system advice

[atty]

hey guys! what a great forum!! well here goes the scenario, im currently in the process of setting up my office/entertainment room... distractions well maybe. After seeing my dad have a whole lot of fun setting up his 5.1 orb speaker set with an onkyo receiver... I felt some what outdone, and compelled to build something bigger and better. Well the bigger part wont be hard as the orb speakers are the size of a base ball.
The room is only about 7m long by 5m wide, well not exactly tinny but just an indication i dont need stacks of power that my roof blows off. But i do want 7.1 surround.
Im really likeing the Yamaha gear, in fact im leaning towards a complete Yamaha system.
here goes the specs

av receiver- Yamaha RX-V671
centre speaker: Yamaha NS C444
Front speakers: ns 555 or Magnepan MMG's??? magnepan.com/model_MMG
Surround: Yamaha NS-333
Rear: Yamaha NS-333
Sub: yamaha YST-RSW300

what do you think? Every bit of advice will appreciated.. thanks

 

[bread29]

Welcome to the forum! I've always received great advice from other members, but in order to be more helpful, we need your intended budget$$?

 

[atty]

around $2.5k

 

[fuzz092888]

My own thoughts so far are that you don't need 7.1 surround. Most movies are tuned for 5.1 anyways and if you go 5.1 for now at least, you'll be able to invest in a little bit better equipment. Yamaha makes pretty decent stuff, but I would look around as well.

Receiver: Denon, Marantz, Onkyo all make really good stuff. Personally I like the Marantz's, for your budget, but a model from Denon and Onkyo would be excellent as well.

As for your speaker setup, your front three speakers are really your most important. I've heard setups where the surrounds were $100 surrounds and I've heard setups where the surrounds were worth thousands. The latter definitely sounded better, but the cheaper surround setup wasn't terrible either.

My point being that your front three can really make or break your setup, while your surrounds are really the whipped cream and cherry on top.

I don't know how willing you are to look at ID companies, but tremendous value for your money if you are.

Totem and Kef are two brands that are worth looking at. Going out and listening to different brands and models is really the best way to figure out what you want to get, I wouldn't get set on the yamaha all the way thing you've got going on up there until you've heard some other speakers.

Where are you located? That would also help with recommendations. Welcome to the forum and good luck

 

[atty]

cheers for that.. im situated in Australia, everything thing that comes into Australia get stamp duty and a percentage for the distrubuter and seller so really buying from the states and getting its shipped is a far better option for me.

 

[afterlife2]

The Yamaha looks good or this Onkyo TX-NR609 7.2-Channel 3-D Ready Network A/V Receiver | Accessories4less
or http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/DENAVR990/DENON-AVR-990-7.1ch-Networking-A/V-Theater-Surround-Receiver/1.html
Fronts: EMP Tek E5Ti Tower Speakers
Surround: EMP Tek E5Bi Bookshelf Speaker
Center: http://www.emptek.com/e5ci.php
Maybe this Sub sale: Amazon.com: Velodyne VX-11: Electronics (I'm sure some members will chime in with more).

 

[agarwalro]

around $2.5k

I'm budgeting $500 for shipping to Australia. Does that sound right to you?

I would recommend that you buy electronics and subwoofers locally so that you are not burnt on shipping if there is a manufacturing defect. Speakers are less likely to have faults (compared to electronics) and if needed, will be much easier to ship back (compared to a massive subwoofer).

 

[afterlife2]

another option
4 of these: Amazon.com: JBL LSR2325P Two-Way 5" Bi-Amplified Studio Monitor: Musical Instruments
Center: Amazon.com: JBL ES25CBK 3-Way, Dual 5 1/4" Center Channel Speaker - Black: Electronics

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

av receiver- Yamaha RX-V671
centre speaker: Yamaha NS C444
Front speakers: ns 555 or Magnepan MMG's??? magnepan.com/model_MMG
Surround: Yamaha NS-333
Rear: Yamaha NS-333
Sub: yamaha YST-RSW300

what do you think? Every bit of advice will appreciated.. thanks

No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.


Just get all the same brand. What are all the speakers available to you?

Stay away from those Yamaha speakers. I have no respect for Yamaha speakers whatsoever. But I have a lot of respect for Yamaha receivers. Like the RX-A series (RX-A800, A1000, etc).

 

[zieglj01]

cheers for that.. im situated in Australia, everything thing that comes into Australia get stamp duty and a percentage for the distrubuter and seller so really buying from the states and getting its shipped is a far better option for me.

Check to see if there are some dealers in your area for
KEF, Focal, Wharfedale, Boston - and someone may be
selling NHT around there.

Also, what is available online in your area?

