Looking for a little advice on new home theater/stereo.

[kyle taylor]

I have about 2000$ that I am able to invest into a new stereo system. I currently have an Onkyo Box set that I bought about 8 years ago, and 2 of the speakers have blown. http://www.onkyousa.com/Products/model.php?m=HT-S5200&class=Systems&source=prodClass

I have been looking at these two products.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/onktxrz710/onkyo-tx-rz710-7.2-ch-x-110-watts-networking-a/v-receiver/1.html

And

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/cantbundle4/canton-gle-5.1-speaker-package-w/subwoofer/1.html

I would use this for a mixture of music, movies/TV, and video games.

Just wondered if anyone had better suggestions or if this is a solid setup for the price.

Thanks.

 

[rojo]

I have about 2000$ that I am able to invest into a new stereo system. I currently have an Onkyo Box set that I bought about 8 years ago, and 2 of the speakers have blown. http://www.onkyousa.com/Products/model.php?m=HT-S5200&class=Systems&source=prodClass

I have been looking at these two products.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/onktxrz710/onkyo-tx-rz710-7.2-ch-x-110-watts-networking-a/v-receiver/1.html

And

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/cantbundle4/canton-gle-5.1-speaker-package-w/subwoofer/1.html

I would use this for a mixture of music, movies/TV, and video games.

Just wondered if anyone had better suggestions or if this is a solid setup for the price.

Thanks.

Hey Kyle, and welcome to the forum.

Can't say I've got a lot of confidence in Onkyo stuff. They've been plagued with heat issues and unreliable HDMI boards in the not too distant past. Marantz / Denon, Yamaha, and Pioneer stand out in my mind as having better longevity, although Pioneer's future in the home audio market is uncertain. For their room correction features, I prefer Marantz and Denon's employment of Audyssey over the others.

Re: that Canton speaker package, they've got some smiley face response curve going on. A flatter response would sound better.

By the way, stereo implies two channels. I think what you're looking for is a home theater system.

Can you tell us the cubic footage of the room where this system will live? Can you also tell us the distance between your intended placement of your front speakers and your primary seat?

I'm thinking a Hsu Research system would be better for the money.

front stage: Hsu Hybrid 3 3.1 -- $1445 shipped
surrounds: recycle a pair of satellites from your HTIB for now
receiver (assuming it isn't missing any features you can't live without): Denon AVR-X1300W -- $380-ish shipped?
speaker stands -- $77 shipped

Total = $1902(-ish), not counting speaker wire, subwoofer cable, banana plugs, whatever else you need to add. For what it's worth, Monoprice has a 15% off sale today only (using coupon code "friyay"), so it might not be a bad idea to go ahead and order those miscellaneous items even before you make a final decision on speakers and AVR. You might also consider @speakerman39's Denon AVR-X3000 for roughly the same price. That's a bargain for that model.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

The good news is that the remaining speakers could be used for surrounds and existing onkyo receiver (if still fully functional) could be used a bit longer.
Your 2k budget will go longer if you focus on 3.1 - aka front left/right/center and new sub
my suggestion is:
Ascend CMT340 LCR with stands add - Rythmic FVX15 or if budget allows FV15HP sub and you'd love new sound. I guarantee it and ascend does as well with 30 days in home trial.

 

[Bucknekked]

The good news is that the remaining speakers could be used for surrounds and existing onkyo receiver (if still fully functional) could be used a bit longer.
Your 2k budget will go longer if you focus on 3.1 - aka front left/right/center and new sub
my suggestion is:
Ascend CMT340 LCR with stands add - Rythmic FVX15 or if budget allows FV15HP sub and you'd love new sound. I guarantee it and ascend does as well with 30 days in home trial.

BoredSysAdmin :
I agree with the notion of getting more bang for the OP's dollar if he simply invests in the front 3 channels and a new sub. If the Onkyo is still kicking, keep using it and spend the money on speakers. Depending on the rooms cubic volume, the OP has a wide range of good choices that should fit under $2,000.

The Ascends are certainly a great choice. You can't go wrong there. He could also take a look at SVS.
SVS makes a terrific line of price performing speakers and subs.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

The Ascends are certainly a great choice. You can't go wrong there. He could also take a look at SVS.
SVS makes a terrific line of price performing speakers and subs.

