My first HT

[bass addict]

Mix and match my views as you need, but IMO if you want a great movie experience you need an amazing sub!

The center channel and sub are probably the two most critical pieces in a HT audio setup where movies are the main concern, IMO.

 

[andyj]

Thank you. It was very helpfull. The problem is I like to listen to music and watch movies. I understand that I should spend most money on two front speakers and the sub. Is not center speaker important for movies?

 

[andyj]

Thank you. It's just what I thought. What about music DVD's? What speakers make them amazing?

 

[mazersteven]

Thank you. It's just what I thought. What about music DVD's? What speakers make them amazing?

Your main left and right speakers.

 

[avaserfi]

Thank you. It's just what I thought. What about music DVD's? What speakers make them amazing?

Music DVDs will fall under the same principal as 2 channel music because most of the time they won't make hugely great use of the surrounds.

You seem very conflicted about where your money should go. Have you thought about perhaps slowly upgrading to get the best sound quality you can? If you do this I would recommend buying 2 good speakers and a capable receiver first. Then I would recommend buying a center and subwoofer. Lastly, you can buy two more speakers now here is where it can get interesting. If you wish you can buy two great speakers and move your original two to surround duty or just buy something for strictly surround duty.

If you do this you will be able to stretch your budget farther and get greater sound quality in every area.

 

[bass addict]

Well we seem to have been all over the board, lol. Here is my recommendation piecing together all the information you have given us.

Budget 3,000.

Mains: Axiom M60 V2 - 990.00 shipped
Center: Axiom VP150 V2 - 408.00 shipped
Receiver: Onkyo 805 - 850.00
Sub: SVS 20-39PC+ - 950.00 shipped

Total 3198.00

Here is my reasoning. You mention you like music loud as well as the fact you are already looking at Klipsch. The Axiom M60's are a very accurate speaker. They are as at home playing an Alison Krause SACD as they are transporting you to the Colosseum in Gladiator. I had my M60's hooked up to a Cinenova Grande at reference and they never broke a sweat. They are also a lot less fatiguing that Klipsch's IMO. The VP150 is a beast for HT duty. When 70% of your action in movies comes from the center channel, you better have one that can stand up to the torture. The 150 does it in spades. The other nice thing is you can order the QS8 surrounds down the road to timbre match all the speakers. The QS8's are a quad polar speaker which work extremely well in a HT environment. I use mine for multi channel music as well, even though most advise using direct radiating, and have been thoroughly impressed. Axiom also gives you a 30 day trial period to test them in your own home. All you're out is the return shipping. The SVS cylinder subs, if not having to pass WAF, are outstanding for both music and HT. The 20hz version does it all well. Very accurate with no audible distortion. It should play down to 16 or so hz factoring room gain. It will cover all musical instruments, excluding maybe the lowest key on a pipe organ, and shine for HT duty. The only reservations I have on the 805 Onkyo is if you are a videophile and are looking for the best possible picture. If so I would highly recommend the 875 with the Reon processor which will set you back a cool 1300, obviously changing your budget restrictions but will upscale all signals up to 1080p with razor precision. I would recommend the Onkyo over the Denon due to the extra features it offers for the price. I have been a Denon fan for years but switched to the Onkyo 875 this year due to the Reon and couldn't be happier. The 805 is the least expensive THX ultra 2 certified receiver out there. It includes HDMI 1.3, 130 watts per channel, and a host of options to help you get the most out of your HT, music experience.

This is my opinion and you know what people say about opinions.

 

[andyj]

Well we seem to have been all over the board, lol. Here is my recommendation piecing together all the information you have given us.

Budget 3,000.

Mains: Axiom M60 V2 - 990.00 shipped
Center: Axiom VP150 V2 - 408.00 shipped
Receiver: Onkyo 805 - 850.00
Sub: SVS 20-39PC+ - 950.00 shipped

Total 3198.00

Here is my reasoning. You mention you like music loud as well as the fact you are already looking at Klipsch. The Axiom M60's are a very accurate speaker. They are as at home playing an Alison Krause SACD as they are transporting you to the Colosseum in Gladiator. I had my M60's hooked up to a Cinenova Grande at reference and they never broke a sweat. They are also a lot less fatiguing that Klipsch's IMO. The VP150 is a beast for HT duty. When 70% of your action in movies comes from the center channel, you better have one that can stand up to the torture. The 150 does it in spades. The other nice thing is you can order the QS8 surrounds down the road to timbre match all the speakers. The QS8's are a quad polar speaker which work extremely well in a HT environment. I use mine for multi channel music as well, even though most advise using direct radiating, and have been thoroughly impressed. Axiom also gives you a 30 day trial period to test them in your own home. All you're out is the return shipping. The SVS cylinder subs, if not having to pass WAF, are outstanding for both music and HT. The 20hz version does it all well. Very accurate with no audible distortion. It should play down to 16 or so hz factoring room gain. It will cover all musical instruments, excluding maybe the lowest key on a pipe organ, and shine for HT duty. The only reservations I have on the 805 Onkyo is if you are a videophile and are looking for the best possible picture. If so I would highly recommend the 875 with the Reon processor which will set you back a cool 1300, obviously changing your budget restrictions but will upscale all signals up to 1080p with razor precision. I would recommend the Onkyo over the Denon due to the extra features it offers for the price. I have been a Denon fan for years but switched to the Onkyo 875 this year due to the Reon and couldn't be happier. The 805 is the least expensive THX ultra 2 certified receiver out there. It includes HDMI 1.3, 130 watts per channel, and a host of options to help you get the most out of your HT, music experience.

