Upgraditis

[malvado78]

Just looking for opinions...

Earlier this year I got my wife to give me enough money to upgrade my old Onkyo system (Don't remember the part numbers but it was only DPL no DD or DTS or DPLXII) that I received for my 16th birthday from my parents.

Since we are paying off school loans I needed to keep it under $500.

I had 5 Onkyo speakers. The two front mains were floorstanders with 12" subs in them but no seperate powered sub.

So I looked around and read some reviews and bought the Onkyo HT-770 HTIB. The reason for this being I wanted a new reciever with DD and DTS and a subwoofer. I had thought about just upgrading the receiver and keeping the old speakers with no powered subwoofer. But I have always felt I was missing something without that powered sub. So in short I bought the 770 because I liked the receiver it gave me 6.1 for a really reasonable price.

I bought the system know the speakers that came with it would be upgraded as soon as I could get my wife to give me some more money.

I have been looking at Axioms. I am going to slowly upgrade.

70% HT / 30% Music

What would you replace first?
1. Mains
2. Center
3. Sub
4. Surrounds (Probably not but put it on the list to be complete)

I believe the sub does a good job for my small apartment for right now.

I know the center does most of the work so I thought this might be it.

If I listened to more music I might be more incline to upgrade the mains.

In the end I might try getting the mains and center at once but I am not really loking for input to my decision just more wanting to hear what other people thought they would/will/have upgraded first.

I commend you for getting through this long post too!

 

[jaxvon]

Well, ideally you'd do best to upgrade the front 3 speakers. However, I would suggest if you want Axioms to go with either a pair of M3Ti speakers or M22Tis.

I guess another option would be to go the BIC route. The Venturi Center is very highly rated...and inexpensive! You could replace all 6 of your speakers for under $500 if you went with the Venturi line.

This system would be:
2 DV-62SIB bookshelves for the fronts
2 DV-62SIB bookshelves for the rears
1 DV-62CLR for the center
1 DV-62CLR for the rear center

You can get these all on Amazon with free shipping for $451.86.

 

[eirepaul]

Take a look at Paradigm too

The Paradigm Performance Series is a great value for money. Look at their recommended systems as a guide. I found that upgrading my center channel to a much better speaker made a significant difference in overall sound quality. I also upgraded my surrounds because I listen to a lot of multi-channel music. Paradigm speakers are just tremendous value. Have fun upgrading - it is contagious!

 

[Spiffyfast]

yeah those Bic's have gotten alot of attention for people looking for an entry level system. Probably a good way to go.

 

[brian32672]

I would say, go for the Center and surrounds first. Being you have large front speakers you will be getting plenty of bass.

After that, I would go with the fronts, but also quickly decide on a sub.

You will truly need decent surrounds to get the full imaging effect.

You did not want options, and I do not know what your wife will budget you at.

Once you get your budget, then you will know what options are for you.

At the moment I could recommend what I have, for you mainly the center and surrounds. See signature below.

 

[brian32672]

Hopefully Soon:
Pioneer 9100 or 1015 (ordering this weekend or next)

Spiffy, you have not decided yet on these 2. I saw the post on the 9100. Looks like a decent deal. But I will add, that the 1015tx you would certainly be happy with as well. (picked mine up for 393.00 shipped)

Back to original poster, please let us know when your budget comes around.....

 

[malvado78]

Promotion?

That may happen a little later this year. If I can wait until I get a promotion that is coming in a few months (I've been out of college a little over a year and on this job. Manager has hinted at it. Has to do with how the program i am currently goes I would think). I can probably use this to "reward" myself. But before this happens I will make sure I have all the speakers picked out. I have yet to go listen to many. That's the next step. Thanks for the info.