Opinions and advice for a semi-newb please.

[Sweet Spot]

<font color='#000000'>Hello all. Glad to have been told about this forum by a friend..you all seem very savy, educated and helpful, so here it goes. &nbsp;I live in a studio in NYC, and we all know how &quot;big&quot; those tend to be..

My place is about 13xWx 24xL not including the hall near the door and bathroom (room for reflections to travel) and the kitchen on the opposite side. &nbsp;My current &quot;entertainment&quot; system which consists of a 27&quot; &nbsp;color stream Toshiba; Toshiba SD 3900 DVD player; Onkyo TX-SV515 Pro receiver; Aiwa Casette deck; Fisher 60 CD changer(will eventually upgrade to a stand alone or 5 disc depending on quality) is at the far end of my studio, &nbsp;(not too far obviously &nbsp;

) and is in a foot and a half recessed section. The current crapola speakers are on shelves flushed against the wall around ear level when standing.

Seeing as how my dvd player is a new addition to my stuff, I'm now suffering from upgrade-itis. But it IS a necessity. &nbsp;I've wanted new speakers for a while now, even before I decided to look into a DVD player. I was set on purchasing a set of Energy's (C-3's or C-5's) as a temporary music solution until I could afford more, but now that I've bought into the video realm of things, I believe that a HT solution would suit me best. I am not however, looking to sacrifice music quality because of this decision.

I listen to alot of jazz, blues and classical, as well as tons of Radiohead and others in that genre, so when I come home from work, I want to plop down in my soon to be &quot;listening chair&quot;, and be taken away from the world through sheer audio bliss.

Here's the first dilemma: &nbsp;Which should I buy first. The speakers, or the receiver ? &nbsp;My budget as it is will be flexible. I make pretty decent cash working at a fine dining restaurant at night, and will probably be getting hired at the medical internship I'm doing in the next month or so. However, I don't want to blow all of my cash, because I have a ton of bills. I'd actually like to keep this as cheap as possible. My plan is to have a really decent system for this place UNTIL, I buy a house one day. At that point, I&quot;ll be going for the gusto !

My thoughts on receivers are: Marantz; Yamaha; Rotel (not necessarily in that order)

Speakers: Polk; B&amp;W; Axiom, &nbsp;and I'm not sure of what else right now. I'm not at all familiar with HT speaker lines. All I know is...no THIB for me. &nbsp;

Thanks so much for sifting through my &nbsp;1st post. Any and all help is always greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Doug</font>

 

[dis]

<font color='#000000'>Since I listen to more music, if I could start over again with only your receiver and TV I'd upgrade as so:

1) Buy a really nice pair of front speakers since they will last you a long time.

2) Good quality DVD/CD player.

3) Bigger TV.

4) 5.1/6.1 capable amplifier.

5) Center and rear speakers (matched to your fronts)

*6) Powered sub if you find you lack bass in the fronts.</font>

 

[Sweet Spot]

<font color='#000000'>I too listen to alot of music, but since I just bought the dvd player (which you seem to think of as crap), I figured it would be a good idea to get speakers that were made to handle both genres of audio. Now, there's got to be a well balanced set of speakers, (not necessarily a whole set of matching ones..just matching brands) that can own up to this feat. As far as your suggestions:

1)Ok, I agree with this one.

2)So you think that the one I just bought is crap ? If you can suggest a better one for the price I paid, please ..do tell. I paid $92

3)I don't care about the TV right now. And I think that 27 is good enough for me. &nbsp;It actually has color stream component connections in the rear anyway.

4) Yes, or yes. I think that the receiver is just as important, especially a high current one that performs well and is nice and warn.

5)I can obviously get these soon after the fronts, which will basically determine what ThEY will be anyway..pretty much, brand &nbsp;wise anyway.

6) I'm not worried much about the sub right now..that's the last of my worries. &nbsp;I just want a good start, a foundation to lay the rest of the building upon if you will. And to me, the receiver and fronts are just that.

So, again..if anyone has suggestions for brand models on receivers in the &nbsp;$500 to $600 range, &nbsp;that would be great. THX would be super cool. &nbsp;And what would be even cooler is if they were accessable in person.

Same goes for speakers. A solid $400-$600 for fronts which have the ability to be matched with speakers in its own family. Now of course I&quot;m not asking for people to do leg work for me, just some suggestions, so that I can start walking in the right direction. &nbsp;Store names would be better than web sites..but anything is appreciated.

Thanks again,
Doug</font>

 

[dis]

<font color='#000000'>Well, first off, I never commented on your DVD player.

The purpose of my post was just to illustrate the order in which I would setup my home theatre if I could go back to just a TV and receiver. My current DVD+VHS combo player is made by toshiba and I'm very happy with it in music and video.