This is my opinion and you know what people say about opinions.

"BASS" you gave me what I was looking for. Now I have all components of my new HT. The budget is different than I mentioned in my first request. I was planning to spend $3,000 but you want me to spend $4,400. Let me show you prices I found online:
Axiom M60 V2 - 990.-
Axiom VP150 V2 - 408.-
Onkyo 857 - 1.500.-
SVS 20-39 PC - 950
QS2 - 540.-
Total 4.388.-
Do you think these prices are reasonable? Can I buy them chipper on other websides? Please let me know. I will go for it because I trust you. I read your reasons and they are very convincing. I also checked all the specifications and opinions and they are great. I just don't know how I will explain to my wife lack of cash on my bank account. I cannot wait to hear this system. It must be great. What about wires and cables. Could you tell me please with all the details what kind of wires and cables I need and where to buy them. One more request. DVD player. Should be HD or Blue Ray DVD. I don't know if I spelled them correctly. Is OPPO 981 HD a good choice? Thanks again.

 

[bass addict]

"BASS" you gave me what I was looking for. Now I have all components of my new HT. The budget is different than I mentioned in my first request. I was planning to spend $3,000 but you want me to spend $4,400. Let me show you prices I found online:
Axiom M60 V2 - 990.-
Axiom VP150 V2 - 408.-
Onkyo 857 - 1.500.-
SVS 20-39 PC - 950
QS2 - 540.-
Total 4.388.-
Do you think these prices are reasonable? Can I buy them chipper on other websides? Please let me know.

The Onkyo 875 can be purchased around 1400.00 if you search around. One Call had them for around this price. They are still pretty tough to find in stock at this point. I have an 875 with about 4 hrs use on it that I am selling on Audiogon for 1300.00+ shipping as I just purchased the Onkyo 905 for the music streaming and dual HDMI outs (insert shameless plug here, lol). If you don't need the Reon the 805 is the better way to go. They are virtually identical receivers other than that, and the 875's ten more watts per channel. If all of your sources are hi def than the 875 is not needed. If you still watch SD DVD's and sat sources the 875 really makes a big improvement.

I will go for it because I trust you. I read your reasons and they are very convincing. I also checked all the specifications and opinions and they are great.

While I sincerely appreciate your confidence I will reiterate, this is only my opinion. Everyone's preference varies. I gave this recommendation based on what you have been looking at and your current budget. There are obviously a million other ways to go about spending your money. I am running the exact same setup and am extremely pleased, I feel you will be also.

I just don't know how I will explain to my wife lack of cash on my bank account. I cannot wait to hear this system. It must be great.

Welcome to hometheaterupgradeitis. My wife gave up on me long ago.

What about wires and cables. Could you tell me please with all the details what kind of wires and cables I need and where to buy them.

For cables you don't need to spend a fortune. I would look at bluejeanscable, and monoprice. These will do everything you need them to do for half the price of the bigname one's.

One more request. DVD player. Should be HD or Blue Ray DVD. I don't know if I spelled them correctly. Is OPPO 981 HD a good choice? Thanks again.

Once again this is up to you. Without getting into a format was I really would look into hi def players. The Toshiba HDA2 can be had for around 200 dollars and not only can it play HD DVD's it is an outstanding upconverting player. So you get the best of both worlds. If you want to get into BR you are going to have to up the ante a little. The least expensive BR player right now seems to be either the new Sony or the PS3. Don't forget to keep an eye on the used market as well. Many of these components can be had for considerably less than new. Audiogon and Videogon is a great site to browse through.

Good luck in putting together your new system. Let us know how it goes.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Talk to Axiom about a "group discount" and you will likley get a better deal on the speakers. For wire and cables use monoprice or bluejeans. The Oppo is not a HD player so you need a HD DVD or BR player if you want high def. The PQ is the same in either, the HD DVD is the cheapest but if you game then a PS3 is a great option for BR.

 

[rnatalli]

I just don't know how I will explain to my wife lack of cash on my bank account.

Tell her you're feeling depressed and average and the shrink bills will cost more than the cost of the system you're considering which will not only fix the problem, it'll do it quick

 

[bass addict]

Talk to Axiom about a "group discount" and you will likley get a better deal on the speakers.

If you order 5 at a time they give you a 5% discount. You can also look at their B stock page which is another 5% off each item you purchase. So if you could purchase a package of B stock speakers you would get a total of 10% off.

 

[andyj]

You got me again. Could you explain to me if I have HD cable signal and HD DVD player I still need 875 or 805 will work fine. There is about $650 difference. I don't want to pay for something I don't need. So if when I watch HD movies on HD DVD Toshiba the picture quality will be the same using 857 and 805. I don't know what Reon is for. Please use simple language to explain to me this dillema.

