Dealer Recommended System for a Newbie
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| hi all, i am a really green newbie. a dealer is trying to sell me the following system for a 11x17 room. any comments or opinions would be HUGELY appreciated. thank you very much ... --- JVC RX-7030VBK --- JVC DVD XV-N44SL --- MNC CUBE SPEAKERS --- JBL S-CENTER --- JBL SUBWOOFER PB-10 all to go with a HITACHI LCD TV 50V500A |
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Hawk | Green: Do you actually like this system? That is the key--get a system that you will enjoy listening to it. Otherwise what is the point? If you like the sound a lot and it is in your budget, I say get it. It is not, however, what I would choose. What is your budget? |
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| Hawk - thank you SO much for responding! i live in a VERY remote area. the store is 2 hours drive from here and very small. i have not listened to the setup at all. the last time i bought a receiver was when Carver came out with his first one. i do not currently have a surround sound system at all. everything i have is very old and outdated. if i wasn't working 7 days a week and if i had the time, i probably would gravitate toward becoming a real audiophile. i seem to be ultra sensitive to sound and vision/color. i am constantly fussing with controls to try to get things "right." i seem to be very sensitive to lack of separation and muddy sounds. but i am also sensitive to overly bright, as well as thin/tinny sound. so i'm putting my old mitsubishi 43" out to pasture (the picture quality has really weakened) and i'm finally going to surround sound. budget-wise, i do not want to splurge. but at the same time, am willing to pay enough not to hate/regret my purchase. i'm looking for a price point that is "good enough" as opposed to the best currently available, but yet one that will be acceptable to my ear. so i am wondering about the quality of what this dealer recommended -- is it real low-end stuff that i likely will hate ? or is it average and probably good enough for primarily HT use ? thank you (all) for any comments. i really love where i live ... except when it comes to making purchases like this. i truly need all the help/insight i can find. |
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Railbait | Green, I think you need to state some dollar amount. What is the dealer quoting you on the setup you list? Does that include the TV? This group is awesome, but they need some ballpark figures. $500, $1000, $10,000 or more? Let them know what your budget is? I've learned tons in the few weeks I've been lurking here. I'm sure you will too.  |
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| Railbait, thank you for your input. i definitely plan to "live" in this BBS for a while. the info is priceless. OK re/the prices. here goes: --- JVC RX-7030VBK --------- $ 266.00 --- JVC DVD XV-N44SL --------- 134.00 --- MNC CUBE SPEAKERS ------- 399.00 --- JBL S-CENTER -------------- 213.00 --- JBL SUBWOOFER PB-10 ----- 249.00 --- HITACHI LCD TV 50V500A - 3,081.00 |
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Hawk | Green: This is why I love this board--the chance to help someone who isn't in a position to really help himself. OK, you live in a remote area and are 2 hours away from an audio store, so you can't really listen and even if you could, you don't really have any choices to speak of. That is a tough situation, but I believe I can help you. I hope you aren't in Canada, though, because what I am going to suggest goes out the window if you are. I will not opine on the TV as I haven't seen it, but on the suggested audio gear, it is really second rate, at best. The JVC receiver is not terribly articulate (it is rather bright sounding and the sound is somewhat "muddled" as it doesn't do a very good job of resolving the sound from digital sources), and the speakers are meant for a computer set-up, not a hi-fi system, so they don't have much detail either (BTW, I priced them at $126.47, not $399!). The JBLs are known for volume but not musical accuracy or detail, either. All in all, the dealer's suggested system looks like "odds and ends" to me. It isn't terribly well matched to provide a seamless soundstage whether for stereo or HT. I appreciate that you don't want to splurge here, but let me suggest something I guarantee will sound much better and even save you a few bucks. First, call Saturday Audio Excange (www.saturdayaudio.com) and get an NAD 742 receiver with an NAD 512 DVD/CD player, which are paired in a closeout combo for $598 while they still have them. That covers your receiver and DVD player. Then, go to the One Call website (www.onecall.com) and get the One Call Home Theater Package which consists of five matched NHT SuperZero speakers with a Phase Tech Power 8 subwoofer for $589.90. My system actually saves you $73 as its total price is only $1188, and is a real Home Theater system that you can enjoy for years. Here is the link to the One Call HT Package FYI: http://ww1.onecall.com/PID_18153.htm The NHTs are as small as the MNC speakers, but with so much more accuracy and detail you will not believe it. They were originally designed as stand-alone stereo mini-monitors and they have the kind of detail that you usually only get with speakers costing at least four time what these speakers cost. They were recently discontinued by the manufacturer, but while in production, they were on the Recommended Components List by Stereophile Magazine (a very exclusive list) for five straight years. The NAD receiver is a vast improvement over the JVC receiver in that the sound is warmer, cleaner and much more articulate. In fact, I would suggest that the NAD receiver is better than any other sub-$1K receiver (non-NAD brand) in terms of detail and accuracy. It does not have a lot of the whiz-bang tricks that receiver makers seem to want to include on most receivers, but the sound is lovely and so much better than the sound from a mass market receiver maker. The NAD 512 DVD/CD player is also much better than the JVC DVD player, particualarly with the sound from either DVDs or CDs. Many of the audio equipment mass market types want you to believe that all digital sound is alike, but I am here to tell you that it isn't and the difference is noticeable. So, add this system to your Hitachi TV (saving $73 as well), and you are all set with a great system. I hope this helps. Good luck! |
