upgrade system suggestions

[hoops44w]

Having been a long time thread watcher I thought I could use some advice on my new system update. I watch movies and music fairly equally. I currently have a sony 42" w3000. yamaha 5665 receiver, Athena bs-2 fronts and old sony rears.

My first decision is receiver. I am debating between Denon avr-789 and yamaha with 3 hdmi inputs.

Next is my speakers. I have to keep them as small as possible since I have limited rear speaker space. I was looking at three options. First is the focal sibxl front 3 and focal sib as my two rear. Second is the kef kht-3005. and last is the Orb Audio. it sounds like the first two are going to be my best bet for the money and function. Any advice would be great. I have heard the focal, but not the kef or orb. The focal comes with a 10" sub and the other two 8".

Can't wait to hear all the great advice from the forum

 

[jamie2112]

Welcome, glad you finally chimed in.I have heard the KEF and the Focals never orb though. The focal's are an amazing sounding speaker as well as the KEF's.I would recommend the Yamaha vx-663 avr and I am gonna say the Focals get my vote...

 

[3db]

Having been a long time thread watcher I thought I could use some advice on my new system update. I watch movies and music fairly equally. I currently have a sony 42" w3000. yamaha 5665 receiver, Athena bs-2 fronts and old sony rears.

My first decision is receiver. I am debating between Denon avr-789 and yamaha with 3 hdmi inputs.

Next is my speakers. I have to keep them as small as possible since I have limited rear speaker space. I was looking at three options. First is the focal sibxl front 3 and focal sib as my two rear. Second is the kef kht-3005. and last is the Orb Audio. it sounds like the first two are going to be my best bet for the money and function. Any advice would be great. I have heard the focal, but not the kef or orb. The focal comes with a 10" sub and the other two 8".

Can't wait to hear all the great advice from the forum

Sonically, you'll notice a difference with the speaker upgrade but not the receiver upgrade. You should only expect a feature set change with the receiver, nothing else.

 

[rnatalli]

I'd go with Orb Satellites, an HSU sub, and the Yammie 663 for a receiver. You might also want to check out the Mirage Omni speakers and Aperion's 4B system recently reviewed here.

 

[hoops44w]

the main problem with the yamaha 663 is that it only has two hdmi inputs. I already have three inputs(dvd, cable, ps3) and that leaves me zero room to upgrade.

also, do the kefs sub provide enough push. the focal sub sounded great. I am a little concerned that the orbs do not contain a tweeter. seems like they would not have the same range

 

[jcPanny]

HT system

The athenas are decent bookshelf speakers so I would try to upgrade and not make a lateral move w/ your next purchase. Look at bookshelf speakers in the $2-300/pair price range to upgrade the fronts. Since you are looking for a good value, check out some of the ID compaines including the X-series speakers from AV123.

I wouldn't worry too much about having several HDMI inputs. The PS3 is the only source that NEEDS HDMI audio processing. Your cable box can use component w/out any loss in quality or connect directly to the display w/ HDMI.

Save up for a "real" sub from SVS, HSU, or AV123. The entry level SVS is about $400.

 

[hoops44w]

jcpanny,
Are the focal sib xl not that much of an upgrade of the athena? they are in that $300 each range.

Also, the focal sub is not in the same category as the hsu? I think I am leaning towards the focal since I should be upgrading from my current setup like you said. The orb's don';t seem to be that big of an upgrade. I think the kef or focal fit my size and budget, just would like to hear the kef to compare.

 

[jcPanny]

Speaker upgrade

I have not heard the focals, feel free to audition them and let your ears decide. In the link below they look like lifestyle type speakers designed for asthetics vs. performance. Also, it is more difficult for a compact sub to play low frequencies.

http://www.tweakshop.com/SibandCub.html

Yes, I suspect that most traditional bookshelf speakers and a larger sub (10-12" SVS, HSU, etc.) would perform much better.

If asthetics are a major factor, look into on-wall or in-wall speakers from Speakercraft, triad, Axiom and others.

 

[the grunt]

Hi Hoops,

First as others have said don’t worry about having enough HDMI inputs on the reciever, even if you do need more later you can get an inexpensive ($40-$50) HDMI switch that can handle anything you throw at it and is programmable into a universal remote. I got mine from Monoprice.

I haven’t heard the Focals you are looking at but have heard the Chorus line and thought that they sounded spectacular. Very accurate and detailed but are likely to make anything but good recordings sound like crap. The SIB and Chorus are very different but at least I can say that Focal makes some nice sounding speakers. However, based on how the Chorus speakers sounded to me I can’t see how for the price the SIB speakers will hold a candle to many similarly priced traditional bookshelf speakers as jcPanny suggests.

If full size bookshelf speakers are a no-go do to size SVS also makes a system with fairly small satellite speakers you might look at. I nearly got them for my apartment until I decided just to go with full size speakers and not play them loud.

I have to say that I wasn‘t impressed by the Focal subwoofer that went with the Chorus line. It sounded just ok with music but was severally lacking the punch I wanted for home theater. Another vote for a different brand as already recommend above.

Unless space is an absolute premium I thing you will be much happier in the long run getting more traditional bookshelf speakers and a better subwoofer. If price is also an issue then you might consider upgrading incrementally rather than all at once.

Cheers,
Dean