What speakers for Yamaha 5990

[Desert Toad]

Okay, thanks to all the help from this board I just bought a Yamaha 5990 for $549. Next question: I'm building a new house, so I dont' have much of a budget. I have one of those htib units from sony that is starting to die, so I need to upgrade everything. The main purpose right now is to run all the right cables and wires for the new house with outdoor speakers. But the purpose of this post is to get the right speakers for the whole house. Maybe what I have now will work with the new receiver until I upgrade, but if anyone has an affordable idea, let me know.

I plan on two outdoor speakers for a zone 2 setup with an in-wall volume control. But what speakers and I think a wall mount rather than ceiling mount in case I change my mind.

Please ask questions....


thanks for all the input already.

DT

 

[phra8]

htr-5990

i have htr-5990 too and my speakers are Klipsch 52 serie and it sounds great.

 

[Nick250]

Okay, thanks to all the help from this board I just bought a Yamaha 5990 for $549. Next question: I'm building a new house, so I dont' have much of a budget. I have one of those htib units from sony that is starting to die, so I need to upgrade everything. The main purpose right now is to run all the right cables and wires for the new house with outdoor speakers. But the purpose of this post is to get the right speakers for the whole house. Maybe what I have now will work with the new receiver until I upgrade, but if anyone has an affordable idea, let me know.

I plan on two outdoor speakers for a zone 2 setup with an in-wall volume control. But what speakers and I think a wall mount rather than ceiling mount in case I change my mind. DT

Somebody is asleep at the switch if they suggested you buy a receiver before you figure out a whole house speaker setup. Return the 5990 if you can and revisit the issue after you get the speaker situation sorted out IMO.

Nick

 

[rexracer]

You didn't say what "not much of a budget" is, or where and how many speakers you need. Speakers will definitely run a lot more than the receiver, especially if you're doing more than one room. I'm not the most knowledgeable guy on this forum, but I did a lot of research to get the best I could out of a limited budget. I also started with the receiver (considered a no-no ) but that was mainly because I concidered it a "keeper" along with the sub I bought (HSU STF-2 ) I'm in a condo right now, so floorstanders weren't an option. For inexpensive bookshelves, I went for Infinity Primus 150's, which can be bought with a full warrantee for $120 a pair. I also considered the Athena B-1.2. I have the Infinities set up as mains right now, and the imaging and soundstage are very good. They are a bit thin on bass by themselves, but come alive with the sub. I have Onyx x-ls and -cs coming for the front 3, and expect they will be a significant step up from the Infinities, which will get moved to the rear. I consider all of these upgradeable in the future, as funds allow, and if I move into a house it will be even more likely. If I do upgrade, I can always move the Infinities into another room, or sell them, and I know I can sell the x speakers anytime I want...they're always in demand! For cables, I would check out Bluejeans cables. I bought 10g Belden wire (100ft) and terminated it myself with their locking bananas. I found their wire to be cheaper per foot than anywhere else I could find it. Good luck!

 

[rexracer]

Just re-read your post. Missed it the first time, but I do agree with Nick in that I wouldn't buy anything else before you lay out on paper what you want and where. If you're doing a whole house, that receiver may not be up to the task. If you're only doing a 5.1 and one outside zone you're probably OK. You definitely need to know how many zones, and speakers you will be running first.

 

[mazersteven]

Somebody is asleep at the switch if they suggested you buy a receiver before you figure out a whole house speaker setup. Return the 5990 if you can and revisit the issue after you get the speaker situation sorted out IMO.

Nick

I totally agree with this recommendation.

And when you state "so I dont' have much of a budget". You need to figure out what your looking for out of your system. You stated "whole house", but also "2-zone". A little confusing what your trying to do. Are you looking just to fill the room with background music?

 

[jcPanny]

Speaker Types

Toad,
I would recommend investigating the different types of speakers including bookshelf, floorstanders, in-wall, and on-wall, . Once you identify the type of speakers you are looking for and post a budget you will get plenty of suggestions. In general, a $200 pair of bookshelf speakers will sound and perform better than a $200 pair of in-wall speakers. Also, bookshelf speakers can be on stands or mounted to the wall with the right brackets.

That Yamaha receiver should have plenty of power and features for your needs.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

If you are just running a main zone and 2nd zone you will be ok with that AVR. You may even consider taking it back and getting the RX 659 which will save you 200 bucks that can be used towards your speakers. As far as speakers are concerned; we have to know your budget, the size of your listening room and your constraints.

I wouldnt get "caught up" in spending a lot of money for your outdoor speakers. I use a pair of Dual outdoor speakers that cost < $50. They sound fine for outside as it would be impossible to fill the cubic feet of the world with sound.

Just tell us everything and we can get you headed in the right direction regardless if you want to spend 300 bucks or 10,000.

