sound card (an old creative Soundblaster Audigy I can't bring myself to throw away). The raised noise floor is only a concern when I want to turn the volume wayyy up, but I recommend feeling your way through an analog setup anyways. Research which receiver appeals to you, all that good stuff in the mean time.

In my original post i linked a volume control and a usb dac. this combination should address the noise floor issue, although a receiver or even dedicated pre-processor might appeal to you more for the other features. I'm not against receivers - I think they're nice to have. But speakers are always going to be the dominant trait of any good setup.
</quote></quote>

 

[zieglj01]

Thanks, pal. Aint going for tower speakers at this moment but i got available this pair ( a friend will sell it to me): Pioneer SP-FS52-LR Andrew Jones Designed Floor standing Loudspeaker with the following receivers:

Denon AVR-S500BT 5.2
Denon AVR-E400 7.1

What do you think?

Your not going for tower speakers? Yet you are looking at your friend's Pioneer FS52, that is also a tower speaker

The Pioneer is more minor league sound wise, compared to the Boston speakers.

You want a nice bookshelf that can sound good, with the Denon E400 - then a pair of the Boston M25 - even get another
one for a center channel. Remember they are sold each
BOSTON ACOUSTICS M25 2-way 5 1/4" Bookshelf Speaker Black Each | Accessories4less

Your call on what direction you take - with going passive or active

 

[GranteedEV]

I noticed that the link in my original post wasn't working correctly and linked to a pricier DAC that I had originally posted in poor judgement due to its sale price savings. Reposting the link so that it actually links to the correct DAC:

HiFimeDIY Sabre USB DAC ES9023 96Khz/24bit

 

[JohnnieB]

Perhaps I missed this but, is this surround system going to be setup near field around your computer or will it be in a large area such as your living room?

Also, the Pioneer are not the creme' de la creme' of loudspeakers, but at their price, they can be a great way to stay on budget. Mate them with a respectable sub and you got pretty decent sound. I've seen them as low as 60.00 for a pair of towers.