Hi everyone!

[tetrall]

Hello guys and girls,

Tet here! nice to meet you! I was recently blown away by a sound system my good friend purchased, so after some consideration, I decided to look into a system of my own. I figured the best way to do that would be to head onto into the shadow places of the internet known only as, "the forums" to seek out where to start.

Building my first computer was complicated enough, but easy to find the answers... this seems little more involved... and a lot more difficult to actually compare components.

Thanks for all the info, I'm totally lost, but excited to start this journey.

Oh and I'm leaving for hunting camp early in the morning... so if I don't reply, it's because I'm stuck out in the wilderness trying not to freeze to death!

 

[jkgsxr]

Hello and welcome, I will start by saying the first few questions people here are going to have are. What is the budget you have in mind to start with, "it can grow quickly" . Also are you looking for just a 2.1 stereo setup or a 5.1/7.1 or .2 surround setup? Then it gets into room size you are putting the equipment in. So we can start there and see what direction you are looking to go. Have fun and just know it can get addicting...... lol

 

[tetrall]

Ok - I'm finally back home and can work a little bit on this:

Well, this is my second system... I bought a BOSE system (on clearance sale from my local big-box store) and basically here's what I'm looking for:

- 5.1 surround sound, with a receiver that can happily accept 7.2.
- I would mainly use this for movies, but also listening to music... I like everything from Daft Punk to Classical Orcastra.
- Clean, clear, crisp, and real... sounding as if I am "at the movies" or "at the music theater"
- Doesn't have to be super super loud, I love my hearing just the way it is

Room information:

It's a walkout basement, rectangle shaped (I'll work on those dimensions shortly). A stair case comes down the center of it.

I have a drop ceiling, standard old-fashion cardboard-like stuff, seems like it will absorb sound nicely.
Hard laminate floors (looking to upgrade this).
no couches or other furniture.

Right now, I'm still trying to decide between a big TV or a projector... and at the price of big TVs right now, it's a tough one.

Any advice would be extremely hot, I've been quite intrigued with the Triton 7 series from Golden Ear, but I live in Alaska in a remote area where you cannot demo audio systems (I know, for shame!)

I'm will to spend... well my top end would be around 3K, but I'm really looking for best bang for buck. Something that will last a good long time, sound beautiful, and play music or movies well.

Sorry it took me so long to get back on and post.

 

[ImcLoud]

I hope you did well on your hunt, I am going to sit in a tree tonight, I took yesterday off because it was pouring rain, but Monday I seen a nice 8 pointer {thats good for around these parts} which I could have easily put an arrow in but it looked like he needed a few more years, so I just watched him until he felt like moving on...

ANYWAY...
Back to your sound system...

$3000 is a really good budget, I would look into ID brands personally..

I would start with a pair of Ascend Acoustic sierra 1's in Bstock with a center you can get them for around $1000, give them a call and get the exact pricing, but I know they had some bstock available...
For surrounds I am fond of these Amazon.com: Fluance XLBP Wide Dispersion Bipolar Surround Sound Speakers for Home Theater: Electronics , there is no reason to spend a lot on surround speakers, they are only effect speakers, and you wont notice the difference between a $1000 pair and a $100 pair...

Now for a sub, one of the most important components in HT... I think this guy is worth waiting for but HSU tends to be IMO the best bang for your buck in HT subwoofers, I have demoed many brands, I own SVS and Rythmic and I feel HSU is the best value hands down, I know we all have our favorites and HSU is mine... This sub looks to be impressive and talking with one of the guys at HSU that normally down plays their performance he was also excited about it... VTF-15H MK2 Subwoofer

So that puts you around $2200 leaving plenty for a nice AVR, I would make a list of all the features you want, air play, audy, networking, 3d, 4k, windows media, preouts, ect ect ect and buy the one that you like, I personally would spend as little as possible since these are the first items to be outdated, there are new models every year and IME they are the first component to be replaced either due to malfunction, outdating, ect...
I like Marantz, Denon, and Pioneer, I would stay away from Onkyo and yamaha most others only because I personally had bad luck with them and tend to hear more bad about them then most other companies... Accessories4less.com has lots of refurbed units for great discounts... for example MARANTZ SR6006 Home theater receiver 3D-ready HDMI AirPlay | Accessories4less ..

