Audio Newbie looking for home theatre guidance.

[AudioNewb1]

Hello fellow holics,

Just a brief background. Im just a young lad on a budget looking to setup a home theatre over the next year. I Iust started getting into high end audio and love music. I lean towards jazz, blues, 80s rock and some of the newer stuff as well.

I currently have 2* Martin Logan lx16 bookshelves that are connected to my computer through an SMSL AD18 amp. For the computer use this has been amazing. But I am now working towards a full fledged home theatre with a 4K projector, gaming console and a home theatre pc and a vinyl record player all in the mix.

For speakers, I will most likely go for a pair of Martin Logan motion 20 floor standing and use the current lx16s as the surround. I am clueless about stereos and av receivers though. I think I will need a 5.1 at the very least. But not sure if an the average $500 dollar av receiver will sound word than a $500 stereo receiver. Can anyone recommend good devices to go for, even used, I'm happy to check the second hand market and wouldn't want to go above 500 for this, but potentially can if it's warranted.

So far I've listed a few but not sure what I'll get for the money :. Sony strdn1080 (if I get one used)
Yamaha rs202
Denim avrs540bt

I don't need Bluetooth or wireless unless it comes with some perks I am unaware of.

Sorry for the long post, I just hope this is enough of a background, feel free to advise me on my choice of speakers as well in case you think I can get a better value.

Update/edit: would it make sense to get a regular av receiver, and later get a separate 4k player? How does the 4k reciever help dramatically? Can't I just plug my convoked and media PC's directly into the projector/ TV for 4k viewing?

 

[nbk13nw]

Try here first. You can get a lot more these day than you could just 10 years ago.

https://www.accessories4less.com/?type=&page=category&action=&id=avreceiver&skip_redirect_suffix=&mode=&search_query=&category=&store_price[]=350-500&thumb_sort=store_price.desc

 

[AudioNewb1]

Try here first. You can get a lot more these day than you could just 10 years ago.

Thanks this is great, but I still don't know enough about receivers and was hoping for some pointers on whether to go stereo reciever or av receiver (with comparable sound quality) or to get the best sound, would it be a combination for both that I need? Because it's not just a home theatre, I would also like to ensure I'm getting the best value for sound quality out of my budget.

 

[PENG]

Hello fellow holics,

Just a brief background. Im just a young lad on a budget looking to setup a home theatre over the next year. I Iust started getting into high end audio and love music. I lean towards jazz, blues, 80s rock and some of the newer stuff as well.

I currently have 2* Martin Logan lx16 bookshelves that are connected to my computer through an SMSL AD18 amp. For the computer use this has been amazing. But I am now working towards a full fledged home theatre with a 4K projector, gaming console and a home theatre pc and a vinyl record player all in the mix.

For speakers, I will most likely go for a pair of Martin Logan motion 20 floor standing and use the current lx16s as the surround. I am clueless about stereos and av receivers though. I think I will need a 5.1 at the very least. But not sure if an the average $500 dollar av receiver will sound word than a $500 stereo receiver. Can anyone recommend good devices to go for, even used, I'm happy to check the second hand market and wouldn't want to go above 500 for this, but potentially can if it's warranted.

So far I've listed a few but not sure what I'll get for the money :. Sony strdn1080 (if I get one used)
Yamaha rs202
Denim avrs540bt

I don't need Bluetooth or wireless unless it comes with some perks I am unaware of.

Sorry for the long post, I just hope this is enough of a background, feel free to advise me on my choice of speakers as well in case you think I can get a better value.

If you are in the US, you may be able to get a avr-x3400h brand new for $599 or less. It will sound better than any $500 stereo receivers for sure.

 

[2channel lover]

Hello fellow holics,

Just a brief background. Im just a young lad on a budget looking to setup a home theatre over the next year. I Iust started getting into high end audio and love music. I lean towards jazz, blues, 80s rock and some of the newer stuff as well.

I currently have 2* Martin Logan lx16 bookshelves that are connected to my computer through an SMSL AD18 amp. For the computer use this has been amazing. But I am now working towards a full fledged home theatre with a 4K projector, gaming console and a home theatre pc and a vinyl record player all in the mix.

For speakers, I will most likely go for a pair of Martin Logan motion 20 floor standing and use the current lx16s as the surround. I am clueless about stereos and av receivers though. I think I will need a 5.1 at the very least. But not sure if an the average $500 dollar av receiver will sound word than a $500 stereo receiver. Can anyone recommend good devices to go for, even used, I'm happy to check the second hand market and wouldn't want to go above 500 for this, but potentially can if it's warranted.

So far I've listed a few but not sure what I'll get for the money :. Sony strdn1080 (if I get one used)
Yamaha rs202
Denim avrs540bt

I don't need Bluetooth or wireless unless it comes with some perks I am unaware of.

Sorry for the long post, I just hope this is enough of a background, feel free to advise me on my choice of speakers as well in case you think I can get a better value.

I know you had some specific questions, but I'm offering more of an overview. I'm a music lover 1st and foremost.

