Opinions Needed, possible setup -- and introduction

[Lesh]

Hello, I'm pretty new to audio but have been researching for a couple days after I decided to get a setup. Recent college grad and just moved out, so not too much money to spend but I'm looking for something that I can upgrade as more money becomes available. I rarely use the TV (a DVD once per month or so, watch 30 mins of TV every couple of weeks) so I am looking for just an audio solution.

I typically listen to acid jazz, downtempo, lounge, and industrial dance for the most part and constantly have something playing on my home computer. I currently live in a 1 bedroom apartment with a fairly large living room connected to the kitchen and computer area, carpeted and vaulted cielings.

I'm not trying to spend too much, but do want quality so after some research I've come up with this basic list.

CD Player - NAD C521i I chose this one because I've seen it online for about $200 and it seems to have good reviews. If you know of any better fits, please let me know.

Stereo Reciever - Onkyo TX8511 I went with a stereo reciever because I rarely watch movies at home, and don't really need to be immersed in them when I do watch them. I went with the onkyo again because of good reviews, and it seems to have all the features I need while giving enough power to the speakers (I guess.... not too sure on that one.) Also the price certainly seems right, I've seen it as low as $230.

Speakers - Athena AS-F1 these are my top choice because of great reviews and low price again. By reading the Athena website they seem to be able to handle much more power than the Reciever is capable of giving.. will this be a problem?

Like I said, I don't really know much about audio equipment, I've been reading as much as I can and going through a great deal of reviews so please let me know any suggestions or comments.

Thanks in advance
Lesh

 

[Leprkon]

Speakers - Athena AS-F1 these are my top choice because of great reviews and low price again. By reading the Athena website they seem to be able to handle much more power than the Reciever is capable of giving.. will this be a problem?Lesh

it won't be a problem unless you run the amp at full power alot. an amp begins to provide "dirty" power toward the top of of its power curve. there's a lot of distortion, and the amp is literally trying to move the speaker in two different directions at the same time. as a result, the speaker tears itself apart.

as long as you are sending clean power to the speakers, they can generally suck up quite a bit more power than their specified power ratings... as long as it's clean. a cheap amp that is distorting can easily destroy a set of speakers that would normally take three or four times that amount of clean power.

do you need a better receiver ? not if you behave. if you're a volume nut, invest in a better receiver.

 

[nibhaz]

who cares what I think?

After a quick check on the components you listed it would appear that you've picked out an excellent "stereo" system on a budget. The Onkyo receiver will have no trouble driving those Athena speakers, at least on paper. Since I own Onkyo equipment myself I can back up the reviews for that particular piece of equipment. People almost always have good things to say about NAD and the cd player you're looking at seems to be a good deal for your purposes. I cant really comment on the Athena speakers, but I’ve seen quit a few good references to them in these forums. However the best advice is to listen to these components and see how they sound to you, because that's all that really matters. As along as your ears happy, you'll be happy.

 

[Lesh]

Wow, swang by Best Buy today to give the Athena's a listen so I could think about it, and ended up buying them. I was thoroughly impressed and they had them for only $150 per =].

Also just found a refurbished onkyo TX-8511 reciever for only $130 online. Is it usually safe to buy refurbished stereo components? It's over at JR.com and states that is has both a 2 year warantee and a 1 year onkyo factory warrantee. Good buy, or steer clear?

I think I'll hold off until next paycheck to get the NAD cd player, and just use my cruddy dvd player after I get a reciever for a little while, but after hearing the Athena's in the store I am very excited.

 

[Leprkon]

Also just found a refurbished onkyo TX-8511 reciever for only $130 online. Is it usually safe to buy refurbished stereo components? It's over at JR.com and states that is has both a 2 year warantee and a 1 year onkyo factory warrantee. Good buy, or steer clear?

normally, a refurb is a pretty safe bet. there's not a whole lot that can go wrong on a lower-end unit.

when it does, the repair shop will generally replace whatever portion is going wrong. it's too cost prohibitive to look for a single resistor on the main board, especially since, once it's in the states, they aren't paying South Korean labor rates any more.

the only risk is that the new part comes out of the same potentially bad batch of parts that the first one came out of. you're taking care of that risk with your warranty. if it failed in the warranty time before, odds are that if it does fail, that will be within the warranty time as well.

odds are you'll be ready for a new toy in two years, anyway..