 

[andyj]

If you order 5 at a time they give you a 5% discount. You can also look at their B stock page which is another 5% off each item you purchase. So if you could purchase a package of B stock speakers you would get a total of 10% off.

Do I have to call them to get 5% or 10% discount?

 

[andyj]

Do I have to call them to get 5% or 10% discount?

Forget about this question. I already figured that out how to get 15% discount.

 

[bass addict]

You got me again. Could you explain to me if I have HD cable signal and HD DVD player I still need 875 or 805 will work fine. There is about $650 difference. I don't want to pay for something I don't need. So if when I watch HD movies on HD DVD Toshiba the picture quality will be the same using 857 and 805. I don't know what Reon is for. Please use simple language to explain to me this dillema.

When I'm talking about SD cable, I am referring to your typical cable/sat feed. If you watch a lot of tv it is generally all in standard definition.

Your TV has a built in scaler/deinterlacer. What is happening on your 1080p tv is whatever signal you are feeding it (480p, 720p, 1080i) is being deinterlaced/upscaled by your TV. The problem is a lot of tv's don't handle this process properly, thus introducing (jaggies, etc.) to the picture. The Reon is a state of the art video converter which does a significantly better job upscaling/deinterlacing than your TV. Example: you would feed the Reon a 480p signal off a SD DVD, which would then upscale it to 1080p your display thus preventing the display from doing it. By doing this you are going to get a much cleaner picture, more free of artifacts, as opposed to doing it the other way.

If your main source is hi def the Reon is not necessarily needed. You can let the player do the deinterlacing (what is generally recommended), and have it sent directly to the display (sent unaltered through your receiver, which on 1080p material you don't have an option anyways as the Reon will not apply processing to that type of signal).

In my case I have a 720p PJ. I have found that when send a 1080p/i signal I get jaggies in my picture. So I have the players output the native format and let the Reon do the heavy lifting handling all the conversions.

HTH

 

[andyj]

When I'm talking about SD cable, I am referring to your typical cable/sat feed. If you watch a lot of tv it is generally all in standard definition.

Your TV has a built in scaler/deinterlacer. What is happening on your 1080p tv is whatever signal you are feeding it (480p, 720p, 1080i) is being deinterlaced/upscaled by your TV. The problem is a lot of tv's don't handle this process properly, thus introducing (jaggies, etc.) to the picture. The Reon is a state of the art video converter which does a significantly better job upscaling/deinterlacing than your TV. Example: you would feed the Reon a 480p signal off a SD DVD, which would then upscale it to 1080p your display thus preventing the display from doing it. By doing this you are going to get a much cleaner picture, more free of artifacts, as opposed to doing it the other way.

If your main source is hi def the Reon is not necessarily needed. You can let the player do the deinterlacing (what is generally recommended), and have it sent directly to the display (sent unaltered through your receiver, which on 1080p material you don't have an option anyways as the Reon will not apply processing to that type of signal).

In my case I have a 720p PJ. I have found that when send a 1080p/i signal I get jaggies in my picture. So I have the players output the native format and let the Reon do the heavy lifting handling all the conversions.

HTH

One more question. If I buy Onkyo 805 I will save about $650. Buying M80 instead of M60 would make any difference for my ears? Does Onkyo 805 will supply enough watts to make M80 sounds mutch better than M60? Is it worth it?

 

[ParadigmDawg]

You are just dying to spend all your money...huh...

The Onk will likley power the 4 ohm 80's ok but they would prefer an external amp. I would stick with the 60's.

One more question. If I buy Onkyo 805 I will save about $650. Buying M80 instead of M60 would make any difference for my ears? Does Onkyo 805 will supply enough watts to make M80 sounds mutch better than M60? Is it worth it?

 

[avaserfi]

You are just dying to spend all your money...huh...

The Onk will likley power the 4 ohm 80's ok but they would prefer an external amp. I would stick with the 60's.

Greg is dead on with this one IMO. If you are going with a receiver and no amp I would stick with the 60's. The Onkyo will do okay with the 80's, but would do better with the 60's.

I do know many internet direct companies offer an upgrade plan where you send back your old speakers for an upgrade. Maybe you could see if Axiom has that program. Then you could pick up the 60's with the 805 then later upgrade to an external amp then upgrade to the 80's.

 

[bass addict]

Any THX Ultra receiver is rated to be able to drive 4 ohm loads continously. I would recommend the 60's for a different reason. Having had both (now running the 60's), the M80's are much tougher to place and are considerably more picky to placement to get the proper soundstage. You need to be sitting at around 15' back to get the proper stereo imaging from them. They also need to be further away from the wall as they need more room to breathe. The M60's are more forgiving than the 80's as far as placement is concerned. I didn't feel the difference was enough to justify the price upgrade between the 60's and 80's. The 60's did everything I needed them to do without breaking a sweat. I would take the money you save and either buy a better receiver or invest in room treatments or a hi def player.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

... or for school for the kids...

Bass knows more about Axioms that me; so this is probably grat advice.

. I would take the money you save and either buy a better receiver or invest in room treatments or a hi def player.