newbie

[hunnybuns]

Looking for an amazing 5000 system. The 5000 will include everything. Speakers, cables, (maybe a pre amp.), and av. Maybe this one? https://www.audioholics.com/recommended-systems/5000-5.2-channel-recommended-system. But it is 2 years outdated.
Thank you!

 

[Latent]

Couple of questions you can answer so you will get better responses.

How big is the room you will using this in?
What skeaker layout were you thinking of 2.0,2.1,5.1,7.1 etc?
Do you care about the new atmos/dts:x speaker layouts with 2-4 height channels?
Do you care about 4k bluray with HDR at some point?
What % of your listening is music vs movie?

 

[hunnybuns]

The room doesn't matter. I have to move frequently for my job. Right now it's about a 10-16feet room. I play video games about 60-70% of the time. As for 4K, I do not care about it. I do not care about atmos or Dts.

 

[everettT]

The room doesn't matter. I have to move frequently for my job. Right now it's about a 10-16feet room. I play video games about 60-70% of the time. As for 4K, I do not care about it. I do not care about atmos or Dts.

Rooms always matter. So your saying the majority of the system time use will be for video games?

 

[markw]

Do you want 5.2, 7.2 or what?

Is a second sub mandatory?

 

[hunnybuns]

I would like to do a 5.2 or 5.1 system. Room does mater. However, since I'm always moving every 6mo-1yr I need something that is a general good fit for any room. I'm also wondering if a 2.1 or system would be better? Most of the time will be spent gaming. 60% gaming 40%netflix.

 

[rojo]

Good sound comes from good speakers. Max out your speaker budget, then go cheap on the electronics and cables.

4x Salk SongBirds - $3k
Salk SongCenter (front-ported for more future-proof flexible placement) - $845
Shipping - ~$200? Unknown whether Jim offers any sort of package discount.
Rythmik LV12R sub - $569 shipped
Denon AVR-X2100 refurb -- $350 shipped
100' 14AWG OFC speaker wire - $30
25' subwoofer cable - $12

Total = $5006 give or take a few bucks

If you need a television as well, then we'll need to go with cheaper speakers.

 

[hunnybuns]

Thank you. I have a awesome tv,oled. I have to be honest, never heard of Salk. I hear about svs a lot.

 

[rojo]

Salk has received many accolades. Jim Salk does top notch carpentry with gallery-worthy finishes. The Song series crossovers are designed by Dennis Murphy, a legend in crossovertry (who also builds excellent speakers, by the way). Paul Kittinger, an expert in Martin King's quarter wave loudspeaker design theory, designed the transmission line. They are all big names in the DIY and Internet Direct circles. The sound from a $2000 pair of Salk towers should be compared to $5,000+ offerings from companies you have heard of.

Now that I ponder the matter, you might prefer a pair of SongTowers for the fronts (with 4dB greater sensitivity) and Song Surrounds to stay within your budget. Or if you aren't that concerned with obsessive audiophile sound from your surrounds, then just get a pair of Fluance XLBP wall-mount bipolar surrounds (which still sound pretty nice fired at the back of your head) and devote more of your budget to a kickass sub.

Salk SongTowers -- $2000
Salk SongCenter -- $845
shipping -- ~$150?
Fluance XLBP -- $200
Rythmik FV15HP sub -- $1338 shipped
Denon AVR-X2100 refurb -- $350 shipped
100' 14AWG OFC speaker wire - $30
25' subwoofer cable - $12

Total = $4925 (+/- a few $)

Beware that the Rythmik subwoofer might not be ideal for a lot of moves unless you have a nice appliance dolly or plan to hire movers. It's 120lbs.

 

[shadyJ]

What I would consider:

4 Revel M16 bookshelf speakers, $300 each, $1200 total
Revel C25 center speaker, $500
Hsu ULS-15 dual drive $1600
Denon AVR-X4200W, $1500
cables, accessories, etc, $200

There is a killer $5k system that is relatively portable, should be easy to move. VERY high performance. It will kill with gaming and movies. Very high sound quality that will be a great fit for any room. Very nice looking too. The speakers and subs are extremely linear, and the receiver has the ability to EQ two subs individually so you get the most out of a dual sub investment. With two subs, you can also use them as bookshelf speaker stands if you want.

 

[Latent]

Because you don't really need 4k and atmos/dts:x you don't HAVE to have the latest model of AVR. I would consider looking at a 1-2 year older model that has all the great audyssey features and almost everything else is identical.

x4100w for $700
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrx4100w/denon-avr-x4100w-7.2-ch-x-125-watts-networking-a/v-receiver/1.html
or x4000 for $550
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrx4000/denon-avr-x4000-7.2-ch-x-125-watts-networking-a/v-receiver/1.html

leaves more budget for great speakers and SUB.

