3k - 5k budget starting from nothing.

How dedicated is the room?

Give or take, I'd say about a fourth in subs, a half in speakers, and split the last fourth between receiver/amp and room treatments.

Myself, I'm in a living room HT. My split is about $3k (all used market and 7-channel) in speakers, $2k in subs, $2k in receiver and amp, and $200-300 in room treatments.

If you want to support your canadian brothers, then Anthem MRX receiver and Paradigm Studio series speakers

SHO-10's are a good choice along with their CHT 18.2 subs. As efficient as those SHO's are you won't need a whole lot of power. Anthem is nice, but I think it is overpriced for what you get. Denon AVRs run a pretty high bang for your buck value. Monoprice or Blue Jeans for all your cabling. And an Oppo BD player will round out your system nicely.

Whereabouts in Canada are you? Shipping for 5.2 could eat into the budget (go with two subs for even bass response in the whole room).

Don't worry about wires. Look at Monoprice or Blue Jeans Cables. All of your wires and connectors should be $100 - $200 max.

Chase Home Theater is a great option for speakers and subs.

As is our fellow Canadain, Nathan Funk, of Funk Audio on the Sunshine Coast.

If looks are important, Nathan's stuff looks better. And if you need something different for rears, he does tons of custom work.

I second the vote for Paradigm speakers and an Anthem receiver.

+1111 on ordering from Nathan Funk.

Ordered a custom 18" sub from Nathan that is scheduled to ship on Tuesday. I also have two custom F8.2P as floor standers and a 5.4P centre on order.

Nathan's custom work is the best bar none. Being located in Canada is an added bonus.

Funk Audio has some excellent gear, this is a great option too.

I'm not the one to describe a bookshelf system so I'll deal with other parts and you can add your bookshelf speakers with what's left over.

Marantz SR5007 $750.00 (AVR)

Emotiva XPA-5 $900.00 (Outboard Amp, to be added "IF NEEDED," after system is set-up, running and dialed in)

HSU 12" sub (2) VTF-3 MK4 ($800.00 ea) $1,600.00

Wire and interconnects paid for with general, day-to-day budget money; it's not a lot; <$200.00.

(Prices above are based on U.S. availability and priced in USD.)

---

$2,350.00 - $3,250.00; $2,350.00 if you don't buy the outboard Amp at onset.

Add to the mix your bookshelf speakers as you wish or buy the front three first (you'll still get gripping/engaging sound) and add the surrounds later. IIRC, approximately five percent of all 5.1 content goes through the surrounds. A system doesn't have to be built in a day.

My opinion, the center channel is the most important part of the 5.1 speaker chain as eighty-five to ninety percent of dialogue content goes through the center channel. The next most important part of the speaker chain are the subwoofers and yes, for even, tight sound, one "NEED's" two subs. I repeat, not one but two. My preference is a pair of 10" subs (tighter and more responsive to the bass line) but 12" subs are noted for digging deeper; compromise. I'm a fan of sealed subs in smaller rooms for tighter bass with a flatter response over ported subs for larger rooms and larger sound. From this list, with monies leftover, buy the bookshelf speakers which meet your fancy. Again, you can buy the front three (L/C/R) and later add the two back surrounds. To the best of one's ability, they should buy the best quality they can afford and if that means not buying a pair of surrounds at the onset, then so be it. Your sound will be rewarded for your patience.

No matter what you choose to do, don't be in a hurry. Read as many reviews as you can stomach. Audition as many speakers as you can. Respect the stores you audition with; don't use them as an audition store and then buy online. That's unethical. You have plenty in your budget to buy wisely and good luck.

Hope the above helps in your decision making process.

-
Edited by BeeMan458 - 9/1/12 at 9:43am

SHO-10 's and a Funk Audio sub sound like a stellar combination. I would get a good Denon receiver and skip the dedicated amp for now. Your room is not large and it won't take much at all to drive the SHO-10 speakers, Monoprice for cables.

Two subs is probably overkill...

If you reside in the GTA...you'd be welcomed to come over and hear my Sierra and Funk set up...

That's blasphemy! You sir are banned from this forum!

