Hey Everyone!
This has been my favorite forum over the past couple months. Ive learned a lot and am envious of all of you!
So Ive been doing a lot of research on speaker brands, and receivers - and im trying to find the best bang for what I am looking for. Budget also has to be considered - I'll go more on that in a bit. First, here's my goal:
Said Goal: Create a Full, Dynamic sound stage for a "in the movie" experience for home theater use.
As far as
receivers go, I plan on getting the Pioneer SC-27. Ive heard of other brands like Rotel, NAD, Dinan, Onkyo, Yahmaha, etc etc - But I think the pioneer best fits for what im looking for in a receiver, and the price is fairly good... Video quality is also important too. Right now, I dont plan on getting an amp, but that will have to come after I have broken in whatever speakers I buy and feel that It needs more power. If I do go with an external amp, I would be looking at Emotiva XPA-5. It seems to be getting some nice reviews and I like that price range.
Speakers: Originally I was looking at the Klipsch RF-63 series with matching center RC-64 and surrounds RS-62. As far as subs go, I would be choosing the HSU VTF3 MK2 sub, and then later one get a second one - or just go with the one VTF3 MK3. Ive heard a lot of mixed reviews on the Klipsch - and unfortunately there isnt a place around my area (Burbank) that has their products for retail so I can hear them. I was just talking with one of the forum members who also was in my situation and said that "if you cant demo them, its probably for a reason." The other brand I was thinking was Paradigm. There is a dealer here in Beverly Hills and I decided I would go and try them out - even though they are much more expensive
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I tried out the Studio 60s (v4 i think?) And wasnt really impressed with them. The Martin Logan's at BB sounded better...(but ML is wayyy out of my price range). So I tried the new Studio 100 v5 and was pretty impressed. At lower volumes it was ok, but sounded better at higher volumes. I had tested it out with one of my soundtracks (just for clarification, the soundtrack was from Avatar
) through their cd player and he had that running to a 2 channel 50watt NAD stereo amp. I wish I could have heard the set through 5.1 setup. If I went with Paradigm, Id probably buy the Studio 100s pair, then later get the CC-690, then the HSU sub, then the surrounds. Depends on my budget, I cant really drop 5K all at once I dont think
Ideally it would be nice to get the Studio 20s as surrounds, but Im interested in finding out if you can take them off the stands so you can put it on a dedicated shelf.
I understand finding the right speaker for you is all about listening for yourself and trying it out in home or whatever. But sometimes it can be hard, especially when you cant demo them. I would just like to hear people's opinions on these speakers and possibly other great speakers I may have missed that will help me reach my goal. *imax sound is great because I feel in the movie with all the highs, deep lows, and great surround. Obviously they have tons of speakers and crazy expensive equipment, but..whatever.
Thanks for your time!!!
Ryan
