Getting Started First Time Help

[Peter Wells]

I have a recently finished basement which looks great and is basically a giant L shape. I am placing the HT in the corner of the L with the couch about half way back to allow room for gym stuff to face the tv and space off to the other part of the L shape. The space has significant echo due to materials location etc which i will be attempting to minimize with rugs, wall coverings, etc. I used to have a Sony dream system which died and simply met the needs at the time. I am in the market for a big upgrade (over time). At first I plan to just buy two front towers and a receiver but would like to piece meal it over time (pre-amp outs on an all in one reciever for upgrades to dedicated amps later?) for the other speakers 5.1 or 7.2, maybe ATMOS when the content exists, if ever and eventually upgrade into a separates system if possible. I have a good ear for clarity, which is more important to me than volume and i do binge everything from time to time. I have heard the likes of b&w, psb, etc on separates and listen to a variety of music but mostly just watch movies tv and play games because if it doesn't sound like the concert hall it's just blah to me and I simply don't have an overbearing interest in listening to it. I know this is an expensive endeavor which is why I want to do it over time. I know I need really good clean power at the end of the road and speakers with a really good balance throughout the whole frequency range they are responsible for. I have looked at b&w, Polk and klipsch personnally for speakers and Yamaha and Denon for receivers, but to be honest there is just too much out there and i am becoming overwhelmed with all the information and contradictory statements.

I am really not interested in upgrading later and spending more. I would rather buy it right the first time if possible.

Sorry if this is poorly worded and confusing. The internet has overloaded me with knowledge. And thanks for all the advice in advance guys.

 

[lovinthehd]

Just what are you looking for help with exactly? What's your current budget for say the avr and speakers to start?

 

[Peter Wells]

I could be convinced to spend 1k or more on the reciever if it could be used in an upgrade to a separates configuration down the road. As for the speakers probably the same per tower. Honestly the "high" price, as least relative to me it seems that way, is the reason i want to build into a complete high quality setup over time. If i can achieve really clear sound over a simple reciever with great speakers or vice versa i am happy that way too i just want the sound to be really clear for 5.1-7.2 which is what my basement is wired for.

As a side note, there is a dealer in my area right now who is emptying stock on his Polk RTi A7s and will sell me 2-4 for around 800-1500, but i read some things online about problems with the midrange on those and as i will definitely use this setup a lot for movies, games and tv the midrange seems somewhat important.

ALso the B&Ws i demoed while on consignment at the shop were plugged into about a 10K separates setup and sounded so clear is was like i was almost in the concert hall, but were not loud at all and is why i mentioned them in my first post.

Hope that answers your questions or is at least a better starting point. And thanks for terrific response time too.

 

[lovinthehd]

You're on the right track then with looking for an avr with pre-outs to enable adding external amp(s) (if even needed but I do like that option myself, but if you go with high sensitivity speakers that might not be necessary but depends on your spl needs/goals). Otherwise pick one with the features/connectivity you like; I like Audyssey XT32 so Denon and Marantz would be my go-to brands at this time. I'd like to check out units using Dirac but that so far takes a larger investment but that could be changing soon. The Denon 4300 and Marantz 6011 look interesting.

What about subs? Towers won't negate the need for subs...especially if it's in a large basement, concrete floors and walls especially. What are the dimensions of the basement? How far away from the speakers will you be for your primary listening positions?

Not been a fan of the Polk or B&Ws I've heard but really haven't explored but a few models either--my options to go to a store that even has speakers setup for playback in any sort of decent environment entails a several hour drive so mostly I go with internet choices. I've mostly been a bookshelf guy but I recently picked up a pair of JBL S590 towers, and like them quite a bit so maybe check those out. I've had excellent experience with various Ascend Acoustics speakers, altho not their towers (but would like to).

 

[shadyJ]

Can't go wrong with the JBL Studio series, check out some 580s. As for receiver, I would stick with Pioneer, Yamaha, Denon, or Marantz. If you want real uprgadability, get something with pre-outs. This would be a solid choice within your budget.

 

[lovinthehd]

Can't go wrong with the JBL Studio series, check out some 580s. As for receiver, I would stick with Pioneer, Yamaha, Denon, or Marantz. If you want real uprgadability, get something with pre-outs. This would be a solid choice within your budget.

The 580s from what I've read comments of wouldn't lose much if anything to the 590s with subs. I picked up my pair of 590s for what that ad was for a single 580, which also has something to do with my satisfaction....

