Looking for comments on my first HT/Stereo setup.

[Chaoticmass]

Last December at 22 I moved out from my parent's house and got my own place. This afforded me the opportunity to finally build a nice setup for home theater/stereo that I always wanted.

Because I was on a tight budget I stuck to older second hand stuff that I could find on ebay, which was fine by me because I'd rather have real quality older piece than some new flashy stuff that costs more and doesn't last.

Each piece has its own interesting story as to how/why I selected it. Sparing all those details, here is what I ended up with.

Main Speakers: Mirage OM-9 bipolar full range floor speakers - $600 on ebay
Center Channel: Yamaha NS-AC142 - $40 local second hand store
Rear Surrounds: Mirage M-290is - $120 local second hand store
Main Amps: Two Yamaha MX-460 Amplifiers (Bi-Amp) -$120 local, $160 ebay
Surround Decoder: Yamaha DDP-1 - $40 ebay
Reciever/Surround Amp: Yamaha DSP-E492 - $60 ebay

Sources:
Yamaha TX-900U Tuner - $30 local second hand store
Onkyo DV-C600 DVD Changer - $50 local second hand store
Sony CDP-CX250 200 Disc CD Changer - $100 local second hand store
All components are in near mint condition.

Over all I am just pleased as punch with everything. Its definitly more than enough for an apt dweller. I think it is a fairly well balanced setup, except maybe the Yamaha center channel, which I am not sure of. I think it sounds great on its own but may not be big enough. Its not quite a good match for the Mirage fronts I think.

I was drawn to the DSP-E492 because it seemed to be made just for my kind of situation. I originally built this system as a stereo only setup, with the M-290is as the main speakers and one MX-460 amp. Later I expanded and decided to go full surround for movies but I loved the MX-460 amp so much I had to keep it in the system. The DSP-E492 was made for people who already had a nice stereo setup and just wanted to add surround to it. The combination of the DSP-E492's 6 discreet inputs and the DSP-1 make for a perfect match. My stereo recordings sound as sweet as ever, and for movies, well, I don't go to the theaters much anymore

Comments/criticism welcome.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

How come you did not also get Mirage for the center speaker? Is that in the near future?

 

[Chaoticmass]

The OM-C2 is what I really want but it is hard to find, and when it does pop up on ebay it usually runs about $500-$700.

I've seen them sell for $300 on ebay, but I didn't have the money at that time to buy it.

I could settle for a OM-C3 (usually around $150) but the OM-C2 would be the perfect match.

 

[jcPanny]

HT Upgrade

It also looks like you don't have a sub, so add that to the upgrade list. A DIY project or a dayton audio sub kit are a couple ways to save some money.