[vipervick]

Greetings,


I am currently purchasing my first house and am looking to get a decent Home Theater going. It seems the concensus of folks here think that speakers are the number one thing to get.


Currently I am using a Sony STR-DE858 and a set of Kenwood 5.1 speakers that came as a $250 set. I am truely not pleased with the sound, especially surround for DVD's and Blu-Ray.


I'm thinking about 10K total budget for speakers, AVR, TV and a Blu-Ray player. I am not familiar with home theater speakers at all. But I am a bit of a music snob listening to my stuff, especially in my car. I have always loved the sound of JL Audio speakers and their sealed subs in my cars.


They have a good price on a set of Polks over at Fry's. And I think they would be monumentally better than the Kenwoods I have now.


Any inputs or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[calnbs]

You can do a lot with $10K. You should definately look into store that specialize in home theater. Size of your room? Whats your break down between movies and music? How much of that budget will you be using for the TV?

 

[sb1]

If your budget was $500, it would be pretty safe to give more ideas as most things are on an even keel at that price point. With a 10k budget, and by your own admission not familiar with his arena, you seriously need to do tons of research and auditioning in person. By shopping around and finding the best price on gear, you can put together one hell of a system for

that price.


There are so many opinions and choices to give, but there are other variables to consider than what you've given us. For instance, will this be a living room setup

or a dedicated theater?

 

[vipervick]

I would love to find a shop that specializes in Home Theater, but I am not aware of any in the San Diego area. I have been looking at the military exchange (best prices), Fry's and Best Buy. Budget for speakers is $3,000.00, including a sub.


I really want to audition a lot of AVR's and speakers, but the selection has been rather weak so far.


My set up will be a living/family room, not a dedicated theater. And I need to compensate for pets and young children running around.


I would love to go projector and screen route, but the living room really isn't big enough for that. I am thinking of upgrading the 46" Sharp to a Samsung 55" 8500.

Quote:
Originally Posted by vipervick /forum/post/0


In the picture, my wall unit entertainment center will be along the left wall where the couch is. Facing the french doors that lead to the back yard and pool. I'm definitley going to have to get curtains for this room! So, front speakers can go adjacent to the entertainment center and surround can go on the wall behind. My wife wants to set up our modular couch in an "L" shape with the open end to the fire place. Center can be on the shelf with the TV, currently a Sharp Aqous 46" LCD. And Height can go on top of the entertainment center, which would be about 7 feet high.

 

[unseen79]

Spend most of your budget on a real amp and speakers


Leave yourself 3K ish for a tv/projector and a ps3.

 

[Secret Squirrel]



Quote:
Originally Posted by vipervick /forum/post/18202015


I would love to find a shop that specializes in Home Theater, but I am not aware of any in the San Diego area. I have been looking at the military exchange (best prices), Fry's and Best Buy. Budget for speakers is $3,000.00, including a sub.


I really want to audition a lot of AVR's and speakers, but the selection has been rather weak so far.


My set up will be a living/family room, not a dedicated theater. And I need to compensate for pets and young children running around.


I would love to go projector and screen route, but the living room really isn't big enough for that. I am thinking of upgrading the 46" Sharp to a Samsung 55" 8500.

If you really want that Samsung you better get one now. They are on sale if you can find one. They are hard to find in stock. Those TV's are not being made anymore due to a copy wright infringement battle with another company. I just got one.$1500 savings.

 

[CRAW]

If you don't go the projector route, do yourself a favor and get a 50"/60" Pioneer KURO plasma (if you can find any). You won't be disappointed.


The rest of your scratch could still get you a great system for sound. I'm jealous. Happy shopping!

 

[calnbs]

So out of your $10K, only $3K is going to speaker and sub? What are you going to do with the rest of the $7K? Break down the rest of your budget for us.


So I am assuming since you want it off the ground, are you going to put these smaller speakers and put them on shelves?

 

[cornhulio]

Don't mess with entry level speakers with that kind of budget. Look at Paradigm, PSB, Monitor Audio, B&W, Wharfedale, Energy RC-70, etc.

 

[CRAW]



Quote:
Originally Posted by cornhulio /forum/post/18204102


Don't mess with entry level speakers with that kind of budget. Look at Paradigm, PSB, Monitor Audio, B&W, Wharfedale, Energy RC-70, NHT, etc.

 

[RonaldoCombs]



Quote:
Originally Posted by cornhulio /forum/post/18204102


Don't mess with entry level speakers with that kind of budget. Look at Paradigm, PSB, Monitor Audio, B&W, Wharfedale, Energy RC-70, etc.

Agreed.


Revel is an "etc." that shouldn't be missed at this price point.


Ron

 

[Denophile]

if I were looking--marantz 8003 [email protected]; emotiva amp--

 

[vipervick]



Quote:
Originally Posted by calnbs /forum/post/18203332


So out of your $10K, only $3K is going to speaker and sub? What are you going to do with the rest of the $7K? Break down the rest of your budget for us.


So I am assuming since you want it off the ground, are you going to put these smaller speakers and put them on shelves?

Basically I'm looking at 3K per TV, AVR and Speakers with getting an Oppo BD-83. My budget isn't fixed per say, so I want to swing the best bang for my buck.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cornhulio /forum/post/0


Don't mess with entry level speakers with that kind of budget. Look at Paradigm, PSB, Monitor Audio, B&W, Wharfedale, Energy RC-70, NHT, etc.

Honestly, I have never heard of these companies. I am totally lost at sea, so to say, on the price vs sound quality front. Let me begin with what I HAVE heard of, and I consider to be decent. Polk, Klipsch, Infinity, Cerwin Vega...


