HT for $4000. SVS Ultra bookshelf system? Other brands?

[Couch Potato]

I'm not an audiophile but I recently read that +/- 3 db is good so 0.9 sounds excellent. And they're fairly cheap too. Ok, very good possibility for the backs on those. Thanks.

That Rhythmic sounds popular, but the $1300 SVS had a slightly higher ranking by audioholics. Maybe i should start a SVS vs Rhythmic thread...

If that's the case, just get the NHT SuperZero on sale for $60 each (MSRP $120) and use as surround speakers.

SuperZero 2.0 | Bookshelf Speakers | Premium Audio Equipment

They are great speakers, even for front speakers.

Multiple subs is for smoothing the bass response in the room so that your listening positions have the best bass (punchy tight bass).

But, alas, if only ALLOWED one sub , then get one Rythmik FV15HP.

Well, perhaps you could get all NHT speakers. They have a 30-day in-home trial. I think NHT makes great accurate speakers. For example, their $219 Absolute Zero (on sale @ AVHiFi for $175 each delivered, but no free trial ) had a superlative listening window (200 Hz - 10kHz) frequency response of +/- 0.9 dB, which is the best I've seen. Superb FR is not everything, of course, but it doesn't hurt.

$175 x 5 = $875; or ($175 x 3 Absolute Zero) + ($60 x 2 SuperZero) = $645. A lot of money saved.

The NHT subs are also very good, but will not perform as well as higher price Rythmik, HSU, SVS, PSA, etc. The NHT 30-day free trial is great.

My first audiophile system was the NHT SuperZero + NHT SW2P sub (one 10" sub). I think it outperformed about 90% of the tower systems I auditioned.

You don't really need to spend a lot for great sound quality. I just spend a lot because I'm imprudent and irrational.

 

[Couch Potato]

Thanks. I'll read up more on Soundfield when I get home from work. Thanks for the link on subwoofers. It was a funny read because of the wife factor. So, I guess two $700 subs might be better than one $1400 sub?

I don't think the center is important at all. I personally run 6.1 without a center. In the past i've even removed a centrr from a system altogrther. It's nice to have but stereo mains can give you 95% of the illusion of a center, without the sound altered by cluttered tv stands and below-ear placement. I do still want to roll in a center in my system, but not too much.

Soundfield makes good speakers. The monitor two is a newer design but you'll find more info on the NLA Monitor 1. Either way, AJ knows what he's doing when it comes to lifelike reproduction.

I would recommend two subs over one. You can convince your wife by pointing out the symmrtry, and the audible benefits are there:

Are Two Subwoofers Better than One? | Audioholics

 

[GranteedEV]

and two $1100 subs is better than that

 

[mike c]

i would recommend getting bipole/dipole rears instead of the bookshelves ... just my 2 cents ... since the price difference isn't that big

 

[Pyrrho]

I would be tempted to go with three pairs of these (or, if I was certain I only wanted 5 of them, I would see if they would sell me 5):

Monitors~Philharmonic Audio

I personally really like ribbon tweeters. That would total $2550. I would likely then go with this subwoofer for $1199 if $4000 is the absolute limit:

PC12-PLUS - SVS

That totals $3749.

Or for a bit over budget, this subwoofer for $1699:

PC13-ULTRA - SVS

That totals $4249.

Although I think a good subwoofer matters, the other speakers matter more. The other speakers affect all music and affect dialog intelligibility, whereas a subwoofer only matters with portions of sound that happen to have deep bass.

Whatever you buy, make sure the main speakers are really good.


On the question of one subwoofer versus two, for most people, I recommend that they buy one really good one, and then when they want to upgrade, simply buy an identical one later. If someone has two lesser subwoofers instead, the upgrade is going to involve having to buy two better subwoofers instead of only one. I only recommend two subwoofers for people who will never upgrade their subwoofers.

 

[Couch Potato]

I can easily see that

and two $1100 subs is better than that

 

[Couch Potato]

Thanks for the suggestion. I read all the SVS reviews here and then exchanged messages with Marshall Guthrie since his room also had no back wall and a partial side wall. He recommended the bookshelfs and not the surrounds since the latter functioned best by bouncing sound off all the walls. Since I couldn't really utilize that, I decided to go with the bookshelves.

i would recommend getting bipole/dipole rears instead of the bookshelves ... just my 2 cents ... since the price difference isn't that big

 

[Couch Potato]

Thanks. I've heard Philharmonic mentioned here a few times too. sooo many choices.

