Help with Speaker Purchase - **PLEASE**

[zumbo]

Final thoughts????

Ok folks, i am close ..... lol

This is what i am thinking:

Marantz SR-7500 (a deal i cannot pass up and cheaper than the Yamaha 2500).
Vandersteen 1c with vcc1 center.
A spare pair of rears which i own.
SVS sub (working with Erik from there to determine which one)

I can actually get all the stuff used (but not abused) - locally - execpt the 1c and the SVS (which i will buy new).

Any thoughts?

The whole system can be had for approx. $3k

Nice! Very nice.

Looks like another unique system with careful equipment choices and lots of auditioning. Great job. And if you find you need more detail(power), as I did, just add an amp.

Oh, please come back and update.

 

[mfabien]

...SVS sub (working with Erik from there to determine which one)

I can actually get all the stuff used (but not abused) - locally - execpt the 1c and the SVS (which i will buy new).

Erik is very good in helping out. I followed his advice and my PB-12 ISD performs very well in my big room.

 

[Von Soundcard]

Well, have you purchased your system ? We "The People" are anxious to know.

 

[vdefrancjr]

UPDATE Speaker/Receiver

I have not forgotton about the "people"

I have buried myself online, under a desk doing research and looking for deals and now that i have found some, i am allowed to come in from out in the dark and see the light!

So this is what has been ordered thus far. I should have everything by next week (so another update will come once it has all been setup).

Marantz sr7500. (picked up for $700)

Paradigm Monitor 9's (pair) & cc-350 (center) (both are used 1 owner, 4 years old - but look like new, original box's, etc) Picked up all for $800

both prices have shipping included. I figured with the money i saved, i can get a larger sub, so i am trying to figure out which SVS sub to go with. It is between the PC-Ultra or the PB12-Ultra or the PB12-plus/2.

Either way by the end of this week that will be ordered too.

I really wanted the vandersteens, but the more i thought about it, having pets, possibly kids soon, etc, i was not all that crazy with the mesh surrounds. Also it would have been $1500 just for 2 speakers and the center. This way i have 2 speakers, center and the receiver. Both brands where my top brands and i just was luckey enough to find these deals.

Will post an update once system is in and live. I sooooooo cannot wait!

 

[vdefrancjr]

Just got off the phone with SVS. i had a question about a sub and while talking to them i asked if they had any B-stock. I ended up getting the PB12-plus 2 which had some finishing issues/flaws. They sent me photos and heck if i could tell the difference, but i purchased it for the price of a pb12-ultra. i couldn't turn it down. Now if i can just sneak THAT into the house without the wife noticing it. I may be out in the dog house folks, but let me tell you, i'll have a nice sounding dog house - lol ......... in fact the pb12-plus 2 is big enough to BE the dog house ...........

 

[Takeereasy]

Congrats. I know you'll be thrilled with the whole system. Post some pics when you get the chance. Sounds like you got a heck of a deal all around.

 

[3db]

Hey PSB Pimp.. Get off my corner.. *G*

Have fun auditioning speakers today, but please don't decide on a brand of speakers or a sub because I or anyone else suggests them. I'm a self confessed PSB pimp, I push these things on everyone meaning well. These speakers are showing up in friends HTs and I even picked them out along with an HSU sub for my girlfriend's dad, he loves them by the way. I am glad if I helped at all though, and make sure to post back with your decision.

I've been ardent PSB fan ever since I got into this hobby 6 years ago. I would really love to hear a review on the new Subsonics 8,9, and 10 subs and on their platinum series.

 

[Takeereasy]

3db, always nice to hear from a fellow PSB enthusiast. I was at my local dealers the other day asking a few questions of one of the salespeople and looking around to see what was new. I went into their basement section where they have two movie theaters set up and where they put whatever speakers are on clearance that don't fit upstairs. They had a pair of PSB Stratus Mini Monitors demos selling for $750 Cad that retailed for $1299 Cad. Those little bookshelfs are amazing sounding, and just one more reason to push PSB. Man I wish I had $750 laying around. PSB makes a high quality product at very reasonable prices IMO. I'm glad I discovered them as part of the Image line was being phased out. I got my entire set of PSB's (4 x 2B's and an 8C) for around $850 CAD including tax and I think it's the bargin of the decade. I just bought a Marantz sr-8400 for $451 US that I'm waiting on to get here, and when my income tax refund gets here I'm buying a NAD 533 DVD player for $300 CAD. Then I'm going to start on a budget for a sub. Right now I'm thinking HSU VTF-3 or STF-3, but by the time I have the money set aside I'm hoping SVS will be up here in Canada to for some comparison. I plan on building the entire audio portion of my HT for less than $2500 CAD, or to put it another way, $1000 less than a "top of the line" Bose system. Oh well, that's enough thread hijacking for me for today.

