$1500 budget and looking for help

Ok guys, I am new to the forum and looking for some advice. I have around $1500 (a little more is not out of the question) to pick up a receiver and speakers. The plan is to pick up some nice front floor standing speakers and a center, then buy the rest of the speakers later when I can afford it. I would like a 7.1 or 6.1 surround receiver. So far I have checked out the Klipsch reference speakers and thought they sounded pretty good. Just looking for some advice and maybe some price ranges and links to where I can pick them up.

Thanks,
JS

[tonyvdb]

Have a look at the B&W 600 series or the Monitor Audio silver series.
Both have some nice sounding speakers in that price range.

Oh and by the way, Welcome to the Shack

[JCD]

Devil_909 wrote:

Ok guys, I am new to the forum and looking for some advice. I have around $1500 (a little more is not out of the question) to pick up a receiver and speakers. The plan is to pick up some nice front floor standing speakers and a center, then buy the rest of the speakers later when I can afford it. I would like a 7.1 or 6.1 surround receiver. So far I have checked out the Klipsch reference speakers and thought they sounded pretty good. Just looking for some advice and maybe some price ranges and links to where I can pick them up.

Thanks,
JS

I like your idea of starting with just a few speakers and then upgrading as time permits.

So, some general advice I generally give :

• Spend 70% on speakers
• Spend 30% on everything else
• In my opinion, you can get a better system in your price range going with two "bookshelf" speakers and a sub
• If I were to piece together a system, I would start with the front L/R, then the surrounds, then the center then the final 2 rears to get 7.1
• Don't forget the acoustics of your room -- next to the speakers, they will be the second most important part of your system. Everything else is a distant third.

For the receiver
Right now, it seems like Onkyo is the only brand that is decoding all the latest formats, so I'd be inclined to pick one of those. They are also pretty inexpensive. Compare the various models and choose the one that has the features you want.

If you don't go for Onkyo, Yamaha and Denon would be the other options I'd recommend.

For the Speakers
Such a subjective topic! What I may like, you may hate. It really comes down to what your preferences are. I'll assume you've already read this..

Assuming I talked you into bookshelves, my preference in your price range would be a pair of Paradigm Studio 20's plus an SVS sub. I think you can find everything for ~$1250 -- then spend ~$350 on one of the Onkyo receivers and you've got a great starter system -- granted you go over budget a little, but you knew you would anyway. If you want to expand this beyond a 2.1, I'd seriously look at the SBS-01 system from SVS and get a 7.1 system for $1,175. This system has gotten some good buzz. See here for a review by one of our mods. You can upgrade the sub if you want more low end impact.

Finally, make sure you report back with your decision .. and include pics of your new toys!

JCD

[alexadams77]

For $1500, I think that I would look into Axiom m60 (m80 if you are willing to go over your budget) or one of the Rocket RS series (av123). I had the Axiom m60 for the 30 day trial period and loved them. The wife told me that these speakers would be the last ones that I buy for quite a long time, so I ended up sending them back for the m80s. The m60 were an amazing speaker, but I couldn't stop thinking about what the m80s would sound like. The m80s are a bit overkill for my HT, but I do love them. They have the power, clarity and bass that I need and I don't see myself upgrading anytime in the near future. They are a great set of speakers to build your HT around, like I am doing.

I would rather piece it together and get quality parts instead of getting it all at once and being disappointed with it. From what I have heard and read, the center and two front towers are the most important part of the speaker set up anyway. After looking and hearing some of the big towers, I am pretty sure I could hold off on a sub for a while. If you all don't mind, please supply links to the products you are talking about because I am still a little new to all this

[alexadams77]

http://www.axiomaudio.com
http://www.av123.com
http://www.svsound.com

A side question for you all. Is it better to order them online or in shop? I just moved to Raleigh, NC and have no idea of any local audio shops. Anyone point me in the right direction?

[jackfish]

You don't have to spend 70% on your speakers when you can get them this good. Why not get most of your entire system for $1500?
Infinity Primus P362s for $380/pair.
Infinity Beta C360 for $266.

