piece together system.

[B2WJ4.7]

im looking for a nice setup. budget is 2500.00. need everything. i am a complete newb at home audio but am pretty advanced in car audio. i have no idea what is out there in home audio and dont know what is good.

 

[brianedm]

Take a read through here. It's from one of the most knowledgeable people on the forum...

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/beginners-audiophytes/80742-$2500-complete-system-any-newbie-should-buy-take-advantage-summer.html

 

[ImcLoud]

Welcome, $2500 is a good budget to start with.. What size room is this going in? I like 5.1 surrounds so that what I will start with...

fronts FOCAL Chorus 814V 716v Dual 6½ Floorstanding Speakers Gloss Black Pair | Accessories4less

center FOCAL Chorus CC814V 800V Dual 6½" Center Speaker Gloss Black Each | Accessories4less

AVR DENON AVR-1712 7.1 A/V Surround Receiver | Accessories4less

surrounds Dayton Audio B652 6-1/2" 2-Way Bookshelf Speaker Pair 300-652

Sub- ULS-15 Subwoofer

I think that will be very impressive, you will only spend about $40 on cables with some room and equipment info I can tell you what cables to get...

The focals are nice speakers and at that discount you cant find many to compete in that price range, the surround speakers really dont do much, they are more or less for effects like car doors and footsteps in the background {normally the fronts are making much more sound when these are playing and you cant tell what kind of quality speaker is hanging over your head anyway... If you had a much higher budget, sure spend $500 on a pair of matching bookshelfs but at this price point you will be much better buying the cheaper surrounds and better fronts, avr, and sub... I own a pair of these bookshelfs, dont let the price tag fool you, read the reviews they are well worth a couple hundred dollars, being on sale makes them a good choice...

I think you will have a nice system at the end of your budget, one of the best subs made, and for the money an awesome sub....

good luck, room dimensions and maybe some pics would do wonders...

Ps I know this is tipping your budget, if you really have to be under $2500 go with the http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-3mk4.html still an awesome sub, but a little bigger and a little less... Still better than what I got and I got too much for my room...

 

[B2WJ4.7]

awesome, thanks for the detailed reply! how do car audio subwoofers transfer over to home audio? as for room dimesions im not sure what they are. going to be moving into a new houes soon but i would estimate the room is 20' by 15'.

 

[B2WJ4.7]

i was really wanting to do an 18 inch sub also. i really like the looks of that denon reciever!

 

[JerryLove]

Does "everything" need a TV? A source (Bluray player)? How big a space? What is your primary use?

Audio drivers oft go to 2ohm, so can be a problem for home amps. My livingroom mains, however, include JL 8W7 woofers, so it can certainly be done.

 

[B2WJ4.7]

this will mainly be for music, movies and video games. i dont have a blueray player. the space is like 20'x15'. what ohm are home amps usually stable at?

 

[B2WJ4.7]

no one else has any recomendations? what are some good brands to look into?

 

[ImcLoud]

no one else has any recomendations? what are some good brands to look into?

Your not going to do better than what I suggested, thats an awesome high end system for super short money...

As far as car subs, you can easily use a car sub, just get a good class d bridgable amp like this Crown XLS2500 Drivecore Power Amplifier Series XLS 2500 Amp w Box | eBay

and either rely on your avrs sub output to cross the highs out or purchase an fmod FMOD Crossover Pair 70 Hz Low Pass 266-252...

But honestly, you are not going to get the results an HSU will give you, not with out spending around the same money, and then you have a car sub in your house... Now if you want to buy a pair of JL W7's and run a pair of mono crowns to them in custom boxes with a real nice eq, and have them auto shop painted or veneered you can end up with something real nice, but still not going to be super cheap-- thats what I would do if I was building a sub, and the cost would be over $3000 {I did the planning but never pulled the trigger}...

If you want to build your own subs Parts Express.com - Subwoofers subwoofer kits, or boxes, or plate amps, what ever you want all rite there... tried and true stuf, but still the hsu will be better for around the same money..

If you want more options, check out wharfedale diamond 10 series http://www.musicdirect.com/search.aspx?searchterm=wharfedale diamond maybe some 10.5 towers, with the medium grade center, but you are going to spend about what the focals cost...

also Ascend sierra bookshelfs are nice for your front 3 about $1300 for the set... the focals are less and better imo...

Im sure there are other things out there in your range but, I will put the first set I mentioned against anything out there....

 

[B2WJ4.7]

Your not going to do better than what I suggested, thats an awesome high end system for super short money...

As far as car subs, you can easily use a car sub, just get a good class d bridgable amp like this Crown XLS2500 Drivecore Power Amplifier Series XLS 2500 Amp w Box | eBay

and either rely on your avrs sub output to cross the highs out or purchase an fmod FMOD Crossover Pair 70 Hz Low Pass 266-252...

