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***Official HTIB Alternatives Thread*** - Page 54

post #1591 of 3362
8/13/07 at 7:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blake9b View Post

I've been contemplating a center speaker to compliment my R50's for a few weeks. I have not been able to find a Cherry CSR to match my R50's, though can't seem to drop the extra $70 just to get a CS1 that has matching colors....

did you purchase a black csr with your cherry r50's?

I bought the cherry R50s, and a black CSR. They match perfectly (sound-wise).

The black CSR didn't matter to me, since it's housed right under the TV, in a TV stand (i.e. you only see the front grill, which is black like the grill on the R50s).

The cherry veneer on the R50s is very nice looking. Better than I expected, actually.
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post #1592 of 3362
8/13/07 at 9:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mbaxter View Post

Specs-wise these look like a hell of a deal:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony-...oductDetail.do

8" woofer, 3.25" cone, 1" tweeter, good size wood cabinet. $80 for a pair of these.

Bump on these Sonys. Curious what people think of them. I think the tendency here is to dismiss out of hand any speakers made by Sony, but these sure look like they'd be a great bang per buck.

The prev version of these speakers (model SS-MB250H) got good reviews on the net, but I prefer the word of AVS'ers when it comes to anything HT related.
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post #1593 of 3362
8/13/07 at 9:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blake9b View Post

I've been contemplating a center speaker to compliment my R50's for a few weeks. I have not been able to find a Cherry CSR to match my R50's, though can't seem to drop the extra $70 just to get a CS1 that has matching colors....

did you purchase a black csr with your cherry r50's?

I did purchase the black CSR. Part of my hold back with the r50 was the cherry finish because it will not go well with my home theater setup. I'm hoping that it will not be as visible during viewing and I figured if it bothers me enough, I will probably cover it with felt or paint it with the same color as my wall Hey if I mess up the paint, it's not that it will be visible during viewing anyways (let's hope I don't have to do that).
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post #1594 of 3362
8/13/07 at 9:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Florida_Gator View Post

Waste of money? Heck no. Depends on your needs, and the size of your room, etc. The R50s definitely sound more full than the R150s (floorstanders vs. bookshelf, and additional drivers). The R300 is basically the R150 with a built-in stand (and probably a touch more sound, thanks to the larger enclosure -- though I've not heard them).

Since I'm currently at 5.1, the R50/CSR/R150 combo works great for me. If/when I go to 7.1, I will move the R150s to "rear surround", and get another pair for surrounds -- but I have a smallish room (14x16). If I had a larger, more rectangular room, I'd probably get another set of R50s for surrounds, and move the R150s to rear-surrounds.

Yeah, I kinda figured it's an obvious answer My room is only 11'X17' so I will probably go with the R150s when I retire my over 10 year old M&K that I inherited.
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post #1595 of 3362
8/14/07 at 7:25pm
Hi, Two questions:

I will be buying a HK 2xx receiver, and am looking to buy the av123 x-ls bookshelves. Unfortunately the x-cs center won't fit in my tv stand, so i want a solution in the meantime.

1) Is there a way to set it up so i can use my tv speakers as the central speaker?

2) What is the advantage/difference of using a specified center speaker instead of a third bookshelf as the center.

Thanks for all your help. I've been obsessed with this thread and forum for the past 4 days.
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post #1596 of 3362
8/14/07 at 7:43pm
Hey Ron,

Does the CSi25 match the R50's well? I just bought CSi25 literally 5 minutes ago, but I'm thinking I should have went with the CSR instead since they're apart of the seem R series. I was reading in the Polk thread about timbre matching and I got kinda nervous (having "R" series speakers and "CSi" series center). This is my 1st theater and I want things to sound good, but the CSi25 was about $30 cheaper (fit better into my budget) and seemed comparable when looking at the specs on polks site.

Did I make a mistake or will the CSi25 work well with what i have?

here's what i got so far:
Onkyo 604, 2xR150, 2xR50, 1xCSi25

thanks
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post #1597 of 3362
8/15/07 at 12:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bdizzle View Post

Hey Ron,

Does the CSi25 match the R50's well? I just bought CSi25 literally 5 minutes ago, but I'm thinking I should have went with the CSR instead since they're apart of the seem R series. I was reading in the Polk thread about timbre matching and I got kinda nervous (having "R" series speakers and "CSi" series center). This is my 1st theater and I want things to sound good, but the CSi25 was about $30 cheaper (fit better into my budget) and seemed comparable when looking at the specs on polks site.

