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HT: Where would you put your money at?

post #1 of 16
6/21/10 at 7:54am
Thread Starter 
From all the links and advice that i've received and speaker reviews that i read, I've kinda shortlisted these few options.

[Although my apartment room area is less than 300 sq.ft, I realize that if i buy a home, that could go up. So I might have to future proof it a bit.]

I'd appreciate it if you could tell where you would put your money at. Which one is most value for money and which one is the best sound performance?

Speakers:
1. Mirage Nanosat 5.1 - $497.99
2. Energy Take Classic 5.1 - $399.99
3. Onkyo SKS-HT 870 - $313.94
4. Jamo S 413 HCS 5 5.1 - $199.99
5. Wharfedale Hometheater Package - on sale for $599.99 (have a color mismatched set for $399.99)
Wharfedale Hometheatre Package includes:
Diamond 9.0 Bookshelf Speakers, pair (black) - front
Diamond 9.CC Center Channel Speaker (black) - center
Diamond 9.SR Bookshelf Speakers, pair (black) - rear
Wharfedale SW150 Subwoofer
(I only was able to read reviews on the 9.1 system, i'm assuming these are older models, so no idea on their performance. Also i'm not familiar with the brand)

6. Paradigm Cinema 220 V.3 Hometheater Speaker Package (w/stands and subwoofer) - $679.99 ($479.99 w/o subwoofer - i haven't read any reviews on the "mission" subwoofer)
Set of 5 speakers and 2 stands:
3 Paradigm Cinema 220 V.3 (front); 2 Paradigm Cinema 70 V.3 (rear); 2 Paradigm LS-25 speaker stands; 1 Mission MS-8 Subwoofer

7. Jamo S 406 HCS 1 - $249.99 + decent subwoofer - $200-300
8. Klipsch HD Theater 500 - $600

Receiver:
1. Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K (I've pretty much decided on this unless someone can point a better one for cheaper)
2. Denon AVR-1910
3. Onkyo TX-SR607
(All are in the $300-$450 range i think)


I would really appreciate your candid thoughts and expert advice on this. I'd really like to make a good decision as I'd hate to waste the $500+ or have to deal with returns of inferior speakers. The chance of me being able to check them out at stores is less given my working hours.
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post #2 of 16
6/21/10 at 3:35pm
Thread Starter 
Anybody with thoughts? I'd really appreciate it!
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post #3 of 16
6/21/10 at 3:55pm
you have to listen for yourself...you wouldn't ask us to pick out your wife would you??

Every major brand has a following and some you'll like and others you won't...only your ears can tell you whats right for you...every speaker has it's own characteristics... go audition and follow your ears.

I will say this...in that price range stay away from HTIB.... YOu can get some good cheap 5.1 AVRs for around $200 example only-
http://cgi.ebay.com/Denon-AVR590-5-1...item19bd3a0dbb

put the rest of your money in the front 3 for now, followed by a sub. here's a great sub for even if it cost 2x as much.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-635

For your loudspeakers..You need to find your ears (what sound fits you)..go listen to Paradigm, B&W, KLipsch RF, Polk, Def Tech everything you kind find...bring your own music or movie scene and listen to the different spin earch speaker puts on it.

You'll hear the difference between bright and neutral, forward and laid back...imaging , dyanamics will all differ. I personally would stay away from Internet Direct brands until you have a really good idea on the characteristics you like.. and make sure they have a good return program.

This is the only way to find speakers that fit you.

Or you can ask people what you should by and they"ll tell you about their favorite speakers...which will rob you of finding yours.

Hope this helps! Good luck and have fun!
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post #4 of 16
6/21/10 at 4:46pm
We answered your question here!
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1257565
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post #5 of 16
6/21/10 at 4:58pm
the wharfedales are by far the best speakers on that list. Don't know about the sub though - I assume that's part of the package deal?

Ron
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post #6 of 16
6/22/10 at 8:21am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RonaldoCombs View Post

the wharfedales are by far the best speakers on that list. Don't know about the sub though - I assume that's part of the package deal?

Ron

Hmm.. Interesting.. Have you had personal experience with them? I think for now, i've kinda decided on the following:

Infinity P362 fronts at $200 each = $400
Infinity P162 rears at $85 each = $170
Infinity PC350 rear at $200

Thoughts?