 

[Peter Wells]

Base of L shaped basement is about 12 feet wide and 22 long. Other leg of L is about 15 feet wide for most of (narrows to about half for last 7-8 feet of length) and is 25 feet long. the long endge also has a 10'x10' room at the end with french glass panel doors on it if that matters (office). Problem with the room is as stated above echo due to tile flooring on concrete. The echo does not completely concern me as i will probably not be in this house forever.

After post last night it came to me that i still have these 3ohm sony dream system speakers lying around to use if possible and as a terrible fill-in till i can complete the setup if need / good idea. I will probably be 8 to 10 feet away from the setup on the couch when it matters (play music off in the office / gym treadmill way in the back watching TV, etc).

I have been looking at Denon, but had initially removed them because at first i was looking at Klipsch speakers and found many reviews that said they seemed too bright when combined with a denon reciever.

The one thing i forgot to mention is on the reciever i would like to have at least 4-5 HDMI ports with several being 2.0 and HDCP for 4k content down the road (my tv will be on the list after this). Plus my xbox one s will support it for netflix content etc. THere are other reciever features that are nice too but not a deal killer such as, app control, power on-off control of other devices through the reciever.

 

[lovinthehd]

That's a big room in terms of subwoofer (sub "sees" the whole space, whereas speakers are more about the distance between the speaker and you).

I don't pay attention to those who try and assign a set "sound" to a brand of receiver (let alone a specific model). My Denon I don't consider "bright". Klipsch speakers on the other hand are famous for being on the bright/shrill side in several of their speaker lineups, particularly the lower priced ones. Your room sounds bright, though (furnishings/rugs will help). Denon 4200 has been on sale for $800 lately, that Marantz unit is nice (and both have Audyssey XT32, a nice feature to have).

I've had good success with Ascend as I mentioned; the 340SE speakers for L/R/C and some 170SE or 200SE for surrounds would work well.

I'd think a sub should be in your shopping as well...Ascend can bundle a Rythmik sub with their deals, too.

 

[Diesel57]

Hey Peter , listen to lovinthehd and shadyJ, they both have been a dynamic duo with knowledge, information and direction, I agree totally with the avr choices and the JBL'S, while still deciding why not consider SVS PKG also, I've had the SVS Prime Towers for about 5-6 weeks and has been poetry to my ears which will be a deciding factor with your choices...It's what sounds good to your ears...Can't thank you guys and the supporting cast here enough...Cheers

Peter, by the way, welcome to the yellow brick road...

 

[Peter Wells]

Thank you to everyone for the initial input. I am very slow and careful to do things especially when it involves big purchases. I have finally bought a Marantz SR7010 I got a great deal on over the holidays.

As I am slowing building this out (cash flow issue) I am borrowing some basic speakers from a friend to hold me over until I can get the above mentioned Ascend Acoustic speakers. Sine the speakers I am borrowing are basic Klipsch speakers with absolutely no low end at all and I will be getting the ascends eventually, what sub from Rythmik or other brand would you recommend that I can get now and will be part of the permanent solution down the road?

Again thanks for the advice.

 

[shadyJ]

Sine the speakers I am borrowing are basic Klipsch speakers with absolutely no low end at all and I will be getting the ascends eventually, what sub from Rythmik or other brand would you recommend that I can get now and will be part of the permanent solution down the road?

How much bass do you like? Is this for a system for music, or also movies? How large is your room?

 

[lovinthehd]

I'd think about at least a good sized ported (like the Rythmik FV15HP or FXV15) sub in that room, preferably two of them down the road for more even coverage. The others I'd look at are Hsu, Power Sound Audio, SVS or even consider building one yourself. Check out this article http://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/subwoofer-room-size

 

[lovinthehd]

How much bass do you like? Is this for a system for music, or also movies? How large is your room?

He describes the room in post 7

 

[shadyJ]

What is the budget for subs?

 

[Peter Wells]

So the space is about an 8 ft ceiling making the av area about 1250 ft cubed with another approximate 1250 cubic ft space directly behind it and another 600-800 to the side. I don't really care about "filling" those spaces. Also of note I have a large rug and couches in the main space there but the floor throughout is porcelain tile and the whole floor is a basement so there is insulation and concrete walls behind the drywall. Do I really need that much capability? I definitely want good response for gaming and movies which should also handle music well and I'm not going to play anything at really high levels I'm primarily interested in very clear sound and realistic reproduction.

