With $7000 to spend . . .

[knownalien]

I would like to buy

1) receiver
2) front speakers ONLY
3) DVD/CD/SACD single player

I am buying this for music mainly but of course I will use them for movies too. They will be working with other Polk RTi series speakers. I could care less how they mesh with those! Anywho, it's hard to know what is the best bang for the buck, but you guys know more than me.

What I WAS thinking was the Denon 4306 ($2,000), Polk LSi15 ($1500), and the Denon DVD 3910 ($1500). That's $5,000 total. I was also considering buying a factory refurb Denon AVR-4806 for only $700 more than a retail 4306. And I could make up for that if I buy a refurb 3910 DVD player from the same site (dakmart.com) which would only cost $900!! That's still well below my $7,000 limit.

thoughts?

also, in case anyone mentions subs, there were two I was considering. Polk is coming out with the PSW-1000 which has two 10" woofers and has like a one horsepower amp. lol That one will sell for $1200 I believe. also, I was thinking of a M&K sub model MX-125 MK II also for $1200.

 

[knownalien]

I am guessing people hate threads like this.

lol

 

[Takeereasy]

I think you made good decisions and people are having a hard time coming up with alternatives. You present a conundrum because you already know what you want, why you want it, and have researched the cost of stepping up a notch. You took all the fun out of it in other words. I think you are better to go the dakmart route like you suggested. I like the polk LSI speakers, they are very different than the RTI series though. You would be doing yourself a favour by going with the power reserves that the 4806 will provide IMO as those LSI's are power pigs. The 3910 seems to be a very well regarded player. Just a question though, have you gone to a local shop and seen what kind of a package you could get for $7k? You may find speakers you like more, or a killer deal on a receiver and so on. Also when you buy everything at once you'll get a nice discount in my experience. Good luck with it all, but from the sounds of it you know what you're doing already.

 

[WmAx]

I would like to buy

1) receiver
2) front speakers ONLY
3) DVD/CD/SACD single player

Honestly, if you have that much to spend on just those things, I would dedicate about $6000 of the $7000 available to the speakers. You can get a perfectly good reciever and universal player for $1000 total. In fact, for about $6000-$7000, you can get a pre-built and tested Linkwitz Orion active speaker system[designed by one of the most respected loudspeaker engineers on the planet, S. Linkwitz], considered to be one of the best speakers you can buy regardless of price by most who have heard it. It comes with amplifiers. Just add a suitable preamp and source.

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/

-Chris

 

[knownalien]

Honestly, if you have that much to spend on just those things, I would dedicate about $6000 of the $7000 available to the speakers. You can get a perfectly good reciever and universal player for $1000 total. In fact, for about $6000-$7000, you can get a pre-built and tested Linkwitz Orion active speaker system[designed by one of the most respected loudspeaker engineers on the planet, S. Linkwitz], considered to be one of the best speakers you can buy regardless of price by most who have heard it. It comes with amplifiers. Just add a suitable preamp and source.

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/

-Chris

i'd not heard of that before.

 

[Snarl]

Denon 4806
Denon DVD 3910
Paradigm Studio 100's

my 2 Cents

 

[WmAx]

i'd not heard of that before.

Of course not, it's not a standard commercial product. However, please research Linkwitz and the Orion speakers on Google; if you need something to get starrted there are a few links on the REVIEWS link on the site I linked. You could have world-class sound quality for the $$ you have allocated if spent wisely.

-Chris

 

[sts9fan]

with that budget I think it would be silly to only spend $1500 on speakers. As well as Polks. They are nice and all but.. I would look to spend 4k on kickass speakers and 2.5 on the rest. Check out Salk HT3's

 

[Devin79]

These are the three I like the best, and you should look into them.

I really like Aperion Audio, They have awesome speakers that have gotten rave reviews from CNET, Secrets of Home Theater, and here at Audioholics.

Because they sell directly over the internet, they are able to keep their prices down. Axiom Audio is another internet retailer that is top notch.

With either of these two, you can't go wrong.

And of course their is always Definative technology, which is another awesome brand.