Since this is *your* system your the one that has to be happy with it so let your ears and eyes be the judge and demo before you buy.

Have a look through the various buying guides, reviews and the amplifier/loudspeaker sections of the forum to help you out.

Hope this helps!</font>

 

[Sweet Spot]

<font color='#000000'>Sorry, I was under the impression that you were basing your reply directly upon the contents of my first post, which if that was true, would include telling me something about the gear that I already possess, including the DVD player I listed. And I didn't say that to be snippy. I was looking for an honest answer, since I don't know very much in the way of what's good or not in the video realm.

I have been scouring the sites etc, and sometimes it's not so easy to just find the right answers based soley on reviews, especially if said products aren't really available for an audition at a local dealer etc. &nbsp;Besides, I think it's more likely that I'll be able to speak with people that live in my area, who know where I might be able to do such things..and have opinions about the gear and the dealer as well. &nbsp;

Looking at some PSB's currently. &nbsp;
Thanks,
Doug</font>

 

[Khellandros66]

<font color='#000000'>A nice inexpensive system to consider is as follows:

Receiver:
Upcoming Yamaha RX-V1400 or 2400

DVD Player:
Pioneer DV45 Universal Player

Speakers:
Athena AS-F2 (pair)
Athena AS-B2 (2 pair) w/ B-Tech 55lbs clamp wall brackets and grub screws.
Athena AS-C1
Yamaha YST-SW315

Cables:
Monster Z1 10 or 15 for front L/R
Monster Original 150ft+ and DIY terminations (Crimp Bananas)
Monster THX Coaxial
Monster 300 or better for SACD/DVD-A

SACD/DVD-A Bass Management (if necessary):
Outlaw Audio ICBM

Now if you take you time and buy everthing piece by piece, you can't go wrong.

I would purchase the receiver first, the AS-F2s, the center...

This would make a fantastic system for around $2500-3250 after shipping or tax.

~

Bob</font>

 

[Sweet Spot]

<font color='#000000'>Hey thanks Bob... &nbsp;Weird you mention the Athena's...is that Athena acoustics ? &nbsp;I was walking home from work just now, and saw at an audio store near me some Athena surrounds, demo models for about $3400...I &quot;think&quot; it was Athenas anyway.

As far as the receiver goes, another weird thing you mentioning the Yamaha cus' check this out...I got a PM from a guy over at Head-Fi, who is selling some equipment. Now the cool thing is that the receiver is the Yamaha RXV1000, however, I've been telling the guy how skeptical I am because he's selling it for get this: $280 ! &nbsp;

I was like, you have to be kidding...what the #### is wrong with it? &nbsp;Supposedly nothing and just that he bought it with a tax return a couple years ago, and he moved, and it's taking up too much space in a closet etc. &nbsp;His sig lists some very impressive pieces of equipment, telling me that he has since upgraded anyway. &nbsp;So I&quot;m meeting him this Saturday to audition the Yamaha, and to check out some of his speakers. The speakers are a pair of PSB Alphas (not the A/V's) which he was using for rears...and also a PSB center. &nbsp;

My thoughts on the speakers though, are that I'd really like some Energy's. I auditioned the C-3's a while back and remember loving the heck out of them. I will however check out your suggestions on speakers and the receiver in case the deal goes south.

Thanks again,
Doug</font>

 

[Yamahaluver]

<font color='#0000FF'>The RXV-1000/800 were great sounding receivers from Yamaha and very well built. They featured 6.1 sound with Phantom for rear surround, at $280 provided it is in a good condition, you wont go wrong in buying it.</font>

 

[Audioholics]

<font color='#000080'>Its that inexpensive because its been out of production for a little bit now. It doesn't support Dolby Pro Logic II or Neo sound fields (if you care about that). It's a good receiver, though.</font>

 

[Sweet Spot]

<font color='#000000'>Sheesh, I posted what I'm about to ask last night..don't know why it didn't make it to the board. Anyway, Hawke, considering that i just bought a new DVD player (Toshiba SD-3900), what would I be missing out on if I didn't get a receiver that was capable of Dolby Pro Logic II or Neo sound fields ? What the heck ARE Neo sound fields anyway ? &nbsp;

Aside from all that, I think that I've decided to not buy the previously mentioned Yamaha...It was cheap, but if I'm going to do it, I may as well do it right. &nbsp;No warranty was a problem for me, as well as it being a bit out of date. &nbsp;I checked out the New Yamahas' that were listed by Khellandros66 and they look freekin' sweet. And the price isn't that bad either. &nbsp;Used speakers I could do, but a receiver...I don't think so. Too many anomolies.

Thank you everyone for your help in these matters. And of course, if there are anymore suggestions on receivers...I'd be happy to hear them. (Marantz..Adcom etc.)

Regards,
Doug</font>