First serious attempt at a system; need advice

[TMack37]

First, let me say "hello"! I've been reading a wide array of reviews and articles for the past month or so, and now that my wife and I have moved into our first house, I think it's time to give our home theater (if you can even call it that at the moment) a bit of a makeover. Here's what I have now, try not to laugh too hard:

Mitsubishi CS-35405 (a 37" CRT relic from '95, I got it for free so I can't complain too much)
2 x Athena AS-F2-1's
1 Wharfdale 100 W center speaker (another freebie)
Sony STR-DE197
Philips DVD717/17

From what I've been reading and thinking, the only salvageable parts from this are probably the AS-F2's. The CRT absolutely has to go, and while the Sony receiver is decent enough, it can only output to my two floorstanding speakers. The Wharfdale center speaker I know absolutely nothing about other than the few specs printed on the back. The DVD player was decent enough in college, but I can't justify keeping it if I'm getting a TV that vastly outclasses it.

As for my requirements, I need decent enough gear that will last me a while. I *think* I've convinced my wife to let me use around $2,000 on everything, and it may be some time before I can convince her we *need* to replace something else. I'd like to have the ability to stream Netflix movies (I think I can rig it with MoCA as the router is on another floor, but I haven't gotten to that step quite yet). I'd like a solid receiver that supports 5.1 so I can use what speakers I have and add on more later. Lastly, I would like to have blu-ray watching capabilities, but it's not a must have feature at this point.

So far, I've been considering the Oppo BDP-83 and the Yamaha RX-V465. Ignoring the cost of connections, that should leave me with around $1,200 for the TV, which is where I'm running into some difficulty picking something out. One last thing to consider is that I probably won't actually be purchasing stuff for a couple months. This is all still in the planning phase (I have to wait until we get our tax credit back), so hopefully the system I'm pricing out now might be slightly cheaper by the time I start shopping.

The only other thing I may have left out is that the room is shaped like an "L", and the two optimal places to put the TV are taken up by a fireplace and a window, respectively, so I'll probably resort to wall-mounting to squeeze in a few extra inches of viewing distance.

Thanks in advance for the comments!

~Trevor

 

[TMack37]

Maybe I picked a bad time to post. Slight amendment to my last post: I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the Panasonic TC-P42G10. I think it's about the right size for the room, and Newegg is selling them for $864 so it's well within my price limits.

Thoughts?

 

[Adam]

A belated welcome to the forum, Trevor! Sorry to have missed your first post last month.

I have the TC-P50G10 and am quite happy with it, so I'd second your choice of the G10. I'm sure that you've shopped around, and $864 is about the going price right now. There have been several deals on Panasonic plasmas over the past few months, so keep your eyes open for those. Panasonic will periodically throw in a free DMP-BD60 blu-ray player (which I have and like) for free with purchase of a plasma like that one. They recently had that special running last month.

There are people on this forum that like the Oppo player. Personally, I think that if you don't need a universal player (e.g. for SACD and DVD-A) and want Netflix, then I'd look at a different player - or wait and see if you can get the BD60 for free with your TV. The BD60 won't stream Netflix (at least, not yet), but you can buy a Roku box for $100 that will. Oppo is also supposed to be releasing a new, less expensive blu-ray player this month.

 

[TMack37]

Thanks for the advice. I might rethink the Oppo, considering that I don't probably don't need the universal features (at least not for now). Luckily I have time, so I'll definitely stay on the look out for the new release in the coming weeks.

 

[TMack37]

Well, now I've gone and reconsidered everything (except the display) and I'm getting hung up on my choice of receiver. I first looked before the AH store started it's current sale prices on things, but now there are a few units within reach that might be game changers.

