Building first system, suggestions needed.

[oscar6036]

Well, where to start. I'm a college student who's recently had to take up a full time job to cover expenses. With this fulltime job I've actually been able to free up some money and I really, intensely want to build a decent system. A former roommate had a home theater in a box system and being surrounded by the sound blew me away.

I used to be a car audiophile.. 9 years ago so I knew a little about what sounded decent in that respect, the knowledge has long since gone. At anyrate, roommate moved out and I had to have something of my own. I did some research and picked up a Sony STRDE997B as my receiver. It was fairly inexpensive and seemed to have a lot of options and overall good bang for the buck. They're paired up with some old JBL towers that have long since blown under the strain of 110w a channel.

Back to the point of the matter. I would like help on what speakers I should go for. My budget is roughly $1200. I have a TV and I'll have a DVD/SACD player soon enough, so I'm only curious on the speaker front. Tommorrow I go to the big city (Dallas) to actually listen to some speakers, but I was wondering what I should get for that price. I do want a full 7.1 system, even though I realize that I might be stretching it with that. As for the 7.1, I don't watch a whole lot of movies as a direct result of the college and work thing, but when I do I like to enjoy them. I say this because I do do a lot of music listening. This would mean I'd have to have probably a set of towers so that I could listen in stereo format. Currently I had planned on a set of Infinity Primus 360's, 4 Primus 160's, an Infinity PS12, and a Primus C25 for my center. I'm pretty much just leaning this way because I had always liked Infinity and they're voice matched and fall within my budget. If I'm doing wrong here I would love some feedback. Thanks guys.

 

[Bevan]

oscar,

i wont suggest any speaker brands cause there are others who will chip in i'm sure who know a lot more than me about whats available for that price in the u.s.

but i notice you are thinking about 7.1 and say you will use it more for music than movies. if music is a priority you would be better served with a 5.1 setup as dvd-a and sacd is 5.1 at best.

also, at the price level you are looking at there will be a significant marginal improvement in sound quality for each dollar spent as diminishing returns have not really kicked in at this price point. so, putting the extra cash from the 6th and 7th speaker towards the front speakers should give you a noticable improvement in sound quality. i would even go as far as to apply this logic and suggest you might be better served for music to put all your $ towards a 2.0 setup (this is what i have done for dvd, sacd and dvd-a). or at least the lions share toward the fronts and the change towards the surrounds.

last point. however many speakers you get, i would also suggest looking into standmounts rather than floorstanders as you fronts. this might depend on whether you get a sub or not, and how much you value a movies lfe's, but it seems to be an acknowleged fact that at entry level prices one will get a more acurate and less coloured presentation from the smaller mini-monitors.

if it was my $1200 i'd get something like b&w 602's for the front, 303's for the rear, and the $400 svs sub that has just been reviewed on these pages.
i would not concider a centre channel as i think they are completely unneccesary unless your girlfriend always fights you for the sweet spot.

thats my humble opinion. i hope others with more knowledge than myself chip in here aswell.

cheers

bevan

 

[oscar6036]

I see that, but yes, my girlfriend does enjoy movies so I'd have to at least go for a 5.1. Is your suggestion telling me that my planned Infinity purchase wouldn't be the way to go, not even entry level? Just curious.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

If you have a college dorm room, I wouldn't even spend that much anyway. I'd just get a HSU ventriloquisst/STF-2 and be done with it until you buy a house. If you have a normal apartment you still can't do too much because of the neighboors, Maybe the Klipsch cinema system with the HSU subwoofer.

