1st upgrade in nearly 2 decades

[OneBgBdArtemis]

LMAO, priceless! Yeah I'm really liking those and the specs are the same as their traditional styles, but the cylinders would really tie everything together being that it looks like a smaller tower! Hmmmmmm.....choices choices choices. I DO however, really like those HSUs. Well, I'll start with a receiver first and go from there.

 

[2channel lover]

Actually I love the speakers I have. I mean, the fidelity is pretty high, which I expect when listening to music, and theye are the black walnut withe sliver (gray) grilles. Wow, I didn't realize an 8" was small for this small living space. Maybe a 10", or go to a 12"? Not really too concerned with the surround ones at this point, as really they only serve to carry ambient sound cued to visuals in movies and games. Of course if I find a good deal then sure I'll go ahead and upgrade.
Unfortunately, no, where I live, audio is stuck in the 18th century and even best buy, which I haven't stepped foot in in 12 years or more not only doesn't have sound booths, but no one who knows what they're talking about except to be the face of best buy and sell sell sell. That's my biggest issue, although, as I stated earlier, I love my Infinity's. Is Velodyne still a good brand of sub or should I consider something else?

So far so good on the responses.

I went thru very much the same thing a little over a year ago...most of my A/V system was over 20 yrs old and largely outdated so I took a ground up approach. I'm a little older than you and felt like this would probably be the last time I do this so I didn't want to short change myself, particularly on the audio side.

Speakers...imo they still are the hallmark of any audio system. I had a pair of B&W 800 (804 matrix) and for 21-22 yrs they were the only speakers I really did any critical listening with.

Once a great speaker always a great speaker. There's a lot of truth in that statement, but I assumed technology has had some impact on loudspeakers the last 20 yrs so I ventured out to hear the new B&W 800 series (804D3) among others....the newer speakers did sound different, in some cases better namely the midrange. The tweeters had definitely been dialed up since my speakers were built. Long story short I listened to maybe a dozen floorstanding speakers and ultimately bought a pair that are far more accurate than my old speaker.

So....my point here is of course your Infinity speaker sound good, that's what you've been listening to for 20 yrs....give them a modern reference by listening to a new pair. You may end up keeping what you have, but you may not. Although I'm a big fan of full range speakers, most all need a sub to produce movie like bass so you don't be overly tied to floor standers...if the sound quality means more than shear volume, a great set of bookshelf speakers on stands with a sub can be very rewarding for the type music you like.

Subs...they are light years better than the stuff we have back in the mid 90s...faster, easier to blend into your L & R speakers.

Good luck with it!

 

[OneBgBdArtemis]

I would love to listen to some modern Infinity's and even other brands. Problem is, not only do we live in a time capsule area, most people out here think Polk is the bar! I need to see about a trip to OKC and even Albuquerque. Thank you for the advice on that, I will follow up on it, soon.

 

[Drunkpenguin]

Im in the same boat. A boat lost at sea back in the 50's I think.

Many of the internet direct companies that have been listed offer in home trials. Dont like em, send em back, no questions asked. Some of them like SVS even pay for the return shipping.

 

[OneBgBdArtemis]

Hmmmm, I will have to look into that. Ty

 

[OneBgBdArtemis]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I already have the receiver saved and ready to purchase next week. Denon 3400, as suggested. Just the fact that it has 8 HDMI inputs pretty much sold me! After that it's the sub, and then on to the rear and side surrounds

 

[OneBgBdArtemis]

Ok, so, HSU ULS-15 MK2 Subwoofer and Denon AVRX2400H are on the way. The 3400 had features I haven't and won't use. Now I am in need of some advice on 4 surround sound sound speakers. I believe I have the option of wireless on the 2400 so that's a consideration but wired is perfectly fine with me.

 

[-Jim-]

Ok, so, HSU ULS-15 MK2 Subwoofer and Denon AVRX2400H are on the way. The 3400 had features I haven't and won't use. Now I am in need of some advice on 4 surround sound sound speakers. I believe I have the option of wireless on the 2400 so that's a consideration but wired is perfectly fine with me.

Double check the wireless option for connecting the surrounds. My understanding is they need to be hard wired.

