Been away from here for awhile. I wanted to get some input on upgrading my system. Here is what I have so far. I havethe Sony KDSR-60XBR1 for television, Paradigm V5 Monitors, pair of titans and cc-290 up front and then a pair of mini monitors in back that I am using for surrounds. All of these are placed on stands. I was using the Onkyo 605 receiver, I just went and ordered the Arcam AVR600,which should be here soon. The speakers were fine for when I had my apartment.Now I am in a house and my stuff is set up in the basement. The room is about 20x20 with 8 foot ceilings. Need a sub also and was checking into SVS. Most of the time I am watching movies and tv and I also do some videogaming. Right now I have about $7000 to spend. What should I take a look at? Thanks for the help. John
Speaker Upgrade?
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$7k is quite a budget for fun money.
I'd focus on sources: Blu-ray, HD Cable/Dish, PS3, etc.
Also, if you haven't done any room treatments yet, definitely dive in their. Bryan from GIK offer much good advice in our acoustic forum and can hook you up with treatments that will look great in your room.
As for subs, $2-3K spent at SVS will get you beautifully acurate sound that will knock your house off it's foundation. Consider the Audyssey sub correction from SVS as well. It will help out with anything Bryan's room treatments can't.
I'd focus on sources: Blu-ray, HD Cable/Dish, PS3, etc.
Also, if you haven't done any room treatments yet, definitely dive in their. Bryan from GIK offer much good advice in our acoustic forum and can hook you up with treatments that will look great in your room.
As for subs, $2-3K spent at SVS will get you beautifully acurate sound that will knock your house off it's foundation. Consider the Audyssey sub correction from SVS as well. It will help out with anything Bryan's room treatments can't.
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8,112 Posts
Hello,
First off, excellent choice in AVR. The Arcam is an awesome receiver. At your budget, you have a great number of choices.
I would go audition as many speakers as possible. I personally use Martin Logan Vantages (main), Stage (Center), Vista (Surround), and Depth (Sub) and absolutely love them. I would give Martin Logan a listen. In addition, Focal, Paradigm Signature, B&W, PSB, M&K, and Revel. Just to name a few. There are many more worthy companies out there.
Speakers really make the biggest impact along with room acoustics. They are also very individualistic.
Auditioning as many as possible truly is the way to go. Ideally, in home.
Cheers,
JJ
First off, excellent choice in AVR. The Arcam is an awesome receiver. At your budget, you have a great number of choices.
I would go audition as many speakers as possible. I personally use Martin Logan Vantages (main), Stage (Center), Vista (Surround), and Depth (Sub) and absolutely love them. I would give Martin Logan a listen. In addition, Focal, Paradigm Signature, B&W, PSB, M&K, and Revel. Just to name a few. There are many more worthy companies out there.
Speakers really make the biggest impact along with room acoustics. They are also very individualistic.
Auditioning as many as possible truly is the way to go. Ideally, in home.
Cheers,
JJ
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704 Posts
Excellent advice above. I'll add that if you're investing that kind of money into your home theater, consider hiring a local consultant to come in and ring your room using an RTA to help you determine the best use of room treatments. And IMO there is no substitute for a genuine monitor calibration.
Good luck and as always, have fun!
Good luck and as always, have fun!
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5,423 Posts
I'll go the opposite of what most others have recommended so far. Sources are always changing and will need to be upgraded quite often. A good quality set of speakers will last many, many years. That is a pretty good sized room and will likely benefit greatly from some room treatments.
As for speakers;
You'll likely need some oomph in the subwoofer department. I think SVS is an excellent place to start, also look at HSU, JL Audio and possibly a DIY sub or IB set-up.
For your mains and surrounds I'd suggest a couple companies;
Snell Acoustics
Revel
RBH Sound
PSB Speakers
Dynaudio
Thiel Audio
Salk Sound
As for speakers;
You'll likely need some oomph in the subwoofer department. I think SVS is an excellent place to start, also look at HSU, JL Audio and possibly a DIY sub or IB set-up.
For your mains and surrounds I'd suggest a couple companies;
Snell Acoustics
Revel
RBH Sound
PSB Speakers
Dynaudio
Thiel Audio
Salk Sound
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8,112 Posts
Hello,
Nova, I like your recommendations as well. As I said, the ones I listed are just the tip of the iceberg.
We both recommended PSB's, which I love. I actually thought I had included Thiel in my list, but noticed that I had forgotten. My pair of CS 1.5's were my first audiophile grade speakers and will always hold a special place in my heart.
Unfortunately, Thiel's are now so expensive that it would be hard to get 5 channels of them for under 7K.
But, they are amazing speakers. There is something magical about first order crossovers provided you have good amplification.
Cheers,
JJ
Nova, I like your recommendations as well. As I said, the ones I listed are just the tip of the iceberg.
We both recommended PSB's, which I love. I actually thought I had included Thiel in my list, but noticed that I had forgotten. My pair of CS 1.5's were my first audiophile grade speakers and will always hold a special place in my heart.
Unfortunately, Thiel's are now so expensive that it would be hard to get 5 channels of them for under 7K.
But, they are amazing speakers. There is something magical about first order crossovers provided you have good amplification.
Cheers,
JJ
Joined
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8,112 Posts
Hello,
Good points Mark. Now if that budget was applied to preowned speakers, the OP might be able to pull off dual pairs of CS 2.4's and a SCS4 to act as a Center Channel. That would be a sick setup. I have been seriously considering selling my Martin Logans and going back to Thiels.
Cheers,
JJ
Good points Mark. Now if that budget was applied to preowned speakers, the OP might be able to pull off dual pairs of CS 2.4's and a SCS4 to act as a Center Channel. That would be a sick setup. I have been seriously considering selling my Martin Logans and going back to Thiels.
Cheers,
JJ
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8,112 Posts
Hello,
If you would give us your zip code, I can look at Audiogon and a couple other places. You could end up with an amazing speaker array.
Cheers,
JJ
If you would give us your zip code, I can look at Audiogon and a couple other places. You could end up with an amazing speaker array.
Cheers,
JJ
Joined
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8,112 Posts
Hello,
Well, this is the first thing that came up:http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1262580957&/Paradigm-Studio-100-V3-In-Blac
Studio 100 V3's are excellent speakers and would be an excellent starting point. Since he is local pickup only, I bet you could talk him down to a grand.
Here is a link to the Stereophile review:http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/105paradigm/
If you pieced together the other 3 channels, that would leave you with a huge budget to get an absolutely monster subwoofer. Something like a JL Audio F113, or Martin Logan Descent i, or Epik, etc...
Cheers,
JJ
Well, this is the first thing that came up:http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1262580957&/Paradigm-Studio-100-V3-In-Blac
Studio 100 V3's are excellent speakers and would be an excellent starting point. Since he is local pickup only, I bet you could talk him down to a grand.
Here is a link to the Stereophile review:http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/105paradigm/
If you pieced together the other 3 channels, that would leave you with a huge budget to get an absolutely monster subwoofer. Something like a JL Audio F113, or Martin Logan Descent i, or Epik, etc...
Cheers,
JJ
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