Currently under consideration:
Yamaha RX-V465
Onkyo TX-SR507
Harman Kardon AVR 1600
Onkyo TX-SR607

My gut reaction is to go with either the Onkyo TX-SR507 or the HK AVR 1600, so my first question would be does anyone have a preference for one over the other? The second question is that, since the SR607 is within my $400 limit for a receiver, is it worth the extra $70 for what seems to be a different remote and some extra I/O? Maybe I'm missing something else the 607 has that the 507 doesn't.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

507 is 5.1 80W,

607 is 7.2 90W, Bi-Amp fronts, Dual Subs, Analog To HDMI Video UpConversion DCDi [1080i] and have OSD

 

[jostenmeat]

From what I've been reading and thinking, the only salvageable parts from this are probably the AS-F2's. The CRT absolutely has to go, and while the Sony receiver is decent enough, it can only output to my two floorstanding speakers. The Wharfdale center speaker I know absolutely nothing about other than the few specs printed on the back. The DVD player was decent enough in college, but I can't justify keeping it if I'm getting a TV that vastly outclasses it.

As for my requirements, I need decent enough gear that will last me a while. I *think* I've convinced my wife to let me use around $2,000 on everything, and it may be some time before I can convince her we *need* to replace something else. I'd like to have the ability to stream Netflix movies (I think I can rig it with MoCA as the router is on another floor, but I haven't gotten to that step quite yet). I'd like a solid receiver that supports 5.1 so I can use what speakers I have and add on more later. Lastly, I would like to have blu-ray watching capabilities, but it's not a must have feature at this point.

So far, I've been considering the Oppo BDP-83 and the Yamaha RX-V465. Ignoring the cost of connections, that should leave me with around $1,200 for the TV, which is where I'm running into some difficulty picking something out. One last thing to consider is that I probably won't actually be purchasing stuff for a couple months. This is all still in the planning phase (I have to wait until we get our tax credit back), so hopefully the system I'm pricing out now might be slightly cheaper by the time I start shopping.

The only other thing I may have left out is that the room is shaped like an "L", and the two optimal places to put the TV are taken up by a fireplace and a window, respectively, so I'll probably resort to wall-mounting to squeeze in a few extra inches of viewing distance.

Thanks in advance for the comments!

~Trevor

Yes, I agree, if you have 2k for all of it, spending 25% it on a disc player is a serious misappropriation of funds. I would consider getting the S1 line of Pannys if the savings are significant. No doubt, the G10 is more desirable, however, to me it's not quite the upgrade as it would be with the V10 for 24p playback w/o pulldown.

Coming from someone who hasn't done any DIY at all with AV (unless you count a riser), that is something I would seriously consider with your strapped budget, particularly for a subwoofer. You can buy pre-made kits.

I vote for the Pana BD60 if you have to buy a player today, with this budget.

If this is your first home, you might look into projectors too, unless you guys watch so much that bulb costs are a serious issue. It is unbelievable what they can now do for such affordable pricing. You can get a 1080p PJ for 1k now. Just so you're aware is all.

Regarding affordable plasma mounts, besides all you need for cabling, go to Monoprice.

 

[TMack37]

I really would go with the BD60, however one of my selling points to the wife was that we would be able to stream Netflix to the tv, so if I drop that feature it might kill the deal entirely.

Unless the new Oppo player comes out soon and completely blows me away, I think I might actually go with a PS3 Slim. It doesn't have all the universality (which I wouldn't really need), it streams Netflix, and by most accounts it's about as good visually as the BDP-83.

I looked into the S1 series. Seems to run around $100-$150 less than the G10, so I think I'll stick with it.

That leaves the receiver to be picked out, and considering how much I've shaved off elsewhere, I might spring for the Onkyo SR607 to leave me room to grow.

 

[Adam]

Just some info - the new Panasonics (which aren't out yet) will stream Netflix. That's true of their blu-ray players and some of their TVs. I and others hope that Panasonic will update the firmware for the BD60 and others to allow streaming of Netflix, but there's no guarantee that they'll do that.