Lol, I know.. Funk 18.0 powered sub is about $2800 shipped Canadian.. Passive version is under $2k but you still need an amp... So there goes the sub budget

SVS PB13 Ultra in Canada is under $2k


http://www.sonicboomaudio.com/box-subwoofers-ultra-series-c-1_7.html

Two PB12NSD subs for around $1400 is a great option:

http://www.sonicboomaudio.com/box-subwoofers-nsd-series-c-1_9.html

Hard to argue with anything here. I would push for an Internet Direct subwoofer no matter what. And I like the reasonably priced Denon receivers that have Audyssey MultiEQ XT.

The Onkyo 818 can be had for around $1000 and it has Audyssey XT32 which for me made a huge improvement to the sound in my room. Some people don't like Audyssey, and I think they are nuts. Just kidding. The only thing that's lacking in that AVR is SubEQ, which doesn't make a difference if you have only one sub.

Still, I'd spend most of my money on the sub(s).

I recently got the SHO-10's and they sound great, and they are quite the bargain.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

I think a Harman Crown XLS 2000 amp for $467 will be great.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B003HZPKXC/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

Even a $350 Crown XLS 1500 has 1050 watts RMS bridged mono.

http://www.amazon.com/Crown-XLS1500-Amplifier-integrated-Crossover/dp/B003HZV2JS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1346594173&sr=8-2&keywords=Crown+XlS+2000

The Crown XLS are silent, little heat, stays cool, very efficient, weighs only 10 lbs, high quality, great sound.

Andrew Robinson uses the XLS 2000 for his B&W 800D2.

I have the Funk 18.0s. They are absolutely amazing subs in terms of Sound Quality, Bass output, and craftsmanship. Highly recommended.
Edited by AcuDefTechGuy - 9/2/12 at 7:03am

For that kind of money, I decided to save up for a pair of Martin Logan, Depth i subs; tight, smooth, musical bass. Yeah baby!

(A pair of Depth i being outside the stated budget of the OP, hence why they were not recommended.)

I lucked out, despite the cost of the sub upgrade, my wife being a symmetrical personality, insists when I do upgrade our subs, that it be done as a pair for she's not going have an asymmetrical situation (two different subs) going on in "her" symmetrical living room.

"Okay, dear."

Those Depths are pretty nice but they are quite pricey unless you go the eBay route and buyer beware!

I've checked out Audiogon and there's a huge savings to be had but I only see them in black; must have rosewood.

Hop on a ferry and go visit Nathan on the Sunshine Coast.

Different speakers. The Ascends are great, and really nice speakers. But the SHO-10's will outdo them easily for HT. The CD with the horn is what sets the SHO-10 apart.

This poster I believe has and he also compared the SAM 1's to the Ascend Towers ....

Try and send him a PM.... http://www.avsforum.com/t/1422525/speaker-shootout-ed-cinema-12s-jtr-triple-8s-cht-sho-10s-bill-fitzmaurice-dr-250s/90#post_22281952


Edited by Billy p - 9/5/12 at 9:40pm

It depends. You live in Vancouver, so, if a US retailer has free shipping in the US, get it shipped to a border town near you and pick it up. I'm in Winnipeg and many of us do this all the time. Otherwise, depending on size of purchase, shipping could be 200-500. I purchased a SVS sub from Sonic Boom and they were great to deal with. I bought speakers from ED (USA) and had them shipped for free to the border and bought Swans and had them shipped direct. The swans cost me around $375 with shipping and brokerage for a pallet load. I have not heard the Sho 10's but by all accounts, they are an excellent value. Add 2 subs from Chase and get pricing on shipping direct. Get an amp for the subs anywhere for about $500-600 and you'll probably be sitting around 4K with shipping. It leaves you 1 K for an AVR (which you already have many fine suggestions for).

In dealing with Nathan...the total cost "quoted" for my sub... was to my door....no surprises! With the Ascends, I didn't mind paying the added incurred cost ..later...I even paid the return shipping when I decided to upgraded from the Sierra 1's to the Towers...IMO somethings are just worth it...YMMV....?

My system:
3 LaScalas = 1400
2 Heresies= 250
2 Danley DTS10's = 2000
XPA5= 800
Integra 40.1= $900

Total is $5350. I've got a few other pieces, but you wouldn't have to.

For home theater, it will arguably compete with home theaters of any price range.