The Beta C360 center-channel speaker (assembled in Mexico) features a pair of 6.5-inch CMMD low-frequency drivers, a 4-inch CMMD midrange, and a 1-inch CMMD tweeter featuring a molded plastic waveguide—all incorporated into a neat, modular fascia at the front of a 34.5 pound, 8.5"x25.75"x11.75" box with an MSRP of just $399. You can expect street prices to be significantly lower—as low as $264 in a Pricegrabber.com search. Now that's downright cheap for what you get physically and sonically.
At that price point, you're usually stuck with a three -driver array with the tweeter placed between a pair of smallish midrange/midbass drivers. Coaxing believable dialog from that configuration is one tough assignment. Many (most) inexpensive centers feature lispy sibilants or a noticeable discontinuity between male chest cavities and voice boxes—not to mention off-axis lobing, which results in uneven frequency response and usually muffled dialog.
With its relatively large low-frequency drivers surrounding a vertically arrayed midrange/tweeter stack, the C360—a sealed-box design claimed to be 90dB efficient—has the potential to deliver outstanding intelligibility over a wide horizontal window, and it does just that. What's more, it is remarkably free of chesty or sibilant colorations often heard on far more expensive center-channel speakers.
No, the C360 does not have the transparency, delicacy, or "palpability" factor to produce the eerie sensation that an actor is speaking from behind the screen, as do some very expensive center-channel speakers such as Aerial's $4000 CCR-3 or Audio Physic's $5000 Avanti III. But the C360 came remarkably close at less than a tenth of the price. I found film dialog to be articulate, easy to understand, and "forget about it" believable, and that's a major accomplishment for so inexpensive a speaker. There were no obvious mid-bass bumps or high-frequency peaks—just smooth sailing over a wide horizontal window. The better the associated electronics, the better the C360 performs, and I have every confidence it will measure well, with probably a bit of on-axis "presence" region boost.
Infinity Primus P162s for $173/pair.
Onkyo Model TX-SR805 for $800 or less ($677). http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...=Google+Search http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...06-part-1.html
You can get an Infinity PS212 subwoofer later for $310 or less ($260).

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloud...s/605infinity/ The Infinity Primus 360, the Infinity Primus P362's predecessor.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...s-10-2003.html The previous Infinity Primus line.
http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1007inf/ The Infinity Primus P162.

[warpdrive]

Unless you have a very large room to fill, you could probably do better buy buying a nice bookshelf speaker + sub. A $500-800 pair of bookshelf speakers + $600 sub is going to be more satisfying than a $1200 pair of floorstanding speakers for combined HT and music listening.

I'd suggest PSB, Energy, B&W for popular brands that sound really good. Then get the center, then the surround speakers. Floorstanding speakers are only really necessary if you intend to run the system without a sub for pure music listening. I still prefer to buy retail brands because I can hear them with my own ears and eliminate a lot of speakers that way. If you order them online there is always the risk you won't like them, or even worse, you'll think they sound ok because you have no reference point (most speakers sound ok in the absence of a direct comparison to another speaker). Having said that, some of av123.com's products have been doing very well among forum members, and SVS and Outlaw Audio (traditionally subwoofer makers) seem to be churning out high quality well though out complete speaker system.

I find that most of the popular brands of receivers sound pretty good. Onkyo is on a streak with their line. Yamahas are pretty good value. Denon makes solid stuff and does most things well. I'm less of a fan of Sony or Pioneer receivers based on owning some of their stuff in the past.

This system is only going to be used for movies and games. The room itself is fairly big with a very high ceiling. Since I am unable to buy all my speakers at once, I figured that a good pair of floorstanders would give me a wider range of sound while i waited to fill the rest of the gaps. The Onkyo was actually the receiver I had been looking at. The only thing is that I do not require upconverting. Right now the only things hooked to the TV are Xbox360, PS3, and an HD-dvd player. Do they offer a model a little lower in price with same options but without the upconverting?

[jackfish]

All of the Onkyo receivers with most of the TX-SR805 features other than up-conversion have up-conversion. The cheaper TX-SR705 and TX-SR605 models have less power (100Wx7 and 90Wx7 vs 130Wx7) but still do up-conversion. Once you get down to the models without up-conversion they also begin to lose other features like HMDI repeating and only have HMDI pass-through.

