From car audio guru to home audio Noobness: Where to begin?

[BoseBlose]

As i near a new prowess on the car audio front and am capable of installing anything and everythign, along with amassing a large base of knowledge on many products, i am not satisfied.

I seek an excellent system on a budget <$1500. from what i understand, home audio is much easier to set up, for there you sit in between two speakers, there is no offset. My current setup includes:

Old Sony Minidisc deck
Sony DVD player/cd burner
Old (approx. 9 years) sony receiver.

Last but not least, a pair of Bose 601 speakers (i have since learned)


soooo.....Where do i start? All i want is an amp/stereo speakers set up

 

[anamorphic96]

Are ok with going used. You can save a huge amount of money and get some great equipment this way. Audiogon along with e-bay are probably the two top places to find deals.

http://www.audiogon.com/

What kind of music do you listen to and what are listening habits ?
Will you eventually want to step up to full HT system in the future ?

If no on HT and if you dont listen to the radio to much you might want to look at an integrated amp or a seperate pre amp and amp.

Some companies to check out would be NAD, Rotel, Cambridge Audio, and Parasound.

For speakers I would check out Paradigm, PSB, Athena, Energy, Mirage, Axiom, B&W, Polk, MB Quart, Infinity, Aperion and the list can go on but this should get you started.

I would hold onto the Sony players since this area will not make as big of a difference as a good set of speakers and amplifier will.

Cheers

 

[BoseBlose]

i listen to a lot of alternative music and a lot of acoustic music. i also listen to a lot of classic rock. ON top of that i listen to a lot of rap and bass heavy rap.

i do NOT want to step up to a HT in the future, as i already have had one and i dont watch enough movies to watch them in my room.

when i am in my room, which is always, i am always listening to music, even when i am sleeping. I listen to the radio often. I actually dont use the cd player that i have, i use my computer and i have it hooked up to my current stereo system.

i used a headphone jack to analog for about 2 ft, then i am using the minidisc deck to boost the signal about 10 ft. to the player.

so, does that help you?
I

 

[anamorphic96]

The best bang for buck I know of in a stereo receiver is the HK 3480. Very powerful and should drive most speakers with with ease.

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=3960817

For speakers there are alot of options and this is where I would put a majority of your money. Speakers will make the biggest difference so listen carefully and let your ears decide. Not sure if youre after bookshelves or floorstanders so im including both.

http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=ATHASF2&product_name=Audition AS-F2 Tower Speakers - Pair
Probably the biggest bang for the buck here. These things can really dish it out in all areas.

http://www.paradigm.com/Website/SiteParadigmProduct/ParadigmModels/MonSeries/MonitorSpecs.htm
Check out the Monitor 5's or 7's. Very nice for the money. The 5's run around 500 a pair and the 7's are around 750 a pair. You have to buy these in person at a dealer. They are not available online.

http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.models/label/Model DM602 S3
Probably one of the more popular bookshelves and they do all genres of music well and can dish out the bass for there size. These need to be purchased at a dealer as well.

There are many other options out there for speakers but these should get you started. You might want to look into a subwoofer as well since you like bass heavy music.

The Athenas and the HK would run 700 and save you a ton of cash and give you a killer set up for music.

Cheers

 

[annunaki]

If you listen to rap and are used to "in-car" bass performance you will need a subwoofer. The HK 3480 is a great receiver with lots of power. That and its a good value. It offeres video switching as well as a subwoofer output. It also offers a preout main in feature for adding and eq, if wanted, or for looping through a subwoofer to take advantage of the subs crossover.

 

[nm2285]

The HK is a good recommendation. I would also look heavily into the NAD C370 and C350 if you go used, C352 and C320BEE if you go new. They're are fantastically musical and the C370 which I own seems to have a never ending power supply. It also has a "pre-out 2" with a volume control which I personally use for my subwoofer. The 1 caveat with these is that they are only integrated amps. You'll have to buy a separate tuner. But, if you don't mind that, they can easily be found and older one used for around $50 since they're technology hasn't changed much if at all.

Also, my personal recommendation would be heavy bookshelves (with at least 1 6.5" driver) and a subwoofer for your types of music. You could also go with very large floorstanders to get the bass, but I find bookshelves and a sub usually are a better value than smaller floorstanders and a sub in this price range.

The Athena's are a good recommendation and an incredible value (and you may not need a sub, they go pretty deep), but I believe you could probably find better sounding bookshelves on your budget.

One recommendation for a killer system:
NAD C370 (apprx $450 used)
Tuner (apprx $50 used)
SVS, Adire, HSU subwoofer ($450)
Energy C3 ($550)
total: $1500

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

i listen to a lot of alternative music and a lot of acoustic music. i also listen to a lot of classic rock. ON top of that i listen to a lot of rap and bass heavy rap.

i do NOT want to step up to a HT in the future, as i already have had one and i dont watch enough movies to watch them in my room.

when i am in my room, which is always, i am always listening to music, even when i am sleeping. I listen to the radio often. I actually dont use the cd player that i have, i use my computer and i have it hooked up to my current stereo system.

i used a headphone jack to analog for about 2 ft, then i am using the minidisc deck to boost the signal about 10 ft. to the player.

so, does that help you?
I

I'm going to go out on a limb and disagree with the posts above for speakers. A subwoofer will provide absolutely no help with the type of music you listen to. You need large, efficient towers with horn type midranges and tweeters. I would recommend going this route if you have the space:

http://store.salestores.com/cecldu153tol.html


The Harman Kardon receiver mentioned above is a great choice, and will sound smooth enough with a good pair of headphones. JR has free shipping. Most of the sites show around $300 shipped. JR is a reputable dealer.

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=3960817

 

[nm2285]

Buckeye:

I'm going to have to politely disagree with your above post. In his top two music choices, he listed "acoustic." For that he certainly needs a clear, accurate, detailed speaker, not just something that can pump and thump. Granted, with classic rock, rap, and alternative also on the list, a fairly dynamic and forgiving speaker will be needed in order to present the correct amount of impact and to take it easy on the bad recordings.

I recommended the Energys because they serve well for acoustic music and they have a very sweet sound that will do well to forgive the harsh recordings from many alternative, rock, and rap sources. With a subwoofer, you should get all the impact you need.

If a horn type, efficient speaker is what you desire after looking, I'd probably choose something from the Klipsch Reference series. They'll still do well with acoustic and be more explosive. Also, the Athena aren't horn tweeters, but they do offer a high sensitivity and (the AS-F2s) will produce a very full sound.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

nm,

Good points. Especially with acoustic music. I agree Paul Simon would sound better on the Athenas. He has quite a mix of musical tastes. My thinking was that the CV's would be perfect for alternative, rock, and rap, and the HK receiver would smooth out the horn tweeter (not known for being bright equipment). The CV's actually have a very nice extra large midrange for acoustics. If he's still a young gun, those 4-15" woofers would impress the boys and out-do most subs on the market.

Trying to get a good, clean, powerful receiver, higher end Energy towers, and a quality sub that puts out the bass he's familiar with in a car or club, would easily exceed $1500. The compromise would be the HK receiver, the Athena AS-F2's, and an SVS 16-46 sub for P Diddy.