Looking for advice?

[Tim C]

As a new comer in the ht market I found myself pretty overwhelmed! I have been reading on this site for a while now and found alot of useful info. My problem is there is only 1 audio guy in my part of Michigan(Ann Arbor),that I know to be a reputible dealer.This dealer only carries Pioneer and Sony Tv's and Paradigm and BW speakers.I've read the best way to pick you're speakers is to feild test different brands before choosing.With only 2 brands to listen to it's difficult to do this. To me the Paradigm has a better overall sound.At the present time this it the equipment set up and pricing I'm looking at. Any help would be much appreciated! Pioneer Elite 60"(7500) Pioneer VSX81TXV REC(950) PIONEER ELITE DVD W/HDMI(299) 3-PARADIGM C220's for LCR(199) 4-PARADIGMCS60R(149) PARADIGM PDR-12 SUB(499)AQ 3M HDMI CABLE(275) 2- AQ 1M HDMI CABLE(175) PRO1410HD(149) With discounts, installed $10,699
My room is 16x25 w/8' ceilings drywall walls and celing(not installed yet) Small children are the reason for the in-wall speakers, though not sure how sound will be affected?

 

[Swerd]

As a new comer in the ht market I found myself pretty overwhelmed! I have been reading on this site for a while now and found alot of useful info. My problem is there is only 1 audio guy in my part of Michigan(Ann Arbor),that I know to be a reputible dealer.This dealer only carries Pioneer and Sony Tv's and Paradigm and BW speakers.I've read the best way to pick you're speakers is to feild test different brands before choosing.With only 2 brands to listen to it's difficult to do this. To me the Paradigm has a better overall sound.At the present time this it the equipment set up and pricing I'm looking at. Any help would be much appreciated! Pioneer Elite 60"(7500) Pioneer VSX81TXV REC(950) PIONEER ELITE DVD W/HDMI(299) 3-PARADIGM C220's for LCR(199) 4-PARADIGMCS60R(149) PARADIGM PDR-12 SUB(499)AQ 3M HDMI CABLE(275) 2- AQ 1M HDMI CABLE(175) PRO1410HD(149) With discounts, installed $10,699
My room is 16x25 w/8' ceilings drywall walls and celing(not installed yet) Small children are the reason for the in-wall speakers, though not sure how sound will be affected?

Welcome to AH, Tim. The system you're planning sounds elaborate. The biggest audio impact will come from the speakers, so your concern is on the mark. I can't really comment directly on the receiver or speakers you mentioned. I do know that the two systems I've heard with in-wall speakers were disappointing. The bass was loud and muddy, causing the mids and highs to be indistinct. I realize that there could be a variety of reasons, independant of in-wall mounting, why this was so. I would suggest that you not let the presence of small children be the deciding factor. They won't always be small, but the in-wall speakers will always be there.

There is a forum regular, named jaxvon, who is an engineering student at Michigan. He is quite interested in audio & HT, and has acquired quite a bit of experience at listening to a number of different speakers. No doubt, he is opinionated, but he is also knowledable, and that's not a bad thing. I think he just might enjoy the idea of helping spend someone else's money . If he doesn't post here soon, why not send him a PM?

 

[jcPanny]

HT System

Tim,
You can get a great system in that budget, but some of the prices seam kind of high. For example, the HDMI cables cost more than some of the speakers. Pick up the cables from monoprice and use the savings for better speakers and sub like the paradigm studio series.

I think you should be able to get the Pioneer 82 or 84 for that price. Punch some of the model numbers in pricegrabber so you can nagociate a better price.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I have to agree. When I started all this I had already purchased a bunch of expensive cable and wires. I found this site and was able to take it all back and purchase from Mono at a fraction of the cost.

I was also very surprised in how much negotiation you could do at a high end AV store. The first day I was there they were dead set on the prices (they even told me-“this is not a flea market”), the second time they were a little flexible and the 3rd time I walked out of there with prices I was very happy with.
Go with what you want for the future and not what seems kid safe. You can find a way to kid proof your speakers.

 

[highfihoney]

Tim c,im very near you in the burbs of detroit,there are quite a few dealers that are near enough to you in ann arbor for you to demo all kinds of different speakers,what advice i can offer you before buying is that unless you can get a smokin deal & compare it with other dealers in the state dont leap on anything in the ann arbor area,your town is a money town like grand rapids & lansing,lots of big spending audiophiles are in your town & these big spenders keep dealers margins at their highest,your best bet in michigan for dealers is to use dealers in towns like detroit,flint & saginaw,these towns economies are in trouble & the dealers there will offer bigger discounts.

Also if you plan to use dealers in michigan dont let them push you into anything,keep in mind that dealers profit margins on speakers range from 40% to 60% depending on the gear & the gear your looking at like B&W and PARADIGM have some of the highest profit margins.

I would also reccomend that you do not buy your gear brand new from a dealer without first checking audiogon & using the search function to look for gear close to you,by doing this you can save 40% to 60% easily,to use the zip code search function on audiogon go to the link i gave which is the home page & in the top middle of the page you'll see a search link,click this link then enter the first 2 or 3 digits of your zip to see all the gear in your area.

http://www.audiogon.com/

If you want to save a ton of cash do all your own research,track down all the gear you need & buy it then contact an installer to do the install & set it up.

