Spent waay to much time researching here and have finally formed my first home theater setup. My main goals are good sound & upgradablity (aka minimal waste when I upgrade in the future) for ~$500. Oh, room is ~17X20 and usage will be mainly wii & movies.

Originally thought Onkyo 790 HTIB, but then decided:

Receiver: Panasonic XR55 ($200 - ebay)
Speakers: Velodyne CHT ($200)
Cables: 14 gauge
Sub: none? :( (eventually one of the <$200 subs mentioned here)

To those with more experience and knowledge.. please let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Great setup, the only thing you might want to think about is with ebay and the xr-55 you probably won't get a waranty as most aren't authorized dealers. You can get it from amazon for not much more than that with a full waranty. However these are pretty inexpensive receivers so it's your call on that one. Nice receiver and spkr system at the price point though.

Or if you can't find a Panasonic XR-55 with warranty, get the Onkyo 504 for $179 shipped from Shoponkyo.com. It might even be $169 if you sign up.

Thanks afrogt, I considered the Onkyo 504, but read the XR55 ran a bit cooler & used much less power when operating. (sry, i'm new so can't post links)

those features struck me as worth the $20 diff. But will consider the 504 if I can't find the panny w/ warranty.

Sounds good, I am in the process of doing the same thing. Let us know how you like the system once you get it set up. I am thinking along the same line as you you. I will get the Micra 6 if I can find the right price. A used one sold locally to me for $365, I was willing to go up to 270:(. If I can't get the Micra I will get the CHT's. I wonder how long the shipping will take on the CHT's?

all good advice so far...looks like you're on your way to a nice budget setup.

I'm thinking of going for the XR57 because I have a Panasonic plasma with HDAVI, it sounds like it might integrate well. It sounds like when I press DVD on the TV remote it will switch the amp over to DVD as well. A very wife friendly feature, if it works like that.

I wonder how long the shipping will take on the CHT's? I got them in 1 week

Thanks for the feedback! I'm ordering cables soon and everything else is arriving shortly. I'll be sure to report in when it's setup!

[ Audio - $370]
Receiver: Onkyo 504 ( $170 / couldn't find XR55 <$225)
Speakers: Velodyne CHT ( $200)
Sub: later (will do a bottom up upgrade)
[ Video - $915 ]
Projector: Mitsubishi HD1000u
[ Cables - $105 ]
100ft 14 gauge speaker cable ($20 ) - for speakers
50ft RG-6 component cable ($40 ) - for the wii!
DVI splitter ($8 ) - the rest for Mac Mini HTPC
DVI HDMI Adapter ( $5 )
25ft HDMI ( $20 )
Toslink to Toslink Mini Adapter ($2 )
35FT Toslink ($10 )

[ BANG for my buck total - $1390 ]


[ future additions - $420 ]
Bic-H100 Subwoofer ($230)
24 Banana plugs ($25)
Avia Disc ($35)
SPL Meter ($50)
Tripp Lite Omni 8-Outlet 900VA ($80)

jwood,

Nice system. Keep in mind satellite like the Velodynes really need a subwoofer -- they are designed with a subwoofer in mind. So that should be atop your wish list.

I just hooked the velodyne 's into the Onkyo 504 and watched some scenes from my fav. reference movie; Matrix Reloaded.... on a 4'X8' screen.

Ummm, WOW. Now I don't have anything to compare them against... but in my 20X20 room, the velos were loud & clear with *great* imaging right outta the box. (I was enveloped in sound when all the agent smiths spoke to neo as they surrounded him)

And yes, I now realize for myself that a subwoofer is 100% needed with these speakers. Crystal mid-highs but not too much bass at all. So that will be update #2 in a couple weeks.

I just hooked the velodyne 's into the Onkyo 504 and watched some scenes from my fav. reference movie; Matrix Reloaded.... on a 4'X8' screen.

Ummm, WOW. Now I don't have anything to compare them against... but in my 20X20 room, the velos were loud & clear with *great* imaging right outta the box. (I was enveloped in sound when all the agent smiths spoke to neo as they surrounded him)

And yes, I now realize for myself that a subwoofer is 100% needed with these speakers. Crystal mid-highs but not too much bass at all. So that will be update #2 in a couple weeks.

glad to hear you're happy with the gear...you've got some good stuff there. now on to the sub....

for a room that size, i'd go with the Bic H-100 at a minimum. if you can stretch your budget a bit, take a look at the Hsu STF-2 or STF-3. they're on sale right now, and would be even better than the H-100. the SVS PB-10 NSD would also be a great option, and would probably give you the best HT performance of them all.

You read my mind g-star! or more accurately, I read the minds of everyone here.... ;)

I'd been considering the Bic h-100, but got some bonus $$ from work and now am planning to order the HSU VTF-2 MK3 soon for $530 shipped. Though I can get a B-stock SVS PB10 for only $445 shipped....

I guess my main questions are:
-- will a n00b listener like me be able to appreciate $85 difference b/w VTF-2 MK3 & PB10?
-- will such a powerful sub blend well w/ my relatively budget velodyne speakers?

P.S. Watched POTC: Dead Man's chest tonight and was dreaming of BASSSSSSS
P.S.S. yes, i was really dreaming... slept through it while everyone else watched, lol

-- will such a powerful sub blend well w/ my relatively budget velodyne speakers?Yes. As with any subwoofer, you'll need to level match it using test tones and a SPL meter from Radio Shack.

-- will a n00b listener like me be able to appreciate $85 difference b/w VTF-2 MK3 & PB10? How big is your room? Both are excellent subwoofers, but the Mk3 will provide a bit more extension and output. If your room is small (i.e. under 1500 cubic feet), the extra output probably won't be noticeable. The Mk3 will be a bit more musical as well, since its 12" driver is more comparable to the one in the SVS Ultra series; if you don't listen to classical music, you may never notice the difference.

Since it sounds like you are waiting a few weeks, you may want to watch the subwoofer forum for craigsub's objective measurements + comments on the PB10, PB12, VTF-2 Mk3, and VTF-3 Mk3 coming shortly.

Recently finished setting up the following components and thought I'd report in...

[ Room - 1500cu.ft. ]

[ Audio ~1k ]
Receiver: Onkyo 674 ( loved the 504, but got a good deal on this)
Speakers: Velodyne CHT ( $200)
Sub: HSU VTF-2 MK3 ($520)

[ Video - $915 (now its $850, doh! ]
Projector: Mitsubishi HD1000u
100in. screen (a wall, for now)

which officially completes my goal of building an entire home theatre for the cost of a single 50 in. plasma HDTV.

I did listen to the Onkyo 894 HTIB and have to say it sounded preeetty good! esp. now that u can get it for $550 @ shoponkyo.com. That said, these velodyne CHTs sound a bit clearer and the HSU sub just tears my room apart (w/ superb, tight bass that is).

#1 lesson learned : Buy banana plugs !before! setting up a HTIB/home theatre. my fingers were literally blistered from my various wiring setups. ...until i took a few seconds to add banana plugs! don't underestimate their usefulness, especially when they're on sale at monoprice.com!

Next up... calibrating for optimum sound and a DIY screen.

I have the Panny XR55 w/Velodyne CHT's and a Dayton Sub and I must say it is a very sweet setup. The Panny works best w/ a digital connection. My DVD player is connected via Toslink and it made a huge difference. I would definitely recommend that. I believe I bought the Dayton sub for about $100 - $150. There are better subs that will match this system but they're also much more expensive. This one worked best for my budget at the time.