My first 5.1 system

[Budgetbuyer]

After many years of apartment living, I'm buying a house and have been shopping for a modest system for music and movies. The living room area is 11.5x15.8 but there is another 11.5x11 of open space because the dining room is separated only by built-in cabinets along both walls.

My budget for the speakers and receiver is roughly up to $1000 but I could go a little higher. The 5.1 set that is my first choice for now is the Energy Take Classic ($400). I'm not looking for a lot of volume, I'd be happy if it just blends in and fills the room. One alternative to that would be piecing together another Energy system that would currently cost me $600. It includes Energy CF-30 in front, CB-5 for surround, CC-5 center, and an EW-100 sub. I'm probably looking to spend up to $350 on the receiver if it was paired with the Take Classic, but I could spend a couple hundred more if the speakers justified it.

I'm mainly looking to find out if the Take Classic set would be adequate for the room, and also if the alternative pieces I selected would be enough of a performance upgrade to qualify for the better safe than sorry route.

 

[AVRat]

I’m not fond of the 3.5” drivers like are used in the Take speakers. The other CF setup would be better, but I’d prefer a better sub like the HSU STF-2 instead for a better low-end response. Even the CB-20s would work well for the L/Rs.

In your environment, you won’t need a high power receiver, but you’ll need to make sure it offers the features you require. For example, many lower level receivers don’t offer video up-conversion.

 

[Budgetbuyer]

The Yamaha RX-V567 is a receiver that has the basic features I want like the video upscaling and a price I'm comfortable with.

The Energy pieces without the sub would cost me $450, adding the sub a little later could be an option too.

 

[sholling]

Understand that the key to a good system is the speakers and you get what you pay for. My advice is to put together the best 2.1 or 3.1 system that you can and then add the surrounds later. What I've heard that fits your price range are Infinity's Primus P162 bookshelves ($170/pr) as your mains and their PC250 center ($150). Add an Elemental Designs A2-300 subwoofer and drive it all off of an Onkyo TX-SR508. Later when you have saved a bit more money add a pair of P152 bookshelves as surrounds and perhaps a second sub. This would be a good sounding system.

What I have not heard but seems to have a following is the Jamo/Onkyo Tx-SR508 bundle that Tiger Direct has on sale for $450. Again I have not heard them and can't vouch for the quality or the sound but the price fits your budget. Add a Outlaw Audio LFM-1 Plus and you're right at $1000 plus shipping. If you can squeeze out another $150 than I'd step up to the Jamo/TX-SR608 bundle. I'd go with the first option but this will get you to 5.1 for $1k.

 

[Budgetbuyer]

The $600 package does look very appealing, I'm going to check if to see if I can find a Jamo dealer nearby.

I have Infinity RS 325's that I've been happy with, but I might be hesitant to buy something similar this time.

 

[sholling]

The $600 package does look very appealing, I'm going to check if to see if I can find a Jamo dealer nearby.

I have Infinity RS 325's that I've been happy with, but I might be hesitant to buy something similar this time.

Your major limitation is budget. The P162s a bargain for the quality that you get. A nice step up in quality would be Ascend Acoustics' CBM-170SE or Usher's S-520 but they cost twice as much. Both are excellent small-medium sized room - moderate volume speakers. You just have to be careful not to don't exceed the Usher's limitations.

 

[Budgetbuyer]

I went down to listen to some entry level speakers today. This shop is one that used to draw in people from all around the area and offered quite a few top brands to sample from. Unfortunately the days of listening to several options from different manufacturers is gone, what I was able to hear were the Boston CS-23, CS-26, CS-226 and CS-10, and from KEF the C1, C3, C5, and C4. I was hoping to hear the NHT SuperZero 2.0, but they stopped carrying NHT.

My impression was that the Bostons had a decent sound, but I wasn't as fond of them as I used to be. I liked the KEF's a bit better, not that I'm necessarily considering them but maybe as a point of reference to some others that I won't be able to hear before purchasing. I'm assuming the Infinity P152, P162 and P362 are in the range of what I heard today, if they're better then that's good to know as well.

I'm discarding the original budget, I feel like a few hundred more could make too much of a difference. It may take a little longer to complete, but I would probably feel better about the purchases expanding it to about $1500 for speakers (including sub) and the receiver. The HSU STF-2 is my favorite sub so far for the price, I'd prefer to keep that part at $400 or less.

