Need advice and ideas

[Spyder207]

In the past few months I have really enjoyed the forum. We are now moving and part of the deal is that I will get to replace my current Bose system and set up a nicer audio system in the new house.

I am looking for theater (5.1, 5.2?) as well as just stereo music. My listening style is very diverse, I listen to all my old 80's metal bands, good old Black Sabbath as well as some current pop music (Have two kids that love it) as well as some country and classical music at times and current Heavy Metal, Industrial Metal, etc.. With all of this my main thing is I like it loud.

I have between 7k and 8k to make this happen, between the stereo/ theater system as well as the TV and here are my current thoughts:

Speakers: Versus Grand Tower XD - my main question on this is do I go with their subwoofer or do I go with another manufacturer? The Bravus IIa 12D is listed at $899.00 and from the reviews I have seen here it may be the main weakness of this set up.

BluRay/ DVD/ CD: Looking at the Oppo BDP-93 , will I be happy with this as a DVD, BluRay and CD player? I have a Sony 300 disc changer but most of my collection is now streamed via my PC.

Receiver: Eventually want to move to Emotiva seperates but in order to stay in or near budget I need a good home theater receiver recommendations are welcomed.

 

[GranteedEV]

Given your music tastes, I would probably look towards something with a more robust tweeter/midrange than the Verus Grand. You'll lose some aesthetic appeal but i'm assuming that you want performance and durability. A few speakers I would be looking at would be...


- Gedlee Abbey
- Vapor Audio Arcus
- Seaton Catalyst
- Funk Audio 8.2
- Pi Speakers Pi 3 w/ De250 tweeter upgrade
- Sound Field Audio HE Ribbon (Dunno the name)

BluRay/ DVD/ CD: Looking at the Oppo BDP-93 , will I be happy with this as a DVD, BluRay and CD player? I have a Sony 300 disc changer but most of my collection is now streamed via my PC.

You'll be more than happy.

Receiver: Eventually want to move to Emotiva seperates but in order to stay in or near budget I need a good home theater receiver recommendations are welcomed.

I would get the Denon 431x with Audyssey XT32. I would add in a Two-channel amp such as the Crown XLS2500.

 

[Spyder207]

Thanks, Is there a specific model of the Denon 431X that you'd recommend?

I'll check into these other speaker options, any comments on the subwoofer : Bravus IIa 12D Am I correct in believing there are better priced options?


From what I have seen so far, the options you present look really good for stereo/ music but don't seem to have center and surrounds available. I will research some more, maybe I am missing them.

 

[psbfan9]

With your taste in music and volume, you should look at these, which I considered buying;

62WC

Or these, which I own. They play loud, sound great, and have good bass;

EMP Tek Tower Speakers

For the amp;

Products

Welcome to the forum and good luck.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Nah, what he really need is pair of these and a pair of crown xls 1000 amps
JTR Speakers*|* Triple 12HT

This will take all the metal abuse he could possibly stand
Yea, these are not pretty because these designed to work hard, deliver and keep on going

Look for RMK in gallery sub-forum - he has amazing HT build only with JTR speakers

 

[Spyder207]

With your taste in music and volume, you should look at these, which I considered buying;



Or these, which I own. They play loud, sound great, and have good bass;



For the amp;



Welcome to the forum and good luck.

I looked at the EMP Towers and liked them as well. Would their entire package be worthwhile? I like the 7.1 set up but would eliminate one pair of the bookshelfs and swap the ES10i for an ES1010i to go 5.1.

Would that work well or should I go with two separate subs?


There is a showroom near by with the DTR 70.3 so I will try to run by and check it out in person next week.

 

[psbfan9]

I looked at the EMP Towers and liked them as well. Would their entire package be worthwhile? I like the 7.1 set up but would eliminate one pair of the bookshelfs and swap the ES10i for an ES1010i to go 5.1.

Would that work well or should I go with two separate subs?


There is a showroom near by with the DTR 70.3 so I will try to run by and check it out in person next week.

There are some good things about EMP; you get a free in home 30 day trial, They pay shipping both ways, the customer service is top notch, and their speakers are on sale now.
I'm happy with one sub, but most say two is better. You can always add another one later.

I auditioned the DTR 70.3 and was very impressed. I'm saving to get ome myself.

 

[Spyder207]

Nah, what he really need is pair of these and a pair of crown xls 1000 amps

This will take all the metal abuse he could possibly stand
Yea, these are not pretty because these designed to work hard, deliver and keep on going



Look for RMK in gallery sub-forum - he has amazing HT build only with JTR speakers

That would be nice but seems a good bit beyond my current price range.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

That would be nice but seems a good bit beyond my current price range.

Huh? you mentioned your budget 7-8k
Triple 12HT cost 3k/pair or Triple 8HT $2200/pr - Especially the later - you will get high performance speakers for decent price

Option b)
eD[c]12 + B&C upgrade Elemental Designs: Car Stereo, Home Speakers, Electronics - $1180/pair

 

[GranteedEV]

That would be nice but seems a good bit beyond my current price range.