Did I make a mistake or will the CSi25 work well with what i have?

here's what i got so far:
Onkyo 604, 2xR150, 2xR50, 1xCSi25

thanks

The CSi25 is a match. It's the Euro version of the CSR...it's 4 ohm, but 8ohm compatable...same specs. Don't worry about it.
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post #1598 of 3362
8/15/07 at 4:53am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by fonzie311 View Post

1) Is there a way to set it up so i can use my tv speakers as the central speaker?

2) What is the advantage/difference of using a specified center speaker instead of a third bookshelf as the center.

1) even if you could use your TV as a center speaker (you can't), it would sound a lot worse than no center at all. sometimes you can run a "phantom" center in a 2.0 setup.

2) dedicated center channels are often configured differently from their matching bookshelf counterparts (different size or multiple mid-bass drivers), even though they are timbre-matched to the mains. also, they could be magnetically sheilded, which allows close placement to CRT displays. the corresponding L/R speakers may or may not be. if shielding isn't going to be an issue and a bookshelf speaker will fit your space, it would probably be better than running no center at all.
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post #1599 of 3362
8/15/07 at 11:52am
This is my first time setup, so I'd appreciate any suggestions you have for my 5.1.
All prices include tax and shipping

-Three Boston Acoustic VR2 for L R C channels. $220 each - Circuitcity (CC) store pickup with 10% off AAA coupon (check ebay if needed)
-One KEF psw2150 sub (only 250 watts peak I know, but I got for $160 with tax, anything better for the money?). (Bought KEF hts2001.5 $500 (CC) (now $600) with %10 -AAA coupon and sold the satellites for $360
-Junky stereo boombox speakers for the L and R surrounds electrical taped in.

Cables at monoprice.com which I believe has the cheapest all around
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post #1600 of 3362
8/16/07 at 7:50am
I was wondering if you could help me decide which reciever I should get..

I've been debating between H/K 235, 240,245 or the ONKYO 505

I keep going back and forth..any suggestions would be helpful

Thanks for all your help!
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post #1601 of 3362
8/16/07 at 9:34am
Is there a big price difference between the 235, 240 and 245? If not, get the newest one.

I think all 3 HK's will sound better than the Onkyo. The only reason to me, to get the Onkyo would be the HDMI video switching, but I believe the 245 would do that also.

What's your budget for this receiver?
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post #1602 of 3362
8/16/07 at 10:29am
Just thought I'd post an update. Nobody had any ground-breaking advice, so after hemming and hawing over it for a while I ended up going with this:

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnowDog73 View Post

I'm looking at eD, though unhappy with the delay, where I can get the eD A2-250 + 3 A6 5T5 MTMs for $522 shipped (plus stands).

I ended up going to the A2-300. Hopefully I'll get a great bang-for-buck out of it!
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post #1603 of 3362
8/16/07 at 12:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Temple View Post

The CSi25 is a match. It's the Euro version of the CSR...it's 4 ohm, but 8ohm compatable...same specs. Don't worry about it.

On my receiver it says this

Quote:


Only connect speakers with an impedance of 6 ohms or higher. If you use speakers with a lower impedance, and use the amplifier at high volume levels for a long period of time, the built-in protection circuit may be activated.

Does it being "8ohmz compatable" mean that I don't have to worry about the tripping the circuit, or do i still have to be careful about how high i turn the volume up?
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post #1604 of 3362
8/16/07 at 1:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bdizzle View Post

On my receiver it says this



Does it being "8ohmz compatable" mean that I don't have to worry about the tripping the circuit, or do i still have to be careful about how high i turn the volume up?

There was a user that had a problem a few pages back, but it didn't sound to me like it was an impedence issue. Try it, I doubt if you'll have a problem driving one speaker. If you do, sell it and try a CSR.
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post #1605 of 3362
8/16/07 at 1:43pm
my budget is around $200...i can get the onkyo505 or one of the H/K2xx on ebay for that price
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post #1606 of 3362
8/16/07 at 2:13pm
One more question...if I were to buy a HD-DVD player would those receivers be good enough? (I have a 1080p tv if that matters at all)
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post #1607 of 3362
8/16/07 at 4:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fonzie311 View Post