 

[3db]

My PSB setup

consists of the ImageT45, Image 8C, and Image 1B along with a subsonic 5.
I was concerned about timbre matching between the old Image and new Image seriesbutthey integrate beautifully together. Perfect match. I may upgrade the sub to a subsonic6i to get me into the low 20Hz region. For music purposes, the T45s go low enough fro me.

The Stratus series are really power hungry monsters and requires a beefy amp to drive them. I would not venture there unless I was going with seperates to make them really sing.

 

[Takeereasy]

I heard them on some Anthem seperates. I didn't look at the stickers, but they must be cheap right? I would never have bothered the guys to hook them up for me, but they were already there and set up in the "expensive room". That was where the guy who was listening to them before me wanted to hear them. Apparently all of his other gear at home came from this shop and is identical to some in the room. THat means he spent more per speaker than I did per system most likely. It is all Paradigm Studio and Monitor Audio gold in that room. Not the small stuff either. Oh yeah, and a Marantz projector, custom seating, etc... you get the idea.

 

[vdefrancjr]

Just an update:

I received my Paradigms (monitor 9's and cc-350) as well as the SVS PSB-plus/2. I will have to get some pics and post them (THIS THING IS HUGE) 168lbs shipped. I have a Ford Explorer and it barely fit in the back. I am getting the receiver (maranatz sr7500) and tracking show's that it should be here on thursday!

I totally cannot wait.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Just an update:

I received my Paradigms (monitor 9's and cc-350) as well as the SVS PSB-plus/2. I will have to get some pics and post them (THIS THING IS HUGE) 168lbs shipped. I have a Ford Explorer and it barely fit in the back. I am getting the receiver (maranatz sr7500) and tracking show's that it should be here on thursday!

I totally cannot wait.

That is a killer system. Congrats. Don't expect too much out of the box. It's taken some of us weeks to tweak our systems, as well as manage the bass in our rooms. With that monster, it may take longer. Do you have your interconnects? How about digital cable with music options? DTS ES Discrete 6.1 DVD's? Here's an updated list if anyone cares...



Austin Powers in Goldmember
Bad Taste
Beastmaster
Blade 2
Blade Trinity
Bones
Butterfly Effect, The
Can't Stop The Music
Chicken Run
Contamination
Day of the Dead
Dead & Buried
Dirty Dancing: Ultimate Edition
Evil Dead, The
Fast Company
Final Countdown, The
Final Destination 2
God Told Me To
Gladiator (2-disc only)
Haunting, The
Highlander
Highlander 2: The Quickening
Hills Have Eyes, The
Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Rings, The: Extended Edition
Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King, The: Extended Edition
Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers, The: Extended Edition
Man Who Fell to Earth, The
Maniac
Mask: SE, The
My Brilliant Career
Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion
Open Water
Opera
Q: The Winged Serpent
Running Man, The
Rush Hour 2
Saw
Seven: Platinum Series
S1mone
Standing in the Shadows of Motown
Stargate: Ultimate Edition
Stir of Echoes: SE
Stunt Man, The
Suspiria
Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The
Top Gun: Special Collector's Edition
Venom
Vigilante
Watcher in the Woods, The

 

[Tom Andry]

I care

And Buckeyefan 1 is right. It's going to take some time to calibrate the system properly. I've been living with mine for two months now and it has only been recently that I have finally gotten the speakers integrated to my satisfaction.

 

[vdefrancjr]

Calabration? interconnects ...... a whole other part of A/V that can get down-right nasty. I did pick up a SPL meter and i also know that the 7500 has the mic for auto calibration, but i do need to learn how to calibrate everything. I have seen posts here and there about this, but is there 1 good resource that someone can point me to in an effort to educate myself?

As far as interconnects go, i don't have one yet for the sub. Now i KNOW this will open up a whole nother can of worms, but there are so many brands and types of connections for this stuff, but what is really the difference and what should i be looking for? My DVD player has coax and optical. from what i have read and who i have talked to locally, coaxial seem to be the best for audio and a mid-grade cable for the sub is also what i would be looking at. does this sound correct? i already run Monster audio cable to all speakers so i think that is covered.