Here is how I would budget;

~2K on a pair of subwoofers - Rythmik FV15HP if possible
~3K on stereo mains that are > 93db/w/m
~500 on some surrounds IE KEF Q100 @ $400
~700 on receiver. I admit my suggestion earlier would probably cost double that. A crown XLS1500 with this; Marantz SR5004 90w X 7ch Home Theater Surround Receiver | Accessories4less would hit the mark though.

Which leaves around 1800 for a tv... plenty IMO.

 

[Spyder207]

Huh? you mentioned your budget 7-8k
Triple 12HT cost 3k/pair or Triple 8HT $2200/pr - Especially the later - you will get high performance speakers for decent price

Option b)
eD[c]12 + B&C upgrade Elemental Designs: Car Stereo, Home Speakers, Electronics[/url] - $1180/pair

Yes, but the budget includes all items, Bluray, reciever, wiring, TV,mounts, racks etc. From the prices I was seeing on the items you proposed I'd have great stereo sound but need to give up either surround sound or the tv?
$4400 on a set of speakers leaves me with $3600 for everything else and I'm pretty firm on the budget no matter how much I'd like to go further.

 

[GranteedEV]

Yes, but the budget includes all items, Bluray, reciever, wiring, TV,mounts, racks etc. From the prices I was seeing on the items you proposed I'd have great stereo sound but need to give up either surround sound or the tv?
$4400 on a set of speakers leaves me with $3600 for everything else and I'm pretty firm on the budget no matter how much I'd like to go further.

Well first of all I wouldn't budget a center if the stereo mains are good, or spend too much on surrounds that will get minimal action.

For a lot of us here, the speakers are really the heart and soul of our living rooms/HTs/media rooms etc. It's not that we're audiophiles first, it's just with TVs, as long as you're happy with the screen size and you calibrate it decently, you'll be happy. Monoprice and Blue Jeans Cable will cover wiring and mounts. I would not spend more than $100 on a BDP personally.

Receivers are not big contributors to presentation quality if they're well-designed (like the marantz stuff is). Surround speakers barely get 10% of the action, and a good pair can cover things.

That leaves the subwoofers and the stereo speakers. The subwoofer is necessary because the LFE channel can have 10db more dynamic range than any other channel, and will extend down below 20hz. It makes for a tactile experience. Then...it's been my experience, and i'm sure others', that the front speakers "are" the presentation.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Yes, but the budget includes all items, Bluray, reciever, wiring, TV,mounts, racks etc. From the prices I was seeing on the items you proposed I'd have great stereo sound but need to give up either surround sound or the tv?
$4400 on a set of speakers leaves me with $3600 for everything else and I'm pretty firm on the budget no matter how much I'd like to go further.

TV Bracket:
For only $23.82 each when QTY 50+ purchased - PREMIUM Adjustable Tilting 2.5mm Wall Mount Bracket for LCD LED Plasma (Max 165Lbs, 30~63inch) - BLACK | LCD Plasma Brackets - Tilting Type
$30-35
Speaker Cable:
HDMI Cable, Home Theater Accessories, HDMI Products, Cables, Adapters, Video/Audio Switch, Networking, USB, Firewire, Printer Toner, and more!

BluRay Player:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00752R4PK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
$130

TV: I highly recommend new 2012 Panasonic Plasma ST50 series:
55" goes for $1350 to 65" $2100

AVR:
Onkyo TX-NR809 7.2-Channel Network A/V Receiver | Accessories4less
or this one:
DENON AVR-3312CI 7.2 Integrated Network A/V Surround Receiver | Accessories4less

Speaker:
2x eD[c]12, 1x eD[c]6.Center, 1x eD[c]6 Pair - All with B&C compression tweeter upgrades

Subtotal for speakers - 2,385.00 - Call them up as get 15% for buying them as package

Sub: Rythmic FV15HP is one of the best subs out there, toe-to-toe with SVS top of the line

Total about 6k (including 65" tv) or double down on subs to get even better and linear bass response if budget allows that

 

[Hookedonc4]

In the past few months I have really enjoyed the forum. We are now moving and part of the deal is that I will get to replace my current Bose system and set up a nicer audio system in the new house.

I am looking for theater (5.1, 5.2?) as well as just stereo music. My listening style is very diverse, I listen to all my old 80's metal bands, good old Black Sabbath as well as some current pop music (Have two kids that love it) as well as some country and classical music at times and current Heavy Metal, Industrial Metal, etc.. With all of this my main thing is I like it loud.

I have between 7k and 8k to make this happen, between the stereo/ theater system as well as the TV and here are my current thoughts:

Speakers: Versus Grand Tower XD - my main question on this is do I go with their subwoofer or do I go with another manufacturer? The Bravus IIa 12D is listed at $899.00 and from the reviews I have seen here it may be the main weakness of this set up.

BluRay/ DVD/ CD: Looking at the Oppo BDP-93 , will I be happy with this as a DVD, BluRay and CD player? I have a Sony 300 disc changer but most of my collection is now streamed via my PC.

Receiver: Eventually want to move to Emotiva seperates but in order to stay in or near budget I need a good home theater receiver recommendations are welcomed.

As I have talked about in another post I just bought a set of inwall James loudspeakers and using the James powerpipe sub with the M1000 sub amp. I listen to the classic rock you listen to and these speakers are like being at a concert.