Recommendations needed (nonstandard)

[alexo]

Hello people,

I am considering a home theater system for our family room.
Well, maybe "home theater" is a bit of an exaggeration for what I have in mind so let's call it an entertainment system.

Unfortunately, I am a total newbie in such matters so I would appreciate your advice.

Keep in mind that I am not an audiophile so I am not looking for the best system but rather for something decent and inexpensive - good bang for the buck.

I got the Pioneer VSX-1014TX-K receiver and now I am looking for speakers.
I heard that the 1014TX has a "warm" sound due to its use of MOSFETs.
What speakers would be a good match?

Now, the room arrangement is unoptimal (read: crappy) but I don't have much choice in the matter. See this post (where I ask for speaker placement suggestions) for details.

Any suggestions?

Thank you very much in advance!
Alex.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Giving us your intended budget would help a lot. It's tough to make any suggestions without knowing what you can spend. The good news is that there are some flexible and nice sounding sub/sat systems nowdays at almost any price range.

A few things that you must consider:

1) Budget- how much can you spend?
2) Are you looking for 2 speakers or 5?
3) Will you use it for mostly music or mostly HT?
4) Will you need videogame sound? If so, which console?
5) Will the room be "dedicated" for HT, or must it serve as a family room (this will make a diff)
6) How many people will watch at once?

If you can answer these questions we'll give you some specific advice.

 

[alexo]

Hello Rob,

Thank you for your reply.

Giving us your intended budget would help a lot. It's tough to make any suggestions without knowing what you can spend. The good news is that there are some flexible and nice sounding sub/sat systems nowdays at almost any price range.

This is a bit of a problem.
There is a certain range that I can spend on my "toys". The more I spend on the speakers, the less I will have left for other things (new computer, bigger TV, etc.)

I can compromise but the problem is that I do not know what "quality" I can buy for a given amount of money. Obviously, the more expensive - the better, right? But the law of diminishing returns must apply here as well.

Can I get a decent set for $500? For $1000? For $2000? Or must I spend more? Will the difference between a $500 set and a $1000 one will be earth shattering or will I barely notice it? I know nothing about the subject.

As I mentioned before, I am not an Audiophile (I often have a hard time telling the difference between an electric guitar and a chainsaw) so top-of-the-line sets will be wasted on me. I prefer something that will not make a friend (with better musical hearing) cringe but I have no aspirations to give them a revelation either.

If you can give me a hint of what I can expect at different price ranges, it will be a good start.

A few things that you must consider:

1) Budget- how much can you spend?

See above.

2) Are you looking for 2 speakers or 5?

I am thinking of 5.1 but, given the layout of the room, I don't know what will be better.

3) Will you use it for mostly music or mostly HT?

Mostly HT (definitely >50%) but some music as well.

4) Will you need videogame sound? If so, which console?

We have a PS2.

5) Will the room be "dedicated" for HT, or must it serve as a family room (this will make a diff)

This is a family room (the fireplace is a dead giveaway).

6) How many people will watch at once?

The sofa seats 3 adults and the loveseat 2. However, I cannot see how I can arrange for good sound for both (unless you have an idea) so let's concentrate on the sofa. Usually me and my wife, sometime the kids will want to join.

If you can answer these questions we'll give you some specific advice.

I can answer some

 

[jaxvon]

Yet, ANOTHER question: What kind of inputs does your TV have for video? I know it has composite (yellow RCA jack) unless it's ancient. However, it may also have S-Video or perhaps even Component inputs (component would be a set of 3 RCA jacks, red, green, and blue).

About speakers. More expensive doesn't always mean better, but as you indicated, the law of diminishing returns applies here. In the lower price range (yours), a 500 dollar increase in spending will yield noticable results. However, it'd help if you gave us a budget ceiling for your whole system. That would include:

• Speakers
• DVD Player
• Other stuff, like TV and power conditioner/surge protector (including some acoustical treatment, if your room needs it).

What are the specs on your reciever? A link would be fine. I could find it on my own, but I'm being lazy. While you're shopping around, you may want to check out Axiom Speakers. I suspect that in your situation, you'll end up with bookshelf speakers of some sort. They might be on stands, but due to the size of your room and your placement contraints, I forsee floorstanders as being too much.

I'm not really savvy on other brands in the lower price range, but there are quite a few out there. Infinity, Athena, Energy, Paradigm, and Polk come to mind.

Still, we want a budget that you set. No one wants you to just blindly take advice then get in trouble with the wife for laying down too much dough on the HT. Also, on the audio side, most of your money should go into speakers. They, and the room, determine the vast majority of what you hear. Spending tons of money on over-hyped cables (read: Monster) and other stuff is just throwing away your hard-earned cash.

 

[alexo]

Hello jaxvon,

Thank you for your reply.

Yet, ANOTHER question: What kind of inputs does your TV have for video?

Composite, S-video and component.