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| Hawk ! W O W !!!! this is the kind of info i was so deperately hoping for. i'm going to order the components you suggested today ! an afterthought ... should i also be getting any special cables ? if so, do you have a recommendation of what and where to purchase ? thank you SO very much for your kindness and generosity in taking the time to help someone like me. without someone like you, there really just isn't much hope for someone in my situation. i wish i could return the favor. well, i'll at least take some solace in knowing that what you give, you always get back, ... so you have some real overjoyment coming your way ! |
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John A. | GN, No-one is licensed to speak for Hawk, but I think a lot of the pleasure here for Hawk and many others is when people take the trouble to post back and say what they found out, and heard, for themselves. Then you stop being "just" a GreenNewbie and can share what you know, too, so others can learn and benefit. Hawk's suggested system is excellent and I predict it will sound incomparably better than the one made up as per your preliminary list. As regards cables, I have come to the conclusion that the "Achilles heel" of NAD receivers (at least mine) is sensitivity to hum induced by electomagnetic fields, and you would do well to pay attention to well-screened interconnect cables, particularly for the digital audio connections, and the sub-woofer cable. Then there is no problem at all, and NAD are desirable because they are the best of the bunch. These cables need not be expensive; 75 Ohm, co-axial, screened, digital audio cables are perfectly OK even if they are "generic" and not from a recognised brand; same with TOSlink (optical) if that is what you prefer (there really is no difference between digital co-ax and optical as regards sound sound). Speaker cables are not so critical because they do not radiate or pick up interference, though you need reasonable gauge (thickness) - there are other posts here on this topic. |
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Railbait | I had a feeling Hawk would rise to the challenge. Good job, Hawk! Green, please review your system for us after you set it up. I am about to purchase new equipment also. This board has been very informative. My eyes are set on an NAD T762 and a set of MMG's. (Merry Christmas to me) I just need to hear the NAD first. The two closest dealers to me are by appointment only. The first one hasn't called back and it's been a week, so on to number two. I've heard the H/K 325, 525, and 1001, Rotel 1065 and a Marantz. The Rotel was the nicest but a bit more than I'd like to spend, especially if the T762 is as good as the reviews. |
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Paul T | Green, You can take what Hawk advises as the best advise available here, he is as well informed as anyone here and is always honest to a fault. He is an invaluable person here and his help is priceless.. As for the Hitachi TV, I did some extensive research on HDRPTV's and found a couple points you may want to look into. The best high definition LCD rear projection TV's out there are Hitachi, Sony and Panasonic so you did well in your choice but I would also look into Samsung's DLP (digital light projection TV). I went with the Samsung over the others for a couple reasons. 1) DLP seems to me to be a much better picture 2) No worry about dead pixels (LCD TVs are prone to have pixels get stuck on one color which can only be remedied by replacing the screen, a very expensive job). 3) No worry of burn in on DLP sets. Granted DLP's will cost a bit more but if you have a Circuit City near you they will haggle a bit and you can get one for close to the price of the Hitachi.. Again like audio equipment it is all in the user, the Hitachi may just look better to you then the Samsung.. just something you might look into... |
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GreenNewbie | Railbait - thanks for the encouragement. i appreciate it. i will definitely review the system. now comes the hard part -- waiting ! |
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GreenNewbie | Paul T ... thanks for the support. i was also interested in the Samsung DLP after reading the series at www.extremeTech.com. frankly, i still am interested and have not totally decided on the LCD. i saw the hitachi and samsung side-by-side at a sears. i agree that the samsung had a little better look. but i was not sure it warranted the price difference for me. also, i had heard some things about the DLP re/being ultra sensitive and easily going out of adjustment. and that bulb replacement was expensive and relatively sooner than with other technologies. without any real, significant track records for either, it is a tough call, i think. |
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Paul T | Never heard any issues about "going out of adjustments", not sure what that means since the picture is sent via mirrors on a Texas Instrument chip, there is no adjustment there.. As for the lamp, it is the same for LCD, both LCD and DLP have lamp lives of approx. 8,000 hours and both can be replaced by you or I. Really not trying to push you in DLP direction just giving you the facts as I know them.. Also the price is higher but as I said if you have a Circuit City near you they are willing to deal more then a Sears or Best Buy, I got my 43" Samsung for under $3000.. Just have to be firm, polite and have lower prices from other dealers online or local with you, also every so often they run a 10% off deal with they're credit (also Sears is running the 10% off deal and Circuit City will beat that price).. Either way you won't lose, happy hunting Green.. |
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John A. | Small comment on TVs. At my local NAD/Denon/B&W/Loewe/etc dealer I enquired about DLP TVs on Friday and the guy had barely heard of them and says they have no plans to stock any; there are starting to move over to plasma and LCD from CRT. Yet the Samsung is available in more down-market shops from an audio point of view. I don't know what this means. It's just Europe again, I guess. |
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