***Official HTIB Alternatives Thread*** - Page 8

I currently have an Onkyo 790 HTIB. I'm going to upgrade the sub, and am considering the BIC H-100. My question is, will it give me an more bass then the 230watt Onkyo sub I currently have? The H-100 is only 150 watts. Seems like it may be a downgrade. Have any of you owned both the Onkyo sub and the H-100? Can you give me a comparison on the two subs? My theater room is 26x15, so I need something with some juice.

Thanks

slubu,

The R150 is the new R15. Slight changes in the drivers, and now a rear ported vs front ported design.

Cheers,
Russ

Thank you Pulsedge.

I've done hours and hours of researching on the net, and these forums. These are the parts that I have chosen if I were to buy today. (I actually have a year to plan this out)

This will be my first venture into buying a home theater system

1. Front: Polk Audio RTi8 Tower Speakers
2. Surround: Polk Audio Bookshelf Speaker (RTi4)
3. Center: Polk Audio Center Channel Speaker (CSi3)
4. Subwoofer: Precision Acoustics 10" 10HDW (Or recommend one?)
5. Receiver: Yamaha HTR5950B

This alone comes to $2500 (Canadian)

I'll also take other recommendations for speakers that can be purchased for less money yet can perform just as nicely. But being a Canadian citizen, I don't have access to as many brands as Americans.

Consider adding a reference to the refurbished Harman AVR amplifiers that Harman constantly sells on EBay. The prior generations of receivers that cost $500 at retail routinely go for $140-$220. They retain a full warranty and are generally indistinguishable from new.

In this kind of thread it might help to be clear on what that means - you can't put a rear ported speaker against a wall or the back of a cabinet/shelf

Might help to add, search on the seller harmanaudio - AFAIK links to ebay get blotted out here

Damn, well there goes that. Can anyone recommend a speaker that I can put against a wall and is small in nature? I would love the Velodyne CHT FRS, but it only comes in white now. Any ideas where to get the black set?

Thanks G-Star! The H-100 sounds like a great deal and a good start on a better HT. I'm still holding out a thread of hope for the VTF-2 MK 2 though. Trying to talk the wife into it. Do you know of anywhere to get HSU subs other then the HSU website? Trying to find a deal.

Thanks again!

I answered this last night but evidently the post got lost...short answer...very nice speakers, but you need to get your ears around some other brands too. Since you're in Canada check out some Athenas, Energy, Mirage, Paradigm and maybe Axioms too. Listen to speakers in the same price point, higher and lower to decide what you can live with. I love Polks, own them, have auditioned the 8s and 3. It's a great combo, but not everyone agrees with me. If you're going to spend that much coin you should at least establish what you like. Oh and lose the sub, check out Sonic Boom for SVS or the Hsu distributor up there or Velodyne DLS models at Future Shop or Mirage/Energy subs...all very capable.

Good luck

ANYONE CAN JUST THROW OUT NUMBERS. PLEASE POST LINKS?

Ron Temple or others:

I'm almost complete with my alternate HTIB. I have the Onkyo 504 and the Bic H100 sub. Now I need just 4-6 speakers and a center channel. Can anyone recommend me something for $300 or under that comes in black color? Very appreciated for any answers.

4 R150s $100
2 R300s $100
1 CSi25 $70

or 6 R150s $150
and the center

good luck...

hi,

i am building my first HT with the help of this forum, and particularly this thread. i've already bought two R300's and an onkyo 504, and planning to buy a pair of R15/R150's and a CSi25/CSM. my question is about the sub. i am debating between

Polk PSW10/PSW12 vs. Dayton Sub-100/Sub120.

any opinion between these options? also, would it be a big step up to get a Bic H-100 instead?

thanks! this thread is great.

I just found out the R150's are rear-ported and therefore cannot be placed on a shelf - is that accurate? Also, my center cannot be that deep, as the shelf it will go on is only about 7" deep.

I havent heard the polk or dayton, but I own the bic. The bic is the first real subwoofer that I have ever owned and let me tell you, that sucker will shake the house. The first time I tested it was with We Were Soldiers, the broken arrow scene, my wife was going turn the sub down the tv is shaking. The sub is 10 feet from the TV. It is clear bass not muddled and Dr. HSU had something to do with the design. Its a great sub for the price.
-Rich

See if you can score some R15s...you're going to be stuck finding a center except on of the RMs which I don't think are worth the money...something to be said for larger cabinets. A couple of inches should be fine with rear ported speakers, just make sure they are secured. I launched one of my Mordaunts off a mantle playing PFs Pulse at +4.

