OK, so the salesmans says, "This is just what you need..."

 

New member
Username: Timwhite

Post Number: 1
Registered: Mar-06
I just moved and all my relatively worthless gear stayed with the old home. I'm starting over. Here's what's been speced for me. I'm posting here to hopefully get feedback from some of the "Heavy Metal" guys here (not music "heavy metal", I mean user rating on this forum...silver, gold, platinum, plutonium, etc.) or others with sufficient knowledge. Mostly I just want opinions as to whether all this gear really "fits" together and that I'll be getting good value. The system is going into the family room of my new home which is open to the kitchen, dining room, etc. (I don't have a dedicated theater room). I also have 2 other areas in the home (Master Bed and Patio) that have speakers already installed and I want to Multi-Source to these (2 zones is fine, 3 would be better.) Oh, and my wife wants at least 5 CD changer capability. Also, 5.1 surround is fine, as the room is already pre-wired for 5.1 (although the woofer is right up next to the TV area).

Here is what they speced:

AVR - Denon 3806
DVD - Denon 2910
CD Changer Denon DCM280(5 disk CD changer)
HDTV - Sony KDS-R60XBR1
Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD DVR Cablebox(via CoxCable in AZ)
Three (3) Polk Audio LC65I (A) 6.5" in wall
Two (2) Polk Audio LC80I (A) 8.0" in ceiling
One (1) Velodyne SPL1000RB 10" long throw woofer

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm stupid at this stuff and I just want to make sure I'm not making any high $ mistakes here... Thoughts?
 

Silver Member
Username: Chitown

Post Number: 814
Registered: Apr-05
The only thing I would strongly disagree with would be the CD changer. Generally they suck. I would go with a single high end CD player either Marantz or Rotel (get a used one if you don't want to spend too much).

I'm generally not too keen on Polk Audio, but I don't know that particular model and if it sounded good to you go with it.

As for the subwoofer take a look at HSU sub's. It's mail order only. Take the size of your room into consideration for both you the speaker and the sub. If your room is really big go with something better.




 

New member
Username: Timwhite

Scottsdale, AZ

Post Number: 2
Registered: Mar-06
Thanks for taking the time to answer me. I agree on the CD changer, but I need to stay married. My wife wants to "put in 4 or 5 CD's and listen to 'em all day long." I figured I could use the 2910 DVD player as a quality CD player for me. I'm pretty sure I can do that, right?

The salesman told me not to worry that the Denon AVR3806 only passed 480i through to the SONY HDTV, as this model Sony upconverts(?)everything it gets to its native 1080p. Does that ring true to you? I was thinking maybe it would be better to just wire the SONY directly from the HMDI output on the Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD DVR Cable Box, as it has a HDMI output, and just pass the audio from the cable box to the receiver. Maybe I could do the same thing with the DVD player? Am I thinking correctly on this?
 

Silver Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 775
Registered: Feb-04
I figured I could use the 2910 DVD player as a quality CD player for me. I'm pretty sure I can do that, right?

Yes, you can. There is a cadre of audiophiles on this forum who argue against changers for quality CD music reproduction. However, few of them are using an AVR and I can guarantee you none of them are using in wall speakers. You'll be fine.

The salesman told me not to worry that the Denon AVR3806 only passed 480i through to the SONY HDTV, as this model Sony upconverts(?)everything it gets to its native 1080p. Does that ring true to you?

Just about all quality fixed-pixel HDTVs have some sort of propriatary upscaling system, but that doesn't mean it can perform miracles. That said, there is nothing wrong with feeding the HDMI signals to the receiver and then out to the TV. The salesman is wrong about the 480i part. The Denon AVR will pass through exactly what it's fed: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i. And with no signal degradation. If you feel better going directly to the TV's two HDMI ports, that's OK too. You can then run digital audio from the DVD and cable box into the AVR.
 

Silver Member
Username: Chitown

Post Number: 816
Registered: Apr-05
Tim if your wife would like to play continuous music you may want to consider this instead

http://www.ubid.com/actn/opn/getpage.asp?AuctionId=800564547

This is a pretty good deal on a digital audio server that will take the hassel out of putting CD's in and out and will give you the ability to pick and choose what you want to play for as long as will fit in 80G hard drive.

This way you won't have to worry about most of the components that go into a good CD player such as the high end power supply, drivers etc. that also make for a really good CD player.


 

Bronze Member
Username: Mccambley

BREEZY POINT, NY USA

Post Number: 80
Registered: Jun-05
Tim: The denon's are great equipment the sony TV is wonderful and will upconvert everything fed to it up to 1080p, but as John S. has said don't expect miracles from standard cable. The Polk speakers are the weak link. You need to upgrade the speakers to brands like Paradigm,Speaker Craft,PSB and others Check out this link from Hometheatermag.com http://www.hometheatermag.com/inwallspeakers/
 

Bronze Member
Username: Stevizard

Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Post Number: 31
Registered: Aug-05
Tim,

Good advice from all. Another speaker to check out is the RBH Sound In-walls. The drivers are aluminum and will outperform anything in their price range.

I'm including a link to the site. If you want to see their other in-walls, just click Speaker Types, then click in-walls and select a model number.

Steve

Upload
Upload
Upload
 

Bronze Member
Username: Stevizard

Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Post Number: 32
Registered: Aug-05
Sorry, forgot to add the URL

http://www.rbhsound.com/si6100.shtml

Steve
 

New member
Username: Timwhite

Scottsdale, AZ

Post Number: 3
Registered: Mar-06
I am amazed at the participation level of this site. Thank you John, Stof, Casey and Steve for taking the time to share your knowledge. Having only been on this site a few days I can see that a TON of total neophytes like myself must ask the same banal questions over and over every day. The fact that you and others like you take the time to answer, and with such clarity and completeness is amazing. Kudos to all.
 

New member
Username: Timwhite

Scottsdale, AZ

Post Number: 4
Registered: Mar-06
I looked online at some of the speaker recommendations. The SpeakerCraft Starlet 4 looked interesting. If I went with something like that, what would I mate with it for the center channel, woofer and in-ceiling rears (5.1)?
 

Silver Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 776
Registered: Feb-04
Obviously in wall speakers have come a long way in a few short years. My limited experience with ribbon tweeters has been positive. I'd love to hear them! Is there a way to audition them?

http://www.hometheatermag.com/inwallspeakers/605speakercraft/
 

Bronze Member
Username: Mccambley

BREEZY POINT, NY USA

Post Number: 84
Registered: Jun-05
Tim you could use a Starlet 4 as a center channel on a horizontal above the big sony, and a pair of Aim LCR on walls for the surrounds or round ceiling speakers. For the sub you do not have to use a SpeakerCraft sub any high end sub will do Sunfire,Velodyne,Hsu research, B&W,Paradigm, Outlaw audio.
« Previous Thread Next Thread »



Main Forums

Today's Posts

Forum Help

Follow Us