One more question...if I were to buy a HD-DVD player would those receivers be good enough? (I have a 1080p tv if that matters at all)

for video the 505 would be fine. the hdmi ports on it do 1080p. for audio (truehd and pcm) probably not. i know the hdmi ports on this dont pass audio so you wouldnt be able to get truehd or pcm from them. im not sure if the analog in's do multichannel pcm or not though

i was looking at the 505 for my 1st receiver but got the 604 used from the for sale forum on here for $280. i wanted to make sure i can get truehd and pcm so paying a little extra was important to me
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post #1608 of 3362
8/17/07 at 8:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fonzie311 View Post

my budget is around $200...i can get the onkyo505 or one of the H/K2xx on ebay for that price

Where are you finding the Onkyo 505 for around $200? I can only find it for $250. Let me know. Thanks.
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post #1609 of 3362
8/17/07 at 9:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnowDog73 View Post

Just thought I'd post an update. Nobody had any ground-breaking advice, so after hemming and hawing over it for a while I ended up going with this:



I ended up going to the A2-300. Hopefully I'll get a great bang-for-buck out of it!

I love my eD 5.1 system. I have the tower l/r , mtm center, bookshelf rears, with an A2-300 sub. Great value for the money IMO. I'm extremely impressed with the sub for the price.
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post #1610 of 3362
8/17/07 at 11:26am
How 'bout the HK receivers then? Do they handle the true HD?

ONKYO 505 for $200 is if I buy it used
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post #1611 of 3362
8/17/07 at 1:10pm
I purchased my 505 for around $217 with tax from Circuit City a month ago. I used two coupons on a sale price...
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post #1612 of 3362
8/17/07 at 4:00pm
Hi everyone! I posted earlier about upgrading our stereo system with four Polks we already have. We got them about ten years ago and the stickers fell off the back so I was not sure exactly which speakers we had and decided that I probably needed to know that before proceeding any further with the upgrade. I contacted Polk and they replied that we are the proud owners of four "new mini monitors" made from 1993-1996 (assuming the retailer gave us the correct spec sheets at the time of purchase).

I then asked them for suggestions about a center and sub and they pointed me to the the CS1. Assuming the CS1 matches these older mini monitors, does anyone have any preferences for the CSi3 (better and cheaper?) or the CSR (good enough and cheaper?).

Here are the specs of the mini monitors (assuming we weren't given the wrong product sheet when we bought them all those years ago):

- 12mm (0.5") dome tweeter.
- 133mm (5.25") composite polymer driver
- 10.5"H x 6.5"W x 7"D
- Overall Frequency Response = 42Hz - 25kHz
- -3dB limits = 67Hz - 23kHz
- Recommended Amplification = 10-100 watts/channel
- Impedance = 8 ohms
- Efficiency = 90dB

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/specs/csr/ (about $100)

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/specs/cs1/ (about $162)

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/specs/csi3/ (about $150)


For the sub, they recommended the PSW10 or PSW110 but Polk subs do not seem to be a popular choice with forum members.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/psw10/

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/psw110/
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post #1613 of 3362
8/17/07 at 4:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kex View Post

Hi everyone! I posted earlier about upgrading our stereo system with four Polks we already have. We got them about ten years ago and the stickers fell off the back so I was not sure exactly which speakers we had and decided that I probably needed to know that before proceeding any further with the upgrade. I contacted Polk and they replied that we are the proud owners of four "new mini monitors" made from 1993-1996 (assuming the retailer gave us the correct spec sheets at the time of purchase).

I then asked them for suggestions about a center and sub and they pointed me to the the CS1. Assuming the CS1 matches these older mini monitors, does anyone have any preferences for the CSi3 (better and cheaper?) or the CSR (good enough and cheaper?).

Here are the specs of the mini monitors (assuming we weren't given the wrong product sheet when we bought them all those years ago):

- 12mm (0.5") dome tweeter.
- 133mm (5.25") composite polymer driver
- 10.5"H x 6.5"W x 7"D
- Overall Frequency Response = 42Hz - 25kHz
- -3dB limits = 67Hz - 23kHz
- Recommended Amplification = 10-100 watts/channel
- Impedance = 8 ohms
- Efficiency = 90dB

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/specs/csr/ (about $100)

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/specs/cs1/ (about $162)

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/specs/csi3/ (about $150)


For the sub, they recommended the PSW10 or PSW110 but Polk subs do not seem to be a popular choice with forum members.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/psw10/

