small 5.1 speaker system recommendations

[patnshan]

Hello,
I am new to this forum. I am planning on purchasing a whole new home theater system for our family room, as my wife wants to move the bigger, old stuff downstairs into the "soon to be built" rec room. I currently have old school stuff consisting of a Yamaha RXV-590 receiver (non-digital dolby suround), AAL-12 fronts (now MTX, I guess), BIC America Venturi 1020 powered sub, and old Bose bookshelf rears. The TV is a non-HD Toshiba Cinema series 61" RP. I listed this to let you know what I have now and where my reference is.
My budget is around $1200-1500 for the speakers and receiver. I will use an old DVD player for now. I would like at least a 6.1 receiver, preferably 7.1 (for the future) if budget allows. The room is approx. 20 x 15 and the rear is open to the kitchen. There are windows on the left. I will likely start with 5.1 speaker config. I like Yamaha products, but have also heard good things about Denon and Onkyo.
For speakers, I am quite unsure, but plan to listen to a lot. I am intrigued by the packages offered by Klipsch and the like. My wife would prefer small for speakers that can be mounted on the wall or on small stands, as we are going to go with a mantel mounted TV and a small AV rack to minimize clutter.
I am not an audiophile, but like clean sound. It does not need to shake my house and the one next to us, as we have little kids. I do like accurate bass and highs, and seem to get fairly decent sound from the items listed above, despite them not being "high end".
So, I am just starting my quest for items and am looking for good speaker/receiver combinations you all would recommend looking at. It does need to be good for audio and 5.1 reproduction on 2.1 sources would also be nice as a feature. I also am interested in comments on the need for DVI and/or HDMI inputs in a receiver and whether I should look for those in an HDTV?
Thanks for any responses,
Pat

 

[dloweman]

For roughly 1200, I would look at a yamaha rxv650, with paradigm titans as fronts, the cc170 as center channel, the paradigm atoms as rears, and the paradigm pdr-10 as a sub. Then you can make into a 6.1 or 7.1 when the time comes as not very many movies are decoded in 6.1 and none are in 7.1. The yammie paradigm combination is great and is a very nice low budget system. I haven't heard the sub, so not sure how it is, you could try other companies such as Hsu which only sells over the internet, but produces amazing subs for the price.

 

[Takeereasy]

HSU Ventriloquest 12 system

I won't pretend to know as much as several of the people who will undoubtedly answer this post, but a very nice, and cost effective system is the HSU Ventriloquest 12 system paired with the stf-2 sub. The package is available for $559.00 right now direct from their website. I actually listened to this setup on Saturday while helping someone else pick out a HT system. The sound and depth you get for the size of speakers is truely amazing. The specs can be found by clicking below, and you can get to reviews of the product by following links on the HSU site, or by looking them up yourself online. The bass you will get is very accurate, and will blend well with music and home theater. There is the potential to shake your house, but probably not the neighbours unless you were really trying or live in a semi detatched.
http://www.hsustore.com/vt-12-stf-2.html

As for receivers I would suggest an Onkyo 602. You can buy this at JR.com right now for $350.00 by clicking on the following link. http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4001965 I would suggest this receiver for the following reasons:

1. In a review I read they ran this system system at the 2002 CES convention with an Onkyo receiver (either a 501 or 502 can't remember), an Onkyo budget dvd player, and they used Home Depot wire to set everything up and they won the budget product of the year.

2. I jokingly asked an HSU service rep if they would care to reccomend a receiver, a question he took seriously and answered that while he wasn't familiar with too many receivers, he knew they used Onkyo receivers there in the building

3. At the shop I was at they were using an Onkyo receiver to power this setup as well, I think it was an 802 however.

This brings your grand total to very near $910.00. That should leave plenty of cash for the DVD player, cables, speaker wire, maybe a nice bouquet of flowers for the missus for letting you get new toys, etc...

Your question about DVI and HDMI is one that I have been following very closely, and researching myself as of late. The best conclusion I can come up with is that the option is nice, but this is new technology. If you can't use the technology right away (with your TV you can't) then I'd go for a DVD player with really nice sound and a good quality picture (if your toshiba can do components I'd really suggest this way) like the Harman 22 ($199). If you need the DVI, and can't wait untill it drops in price I'd reccomend the Denon 1910 ($249.00)


Hope it helps,

Have a good one.