 

[Grador]

I'm a big fan of yamaha receivers here, I don't think you can really go wrong with one.... but please do not buy any of their speakers. On receiver choice I would frankly look at all of the brands listed above and go for the cheapest one that has all the features/specs you're looking for with acceptable aesthetics. They will all treat you right.


As stated above, the best thing you can do is hit the road and audition speakers to find what you like. Additionally, I agree with forgetting about 7.1 for now, if you feel you'd benefit you can always add on a second pair of surrounds later.

 

[atty]

thanks for input guys, really appreciate it. afterlife2 good find! the denon avr990 looks very nice... i sent them an email to see if they can ship to australia fingers crossed.

Just get all the same brand. What are all the speakers available to you?

Check to see if there are some dealers in your area for
KEF, Focal, Wharfedale, Boston - and someone may be
selling NHT around there.

Also, what is available online in your area?

I can get my hands on pretty much every brand online here, although instore is another story. i always get the response "we can order it in for you".

How important is resistant ohm switching? after looking at speaker specs im seeing a wide range of resistance, from 8 to 4.. is there any advantage of having speakers that run at a lower resistance other than running at a higher power level?

 

[Grador]

thanks for input guys, really appreciate it. afterlife2 good find! the denon avr990 looks very nice... i sent them an email to see if they can ship to australia fingers crossed.

Don't get your hopes up, big angry red text on the product page

*Sold exclusively within the US only. No shipments allowed outside the US!

 

[fuzz092888]

The resistances don't really matter as long as the amp you're going to be using is rated for whatever ohms your speakers are rated for. The amp automatically delivers whatever load your speakers call for so that's not an issue. The difficulty of the load is determined by how close the speaker stays to it's nominal rating across the rated bandwidth. Speakers that are easy to drive don't have any wild swings in impedance, while "tough" speakers may have big swings in their impedance. I guess I should've mentioned that impedance isn't static, it fluctuates and varies and the less it fluctuates the easier it is to drive.

Another issue is sensitivity. The more sensitive the speaker the louder it will play with less power. Which could become important if you plan on playing loudly.

 

[zieglj01]

How important is resistant ohm switching? after looking at speaker specs im seeing a wide range of resistance, from 8 to 4.. is there any advantage of having speakers that run at a lower resistance other than running at a higher power level?

Most all receivers today, will handle 8 and 6 ohm loads. Some receivers
will do 8/6/4 ohm loads. The main thing is having a receiver with decent
power to drive the speakers. I look at the overall quality of the speaker
as a whole, and not just the ohms. The advantage is having the receiver
to handle your speakers. Marantz, Yamaha, and Denon - are some of the
popular brands.

 

[atty]

The resistances don't really matter as long as the amp you're going to be using is rated for whatever ohms your speakers are rated for. The amp automatically delivers whatever load your speakers call for so that's not an issue. The difficulty of the load is determined by how close the speaker stays to it's nominal rating across the rated bandwidth. Speakers that are easy to drive don't have any wild swings in impedance, while "tough" speakers may have big swings in their impedance. I guess I should've mentioned that impedance isn't static, it fluctuates and varies and the less it fluctuates the easier it is to drive.

Another issue is sensitivity. The more sensitive the speaker the louder it will play with less power. Which could become important if you plan on playing loudly.

thanks for that.. really helpfull. No i shall do some research on all that jargon you have used

 

[atty]

anyone thats a newbie like me maybe have read of this....
Video: Speaker Placement for Great Sound

After reading this article, its saying i should stick to one speaker brand to achieve "voice matching". So should stick to one speaker brand and make?

 

[atty]

It still looks like i will be buying the Yamaha RX-V671 from the states... but does anyone know if the internal transformer can run at 220volts/60hz and 110volts/50hz?

 

[fuzz092888]

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/amps-pre-pros-receivers/75823-ohms-speaker-receiver-matching-faq.html

Read this, better explanation that I gave and a thread I usually refer to when I get confused.

voice matching can be important, but doesn't necessarily have to be. It really depends on what speakers you're trying to put together. Putting similar speakers (similar drivers, build quality, etc) can make everything fit together seamlessly as well with a little know how. It really just depends on how much effort you want to put into setup and if you can stand non matching aesthetics.

As far as I know no receiver out there can jump back and forth between 220 and 110, unless it's way out of my price range and then probably out of yours as well. As far as I know it's one or the other.

 

[zieglj01]

It still looks like i will be buying the Yamaha RX-V671 from the states... but does anyone know if the internal transformer can run at 220volts/60hz and 110volts/50hz?

There are some around - just need to find them

For explorarion - usually a switch on the back

One place
Yamaha RX-V671 World Wide Voltage AV Receiver

And, here
http://www.220-electronics.com/receivers/Yamaha_RX-V671_Home_theater_audio_video_receiver.htm