Hey, well this will be my first post
I'm looking to set up a home theater and I've been to a couple of places in town that sell higher end systems. I'm looking for something better than a Best Buy option, but not to spend too much (I realize TV + Receiver for me will be about 5k, so 7k including speakers would be a good setup).
I've made 2 trips:
1)
www.kandwaudio.com
2)
www.general-audio.com At K&W this is the package that they had me look at when I went over what I wanted:
Sharp Aquos (the 82U one) for 3499 (I'm comparing against Sony XBR4)
Yamaha RXV 1800 1299
Definitive Technologies studio monitor 350's (little over 2k)
At General Audio this is what they suggested:
Denon 3808 (the original receiver I was looking at) 1799 - but said would match 1499 at soundsaround - where I found it cheaper.
TV - no option, only a 7k Planar tv he said was above "consumer grade" and they put in the Abrams tanks. Mine is for a house, not a tank, so I'm not sure why I'd spend twice the money even though he said this one would last 15 years, and not 5.
Speakers - Paradigm DSP series (the small guys).
I want to buy the package all at one store so I can get a discount (going to post a thread with bargaining tactics if there are any secrets!).
Just wondering what people think.
Questions:
1) General Audio guy said he doesn't like Yamaha Receivers, where the K&W guy said he thinks its superior to Denon (go figure, why would they promote their own brand?!) So I'm looking for unbiased opinions on each of these.
2)TV - Aquos or Sony XBR4 ? I've heard all around the sony is a better TV, but the Aquos is better on paper, isn't it?
3) Speakers - I don't know either brands as I have not been keeping in the loop for several years.. reviews on either would be great.
- note that for the Def Tech speaker setup I would likely do a tower speaker for the front speakers rather than a bookshelf speaker there. Is there a huge difference in sound quality with a tower over a bookshelf? The only reason I'd go bookshelf is so I could wall mount it eventually, unless I'm getting much better value on the tower speaker then I would go that route.
Thats a huge amount of questions, so
on this thread I will keep the opinions to the package as a whole, and post a couple other threads for the comparison of speakers and one for the receiver, and one for the TV
I'll post those links here so this review can be highly organized.
Thanks!
Brett
Click here to see a picture of what the space looks like that I will be installing this into.
http://picasaweb.google.com/brettswi...75835670589010
Specific Threads:
Receiver:
http://www.hometheatershack.com/foru...-rx-v1800.html
TV:
http://www.hometheatershack.com/foru...vs-planar.html
Speakers: none yet.