advice needed on which equipment to buy

[vo2max]

hi all!
am complete newbie on a/v.

planning to set-up a home theater system.
any advice on which equipment to use.
budgets are:
- surround receiver US$500-600
- speakers US$1000-1300
any other items to add.

initially im thinking of onkyo tsxr606-607 and bose am10 or am15.

what do you guys have in mind?
TIA

 

[vo2max]

But im having second thoughts, not on the rcvr but on the speakers, after having some time reading into this forums.

 

[64met]

hi all!
am complete newbie on a/v.

planning to set-up a home theater system.
any advice on which equipment to use.
budgets are:
- surround receiver US$500-600
- speakers US$1000-1300
any other items to add.

initially im thinking of onkyo tsxr606-607 and bose am10 or am15.

what do you guys have in mind?
TIA

Are you looking for 5.1/7.1 tower, book shelve, etc? Other items--- U will want a Blu Ray player and pending how much juice U want; might want to consider external amp. Speakers U might want to check out aperion audio; 30 day FREE trial 2 home/ if U don't like them; they pay cost to ship back; free ship to you as well and their customer service is excellent!

 

[Kai]

Hi and welcome vo2,
Buy nothing, absolutely nothing, without first listening to them.
There are probably a dozen varied receivers that are within your price range. Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer, etc. all offer either a new model or last years model at a bargain. They are all well regarded receivers but all have their foibles and it is best to go give them a listen.
You don't give much info on the speakers and depending on what you want $1300 may buy a lot or not very much. If you are hoping to buy a 5.1 system you may want to look at SVS, etc. that offer a complete system for around 1k and are also well regarded. Speakers however are a very subjective purchase. Our hearing is not the same and speakers, more than any other component, will affect us differently.
The good thing about speakers is they last, features wise, much longer than a receiver will. If you buy speakers you love they could easily still make you happy 10 plus years later so don't "cheap out" on the speakers or you and your wallet will soon regret it.

 

[64met]

hi all!
am complete newbie on a/v.

planning to set-up a home theater system.
any advice on which equipment to use.
budgets are:
- surround receiver US$500-600
- speakers US$1000-1300
any other items to add.

initially im thinking of onkyo tsxr606-607 and bose am10 or am15.

what do you guys have in mind?
TIA

BTW---- IMO stay away from Bose! my first system I did the same thing and made a big mistake and bought Bose... Never again

 

[shadyJ]

You could get the Onkyo 806 for $600 at accessories4less.com, and that's with free shipping. It's a really beefy THX Ultra2 receiver with 130 watts per channel.
Ascend Acoustics is having a sale for a 5 speaker system for $1000, and you get free domestic ground shipping with that, although that package does not include subwoofer. Although I haven't heard those speakers, they are supposed to be absolutely terrific. The Epic midi 125 system from axiom audio is a nice system at $1,286, although I do not believe that includes shipping. SVS would have some very nice systems to choose from that would fit your budget, and would also include a excellent subwoofer. HSU has the enthusiast 2 package that also comes with a great subwoofer, and their HB-1 speakers are pure rock and roll. These are just a few good options to consider, and I am sure others around here can chime in with many more recommendations.

 

[vo2max]

Thank you guys!!! This forum is great!!! Help is readily on hand.

- I would think i would go for a 7.1.
I'll check out all your mentioned equipments.
It would be great if i could try out and listen and hence make an honest comparison. However im a bit limited on that as there are not much brand display around in my place. im living in southeast asia.

My option then is to buy and hope for the best. i could buy that out of my country but listening before buying would be difficult if not impossible on my situation.

Hence the reason im in this forum to solicit your advices on the equipment that you got or think would be worth the price.

i could honestly say that i have not listened/compared any speaker system at all yet. I would come to think that receivers wont be hard to decide but the speakers will be.

But forums are a great help as it has help me a lot in my decisions with my other hobbies (ham radio, road & mtb & gsd's) and results are just great.

I know i wont make a mistake on this one!

 

[bigspur1984]

You could get 3 of the Emotiva ERM-1 on closeout for $150.00 for your front speakers. Two sets of the ERD-1 for $300.00 per set for your surrounds and back surrounds. You would still need a subwoofer but that would be a great setup. I have the ERD-1 for my surrounds and they are great.

http://emotiva.com/erm1.shtm

http://emotiva.com/erd1.shtm

This setup got a great review on the Audioholics site.

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/bookshelf/emotiva-er-5-0-speaker-system-review/

 

[lsiberian]

I suggest you get a 705 or 805 if you can find one.

You may check out matt34's sell off there are great deals to be had there.

 

[vo2max]

thanks bigspur1984 & Isiberian. I'll check those and see if they got dealers out here.

now this will be a headache!
i have found a local distributor of paradigm and svs. although i have yet to visit and do an audition. for now i'm eyeing at the paradigm reference studio 60 for the fronts and save some money for an eventual sub (my choice for now is the svs). Nothing is definite for now though as i need a lot of time to research and do an actual audition. so anything is still possible and will also check on the other suggestions guys.
but oh i feel in love with the studio 60 fronts. got to hear her voice 1st though.
looks like i have to increase my budget a bit...
cheers...