Last would be cables which depending on your sources and distances will need to be figured, monoprice is a good source for that stuff at a decent price as is amazon if you follow common sense and reviews...

So that what I would do a sierra 1 front end, fluance wide surrounds, wait for the new hsu sub, a refurbed avr, and call it a day... good luck...

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Just to be clear is it 3k just for audio portion or for everything (aka TV or projection)? (Btw: For basement dedicated room installs - definitely go with Projector - a decent 1080p one starts today at about 1k and you could get a cheap fixed screen. Manual pull-up are cheap too, but will develop wavy surface with time.

Anyways back to audio portion , I agree with most of Iamloud suggestions above with few small changes/options.

I would prefer cmt-340's due to their better dynamic handling (aka louder if needed to) and center is mtm - if you must place is horizontally - if not - especially with Acoustically transperent screens - best option to go is with 3 identical speakers.

I agree - surround speakers are not crucial and cheap alternatives are in order.

HSU VTF-15H is a beast. I heard it during AH-GTG '12 and it was extremely impressive. I assume brand new MK2 is even better, but if you not in mood to wait - check out these two alternatives:
a) the original VTF-15h is now on sale - VTF-15H Subwoofer (and in stock)
b) POWER SOUND AUDIO — XV15se Home Audio Powered Subwoofer - notice the warranty and free shipping (not sure about alaska thou)
c) SVS PB-2000 - 500 Watt DSP Controlled, 12" Ported Subwoofer

d) Only for real Bassaholics - Chase Home Theater VS-18.1 Passive 18" Subwoofer and this amp: http://www.amazon.com/Crown-NXLS1500-0-US-Power-Amplifier/dp/B003HZV2JS
Notice the size of this monster - and you thought that VTF-15h is big

 

[tetrall]

That's just the audio portion BoredSysAdmin...

Now to find a tape measure.

 

[3db]

I like Marantz, Denon, and Pioneer, I would stay away from Onkyo and yamaha most others only because I personally had bad luck with them and tend to hear more bad about them then most other companies...

May I ask what bad things have you heard about Yamaha more so than any other company since Yamaha is the envy in the industry from a quality perspective and customer service rep? I can see that from Onkyo. Maybe you just worded it poorly.

 

[3db]

That's just the audio portion BoredSysAdmin...

Now to find a tape measure.

What do you have available locally? I disagree with the ID companies only based on cost of shipping. Unless its free or the ID companies offer you a substantial discount, its going to cost to ship up there.

 

[tetrall]

What do you have available locally? I disagree with the ID companies only based on cost of shipping. Unless its free or the ID companies offer you a substantial discount, its going to cost to ship up there.

Well, there's one or two places, danstvandappliance-kenai-ak.brandsdirect.com/ is close by, over five hours away is a "by-appointment-only" shop for Golden Ear, but I think they make you have it installed as well, which would cost an arm and a leg.

We also have Best-Buy and the big box stores just two and a half hours away... if I buy a TV I gotta go up there anyways.

 

[tetrall]

So locally here's what was available for about 3K:

RTi A9 Series Towers: 650.00x2
RTi A3 Series Bookshelf Speakers: 380.00
DSW PRO 660 12" Sub: 550.00
CSI A4 Black Center Speaker: 240.00
Aventage AV receiver RX-A830BL YAMAHA: 600.00

I rounded the pennies up for ease, but with tax that comes to 3100.00... What do you guys think, I would have someone who could actually service them, and they have a good reputation as a dealer... Is the price right for a whole package? Thoughts? Comments?

Oh, and totally not ignoring all the fine advice I've received thus far, just in the learning process and sometimes throwing something out for folks to critique gives me a better understanding of the process!

 

[ImcLoud]

May I ask what bad things have you heard about Yamaha more so than any other company since Yamaha is the envy in the industry from a quality perspective and customer service rep? I can see that from Onkyo. Maybe you just worded it poorly.

