please give me some input

[chadd]

I want to set up a home theater and have a decent stereo to play music. Here is what I purchased so far:
2 definitive technology towers bp 7006
1 definitive tech clr 2002
2 definitive tech bp2x
And I have a harmon kardon avr15 that a friend gave me but should I use this receiver or buy a new one?
I also have a panasonic dvd player

I want a 50 inch plasma and Im seriously considering buying one from costco, but should I go cheap? They have a visio 50 inch for $1900 and a phillips 50 for $2400.

So what else should I get? What more do I need? Should I get a sub? More speakers?
Oh ya my living room is about 19x25x15 and it is open beam.

Thanks for the input

 

[hemiram]

Well, I wouldn't go Plasma, but that's your choice, I have a couple of friends with burn in on theirs and it didn't take long to get it.

The speakers should be ok, but you will want a sub eventually, that room is pretty big, and the main speakers probably will work really hard when a movie has big bass, and it won't be enough to make you happy without one. A small one isn't going to cut it either, a big one is always better, but check out www.svssound.com for some nice ones. You can probably wait on this though, and see how it sounds without one.

I think you are going to need a new receiver. I can't really find much on the AVR15, but it's pretty old, and doesn't do (at least from what I can find) Dolby Digital, or DTS. Besides that, it doesn't have a lot of power. There are some good deals on refurbished and closeout/on sale receivers out there, and you should be able to get a 7.1 receiver with about 100 watts per channel in several different brands for about 300-350 bucks.

Check out Ubid.com, Buy.com, Ecost.com, electrified.com, secondact.biz and you should be able to find something you'll like. When you find one you like, put the model number into a google advanced search in exact phrase, and look around the various links that pop up, you can strike gold sometimes doing it.

Good luck!

 

[chadd]

sub

Yeah I thought I would need a sub. Does definitive make a good sub? and if so which one? Do you have any suggestions on what receivers I should be looking at?
Thanks for the input
chad

 

[AVRat]

How much are you looking to spend? To fill that HUGE space, you need a decent amount of power, which isn't exactly cheap. If you can be patient and willing to make sacrifices along the way, you can build an excellent system over time. A good receiver will get you started. Last year's Yamaha RX-V2500 or Denon AVR-3805 are good starting points.

Def Tech makes excellent subs, but you may get better bang/buck by looking at direct on-line retailers like: SVS, HSU, AXIOM, ACI.
http://www.definitivetech.com/loudspeakers/subwoofers/subwoofers.html
http://www.svsound.com/products-sub.cfm
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/
http://www.axiomaudio.com/subwoofers.html
http://audioc.com/speakers1/speakers.htm#acisubwoofers

 

[chadd]

My budget

I am trying not to spend too much but with that being said I dont want to sacrifice quality. For a receiver I think I can fork out about $400. I have been looking into def tech's subs but I am not sure which one I should get. I didnt get one yet because I thought the towers would have sufficiant bass. Also do you think I need two more surrounds for the front or do you think the towers will work?
thanks
Chad

what do you think about the plasma?
Is visio a bad one? Phillips? Only reason I ask is that costco has such a good deal on them right now.

 

[jcPanny]

SVS sub

The SVS PB-10-NSD is about $400 and would be a good sub for starters. When you have some more money saved, buy a second one for more LFE in your large room.

Av123.com has one of their 10" subs on sale for $400, but the sealed design won't play as low as the SVS.

 

[chadd]

the sub

Damn man I knew I should of ordered that sub when I purchased my other speakers. Thanks for the info though, I am pretty sure I will go with the def tech sub when I do get one. I am searching the internet for receivers, I have a couple of best buy gift certificates that I want to use up so maybe Ill go there and search, do you have any suggestions as to which ones are good? I dont think they carry denon, but i do think they carry yamaha's. I also might check out costco to see if they carry any.

 

[gmichael]

The HTR-5990 is the best that Best Buy will have. But last year's model, the HTR-5890 should be less and will do almost everything the 5990 will do. Here is a side by side comparison.
http://www.yamaha.com/yec/compare/Detail.html?compitem1=&compitem2=200015&compitem3=200016&CTID=5000400&VNM=LIVE&comp_items=200015&comp_items=200016&B_compare.x=25&B_compare.y=7