These are my three favorites, but there are certainly many others that can be reccomended by experts here.

As for Reciever/DVD combos. I am planning on a Denon 4806/3910 combo, you should definately look into that.

 

[knownalien]

Honestly, if you have that much to spend on just those things, I would dedicate about $6000 of the $7000 available to the speakers. You can get a perfectly good reciever and universal player for $1000 total. In fact, for about $6000-$7000, you can get a pre-built and tested Linkwitz Orion active speaker system[designed by one of the most respected loudspeaker engineers on the planet, S. Linkwitz], considered to be one of the best speakers you can buy regardless of price by most who have heard it. It comes with amplifiers. Just add a suitable preamp and source.

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/

-Chris

I just got off the phone with Don. I'm intrigued. He claims the Orions bested his Wilson puppies.

These speakers, for those that do not know are dipoles. You need 8 seperate amp channels to drive both speakers. You can buy thereis made by ATI at 60 watts per channel. They say it is enough. Buying this would negate having to buy the Denon 4806. But here's the kicker, ideal speaker placement is 4 ft from the wall and listening distance is like 7 ft. I'd have to re-arrange my basement.

I am very very intrigued. Sadly, my wife saw a picture of these speakers and didn't like them, but in the end the choice is mine.

 

[mnnc]

with that budget I think it would be silly to only spend $1500 on speakers. As well as Polks. They are nice and all but.. I would look to spend 4k on kickass speakers and 2.5 on the rest. Check out Salk HT3's

I would spend 4 grand on speakers, 2 grand on recvr, and a thousand dollars on a sweet cd/dvd player.

OR, you could spend 2g on spkrs, 4g on very nice seperates that would be theater ready, and the thousand dollar balance on the cd/dvd player.

Man...you have a lot of choices with that kind of coin to spare.

Axiom spkrs
Yamaha or Denon recv'r
Denon player

With that money I would buy used McIntosh
new speakers, and player

It would be very wise to take your time to audition some products paying speacial attention to the spkr's characteristics and ability to deliver the goods.

Ther are many "speaker buying" guides readily available at you fingertips on the web. This site has superb info and helful hints in what to listen for as well as paying attention to CUSTOMER SERVICE! and how well you are taken care of when dropping down the big bucks!

Dude, I just wish I could take you to some stores to enjoy listening to what you are able to purchase with seven thousand dollars when you only want to purchase 2 speakers! you have ability to purchase extremely good sounding speakers from numerous makers...

...stop the message boards and go shopping/listening!!!

 

[WmAx]

I just got off the phone with Don. I'm intrigued. He claims the Orions bested his Wilson puppies.

These speakers, for those that do not know are dipoles. You need 8 seperate amp channels to drive both speakers. You can buy thereis made by ATI at 60 watts per channel. They say it is enough. Buying this would negate having to buy the Denon 4806. But here's the kicker, ideal speaker placement is 4 ft from the wall and listening distance is like 7 ft. I'd have to re-arrange my basement.

I am very very intrigued. Sadly, my wife saw a picture of these speakers and didn't like them, but in the end the choice is mine.

I rarely make recommendations for speakers; when I do, it's for special cases such as yours. With the budget you have available, you have a chance to own one of the best sounding speakers[regardless of price] according to most that have had the chance to hear them[no suprise here, please research the person that engineered these speakers]. You can move the speakers closer to the rear wall by placing sound absorbers on the back wall, however, this will sacrifice some of the soundstage depth[the reflected and delayed signal is percieved as a spatial effect by human hearing].

-Chris

 

[knownalien]

I rarely make recommendations for speakers; when I do, it's for special cases such as yours. With the budget you have available, you have a chance to own one of the best sounding speakers[regardless of price] according to most that have had the chance to hear them[no suprise here, please research the person that engineered these speakers]. You can move the speakers closer to the rear wall by placing sound absorbers on the back wall, however, this will sacrifice some of the soundstage depth[the reflected and delayed signal is percieved as a spatial effect by human hearing].

