Beginner Speaker/Receiver Help - Product Choice

[fletch140]

Hi,

I am new at buying home theater equipment (5.1 speaker set and a receiver) and was wondering if someone could give me their take on this. Best Buy is offering a deal on the Definitive Technology speakers ($800) paired with the Yamaha RX-V765 ($600) where if you bought them together, you would get $200 off the pair (so $1200 for the set).

I began doing some other research and found some other speakers that may give me the quality I want for much less of a price. Specifically, I came across the Energy Take Classic 5.1 for $400 and the Klipsch HDT500 for $600. I want a speaker that is a good for all purpose use and produces a quality sound for somone who can't tell the difference between a great speaker and an incredible speaker (i.e. not necessarily audiophile quality, but still overall good quality).

As for receivers, I've researched a bunch of brands and just don't know what to choose. I know Yamaha will typically be better for music, while say Denon would be better for movies (and is also a bit more complicated to use?), but to my ears, I'm sure they would all sound the same. I essentially want good HDMI connectivity, not so complicated configuration and use (maybe a GUI for extra ease), up-converting audio and video, all the quality audio features you'd expect a decent receiver to have (dolby, HD audio, etc.). I've generally been referring to CNET reviews for that stuff.

For speaker price, at a maximum, I'll pay the $800 for the Def. Tech. 600s, but if I'm not losing a lot of audio quality, would love to pay half that for the Energy Take Classic 5.1 (or anything similar to and in between those products). One thing I noticed about the Klipsch is that some come with wall brackets which is a nice feature for no added expense.

For receiver price, I would ideally be at $400 or below.

So, can anyone help me with some advice on the above products or possibly different reccommendations? Like I said, I can get the Definitive Technology speakers ($800) paired with the Yamaha RX-V765 ($600) with a $200 discount ($1200), so that is essentially the highest end system I'm willing to put together. Any suggestions as to where I can cut cost significantly while cutting quality minimally for my non-audiophile requisite status is the goal. Help please!

Thanks,
Matt

 

[JerryLove]

Buy your receiver based on features. Beyond features, the good brands (Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer, etc) are basically interchangeable.

To save money, try referb'd: http://accessories4less.com/

As to speakers: it's gonna be personal taste. The best measuring speakers in your range would be Behringer 2030p's at $150 a pair. What your favorites will be only you can tell. I've personally had very good experience with my energy C2's, and have not used the other brands you mention (some find Klipsh bright, some find Definitive resonant).

 

[m_vanmeter]

what size is your HT/listening room ? While the Energy Take's are good speakers, they are small and work best in smaller rooms like a den or bedroom.

One of your considerations in selecting speakers is how much room volume do you need to fill up. Small speakers in a large room can become point sources and never really create any type of surround soundstage.

 

[fletch140]

I'd say the room is maybe 15 by 15 (roughly), with a fireplace that juts out a couple feet on the one wall and an open loft for a third of the ceiling. The other thing is, I currently rent. I dont' know when or what kind of house I'll end up buying, but when I do, I want speakers that can be versatile. I'm guessing that any bigger than a 15x15 room, the Energy Take Classics won't be too effective? Will I actually notice the difference, though, between those, and say the Def. Techs. if I'm not the most audio advanced person?

I'm just second guessing spending the $800 on the Def. Techs. because i know I'm gonna have to put money into speaker wire (which I'm told is approx $60 for 50 ft of good cable) and money into 4 wall brackets.

 

[JerryLove]

The point of variance over speaker size will be your mid-range.

Those massive RBH towers that just got reviewed used a tweeter about 1" in diameter. most speakers do.

The subwoofer is what will worry about your low frequencies.

So the midrange is where the difference between a cube and a box is... and where satellites can run into trouble.

Don't worry too much that going bigger will get "too big": the "big end" of the spectrum for bookshelves is around "Studio 40" size, the Behringers I mentioned are smaller than that, and the recommendations many others will make will be smaller still.

 

[fletch140]

Yea, I mean honestly, for a 5.1 set, I'm looking to have sattelite speakers that I can either wall mount or place on a shelve (though, not bookshelve type speakers). So i'm not interested in something like big floor towers.

My main concern is that saving $400 or even $200 by not buying the $800 Definitive 600s will cost me a good bit in the sound quality and speaker longevity department.

 

[ErnieM]

For cables: MONOPRICE

Go to www.monoprice.com for all your cable and brackets. You'll save bunches and the quality is top notch.

 

[fletch140]

Sweet...thanks. yea, I know they sell inexpensive wall mounts for tvs, so I definitely intended on checking it out for cables too. Any recommendation on what cable to get? Some guy at Best Buy tried to sell me 50ft. of a cable for $60 which sounded overtly expensive to me for the system I'm trying to put together...

 

[Pyrrho]

Hi,

I am new at buying home theater equipment (5.1 speaker set and a receiver) and was wondering if someone could give me their take on this. Best Buy is offering a deal on the Definitive Technology speakers ($800) paired with the Yamaha RX-V765 ($600) where if you bought them together, you would get $200 off the pair (so $1200 for the set).

I began doing some other research and found some other speakers that may give me the quality I want for much less of a price. Specifically, I came across the Energy Take Classic 5.1 for $400 and the Klipsch HDT500 for $600. I want a speaker that is a good for all purpose use and produces a quality sound for somone who can't tell the difference between a great speaker and an incredible speaker (i.e. not necessarily audiophile quality, but still overall good quality).

As for receivers, I've researched a bunch of brands and just don't know what to choose. I know Yamaha will typically be better for music, while say Denon would be better for movies (and is also a bit more complicated to use?), but to my ears, I'm sure they would all sound the same. I essentially want good HDMI connectivity, not so complicated configuration and use (maybe a GUI for extra ease), up-converting audio and video, all the quality audio features you'd expect a decent receiver to have (dolby, HD audio, etc.). I've generally been referring to CNET reviews for that stuff.

For speaker price, at a maximum, I'll pay the $800 for the Def. Tech. 600s, but if I'm not losing a lot of audio quality, would love to pay half that for the Energy Take Classic 5.1 (or anything similar to and in between those products). One thing I noticed about the Klipsch is that some come with wall brackets which is a nice feature for no added expense.

For receiver price, I would ideally be at $400 or below.

So, can anyone help me with some advice on the above products or possibly different reccommendations? Like I said, I can get the Definitive Technology speakers ($800) paired with the Yamaha RX-V765 ($600) with a $200 discount ($1200), so that is essentially the highest end system I'm willing to put together. Any suggestions as to where I can cut cost significantly while cutting quality minimally for my non-audiophile requisite status is the goal. Help please!

Thanks,
Matt

The first thing you should do is listen to as many speakers in your price range as you can stand to audition. Different speakers have different annoyances (there are no perfect speakers), and what imperfections annoy you the most is what you should avoid. If you don't want to be able to locate the subwoofer by the sound, make sure that your satellite speakers are flat down to at least 80 Hz or lower (which generally means having a woofer that is 5" or larger, though you should buy based upon performance, not woofer size). As for a receiver, you should buy based on the features you want, assuming that the speakers are of a compatible impedance.

As for speaker wire, read this:

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

Expensive, exotic wires are a total waste of money. Stores, of course, like them, because the profit margins are high for that voodoo nonsense.

If you want the best sound you can get, put most of the money you spend into the speakers. No matter how much you spend on speakers, you will not get any with a frequency response as flat or distortion as low as a modest receiver.

 

[JerryLove]

http://www.audioholics.com/buying-guides