 

[patnshan]

I won't pretend to know as much as several of the people who will undoubtedly answer this post, but a very nice, and cost effective system is the HSU Ventriloquest 12 system paired with the stf-2 sub. The package is available for $559.00 right row direct form their website. I actually listened to this setup on Saturday while helping someone else pick out a HT system. The sound and depth you get for the size of speakers is truely amazing. The specs can be found by clicking below, and you can get to reviews of the product by following links on the HSU site, or by looking them up yourself online. The bass you will get is very accurate, and will blend well with music and home theater. There is the potential to shake your house, but probably not the neighbours unless you were really trying or live in a semi detatched.
http://www.hsustore.com/vt-12-stf-2.html

As for receivers I would suggest an Onkyo 602. You can buy this at JR.com right now for $350.00 by clicking on the following link. http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4001965 I would suggest this receiver for the following reasons:

1. In a review I read they ran this system system at the 2002 CES convention with an Onkyo receiver (either a 501 or 502 can't remember), an Onkyo budget dvd player, and they used Home Depot wire to set everything up and they won the budget product of the year.

2. I jokingly asked an HSU service rep if they would care to reccomend a receiver, a question he took seriously and answered that while he wasn't familiar with too many receivers, he knew they used Onkyo receivers there in the building

3. At the shop I was at they were using an Onkyo receiver to power this setup as well, I think it was an 802 however.

This brings your grand total to very near $910.00. That should leave plenty of cash for the DVD player, cables, speaker wire, maybe a nice bouquet of flowers for the missus for letting you get new toys, etc...

Your question about DVI and HDMI is one that I have been following very closely, and researching myself as of late. The best conclusion I can come up with is that the option is nice, but this is new technology. If you can't use the technology right away (with your TV you can't) then I'd go for a DVD player with really nice sound and a good quality picture (if your toshiba can do components I'd really suggest this way) like the Harman 22 ($199). If you need the DVI, and can't wait untill it drops in price I'd reccomend the Denon 1910 ($249.00)


Hope it helps,

Have a good one.

Thanks for the tips. I guess I wasn't clear. That non-HD Toshiba TV will also be going downstairs, but yes it does do components. The DVD picture is really quite nice for 480i. I actually had the same model, but in HD for about 3 weeks. It looked so crappy with analog TV that I returned it and had them bring me the non-HD for $1000 cheaper. Now, I wish I would have traded it for an HD RP that did reproduce analog well. Oh well, that was like 4 years ago and I saved $1000 for that long!
For upstairs, we will be getting a new "thin" TV that was not part of the request. We will likely get a DLP like the Infocus but hopefully cheaper. It will be set on an 8 inch mantle or on the wall, so thin is necessary. Unfortunately, I don't like the $6k price right now. Hopefully, more non-plasma thin screens will be available. I don't like the idea of non-replacable wear out in plasma screens. $200 bulbs are better than throwing the thing in the garbage, right? Maybe larger LCD's? That's why I asked the DVI question. It seems that HDMI runs audio to the TV, but who needs that anyway if you have a nice HT for audio? I guess if you run your signal through the receiver prior to the TV it would work? Do these receivers allow for that? What about upconversion of DVD's and the like?
I will look at your suggestions above. Thanks again and I welcome additional responses.
Pat

 

[patnshan]

For roughly 1200, I would look at a yamaha rxv650, with paradigm titans as fronts, the cc170 as center channel, the paradigm atoms as rears, and the paradigm pdr-10 as a sub. Then you can make into a 6.1 or 7.1 when the time comes as not very many movies are decoded in 6.1 and none are in 7.1. The yammie paradigm combination is great and is a very nice low budget system. I haven't heard the sub, so not sure how it is, you could try other companies such as Hsu which only sells over the internet, but produces amazing subs for the price.

I have heard good things about the paradigm's, but was hoping to find quality in a little smaller package. Do you have any comments on smaller form systems? I love Yamaha as well and will look at that receiver. American TV here is an authorized dealer.
Pat

 

[Takeereasy]

Sorry patnshan. I thought you weren't going to be picking up the TV for a while, and were planning on doing this in stages, starting with a speaker set and a receiver.