 

[SJTrance]

I would go with the Onkyo 607 and the cheaper Panasonic TV. The picture will still blow you away. One thing you should consider about the PS3 Slim is this. That is what I have and it does a fantastic job streaming Netflix and plays my DVDs. I was really astonished by the picture quality of some of the streamed movies and TV shows on my 40" TV. The only gripe I have is that the PS3 can get loud while that exhaust fan is blowing. I don't have the slim version and I'm not sure if the older fat versions are any different. I don't know if you game or not, but I do. I absolutely love what the PS3 is and what it's capable of. The only drawback would be that fan noise which I sometimes notice and sometimes don't notice. It also runs pretty hot.

I just picked these prices up (mostly shipped) from amazon.com. I'm not sure if they will have tax added. Did you say that you found the S1 for cheaper than the G1?

$400 - Onkyo Receiver
$848 - Panasonic G10
$299 - PS3 Slim
-------------------
$1547

This leaves about $453 for speaker. You're going to need a center, surrounds and possibly a sub within that price, right?

For speakers, here's a setup that I've thrown together. To be honest, it is not going to be stellar, but there's not a lot of money to play around with. The Athenas you have are good. I don't know anything about the Warfdale center. If at all possible, I would use the rest of the money on a sub and a center and do the surrounds later when you have a chance.

I have the PA-120 subwoofer and it's available on ebay for about $260. You're not going to find a better sub for under $300. Believe it or not, for my rears, I use $34 MCM speakers and you won't believe the sound I get from those. I also saw the Polk CS2 on amazon. You can get better surrounds later or save money elsewhere for it.

$260- PA 120 12" subwoofer
$34 - MCM rear surrounds
$143.26 Polk CS2 Center channel

http://cgi.ebay.com/H100-Premier-Acoustic-PA-120-Subwoofer-Black-Color_W0QQitemZ310166340243QQcmdZViewItemQQptZSpeakers_Subwoofers?hash=item48375ac293

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/MCM-CUSTOM-AUDIO-50-9085-/50-9085

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Monitor-Channel-Speaker/dp/B0002MPNLC/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1263042299&sr=1-8

 

[Midwesthonky]

Well, now I've gone and reconsidered everything (except the display) and I'm getting hung up on my choice of receiver. I first looked before the AH store started it's current sale prices on things, but now there are a few units within reach that might be game changers.

Currently under consideration:
Yamaha RX-V465
Onkyo TX-SR507
Harman Kardon AVR 1600
Onkyo TX-SR607

My gut reaction is to go with either the Onkyo TX-SR507 or the HK AVR 1600, so my first question would be does anyone have a preference for one over the other? The second question is that, since the SR607 is within my $400 limit for a receiver, is it worth the extra $70 for what seems to be a different remote and some extra I/O? Maybe I'm missing something else the 607 has that the 507 doesn't.

When I bought my Yamaha RX-V657 years ago, a key thing I went and did was go an listen to several different receivers using the same set of speakers. In that way I could focus on just the receiver itself. It made a difference. The receiver I was focused on and would have bought just didn't come through when I listened to it. I also then listened to each, comparing several sets of speakers to be sure and the result was the same. The receiver I was all set to buy just did not sound as good to my ear as one of the alternatives. So I bought the the alternative and have been very happy I did.

I also took the wife to the sound test which was fortunate because she came to the same conclusion. It was fortunate because the alternative was more money than we had agreed to spend. So I had her buy-in and we took home the new receiver that very day.

It is difficult to get everything you want right away because of the cost. Focus on the key pieces: Receiver and TV. Get a decent center. Then start saving up for other pieces. If you can scrape $40 a month, it won't be long before you have surrounds, etc.

 

[TMack37]

Brief update on the display situation: Newegg's selling the S1 for around $530 now, considerably less than the G10 (which for some reason is back up to $1300?!) For that much in savings, I think I'll definitely go that route and apply the difference elsewhere.

Edit: Then I found out why. It's an open box item. Might give it a go anyways, that's a goodly sized chunk of change.