HTiB or Not

Any speaker Jamo makes is probably better than ones from Onkyo...

Costco has an outstanding return policy, so getting and trying out the Jamo's is really pretty easy.

Jamo products are generally get spoken of pretty highly on these boards.

I had a chance to listen to the older model 9100 a ways back as it was pretty good for HT but wasnt able to hear the music side so I cant comment on that. Some highley reccomend the 9300 series as they love it, so I can only assume the 9400 is maybe a bit better? THe Jamos I have not heard eighter but they get good reviews as well.

My suggestion would be to get a good receiver, you dont have to go crazy by no means but something with the features you need such as 5/6HDMI ports, power and so on. Any receiver around the $350 to $550 mark will do as Onkyo, Dennon, Yamaha, Pioneer and so on can offer you an exceelent AV receiver.

Speakers are a personal choice, you almost have to go out and take a listen for yourself if you are able to that is. THe 3 main speakers to be concerned about are the center, then the L&R's. A good sub is reccomended as well. It just depends if you want or have room for larger speakers such as towers for your mains, otherwise a good pair of bookshelfs will work out just fine.

If you plan on listening to music much and sq is important to you then I would stay away from the onkyo htib. I have the 9100 and I upgraded the front three speakers

If I had $1200 to spend I would not get a HTIB system. Piece together a system on your own and you'll enjoy it more.

I didn't see the price you listed in the OP...yes, for 1200, you can get a AV-R, sub and speaker set all better than almost any HTiB!

Hi all,

I am in the exact position as OP.$1200 budget..in Canada

Thought about the Onkyo 9400..but not sure if I can do better buying separately.

Would love to get some expert advice from this forum.

I have also look at the Jamo speakers from Costco, but don't really know much about this brand.

Thanks

What model are the Jamo speakers at Costco Canada? site isn't coming up.

they are Jamo™ S426HCS3 speakers

Yamaha RX-V671 $499
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/yamaha-yamaha-875-watt-7-1-channel-networking-receiver-rxv671b-rxv671-b/10174277.aspx?path=e969a3d663baca40f0077a89d7ed8745en02

or

Denon AVR 1713 $449
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/denon-denon-600-watts-5-1-channel-3d-network-receiver-avr-1713-avr-1713/10200091.aspx?path=ea50447ea502dd5009b0391816764156en02

Energy EW-100 sub $199
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/energy-energy-10-100-watt-powered-subwoofer-ew-100-ew-100/10155155.aspx?path=90384cb5ef530238daed3bcbb34df664en02

And then add your Jamo speakers from Costco for $299

Total will be right around $1000

Thanks Afrogt

In terms of receiver, I should stay away fron Onkyo 616, right? It seems like there are a lot of issues.

Also, if I can stretch my budget by $500, should i put the money towards a better receiver or better speakers

Thanks

I haven't been following the Onkyo 616 thread at all but I've noticed comments in other threads about problems with this model. I would stay away from Onkyo altogether if reliablity is a concern, just my opinion.

If you want to spend more money definitely put it towards speakers and a sub, they will make the biggest difference.

How big is the room and what other devices will you be connecting?

Here are some options is you want to expand your budget.

Klipsch RF-62 towers @ $299ea
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/klipsch-tower-speaker-rf62-single/10105918.aspx?path=14ad649a59f05ac512ebc920bcabbadden02

Klipsch RC-52 @ $199
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/klipsch-centre-channel-speaker-rc52/10105969.aspx?path=7a49ceaeed25c102d21d813aa1e45b4aen02

If you want bookshelf speakers instead of towers this is a great price on the Energy CB-20 @ $199/pr. I would get two pair
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/energy-connoisseur-bookshelf-speakers-cb-20/10111877.aspx?path=f76a18aa4cfbca80abca12ba8291b7c0en02

The matching center is expensive but maybe you can have them bundle a package deal and knock off $100 or so.
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/energy-connoisseur-centre-channel-speaker-cc-10/10111878.aspx?path=54971b2ecae5b7fed8fa398338ee7ffaen02

also noticed this deal.
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/jamo-jamo-5-0-surround-speaker-system-s606hcs3hg-s606hcs3hg/10199606.aspx?path=3d5877e38d3cd468e8b52d9e7e4c26eaen02

What you really need to do is take some of your favorite music and demo these speakers. That's the best was to determine what sound you like.

Thanks for the input. How are Klipsch speakers? How do they compare to Energy Connoisseur or Jamo?

I plan to set this up in the basement. It approxmately 15" by 15" but one side is open...

Besides the TV, I will hook up the ps3 and Wii through the receiver. I plan to setup the router there, have a laptop already ready for hook up, too. Anything else I should consider adding to this setup?

Thank you again for the advice.

Klipsch sound brighter to me than Energy or Jamo speakers, But you should go listen to them yourself before making a decision.

I find it a,using that all the speakers recommended are under the klipsch umbrella. Are they the only widely available speaker brands in Canada? Or is this coincidence? More great deals are to Be had on craigslist if you don't mind searching or driving a bit... But nothing brats the convience of Costco

With budget ~400-500$, should I just buy 5.1 HTib for small room (4m x 5m )or building my own system is a better option?

Check out accessories4less.com. Pick up a refurb reciever for 200 and some energy take classics for 300 done

Conventional wisdom says you would probably be better off to purchase separates than get a HTiB. I bought an HTiB and have been very happy with it because, at the time, the budget was limited. The receiver does every thing that I want/need so I'm looking around for speaker upgrades now. Again budget and size are the limiting factors and if I had it to do all over again, I probably would have extended my budget a bit and gone with separates. However, I don't regret my initial decision one bit because the sound is very nice for our environment (I'd just like it to be a bit more dynamic) but once you've stepped into the audio waters.........

if in the US, build your own system.

Thank you for the input...here is an update...there was a sale at futureshop here in Canada so I bought:

Denon AVR 1713 + Energy Take Classic II 5.1 both for $850.

What do you guys think about this combination as well as the price? (remember I am not in the US)?

I have a bit of time to think about it whether or not to keep it.

I thought about just getting the speakers and then separately getting AVR 1913....but I don't think I will need 7.1, there are probably other difference

On the other hand, I could have just gotten the 1913 and buy the JAMO speakers from Costco and add a subwoofer

saw some good review about energy take classic so that's why I went for it.

Love to get everyone's thought on this.

Is Jamo A102 HCS6 + Denon AVR1312 a good build? My room is small, so I don't need overkill speakers.

My budget is $600 and i live in the US. It is possible to build a decent system for $600 for mostly Blu-ray movies?!?!

^^^ Yes.

Anyone have comments about my purchase? Please see quotes above.

I'd prefer larger speakers over satellites but if the Take Classics sound good to you that is all that matters. I had Take satellites before, moved up to bookshelf speakers and never looked back.

Takes are good for what they are, small satellite speakers. Bigger speakers will give you bigger sound.

You can always move up to something larger later in life. Takes hold their value pretty well so you should get decent $$ for them when ready to upgrade.

How about Jamo S606HCS3? Would these be better than the Take Classics?