One thing to check out is if the TV you are purchasing performs scaling or upconversion itself, as some now do. I helped set up a Sharp aquos 37" LCD on Sunday afternoon, and I have to say that it is one amazing looking TV, thin too, but it is around the same $6000.00 mark you mentioned, at least up here in Canada.

Good luck with the hunt, I know it's alot of work, but there are several very knowledgable and helpful people on this site that can be of use to you.

 

[Takeereasy]

sorry, but one more suggestion.

Sorry to bug you again, but I saw this link when I was looking at something else today. velodyne deco system

There is a very detailed review of this product, along with a few other systems in your budget range, on this site that can be accessed here: review

Good luck again.

 

[Fokz]

If you are looking for a small system.....take a look into the Logitech z-5500's....505 watts rms.....10" sub....really really clean nice look and sounds incredible Logitech posts them for $530, but I got them for $380 at a local store.

 

[crashguy]

I agree with the suggestion of a Yamaha receiver. A set of small speakers that got good reviews were the JBL 300.7 system. Comes with 6 sat speakers, and a decent sub. Was reviewed at Home theater magazine, you can read on line at hometheatermag.com.

 

[patnshan]

If you are looking for a small system.....take a look into the Logitech z-5500's....505 watts rms.....10" sub....really really clean nice look and sounds incredible Logitech posts them for $530, but I got them for $380 at a local store.

Thanks. Aren't these PC speakers?
Pat

 

[outsider]

Aperion Audio will soon have available a 5.1 speaker system consisting of 4 bookshelf speakers and a CC. Each main speaker will have a 4" woofer and 1" tweeter. The CC will have two 4" woofers (one passive, I think) and a 1" tweeter. The subwoofer will be a small 8" in a vented enclosure.
I think the price on this system will be roughly $800.

Here's a link to an info video:
http://www.cnet.com/4660-10602_1-5619046.html

 

[dpgalways]

Small HT Sub/Sat System

After way too many hours of research, I just bought a new setup and couldn't be happier. Was considering Denon, Marantz or Onkyo for HT receiver - chose the Onkyo TX-SR602 ($350) for great value and plenty of connectability for future components down the road.

It made sense to me to get speakers made by a speaker company if I could do so without breaking the bank. Reviews for the Acoustic Research HC6 system ($350) are stellar, so that's what I bought. The unique "piano black" gloss finish is an added bonus, and the build quality is great. Just hooked them up yesterday and need to be broken in, so they are far from being broken in, but I'm sure I'll be pleased. I'll be recabling soon with Audioquest Type 2.

Good luck.

 

[karltl]

5.1 speaker system

You might look into a system from a company call Ascend Acoustics. You can read many many consumer reviews about them on epionions and audioreview.com.

I purchased a complete 6.1 system from them and, in my humble opinion, they are the best sounding value out there in speakers. Sound quality is exceptionally smooth both for audio and home theater. Check they're website and you'll find numerous technical charts showing freq response curves (about as flat as as you'll ever see), horizontal and vertical dispersion measurements (all excellent) and even a frequency impedance curve. They look pretty inconspicuous (I think they blend in and disappear) but the values is invested in the sound quality.

My biggest original qualm about buying them was that they sell via internet only. They do, however, offer a 30 day, no questions asked guarantee. I can tell you from personall experience that their customer service is absolutely fantastic.

Any question I've had, they've answered within a day. Shortlyt after I first received my speakers, my 6 year old daughter poked a hole in one of the drivers. I called Ascend, explained what had happened and I had a replacement driver delivered, completely free of charge, 3 days later!

The speakers also come with a full 5 year warranty.

One of the consumer reviews I read on these called them "Camry-like"...ie they dont sport exotic veneer cabinets but they run like crazy!

They sell full packages including sub's from HSU (one of the best sub's out there) and offer upgrade packages so you can get pieces at a time (ie...a single pair of speakers) and fill out the rest later while still getting the total package price.

A really great product, excellent prices and customer service that is absolutely top notch! You should check them out!

By the way, I work for IBM, not Ascend.

Good luck,

Karl