Dear AVSforum,
I'm moving into a new apartment. It's large by NYC standards, with the living room connected to an open kitchen and dining space, and much bigger than my tiny studio, but still, it's a NYC apartment and not huge. For the first time I'm building a "real" home audio setup.
About a week ago, I noticed Definitive Technology 350 speakers on sale at Newegg, which launched some rapid home audio research. I quickly found that all the good advice I could find on just about anything was here, and pretty soon was doing all my product research on Google using the "site:avsforum.com" flag. I ended up ordering the following from various places, which I think maximizes both my space constraints and my budget for now:
2 x Definitive Studio 450s (why not go up to 450s for a little more)
1 x Definitive ProCenter 2000 (paid full retail; apparently center matters, this matches the 450s and fits under my TV)
2 x Velodyne VX-11 (compact, front-firing, on sale 2 for $229, will probably craigslist second one)
So that's my 3.1 (3.2?) setup to start. I can always add surrounds later if I feel the need, but given the small space I'm more concerned with quality and good front speakers in my budget.
Now I'm looking for a receiver. Best Buy had a clearance Marantz 1602 for real cheap at one of my local stores, but at checkout it said it was no longer available. I noticed some of the other closeout items were ridiculously cheap, and I hastily ordered a Denon 3312CI for $549 before it disappeared.
But I'm having buyer's remorse. I would've loved the 1602 for $300, but that's not an option anymore. Spending $550 for the 3312CI seems like overkill, even just a 1403 at retail is $400 anyway, and at BB I can do the whole 0% financing thing. I'm not in a hurry, I can wait a few weeks since my TV and cabinet won't be in until then. And everything I've read praises the 3312, but it also seems geared toward people who have much larger setups than I will...
Is there any reason I shouldn't use a massive 3312? Do I actually gain a lot going up from it? Would I be better off waiting to find something good enough for $2-300?
I'm moving into a new apartment. It's large by NYC standards, with the living room connected to an open kitchen and dining space, and much bigger than my tiny studio, but still, it's a NYC apartment and not huge. For the first time I'm building a "real" home audio setup.
About a week ago, I noticed Definitive Technology 350 speakers on sale at Newegg, which launched some rapid home audio research. I quickly found that all the good advice I could find on just about anything was here, and pretty soon was doing all my product research on Google using the "site:avsforum.com" flag. I ended up ordering the following from various places, which I think maximizes both my space constraints and my budget for now:
2 x Definitive Studio 450s (why not go up to 450s for a little more)
1 x Definitive ProCenter 2000 (paid full retail; apparently center matters, this matches the 450s and fits under my TV)
2 x Velodyne VX-11 (compact, front-firing, on sale 2 for $229, will probably craigslist second one)
So that's my 3.1 (3.2?) setup to start. I can always add surrounds later if I feel the need, but given the small space I'm more concerned with quality and good front speakers in my budget.
Now I'm looking for a receiver. Best Buy had a clearance Marantz 1602 for real cheap at one of my local stores, but at checkout it said it was no longer available. I noticed some of the other closeout items were ridiculously cheap, and I hastily ordered a Denon 3312CI for $549 before it disappeared.
But I'm having buyer's remorse. I would've loved the 1602 for $300, but that's not an option anymore. Spending $550 for the 3312CI seems like overkill, even just a 1403 at retail is $400 anyway, and at BB I can do the whole 0% financing thing. I'm not in a hurry, I can wait a few weeks since my TV and cabinet won't be in until then. And everything I've read praises the 3312, but it also seems geared toward people who have much larger setups than I will...
Is there any reason I shouldn't use a massive 3312? Do I actually gain a lot going up from it? Would I be better off waiting to find something good enough for $2-300?