I had the worse experience out of any product I ever purchased with Yamaha, I will NEVER buy another yamaha avr as long as I live!!! There is a thread about it on here, but long story short, it was a $2K+ AVR, that was a nightmare from day 30 to the day I replaced it... As you probably know I demo a ton of gear and talk to a ton of av guys, its a hobby, Ill buy an entire store lunch and hang out while listening to their gear... I was told by mare than a few pros that yamaha has more issues than any other avr they sell, granted they are one of the best selling so that could have something to do with it, but with my experience and what others have said about them, I now stay clear and tell others to do the same...

If I recomend something its because I have some experience with it and once someone gets burnt or is not happy with it I will let that weigh whether or not I reco it in the future... Like Wave crest for example, I like the speaker, I own a set, and they sound good the cs was good they shipped fast, all good... I reco'ed them to a member not long ago and he had a bad experience with shipping times, so now I will mention that if I ever recommend them again...

3db dont take it personal if you like yammy or own them{not my intention to offend anyone with my post}, I am not trying to say its all garbage, but in my experience with the company and the unit I spent over $2,000 on, I am no longer a customer of theres and I will not tell others to be, now you can if you had a great experience with them, thats how this works, we all give our opinions and the op makes a decision...

So thats my explanation, Onkyo has tons of issues on the web, I had tons of issues with yammy and if you look through my past posts you will see I NEVER recommend them 2 brands {I used to tell people to buy the onkyo with preouts when it was $399 and they wanted preouts but that was it}..

 

[3db]

I'm sorry that you had poor experience with Yamaha. However, the people you were receiving information from must have had an alterior motive for missing informing you. It's my hobby too and I frequent dealers that sell Yamaha Denon, and Marantz and they perform Yamaha over any other brand in terms of longevity and quality product. This would also agrees with a couple of forum regulars who also are home theater installers or know them and they also prefer Yamaha over any other brand. I'm not taking this personally but what you are telling me other than your personal experience simply doesn't add up.



Post 14
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/amps-pre-pros-receivers/88918-yamaha-denon-build-quality-audio-quality-2.html#post1010451

post 23,
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/amps-pre-pros-receivers/88918-yamaha-denon-build-quality-audio-quality-3.html#post1010643

post 71
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/amps-pre-pros-receivers/88918-yamaha-denon-build-quality-audio-quality-8.html#post1021251

 

[tetrall]

so any opinions on that optional package or should I start looking online?

 

[zieglj01]

So locally here's what was available for about 3K:

RTi A9 Series Towers: 650.00x2
RTi A3 Series Bookshelf Speakers: 380.00
DSW PRO 660 12" Sub: 550.00
CSI A4 Black Center Speaker: 240.00
Aventage AV receiver RX-A830BL YAMAHA: 600.00

I rounded the pennies up for ease, but with tax that comes to 3100.00... What do you guys think, I would have someone who could actually service them, and they have a good reputation as a dealer... Is the price right for a whole package? Thoughts? Comments?

The Yamaha option looks fine

However, I am not a big fan of Polk - It is about you, so Polk could/may float your boat.

Your call

 

[JohnnieB]

I will give a +1 to the Ascends anyway. I recommend them quite often for a couple reasons. 1: I believe they have a passion for their product. I believe Dave Fabrikant, the owner/designer of Ascend has a great resume' in speaker system design. 2: Their speakers are priced right, great value. I ordered them without ever having heard them. I'd have to say I am more than satisfied. 3: I have never seen a bad review on their speakers.

 

[Roger Ewing]

I think one of the important things is being able to audition the speakers you consider.

 

[JohnnieB]

Hi Roger. In all cases I would agree. Ascend has a return policy, you pay the shipping. Initially this made me nervous, if I didn't like them, I was out a hundred bucks for nothing. After hearing them, my mind was at ease.
The top speaker I auditioned in my search was a pair of Revel F208's. Absolutely loved the sound. They were out of my price range. Forum member suggested Ascend. Haven't looked back. No need.
As a final thought, there are forum members who are willing to demo their speakers, just gotta ask. Oh and find someone in your area who has the speakers you want to demo.