As for budget there really isn't one but I'm also not spending ten thousand on a sub or even two subs and only spending 300 per speaker from ascend, it just doesn't make sense. I am so much farther behind knowledge and experience wise with subs compared to regular speakers that I have no clue at this point. I have read the link from above but my lack of personal experience is still limiting my ability make conclusions and move for with sub progress. All advice and help is really appreciated.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I'd think about at least a good sized ported (like the Rythmik FV15HP or FXV15) sub in that room, preferably two of them down the road for more even coverage. The others I'd look at are Hsu, Power Sound Audio, SVS or even consider building one yourself. Check out this article http://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/subwoofer-room-size

This is what I was going to say. I would only add that you may not want to fill those other spaces, but the subs see that airspace as a whole. Performance will be directly correlated. I have a very large space and can tell you from experience that you have to account for all of it with subs. You said there's not really a budget so I'd go straight for a pair of fv15hp's and not worry about buyers remorse. If that's too steep, I would buy one, and immediately start saving for the second.

 

[TMB]

This is what I was going to say. I would only add that you may not want to fill those other spaces, but the subs see that airspace as a whole. Performance will be directly correlated. I have a very large space and can tell you from experience that you have to account for all of it with subs. You said there's not really a budget so I'd go straight for a pair of fv15hp's and not worry about buyers remorse. If that's too steep, I would buy one, and immediately start saving for the second.

 

[lovinthehd]

So the space is about an 8 ft ceiling making the av area about 1250 ft cubed with another approximate 1250 cubic ft space directly behind it and another 600-800 to the side. I don't really care about "filling" those spaces. Also of note I have a large rug and couches in the main space there but the floor throughout is porcelain tile and the whole floor is a basement so there is insulation and concrete walls behind the drywall. Do I really need that much capability? I definitely want good response for gaming and movies which should also handle music well and I'm not going to play anything at really high levels I'm primarily interested in very clear sound and realistic reproduction.

As for budget there really isn't one but I'm also not spending ten thousand on a sub or even two subs and only spending 300 per speaker from ascend, it just doesn't make sense. I am so much farther behind knowledge and experience wise with subs compared to regular speakers that I have no clue at this point. I have read the link from above but my lack of personal experience is still limiting my ability make conclusions and move for with sub progress. All advice and help is really appreciated.

Doesn't matter if you want to fill the space particularly, at least if you can't close the other space off. It takes much more subwoofage in my main room open to dining room and kitchen than it does in my bedrooms....start with one and find out how well it works for you then down the line make a decision to add or not....fwiw the cost of the speaker is low because it has no lower bass capabilities in a sense.

 

[shadyJ]

So the space is about an 8 ft ceiling making the av area about 1250 ft cubed with another approximate 1250 cubic ft space directly behind it and another 600-800 to the side. I don't really care about "filling" those spaces. Also of note I have a large rug and couches in the main space there but the floor throughout is porcelain tile and the whole floor is a basement so there is insulation and concrete walls behind the drywall. Do I really need that much capability? I definitely want good response for gaming and movies which should also handle music well and I'm not going to play anything at really high levels I'm primarily interested in very clear sound and realistic reproduction.

As for budget there really isn't one but I'm also not spending ten thousand on a sub or even two subs and only spending 300 per speaker from ascend, it just doesn't make sense. I am so much farther behind knowledge and experience wise with subs compared to regular speakers that I have no clue at this point. I have read the link from above but my lack of personal experience is still limiting my ability make conclusions and move for with sub progress. All advice and help is really appreciated.

I would be looking at a Hsu VTF-2 mk5 or RBH I-12. If your budget is a bit more relaxed than that, go for a VTF-3.

 

[TMB]

You might look at the Tekton Double Impact towers and center. You can build on them as a large front stage presense of $3,000 for two 54" H x 12" W x 17 3/4" D large front speakers with two 10" woofers, two 6" mid-woofers up top with a seven tweeter array below and above them. The top mid-woofer has two front 2" ports aligned with the top and the bottom mid-woofer has two front 2" ports aligned with its bottom. The bottom pair of 10" woofers have rear ports behind them. The DI centers have two 6" mid-woofers with a seven inch tweeter array between them at $1,000.

A bit over budget although you would have an awesome front stage. A Denon AVR 900S 7.2 channel at 90 watts RMS at $300 for half price as a refurbished model from an approved reseller.

I use the Polk RTi a7s as surrounds for $750 a pair and TSi 500s as back surrounds for $500 a pair with both pairs new from Amazon.

I have added two SVS PB-2000 up front and at $1,500 a pair just added a 3rd for $750 as a repeat customer between the back surrounds.

Did extensive research on multiple sub systems and would go with three PB-2000 instead one large SVS sub for the same price.