Help with home entertainment system (especially speakers)

in speakers you only need one word...

Klipsch

learn it, love it

 

Sound quality. I bought a packaged deal from Best Buy around Christmas 2006. It was the Klipsch Quintet III, Klipsch 10" subwoofer, and yamaha reciever for 899.99 which was a great deal at the time.

I was also looking for something similar for a medium sized apartment. I marvel at those speakers everyday. Do some research, you will NOT be dissappointed.

 

Receiver:

Be mindful of space/ventilation. Onkyos run hot but the 805's particularly have had overheating issues in the past, if memory serves.

Speakers,

What is your total budget? Generally speaking, HTIB, packaged deals are worse as far as quality goes.

Further, if you do not insist on 5.1 it might actually be better to consider 4.1 as opposed to 3.1. If you have good enough fronts, you can simulate a center that can often sound better than many centers. There are a lot of centers out there that sound boxy and thin and thus hurt you in the long run. And, of course, the fewer speakers your receiver has to drive the better what you have will perform.

Speakers are very subjective, though and the best thing to do is audition them yourself if you can. From what you posted, I would avoid Polk. They were good in the early days but they have watered themselves down so much over the years to become mainstream that now they are fairly pointless (in my mind). You can go to Tweeter, though, to hear some for yourself.

But give me a budget, rough size of your room, and any size preferences or restrictions and I will try to give specific suggestions. Also, if you have any idea what your percentage breakdown will be as far as music/games/movies that can make a difference.

PS - Klipsch are a very divisive speaker. Their sound is love/hate. I hate.

 

Denon makes some killer recievers, Klipsch, Speakercraft or proficient make nice speakers

 

I'm about to buy a new system for my medium sized living room. This is what I was looking at, might be worth checking it Rockets03. Or, I'd love to here from others if there is a reason I shouldn't be getting this. I don't want to spend over $700 for receiver/speakers.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Deno...98731/catOid/-13325/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

 

if u don't want to spend too much, b&w speakers are the best option

 

Honestly, I think you have too much of an imbalance regarding receiver/speakers. It won't matter that the 805 has Dolby and DTS HD if it is coming out of poor speakers. Your HD movie watching/game play will be a bit wasted as far as the sound goes.

So if you stay with the 805 to "future proof" your HD experience, then I would suggest either spending more on speakers or buying an even smaller setup and then adding as you go along. What I meant earlier by 4.1 applies to 2.1 as well - you don't use a center speaker at all, you just set up your receiver to run Dolby or DTS 5.1 through your 2.1 setup and it simulates having a center. The sound is often way better than having a cheap, boxy center. The only advantage a center always has over simulating is if you watch TV way off axis - then the dialog might not position correctly with the people on the screen. The solution to this, of course, is not to watch tv at an angle and instead sit in front of it.

I would have suggested just buying a pair of $300 bookshelf speakers (Axiom, PSB, Paradigm Atom), but you like movies and games so would want a sub. That would add another $150-200 or so for a good entry level one.

So, I would suggest trying something internet-direct. You can't hear before you buy, but return policies are usually decent. Something like this perhaps:

Onix X-IS ($358)

 

Unless you are always running the "true" HD audio codecs, then HDMI outputs are not a big deal and can often be a better picture when not run through a receiver (less electrical interference). So generally, it is better to run audio and video separate.

 

Good, (somewhat) affordable speaker brands:

B&W
Paradigm (I love mine)
NHT
Mission
PSB
Klipsch
Monitor Audio
Definitive Technology
Sonus Faber

JUST DO NOT BUY BOSE!

 

Paradigm and Klipsch have the most range and bang for the buck for any budget. Trouble is you have to find them from authorized dealers, although you can get Klipsch from their website online. Paradigm will not allow online sales.(try to get them anywhere online but auction sites).

I have had a front 3 speaker trio of Paradigm for 7 years now. I have 4 kids and they have taken the beatings from them like a champ. That said, I am interested in getting new ones, but only because their appearance is not that great(darned kids).


As an aside about the rear speakers, you can run them under the carpet to the rear, provided you could get some long rods that you could use to "fish" the wire thru. You could also run them along the ceiling. They even make some speaker wires that are flat that you can paint.

 

Truer words were never spoken.

 

Best Buy has the Klipsch Quintet SL speakers. They are a little bit of an upgrade from the Quintet III in terms of center channel.

They sound nice, especially for the price.

If you get the SLs, a Yamaha received and a Klipsch 10 or 12 inch sub, you save $300 off the entire package.

If you want more than 2 passthrough HDMI inputs, be prepared to shell out a lot more money for the receiver. Most receivers only have 2.

 

the b@w speakers aren't cheap. but they are excellent. I thought about the low end ones for my place.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_9_1/b&w-series-300-speakers-1-2002.html

 

Which Paradigms do you own? I have Monitor 9s for my fronts, CC-350 for my center channel, and a pair of Mini-Monitors for rears. (Plus, I had a pair of Atoms that I gave to my parents.) I love my setup. You can't beat Paradigm for value.

I hope to one day upgrade to some Martin Logan speakers. Sure, electrostatic speakers are big, but damn do they sound incredible.