$2500 /£1250 budget for a home cinema system

[nayenshah]

please provide me with:

5.1 speakers;
a sub-woofer
a receiver which may be used to connect, TV, & Blu-ray player and satellite TV (is possible)

 

[rnatalli]

Start with speakers and allocate half your budget towards them. Get out and audition as many as you can as everyone has different tastes and there is no such thing as "best" speakers. Once speakers are out of the way, you can worry about the rest of the setup. For a subwoofer, you can't go wrong with SVS or HSU. Like an SVS PB10 or HSU STF-2. What size room is this setup going into? Do you have a preference for bookshelf speakers, floorstanders, satellites, etc...

 

[nayenshah]

thanks for the tip on the sub-woofers and other details, the room is approximately 4m x 7m.

what speakers would do justice to action films, as well as to pure classical music which requires the sophistication of al the dynamics and pitches of all frequencies to be heard?

 

[rnatalli]

what speakers would do justice to action films, as well as to pure classical music which requires the sophistication of al the dynamics and pitches of all frequencies to be heard?

It's all a matter of personal taste so everyone prefers different things. Generally speaking, people who want mainly HT tend to lean towards brighter speakers like Boston Acoustics, Axiom, Klipsch, etc... But not everyone feels that way. I'll throw a few possibilities out there that should keep your speaker budget around $1,250.

Monitor Audio Bronze sereies from saturdayaudio.com
Boston Acoustics VR and CR series from Circuit City and onecall.com
Mirage OMNI from crutchfield.com
PSB from dmc-electronics.com
X-ls series from av123.com
Orbs from orbaudio.com
SVS from svsound.com
Mordaunt-Short from tsto.com and accessories4less.com
KEF from accessories4less.com
Axiom from axiomaudio.com
Ascends from ascendacoustics.com
Klipsch from Best Buy
Definitive Technology from Best Buy

That's just a fraction of possibilities and they're all good, but you can start to see why auditioning is so important.

For equipment, any decent Denon, Yamaha, H/K, and Onkyo receiver should do fine. If you want to step things up a bit, pick up some entry-level separates from Emotiva or Outlaw Audio. For a DVD player, check out Oppo. Universal remote, Logitech Harmony or a UR MX Theatre Master. Monoprice is great for inexpensive, good-quality cables.

Speakers and Subwoofer = $875
HSU STF-2 Sub = $350
Emotiva UL Combo = $800
Oppo DVD Player = $230
Monoprice Cables = $100
Universal Remove = $100

Total = ~$2,455 + shipping costs

Something like this should do just fine or you could lean even more on the speakers and pick up a less expensive receiver. But figure out speakers first as they're really the key to a good system.

 

[avaserfi]

While I agree with Ratnalli's general ideas on speaker suggestions I would recommend adjusting the budget a little. He has 800 dedicated to receiver/amp and I feel that is a little too much given the total budget. I would instead spend closer to $400-500 on the receiver and pump that extra money into the speakers. Also, I would forgo the universal remote for now and use that extra 100 on speakers as well. With this situation I would personally look into Av123 x-series speakers buying the X-SLS for the fronts an X-CS for the center and X-LS as surrounds along with the said subwoofer. I feel this set up will give you what you want.

Spending less on power isn't a bad thing, you can just get last years model of yamaha, onkyo or denon and they will be able to take full advantage of the new HD formats the only difference being your HD player will be doing the audio decoding and you save yourself a ton of money .

 

[rnatalli]

Something like this should do just fine or you could lean even more on the speakers and pick up a less expensive receiver.

Hence my disclaimer above

I think something like the Yamaha 661 or Onkyo 605 would do fine as well. The reason I suggest the Emotiva or Outlaw route is that it isn't much more and the amp will be good for years to come requiring only having to upgrade the preamp for new surround modes or whatever. I also see Avaserfi's point. Plus, I believe the Emotiva and Outlaw stuff doesn't come with HDMI yet. Comes down to personal preference I guess and individual neurosis. Now if you were spending $2k on separates and $500 on speakers, we'd all agree that'd be totally out-of-whack!

 

[Alamar]

As far as budgeting goes I like the article here: Budgeting your home theatre

With a 2500$ budget that is devoted to JUST speakers / subwoofers / and receivers I'd probably break it down like:

1. Receiver ~500$
2. Subwoofer ~350$
3. 5.0 speakers Everything you don't spend on the above

BTW: Don't forget to include potential shipping costs ; cables ; remotes ; etc.