Price wise only SVS Prime bookshelf is close to CMT340 and while they are decent value as you've mentioned, they aren't even in same league performance wise vs Ascends.
http://noaudiophile.com/SVS_Prime_Bookshelf/
As you could see author did have to dispense with rather heavy handed DSP EQ (as much as 3.6db) in order to fix issues present in Prime bookshelf. In the end he found he did like them, but only after DSP fix. Only apply if you huge fan of piano finish over measured performance.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Good advice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bucknekked]

.

From Gene, the AH Master Chief on SVS:
"They apply NRC science, not to cheapen the product, but to improve its measured performance and subjective sound experience. If you’re looking for a high performance, attractive bookshelf speaker that can truly deliver on that “better than being there” experience for around $1k/pair, then you owe it to yourself to try these out risk free for 45 days. I believe the SVS Ultras are among the best value in high performance bookshelf speakers and I think you may agree if you give them a try."

The review gives the measured performance in Gene's lab. I think I will go with that as a data point.

I merely suggested them because they fit in to the budget of the OP. At $500 each, you could get FR, FL, and Center for $1500 and leave yourself another $500 for a sub. Neatly adds up to $2K. They also get a two thumbs up from Gene at AH, and others who own them on AH, and a review with details regarding their measured performance.

I'm just offering a choice to the OP based on fit for the budget.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

From Gene, the AH Master Chief on SVS:
"They apply NRC science, not to cheapen the product, but to improve its measured performance and subjective sound experience. If you’re looking for a high performance, attractive bookshelf speaker that can truly deliver on that “better than being there” experience for around $1k/pair, then you owe it to yourself to try these out risk free for 45 days. I believe the SVS Ultras are among the best value in high performance bookshelf speakers and I think you may agree if you give them a try."

The review gives the measured performance in Gene's lab. I think I will go with that as a data point.

I merely suggested them because they fit in to the budget of the OP. At $500 each, you could get FR, FL, and Center for $1500 and leave yourself another $500 for a sub. Neatly adds up to $2K. They also get a two thumbs up from Gene at AH, and others who own them on AH, and a review with details regarding their measured performance.

I'm just offering a choice to the OP based on fit for the budget.

I wanted to provide apples to apples. Ergo Prime, Not Ultra are only ones which match the price.
Speaking of measurements - Gene posted 60db scale measurements, but No-AH posted MUCH more accurate 25db plot, not to mention we are talking about two different speakers.
At $500/speaker there are more choices, but big issue with your advice is that Ultra center $700 which makes price of 3.0 at $1700, leaving $300 for sub and zero wiggle room. Even if ultra center b-hand is $500, leaving for $500 is barely enough in most cases. PB1000 is decent enough sub, but given OP already blew 2 speakers, I assume he's got ether larger space or likes to play louder than me and you and thus need more capable sub.
Also CMT340SE's could be mounted on matching stands which a)"convert" these to tower-like, b)improve stability and c) eliminate need for speaker 3rd party stands.

 

[kyle taylor]

Thanks for the responses everyone,

I'm hesitant to repurpose any of the surrounds from my old system as those are the ones that I'm having issues with and to me it is important that the new speakers are just as capable in a 5 or 7.1 setting as a stereo setting.

I spend really spend the majority of my time split equally between music, video games, and movies/tv.
As for repurposing my current receiver, that's not really an option to me, it's really starting to show its age, and the features packaged with new units including HDCP 2.2, HDR support, and Bluetooth are important to me.

As for room size the front of the room is 14' wide and 20' I o the back of the room with 8' ceilings.

 

[kyle taylor]

Would it be worth it to just splurge a bit at jump right to the HSU Hybrid 15 - 5.1 Package with a Denon
AVR-X3200W

 

[shadyJ]

If you like powerful bass, you will be hard-pressed to do better than a Hsu hybrid 15 package. Good speakers, amazing subwoofer, good Denon AVR too.

 

[kyle taylor]

OK, so I'm torn between the HSU ultra 15 7.1 package and the HSU Hybrid 15 7.1 package.
With the room dimensions being 14×20×8. What package would be appropriate.

 

[rojo]

I'd contact Hsu Research and see what kind of package deal they can offer for a dual drive VTF3 mk5 plus the center and however many bookshelf speakers you want. Truth be told, even the VTF3 would produce some (literally) frightening bass in that 2240 cu. ft. room. And having a pair will let you widen your sweet spot. @shadyJ do you agree?

 

[shadyJ]

I would go for the Hybrid 15 package or the Hybrid 3 package. The Ultra 15 Package is good, but that is a sub that is smaller for the sake of 'wife approval factor'. It won't have the deep bass of the VTF15h mk2 or VTF-3 mk5.