Home Theater reciever & speakers. NEED HELP!

[Slater]

New to the forum & need some advise!
Just picked-up a VF551XVT 55-inch LED/LCD Vizio & installed her above my fireplace. My old Panosonic surround sound reciever doesnt have any hdmi hookups & I dont want to fish multiple hdmi"s / wires through my drywall to par the WII, PS3, cable box & who knows what else later so needing to upgrade. Also speakers were inexpensive KLH's so anything will be an upgrade but dont want to spend a fortune!
This system will be 90% for home theater use. The entire room is 20x20
Originally the Onkyo tx-507 caught my eye

Im contemplating this Denon unit dht-590ba for $550 with Boston Acoustic speakers. Are these speakers decent??? Really cant find much info on them, The guy at my local bestbuy wants me to believe they are way above most HTIB system speakers...
For the money am I looking good, which one & why?
If the Onkyo is your pick, advise on speakers please.
Any other units / speaker combo suggestions?
Thanks for any insight!

 

[m_vanmeter]

congrats on the VF551XVT....I have been lusting over one since they came out this fall. Is the built in sound bar decent ?

The Denon 590/1610 is a nice little a/v receiver with all the features you will need, if 3 HDMI inputs are enough. The Denon 790/1910 adds another HDMI input, and more power for your larger room. The BA speaker set you mentioned is way too small for a 20x20' room.

I would like to suggest you consider whether your room furnishings (and wife approval ) will allow larger speakers, like possibly tower L&R, and larger center channel and surrounds. The subwoofer should be 10" or 12" at least, and you could probably do best with two subwoofers. I know this is probably wrecking you budget, but you can do this type of build out in stages...you don't "need" to buy everything at once.

 

[KASR]

Do you have a budget in mind for the speaker setup? Might give us an idea of what neighborhood to look in. Congrats on the new purchase!
The Denon/BA bundle will be great to start - but soon enough you'll want something with a more dramatic effect on your soundstage...and then the madness begins!

 

[Slater]

I really dont have a budget at this point but I can see where the madness does begin! So many options out there & why should I get the Denon if the speaker package as you guys say wont fit my needs. So many choices & I feel only one is the better option, Onkyo, Yamaha, Denon, im going nuts. I guess I can build in stages as you guys mentioned. I do have a KLH 10inch power120w sub, not sure if this is considered junk to an Audiophile? Towers really arent an option & im hoping to stick with smaller speakers to keep it clean.

 

[m_vanmeter]

"slater"....slow down, you are over thinking the issue.

You do not have to get a "bundle" to get the equipment you want. The Denon receiver alone is a nice full feature receiver all by itself. Onkyo, Yamaha, and Pioneer also make nice receivers....in a dark room and listening only I doubt you could tell them apart. It's the speakers that make the biggest difference in the listening experience and small speakers in a large volume room will never create any kink of surround sound field...they will always be small speaker point sources.

If you can't use towers...what will the bookshelf style speakers sit on.

If you have to "keep it clean", consider on-wall speakers. They will also be a bit of a compromise because they get their flatter profile using smaller drivers, but they can work better than tiny satellite speakers.

this may be a little small for the room, but with a 30 day return period (keep all the shipping material) you can try it and see. 20% off until end of month with coupon MOST15. http://www.thespeakercompany.com/TS2132T-HT-P128C35.aspx

another option, but much more expensive www.definitivetech.com and search for "Pro Cinema 800" speaker set

 

[Slater]

Whats a better speaker as far as performance the EMP ECA-4 Series or the TSC's as you recommended. Such a huge learning curve & when it comes do dishing out the cash so many options = too many oppurtunities to making the wrong selection..

 

[ljaggers]

Some options

m_vanmeter is right about the receiver options. You really can't go wrong with any of those brands. However, rather than drowning in flood of specs and feature comparisons, go to your local best buy or A/V store and audition the receivers for yourself. Obviously each one will sound differently depending on how they are configured but maybe one will catch your ear with a more natural sound than the others. That is how I decided on mine.