Buy the best main speakers that you can afford....they should be the most expensive line item you buy as they will have the biggest impact on the sound quality of your new system. AVR vs Stereo Receiver...generally speaking the sound quality is going to be very similar so you're spending your money on features. Given that you've mentioned a projector down the road, the AVR makes the most sense over a stereo receiver.

I've never heard the ML 20, but I've spent some time with the ML 40 and the 60.

The ML 40 imo is a very well rounded main speaker, it has a cleaner midrange than the larger 60 which is the driver you really want to get right in a speaker. I would at least check them out before you take the plunge.

 

[nbk13nw]

I agree with them as well. Speakers (front three, left center and right), then avr. Next i would look at subwoofer then surrounds. Front three will give you the basics paired with a good avr. Subwoofer will add so much to both music and especially to HT. Add surrounds and atmos later.

 

[lovinthehd]

First I think you have to make up your mind whether you want more than 2 channels...a 2ch receiver likely won't work with your 4k desires, but many modern avrs will. The Denon suggested is a very nice unit. AVRs are more about their feature/connectivity sets, and amp sections to a degree (depends on the speakers you want to use). I'd skip the vinyl thing altogether if money is a concern, just not worth it IMO as part of a new system in terms of both the initial expense for a decent player as well as the records themselves. Speakers and your room are the prime contributors to sound quality, not the electronics.

 

[Rob James]

Make sure the avr you buy has 4K passthrough you can get a good denon for around the price ur looking for and you may want to save a little longer and get an avr with pre outs With those features you won’t have to worry about upgrading for a while

 

[lovinthehd]

Make sure the avr you buy has 4K passthrough you can get a good denon for around the price ur looking for and you may want to save a little longer and get an avr with pre outs With those features you won’t have to worry about upgrading for a while

For example the Denon 3400 suggested has a full set of pre-outs; many avrs only have subwoofer pre-outs so be careful when looking to see which avr has them or not....this is for flexibility with external amplifiers that you can use instead of the avr's amps...

 

[AudioNewb1]

First I think you have to make up your mind whether you want more than 2 channels...a 2ch receiver likely won't work with your 4k desires, but many modern avrs will. The Denon suggested is a very nice unit. AVRs are more about their feature/connectivity sets, and amp sections to a degree (depends on the speakers you want to use). I'd skip the vinyl thing altogether if money is a concern, just not worth it IMO as part of a new system in terms of both the initial expense for a decent player as well as the records themselves. Speakers and your room are the prime contributors to sound quality, not the electronics.

I think a 5.1 two channel will be sufficient. For music I'll switch to 2.1 with the floor standing and woofer. And for other media I'll add the centre and surround bookshelves. The vinyl player is part of the reason I'm getting a receiver at all. And decent vinyl players cost as much as receivers now. But you can start of as cheap as 100 dollars for a decent audio technica player. The vinyls themselves are like 5 bucks each used. I'm happy to shell it out for the music experience I'm looking for.

 

[lovinthehd]

Most avrs don't have a phono section any more, but the AT you mention believe has one built in. May suffice for low cost/used vinyl setup but that's not something I'd do...what kind of experience do you aim for with vinyl, tho?

 

[AudioNewb1]

I'm just starting out. I've heard a few vinyl setups and I get goosebumps. It sounds so much more alive than any lossless music I have right now.

 

[lovinthehd]

Good luck!

 

[AudioNewb1]

A friend advised against getting denon, Yamaha or onkyo, he said to go for niam or marantz. Is there a way to keep the denon x3400h and also later add a marantz as the audio source? Sorry, I really haven't done any of this before so not sure how this would work for future upgrades. Can anyone clarify if this is possible and how this would work? Really appreciate it

 

[nbk13nw]

Your friend has some issues. Lol.. . Well maybe a little bias. Yamaha is considered to be the top of the food chain in reliability, Denon is one of the Big Dogs in AVR's today. Onkyo had some issues a few years ago but has since stepped it up. Pioneer, Marantz, Denon, Yamaha are all excellent choices. Shop your favorite brand and choose your options wisely

 

[AudioNewb1]

I think he was talking strictly from a sound quality perspective, would you say the difference is that significant?

 

[nbk13nw]

Little to none with the difference in sound. Biggest noticable sound difference would be from the speakers. Some say Marantz has a warmer sound, whatever that means. I had a Sony, Pioneer, Yamaha and a Denon all running the same speakers in the same room over a 20 year period. The only difference was volume due to power differences, other than that it was newer capabilities and features that I wanted.

The switch from analog, composite. Dvi, optical, hdmi, 4K and Atmos. Pre-outs, number of channels, those kind of things that change over the years.

 

[lovinthehd]

Naim is full of nonsensical claims, was just reading the results of a complaint brought against Naim with the UK standards organization (for truth in advertising) for essentially false claims about their silly power cord and they were told to stop making those claims. Popular with certain audiophiles who believe such claims perhaps. Marantz and Denon now being from the same company have far more in common with each other than some old audiophile myth based on a different Marantz entity altogether.