First post: Opinions on speaker setup

[BrianPop]

Hey all,
First time posting here. I am finally going to upgrade my home theatre from an old sony htib. I am mainly looking to upgrade so i can run an all hdmi system(cable box, ps3, xbox 360). I plan on getting a Sony STRDG820 for the receiver. Was debating between that an an onkyo 606, but with the $100 cheaper price of the sony, and it appears to do everything I would need, that looks to be the winner for me(unless someone here has a reason why i shouldn't go that route of course).

Here is my delima now, which speakers to get. I am looking to really spend in the $500 range for speakers and a sub which will be a 5.1 setup, but would be willing to spend up to $700 if necessary. IT will be used mainly for watching movies, as well as gaming. The room is a small one, so im hoping that I can get away with spending as little as i plan to. It is something like 12 x 10' x 7', but im not positive on the exact size.

I was looking at the yambeka 5.0 setup, and ordering a seperate sub, but I am concerned about the speakers being designed for a bigger room, and not sounding that great in my smaller room. Or would they in fact work good in the smaller room?

I was also looking at the Harman Kardon HKTS-18 5.1 setup, and I was thinking that might be a better fit for the small room, but I havent been able to find any professional reviews on them. Does anyone on here know how well they work, or think it would be a good choice for me?

Or else, If not one of those two setups, what would everyone on here recomend for me? I am open to any suggestions since I am new in the world of home theaters.

Any suggestions and help will be greatly appreciated. I have been researching like mad, and my head is just getting ready to explode now, haha.

Thanks in advance

-Brian

[DougMac]

Welcome to the forum, Brian!

It's going to be hard to get really decent sound from a $700 5.1 setup. Entry level to good sound is around $1k, IMO. If you could see your way to bumping up, you should look at an SVS or Ascend system.

For SVS, see: http://www.svsound.com/products-sys-sbs_black.cfm

For Ascend, see: http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages...isor.mv#bottom
I suggest the CBM-170 SE's across the front, with the HTM-200 SE's for surround. You'll have to add a sub, see the SVS PB-10 NSD from above or check out the Outlaw sub here: http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/lfmcompact.html

I have a system built around Ascend speakers and an SVS sub. Both companies are great and make wonderful products.

Doug

[salvasol]

First of all ... Welcome

BrianPop wrote:

... I plan on getting a Sony STRDG820 for the receiver. Was debating between that an an onkyo 606, but with the $100 cheaper price of the sony, and it appears to do everything I would need, that looks to be the winner for me(unless someone here has a reason why i shouldn't go that route of course)...

If I'm reading correctly ... your best option is the Onkyo 606; as you can see in this comparison ... Sony doesn't have DTS HD or TrueHD decoder necesary for BluRay or HD DVD

Here is my delima now, which speakers to get. I am looking to really spend in the $500 range for speakers and a sub which will be a 5.1 setup, but would be willing to spend up to $700 if necessary.

It will be hard ... but not impossible

Are you looking for floorstanders, bookshelf or small speakers??? ... Are you willing to get used (that will be a nice option to get expensive speakers very cheap)???? ... What about some refurbished??? (HK sells a lot of them on ebay) ... Do you need to buy all speakers at the same time, or can you build your system little by little??? ... I mean, you can get the front and center first (use what you have as surrounds, then add a sub and finally the surrounds ).

One of the things you need to check when buying speakers is the frequency response ... you need speaker that can handle at least 50Hz - 20KHz or at least 60Hz and above ... the reason is that most of us use the crossover to the sub at 80Hz (to avoid localization) ... and if your speakers are rated from 100Hz - 20KHz, you'll have a gap between speakers and sub; or you can set the crossover at 100Hz or 120Hz ... but you will localize the sub.

Take a look at the Onkyo HT-S6100 that I think is a better option than the Yambeka

Any questions ... we're here to help each other

[looneybomber]

Well my oppinion, is just that and not even worth the glass of beer I'm drinking.

My thought is, if you're wanting a 5.1 system and have X amount of money to spend now and will not put more money into your system again until a few years from now, go ahead and buy some cheap speakers, but check eBay. Lot's of good buys on discontinued speakers, for example, the Infinity Beta's.

As mentioned Harmon International is selling off quite a bit of Infinity beta referbished stuff for cheap prices because nobody wants "old" discontinued products. It could be possible to put together a 5 speaker Beta system for fairly cheap and then add a sub.

However, if you're planning on buying stuff now and my possibly dump more money into your speaker setup, buy some nice L/R's and sub or even LCR's and sub, and save the surrounds for later. With a good sub and a good set of LR's, movies can be pretty awesome, even without the surrounds.

Something I feel is very important for movies (besides the screen) is the sub, yet it's probably the most skimped on item. A great sub adds so much realism to a movie. Depth charges, buildings falling, fingers tapping on the glass of a fish tank (Finding nemo), all are much more real with a very capable sub.

If I only had 1000.00 to spend on speakers, I'd buy a nice pair of LR's and a good sub. Then next year I'd buy a center and surrounds if I could.

And actually my current system here at my place is just LR's and a sub. I'm building all new speakers and I moved, so I've moved/gotten rid of things I don't need, but kept the essentials. Which will soon be replaced by my new bigger and badder speakers & subs.

[tonyvdb]

I also agree about going with the Onkyo 606 the 706 would be even better if you can squeeze the money out of your budget. Sony has some great products but there receivers are not one of them unless you get into the ES line. I also agree that spending money to future proof your system is very wise. Always get the very best your money can buy and never skimp on the receiver or the front speakers as that is the heart of the system.