HT comments requested

[GaryWooldridge]

I've been reading and looking for a while now and think I've found the gear that fit my room and personal preferences. My living room is 13x10 and open on the right side as I am facing the TV. Any feedback on my selections will be greatly apprecieated. I want to swap out the 65 series for the 81 series as soon as it becomes available...

Universal Control MX-3000
Onkyo TX-SR875B
Samsung 46" LCD (LN-T4665F)
SVSound SBS-01 w/PS-12 NSD (7.1)

Cheers,
Gary W.

 

[avaserfi]

While the system would sound pretty good your priorities seem to be skewed to the cool and not towards sound quality. I would recommend getting a much more simple remote that doesn't cost as much, half as much with a deal, as your speakers. Also, the receiver you have picked out seems a little over kill too.

I would suggest dropping down to a less expensive MX-650 and the Onkyo 805 to save a bit of money. With that money you could get much better speakers and a better sub.

 

[jcPanny]

Budget recomendations

I agree.
Consider sepending closer to $1k on the receiver and remote and $2k or more on the speakers. The speakers (and the room) are the most important components in your audio system.

AV123 is running a Gift certificate promotion this month. You should be able to get an X-series system with floorstander mains, center, bookshelf surrounds, and upcomming MFW-15 (15" ported sub) for <$2k. It will sound great and look great with the real wood veneer.

 

[GaryWooldridge]

Thanks, how about this...

Thanks for the advice. If I choose the Onkyo TX-SR805 and an MX-850 remote instead, my speaker balance climbs to $4,000 - what would you suggest? I'd like a 7.1 system but realize its little overkill for my room. How about an awesome 6.1 system?

Cheers,
Gary W.

 

[avaserfi]

I don't know if you will be able to find a place to audition them but if you can check out the Jamo C80 line...I love it and for the money consider them a steal.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Thanks for the advice. If I choose the Onkyo TX-SR805 and an MX-850 remote instead, my speaker balance climbs to $4,000 - what would you suggest? I'd like a 7.1 system but realize its little overkill for my room. How about an awesome 6.1 system?

For 6.2 HT, I'd check out the DefTech BP7001SC (2) + DefTech SM450 (4) for $3,850 (s/h/tax included). The BP7001SCs have LFE inputs for stereo subwoofers, and they can even be bi-amp if desired.

 

[GaryWooldridge]

Any other suggestions?

My $4,000 has to include cabling, S&H and tax. A friend has an Axiom Audio Epic 60 set the he enjoys a lot and they seem to be a reasonable price, although I've never heard of them.

Cheers,

Gary W.

 

[mazersteven]

http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=speakers&product=10.1

 

[Davemcc]

Thanks for the advice. If I choose the Onkyo TX-SR805 and an MX-850 remote instead, my speaker balance climbs to $4,000 - what would you suggest? I'd like a 7.1 system but realize its little overkill for my room. How about an awesome 6.1 system?

Cheers,
Gary W.

Have you auditioned any speakers yet, in person? For a 4K budget, it's worth a trip to a few local stores to find out what kind of sound pleases your ears. Once you know what sound you like, then you can find comparisons to online brands that might sound similar for a better price.

 

[GaryWooldridge]

Did some auditioning...

I have been auditioning various systems for about a month now at places like Fry's, Tweeter, etc. I've had to wait on the speakers since I'm having a few new power lines run into the house - 1 for my new PC and 1 for the new HT equipment; I've got a treadmill that causes the lights to flicker so I opted to get a few more lines just to be safe A friend of mine has a Epic 60-500 set that sound really, really good - I think I'm sold even though they are just slightly outside my planned budget. Any other Epic 60 owners have pros/cons? Still researching...

Cheers,
Gary W.

 

[westcott]

With your room size, a 5.1 system would be more than sufficient IMO. I would do some more digging into speakers that are not sold at your local Best Buy or equivelant. I would audition systems at dealer only distributors with your speaker budget. One, the sound rooms tend to be dedicated and a little more conducive to a fair audition and they usually carry the next step up in speakers that you would not find at the places you mentioned. Revel, PSB, Martin Logan, Klipsch, Paradigm, JBL, Infinity, Athena, Energy, and many, many others. Maybe you can find a local audioholic to listen to Axioms and the RBH line.