Budget Audio Setup

[FatStrat85]

I am looking to spend less than $1300 on a complete audio system that will be used for both music and home theater. I want to start with a 2.1 setup because the living room in my apartment wouldn't really work with surround sound (there's no where to run the wires easily). However, I want to have the option to expand to 5.1 or 7.1 in the future. I would prefer to have HDMI inputs and outputs on the receiver for convenient integration with my HDTV.

My primary interest is making this sound excellent with music, but good movie sound quality is also important. I listen to a wide variety of music from metal to orchestral to jazz. Most of my listening would center around rock music varying from Pink Floyd to Tool.

Here is what I am looking at now. I am hoping you can tell me what the weak points are in this setup and if I can can get any better components on my budget. I currently am looking at:

Paradigm Monitor 7's (v5) for around $600
Paradigm PDR-10 Sub for around $300
Yamaha RX-V661 Receiver for around $500

The stereo store I would buy all this from would give me a percentage off the top, bringing the total to around $1300. Is that a smart setup for a $1300 budget? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

[Seth=L]

Can you order items online?

The receiver you selected was the one I was going to recommend.

I would advise staying away from lower end subwoofers from Paradigm if you can.

Paradigm makes good speakers, I would also look at Boston Acoustics VR series as they are on closeout at many places, Onecall being one of them.

 

[FatStrat85]

Thanks for the reply. The Boston VR3's are going for around $500 (for a pair) on onecall. I'm having trouble finding many reviews, but found a few comparisons to the Paradigm Monitor series and to the Studio Series, which is more expensive than the Monitor Series.

hometheaterforum.com/htf/archive/index.php/t-225234.html
archive2.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6481340&&#post6481340

It looks like the Boston VR3's are the better set of speakers and that they would normally cost more than the Monitor 7's, but now they are cheaper on clearance. However, I don't know where I could go to test the Bostons, so I would be buying them blind, which I'm not crazy about. I'd be willing to buy them based on reviews if there was a good return policy.

So you don't like the Paradigm PDR series? What would you suggest instead in that price range?

 

[avaserfi]

From my personal experiences I believe the Boston pair will do you better for the price than the Paradigms. If possible check out the retailers return policy as speakers are very personal and paying shipping isn't too horrible a risk if you enjoy the speakers.

As far as equally price subwoofers I would recommend looking at HSUresearch.com 's offerings. One thing I will warn you about: The subwoofer is, in my opinion, the most important speaker in your sound system in regards to movies. If this is important to you I would suggest perhaps increasing your subwoofer budget and starting out 2.0 until you can get an appropriate sub for your room. If you need help determining what size/output sub you need I would recommend contacting either HSU or SVSound.com as they both make great subs for the money.

 

[Seth=L]

I will second the HSU and SVS recommendations. You could also look at Velodyne for subwoofers.

Boston is closing out the the VR series at Circuit City, if you are lucky you can listen to them there. You might also be lucky to find one of their subwoofers for a steal of a price.

 

[jcPanny]

AV123 deals

Check out the current specials at AV123:
http://www.av123.com/specials.php
With their current promotions, a 2.1 or 3.0 system from the Rocket or Reference line is within your budget. Both will look and sound better than the paradigm monitor line. Look for that receiver from an authorized online dealer for <$400 or ask your dealer to match the price.

 

[FatStrat85]

From HSU, I can get the STF-1 or VTF-1 for just a little more than the Pardigm. It looks like a pretty good deal. The HSU stuff looks like it is a bit outside of my price range for a sub. Their cheapest Cylinder Sub is almost $400, and I'm not sure if that is good for music or comparable to the other stuff I'm looking at.

Those AV123 RS450's for $499 look like a really good deal. I can't find any reviews on them other than the audioholic one. Where could I hear them?

I mirrored this thread over on the audioreview forums. They suggested I can get a better receiver than the Yamaha with either Onkyo, Denon, or Marantz. I looked at the Marantz SR-4002, the Onkyo TX-SR605, and the Denon AVR-877. Any opinions on those? Here is the other thread.

forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=24488

 

[avaserfi]

Unfourtunatly AV123 is a internet direct company so the only way to audition their stuff is order it and return if you don't like it. They will let you do this and you will only be out shipping if that is a risk you are willing to take. Another option is post on their boards and see if anyone with the rockets lives around you. Often times you will be welcome to check the speakers out at their place.

As far as HSU/SVS subs they will both be great for music and movies, but you will want to get one that is appropriate for your room. I would contact the companies directly to see what they recommend. They will not try to oversell you. Worst case scenario you don't get what they recommend because it is too expensive best case you get the perfect sub for your room.

As far as those receivers go any will work well. I would suggest focusing on your speakers first then decide on a receiver. The Onkyo 605 has the most features with HDMI 1.3a and internal decoding of all the HD audio formats so if that floats your boat I would say look at that unit. In the end, especially with the speakers you are looking at, I would say pretty much any receiver will do you justice as long as it has the connecitivity and features you like for the price you are willing to pay.

 

[rnatalli]

I'll third looking at HSU for the sub. I have both STF-1 and STF-2 subs and they're excellent. SVS is excellent as well, but tends to cost a bit more. The x-sub is a good option as well, but it's backordered till next month. For speakers, Boston Acoustics at Onecall, av123 speakers, PSB at DMC electronics, Mordaunt-Short and KEF at AC4L, Mirage at Crutchfield, Missions at TSTO. That's just a few off the top of my head that have some good deals going.