 

[Rob Babcock]

Lesh, you bought your Athena AS-F1's for $150 for the pair? Geez, that's a great price! I can't fathom how you could do better for that kind of money. I'm very impressed with that whole line by Athena. Anyone on a limited budget wanting to get something they won't have to replace in a year really should look into their speakers.

Sounds like you've got a pretty good plan, Lesh. The one thing I might change, though, would be to substitue a good DVD player for the CD Player - NAD C521i. Unless of course you already have one. A good DVD player will give you good Redbook CD playback, too, plus many will allow you to play SACD or DVD-A discs. And naturally there are tens of thousands of great movies and music DVDs.

Anyway, welcome to AH!

 

[Lesh]

I always hated when I would cruise the old posts and there were never any updates so heres mine:

First of all I'm amazed by the setup, this is my first component system and it ws worth every penny. I have not yet bought the cd player, and am currently using my cheapy dvd player to run CD's. I've only run about 9 cd's through it but it is exactly what I was looking for. Out of some sort of miracle the room accoustics seem to make my favorite listening position (in front of my computer) a very good place with a good sound balance. My second favorite place was moved to accomodate the setup, and sound there isn't horrible, but I'm trying to figure out a way to tune that. The best spot in the house seems to be about 8 feet in front of the speakers, which is just 1 foot in front of my couch (which I never used previously.) So I'll be playing with speaker placement for at least a month.

When I first got the system I thought it was very bass heavy, but then I realized I was playing CD's I haven't listened to in 5 years. After putting in more recent music I no longer think it is bass heavy -- except in certain areas of the house.

I never went over what connections I was using, and I opted for Blue Jeans Cable 10g white speaker cable, and their recommended stereo cables. I was impressed by their quality and do not have enough experience to determine which component adds what sound, but there is no obvious defficiency.

The receiver came in yesterday, I missed the delivery the day before. I ordered a refurbished unit from JR's for 130 plus shipping and am glad I did. The box itself says refurb - minor cosmetic dmg, but I couldn't find a single cosmetic problem. The Packing from JR's was most impressive, double boxing it with tamper proof tape. My only complaint on the reciever is the spring type connections which were not really setup to take a 10 guage speaker wire. I ended up thinning the end and using electrical tape on any strands that would not fit in the connection.

The speakers are exactly what I wanted and sound much much better than they did in Best Buy, although now I'm wondering what the Athena AS-F2's sound like....

Volume and clarity for the entire system seems absolutely astounding, I haven't brought the receiver up over about 35%, because that's pretty dang loud for me and I live in an apartment. Clarity doesn't seem to waver to my untrained ears at any volume.

For the most part it was amazing to realize that room accoustics really do play into sound quality in a major way. I spent like 15 minutes taking one step forward and one step back in a particular section where bass was especially boomy but 2 feet away it was well balanced. So good placement will be the next upgrade I do.

The next time I plan to spend money on the system I will probably go with a multi-disk DVD player like the recenlty reviewed C-750. Pick up better furniture to keep everything, and a decent TV. I'm still not big on surround sound, so I plan on keeping the receiver for at least a couple of years before aiming for a surround setup. Right now I've only got one 17 inch TV in the bedroom and I don't think it is plugged in. The stereo components are on top of a bookcase and look good there with plenty of airflow. I've got the speakers on either side of the bookcase spaced about 5 feet apart, and about 1 foot between them and the wall.

Oh and to clarify, it was $150 per speaker, not $150 for the set... the cashier tried to ring me out for only one speaker so it was almost that cheap, but I realized it and fixed his error.

total cost :
$326.47 for two As-F1's after tax bought from the local best buy.
$163.93 for the onkyo TX-8511 refurb including 2 day shipping
$43.51 for cables including shipping

So : 533.91 for the entire system, which I am very happy about. I saved a great deal on the refurb and got lucky there, saved a bunch by using an old DVD player for CD's, I would have loved to buy the used AS-F2's in the forum for cheaper but think they were already sold.



P.S. If this review sounds to good to be true, please keep in mind that this is the first time I've spent over $150 on a sound setup. I am a newbie, and my tastes / hearing are not as refined as yours may be. This is best sound setup I have owned so far, but my experience is limited.

 

[Leprkon]

Lesh,

you might take a look at buying a set of pins for the speaker wire going into your receiver

something like this: http://www.impactacoustics.com/product.asp?cat_id=301&sku=29781

thinning a speaker wire can leave some untrimmed edges that might cause a short. just a safety thing.. glad you're pleased with the new toys !!