 

[Desert Toad]

Okay, gang. Thanks for all the ideas. And how about this? My order was cancelled due to the unit being discontinued - so let's start over. I was planning to spend $500-700 on the receiver, and probably more than that on speakers, maybe $800-1000. But I really need this kind of help from you guys. I'm hooking this up to my Aquos flat screen, so I want the HDMI output (running all the wires in the wall of course). My living room will be 17ft wide and 15ft deep. As for speakers, I like the idea of ceiling mounts, but also think wall mounts might perform better. As for zones, I plan on surround in the living room and a pair of speakers for the back patio. Of course my wife said music in the bedroom might be nice. I noticed at onecall that the Onkyo TX-SR674 is now the best seller.

thanks,

DT

 

[Seth=L]

Okay, gang. Thanks for all the ideas. And how about this? My order was cancelled due to the unit being discontinued - so let's start over. I was planning to spend $500-700 on the receiver, and probably more than that on speakers, maybe $800-1000. But I really need this kind of help from you guys. I'm hooking this up to my Aquos flat screen, so I want the HDMI output (running all the wires in the wall of course). My living room will be 17ft wide and 15ft deep. As for speakers, I like the idea of ceiling mounts, but also think wall mounts might perform better. As for zones, I plan on surround in the living room and a pair of speakers for the back patio. Of course my wife said music in the bedroom might be nice. I noticed at onecall that the Onkyo TX-SR674 is now the best seller.

thanks,

DT

That sucks, the HTR-5990 would have been great. It has Zone 2 and 3, so you could have added a Emotiva BPA-1 for other speakers in other rooms if you needed it. That amp is inexpensive, $189 I believe, it would have served well for Zone 2 operation.

What ever you get, get a receiver that has preouts for secondary zones.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Okay, gang. Thanks for all the ideas. And how about this? My order was cancelled due to the unit being discontinued - so let's start over. I was planning to spend $500-700 on the receiver, and probably more than that on speakers, maybe $800-1000. But I really need this kind of help from you guys. I'm hooking this up to my Aquos flat screen, so I want the HDMI output (running all the wires in the wall of course). My living room will be 17ft wide and 15ft deep. As for speakers, I like the idea of ceiling mounts, but also think wall mounts might perform better. As for zones, I plan on surround in the living room and a pair of speakers for the back patio. Of course my wife said music in the bedroom might be nice. I noticed at onecall that the Onkyo TX-SR674 is now the best seller.

thanks,

DT

Ok...assuming you have 9ft ceilings, you are ~2300 cubic feet. I am still not certain that you are just running two zones but I believe that's what you are saying.

1. First pick out the most speaker your budget will allow for the mains and center. I would go with a large bookshelf or small-mid tower:

(Bookshelves are going to sound best on stands, second best on bookshelves with room behind them and worst on the wall)


Energy- great speaker
Aperion- You may like the price
Ascend- Great speaker
PSB- Image series
AV123- I like the Rockets they also have great bookshelves
Monitor Audio- RS6
Paradigm
B&W
Axiom

2. Second pick out the AVR. Remember you should spend 2-2.5 times the cost of your receiver on your "main" speakers. Any of the Onk's, Yammy, Denon, or Pioneers that are in the 100watts/ch will be fine. Just pick the one that has the options you need.

3. Get the center channel that matches your main speakers.

4. Get as much sub as you can afford. SVS or HSU are both no-brainers.

5. Get some inexpensive surround speakers

Now if you go this route you will likely go over your budget but I like this route because you can buy a few pieces at a time and keep building on it. In the end you will have a much better system and still enjoy it early on as you slowly build it.

The second route will get you a really good system within your budget.

Just purchase the SVS or HSU 5.1 systems and add the AVR or make you up a system with AV123 gear in your price range.

As far as in-wall or in-ceiling; don’t use them for your mains or center. They would be fine for the surrounds.

I would highly recommend that you listen to as many speakers as you can; you are the only one that knows how they sound to you but this should help get you started.

 

[jcPanny]

Speaker options

In your budget, the Onix X-LS bookshelf speakers would be a good option. They can be wall mounted with the appropriate brackets.

Axiom makes some good in-wall speakers but it would run close to $1k for the 5.0 speakers without a sub.

For the video, you can always connect or more HDMI soures directly to your TV. A good receiver w/out HDMI will run $3-400 vs. one with HDMI for $600+.

 

[Desert Toad]

Wow, getting information overload. All great info too. The idea of HDMI seems good to me because no matter what I've plugged into my receiver (VHS, DVD, playstation, kids plug in games, etc), I only have one cable to the tv. As for speakers, I was thinking something simple like this: http://www.brand-electronics.com/products/?product=37280

But now looking at the HSU packages perhaps this would be better: http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/performance3.html

I've also seen the Mythos wall mounted speakers as well.