But honestly, you are not going to get the results an HSU will give you, not with out spending around the same money, and then you have a car sub in your house... Now if you want to buy a pair of JL W7's and run a pair of mono crowns to them in custom boxes with a real nice eq, and have them auto shop painted or veneered you can end up with something real nice, but still not going to be super cheap-- thats what I would do if I was building a sub, and the cost would be over $3000 {I did the planning but never pulled the trigger}...

If you want to build your own subs Parts Express.com - Subwoofers subwoofer kits, or boxes, or plate amps, what ever you want all rite there... tried and true stuf, but still the hsu will be better for around the same money..

If you want more options, check out wharfedale diamond 10 series http://www.musicdirect.com/search.aspx?searchterm=wharfedale diamond maybe some 10.5 towers, with the medium grade center, but you are going to spend about what the focals cost...

also Ascend sierra bookshelfs are nice for your front 3 about $1300 for the set... the focals are less and better imo...

Im sure there are other things out there in your range but, I will put the first set I mentioned against anything out there....

ya that link u posted for the focals, they are sold out lol. but i would really like a 18 inch sub. so what would u recomend for an 18? does hsu make a good 18?

 

[JerryLove]

ya that link u posted for the focals, they are sold out lol. but i would really like a 18 inch sub. so what would u recomend for an 18? does hsu make a good 18?

An 18", of good quality, as part of a $2.5k surround system?

Good luck with that.

Hsu doesn't have an 18", SVS doesn't have an 18", Paradigm doesn't make one.

Velodyne makes one: but it will exceed your budget Digital Drive PLUS 18 Inch Subwoofer - Subwoofers

 

[zieglj01]

no one else has any recomendations? what are some good brands to look into?

Focal, Monitor Audio, PSB, Boston, NHT, Wharfedale, Ascend, and even HTD.

If you really want and 18" sub, then start the system in sections and save up.

If you are not a real nit-picker, then there are some cheaper systems out there.

 

[B2WJ4.7]

alright cool. i think ill just go with a 15 inch sub. what does everyone think about emp and arx?

 

[JerryLove]

alright cool. i think ill just go with a 15 inch sub. what does everyone think about emp and arx?

"Liked" (though HSU impressed me more for HT applications) and "no experience with"

 

[B2WJ4.7]

"Liked" (though HSU impressed me more for HT applications) and "no experience with"

ok well here is what im thinking. arx a5 towers: Arx A5 floorstanding loudspeaker
arx a2b center:Arx A2b center / LCR loudspeaker
arx a1b surrounds:Arx A1b monitor loudspeaker
with the hsu 15" sub: ULS-15 Subwoofer
and the denon avr:DENON AVR-1712 7.1 A/V Surround Receiver | Accessories4less

let me know what you think.

 

[shadyJ]

I think you would be happier with the Hsu VTF15h, it will have quite a bit more output than the Hsu ULS-15 and is a bit cheaper. The ULS-15 is a great sub though, but it isn't about monster output.

 

[ImcLoud]

I think you would be happier with the Hsu VTF15h, it will have quite a bit more output than the Hsu ULS-15 and is a bit cheaper. The ULS-15 is a great sub though, but it isn't about monster output.

This is very true, but I love the uls-15 its small size {for a 15" sub anyway, the enclosure is only 18x18x18!} and its one of the fastest most musical subs I ever heard... But both are awesome subs, the vtf15 is worth a serious look as is the vtf3...

As far as arx goes, I havent heard the entire line but what I heard follows suit with their prices, I like to go with speakers that sound better than anything else in their price range..

 

[gtpsuper24]

IMO the Arx A5s are as good or better than some towers 2x there price. Build quality alone is probably tops in there price range. I've yet to hear a single negative comment on the A5s other than someone doesn't like the look of the base and doesn't like the basic black ash vinyl finish.

The only bad thing about Arx currently is the A2b center is probably a month away before it ships out, but can be pre ordered so you can get the first ones available.

 

[shadyJ]

This is very true, but I love the uls-15 its small size {for a 15" sub anyway, the enclosure is only 18x18x18!} and its one of the fastest most musical subs I ever heard... But both are awesome subs, the vtf15 is worth a serious look as is the vtf3...

As far as arx goes, I havent heard the entire line but what I heard follows suit with their prices, I like to go with speakers that sound better than anything else in their price range..

I really love my ULS subs, and I practically wear a pair like headphones, but this guy seems like he is coming from a car audio background, ie sheer SPL. Most people would be more impressed by the VTF15h given its output advantage, the ULS might be sharper, but the VTF15h will have bigger booms and still sound really good.

 

[gtpsuper24]

I really love my ULS subs, and I practically wear a pair like headphones, but this guy seems like he is coming from a car audio background, ie sheer SPL. Most people would be more impressed by the VTF15h given its output advantage, the ULS might be sharper, but the VTF15h will have bigger booms and still sound really good.

Yeah most car audio guys like the extreme midbass outputs and don't really value the details and the finer points in audio, so the VTF15H would probably be closer to what a car audio guy would like. But there are some out there that are really big into pure sound quality that might apprieciate the ULS.