Hi, I am just starting out and wanted to setup a home theater system. Something that is upgradeable, but sounds good NOW and is still affordable. I'd like to get it all for around the very modest budget of $1200-1500. Here are some of the components I have been looking at. I will have a small/medium sized listening space with standard ceiling height. I listen to rock music most of the time and watch a lot of movies. Thus, I am not really interested in how a component sounds with jazz or classical. Like anyone else, I need my system to excel at the things I listen to.
Receiver - I've heard excellent things about Denon, Onkyo, NAD and Marantz, and I believe I will stick to one of these four brands. Are there any other brands worth considering? Not a big fan of Yamaha and other brands' brightness. I like a good neutral sound, but also need to be able to crank it up. Not deafeningly loud, just loud enough to thoroughly enjoy my movies.
Speakers - I have read strong reviews about the Athena AS-F2's. Went to Best Buy to give them a listen despite the warnings on this and other forums about that. What a waste of time. I think they had the speakers miswired as the bass response was awful, worse than the Athena AS-B1 bookshelf. If you know anything about the AS-F2, you'll know that it draws rave reviews for its bass response. Needless to say, whether it was the fault of the wiring or the Yamaha that was driving it, I did not have an opportunity to hear these speakers properly. I have considered Magnepans, but don't know if they will fit in with my music tastes. How do they handle rock at loud volumes? I have also considered old budget favorites Epos, PSB and Paradigm. Any others worth exploring?
DVD - I have little success in researching a good budget DVD player. Any good sources for research? Recommendations?
Sub - Considering Velodyne, Hsu and SVS. Would it be better to get one of these subs or one that matches with the pair of front speakers I get? Will a sub be even necessary if I get a pair of fronts with excellent bass response like the AS-F2's?
Here's a quick 'n' dirty way to get a kickass system: go back to B*S* Buy and check out the Athena .5 system. The whole thing - front pair, center and surrounds is $199 this week. Double that if you want a sub (and with this system you will). They start out bright but they smooth out a little as they break in. Great imaging and detail. For separates, Paradigm Titans make a great "front pair" - I've had mine for six years now and find they're a great all around speaker.
For a receiver: in addition to the brands you mention, you may try a Harman Kardon - lots of folks like the mellower sound, which will match well with the Athenas. (Any combination of Athenas should work nicely with an HK.) And don't let the power ratings fool you - HK is known for underrating their stuff. If you wanna go really cheap, order a refurb direct from their website or their eBay store.
DVD: Panasonic used to make really good budget players but they claim to have lost a lot of money doing it, so they've cheaped out on componentry. I'll leave a more complete answer to another pro.
For subs, each company you named specializes in subs (but Hsu now has an entire HT package), so it's hard to imagine how you could go wrong with any of them. Matching a sub with speakers is less critical than matching, say, fronts with a center or a center with surrounds. And for your budget, the best way to get deep, satisfying bass from floor speakers will still probably be a sub.
- telecommander
PS: Agreed on BS being a lousy place to audition. I was just at my local one tonight and virtually NONE of their subs was working. As opposed to last time, when you wanted to hear Athenas and you got Sonies instead! So I guess in a weird way they're improving.
AdamVerducci
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Great advice, telecom. What do you think of having small bookshelves and a sub instead of the Athenas? Musically, the Epos ELS-3, PSB Alpha and Paradigm Titan can match or better the quality of the Athena AS-F2, sans the bass. Of course, the low end will be taken care of by a separate sub. My question is do you think the smaller bookshelves can handle the high volume necessary for home theater? I have a pair of old PSB Alphas right now and I love them, but I wouldn't use them for HT simply because I don't think they can handle the stress of being blasted all day. Maybe it's just a stupid quirk of mine, but I don't think speakers of that size are designed for HT. Bigger speakers like the Athenas? Yes, I think they were designed for it. Smaller speakers like satellites? Yes, I also think they were designed for it as they only have to handle midrange and highs. However, it seems to me that the bookshelves in question are kind of in between - very capable at normal listening levels but maybe strainted at very high listening levels. Thoughts?
Given my budget and my desire to have current technology (i.e. new equipment that will be compatible with technology 5 years from now), I've ruled out Marantz and NAD as they are too expensive and they would require me to get a second hand, and a potentially out of date, model.
Do you think my money is better spent on gettung a pair of sub-$300 bookshelves and a big fat sub like a budget Hsu or Velodyne for $400, or getting a pair of floorstandings like the Athenas that can handle the bass by themselves? Three Epos' across the front would cost roughly $550 plus a $400 sub. The Athenas across the front would be roughly $580, but require a lesser sub or none at all. Obviously I want to get the most bang for my buck, but I also want to have speakers and components that can grow with my system. Any comments?
maxxy54
Unregistered guest
Posted on
IMHO the Epos' will be well worth your money if you listen to a lot of music also.
I think the Epos+sub combo makes sense for home theater. The Athenas will not go low enough by themselves to get the low-end rumbling on many soundtracks. All of the bookshelf speakers you're considering are quality products and can definitely play loud enough for HT in a small to medium sized room driven by a sufficiently powered receiver. Later when you go full surround, you could move the small speakers to the rear and get floorstanders up front and get the best of both worlds.
One thing about the Epos EL-3. I believe they are 4 ohm speakers (I may be wrong), but you should check so that you select a receiver that can drive them.
Good advice happening here. Want some more? Check out Boston Acoustics at Tweeter if there's one around you. They're killing off all the Boston lines excpet for in-walls, and some speakers are going for as much as half off. The CR series speakers like I just got are very nice, and so was the deal: $825 for $1450 worth of speakers. My floorstanders (CR95s) go down to 40 Hz but the sub takes the bottom down to 29 Hz. If you're really serious, you'll need a sub for any speaker, floor or shelf, that can't go below about 30 Hz on its own. Plus, having a sub means better sound all around since the sub's amp is dong all the low frequency work, rather than the receiver's.
And speaking of receivers, my new one is a Denon AVR-1604. Kind of entry-level, but there's some good stuff: it's 6.1, has the usual array of optical, S-Video and component inputs, and a 5.1 wideband (100 KHz) input. I got it for $299. A step up to the 1804 gets you a couple more inputs (one is a phono) and 90 watts per channel sted 75. And it's dual-zone. Should set you back about $400 or so, depending on where you get it.
Keep us in tune with what you end up doing, and if you get a Denon, let me know how you like yours.
AdamVerducci
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Okay, so now I've added a couple of more to the list. Here's the short list of speakers I'm considering for my fronts:
I added the PSB Images to the fray because of the great deals I've seen on them. I imagine those PSB Image 4T's must be one of the best floorstanding speakers under $400 ($399). Anyone heard these? Is it worth the extra $150 to go from the 2B's to the 4T's, bearing in mind that I'm getting a sub to cover the low end anyway? Right now, it looks like $350 for receiver, $300 for sub and $600-800 for the 5 speakers. I have a set of PSB Alphas and a 2 channel Denon receiver right now that I'm getting rid of. They've served me well, but I was hoping to step it up a notch with my next system...not just get the newer models of the same stuff pretty much. Can anyone think of anything they'd be better than a Denon/PSB combo on my budget?
Adam, all your speakers look like good choices. If you do the Paradigm thing, you might think about getting Titans up front and Atoms for the surrounds - that's what I had in my old setup, along with a CC-170 center.
Haven't heard the others, so I can't blindly recommend 'em. Just remember (and forgive me for rehashing what you might already know): we can recommend all the speakers we want to you, but you have to live with our choices if you just listen to us. Listen to the speakers and you're guaranteed to like what you end up with.