If you are dead set on floorstanders and a center first then I would also look at the Infinity Beta 50s for $600/pair and the Infinity Beta C360 for $266. http://www.hometheatersound.com/equi...es250_sw12.htm http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...05-part-1.html Then you could round out the system later with Infinity Beta ES250s for $440/pair (one pair can work as both your surrounds and rears in a 7.1) and an Infinity SW12 for $480 to round out your 7.1 system.

[tonyvdb]

One thing I highly recommend is to find a local dealer and see if at the very least you can audition some of the speakers mentioned. Going just by what others say can yield good results but your ear is the final and best test to help make up your mind. You may be very surprised at how good a so called bookshelf speaker can sound particularly in the price range you have.

[JCD]

Here are some brands that I think get the most "buzz" that are in the Raleigh area:

Paradigm
AUDIO DESIGNS
3721 LYNN RD SUITE 112
RALEIGH, NC
27613
919-571-3373
http://www.audiodesignsonline.com/index.htm


Klipsch
AUDIO VIDEO EXCELLENCE
8601-R GLENWOOD AVE.
RALEIGH , NC 27617
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Phone: 919-781-9906
Fax: 919-781-9904
Email: info@avxnc.com
Website: www.avxnc.com


WILEY SYSTEMS
602-D E. CHATHAM ST.
CARY , NC 27511
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Phone: 919-460-9900
Fax: 919-460-9722
Website: www.wileysystems.com



NEW WAVE SYSTEMS
2800 HIGHWOODS BLVD.
RALEIGH , NC 27604
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Phone: 919-878-8747
Fax: 919-878-8748



B&W
Audio Advice Inc
8621-117 Glenwood Ave,
Raleigh,
North Carolina 27617
Tel: (919) 881-2005
Fax: (919) 881-9750
Email: <mailto:>
Web: http://www.audioadvice.com




Definitive Technology
AUDIO DESIGNS
3721 LYNN RD SUITE 112
RALEIGH, NC
27613
919-571-3373
http://www.audiodesignsonline.com/index.htm


Polk
Find a Circuit City around you


Some that probably fall out of the list due to price include:
Martin Logan
Dynaudio
Vandersteen

Couldn't find dealers in your are for:
PSB


So, some further comments:
I TOTALLY agree that that the Center speaker is one of the most important speakers in any HT rig -- however, I chose to buy that one after the surrounds because a properly setup l/r speaker can image that center channel so that you might think you have a center channel. You can't get that same sensation without the surrounds though. However, I can see if you throw some "cheapies" in the back then buying the "real" center makes sense. Oh, and consider going with a regular vertical speaker for the center if you can as opposed to a toppled speaker. See here for a discussion of this issue.

Final thing -- and I know I may be beating a dead horse here, but I think you might be surprised at how low a bookshelf can go by itself. For example, the Studio 20 I referenced has a +/-2db range down to 54Hz. The Studio 60 (the first floorstanding speaker in the Studio series) goes only an additional 8Hz (i.e., 46hz) but costs close to twice as much (from what I could find online at least). You could buy an amazing SVS sub that will go down to below 20Hz for that stuff and still spend less. Add in the easier placement of a bookshelf and you can see why I continue to bring this up. Getting down low would (to me) be particularly important if your emphasis is going to be for movies and gaming, so a sat/sub combo makes more sense to me.

JCD

[Sonnie]

I would not exclude buying used speakers either. I purchased my Martin Logan's from Audiogon and got a great deal... otherwise I would never own them. I'm a firm believer in buying used since you can many times get nice gear for less than half of retail and it still be almost new. Just make sure who you buy from had quality ratings.

As JCD suggest... check out some of those local stores and have a listen. Those are all popular brands. While some of those may have models that will be out of your price range, if you find some you really like, the dealer may have demo models for less.... or you may find what you like and go back home and shop at Audigon for a used set.

[Ricci]

I agree with Sonnie. If used gear doesn't scare you you can find some killer deals on speakers. If you must have new stuff , most of the brands mentioned here already are solid.

Devil_909
What kind of system do you have now? What kind of music do you listen too?(I understand that this will be for movies and gaming ,but it can tell us some things about you) How loud do you regularly listen to your stuff?

