A newbie HT

[BBigJ]

Hi, I've been lurking around here for a while but this is my first post. I'm putting together my first HT, and I'd appreciate a little advice on speaker selection. I've looked at a bunch of old threads, but you guys do such a great job of personalising your responses that it is hard to transfer the recommendations.

I just picked up an AVR 630 from HK's Ebay store. Infinity and JBL both sell through the same store, so I had been planning to fill out the system from there, but two things have made me rethink that strategy. First, the selection of speakers is fairly limited right now, and secondly I'm not sure the speakers sell for much less than I can get from Amazon or Onecall.

I told the wife that I could do this for about 1K, so that leaves a budget of about 600 for the front, center, surrounds, and sub, although there is some flexibility here (like, $750 is flexibility, $900 is divorce ).

I'm considering spreading this out over the next few months. Perhaps just get front (and maybe center) now, and then add surrounds and sub later. That way if I end up getting speakers that don't quite have enough punch for my taste, I can move them back to the surround spots and get new fronts.

The room is about 20'x16', although it is an attic so the sloped ceilings mean it only has half the airspace of a typical room that size. It will be used for both HT and music, although I have no idea which will end up being the primary use.

 

[droeses58]

You might want to look at the BIC Acoustech speakers you can usually pick these up very reasonable, personally I have never heard them but there are quite a few people here that have and seemed to be pretty impressed, especially for the money.

P.S. nice receiver by the way, I just got the 635

 

[MDS]

$600-750 is reasonable for front, center, and surround speakers, but adding a sub will blow that budget. A good sub is in the $400 range (plus or minus).

 

[BBigJ]

$600-750 is reasonable for front, center, and surround speakers, but adding a sub will blow that budget. A good sub is in the $400 range (plus or minus).

Can you make a recommendation based on this? If you think I'm better off focusing on speakers now, I'm willing to listen.

I'm not at all opposed to putting the sub off until later (alternatively, I could get cheap surrounds and a sub, then upgrade the surrounds later--perhaps use the old surrounds in a second room). I've heard good things on this board about the cadence sub for $220ish, but then again the wife would definitely prefer to delay getting the sub.

 

[BBigJ]

One more question: Where do you recommend buying from. Is there CW for a "best" dealer? I've seen lots of references to Acoustech and SVC, but I can't find dealers that sell these brands.

 

[malvado78]

One more question: Where do you recommend buying from. Is there CW for a "best" dealer? I've seen lots of references to Acoustech and SVC, but I can't find dealers that sell these brands.

Acoustech speakers are made by BIC America their totally unimpressive website can be found here. At the bottom of the webpage you find a phone number (Call Toll Free 888-461-4628) I believe you can call them to find out if there are any authorized dealers in you area. If there are some go have a listen. I would love to tell you how they sound but I only have the center right now and my reciever is broke.

Whether or not you have a dealer in you area you should watch www.ubid.com for deals on these speakers. They always have speakers but the are normal prices like $269 for the fronts. But now and then if you are patient enough to wait you can get the fronts for $150 plus S/H the center for $50 + s/h and the surrounds for like $65 + S/H (this is the only one I am not sure on the exact price). The whole 5 speaker package (without a subwoofer can be had for $265!!!! + S/H (which is not menial tower are $50 to $60 to ship, the center is $25 and so on). So consider $100 for S/H that come to $365!!! If you are looking for a 7.1 system add an extra set of surrounds (If you need 6.1 I am not really sure what to do because the suround speakers are definitely not built to be used as a single rear center speaker). Only downside to these deal is that the speakers only come with a 90 day warranty even though they are new (Normally there is a 2 year manufacturers warranty).

