home theater speakers

[padaalsa]

<font color='#000000'>I've been shopping for speakers for a home theater set-up. &nbsp;I don't want to break the bank, but would like to get something of decent quality at a reasonable price. &nbsp; Being relatively new to the home audio market/research I'm &nbsp;a little over my head and haven't found a wide-selection of set-ups that you can sample listen to in the shops. &nbsp; Based on what I've been able to gather so far, I've been leaning towards Take 5+1 ($800 cdn), Infinity HTS-10 (I can get a discounted bargain at $550), paradigm cinema series ($800), &nbsp;or a step up to the Titan,Atom,CC170,PDR10 ($1050). &nbsp;Having read many reviews on each of these, I'm a overwhelmed and confused as the reviews seem mixed to some degree. &nbsp;If anyone can tell me their experience, offer any advice, or even suggest a better selection in this range I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,
David</font>

 

[padaalsa]

<font color='#000000'>Opps - I also wanted to ask if anyone has heard of the D-box: &nbsp;David HTS Speaker system that is presently marketed through the Cosco chain ($800 cdn). &nbsp; &nbsp;

&nbsp; It looks impressive, but the sound/performance is my concern &nbsp;

</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>You're off to a promising start, and the good news is there are plenty of good speaker package choices in your budget. &nbsp;Here are some sugestions:

Polk
PSB
Monitor Audio
Infinity
Mirage
Energy
Boston Acoustics
Canton

All of these brands are backed by good companies. &nbsp;I would recommend that you take a deep breath, set a slow and sure pace, and arrange for thorough auditions. &nbsp;And if your hometheater space is going to be shared by women of the female sex (who are naturally much more sensitive to high frequencies), make sure to find speakers that are flat, or even little downward on the upper range.</font>

 

[BigDaddyD]

<font color='#000000'>Are you interested at all in building your own? The bang for the buck cannot be beat and there are numerous exceptional kits out there. You can put together a system for $1000 or so that will easily best a $5000 manufactured system.</font>

 

[padaalsa]

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BigDaddyD : <font color='#000000'>Are you interested at all in building your own? The bang for the buck cannot be beat and there are numerous exceptional kits out there. You can put together a system for $1000 or so that will easily best a $5000 manufactured system.</font>

<font color='#000000'>

&nbsp;Hi - &nbsp;I've not considered that. &nbsp;Is this something that an average Joe can do? &nbsp; Where would you buy such kits? &nbsp;Please tell me more.
Thanks,
David</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>DIY kits for all things audio come in packages for every skill set. &nbsp;Go to Stereophile.com, to Links To Die For, and then to the DIY page.</font>

 

[BigDaddyD]

<font color='#000000'>You can also check out PartsExpress.com,Madisound or Speaker City.  There are others as well. You might check out the DIY forum at HomeTheaterForum.com.

Kits are available for all levels of competence. If you can do your own cabinet work you can lower the cost even more. However, many kits also will come with, or offer the option of, a pre-built or &quot;flat pack&quot; cabinet (one with all the panels cut but that you have to put together). And, yes, I think many of them an &quot;average joe&quot; can put together and get great results if he follows the directions!

A kit that I particularly like is what is called the AR-DIY. You can find more information about it at AudioReview.com and clicking on the DIY Speaker Kit link. For even more discussion check out the Tweaks, Mods and DIY Forum at AudioReview.com. Ed Frias, the designer, answers questions about the design frequently and there are tons of people there who have built them (including myself). You can also read Reviews of the kit.

Whatever kit you pick, you get the satisfaction of having put together something with your own hands that should provide sound quality far and above any commercial product you could have purchased for the same amount of money!</font>

 

[padaalsa]

<font color='#000000'>Wow..........thanks for detail. &nbsp; I have a little research to do I guess. &nbsp; Making the cabinets would have been the biggest concern but I see that may not be a problem now. &nbsp;Would you have any idea how I could find out who the Canadian dealers for the AR kit would be you recommended? &nbsp; I should mention I've brought home a set of Infinity HTS-10 speakers/sub yesterday to audition at home. &nbsp;Haven't had a chance to hook them up yet. &nbsp; After reading some favourable reviews, I also drove to another city last night to listen to some Axiom speakers. &nbsp; It was really quite a surprise the sound these little fellas can pack. &nbsp; Having listened to some B&amp;w's 3x the price, I would still prefer the Axioms. &nbsp; I didn't realize purchasing speakers could require as much research as it has. &nbsp;However, I'm a firm believer in getting the most quality and value my money can buy. &nbsp;Afterall, I'm not going to be replacing whatever I get anytime soon.