For your use case I would think bookshelf speakers all round would fit better than floorstanders. For the best sound panning in movies and games you want the same speaker at each point if you can get it and 5 x floorstanding speakers are a bit to big to place and move between houses. With bookshelves there are lots more mounting and placement options but you may have to buy a few good speaker stands. Center speaker is the hardest speaker though because you have to choose between the ideal witch is an identical bookshelf speaker or semi matching center speaker that is easier to place. Your center needs to be as close to the screen as possible and as close to the same height as the ear level Left/right speakers and this is impossible without some weird setup or a compromise. Generally the center is placed directly above or below the screen with bookshelves being relatively high making horizontal centers easier to fit. Some centers can even be used as TV stands to get them nice and close. To mount a speaker above the screen you may have to make a custom made stand out of MDF or similar. There are lots of wall mounting options but if you move often this may be a waste of effort.

Another reason I recommend bookshelves if possible is you get better sound quality per $ but they lack the low end needed to do 2.0 music without a sub. But if you invest in a great AVR and subs and avoid straight analog 2.0 playback then it will sound just as good with smaller bookshelves.

Another thing that may be very important to you is the bass port design of the speakers you select. Rear ported designs often offer great bass but need more room around them to avoid bass issues. As you move house you may get rooms that don't allow the ideal room and placement. Front ported designs can help a little like the SongCenter rojo suggested. Some speakers are sealed with no bass port and these are the most forgiving with placement. It is also possible to plug bass ports that can help if done properly. If you have a great Sub setup at 80-90Hz crossover so the Subs are handling all the heavy bass then making a compromise on the bass output would not be a big issue.

http://philharmonicaudio.com/New Philharmonitor.html <- there is a sealed version of this speaker available for example for $1100 a pair (I have never heard this speaker so don't take my word alone!).

 

[hunnybuns]

Latent, the Philharmonitor would be better then the stalk soungbird? I can go over my budget. I dont want to exceed 6k. I was thinking about the soundbird, Rythmik FV15HP sub, and the denon for 350. Dont kill me for saying this, I do not know enough about all the bells and whistles on 1000+ av's. It could be a feature that is on it that makes no difference. Like Retina screens vs 4k. Your eye cannot tell the difference. I could be wrong.

 

[Latent]

Yeah 4k is a bit stupid as you need to be way to close to see the difference. Stand 1m away and they look amazing. Put on a new 4k bluray and sit in your couch and then try and spot the difference! But 4k has its positives. First is HDR which some 4k tv's support and this is visible at range and allows darker blacks and brighter detail. But they only give this cool feature with pointless 4k res blurays! Other reason 4k is cool is for 3d tv which on 1080p screens works poorly either due to horrible active glasses which preserve the full 1080 signal but make a flickery mess or passive 3d which is cheaper but you lose half the vertical lines/resolution making detail and text really bad. 4k passive 3d you lose half the vertical resolution which takes to 1080p res which is perfect.

Anyway as to fancy features on the avr's the difference for your use case between the $350 older denon unit and the more expensive 4000 or 4100 which are also Older units but higher end is you get 125watts instead of 95watts and it has full preouts which allow you to upgrade with a power amp in the future for more powwr. Plus they have higher audassity features for better room correction. It can eq two subs independently which is a great feature if you want two subs for great even bass in your room.

If none of these things matters then get the cheaper option. At 350 it's a steal and you can sell and upgrade later if required.

Salk and philharmonic are very close and the guys running them work together a bit. For salk I would recommend you look at song surrounds I and II. The smaller ones are $900 a pair and bigger ones are $1500 a pair I think. The bigger ones are identical to the song center so 4 of them plus the center would be the perfect system but that eats up much of your budget. Could downgrade rears or fronts to the smaller version to save money.

For the sub normally 2 smaller 12inch would be ideal as they give better coverage of multiple seating locations in a room. But if you only need to calibrate for one seat then one bigger sub may be better and give you lower bass.

 

[rojo]

Latent, the Philharmonitor would be better then the stalk soungbird? I can go over my budget. I dont want to exceed 6k. I was thinking about the soundbird, Rythmik FV15HP sub, and the denon for 350. Dont kill me for saying this, I do not know enough about all the bells and whistles on 1000+ av's. It could be a feature that is on it that makes no difference. Like Retina screens vs 4k. Your eye cannot tell the difference. I could be wrong.

Mmmmm, with the Songbirds or SongTowers, you get the articulate bass response from a mass-loaded transmission line. With the Philharmonitor you get the improved off-axis response of a RAAL ribbon. Since the off-axis response of the dome tweeter in the Salk speakers is already excellent, I say go for the Salks. Besides, the Philharmonitors don't have a matching center.

Another worthwhile AVR to consider would be a Marantz SR5009. It adds pre-amp outputs, which would be useful if you'd like the ability to add external amplification later.