The Yamaha 661 is a great receiver. So are the others mentioned. It comes down to price and features.

 

[zumbo]

You will probably hear from both camps, but I prefer the Polk RTi8. $532.86 shipped.
http://www.jr.com/JRSectionView.process?InSearch=t&N=0&Ntt=RTi8&Ntk=All_Record_Search&lastSearch=&search.x=20&search.y=6

Onkyo 605 from Onecall for $430.55 shipped.
http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=87018

Athena sub. $269.97 shipped.
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ATASP6000

$1233.38 total.

I understand from your post you have a dvd player, or it is just not part of the $1300 budget?

 

[jostenmeat]

Add another pair to the growing list. Monitor Audio Bronze B6 towers:
http://www.monitoraudio.co.uk/product.php?range=3&product=11

Going for $529 from Saturday Audio (exclusive close-out dealer for MA. All their Silver series towers were sold out by the time I discovered them...). Their shipping is quite reasonable, very unlike OneCall.

 

[FatStrat85]

I will buy a Blu-ray player and it is in a different budget than this audio setup. Thanks for the suggestions. Audio is so subjective, it looks like I'll never get one definitive answer. I'm going to see if Circuit City has the Bostons and the Polks so I can hear how they compare to the Paradigms I've been listening to. I'm not sure where I could test out the other speakers mentioned. I can see how this can get very frustrating very easily.

 

[Seth=L]

I mirrored this thread over on the audioreview forums. They suggested I can get a better receiver than the Yamaha with either Onkyo, Denon, or Marantz. I looked at the Marantz SR-4002, the Onkyo TX-SR605, and the Denon AVR-877. Any opinions on those? Here is the other thread.

forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=24488

You mean this?...

Have you compared the Yamaha to anything else? I personally find them a bit soft in the bass. You'll find more slam from Onkyo. Denon and Marantz would be some where between. What I mean by soft, is just a general lack of definition and no authority.

There is no justification for anything Mr Peabody said. Onkyo doesn't have slam, the Yamaha doesn't have "soft" bass, and the Marantz and Denon don't fall "somewhere in between". They are going to sound pretty much identical. Pick a receiver with the features you like and maybe consider the power it has or ability to handle the speakers you end up getting.

 

[rnatalli]

Definitely pick speakers first and the worry about the receiver afterwards.

 

[avaserfi]

I can see how this can get very frustrating very easily.

There is always one option which can make life much easier if you don't want to invest hundreds of hours auditioning speakers. If anyone mentions a brand that you cannot audition without breaking an arm and a leg don't check it out. The current state of affairs in the industry seems to be such that there is no clear best speaker at any price range i.e. no $500 speaker is light years better than the rest etc... they will all have their strengths and weaknesses depending on design compromises.

With this in mind I would recommend doing a search to see all the local audio shops to you as well as anywhere that would carry speakers in your price range. Bring some CDs with you and check out as many different speakers as those stores offer. There are quiet a few people who aren't willing to buy internet direct simply because of the possible hassle in returning speakers they are not completely floored by and that isn't a problem. Everyone has their own standards and amount of time they are willing to put into speaker auditioning so don't feel bad if you don't look into every single suggestion listed .

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I am looking to spend less than $1300 on a complete audio system that will be used for both music and home theater. I want to start with a 2.1 setup because the living room in my apartment wouldn't really work with surround sound (there's no where to run the wires easily). However, I want to have the option to expand to 5.1 or 7.1 in the future. I would prefer to have HDMI inputs and outputs on the receiver for convenient integration with my HDTV.

Just another point of view:

Onkyo SR605: 2 HDMI 1.3 inputs/ Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HD MA for movies/ Direct Stereo Mode for 2-ch music. Cost is $400.

Definitive Technology BP7006 (L/R): 1" tweeter, 4-1/2" midrange/upper bass, 8" powered 300-watts RMS subwoofer. Freq. Resp. 29 - 20,000 Hz +/- 3dB. This would give you 2 powered subwoofers for a 2.2 setup. Cost is $850/pr.

But you will HAVE to audition the speakers for yourself to see if they sound awesome to you. Obviously, the two 300-watts 8" subwoofers will not outperform an awesome dedicated powered subwoofer that goes down to 20 Hz +/- 3dB. But I think you will find that two 300-watts 8" subs in the BP7006s will match or outperform most single $400 subwoofers.

 

[FatStrat85]

I called all of the local stores around here and I found a store that has a pair of Polk RTi8's and another store that has a pair of Boston VR2's. These are both different stores than the store I've been listening to the Paradigm Monitor 7's at. I was hoping to find a Boston VR3 in the area, but can't seem to find one. They even seem like they're all sold out online.

Does anyone have any opinions on the sound quality of the VR2 compared to the RTi8? I hear the VR2 has a stronger low-end, but I plan on getting a sub anyway. I'm annoyed I can't hear them all side-by-side at the same store to do an A/B comparison. Any advice on what I should be listening for that will stick in my mind as I drive between the stores?

Here's the only comparison of the 2 speakers I could find online:
archive2.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=621102

 

[avaserfi]

When comparing two speakers when you can't do an A/B test I would recommend using music you are very familiar with. Bring a couple songs you enjoy to listen to them all on the speakers trying to notice every little detail and how realistic the sound is.

This is a great primer on what to look for with loudspeakers:
http://www.audioholics.com/education/loudspeaker-basics/how-to-judge-loudspeakers-sound-and-accuracy