 

[Bevan]

just saying that i wouldnt buy them without comparing them to some of the other brands mentioned here. i havent heard infinities or heard very much about them. spend a bit more time, if you got it, reading these forums and others like it(some u.k forums might also be worth checking out as there is a bit of a americentric bias here on audioholics).

also, appart from reading forums, check out professional review on the speakers you have shortlisted. just google "speaker x review" and you should find something. not that professional reviews are the last word on the subject, but you will start to get a picture of what is worth auditioning. also, check out the few major anual speaker awards, or go to the speaker companys website to see if they have links to any reviews/awards for there speakers. i would be surprised if some of the speakers suggested on this forum such as polk and klipsch have done too well in that department.

i was reading this thread in the loudspeaker forum and i saw someone suggest your amp might be lacking. i would second this. i should have mentioned when i recommended dynaudio and magnepan that i doubt any of the mass market receivers from the likes of sony, yamaha, kenwood, pionee, jvc etc could drive these speakers. they are 4 ohm and need to be matched with a high current amp that can handle these low impedednces. the only budget receivers up to the job in my book are NAD and rotel. the nad 753 is an incredible sounding receiver for the price and maybe something you should look into.

one more suggestion. if you are in an appartment(like myself), maybe buy the speakers and give them a good listen at home before you decide that you definitely need a sub.

b

 

[oscar6036]

Yeah, I had already noticed the problem I was going to have with impedence. Pretty much my solution thus far is that I've lined up a friend that is going to buy my Sony from me for $350, now that still leaves me with the original $1200 budget, with the additional $350 and I'll probably ante that up another $200 because I'll be in the hunt for a receiver now as well. That gives me $1750 to buy a receiver and speakers, I've also decided that 5.1 would be the way to go and for the size apartment I have 7.1 would be unnecessary and greedy. Are you still suggesting the NAD? Because I'm hearing quite a bit about Marantz right now and I'm still leaning towards Axiom's for my speakers and probably an SVS sub. Thanks for the great work guys.

 

[Tom Andry]

The Axioms will definitely be doable under $1200 (look at the factory outlet). You just missed them selling out the last of the m40's which was their smallest tower speaker and could have been a great steal for you. M22 fronts, m2 rears, and vp100 center will run you 820.80 shipped. Plenty of money for a sub and receiver. If you want to stick with axiom, look at the 175 or the 350 if you can swing it. Other options are the SVS (which you already mentioned), the Outlaw LFM, or something from HSU. If I had to do it over again, I'd look at the refurb Marantz's on Ubid or the HK's on Ebay for good receiver deals.

My opinion - don't skimp on the sub. To me, a sub is like ram in a computer - figure out how much you think you'll need and then go up one level.

EDIT - been thinking, you could go m2's all the way around and have more money for sub/receiver. Not sure if the m2 is magnetically shielded though.

 

[Bevan]

i do recommend the nad in that i prefere it to all other similarly priced receivers/integrateds for both its headroom as well as it's warmth of sound. but i have not heard marantz receivers...

going by this thread the marantz should drive the 8?ohm axioms fine.
http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/1/15151.html


a good site that ecoustics if you havent checked it out allready.

let us know what you end up getting.

cheers

bevan

 

[oscar6036]

I bid on a Marantz SR5400 for $130, I won't go up on it at all, if I win it nice, if not, no big deal. Those NAD units are seriously hard to find online, are they British or something? The only place around my area (Dallas) that carries NAD doesn't carry them anymore so even pricing them is torturous. If you know a great place to pick them up cheaply I'm all ears, otherwise I'm going to have to go a different route.

This is the most homework I've done since junior level accounting btw.

 

[Bevan]

but a lot more fun than accounts you must admit?

thought there would be better availability of the british receiver in your part of the woods, but seems i'm wrong. short of ebay i cant suggest anything.

another option i dont know if youve concidered: a two channel power amp to run the front two speakers. i think pretty much all multi-channel receivers have pre-outs for this purpose.

b

 

[oscar6036]

That'd be an option, but my Sony STRDE997 is already sold. I believe I paid $330 for it about six months ago and sold it for $320, not bad for me really. At anyrate, if I have to go cheapo on the receiver to get an amp, thats one thing, but why not just get it all done at once?