Advice on first Home Theatre Sound System

[ToolZero]

This will be my first home theatre sound system, please forgive my ignorance.

I have $3000-4000 to spend on speakers and a receiver, with a target of $3500.

My goal is to put together a system that will make action movies sound and feel really great at high volume. I also want music to sound good, but I don't play it loud very often anymore.

My room setup is not good. The depth is 18-20'. The left wall contains two windows and a sliding glass door and the right side of the room becomes the kitchen.

I am thinking about getting the Klipsch RVX-54 Home Theater Speaker System.

and the Yamaha RX-V2500 receiver.
Klipsch RVX-54 Review

My research brought me to this website and forum and now I don't know if I should get the Mordaunt Short Avant Series speakers

or the Denon AVR-3805 receiver.
System Guide I Used

I know enough to know that I know very little regarding intermediate and advanced home theater. Any advice would truly be appreciated.

Grant

 

[jaxvon]

Another good option in your price range would be the Axiom Audio Epic 60 500 system. This system would surely rock your house and sound great. The Epic 80 would be an awesome system too, but the speakers are 4 ohm nominal, and would present a difficult load for your reciever options.

If the subwoofer seems too steep for you, you can always opt for something from SVS. They make awesome products as well, and a couple of members here are going to check out the showroom this Friday (pretty sure on that date). Keep in mind though that the EP500 DID win product of the year at Audioholics for subwoofers...

For reference, some reviews:

M-60Ti
VP-150
QS-8
EP500

These are the speakers that make up the components of the Epic 60 system. You can of course read glowing reviews at Axiom's website, but I thought I'd post the Audioreview links.

I'm not sure how these would compare to the Morduants, but I can guarantee that these would blow the Klipsch speakers out of the water.

The whole speaker system is $2788.25 shipped and you can try it in your home for 30 days. If you don't like it, then you can send it back, but you have to pay the return shipping.

There are lots of other options out there too. Paradigm, PSB, Energy, B&W, and many others.

 

[ToolZero]

Jaxvon,

Thank you for that great information!

I am all but sold on the Axiom system with the exception of the center speaker, the VP150. It looks like most people had some pretty serious issues with the VP-150. All of the other speakers and the sub got nothing but praise.

What are your thoughts on the VP-150? Is there another speaker that would be a good replacement for it?

Grant

 

[jaxvon]

I would recommend that you call and talk to Axiom personally. They have no problem talking to you, and their phones are open late (like 11pm eastern!). Tell them about your room, and your concerns with the VP150. Oftentimes problems like the ones people talked about are due to room acoustics. With the two powerful tweeters on the VP150, it is very easy to get overly bright without some absorbtion and level adjusting. Of course, speakers are also a matter of personal taste, so some people might just not like the sound of the Axiom speakers.

Before you buy though, talk to Axiom at 1-866-244-8796. Also, go out and audition some other speakers.

Axiom takes off 5% when you order like 5 things from them at once. There is always the possibility that you won't be satisfied with the system, so you might want to just get the M60s at first (and maybe the VP150) to see how you like them and save on shipping costs (if you have to return them). Axiom might just be cool enough to give the discount even if you order in two batches, though I can't make any guarantee on this, it's just speculation.

Lastly, check and see if there are any Axiom owners in your area. There is a list here. You'll have to join the message boards to PM one of them, but it shouldn't be an issue. The list is of owners who are willing to have prospective owners come over and listen to their system before they decide to order.

Edit: Review of the Epic 80 system (different towers and sub than my recc) by Audioholics. You should PM ClintDeBoer and ask him what he thought about the VP150.

Edit2: It's best to have "timbre matched" speakers, that is speakers that tend to sound the same. This is especially important for the front three speakers, so no, I don't think you should go for a different center speaker than the VP150 if you go for the Axiom M60s.

 

[korgoth]

you want to match the front 3 speakers..

id get the m60's unless you want to buy another 2-channel amplifier to power the m80's. Personally i think id get a used amp and go with the 80's. but the m60's will get the job done as well.

the vp150 had some people saying it was overly bright and some other people saying that the tweeter just added more clearity and made it much better. the speaker supposedly doesnt roll off its highs like other speaker will do, so it will sound brighter at times, but is actually more accurate. AH seemed to like it in their really old review and didnt mention any brightness issues.

axiom is a great company though.. some of the best customer service ive ever dealt with.

for 5.1 id get

ep500
qs8's
vp150
m60's/m80's

and for 7.1 add

m22ti's

 

[Takeereasy]

You really need to do yourself a favour and get out there and listen as much as possible. This is a sizeable investment you are making, the least you can do is make an informed decision. If you like the Klipsch setup then take a look at the Bic Acoustech setup. Like everyone keeps mentioning Axiom is supposed to make a good product and you may want to give them an in house demo. All you risk loosing is about $100 shipping. I think you are best served to hit some local shops and try to audition speakers by PSB, Monitor Audio, Paradigm, B & W,and on and on. You need to find what you like.

Now that I've got the disclaimer out of the way here's what I'd buy myself with that budget. First off 2 pairs of PSB 6T's for my mains and rears. A PSB 9C for my center. All for about $1870 shipped and I bet if you talked to them you'd get a discount on shipping. If you can go as big as you want for a sub then I suggest this guy PB12-ISD/V . Warning though, that sub is ginormous, huge, mastodonic, dinasoric even in size. Also it will knock out loose fillings. Figure it to be about $750 shipped so we're at $2500 total leaving us a grand to play with. For that $1000 I don't think you could go wrong getting a Pioneer 1015 for around $400 and a nice full featured DVD player like the Panasonic S97 for $200 from BHPhoto.com. Then spend the leftover $400 this way. About $250 on wires and cables. $150 on DVD's and DVD/Audio discs. Then sit back and enjoy. I know you were saying the music doesn't get turned up too often, but with this setup I'll bet it does. This setup reflects my tastes however. Get yourself into a show room and listen for yourself. You really will be glad you did.

 

[rikmeister]

i would also consider the paradigm studio speakers and the rockets by onix and if you

get a chance look at totem and tyler audio too. all are good choices. but it is your ears that must decide. unless of course you are buying for me. hehehe.