Excuse the ignorance, but would the R300s be the rears or the fronts?

I'm pretty sure they would be fronts, as they are floorstanding and that is what i'm using them for.

I ordered those R300s and just ordered a CSR Center Channel. I have the R150's on backorder (unless anyone else can tell me where to get them for relatively cheap besides fry's, where they are backordered).

Hoping to see a good difference with the CSR center channel.

Loving the R300s though!

Sam

They'll do more for you in the front, just didn't list them first.

Hopefully all these questions will help other newbies besides myself, but I came across the Klipsch Quintet 5.1 systems for around $300. Any thoughts on those? They seem to be small and easily mountable if necessary.

What about the Cerwin Vega CVHD 5.1's? I'm looking for something sleek and around $500-$600.

http://www.cerwinvega.com/CVHD.php

where are you finding the CSi25 for that price? Also whats the difference (other than size) of the 300's and 150's? Are they clearer souding or just louder? i live in an apt so i dont need high volume, but if they sound clearer id spend more to get em

Hey guys. New to the forums and I am a complete idiot when it comes to this stuff. I just got a 50" plasma and want to add sound. It is in a 20' by 13' room. Unfortunately, I really don't even know where to start. Is there some reference you can point me to than can teach me about this subject?

Thanks and I apologize if this isn't the forum for this question.

Frys/Outlook puts them on sale frequently...last I looked it was $100, but be patient it will go back down. The R300 has a single larger driver in a much larger cabinet. This will allow the floorstander to project a larger soundstage and more detailed midrange and midbass. You'll still want a sub. No, they don't play louder, everything should be calibrated to reflect the same volume at the listening position.

First off - great thread! I was another one of those folks comparing various HTIB options before realizing I could probably do better and cheaper at the same time cobbling something together on my own. So here's my question: Does anyone have any opinions or options regarding this choice:

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/performance1.html

It's the Hsu Research Performance 1 package (5 satellites, 1 center channel, and the STF-1 sub), all for $450. Then all I need is a receiver.

My criteria are small size satellites (for aesthetic reasons), cheap price, and best bang for the buck.

Most of the other options discussed here are either more expensive or the sats are larger than I would prefer. I know this set-up won't sound as good as some of the others discussed here, but I'm wondering if anyone has any other options to suggest (e.g., smaller sats and same sound - same price, same size and and sound - lower price, etc.)?

Thanks in advance!

First of all........G-Star, great thread, right group to discuss, and glad i found it.

Second, i too started out with same HTiB as you (onkyo HTS780). i had a collection of bose fronts, with sony speakers for center and surround and a sony receiver that only did dolby pro logic prior to the 780. Reason why i say this is that i could not get over my disappointment with the speakers that came with the 780. I enjoyed my collage better than then 780.

Since then have upgrade to the Infinity Primus line. I have gone the used/refurb route since it fits my budget. I have the 360's for fronts, C25 for center, and 150's for surround. I started with the 150's as fronts and they sound great and many use them as their complete system. To date, i have spent a total of $400 on speaker upgrades and my next plan is to upgrade my sub.

My question is the sub. My view room is a family room that's open to the kitchen and breakfast area. the total volume is about 3,750 cf. (25'x15'x10') and the family room is half of the space. I would like to get either a HSU or SVS sub since they are so highly regarded both from users and professionals.

G-Star or anybody, can you tell me how much an improvement your SVS PB10 was over the Onkyo sub? Right now SVS has over stock and is selling them @ $375 and i'm thinking about getting one. The overstock sale is for the white and silver only.

It's gotten praise...I haven't heard it...the sub's excellent for a medium to small room. The other usual suspects are the Athena Micra 6, the Velo CHT sats with a sub of your choice, maybe the Klipsch Quintet or a Polk RM package. I'm not a sub/sat guy, but perhaps one of the benefits of the Hsu package is that I believe the sats crossover in the center which might gives the owner a perception of a fuller midrange.