Can I do better for the money?

[Masse1369]

I am planning on getting the following:

Panasonic 60u54 Plasma ($800)
PSB Image B6, C5, B4 (~$1250)
HSU Research VTF1 MK2 ($450)
Onkyo TX-NR818 ($670)
Oppo BDP-103 ($500)

I would upgrade the TV once 4K becomes more standard. I can upgrade my front speakers once and get full credit for them within the first year so I might look at the t6 towers next year. I would say this system will be used roughly 75/25 for movies/music. The room is roughly 14x15x10. If I could find matching piano black bookshelves for the Focal deal ac4l I would probably go that route but I can't seem to find any. Let me know some thoughts guys! ;-)

 

[Grador]

If it were me, I'd probably drop the oppo for a panny and put the extra money into the tv or sub. The oppo players are very nice, but if you're hooking them up HDMI I don't think they're worth the price jump, especially if budget is anything of a concern. (truthfully i don't think they're with the price to use their DACs either, but I think that's far more open to argument)

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

If it were me, I'd probably drop the oppo for a panny and put the extra money into the tv ot sub. The oppo players are very nice, but if you're hooking them up HDMI I don't know if I think they're worth the price jump, especially if budget is anything of a concern. (truthfully i don't think they're with the price to use their DACs either, but I think that's far more open to argument)

I agree - OPPO is too much on your budget. Ether look for panny BD player or search for 2nd hand oppo. BD player shouldn't cost more than $200 at your budget.

I also highly recommend to switch the TV from U series to ST. The later built on same planes as much more expensive GT series, but lacking official calibration and some of finer custom tuning which mostly fixable

Speakers are purely your choice. PSB are not ID brand. You need to find a local dealer to listen to them before making a purchase decision. They are highly regarded brand.

But if you don't mind the look, You'll get better bang for the buck going with Ascend speakers like 340SE or new Pioneers which getting a lot of positive hype in our little world and soon to be officially reviewed by AH staff.

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum!

To follow up on some comments, what are your intended uses for the Oppo? If the Panasonics will play all of the formats that you want, then I'll second the suggestions to look at those (or other less expensive players).

 

[hizzaah]

I agree with the Ascend recommendation!

340SE L/R $568
340SE Center $298
170SE Surrounds $298

Comes out to $1166 shipped. If you want/need stands, I recommend their TP-24 and SP-30. They're nice and solid. The TP-24's give the L/R 340SE's a nice floorstanding presence if you've got the space..

 

[Masse1369]

Thanks for all the replies. I thought about the Blu-Ray and going a more budget route. I think I am just going a more budget route anyway. I think I am going to just get the Andrew Jones speakers, an SVS PB1000, a good budget AVR like either the Denon 1713, Yamaha 437 or Pioneer 1122. Then I was looking at the Sony 790 BD. This way I was going to go ahead and do the better TV and look at the ST or GT.

 

[Masse1369]

Also would it be easier and better to just get the Onkyo 818 and just process everything through HDMI for video and audio? For the AVR I would like to have Spotify and AirPlay and Pandora. Good amounts of Power and at least 2 optical inputs if I don't just process everything through HDMI. What are y'all's thought on that?

 

[Grador]

Hdmi will always be identical to or better than optical. The analog output of the oppo will measure better than the output when processing over hdmi, but it's arguable if it's audible.

HDMI will make for the cleanest setup possible, and the highest quality (with possible exception listed above). Sony bluray players work just fine, as for picking the AVR I'll defer to others but you should be good with any yamaha, denon, onkyo, or marantz that has all the features you want.

 

[ahblaza]

Also would it be easier and better to just get the Onkyo 818 and just process everything through HDMI for video and audio? For the AVR I would like to have Spotify and AirPlay and Pandora. Good amounts of Power and at least 2 optical inputs if I don't just process everything through HDMI. What are y'all's thought on that?

If I were you, I would seriously consider the Onkyo TX-NR809, how important is XT32 to you, that is the only difference between the two (818) and of course price. 809 $475 from Amazon, that will be gone very soon, Sholl has posted in the Deals forum.
Amazon.com: Onkyo TX-NR809 THX Certified 7.2-Channel Network A/V Receiver (Black): Electronics
Hope this helps, if you decide to go with this, do it soon
Cheers Jeff

 

[Masse1369]

Well I finally got it almost totally pieced together. I purchased the Pioneer AJ speakers from BB. Got the FS52, C22 and B22 price matched to $200, $70 and $100 respectively. Bought a Sony 590 at Sam's for $88. Went yesterday to BB and got them to pricematch the Panny 60GT50 at Paul's TV for $1699. My dad surprised me with an after Christmas present (the TV was my Christmas gift) yesterday and told me he would buy me a receiver and I decided to get the Denon 2113CI. Only thing else to get is the sub and I'm going to have less space then I thought and I am going with the SVS SB12-NSD for the biggest boom I can get in that small of a package. I really wanted the PSA XS15 but I don't have the space for it. Got my speaker wire and some shorter HDMI cables from Monoprice for around $20-30. Should be a pretty sweet setup for a great value! I plan on upgrading the speakers in a year or so with something that has a nicer finish after I can get out and really listen to a bunch of different things to see what I really like.

So My Setup will be:

Panny 60GT50 $1699+tax
Pioneer FS52, C22, B22 $370+tax
SVS SB12-NSD $649
Sony 590 $88+tax
Denon 2113CI $649+tax
Cables $20-30
NF36B Speaker Stands $100

Also got the BDI Valera 9729 ($699+tax) in Walnut for my stand. Little pricey but I and the woman liked the look of it.

I will take pictures in a couple of weeks when I get the sub and have everything set up!

Thanks for the help!

 

[agarwalro]

Very nice! This list has the makings of a great home theater. There are several articles in AV University section that will help with placement of speakers and sub, optimizing receiver settings, etc. Have fun setting things up and do not hesitate to ask questions if you get stuck.