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/psw110/

Not having heard the Minis, it's tough to say. I saw your thread on CP. The older Polks aren't as bright as the current CSi line, so their recommendation on the CS1 makes sense. If you can find a used center on Craigslist CS225, 300 or 350, it would probably be a better center than the CS1 and be a closer match. They can be found fr ~ $100-150. I owned the CSi3 and liked it, but like the older Polk centers more.
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post #1614 of 3362
8/17/07 at 4:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Temple View Post

... The older Polks aren't as bright as the current CSi line, so their recommendation on the CS1 makes sense. If you can find a used center on Craigslist CS225, 300 or 350, it would probably be a better center than the CS1 and be a closer match. They can be found fr ~ $100-150. I owned the CSi3 and liked it, but like the older Polk centers more.

None of those available just now in my area that I could find. Would the CSR be an equally good match? They seem very similar "on paper" and since it sounds as though none of these will be a perfect match anyway, it might make not be worth spending the extra $60 for the CS1.

Another option would be to get the CSi3 now as an adequate match, sell the mini monitors in a year or so (when the dust has settled on the whole upgrade) and then buy more recent surrounds that match the CSi3 better.
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post #1615 of 3362
8/17/07 at 5:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kex View Post

None of those available just now in my area that I could find. Would the CSR be an equally good match? They seem very similar "on paper" and since it sounds as though none of these will be a perfect match anyway, it might make not be worth spending the extra $60 for the CS1.

Another option would be to get the CSi3 now as an adequate match, sell the mini monitors in a year or so (when the dust has settled on the whole upgrade) and then buy more recent surrounds that match the CSi3 better.

The CSi3 is a much better center than the CSR...I'd do it.
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post #1616 of 3362
8/17/07 at 9:10pm
Actually the best match sound-wise might be the CS1 or CSR.

I compared the CSi3 to the CSR, and liked the CSR better. It sounded "fuller" to me -- a little less "thin" or "bright". Then again, since I was matching it up to Polk R50s (voice-matched since same family), that might be why I liked it.

I would think the CS1 or CSR would be better voice-matched to your older speakers.
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post #1617 of 3362
8/19/07 at 12:16pm
Well, we went to Fry's yesterday and that place was a mess! Stuff was piled up dusty on even dustier shelves everywhere. We talked to two reps. and both wanted to sell us an Onkyo receiver but could not tell us why H/K was a bad choice. It was too noisy and disorganized to listen to anything anyway and one of the reps looked like he had been living and sleeping in the same clothes for a week!

We then went to Circuit City, which was a much better environment. They hooked up some Polk bookshelf speakers with the CSR and CS1 (the only two they had there at the time) and a Polk PSW10. We found the CS1 a little richer sounding than the CSR, actually. It also "looked" a lot better we thought too, but I think either, with our four Mini Monitors, should sound excellent as an entry level HT for watching DVDs.

I am leaning towards a H/K AVR146 at $198 as a refurb from H/K right now, unless I can get a good deal from H/K Direct on e-Bay.
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post #1618 of 3362
8/19/07 at 12:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kex View Post

I am leaning towards a H/K AVR146 at $198 as a refurb from H/K right now, unless I can get a good deal from H/K Direct on e-Bay.

You should be able to score a 2xx or even a 3xx from HK Direct for ~ $200. Just be patient.
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post #1619 of 3362
8/19/07 at 6:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Temple View Post

You should be able to score a 2xx or even a 3xx from HK Direct for ~ $200. Just be patient.

Thanks Ron, I think I'll try for that. A 247 would be nice for that price: I like having the auto-calibration feature (if it works effectively) and the HDMI pass through is great for future updrade ability ... if we ever get that new TV! We'll see how it goes!
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post #1620 of 3362
8/20/07 at 7:54am
For anyone looking for some cheap stands for R150's, I got these from Amazon for under $30

http://www.amazon.com/Atlantic-77305...7621297&sr=8-1

The only issue is the only way to mount them is to remove the metal "L" bracket and screw four holes in the bottom of the speakers. Just make sure the metal plate is dead center and it works fine.

Just wanted to say thanks to Ron and G-Star for this thread. So far I've spent about 600 for everything (didnt get the sub yet) and I'm happy with the sound. I didn't callibrate yet, but it still sounds good. My gf and i were watching Crank on bluray and she kept looking behind her thinking someone was talking. If anyones interested ill post pics
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