About speakers. More expensive doesn't always mean better, but as you indicated, the law of diminishing returns applies here. In the lower price range (yours), a 500 dollar increase in spending will yield noticable results.

500 to 1000, 1000 to 1500 or 2000 to 2500?

However, it'd help if you gave us a budget ceiling for your whole system.

I'm upgrading a component at a time. Now it's the speakers.
Acoustical treatment for a family room? Probably not.

What are the specs on your reciever? A link would be fine.

here

While you're shopping around, you may want to check out Axiom Speakers. I suspect that in your situation, you'll end up with bookshelf speakers of some sort. They might be on stands, but due to the size of your room and your placement contraints, I forsee floorstanders as being too much.

I'm not really savvy on other brands in the lower price range, but there are quite a few out there. Infinity, Athena, Energy, Paradigm, and Polk come to mind.

Thanks, I'll check them out.

Still, we want a budget that you set. No one wants you to just blindly take advice then get in trouble with the wife for laying down too much dough on the HT.[/QUOTE]It would be easier to convince my wife if I could tell her the benefits of a $1000 set over a $500 set (or a $2000 set over a $1000 one). As it stands, she'll suggest we keep using the built-in TV speakers.

And don't worry, I won't take any advice blindly. I am just starting to research the options.

Thanks,
Alex.

 

[jaxvon]

When I say acoustical treatment, I speak of stuff that doesn't LOOK like acoustical stuff. I'm not suggesting that you install acoustical panels and stuff, but rather a good, heavy rug (if you have wood floors), some heavy drapes, and bookshelves. These are good for managing sound while remaining functional and aesthetically pleasing. Plus, if you let the wife choose the colors and such, it should make her a little more accepting of your other purchases (no guarantees here though).

When I said low range, I was talking about the 500-1000 or 1000-1500 increase. Usually when speakers are upgraded in this range, you're going to see an increase in the size of the driver (for better bass response) and if it's an HT set, then perhaps a subwoofer upgrade.

If you wanna continue doing some research, I suggest that you look into:

PSB Speakers Note: the link is only to the Image series, because that's probably as high as you'd go in their speakers lines.

Paradigm

Energy Speakers

Polk Audio

Magnepan

You'll note the large number of Candian speakers on the list. Well, that's because they're good! Also, PSB, Axiom, Paradigm (and I think some others) are all rooted in the research of the NRC, a group that focuses on a combination of measurement and listening to test their speakers.

Do you have a power conditioner or at least a surge supressor? You really need one of these to protect your system! A Tripp-Lite product should fit the bill nicely without breaking the bank.

HTPowerBar10
HT10DBS
IsoBar6DBS

If you don't want to spend that much, you should at the very least have a surge supressor so your electronics don't fry during a thunderstorm.

Another thing for the budget would be cables. You shouldn't have to spend too much on them though. I would recommend looking at products from Blue Jeans Cable or Impact Acoustics. Of course, you may already have cables and this wouldn't be necessary.

It looks like your TV is good for now. Since you have a PS2, I would recommend running an optical digital cable for sound and component for video. This'll reall allow you to get the most from the system.


All of the speaker manufacturers I listed should also have dealer finders so you can find dealers in your area. You should try to get into some shops and audition some speakers to get a feel for what you like and what you might be looking at for a price. In all honesty, the best way to shop for speakers is to go out and hear them for yourself. Just be aware that dealers may try to sell you some snake oil in the form of cables and such.

I guess I should try to give you a budget. I would say that your should spend no more than $2000 on speakers, but preferably less. You can get plenty of quality and power for the size of your room in the 1500-1700 range. Hell, you can even go below $1500. Just take some time to audition various setups and find what you like.

Sometime I'll try to throw out some more advice. But right now, I've gotta go. Good luck!

 

[Rob Babcock]

The room itself is the main hurdle. Anyone who hasn't done so already should click on his diagram- yikes! That's gonna be tough to work with, and some unconventional layouts might be needed.

Best thing, Alexo, might to make a scale mockup of the room. It might sound silly, but draw the room as large as you can with a fat tipped sharpie on graph paper. Then cut out blocks to scale to represent the sofa, love seat, etc. Try moving them around the room until you get 1) decent traffic flow and 2) decent sightlines. I suspect that moving the main viewing sofa out into the room a little and rotating it to straddle the upper left hand corner of the room would work best. There'd still be room to get around it, and you could square up to the TV. No arrangement will be comfortable if you must turn you body or head to face the screen.

On-wall speakers will probably be best for surrounds. You can buy several that are white to match the walls. A pair of towers or standmount speakers should fit flanking the TV. There may be room for the center in the shelf above the tv, depending upon its size/position. Otherwise just plunk it down on the tv set.

 

[alexo]

Thank you jaxvon and Rob,

I'll do some more research and come back.

One question though.

In the same price bracket (1-2K), will there be a big difference between sattelites, bookshelves and floor-standing models?