Now with jc's thought of the X-LS, they seem to have great reviews. Would the X-SLS towers be good mains, and the L-LS for the rear, then add a center and a sub? The x-sls and x-ls are almost the same except bass. Perhaps a good sub and I could go with four X-LS speakers?

Currently I have a cheap HTIB from sony, perhaps the sub would work for awhile, it's a wmsp80. Probably kill it with a bigger receiver.

again - thanks for the ideas,

DT

 

[jcPanny]

Speaker options

Toad,
If you must go with satellite speakers, then the HSU package is a good option. I wouldn't recommend JBL, Pioneer, Sony, etc. Theses companies are know for electronics and not for quality speakers.

If bookshelf speakers meet your asthetic requirements then the Onix X-LS (or X-sls) package or the SVS bookshelf package are great options. Bookshelf speakers will play louder and perform much better than small satelite speakers, especially in your size room. Keep in mind you don't need to get the speakers and sub from the same manufacturer. For example, you could get the Onix X-LS with a HSU or SVS sub.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Wow, getting information overload. All great info too. The idea of HDMI seems good to me because no matter what I've plugged into my receiver (VHS, DVD, playstation, kids plug in games, etc), I only have one cable to the tv. As for speakers, I was thinking something simple like this: http://www.brand-electronics.com/products/?product=37280

But now looking at the HSU packages perhaps this would be better: http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/performance3.html

I've also seen the Mythos wall mounted speakers as well.

Now with jc's thought of the X-LS, they seem to have great reviews. Would the X-SLS towers be good mains, and the L-LS for the rear, then add a center and a sub? The x-sls and x-ls are almost the same except bass. Perhaps a good sub and I could go with four X-LS speakers?

Currently I have a cheap HTIB from sony, perhaps the sub would work for awhile, it's a wmsp80. Probably kill it with a bigger receiver.

again - thanks for the ideas,

DT

That JBL probably wont even "TOUCH" a room the size you have. It's likely to be about the same quality of your current Sony. Go with the HSU, SVS or X-LS so you only have to do this once. You may even want to consider just buying the mains and a good sub first. Use the phantom setting for your center until you can afford the center. Use your old Sony's for the surrounds (unless they are the 1.7 ohm version) I doubt that the Sony sub from your HTIB will even hook up to a real AVR and if it will; it will probably just take away from the sound of your new speakers

 

[Desert Toad]

Okay, with all this help, I can't wait to start "building" my system. I live basically in the middle of nowhere, so it's very hard to get anywhere to listen to good speakers. So what I'd like to do is go ahead and wire the new house for speakers (sheetrock in one week). What is good wire to use? My wife is talking about extra speakers in the bedroom and maybe kitchen as well as the back patio. Also, can we talk about a good receiver yet? That way I could get that ordered.

I think as Greg was saying, I'll get the mains and a good sub first, use my existing surrounds and go from there. Probably put ceiling mounts in the kitchen and bedroom because quality won't be such an issue there.

So I guess I'll take opinions on the receiver, mains, and sub. Also I do have a 9ft ceiling as someone guessed earlier. Receiver needs to handle VRC, DVD, playstation, kids plug-in games (like Scooby Doo!), Sirius, and probably a wireless feed from the computer.

But first - what and where to get speaker wire?

thanks,

DT

P.S. I love good sound and I'm sure anything you guys suggest will be better I could imagine. So I don't feel bad making a selection without listening to it.

just attached a rough drawing of the room

 

[highfihoney]

But first - what and where to get speaker wire?

RAK 32 is that you?

 

[no. 5]

I wouldn't recommend JBL... Theses companies are know for electronics and not for quality speakers.

JBL is known for electronics??

 

[ParadigmDawg]

speaker wire

But first - what and where to get speaker wire?

thanks,

DT
[/QUOTE]

You dont have to spend much money on wire or cables. Get all your cables from Monoprice or Bluejeans; both make great stuff that is very inexpensive. For in-wall speaker wire, you can just get a spool of CL-3 from Home Depot(14 ga)or order it from one of the companies I listed above. I use the Home Depot stuff and it is fine; I think I paid 80 bucks for 500 ft.

 

[jcPanny]

Westlake electronic supply

Check out the Belden speaker wire from westlake electronic supply:

14 Gauge 2 conductor = 5100UP or 5100UE
http://www.westlake-electronic.com/cgi-bin/store.php?search=yes&detail=yes&item_no=BEL-5100UE-C

14 Gauge 4 conductor = 5102UP or 5102UP
http://www.westlake-electronic.com/cgi-bin/store.php?search=Search&search_sent=1&keywords=belden+5102&category=&SUBCAT=&and=1&available_only=1

They sell by the foot and the prices are good. If shipping is cost prohibitive, the Home Depot inwall wire should work fine. Just make sure it is at least 14 AWG.