Well, I've moved into a new, loft apartment, and I'd like to install a new Stereo / A/V setup. I was wondering if i could get some feedback from some of you.
The missions are still in good shape, but don't have the extra bass that i'd like(of course these are bookshelf speakers, so I can't expect much here), but i do appreciate how warm they sound. Also, I'm pretty sure the Sanyo receiver is a bad match (duh, low-end 5.1 HT receiver powering 2 stereo speakers ?), and it doesn't seem to be working properly as it is always reporting 'overload', even when the volume is turned way down. Both the Missions and Sanyo were cheap, Craigslist finds, so I am not partial to either component.
For video, I have the following:
Samsung 46 inch 1080p LCD TV Samsung BD-P1400 Blu-Ray player Scientific Atlanta HD PVR
My apartment is an 820 sq.ft. corner loft, with giant windows covering 2 of the walls, concrete ceilings, and wood-over-concrete floors. The little that I have learned about home audio, I understand that my apartment's acoustics are, in a word, lousy. That said, I'm hoping that, if I choose my components wisely, I can still get some good sound out of my setup. I'm looking to get the best sound for a budget of under $1500 (that's my whole audio budget, for receiver and speakers, although it's somewhat flexible if I find I can get significantly better sound for a little bit over this amount).
If you can imagine the floorplan of my loft as a big rectangle, I plan to put my TV in one corner of the loft, such that I'm watching it from across one of the shorter sides of the rectangle, and my computer would be placed against one of the longer walls right in the middle of the loft.
I am a huge music fan. I listen to everything: Jazz, Rock, Hip-Hop, Country, Classical, Electronica. As such, reproduction of music is the first priority for the system. I realize that an iMac is not an ideal music source, but most of my mp3's are 320kbps, and the sound quality seems to be pretty good.
I am still learning what i like and dislike in stereo sound, but as a frame of reference, i *really* enjoyed the warm sound of Quad L stereo speakers (paired with the Quad L Sub) i listened to at a local store, but i found them a bit expensive. (the sub alone was $1400). What i did like about them was how well-separated each instrument in the recording (an MP3 CD) was, and how warm the speakers sounded. With the SUb, there was great bass as well. Problem is, this was in a controlled listening room, not a windows-and-concrete loft.
So far as HT goes, it would be nice to have a 5.1 channel setup for my TV, but The larger priority is to have great stereo sound that will fill the entire apartment. This is key: I really want the sound to fill my entire apartment, and not just be localized in the TV area.
My computer will be in the middle of my apartment, so my dilemma is as follows: how do I get great, apartment-filling stereo sound from the music on my computer, if the rest of my A/V setup will be in a corner of the apartment?
It seems the obvious choice is to get a dedicated stereo amp and speaker setup for the middle of my apartment, and then buy a fairly inexpensive HTIB setup for my TV area, but I'm really not sure.
Sorry for the long post, but any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time!