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The easiest thing to do is to get 5 identical bookshelf speakers, like the suggested Emotiva, plus one subwoofer.

Another suggestion is Aperion Audio:

5 bookshelf ($130 x 5 = $650) + 1 subwoofer ($500) + FREE Shipping BOTH WAYS (if you don't like them, you can return w/ free return shipping too) -->

http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Bravus-8D-Dual-8-Powered-Subwoofer,104,66,242.aspx

http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-4B-Satellite-Speaker,113,20,261.aspx

Receivers -->

Harmon Kardon 254 for $361:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0016BGRX6/ref=pd_luc_mri?_encoding=UTF8&m=A1J7WSBJHTGUFA&v=glance

Onkyo 806 for $600:
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKTXSR806B/Onkyo/TX-SR806-THX-Ultra2-130w-x-7ch-HDMI-806-Receiver-BLACK/1.html

 

[vo2max]

Thanks AcuDef.
I checked the Emotiva site and the configurations suggested by Bigspur & your goodself is easily within my reach. Unluckily there is no dealer in my place and their site doesn't indicate any authorized dealer in Southeast Asia.
i do visit the U.S everynow and then and the Onkyo 806 as suggested (thank AcuDef & ShadyJ), i can easily order and bring along with me. My mind is fixed on the Onkyo name.

So far we do have dealers here of Infinity, Paradigm, SVS, Bose. I have yet to check on the other names.

Oh my! i'm having a headache. The more you come to know, the more it gets muddled.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Thanks AcuDef.
I checked the Emotiva site and the configurations suggested by Bigspur & your goodself is easily within my reach. Unluckily there is no dealer in my place and their site doesn't indicate any authorized dealer in Southeast Asia.
i do visit the U.S everynow and then and the Onkyo 806 as suggested (thank AcuDef & ShadyJ), i can easily order and bring along with me. My mind is fixed on the Onkyo name.

So far we do have dealers here of Infinity, Paradigm, SVS, Bose. I have yet to check on the other names.

Oh my! i'm having a headache. The more you come to know, the more it gets muddled.

In that case, the Paradigm bookshelf speakers + Paradigm subwoofer would also be a great choice.

Paradigm is highly respected.

What about B&W dealers?

You can just pretend that BOSE doesn't exist - like the Twilight Zone.

 

[vo2max]

In that case, the Paradigm bookshelf speakers + Paradigm subwoofer would also be a great choice.

Paradigm is highly respected.

What about B&W dealers?

You can just pretend that BOSE doesn't exist - like the Twilight Zone.

I simply can't ignore BOSE now!
I visited the site of B&W and i found a dealer not too near my place that carries both brands i can audition both since i'm practically neutral at this time.
Thanks btw.

 

[vo2max]

Torn between 2 lovers...

Time has passed and now i can say that i have narrowed down my choice between 2 lovers. I will be auditioning a Paradigm Studio 60 fronts and a Monitor 11 fronts.

These will be the most likely set-up:
for the Monitor 11 fronts, CC-290 center, ADP-190 surrounds, SVS PB12-NSD on an ONKYO TX-SR706.

for the Studio fronts, i cannot afford the CC-590 center, so am thinking of the CC-490, CC-390 or CC-290.

will the CC-390/CC-290 still be a good match for the 60 front, considering that the CC-390/CC-290 is a monitor center?
what about the receiver power handling capacity?
Thanks in advance.

 

[vo2max]

I have finally made the plunge and this is the set-up that i got.
Paradigm Studio 20's
Paradigm Studio CC-590
SVS PB-12NSD
Onkyo TX-SR706

Still looking for surround speakers. Will probably put the 20's at the back once i can get the Studio 60's.

I wish to thank you guys for all the help.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I have finally made the plunge and this is the set-up that i got.
Paradigm Studio 20's
Paradigm Studio CC-590
SVS PB-12NSD
Onkyo TX-SR706

Still looking for surround speakers. Will probably put the 20's at the back once i can get the Studio 60's.

I wish to thank you guys for all the help.

I think you made us proud.

Paradigm speakers + SVS sub + Onkyo = very nice.

So glad you did NOT get anything from Bose.

 

[JerryLove]

I don't know on the v5, but on the V3-V4 the sound from the 20s to the 60s was... different.

To some extent it's clearly "better" (more frequency covered), but, well, just audition the things against each other to make sure it's your taste after you've gotten used to the 20s.

 

[vo2max]

I think you made us proud.

So glad you did NOT get anything from Bose.

I don't have any room for errors.

 

[vo2max]

I don't know on the v5, but on the V3-V4 the sound from the 20s to the 60s was... different.

To some extent it's clearly "better" (more frequency covered), but, well, just audition the things against each other to make sure it's your taste after you've gotten used to the 20s.

Regret i was not able to audition the 60's. It was actually my 1st choice but since there was none available (dealer stopped importing the 60's), i was offered the 100's and the 20's. I got the 20's since i was getting the SVS sub to take care of the lows. Dealer adviced against the 100's due to my room size.

I was only able to audition the 20's/cc-590 and the B&W 683 with its matching center. It was hard to compare a floorstander and a stand mounted one. But i found the 20's clearly better than the 683's.

Perhaps others who have got the chance to audition the 20's and the 60's can chime in.