Anyways $365 for 5 speakers shipped. Now you were looking at a total budget of $600 - $750 ish? This leaves you with $235 - $385 for a sub woofer. You could go ahead and try out the Cadence Xsub for $220 + S/H and this would be well within you budget. I did not see what your split between HT/Music was but the Xsub is said to be more musical because it does not have the depth of frequency response you "need" in a HT sub (I put need in quotes because someone is sure to jump all over it). So.... if you were will to wait and get the wife to give you a little more money down the road you could get a serious HT subwoofer. You mentioned SVC. I'm assuming you had a typo and meant SVS. THey are a online retailer only inwhich their webiste can be found here. I believe (but you will have to check) the PB-10 is like $429 + s/h. This would do wonderful as there are alot of reviews around here for it. But depending on your room size and the amount of money you were able to spend you may want to try and even go bigger . You can look at what else they have to offer and the price points. Don't be bashful either give SVS a call I am told they are very helpful and won't try to over sell you anything.

This is just some information. I try to help in anyway possible. Most of what you saw here is just a regurgitation of bits and peices of other threads around here. There are lots of very knowledgable people here and I try to steal as much of that from them as possible but am by know means one of the knowledgable one (Maybe someday if I work hard enough )

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Fluance.com speaker and a PartsExpress 10" Dayton sub are probably the best you'll find & be able to come in under budget. But Like MDS said, a "good" subwoofer starts at around $400-450, corners must be cut somewhere!

 

[Tomorrow]

By way of adding a subwoofer to your system, be certain to call Hsu. They make a serious sub, "equivalent" to the SVS (I too put the word in quotes to avoid head-bangers, lol). They sell their subs a bit cheaper than SVS and ask for the availability of B-stock...which is 20% off their regular price. SVS also has B-stock, but it's generally 10% off. You may be able to find an STF-2, a great 10" sub at Hsu for as little as $320. Look here---> http://www.hsustore.com/stf2.html

The Cadence is another good option with your wif....er, budgetary constraints. MacManMN touts it highly. Finally, we'll soon have a review of a $79 12" sub for the extremely budget conscious. Stay tuned.

Happy speaker hunting.

 

[BBigJ]

Thanks for the suggestions. This gives me a fair amount to think about.

malvado: yes, that was a typo, I meant SVS (I just bought some computer parts from svc). When the Accoustech's go for the low prices are those a different type of auction, or am I just waiting for every other bidder to fall asleep? I just checked and the front, center and surrounds were all going for $10 less than what I found from non-auction websites and that was with time remaining on the auction.

One other thing is that I think I would prefer to go with good bookshelf type speakers for the fronts rather than towers due to the... errr, sloped ceilings *cough* wife *cough*. For example, JBL has the E50's which look like they would work for fronts. Of course I haven't heard them, but is there anything else similar that you would recommend?

 

[jaxvon]

Hoo HAH! I do say, there IS something we can do...

And it's another product from BIC America, namely the DV62si bookshelf. You can get them for about $121/pr, shipped, from Amazon. The matching center speaker is about $105 shipped from Amazon. I have the DV62's and they're great little speakers, especially for the price. I have them crossed over at ~70hz with my Hsu STF-1 subwoofer and it's amazing.

For a subwoofer, you're going to want to try to get something with some bottom end extension for movies, IE, not the STF-1. While the STF-1 is a great subwoofer for music, it doesn't really have the depth to be super awesome for movies.

 

[BBigJ]

The DV62 looks like pretty much exactly what I had in mind. Should I go for the same speakers for both front and surround? Also what sub should I match it with. Of everything mentioned here, the Cadence is the most affordable. Would that work?

 

[jaxvon]

That's your best bet, 4 DV62si bookshelves for the L&R and surrounds, then 1 DV62CLR center speaker. As for a sub, the Cadence is probably your best bet for good bass on a budget. To get 20Hz and lower extension you'd have to pay about twice as much (SVS PB-10ISD). Since the Wife is looking for you to spend as little as possible, I think the Cadence would be your best bet. In fact, I was going to buy the Cadence, but an opportunity to pick up a barely used Hsu STF-1 came along and I jumped on it. The downfiring woofer was a much better idea for my situation (less chance for it to get broken).

For the Cadence, I think your best bet is to get it from Ubid. The Cadence store's shipping is pretty hefty (almost $50 when I was pricing it ).