-Chris

don told me that I might be able to find folk that have a pair near me, and they would let me listen. I am still trying to find a link on his page for that.

The stores around me have some Martin Logans and I think definitive Technology, but I was not as impressed with the stuff I heard of those brands compared to the price points of the LSi15's. While I say hometheater isn't important to me, having the right connections for top of the line technology is, like firewire or HDMI. Now that denon has their Denon link working, that could be cool and reason to go with a denon receiver/dvd combo. The move to DTS, SACD, or DVD Audio just isn't in the mix right now for me, but with the Orion setup, you are basically saying, "I ain't even going in that direction."

 

[knownalien]

Denon 4806
Denon DVD 3910
Paradigm Studio 100's

my 2 Cents

I'd have to buy those speakers used. general rule with me: no used stuff. Refurb? ok. Used? no.

 

[WmAx]

don told me that I might be able to find folk that have a pair near me, and they would let me listen. I am still trying to find a link on his page for that.

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/orion_challenge.htm#list of people

While I say hometheater isn't important to me, having the right connections for top of the line technology is, like firewire or HDMI. Now that denon has their Denon link working, that could be cool and reason to go with a denon receiver/dvd combo. The move to DTS, SACD, or DVD Audio just isn't in the mix right now for me, but with the Orion setup, you are basically saying, "I ain't even going in that direction."

You can use a reciever's front pre-amp outputs to feed the Orion amplifiers. No problem.

-Chris

 

[korgoth]

moderators seem to promote RBH a lot. maybe a couple t-1's and a sub

id probobly want to spend around 4-5 grand on speakers.

 

[PENG]

To get the best out of those 4 ohm LSI's you may be better off with a 3806 and and a 2 channel power amp. As others have suggested, it is better to spend more on speakers. They make more differences than amps/dvd players do. For 3 to 5K, there are many choices of high quality speakers, including the B&W 803S, Paradigm Signature S8 etc.

 

[knownalien]

To get the best out of those 4 ohm LSI's you may be better off with a 3806 and and a 2 channel power amp. As others have suggested, it is better to spend more on speakers. They make more differences than amps/dvd players do. For 3 to 5K, there are many choices of high quality speakers, including the B&W 803S, Paradigm Signature S8 etc.

but with both the 3806 and 4806 you can bi amp those LSi's. Why pay for the 2 channel power amps when you already paid for assignable dedicated amps?? heck, in the 5805 you can bi-amp everything in a 5.1 system (except the sub of course). You could actually run a seperate 5.1 system in another room with the 5805!!

 

[buckyg4]

don told me that I might be able to find folk that have a pair near me, and they would let me listen. I am still trying to find a link on his page for that.

The stores around me have some Martin Logans and I think definitive Technology, but I was not as impressed with the stuff I heard of those brands compared to the price points of the LSi15's. While I say hometheater isn't important to me, having the right connections for top of the line technology is, like firewire or HDMI. Now that denon has their Denon link working, that could be cool and reason to go with a denon receiver/dvd combo. The move to DTS, SACD, or DVD Audio just isn't in the mix right now for me, but with the Orion setup, you are basically saying, "I ain't even going in that direction."

I'm assuming that anyone willing to spend that amount of money on a speaker would demo them in the exact listening conditions. You can go an listen to them, but anyone who owns these speakers is going to have a much higher end CD transport/DAC and preamp. Basically what i'm saying is that the quality of these speakers may not be realized in your setup (room, other components)

 

[knownalien]

I'm assuming that anyone willing to spend that amount of money on a speaker would demo them in the exact listening conditions. You can go an listen to them, but anyone who owns these speakers is going to have a much higher end CD transport/DAC and preamp. Basically what i'm saying is that the quality of these speakers may not be realized in your setup (room, other components)

yes, but the Salks appear to not have the "four feet from wall" issue. I am seriously considering them. However, the Orions are about an hour away from me if I want to hear them. I am not so hot on the idea of having to re-wire stuff constantly to watch movies with them. I listen to music. My wife? She watches a lot of movies. I am also really curious about Definitive Technology's BP7001SC.