 

[Lesh]

Excellent idea, I will definately do that for the reciever ends of the cables.

 

[Rob Babcock]

I second the recommendation for pins- they minimize the possibility of shorting a wire and they're a lot easier to insert and pull out (okay, that sounds bad ). Even at the price you paid, you got a good price on those speakers. I'm sure they rock out in your rig. The F2's would give you a little more low end grunt, but if you "get the bug" half as bad as the rest of us you'll be buying a subwoofer eventually, anyway!

That's the fun thing about new gear- you get to "rediscover" all your favorite discs again. You'll be listening to an old favorite you've heard a hundred times and say, "hey, I never heard that before!" Very cool.

Glad you like your new rig.

 

[TekGmr]

I also am new to home theater setups, and sound setups in general. My first home theater, surround sound setup was a Regent HT-391 made by Lenoxx Electronics for $50. I recently bought a system out of the back of a guy's vehicle for $275. It seemed like a good deal. I didn't just make an impulsive buy though, I examined the product thouroughly before I made my decision. It came with everthing needed to hook the system up, and everything needed to mount it on the walls, so it seemed like a pretty good buy. It also came in a box like you would see with any other peice of electronic equipment. In the box everything was packed neatly with styrafoam dividers that kept everthing safe, and snug. The guy that sold it to me told me he installed professional grade surround sound systems in people's houses for a living. His story was ..... that the company had screwed up, and sent them some extra systems. He said he didn't want his boss to make the extra cash so he was gonna pocket it himself. I decided to buy it and so far I'm pretty satisfied with what I bought. It's a TR-6020 by Theater Research. I've tried looking for stuff on the internet, and I'm getting some very mixed opinions. Some people say it's pretty good, and some people say it's pretty bad. What's your opinions?

 

[MDS]

His story was ..... that the company had screwed up, and sent them some extra systems. He said he didn't want his boss to make the extra cash so he was gonna pocket it himself.

Does that sound reasonable to you? It's the same line that all of the guys that sell speakers out of their van use - so called 'white van' speakers. No doubt he showed you a slick glossy advertisement showing that they are worth thousands, but he can give them to you for pennies on the dollar...because the company screwed up.

I fell for that crap 20 years ago when I was a teenager. Won't do it again. If they work fine for you, then great, but next time just say No. For a few bucks more you can get much better quality from a respected manufacturer.

 

[zumbo]

Sorry for your bad luck. I have blown $275 in more ways than I would even want my closest friends to know. Chalk it up as a learning experience, and list it on ebay while it is working.

 

[HookedOnSound]

His story was ..... that the company had screwed up, and sent them some extra systems. He said he didn't want his boss to make the extra cash so he was gonna pocket it himself. I decided to buy it and so far I'm pretty satisfied with what I bought. It's a TR-6020 by Theater Research. I've tried looking for stuff on the internet, and I'm getting some very mixed opinions. Some people say it's pretty good, and some people say it's pretty bad. What's your opinions?

I had to respond...I almost have the same story! It gave me a good chuckle (not laughing at you but with you)...

The same type of thing happened to my Dad 20 years ago! no lie! ... i was a teenager back then and my dad asked me to help him out (going somewhere in a truck) and we were at a red light when a white van pulled up with 2 guys and rolled down their window to ask us if were were interested in a good deal! The story was too much inventory yada yada....

My dad's were some name like Advanced Acoustic Research or something...basically Cerwin Vega knock offs. Short and wide with a 12" woofer. They wanted something like $500 per speaker, my Dad looked mischievious and on this day he was in the sporting mood and entertained their offer (even though their game was obvious) and after looking at the speakers he offered $125 each and the deal was struck, we went home and I hooked up a pair of speakers for him. Oddly enough, they are still working today! (my dad is a light listener, probably why they lasted so long)

To this day, I laugh every time I see those speakers in his living room...

Getting back to your question, if you are happy with them, that is what counts... But in general...if you offered a deal like the one you had...I would have to say that if it sounds too good to be true it is...

 

[sjdgpt]

The white van stuff is sooooo common.

Last week, a gentleman walked into our storefront. I was traveling through by the front door so I stopped and asked the question..."what can I do for you".

His response was to the effect that he had a special on men's cologne...80% off.

A female clerk piped up and said... "If I had asked you that question, would you have told me that it was lady's cologne"?