Edit: BIC 3.0 with Cheap DIY Sub

EDIT: I've purchased a Denon AVR-1612, two BIC FH-6T towers and a BIC FH6-LCR center. Now I need to buy or build a sub for a low cost. If you see the thread, I'm leaning towards a 3ft^3 enclosure with the Dayton Audio SD270A-88 10" DVC Sub from Parts Express, and I want to pair it with the 70 W plate amp. I run into really high cone excursion (8mm vs 6mm xmax) when running WinISD. Can I simply turn down the gain and expect to lower the wattage to, say, 35 W rms? Skim the thread for some more details! My last post explains a bit more.

 

Thanks!
 

 

 

 

Not sure if I should put this in HTiB or Speakers but I moved it here. If it needs to be moved back, please do so or let me know.

I've been lurking on the forums for quite some time now. I've even posted a bit and gotten really good replies but I am getting more and more confused as I learn more and more about home audio. (I've learned a lot so now I'm really confused)

Let me start by saying I REALLY want to stay under $500. I know it's not much, but I'm in college and I don't have a ton of money to spend. If I absolutely must, I can expand that budget a little bit. The area is about 17x23 ft, I'm not sure exactly it might be bigger. I will be listening to music, watching movies, and my roommates will be playing Xbox 360 so it needs to be well rounded. I started out by being dead set on the Onkyo HT-S7409 HTiB and just looked at AVS for reassurance, and at first I was happy, but I am really not so sure now. It's on sale for $469.54. HT-S7409

AVR: (Onkyo TX-NR609)
Pros: Network ready, Video Upscaling?, Powerful, 7.2, THX Certified
Cons: No Audyssey Multi EQ (just 2EQ), That's it..

Speakers: (Onkyo HTiB)
Pros: Almost free (~$100)
Cons: LOW sensitivity (R-79, F-81, C-83), HTiB speakers, Plastic, eh..

I am under the impression that MultiEQ will make the system sound much much better, and that the HTiB speakers really suck. If those are true, I might want to piece together a system instead of going HTiB.

I was wondering if it would be better to buy an AVR, some towers/bookshelves and a sub instead of trying to go 5.1

There is a sale on these Bic Speakers which I keep hearing about:
F12 (sub)
FH6-LCR (Left, Center, Right)
FH-65B (Bookshelf)
DV62SI (Bookshelf)
DV-62CLRS (Center)
DV52SI (Bookshelf)
DV-52CLRB (Center)
DV-32B (Bookshelf)
DV-32CLR (Center)
Dv64 (Tower)

I also saw this on sale today, Looks like it is actually the Jamo 426 HCS 3:
Energy PS500

Would it be best to get some combination of these and an AVR and then expand later on? I want at LEAST 2.1 for now, (I was looking at Towers and a sub but that leaves very very little for the AVR). Eventually I'd like to get up to 5.1 or even 7.1 but I will not be upgrading the AVR for at least a few years (probably).

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to give as much information as I could! Thanks for any help! Please comment specifically on EQ if you can and give suggestions; I am open to all opinions!

Edited by anuj1450 - 7/25/12 at 6:12pm

I've seen the Denon 1612 a few times, and I know it's pretty highly rated for budget builds, but I really thing I might miss the Wireless networking.. That being said it does have MultiEQ and it's seems like a great receiver.

Is there a specific reason you recommend the Polks over the BIC Towers? Bic also has their more expensive towers which I can get for ~$120 each, but they aren't as highly rated. The reason I ask is because I keep hearing great things about BIC America.

Thanks for the help!

Thanks for the information.

As far as MultiEQ goes, how much does it actually help? If you go back a few years ago there was no such thing and people definitely had nice systems then. Also, is there a way I can miss the networking a little less? I mean I guess I can always use the Xbox 360 for music, but it's just not the same. (Also the Onkyo 609 and higher end Denon and Yamahas have Android apps, which is really, really nice to have)

I know that room is huge, but our primary listening location would be closer to the sub, in which I think it might be ok? I'll probably be moving this to a smaller room after next year.