The prob with coming to AVS; you come in a newbie with a small budget.. and end up learning a bunch of stuff and doubling ur budget.. not that i'm complaining
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post #7 of 16
6/22/10 at 8:27am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cdy2179 View Post

you have to listen for yourself...you wouldn't ask us to pick out your wife would you??

Every major brand has a following and some you'll like and others you won't...only your ears can tell you whats right for you...every speaker has it's own characteristics... go audition and follow your ears.

I will say this...in that price range stay away from HTIB.... YOu can get some good cheap 5.1 AVRs for around $200 example only-
http://cgi.ebay.com/Denon-AVR590-5-1...item19bd3a0dbb

put the rest of your money in the front 3 for now, followed by a sub. here's a great sub for even if it cost 2x as much.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-635

For your loudspeakers..You need to find your ears (what sound fits you)..go listen to Paradigm, B&W, KLipsch RF, Polk, Def Tech everything you kind find...bring your own music or movie scene and listen to the different spin earch speaker puts on it.

You'll hear the difference between bright and neutral, forward and laid back...imaging , dyanamics will all differ. I personally would stay away from Internet Direct brands until you have a really good idea on the characteristics you like.. and make sure they have a good return program.

This is the only way to find speakers that fit you.

Or you can ask people what you should by and they"ll tell you about their favorite speakers...which will rob you of finding yours.

Hope this helps! Good luck and have fun!

I would ask for opinions if there were only a limited type of wives available
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post #8 of 16
6/22/10 at 9:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by thebigq View Post

I would ask for opinions if there were only a limited type of wives available

I wouldn't...I'll just say it is impossible for anyone of us to tell you what the best speaker for you is.....and until you actually go audition and hear how different one speaker is from another you may not understand this or think it's important...

A system built around Paradigm Atoms or titans or the equivelent from other brands (B&W, Klipsch RF, DefTech, etc, etc...) would blow the systems your looking at outta the water (larger drivers, more dynamics, richer sound).. and you could still keep it under $1000 using some old or cheap speakers for temporary surrounds and you'd have your foot in the door of mid-high end eq. that you'll want to keep for years and years.

especially if you want to plan for a larger room in the future as you mentioned...a 4" driver in a home theater even in small rooms has major limitations ...which will show up as soon as you listen to them at any moderatley dynamic scene at moderate levels. With your budget I'd look into higher end speakers...
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post #9 of 16
6/22/10 at 9:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by thebigq View Post

Hmm.. Interesting.. Have you had personal experience with them? I think for now, i've kinda decided on the following:

Infinity P362 fronts at $200 each = $400
Infinity P162 rears at $85 each = $170
Infinity PC350 rear at $200

Thoughts?

The prob with coming to AVS; you come in a newbie with a small budget.. and end up learning a bunch of stuff and doubling ur budget.. not that i'm complaining

Yes I have personal experience with Wharfedale, also with Infinity, both are very good but Infinity wasn't on the original list.

What are you going to use for a sub?

Ron
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post #10 of 16
6/22/10 at 10:33am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RonaldoCombs View Post

Yes I have personal experience with Wharfedale, also with Infinity, both are very good but Infinity wasn't on the original list.

What are you going to use for a sub?

Ron

Quite possibly a BIC F12. Would that be a good choice?

And you're right, the infinitys were suggested recently to me.
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post #11 of 16
6/22/10 at 11:52am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cdy2179 View Post

I wouldn't...I'll just say it is impossible for anyone of us to tell you what the best speaker for you is.....and until you actually go audition and hear how different one speaker is from another you may not understand this or think it's important...

A system built around Paradigm Atoms or titans or the equivelent from other brands (B&W, Klipsch RF, DefTech, etc, etc...) would blow the systems your looking at outta the water (larger drivers, more dynamics, richer sound).. and you could still keep it under $1000 using some old or cheap speakers for temporary surrounds and you'd have your foot in the door of mid-high end eq. that you'll want to keep for years and years.

especially if you want to plan for a larger room in the future as you mentioned...a 4" driver in a home theater even in small rooms has major limitations ...which will show up as soon as you listen to them at any moderatley dynamic scene at moderate levels. With your budget I'd look into higher end speakers...


You're right in that ideally you want to try each one and see what sounds best to you. The only problem is that it is next to impossible to try out all these great speakers. So i'm taking a chance based on the collective wisdom of our esteemed AVS members.

I did mention a set from Paradigm and also Wharfedale in the shortlist. My understanding was the infinitys were pretty good for the price as well. Also I've seen good things about the BIC F12 as opposed to the Dayton sub-120.. But i guess both are just as good.

