Advise Please 4k to spend

[ddwr450ff]

Hi all,

I am updating my HiFi/HT setup and im wondering what
you guys would suggest I purchase. At the moment i am
on a budget of 4k, (wife says 3k). I am very aware that
you get what u pay for, but id like to get some feedback from
guys that are into this gear.

At the moment i am running my 8yr old Kenwood KRFV6060DS receiver
and Kenwood 5 Disc/DVD player and a DB Dynamics F38 VEGA speaker pack.

I have been looking online and speaking with the boys at Eastwood HiFi,
and im looking at the following items.

YAMAHA Receivers;
RX-V 765 $1199 or
RX-V 1065 $1599

YAMAHA Speakers;
ns-555 $1499 or
ns-777 $1790

I was also looking on their specials page at the
RX-Z7 $2499 (i think that was the sale price).

Now what else is around my budget and what would i
gain out of spending the extra on the RX-Z7? or should i
spend a little more on speakers and less on the Receiver?

Dan
Newcastle

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I am on a budget of 4k, (wife says 3k)

I like your thinking there.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

should i spend a little more on speakers and less on the Receiver?

You should spend A LOT more on SPEAKERS than on the RECEIVER!!!

With $4K, I would spend $700 on the Receiver and $3,300 on the Speakers!

This Denon 3310 is currently out of stock right now, but just watch for it to go back in stock and get it for $650:
http://www.ecost.com/Detail/Receivers/Denon/AVR3310CI/53205659.aspx?navid=155438257

Then spend the $3,300 on speakers.

 

[Seanc24]

Dan,

I just purchased the RXV-3900; really I could have gone with the 1065, but I wanted some of the networking features. I was originally going to get the z7, but thought it was too much for the few extra features.
The 1065 looks to be a great receiver. I'm in Canada and found the 1065 for about $900-1000.00. The $1,500 you mentioned seems expensive. I was going to go with a denon but didn't want to spend the extra. I put the extra into the speakers. I have had no problems with Yamaha receivers.

I would agree with you and spend more on the speakers. With the 3900 I bought Totem Tribe 3 front and centre channel speakers. They look and sound fantastic. I was looking for wall mount speakers to conserve space. I didn't have room for large floor standing fronts.
I looked at the B&W, Definitive and Paradigms and foud the Totems to be one of the better sounding wall mounts.

 

[Kai]

I agree with Guy. Buy the best speakers you can afford...for what you want out of the system...and put roughly $700 towards the receiver.
Speakers, if purchased well and thoughtfully, can last well over a decade while receivers generally come and go within 5 years or less as new features/DSP/etc. are introduced.

Before you jump into a system I hope you take the time to listen to and evaluate a variety of receivers and speaker systems before making a purchase.

There are a lot of very good manufacturers out there and you would do yourself a good service by shopping around and buying what you love.

If you have been researching what your money can buy you must realize that using $3300.00 of the budget for a 5.1 system may not get you as much as you expect so shop carefully and regardless of what a salesperson or forum member may advise always buy speakers that sound wonderful to your ears...you are the one that will hear them day in and day out...

Good luck, enjoy the shopping experience and keep us informed.

Do you have a music demo disk? If not I strongly suggest you create one with perhaps 10 of your favorite songs covering a wide genre of music styles that will push speakers in different ways. Too many songs will be confusing to remember differences, etc., too few generally doesn't cover a wide enough mix.
My demos change here and there but currently use artists like Frank Sinatra, Annie Lennox, the Beatles, Celtic Woman, Santana, AC/DC, etc.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Other tips:

Speakers will sound differently at stores vs in your home.

Some companies offer a free 30 day in-home trial of their speakers. For example, Aperion & NHT offer this. Some other companies do too.

It's good for a business to make some profit, but you don't have to pay them 100% profit. So whatever you buy, if you buy brand new speakers, make sure you get 10% off (if not 20-30% off) MSRP. For example, I got all my speakers brand new from an authorized local dealer @ 30% off MSRP.

Many people here have also bought things from Audiogon & eBay.

 

[Seth=L]

Dan Newcastle,

You can find the NS-777 and NS-555 for much cheaper than the prices you quoted there.

It appears this is a pair price for the NS-777.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?sku=A2862490&dgc=SS&cid=27530&lid=627063&s=dhs#Overview

for surrounds you could get the NS-333

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-NS-333-Reflex-Bookshelf-Speaker/dp/B0000W4U1S

and center

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-NS-C444-Center-Channel-Speaker/dp/B0000W4U2M/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_b

This leaves you plenty for a subwoofer.