 

[Tim C]

Getting closer!

Thanks to every one who posted advice. I was really surprised at the mark up the dealer had on some of those items. Will dealers ever really get to the internet prices for the more expensive items like the Tv and speakers, or is it better to just buy it from off the internet and have it installed and setup? I've heard about some pretty bad expericences with people buying Tv's and speaker systems from online stores. Not sure if they just did not pick a good company or if you take you're chances getting something that fragile and expensive in the mail! Any other comment or opinons on system mentioned earlier would be great.

Tim C

 

[Tim C]

Don't see such on this sight about Pioneer tv's or receivers and not to much on paradigm speakers. Since you guy's are the experts is there other brands I should be looking at. I've read some feel that these brands over charge and under perform!

 

[zumbo]

As a new comer in the ht market I found myself pretty overwhelmed! I have been reading on this site for a while now and found alot of useful info. My problem is there is only 1 audio guy in my part of Michigan(Ann Arbor),that I know to be a reputible dealer.This dealer only carries Pioneer and Sony Tv's and Paradigm and BW speakers.I've read the best way to pick you're speakers is to feild test different brands before choosing.With only 2 brands to listen to it's difficult to do this. To me the Paradigm has a better overall sound.At the present time this it the equipment set up and pricing I'm looking at. Any help would be much appreciated! Pioneer Elite 60"(7500) Pioneer VSX81TXV REC(950) PIONEER ELITE DVD W/HDMI(299) 3-PARADIGM C220's for LCR(199) 4-PARADIGMCS60R(149) PARADIGM PDR-12 SUB(499)AQ 3M HDMI CABLE(275) 2- AQ 1M HDMI CABLE(175) PRO1410HD(149) With discounts, installed $10,699
My room is 16x25 w/8' ceilings drywall walls and celing(not installed yet) Small children are the reason for the in-wall speakers, though not sure how sound will be affected?

That is retail for the tv. I do believe Pioneer tv's have the best picture out of any I have seen.

That is retail for the receiver. I prefer Yamaha and Denon.

Pioneen Elite DV-46AV retail is $299.00. Again, I would prefer Yamaha or Denon Unerversal player. One thing to be sure to check is the bass management options for m/c outputs. You want to be able to control the crossover point for dvd-a and sacd. This feature can run the price up a good bit, but it's worth it when you don't have fullrange speakers all around.

Paradigm/B&W speakers. Speakers are preference for sure. I prefer B&W over Paradigm. Both are top quality, and there is nothing wrong with Paradigm. I was not able to find prices, but if we base it on the others, I bet they are retail as well.

Order cables online.

I agree with the replies. Highfihoney can help the most, being he is closest to you. Top notch member. He really knows equipment.

 

[Tim C]

Thanks for you're input. A big thanks to hifihoney as well for the great web site. still need a little help with the cables. As a newbe all the codes for cables and speaker wire are all greek to me, what do I need to be looking for in hdmi cables and speaker wire.
Is there any advantage to putting some sort of soundproofing up on walls and ceiling as I have access now before drywall, or is this just a wastse of money.
I have decided not to do in wall speakers after recommendations from this post, but now I have a stupid question. I know that if I still do a wall mounted speaker that I need to get the speaker wire in place before drywall, but if I do stands does the speaker wire just run along the base of the wall under the carpet then out at the stand, or is it better to run in wall still and out to location will speakers will be placed?

 

[GoColts]

I work for an electronics dealer and these guys are right...audio mark-up is huge (can be as much a 70% on some big ticket items) Vidio isn't quite as much...at least where I'm at. (15-40%...probly about 35% for what you're looking at)

As for the TV. For pure picture quality, you can't beat the pioneer. The elites are fantastic TV's but right now, their Pure Vision panels are basically the same TV without the Elite logo and the color calibration in the menu...but the Panel is the same. If you still want a really good TV (A plasma that's head and shoulders above the rest) Look at the Pioneer PDP-6071HD. I live in Montana where there isn't very much competition on products, but I've still seen this TV for $5999, so don't pay any more than that if you do decide to go with this TV. It is also a 60 inch plasma, but it come in at about 1000-1500 dollars less for basically the same picture quality.

If you do want the Elite, know that they have a lot of room to move on it if they're sitting at 7500 clams.

 

[GoColts]

I just wanted to prove I can spell video...I just can't type.

 

[zumbo]

cables

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/

http://www.impactacoustics.com/index_flash.asp?engine=ahjune

http://www.accessories4less.com/

Below is a link to Amazon.com. I have only searched for cables sold by Amazon. I recommend to include the word (Amazon) at the end of your search on their site. This ensures they are the seller. I only buy from Amazon on Amazon.com.

http://amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_6_0/002-8980206-2174415?ie=UTF8&keywords=audio cables amazon&rh=n:172282,k:audio cables amazon,p_6:ATVPDKIKX0DER&page=1