Right now I just have a cheap sony premade set that I used when I was in college. As far as music goes, I listen to a fairly wide gambit of music (rock, classic rock, some rap, little techno, metal....). I used to do custom fiberglass work on cars for audio systems. So when it comes to how loud I like music, I would say that unless I can feel it rattling my body then its not loud enough .

[warpdrive]

The problem with floorstanders was pointed out with the post above. You pay a lot more for that extra MDF. And sometimes they aren't that much better sounding for their price. Because a bookshelf speaker may be more rigid, sometimes the bass quality of the smaller speaker is tighter and cleaner. By buying a floorstander and then later the sub, you are paying for the lower bass twice.

You are better buying a $600 bookshelf + $600 sub, which is WAY better for movies and games than any $1200 floorstander. If you had said you were listening to music, I'd suggest the floorstander, but with movies and games, it's a no brainer to go with a sub/sat combo. With a $600 sub, you can be hitting the subsonic <20Hz frequencies whereas there are few floorstanders anywhere near $1500 that can do a honest 25Hz. Trust me, if you want to be impressed with your moves, you want a sub right away, not later.

If you are set on a floorstander, you could also look for Energy RC series, they have the RC50 which would be in your price range. It's a very nice floorstander with good neutrality and is well suited to all uses (HT, Gaming, etc). If you added the center, and rears later along with a good sub from SVS or similar, you would have a good rounded system.

[MatrixDweller]

To fit into your budget I'd recommend (since I'm a Klipsch fan)

Onkyo TX-SR805 ~$750
Klipsch RB61 ~$450 pair (the RF52's are ~$300 each)
Klipsch RC62 ~$450
SVS PB12-NSD ~$600 (now or later)

Best advice is to get the best speakers you can, and one's that aren't going to be discontinued before you decide to buy the rears and surrounds. You would do better with bookshelves and a sub for games and home theater. It would also help keep you to your low budget.

You'll might find it difficult to get a quality receiver and speakers for $1500 unless you buy used. If you have to sacrifice one, sacrifice the receiver's quality since they depreciate in value a lot more. Maybe buy new speakers and a used receiver. You could get a Denon 3805 (no HDMI) for $300 +/- $50 on Ebay. Good speakers can easily last you 15 or more years whereas you'd probably be on your second or third receiver in that time.

[jackfish]

I know I probably haven't been much help up to this point, but I can offer a recent audition of 2007 Paradigm Titan Monitors and an SVS PB10-ISD subwoofer. A friend of mine recently added the sub and I was over for a listen and to do some EQ. Let's just say that these "bookshelves" and sub weren't lacking for much. Listen to the Paradigm Titan Monitors if you can.

[salvasol]

What about this http://www.hometheatershack.com/elec...3W1G&c=blended I think is a good price ... I can't not say anything about the sound .. yet.

Anyone have a comment on how they sound?

[salvasol]

Devil_909 wrote:

Anyone have a comment on how they sound?

If you're asking about the JBL ... I found this link http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=866797 ... I will take a look to find more information about them; I think the price is a bargain and I ordered a pair yesterday

Bets Buy had the JBL stage (smaller) ... I can't comment on the sound, but according to specifications I think they have to sound good ...

How do http://shop3.outpost.com/product/400...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG compare to the JBLs? Looks like a steal to me lol. And the JBL deal per pair or each? Any ideas on how those polks sound?

OH, and can towers be used as the back speakers also? The sale is so low that it makes grabbing 4 pretty cheap. Or I read up on http://www.svsound.com/products-spks-sbs01.cfm and may get the 5.0 series to fill out the rest of the system.

[salvasol]

Devil_909 wrote:

... can towers be used as the back speakers also? The sale is so low that it makes grabbing 4 pretty cheap

Yes, you can use towers as surround (there is couple of members using them) ...

I saw the Polk R50, but I didn't grab them mostly because of the color ... you need to add S+H ($50 in my case) and I think is a limited quantity ... If you can get them, Do it, is a good deal

Price of JBL is per speaker ... if you have a Best Buy near you try to audition them (they sell it for $250 each); they sound good to me but everybody has different taste, room size, equipment, etc... so they may not work for you

I listened to the Polk Monitor 50, 60 and 70 at my local Circuit City ... but not the R50 ... Sorry