Help narrowing down a first time HT setup

[trooper11]

Hey everyone, Ive followed this site for quite some time as I do research into things like recievers and speakers. Ive gotten to the point where its time to get a better set coming from one of those HTIB setups. Ive tried to narrow my choices down, but it gets tough as you get closer to pulling the trigger so I was hoping for some insight from people here.


The room this will be setup in isnt exactly ideal for a home theater since its open to other rooms (kitchen and dining area), but it will have to do at least for the short term until I move it all to a dedicated room. The living room area is about 16x18 in size.

Now my budget is a bit tight right now, trying to stay around $1200 for the speakers and receiver in a 5.1 setup.

For the receiver, after ALOT of reading back and forth with various reviews and forums, Ive narrowed it to these two:

Pioneer VSX-1120-K
Onkyo TX-NR708

Im leaning towards the Pioneer based on the price i can find them for (~$530) and some reported issues with Onkyo unit along with its continued trend of putting out alot of heat compared to the Pioneer.



Now, going beyond receivers, the speakers have given me trouble. What Im noticing is that there is a fair gap between say 'entry' level speakers and mid range quality. With my budget sitting at around 700 for the speakers after getting the reciever, ive gone back and forth about getting a whole 5.1 set now and just upgrade after i move to a dedicated room, or just get a higher end say 2.1 set for now.

So if i was to go for 5.1 now, Id looked at brands like BIC America and Polk, and after looking at them, considered this set:


For the center
-BIC America FH6-LCR Dual 6.5-Inch 175-Watt ~$115

For the fronts and rears
-BIC America DV62si Bookshelf type x4 ~$110 per pair

For the Sub
-BIC Acoustech Platinum Series PL-200 Sub ~$330


Ive read good and bad about BIC, but mostly good, so they seemed to be a great buy considering the pricing versus say Polk entry level speakers. I did have a question about tweeters. considering my room size does that affect whether a horn type tweeter is better/worse than a standard dome type tweeter? The center I listed there is a horn type, and Im wondering if thats a waste or a benefit for my space. If its a benefit, than maybe i should also look at horn type bookshelf speakers instead of the dome type i have listed.

So what do you guys think? Im open to any other suggestions, there is alot of specifics im still learning about all of this stuff, so any tips would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[tcarcio]

Well as far as a reciever goes check out www.accessories4less.com They have some great deals and Mark is very helpfull. I just bought a Marants SR5004 and got a great deal.

 

[zieglj01]

You can do better than Bic - they don't sound clean. Go to AC4L for
a refurbish receiver. Go to Emotiva.com and look at the Ultra 10 sub.
Also, you can look at the subs from HSU (hsuresearch.com) for a good
price. While they last, go to Crutchfield.com and look at the Infinity
Primus bookshelf and center speakers. They are more musical than Bic.
If you want to go more high end - then go to Nhthifi.com and look at
the Classic Two speakers. With a good price on your receiver - you
may be able to buy 3 Absolute zero speakers and use one for a center.
I have owned Onkyo and Pioneer receivers and Onkyo handles the
power better. Onkyo needs room to breathe. Your front and center
speakers should have the same tweeter. Horns are a matter of taste -
good horn speakers can be expensive.

 

[trooper11]

Thanks for the suggestions so far and Im looking at emutiva and hsu.


Anyone else have experience with the BIC set or other suggestions?


I am also considering change the fronts to two of these:

BIC Formula FH-65B x2 ~216
-that way, if i go with a horn type center, the fronts will match, although id probably still get two DV62si dome types for the rears




Also, while checking pricing for these, I noticed that the BIC VK6-LCR Center was available around $199 and looked really good on paper against the FH6 center, so if anyone has experience with this center, that would be helpful.


But if i changed to that center, then Id want to chance from horn to dome type fronts in order to keep the system balanced right?

 

[trooper11]

Oh and to add some mroe info about my setup, this system will be pretty evenly used for music and movies. I will have an htpc in use there that will serve music, movies, and dvd/bluray musical performances. Music will mostly be of the classic rock variety, but a bit of classical and modern rock/metal mixed in there.

From what Ive read, horn types are subjectively better for movie use while dome types are better for music use. Since Im doing both, i guess it comes down to the overall quality of the speaker and whether one type has the edge overall.

Also, my seating is about 4-6 feet away (6 being the farthest away seating) from the TV.

 

[zieglj01]

Oh and to add some mroe info about my setup, this system will be pretty evenly used for music and movies. I will have an htpc in use there that will serve music, movies, and dvd/bluray musical performances. Music will mostly be of the classic rock variety, but a bit of classical and modern rock/metal mixed in there.

From what Ive read, horn types are subjectively better for movie use while dome types are better for music use. Since Im doing both, i guess it comes down to the overall quality of the speaker and whether one type has the edge overall.

Also, my seating is about 4-6 feet away (6 being the farthest away seating) from the TV.

I have owned horns before and you need to be more than 6 feet away.
There are a lot of home theater systems with dome tweeters. It all comes
down to how well a speaker is designed and engineered. Make sure you
have a 30 day return policy if you are going to play horns 6 feet away.

 

[trooper11]

thats very helpful info.

it certainly sounds like horn types are meant for larger spaces where the distance is larger. if thats the case, then it sounds like those would be overkill for my space and be a waste of money.