 

[sholling]

I'll agree with the others but I'd put the receiver at $700-1000 - up to 25% of your budget and no more. The reason is that if you buy refurbished then $1000 get's you into the territory of 50lb monsters with great gobs of reserve ummmph. Next I'd figure out room volume (cubic feet) so you can peg a budget for the subwoofer and I'd stay with internet direct for that piece.

That should leave you $1800-2000 for the 5 speakers.

 

[Chitown2477]

That is more than enough to get a HT that will last for years to come. I would spend as follows:

• $800 for a receiver - the Pioneer Elite VSX-23TXH, Yamaha RX-V1065BL, or Denon AVR890 all can be had at this price or below.
• $600 for a subwoofer - the ED A3 - 300 or the SVS PB12-NSD
• $2,600 for the remaining 5.0 in a solid 5.1 system. The choices for speaker are too vast and very subjective. I like Klipsch alot for example and the RF82 reference line (without the sub) can be had for $2,600 and will sound awesome. You can add the two speakers for a 7.1 system later if you so desire.

Try to buy your receiver and speakers from the same place to leverage your buying power. (Note: buy sub online - they are always better) This may save you 10-15% - which will cover taxes plus some. Not sure where you are at but ABT.com is a start and I always get great discounts there. I live near Chicago as well so shipping is not an issue for me but they will ship practically anywhere.

 

[highfigh]

You should spend A LOT more on SPEAKERS than on the RECEIVER!!!

With $4K, I would spend $700 on the Receiver and $3,300 on the Speakers!

This Denon 3310 is currently out of stock right now, but just watch for it to go back in stock and get it for $650:
http://www.ecost.com/Detail/Receivers/Denon/AVR3310CI/53205659.aspx?navid=155438257

Then spend the $3,300 on speakers.

That receiver is great if someone wants a 90 day warranty but I wouldn't advise buying one from them and going to a local place for info. This is an open box deal, which isn't necessarily bad but it needs to be known ahead of time.

 

[sholling]

[*]$600 for a subwoofer - the ED A3 - 300 or the SVS PB12-NSD
[/LIST]

Try to buy your receiver and speakers from the same place to leverage your buying power. (Note: buy sub online - they are always better) This may save you 10-15% - which will cover taxes plus some. Not sure where you are at but ABT.com is a start and I always get great discounts there. I live near Chicago as well so shipping is not an issue for me but they will ship practically anywhere.

I think I'd calculate room volume before settling on a sub. An A3-300 or PB12NSD might be enough sub or it might not.


OP,

I suggest picking out your speakers and then pick out a receiver based on the speaker's power requirements and the features you want. However one that would be on my list is a refurbished Onkyo TX-NR1007 for its awesome feature set and super robust amplifier section. It comes with a one year warranty and I usually figure if an electronic component is going to fail it's going to fail in the first 6 months. If the budget won't stretch that far a refurb TX-SR707 will only run about half that much. But pick out your speakers first then decide how much receiver you need to drive them.

 

[Davemcc]

I think I'd calculate room volume before settling on a sub. An A3-300 or PB12NSD might be enough sub or it might not.


OP,

I suggest picking out your speakers and then pick out a receiver based on the speaker's power requirements and the features you want. However one that would be on my list is a refurbished Onkyo TX-NR1007 for its awesome feature set and super robust amplifier section. It comes with a one year warranty and I usually figure if an electronic component is going to fail it's going to fail in the first 6 months. If the budget won't stretch that far a refurb TX-SR707 will only run about half that much. But pick out your speakers first then decide how much receiver you need to drive them.

All of what he said.

The receiver should be chosen to support whatever speakers you get, not the other way around. Subs should be chosen to support the volume of the room and your particular demand for bass. Two very important points.

Depending on room size, it may be worthwhile to budget anywhere from $600 to $1400 on one or two subs, depending on what you need.

But still, the bulk of your time and auditioning should be spent trying to find the speakers that suit your taste the best.

 

[sasay1980]

what about kef3005se with denon 1610?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Check out this Denon AVR-4310CI for only $999:

http://www.ecost.com/Detail/Receivers/Denon/AVR4310CI/53205667.aspx?navid=155442295

 

[zhimbo]

Newcastle - as in England?

That would explain the prices you quote being completely out of line with what I would expect.

 

[walter duque]

With a 4k budget I would go with a pre-pro and power amp. With an AVR your always gona look back and say to yourself why did'nt I go for it.