I am pretty sure for front speakers I want floor standing towers. I want my system to have balls. Big harry, nasty sweaty balls. I need my wife to be in such awe that I don't have to show her the receipt. And I want to do this as cheap as possible, ie within or under budget.


But I also want to buy locally. I have no love for mail ordering stuff. Every time I do I get screwed. I want to have warantee repair/replacement readily available without having to mess around with shipping.

 

[unseen79]

If you're unfamiliar with those brands you definitely need to get out and audition to find out what suits you best.


I'm sure there are several HiFi shops in the San Diego area.



I don't know which ones are any good, but just browsing google I came up with the following local HiFi shops.

http://www.stereodesign.com/
http://www.stereo-unlimited.com/
http://www.breieraudio.com/
http://www.modernhomesystems.com/



Maybe someone who lives in the area can better comment.

 

[calnbs]



Quote:
Originally Posted by vipervick /forum/post/18204531


Basically I'm looking at 3K per TV, AVR and Speakers with getting an Oppo BD-83. My budget isn't fixed per say, so I want to swing the best bang for my buck.




Honestly, I have never heard of these companies. I am totally lost at sea, so to say, on the price vs sound quality front. Let me begin with what I HAVE heard of, and I consider to be decent. Polk, Klipsch, Infinity, Cerwin Vega...


I am pretty sure for front speakers I want floor standing towers. I want my system to have balls. Big harry, nasty sweaty balls. I need my wife to be in such awe that I don't have to show her the receipt. And I want to do this as cheap as possible, ie within or under budget.


But I also want to buy locally. I have no love for mail ordering stuff. Every time I do I get screwed. I want to have warantee repair/replacement readily available without having to mess around with shipping.

If that is the case, you should definately look really hard into JTR speakers. I've been PMing a few people about upgrading my next system...my choices came down to Klipsch THX Ultra2 and JTR speakers....those who have heard both said go with JTR speakers. From what I have read about JTR speakers, seems like a no-brainer as my next choice. Read up on the JTR owner's thread to see if that is something you might want to put on your list.


The reason you haven't heard about those other brands is because they are in the higher end bracket of speakers/Home Theater. You won't find them at Best Buys or Frys. You'll actually have to find a store that specialize in Home Theater. All very well respected brands.

 

[rnatalli]

Get out and audition as many speakers as possible. Don't forget some ID brands like Salk. For a sub, HSU, SVS, eD, and Epik are all good choices. As for budget:


TV $3k as you indicated

Bluray Player $500 (Price for Oppo if I remember right)

Preamp/Amp $1,498 (Emotiva UMC-1 and XPA-5)

Speakers and Sub $5,002 (Whatever you like)


This allocates about 70% of your audio budget towards speakers and sub which are the most important factor in a setup aside from room acoustics. Use Blue Jeans or Monoprice for your cables and don't bother with fancy, expensive cables.

 

[rogmatic]



Quote:
Originally Posted by vipervick /forum/post/18204531


I am pretty sure for front speakers I want floor standing towers. I want my system to have balls. Big harry, nasty sweaty balls. I need my wife to be in such awe that I don't have to show her the receipt. And I want to do this as cheap as possible, ie within or under budget.

From your descriptions, I would say JTR, JBL and Klipsch are good places to start, but save $2K or more for the sub. Maybe go 3K TV, 3K speakers, 2K sub, Oppo blu-ray and the rest for an AVR (maybe look at Pioneer elite, Harmon-Kardon, Denon).

 

[rogmatic]

You would probably like something like the JBL L890 to build around. Look at SVS and Hsu for subs (although there are lots of other good choices).

 

[vipervick]



Quote:
Originally Posted by rnatalli /forum/post/18204751


Get out and audition as many speakers as possible. Don't forget some ID brands like Salk. For a sub, HSU, SVS, eD, and Epik are all good choices. As for budget:


TV $3k as you indicated

Bluray Player $500 (Price for Oppo if I remember right)

Preamp/Amp $1,498 (Emotiva UMC-1 and XPA-5)

Speakers and Sub $5,002 (Whatever you like)


This allocates about 70% of your audio budget towards speakers and sub which are the most important factor in a setup aside from room acoustics. Use Blue Jeans or Monoprice for your cables and don't bother with fancy, expensive cables.

That would be 50% of my budget, but I get your point. And $2,000 for a sub, seriously? I'm not doubting you all, but the sub that came with my Kenwood set for like $200 sounds ok. I even had to dial back the gain 50% due to being in a miltary housing duplex atm.


I will definitely need to beg for time to go demo some systems. My ship is underway a lot, so my wife and daughter want me home when I am home.

 

[mjg100]

Even if you do not like internet direct buying, do it for the sub. The sub that you get from companies like; HSU, ED, Epik, SVS and soon Tweak City Audio will beat (sound quality and price) anything that you can buy for the same money from places like Best Buy. For HT use look for speakers that have good sensitivity, power handling and decent sized drivers. If you want a speaker that has balls then look no father than the JTR T8's. http://jtrspeakers.com/home-audio/triple-8ht/ . As others posted put 70% of your budget toward the speakers. I am not a big fan of spending a lot of money for the AVR. I look for the cheapest AVR that has the features that I want. Odds are you will keep the speakers for a long time, but AVR's get upgraded more often. For me the AVR must have pre-outs so that separate amps can be used for powering the speakers. Also it is cheaper in the long run to get the speakers that you want rather than settling for less and up grading later. The speakers and sub are the most important items and should get the bulk of the budget.