 

[BBigJ]

I started looking at the reviews of the DV62's on the main site, and while the reviews are all glowing, they all mention modified crossovers. Now I know what the crossover does, but how to modify it (or even how to identify it) is beyond me.

 

[malvado78]

Thanks for the suggestions. This gives me a fair amount to think about.

malvado: yes, that was a typo, I meant SVS (I just bought some computer parts from svc). When the Accoustech's go for the low prices are those a different type of auction, or am I just waiting for every other bidder to fall asleep? I just checked and the front, center and surrounds were all going for $10 less than what I found from non-auction websites and that was with time remaining on the auction.

One other thing is that I think I would prefer to go with good bookshelf type speakers for the fronts rather than towers due to the... errr, sloped ceilings *cough* wife *cough*. For example, JBL has the E50's which look like they would work for fronts. Of course I haven't heard them, but is there anything else similar that you would recommend?

It sounds like other BIC speakers are a good fit for you. But to answer you question about the auction, the cheap auctions come and go. The towers for $150 just ended Friday and the Center for $50 just ended this morning I think. This auction will come around again but a may be a couple of weeks. I think Spiffyfast picked them up the middle of last month. The ones that are only $10 cheaper are always there though.

The modified crossovers you hear about is a design doen by Ed Frias. I don't know who he is or how to find him but suposedly it is like $30 bucks plus you have to send you speaker to him for him to modify it I believe. I'm sure somebody will let me know if I am wrong. I also think that it is on the Center speaker that need the modified crossover not the other four speakers but I maybe mistake on this also.

 

[korgoth]

axiom m22ti bookshelves are about 400 dollars, but are very nice speakers, and the center (vp100) would cost antoher 215. if you got it from the factory outlet http://www.axiomaudio.com/factoryoutlet.html

there are a ton of axiom fans here if you want to do a search, they sell directly throught he internet with free shipping, and have a 30 day return policy. Since you cant test them out you have to do a lot of reading, but youll find a a lot of very happy customers. http://www.axiomaudio.com/store.html

so that would only leave another 125 or so for surrounds, but you can get another brand of speaker for surrounds.

the front 3 speakers are used most often anyway so id probobly spend more to get a decent front set up, then spend the rest for surrounds.

a sub would eventually be needed but these little things have surprising bass for a small bookshelf.

 

[jaxvon]

The cost for the Ed Frias mod is $30/pr for the DV62 bookshelves and $20 for each DV62CLR. You don't have to send your whole speaker, just the crossover. This, however, would require you to open up your speaker and disconnect some wiring.

As for Ed Frias, search for his name on the forums to find his contact info. I don't know if offhand, but I know it's floating around here somewhere.

 

[BBigJ]

The cost for the Ed Frias mod is $30/pr for the DV62 bookshelves and $20 for each DV62CLR. You don't have to send your whole speaker, just the crossover. This, however, would require you to open up your speaker and disconnect some wiring.

As for Ed Frias, search for his name on the forums to find his contact info. I don't know if offhand, but I know it's floating around here somewhere.

Jax, are your speakers modded? If so, is it worth it? I have no problem opening up the speaker. That is exactly the kind of destruction I can get into. I wonder if he gives any discount for doing two pairs and a center all at once? The other thing, is if I'm going to be monkeying with the speakers anyhow, that removes any incentive to buy from the reputable/established outlets (since the warranty will be voided anyhow). So I might as well save a few bucks buying off ebay/ubid.

 

[jaxvon]

No, my speakers are not modded (yet!). I've been busy with college stuff right now. Once things settle down I'm going to take out the X-Overs and mail them off to Ed. As far as being worth it, I'll let you know after I get mine modded.

 

[BBigJ]

Let us know how they sound, but I'm officially out of the market for the DV series. My Acoustech towers and center showed up today (sound great so far, but most of my listening has been MNF). I'm now waiting for the surrounds to show up on Ubid for the cheap price.

 

[Hanse18]

Where did you end up buying your acoustechs from? And no sub either? The acoustech sub is highly touted as well.