As far as speakers go, if you are looking for value (a good balance of price and performance) check out the Venturi series at bicamerica.com. I personally own the a full 5.1 Venturi speaker set from BIC & am thrilled with the clarity & depth of sound they produce. Don't let the low price scare you. Other solid speakers at reasonable prices are the Infinity Primus Series

 

[Slater]

Thanks for the replys & keep the options coming!

 

[Slater]

Jaggers, sent you a pm.

 

[lsiberian]

I suggest you get Ascend Acoustics for the speakers and a refurb receiver from ecost.com or ebay. You will get more bang for your buck that way and have best in class speakers. For a sub I suggest you get an Epik or SVS as the funds come available.

Audiogon is a great place to get used stuff. I'm a firm believer in buying only used or refurbished stuff. Since new stuff has huge depreciation.

 

[ljaggers]

Grrr!

I apparently cannot send you a PM or post links on forums for like another three posts. This is my set up. Look up the model #s at Amazon for pricing & bicamerica.com for features:

Front L&R: BIC DV64

Center: BIC DV62CLR

Surrounds: BIC DV52si

Receiver: Harman Kardon AVR1600

I will say that the AVR1600 Receiver is not the most reliable unit out there. You would probably get along with a Denon or Onkyo in the $300-$500 price range much better. If you are buying a blu-ray player, make sure you get a receiver that can decode Dolby TrueHD & DTS HD Master Audio. Let me know if I can offer you any more advice!

 

[Slater]

The BIC Americas are quite reasonably priced on Amazon!

 

[KASR]

I apparently cannot send you a PM or post links on forums for like another three posts.

Geez, Landon - learn how to post-whore already!!

 

[Slater]

Here I am on the fence but getting ready to pull the trigger. I can get a Onkyo tx-sr706 refurb for almost the same price as a new Denon avr-590. Might be overkill & I can say $50 & buy something new..
Dont look back & get the Onyo? Any bad experiences from buying refurbs?

 

[fightinkraut]

Here I am on the fence but getting ready to pull the trigger. I can get a Onkyo tx-sr706 refurb for almost the same price as a new Denon avr-590
Dont look back & get the Onyo? Any bad experiences from buying refirbs?

Purchased a refurb tx-sr805, zero problems. I've heard from many people who've purchased refurb'd onkyo's from shoponkyo or accessories4less, rarely hear of a problem.

I think you'll really enjoy the 706!

 

[KASR]

If it were a beauty contest, the Denon wins - but as long as you have some sort of warranty support on the refurb, then you'll be OK with either one!

 

[ljaggers]

Refurbs

Most of the time the fan unit will be replace within refurbished receivers. I've heard that is the first thing to wear out.

Slater, I have been where you are. The indecision must be killing you. You have a lot of good options in front of you. You seriously need to flip a coin & make the decision (as hard as that may be.) Do it...and tell us how awesome your system sounds!

 

[Slater]

Most of the time the fan unit will be replace within refurbished receivers. I've heard that is the first thing to wear out.

Slater, I have been where you are. The indecision must be killing you. You have a lot of good options in front of you. You seriously need to flip a coin & make the decision (as hard as that may be.) Do it...and tell us how awesome your system sounds!

Haha! It just sucks that all the few options I have & there isnt one unit that is the cut & dry right choice!
Im not a gear head & dont have the time to do all the extensive research & make a decision on tech stats! I dont even really know excactly what upconverting is but its important!
I just ordered the Onkyo 706 from accessories4less

I was considering the Denon avr-590 & Yamiha rx-565, New Onkyo TX-SR607 & not sure if I made the smarter choice as far a home theater tech goes...

 

[Slater]

Would like to here what other have to say in the speaker dept. Am going to look into the Ascend Acoustics per lsiberian's recommendation. I was going to pull the trigger on a complete EMP E5TI tower system but if I can get some better performing speakers for the same price why not!

 

[majorloser]

I really like the Aperion speakers, too.

http://www.aperionaudio.com/home.aspx

Great bunch of people. They offer a 30 day trial and free shipping to boot.