It may not be appropriate for me to ask for an opinion here, but I was wondering what you thought of the Onkyo 500 or 600, Denon 1603 or 1803, or Yamaha receivers in general. &nbsp;I noticed the Panasonic SAHE 100 has great reviews and a low price, but somehow I don't think of Panasonic of being a quality receiver. &nbsp;Am I wrong?</font>

 

[BigDaddyD]

<font color='#000000'><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>

padaalsa : Would you have any idea how I could find out who the Canadian dealers for the AR kit would be you recommended?  

It may not be appropriate for me to ask for an opinion here, but I was wondering what you thought of the Onkyo 500 or 600, Denon 1603 or 1803, or Yamaha receivers in general.  I noticed the Panasonic SAHE 100 has great reviews and a low price, but somehow I don't think of Panasonic of being a quality receiver.  Am I wrong?

Go to the AR Tweaks, Mods DIY forum and ask who they recommend for a Canadian source - not sure if there is one, but Solen might be one possibility. I know shipping the cabinets to Canada can be prohibitive.

As for most of the receivers you mention I don't have any experience so I can't say.  I looked seriously at getting a Yamaha RX-V1300 around New Years but opted for an HK AVR-520.  What's your budget for a receiver?</font>

 

[padaalsa]

<font color='#000000'>

Nothings simple (re: the cabinets). &nbsp;I'll check this out as you suggested. &nbsp;My budget for a receiver seems to be getting stretched the more I look around. &nbsp; It started out at around $500 cdn. but now I'm thinking $800 taxes in (15% tax if you can believe that), may be more realistic. &nbsp;The last thing I want to do is buy something that will be obsolete next year, so I'm thinking a compromise with a 6 channel receiver may be in order. &nbsp;What do you think?</font>

 

[BigDaddyD]

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padaalsa : <font color='#000000'>

Nothings simple (re: the cabinets).</font>

<font color='#000000'>That's half (er...75%) of the fun! &nbsp;

&nbsp;Seriously, I've always found the research and learning new things a big part of the fun and interest in hi-fi and home theater.

As for receivers, check out this comparison chart, I think you'll find it a great help.

If you're talking about receivers with 5 amps (L/R/C/LS/RS) instead of 6 or 7, then it all depends on what you want. If you can put in a 6.1 or 7.1 set of speakers, then you'll need all the amps. Extra amps mean extra money, but if you don't need 'em, why pay for 'em?</font>

 

[padaalsa]

<font color='#000000'>

That's a cool chart and will be helpful. &nbsp;Thanks. &nbsp;I was thinking although my initial plan was for a 5.1 speaker set-up, that if they started producing more movies/music in 6.1 format, I'd already be ready. &nbsp;To spend an extra $100-150 now on the receiver the 6th ready, may defer the obsolesence in years to come. &nbsp; &nbsp;Does that make sense? &nbsp; Admittedly I am new at this stuff with only about a month of research under my belt, which hardly entitles me to an informed opinion. &nbsp; Thanks again for the chart. - David</font>

 

[mikeradcliffe]

????

has anyone heard of polk acoustics. not polk audio. i cant find anything on them even though i bought them..... just wondering if they are knock-offs and i got raped?

 

[Mr.T]

has anyone heard of polk acoustics. not polk audio. i cant find anything on them even though i bought them..... just wondering if they are knock-offs and i got raped?

Where did you buy them? Do they look anything like the polks?

 

[kainaij@yahoo.c]

Send me a message mike, I came across some as well.

has anyone heard of polk acoustics. not polk audio. i cant find anything on them even though i bought them..... just wondering if they are knock-offs and i got raped?

PM me, I'm interested to find out what you found out about these speakers.

 

[Dayton]

has anyone heard of polk acoustics. not polk audio. i cant find anything on them even though i bought them..... just wondering if they are knock-offs and i got raped?

I just happened to get a set of Polk Acoustic speakers as well today. Mine is a Model SS 301 and I got them through somewhat suspicious circumstances. I did a search on Google and there is absolutely no information what-so-ever on them and this forum was the only one that came up. Does anyone have any information on these at all? Also, do you happen to live around the Edmonton area, cause I do and that's where I got mine from.

EDIT: The center and rear speakers are Model SS 301 and the two left and right speakers (about 4' tall each) are Model QCT 5698. Did you happen to get the same kind as me?

 

[missycri]

Polk Acoustics

I have a set of Polk acoustics that we bought off a friend just recently and the circuit board in the left floor speaker we believe is fried. Curious to know if anyone is willing to part with theirs (a working one) or if anyone has any information on the circuit board itself. I have tried searching for information as well but no luck, all I know is they were purchased from (lets say) a private mobile company out of the Edmonton area. If anyone has any info regarding the "company" itself that would be appreciated as well. The model number of the floor speaks are QCT 5698.

 

[Dayton]

Has anyone found any information on these Polk Acoustics speakers as of yet?