 

[shadyJ]

Ok, so, HSU ULS-15 MK2 Subwoofer and Denon AVRX2400H are on the way. The 3400 had features I haven't and won't use. Now I am in need of some advice on 4 surround sound sound speakers. I believe I have the option of wireless on the 2400 so that's a consideration but wired is perfectly fine with me.

I haven't checked but I wouldn't think the 2400 would have some built-in support for wireless signal transmission to surrounds. If you want to use a wireless transmitter, you will need to get an AVR with pre-outs. As for surrounds, I would just look at some decent bookshelf speakers. Tower speakers work too, depending on your room arrangement and seating. I don't think you have to spend big bucks here either. There are lots of good choices in this range. Paradigm, Ascend Acoustics, RSL, Hsu Research, SVS, Klipsch, JBL, Philharmonic, and many more. What kind of budget do you have for surrounds? How to you intend to mount them- wall-mount or stand-mount?

 

[-Jim-]

Gents,

To get Pre-Outs you need to move up to at least the Denon AVRX3400H .

 

[OneBgBdArtemis]

I will be setting the two side ones on matching end tables we have on each side of the couch and the 2 rear ones I will be setting at the top couch level on book cases I have behind the couch.
After extensive research I settled on Klipsch RM14s, they were a good price on Amazon too so I went ahead and got two pair. I had been looking a some physically smaller Polks, but the Klipsch were overall a better speaker and less money to boot.
I will be hard wiring these as I am a firm believer that there is signal loss (degredation) in wireless, it was just an option if I needed it. And even then I think I'd have still tried to stay the hardwire route.

 

[KEW]

Ok, so, I am going to consider myself a newb when it comes to home theatre systems. I really need some help and guidance.
Some background; I am 47, have ALWAYS valued acoustical quality over volume. Hell, I even majored in music in high school, so that should tell you what I value. I built my first home theatre setup in '97, with a receiver change in '02 and a myriad of tvs!
First I'll list the components and then what I use it for.
Receiver-Sony STR-DE895, '02 model.
Speakers-Infinity IL40 tower speakers, Infinity IL25C center channel and Velodyne CT-80 subwoofer.
TV-Samsung QN65Q7CAM
Surround back are just some cheapy book shelf speakers....and they're on bookshelves!
So, the question phase with some info inserted for reference
I use this system for movie watching, playing XBox (38 year-long gamer) and listening to music.
What is the best way to send audio to receiver? (Meaning new one to be purchased) I currently have all units running fiber optic, mainly because receiver has NO HDMI ports, and I am a firm believer that the fewer connections in between destination means better quality for both audio and video. Or is technology so good now that it doesn't matter?
When a new receiver is purchased, obviously it'll have HDMI ports. Is it better to use these for audio and video or is it better to take video straight to TV and then run one HDMI to new receiver?
How are these old Infinity speakers compared to newer brands, or older brands with newer tech?
The living room that this set-up is in is @25' X 30' with couch being 10' from TV and front speakers.
I'm not looking for loudness, leave that to Polk Audio. I'm looking for fidelity for all three of the aforementioned activities.
Any help and input is greatly appreciated. This is one area I've obviously failed to keep up on and it's time to move into the new century!
As a side note, very important....I have Dish, XBox One, XBox 360, XBox, PS3 and an HD 4K blu-ray player, so that's 6 HDMI's. Can you guess which one is cheated?

I would want to at least listen to a few modern speakers to see.
Your preference in sound is somewhat unique to you, so there are no real rules to live by.
Where do you live?
If in the Atlanta area, I can bring over some Philharmonic BMR's that you can compare to your old Infinity's!
If you are near DC, you can drop by the guy who makes these wonderful speakers.

 

[-Jim-]

Now you may want to consider what source material to use on the new system. Use HDMI cables to get the best audio formats, and of course you'll probably look for a BluRay player. Possibly a 4K version if you plan to go to that format. I know disks are on the wane, but some of us still prefer them for superior audio and video quality. I'm a bit of a nut for Concert Disks and BluRays are the best way to get lossless sound (versus DVD).

 

[KenM10759]

If those are the R14-M that you bought, the reason they're so cheap is that they've been upgraded to better models...twice. For some people (I am one) they're known to have very bright tweeters.

Good luck with them.