Is there any advantage of going with the Monitor 40s over the 60s that were suggested earlier?

I guess it might be important to reiterate that I am in college, and as much as I'd like to have nice things, I know it just might not happen. That being said, I do want to have something that will get pretty loud, so sensitivity is a big plus. Also I definitely will need some bass to please my roommates and to make my neighbors angry so some sort of sub would be nice Those are the main reasons I'm going away from the 7409 HTiB.

Ok, so let's assume that I go for the Denon 1612 for the time being. I can get that new for about $200, and that would leave me about $300 for speakers.

Since you mentioned the FT series I did some searching, and I saw the FT-6T for $155 each, shipped. Seems like a good deal and that would put me at my $500 limit. Would that be a good point to expand from, or would bookshelves + the Bic F12 Sub be better if I were looking to expand the system to 5.1 in ~2 years? I'll also note that when I move in 2 years, I'm sure my space will be considerably smaller (lets say ~200sq ft)

So you're saying the Def Techs are much better than the BIC FH6-LCR? Those were nice because I could probably have a 5.1 system based on that BIC series within 2 years rather then the Def Techs which would probably take me forever to save enough to build a solid system with.

I guess I really need to figure this out tonight then! It's KILLING ME!

You know what, you're right!


Yeah, it's clear that the Def Techs are going to be better speakers, especially in a smaller room. At the same time, I don't know where I'll be in 2 years, and I don't know what my ears will like then either. I think that I should start out modest and work my way up; I have bills to pay too! I think I've read enough good reviews about them and hell, I'm in college; my speakers should be loud!


I have heard good things about the Boston A series, but I am not sure I like the white tower look. Also, I've heard that the horn in the FH6-LCR is a lot better in the mids and highs (although maybe that's not a great thing).


Thanks for all the suggestions guys! Although I guesss I ultimately had already made my decision before posting, I'm glad to have thought about it a few hundred times first

Ok so now that I'm going the FH6-LCR, I need to figure out my initial configuration. Here are my options:

• 2.0 with an AVR with a few more features than the 1612 (NETWORKING!)
• 2.1 with the 1612 and ~$100 sub (Yes, I know it's not big enough for the room)
• 3.0 with the 1612
• Onkyo HT-S7409

Really? I must have misread something I read here on AVS.. Regardless, I hear they are better in the mid/highs than the DV series.. but maybe I read that wrong also..?


I really need to stay under $100 on the sub for now.. I might try secondhand ones from CL, hopefully I can find a deal! Do you think I could build a halfway decent one for <100? I've been checking out the DIY forum..

Yeah I know, it's an unfortunate situation.. But yeah I can definitely build my own box if needed! Do you have any suggestions on cheap woofers and amps? I looked in the DIY section, but most of the threads are between $300 and $1000. Any knowledge on building different boxes to try and get into the 25 Hz range even with a cheap woofer? I think I saw a thread on that..

I might try getting a cheap amp and woofer, but for now I'll just be using 2 or 3 of the BIC speakers without the woofer. Then in can always add in the woofer after I know I have enough for bills and whatnot.

WOW that's actually pretty good. Could you give me an idea of how loud the BIC F12 or something of the sort would be? It says something like 100w or 150w RMS, but I didn't see anything on dBs. I know the BIC's sensitivity is 90. I'm just asking so I can get some sort of reference on the 90-100 dBs this gets..

Edit: Also, are those the inside dimensions of the box?

Ok, thanks so much for the help! I might be shooting you a pm if I decide to go this route.

As far as dBs, I have seen a lot for speakers, but not for subwoofers. What do you typically use during a movie? Let's say in a 250 sq ft room?

Thanks you so much for the information! I know, this budget absolutely sucks but I don't know how much I will have available to me after school starts.

Could you let me know what program you're using for the simulation? I'd love to play around with that based on my ever changing budget.

Can't enter the values for the driver properly for some reason.. Any hints? I'm getting my data here: http://www.daytonaudio.com/media/res...ions-47085.pdf