[Cult_Daddy]

I'm working on my HT and finally got my AVR, an H-K AVR 254 from ebay. The next step is to slowly piece together a 7.1 or 7.2 speaker system. I can save about 50 bucks a week but I'm really itching to get some real sound into my theater. Because of that, I was looking at The Speaker Company to start piecing the system together slowly. This is what I was looking at and the order I was planning to get them as I save up money.


1. A pair of these for $180 TSBL


2. This sub for $230 Premier_Acoustic_PA_120


3. This center for $100 TC2-Center-Channel


4. A pair of these for the surrounds for $170 TSS-B-525-Dipolar


5. Finally a pair of these for the backs for $130 TSAT-1000SB


This would eventually total about $810 for the 7.1


My concern is that I haven't seen many reviews of TSC (although I'm pretty sure the quality is there). Nearly ready to pull the trigger on the Left and Right, I started second guessing myself and looked to Hsu. I researched Hsu a while back and have heard nothing but great things about them. The concern I had was the surrounds, because I want to wall mount them. Well I thought that I could use the Ventriloquist Extra speakers for that as they are small and the surrounds don't need to drive as much. So the second set I was thinking of putting together was:


1. A pair of these for $360 (I would want the Espresso veneer to match my wall color) hb-1


2. This for the center at $280 hc-1


3. 4 of these for surrounds and back $160 vt-254


4. Finally I think one of these for the sub at $350 stf-2


A total of $1150


I thought that I could wait on the sub with the Hsu system as I've heard those bookshelves have pretty good lower end for bookshelves and I thought the surround aspect would be more important to me, than the LFE aspect (but that is subject to change

)


So with the Hsu system I would have to wait a little longer for the initial purchase (I don't do well with delayed gratification) so this option may be a little tough but if everyone thinks this would be the better option, I think I could do it.


Basically I want as many opinions as possible as to what people think would be the better bang for the buck. For reference my room is about 12 x 20 (open in the back, L shaped room) and the ceiling is only about 6'7" due to this being in the basement with a dropped ceiling. Thanks in advance for everyone's thoughts.


Scott

 

[shadyJ]

If you are going with the HSU, I would get the fronts and center now, while the sale is still going on. Given the horn-loaded tweeters and greater sensitivity on the HB-1s, I would guess they would have more dynamic response, however I have not heard the TSC speakers. I think the TSBLs would also be good speakers though. However, I am pretty sure the HSU center will be much better than the TSC center. The Vt-254s might be a bit dinky, depending on your room size. If you have a larger room, I would go with these TSC p5' s,$70 a pair, for rears. I am more certain of their acoustic effects than dipoles, and they will sound better than satellites.


Doing that will lower the costs a bit, $595 shipped for the HSUs and $140 for all the TSC's bring the speaker cost to $735, and maybe even be a better system over-all. The STF2 is a great subwoofer, I have one and love it, but if you have a larger room, you might consider this sub. It's cheaper, It's also a HSU design and a much newer design, and it has lower extension, at least the specs say it does, but with a 12' cone and 250 watt amp, it makes sense. You should consider getting two subwoofers instead of one, especially if your room is large. Two front-firing PL200s would make for a formidable setup.

 

[AvGeek07]

I just order my hsu hb-1mk2 and hc-1mk2 center/book shelfs and had them for two days now,

they sound really good for music and movies. The only thing about them is there small sweet spot.

but they do have excellent performance for entry level speakers.

 

[Cult_Daddy]

Well I think I've eliminated the Hsu's from contention. I was reading in thier forums and found a reply from Pete Hsu that said he would not recommend combining the HB-1's with the vt-254s. He said that the horn tweeters of the HB-1's would not be a good match with the vt-254s. That being said I was thinking that the HB-1's perhaps wouldn't be a good match with anything other than something else with horn tweeters and I just can't do something that big on the surrounds.


With that it looks like I'm going to go the route of the TSC's. What are some other opinions of the dipole surrounds I was looking at? I know that shadyj is recommending the p5's but I like that the dipole's have a lower profile (about 4 inches vs 8 inches for the p5's). Another option I was thinking about was a pair of these . What does everyone think would sound better? Keep in mind like I said earlier, my room is open on the back side so I don't if that would have an adverse on the dipoles.


Another question, what do people think of the order I was planning on assembling my system as funds are saved? Does it make sense or should I get the ccenter before the sub or other any other combos?

 

[tsantanni]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Cult_Daddy /forum/post/16892234


With that it looks like I'm going to go the route of the TSC's. What are some other opinions of the dipole surrounds I was looking at? I know that shadyj is recommending the p5's but I like that the dipole's have a lower profile (about 4 inches vs 8 inches for the p5's). Another option I was thinking about was a pair of these . What does everyone think would sound better? Keep in mind like I said earlier, my room is open on the back side so I don't if that would have an adverse on the dipoles.


Another question, what do people think of the order I was planning on assembling my system as funds are saved? Does it make sense or should I get the ccenter before the sub or other any other combos?

I have almost the exact same setup as you propose, and it sounds fabulous for the money spent. I have the TSBL's, TC2, TSS-B Dipoles, and the T300 sub. My surround backs are Infiniti TSS-450's. The surround backs aren't as important as the other speakers IMO. The back of my room is open too, and the Dipoles sound great. Couldn't be happier with the setup I put together on a budget and I think you will be too.

 

[Cult_Daddy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by tsantanni /forum/post/16894380


I have almost the exact same setup as you propose, and it sounds fabulous for the money spent. I have the TSBL's, TC2, TSS-B Dipoles, and the T300 sub. My surround backs are Infiniti TSS-450's. The surround backs aren't as important as the other speakers IMO. The back of my room is open too, and the Dipoles sound great. Couldn't be happier with the setup I put together on a budget and I think you will be too.

Thanks for the feedback. I am really happy to hear someone with real world experience with this set-up. I've posed this same question on TSC's forum hoping that Nick would read it and give his opinion as well. I'm pulling the trigger on the TSBL's this week. With the slow process of saving up money it will be some time before I have to decide on the surrounds, so hopefully Nick will respond prior to that. But at this time I think I'm leaning to the dipoles.


By the way, how do you like the sub? I've heard good things about TSC's loudspeakers, but haven't heard too much regarding their subs. That's why I was looking at the PA-120, I've read excellent reviews especially in regards to performance vs price. The T300 is looks great, but how does it compare to say a Hsu or ED similarly priced sub? I don't know that many people have listened to TSC's subs vs competitors so it's difficult to make a comparison.

 

[Max Mike]

For putting together a budget matched speaker set with a lot of bang for the buck I would look at the Polk Monitor 60, 50, 40, 30, and CS1 speakers Newegg has.


If you wait for Newegg to put the different speakers on sale which the do several times a month you could actually build a Polk based system cheaper than a TSC system.


No dipoles but better all around speakers IMO.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...e=Polk%20Audio