My original budget was to stick as close to $500 as possible.. I've now increased that to $700 for the infinitys w/o subwoofer which i've been told aren't needed in smaller rooms.. so i think i can wait on the purchase as i'm still in the apartment. Still have to shell out $$ for the receiver
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post #12 of 16
6/22/10 at 12:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by thebigq View Post

So i'm taking a chance based on the collective wisdom of our esteemed AVS members.

Bad Move. You have been given the best advise already as pertains to speaker purchase.

It IS an individual decision that must be made by the individual whose ears are the recipient. This is the most important decision for sound quality. Go listen. Take your time..be patient. If not maybe be better donating the K note to charity.
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post #13 of 16
6/22/10 at 1:12pm
I have that same Infinity setup for HT and really liked it, even though now I'm considering upgrading again, lol.
Infinity P362 fronts
Infinity P162 rears
Infinity PC350 center
I think crutchfield has that speaker line on sale right now, and they've got a
code 3A825 '$20 off orders over $150' so you may be able to get a little cash off by splitting up the order in groups of 150 and using the coupon (maybe 60 bucks?). Or heck give them a call and see if they'll give you a package deal.

edit: Those are large speakers though for a 300sq ft apartment, make sure you have room, the center is very large also.
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post #14 of 16
6/22/10 at 1:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by thebigq View Post

You're right in that ideally you want to try each one and see what sounds best to you. The only problem is that it is next to impossible to try out all these great speakers. So i'm taking a chance based on the collective wisdom of our esteemed AVS members.

I did mention a set from Paradigm and also Wharfedale in the shortlist. My understanding was the infinitys were pretty good for the price as well. Also I've seen good things about the BIC F12 as opposed to the Dayton sub-120.. But i guess both are just as good.

My original budget was to stick as close to $500 as possible.. I've now increased that to $700 for the infinitys w/o subwoofer which i've been told aren't needed in smaller rooms.. so i think i can wait on the purchase as i'm still in the apartment. Still have to shell out $$ for the receiver

I didn't say Paradgim Cinema's.... with the money you have to spend the Atoms and Titans are in another league.... You're stuck on glorified HTIB....think audiophile speakers...not small cubes....speakers that can fill good size rooms with excellent accurate sound.

The collective wisdom here can't tell you what fits your taste....you have to step back from the Newbie mentality (we've all been there).... most of us have demoed and owned many many speakers.....You're getting good advice...if you want to know you got the best speakers for you that you'll be proud of for years then do your self a favor and listen..

or you can buy whatever you want and ignore good advice...and you'll be upgrading soon.. escpecially if you move to a larger room...
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post #15 of 16
6/22/10 at 1:16pm
Also... realize that some speakers are bight some are neutral, some forward and some laid back...

these are characteristics and after hearing the differences you'll know what characteristics you like best....there's much more to it than just buying what the masses say is a good speaker.... you have to buy a good speaker with characteristics you like.
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post #16 of 16
6/22/10 at 11:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by slippery44 View Post

I have that same Infinity setup for HT and really liked it, even though now I'm considering upgrading again, lol.
Infinity P362 fronts
Infinity P162 rears
Infinity PC350 center
I think crutchfield has that speaker line on sale right now, and they've got a
code 3A825 '$20 off orders over $150' so you may be able to get a little cash off by splitting up the order in groups of 150 and using the coupon (maybe 60 bucks?). Or heck give them a call and see if they'll give you a package deal.

edit: Those are large speakers though for a 300sq ft apartment, make sure you have room, the center is very large also.

Guess what.. i went to my local frys to check out the polk monitor 70s and the infinity primus 362s.. and my first reaction and the one i still have is, these speakers are gigantic and i mean gigantic.... i didn't expect them to be so deep i.e. even if i stick them to the wall, they would stick out considerably..

The main problem i foresaw though was the center speaker was huge and wouldn't fit under my 47" LCD which sits on top of a small tv cabinet.. I'm almost reconsidering my decision to go back to the energy takes or their slightly larger version..

Sound wise though i have to say they are impressive, you do seem like you were actually in the theater when you have a orchestra playing.. although i did notice that you have to be in a tight band in front of the speakers to get good sound... they only had the Monitor 30s i think and they played well although the bass seemed light.. the 362s had much higher bass performance.. hmm.. i don't think either speaker is bad sound wise.. its the size now that seems to be the prob..
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