I'm still curious about the JAMO's and the Fluance set, if they were close to the Bostons I'd have to consider them given the price.

 

[KEW]

I'm assuming the Infinity P152, P162 and P362 are in the range of what I heard today, if they're better then that's good to know as well.

That is a bad assumption!
These speakers are recommended because they overachieve for their price. It is a mistake to assume speakers at similar price will be of similar SQ. IMHO, even Infinity's own next model doesn't match their sound quality!

While you probably can get better sound with the budget increase you are considering, you also have plenty of opportunities to end up worse off than the P362/P162 series despite spending the extra money.

You should have someone that sells Infinity in your area. The Infinity P363 is the same speaker with some cosmetic changes - it will sound the same. See if you can find and listen to it. The P362's were recommended to save money.

 

[Budgetbuyer]

I guess it's a sign of the times, I bought my last pair locally but the closest Infinity dealer is in Omaha. It's far enough away that I'm inclined to take your word for it. One other speaker package that I couldn't help noticing is the EMP E5Ti 5.1 system that Audioholics has for $1095. I added up to $1110 for the Infinity P362/P162, center and STF-2. Any idea how those two setups might compare?

 

[sholling]

I haven't heard the Jamos but the Infnity P162s are a bargain and a 5.0 P162/PC250/P152 set is less than $500 shipped. Review FWIW I have heard (and owned) the Boston CS26 and was not impressed.

I haven't had the opportunity to hear the E5Ti either but it has a nice reputation. At your new budget level I'd also consider adding two pair of Ascend's CBM-170SE bookshelves with a CMT-340SE center to your candidate list. If you shop b-stock and take the package discount you should be at about $950 for the set. Better yet a 3x CMT-340SE with 2x (b-stock) CBM-170SE will set you back about $1200. Review

Whichever way you go I think you'll be a lot happier with the Infinities, or the EMPs, or the Ascends then you would have been with the little Energy Satellites, and the Hsu is going to amaze you. I'd email Hsu a room sketch with dimensions (including attached spaces) and have them make some placement suggestions. Also do some reading on the main Audioholics site about speaker and subwoofer placement. There's some great information in the how-to section.

On the subject of subwoofers and expectation setting. A good quality home sub is not going to give you the thump of a teen's car stereo sub. They aren't designed to. That kid's car stereo thump is amplified distortion. A good sub like the Hsu is all about accurately reproducing bass as it was recorded.

 

[Budgetbuyer]

I put together a package with 4 b stock CBM-170s and a 340 center which is $885 and the STF-2 puts it at $1275. That package is close to my comfort range, but I think the 340s in front might push me out of that. I hadn't noticed before but there is another 10% off Infinity if I get the TV I want at the same time, putting that package at $1040.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Denon 391 for $190:
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-391-Channel-Theater-Receiver/dp/B003QP3M8I/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1297258806&sr=1-1

NHT SuperZero2.0 x 5 speakers = $500:
http://www.amazon.com/NHT-SuperZero-2-0-Monitor-Speaker/dp/B0049FA1TM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1297258916&sr=1-1

NHT Super8 subwoofer for $350:
http://www.amazon.com/NHT-Super-110-Watt-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B0049FGP7O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1297258956&sr=1-3

Total = $1,045 (includes shipping)

At one point I used the NHT SuperZero (5) + SW2P with a 50WPC HK receiver in a 16' x 17' x 15' ceiling room.

 

[avnetguy]

The Yamaha RX-V567 is a receiver that has the basic features I want like the video upscaling and a price I'm comfortable with.

The Energy pieces without the sub would cost me $450, adding the sub a little later could be an option too.

You might want to look at the RX-V667 as a slight upgrade, probably less than $100 dfference in price.

If you're still considering the energy speakers, that setup with the CF-30s would be quite good, providing you like the sound from them. I would go with a different makers sub though.

 

[ErikSorensen]

NHT's

Hi all - I joined this site to post my NHT 5.1 setup for sale, but apparently you need 25 posts in order to post to the classified section (makes sense)... so this is #1

Anyway, the kids have gradually taken over the entire house so I have no more room for my NHT 2.5i mains, SuperOne surrounds, and AudioCenter-1 center.

Shot in the dark... but if you'd like more details, LMK