A 500$ receiver should get you a decent quality box. You might not get proper HDMI handling so if that's a requirement then you may need to simply spend more $ here. Usually HDMI 1.1 support [if done right] should be fine. Don't spend more $ for HDMI 1.3a support in your budget.

The subwoofer budget is low but there are units in this range that get good reviews [I.E. Hsu]. If you feel that you need tons of base then you can upgrade some but I wouldn't go past 500$ with your budget.

Any extra $ spent on receiver + subwoofer has to come out of your speaker budget so be careful on splurging on the others. Of course if you must have a nicer SUB + Receiver then maybe you should just go with a 3.1 system and save up some extra $ for the surrounds .....

 

[Davemcc]

The SVS 5.1 system with a PB10-ISD is only £950 from the national distributor.
http://www.subsonicsounds.co.uk/html/sbs-01-1.htm
I haven't heard the speakers, but they have been well-reviewed here. I can vouch for their subwoofers, though.
That leaves £300 for a reciever. But I would say break the bank for the Onkyo TX-SR605 at £399 (inc VAT) for the biggest bang for the buck, even if it is a little over budget. http://www.av-sales.co.uk/AV-Amps-and-Receivers-367/ONKYO-TX-SR605-367-.htm

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

please provide me with:

5.1 speakers;
a sub-woofer
a receiver which may be used to connect, TV, & Blu-ray player and satellite TV (is possible)

Definitive Technology 5.2 System (digitalcraze.com)
BP7004: Main L/R + Two 10-inch 300-watts subwoofers----$1,200
SM350: Center/Sur Left/Sur Right-----$600

Onkyo 805 Receiver (Amazon.com) ------ $814

Total: $2,614

 

[jostenmeat]

nayenshah,

Are you against 6.1? If not:

- 3 pairs of PSB B25 Images ~ $1,000

1. Do you need extracted audio via hdmi for BD? 2. Do you want the possibility of adding an external amp way in the future for when you win the lottery and have an enormous dedicated HT room?

- Onkyo 705 ~ $600

Remaining $900 used for sub of choice: eD, Epik, HSU, SVS

Pocket the change. Or use towards speaker stands. If you get those speakers in sienna, and only want 5.1, I might possibly be willing to buy the extra off you if you are so inclined. Wait, are you in England? nm. You will be hard pressed to find a better "center-designed speaker" for $175. The big fat bookshelf might have to go on its own dedicated stand, which may be unpleasing for the eyes. Otoh, its vertically arrayed t-m will allow superior off-axis listening for multiple viewers.

And your speaker system will be perfectly matched.

 

[garbage pale kid]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ try this site good delivery great prices

 

[garbage pale kid]

http://www.vanns.com/shop/index.jsp these guys are good to

 

[garbage pale kid]

i got a yamaha htr 5990 from b&h lots of power lot of connection options video upconversion its like 650$. as for speakers you should go out and check them out for yourself

 

[rnatalli]

I'm a big fan of British speakers. If you are indeed located in England, you probably have local shops carrying Mordaunt-Short, Mission, Monitor Audio, and some other well-know British brands.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'm a big fan of British speakers.

What is it about British speakers?

I mean I like British shoes (Dr Martens) because I love the way they feel, but what is it about British speakers?

 

[rnatalli]

I mean I like British shoes

So do I

 

[jostenmeat]

What is it about British speakers?

The story I have heard is that during the World War era (I believe I, not II, but don't quote me), England invested mightily into sound technology for military purposes. What they learned transferred over into the civilian-consumer market, and resulted in the reputable, long-standing quality brands that we have come to know.

However, I personally would not bunch all the English brands into an "English sound". (Even though there might be one). I also personally find the term "European sound" to be misleading as well. Add B&W and Quad to the list.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The story I have heard is that during the World War era (I believe I, not II, but don't quote me), England invested mightily into sound technology for military purposes. What they learned transferred over into the civilian-consumer market, and resulted in the reputable, long-standing quality brands that we have come to know.

However, I personally would not bunch all the English brands into an "English sound". (Even though there might be one). I also personally find the term "European sound" to be misleading as well. Add B&W and Quad to the list.

Military sound research? Interesting! You gotta love Military & Medical! The money & research that have been invested in them are tremendous.