I agree. I'm trying to get the best speakers because knowing me, I won't change them for 15+ years. But it sure is hard to decide when there are so many, and especially since I can't audition them.

I would be tempted to go with three pairs of these (or, if I was certain I only wanted 5 of them, I would see if they would sell me 5):

Monitors~Philharmonic Audio

I personally really like ribbon tweeters. That would total $2550. I would likely then go with this subwoofer for $1199 if $4000 is the absolute limit:

PC12-PLUS - SVS

That totals $3749.

Or for a bit over budget, this subwoofer for $1699:

PC13-ULTRA - SVS

That totals $4249.

Although I think a good subwoofer matters, the other speakers matter more. The other speakers affect all music and affect dialog intelligibility, whereas a subwoofer only matters with portions of sound that happen to have deep bass.

Whatever you buy, make sure the main speakers are really good.


On the question of one subwoofer versus two, for most people, I recommend that they buy one really good one, and then when they want to upgrade, simply buy an identical one later. If someone has two lesser subwoofers instead, the upgrade is going to involve having to buy two better subwoofers instead of only one. I only recommend two subwoofers for people who will never upgrade their subwoofers.

 

[Couch Potato]

And regarding the subwoofers... that makes good sense. I was thinking of getting two mediocre subs, but now I'll just get one good one and upgrade down the road if I get more wifey points. lol.

I would be tempted to go with three pairs of these (or, if I was certain I only wanted 5 of them, I would see if they would sell me 5):

Monitors~Philharmonic Audio

I personally really like ribbon tweeters. That would total $2550. I would likely then go with this subwoofer for $1199 if $4000 is the absolute limit:

PC12-PLUS - SVS

That totals $3749.

Or for a bit over budget, this subwoofer for $1699:

PC13-ULTRA - SVS

That totals $4249.

Although I think a good subwoofer matters, the other speakers matter more. The other speakers affect all music and affect dialog intelligibility, whereas a subwoofer only matters with portions of sound that happen to have deep bass.

Whatever you buy, make sure the main speakers are really good.


On the question of one subwoofer versus two, for most people, I recommend that they buy one really good one, and then when they want to upgrade, simply buy an identical one later. If someone has two lesser subwoofers instead, the upgrade is going to involve having to buy two better subwoofers instead of only one. I only recommend two subwoofers for people who will never upgrade their subwoofers.

 

[defmoot]

All NHT "Absolute" Series speakers are 20% off listed prices until July 29th. I know you're looking at bookshelves/standmounts but check out the Absolute Towers, too. FWIW I have Classic Threes and love 'em.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

All NHT "Absolute" Series speakers are 20% off listed prices until July 29th. I know you're looking at bookshelves/standmounts but check out the Absolute Towers, too. FWIW I have Classic Threes and love 'em.

Absolute Zero @ 20% off the listed $219 price = $175? Is that directly from the NHT website? I know AVHiFi has the AZ for about $175, but I did not readily see that on the NHT site.

 

[defmoot]

Absolute Zero @ 20% off the listed $219 price = $175? Is that directly from the NHT website? I know AVHiFi has the AZ for about $175, but I did not readily see that on the NHT site.

Yep. The homepage at nhthifi.com has the details.

 

[theJman]

Thanks for the input. One of the sales people at Magnolia said I shouldn't spend too much on the surrounds because they just provide "accents". I didn't take him too seriously since he never heard of SVS or Aperion. hehe. I like that suggestion, as I've heard the front three are the most important. In fact, he also told me the center was the most important in a HT setup.

The guy was pretty much right...

The surrounds are, in essence, for accent. They aren't insignificant, of course, but only a small portion of the overall soundtrack comes from them. And the center really is the most critical of all the speakers in a 5.1 system. Have a problem with that and it can totally mess up your enjoyment. Him not hearing about SVS at least is a bit disturbing though.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The guy was pretty much right...

The surrounds are, in essence, for accent. They aren't insignificant, of course, but only a small portion of the overall soundtrack comes from them. And the center really is the most critical of all the speakers in a 5.1 system. Have a problem with that and it can totally mess up your enjoyment. Him not hearing about SVS at least is a bit disturbing though.

I agree that the surrounds are not so important and the center can be very important for discrete 5.1 like DTS-HD and TrueHD.