Looking for advice

[DAGTA]

Hi Everyone,
I'm looking to get a new setup for my home. At this time, I'm thinking of buying a receiver, two floor speakers and a sub. I have a cheap HTIB set of speakers and I think I can re-use some of them for surround and center speakers.

Usage: mostly music (radio). I also listen to audio books on mp3s. I'd like to listen to more mp3s via the receiver with the right setup. I occasionally watch movies and TV, but my usage for the receiver and speakers is probably 1. Music. 2. Video games. 3. Movies and TV. I care more about the music sounding good than movies sounded good, if that helps. I'm not an audiophile and probably would not be able to tell the difference between two different high end speakers or receivers.

In terms of receivers, I'd like to get something that can play mp3s from USB, has a network connection (wireless would be nice), maybe built in HD Radio support, and will work with plenty of HDMI devices and a few legacy devices such as my Wii. The Wii is connected via a component cable.

As far as budget, it's somewhat open. I'm not looking to go super high end and spend 40,000 on speakers, but I'm not opposed to spending $1000 or even $2000 on a set of speakers if they are worth it.

Newegg has the Pioneer SC-1222-K receiver on sale for $599 today ($500 off). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882117412

I haven't been able to find any detailed reviews on that receiver, though.

For the floor speakers, I've seen some deals come and go with Fry's Electronics, but I know too little to know if I'm getting a deal or not.

Same situation with the sub-woofer.

The room / house: open floor plan, tile floor, vaulted ceilings.

Finally, is there much of a different in cable? Would the 'better' cable from monoprice be good enough?

Any other information that may be helpful?

Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it!

 

[DAGTA]

Fry's has the JBL ES80s on sale and they're still in stock near me.

http://www.frys.com/product/6181379?...%20date:092112

Stock #6181379 in case that link doesn't work.

 

[fralexandr]

audio equipment is one of the harder things to recommend, as musical taste is highly subjective (as can be seen by people's varied tastes in musical genre).
the jbls you linked to seem pretty good. Have you listened to them in store?
a review of the ES80
you should go to the audio test room (they should have one, right?) and ask the sales reps if you can listen to some of the units.

One of the biggest pros of going with a pioneer receiver is the Class D/T amp. It offers higher energy efficiency than the more common A/B amp used by denon/onkyo/yamaha. This results in less heat output, which has many benefits to it, although theoretically A/B amps provide more accurate audio (not noticeable in practice).

on the low end:
one of THE biggest frys deals for floorstanding speakers is the infinity primus 363 for ~$99 each. The deal seems to pop up a few times a year, so if it's not too urgent you might wait for that one.

otherwise, newegg often has the polk monitor 50/60/70 on sale, my preference of the 3 is the 60, but lots of people are happy with the other 2 options. Avsforum seems to like the es80 more than the polks

on the higher end:
the martin logan electrostatic speakers that frys sells is also pretty good if you want more expensive stuff, and they definitely have a pretty unique styling
http://www.frys.com/product/5885073?...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

As for cables, monoprice has great cables for the price. Make sure to get the right gauge for the distance (typically 14-16 gauge should be fine)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_wire#Wire_gauge

avsforums recommended subs based on price range
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1246684/recommended-subs-thread

 

[fralexandr]

oh, i forgot to mention, but usually you want your front 3 speakers to be matched (front left, center, and right), so that the audio has a consistent feel/sound to it (aka timbre matched)
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1421966/timbre-matching

Thus you'll probably want to buy a new center channel from the same series, which for the ES80s is the EC35 i think. likewise you could also just buy another ES80 for the center channel, but most people don't have space for a front center floorstanding speaker

the center channel isn't too important unless watching movies/gaming though, as it's mostly to provide sound coming from directly in front of the audience
it's more important to get a good front left and right for music listening
for some reason my sister, who has a masters in music, and has had experience listening to some truly high end setups doesn't feel the need for a center channel for watching movies and such (maybe something about the human mind interpolating it or something), so ymmv on having a center channel at all (since this setup is mostly for music).

 

[sdifox]

Do not reuse the HTIB speakers are a centre. You might be able to get away with them being surrounds.

buy cable depending on length, the longer, the lower gauge you have to get.

see if you have local stores where you can listen to Energy Veritas V-6.3 or maybe V-6.2

we need room dimensions and layout too.


From Frys, see if you can listen to the PolkRTiA9 and the RTi12.

Most important component is actually your room. For example, the Martin Logans need more room to sound good. More room to the side, more room to the back.

I think they sound best in the middle of the room :biggrin:

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

If you don't care about movies, get a good pioneer receiver and some good towers. Skip the subs.

Just find good towers with 12" woofers. I have a set up like this and it is awesome. Works with movies too if you match the speaker make/line for center and rear channels.

A dedicated sub would make games more fun though. Same for movies that can utilize it.

FWIW:
New $300 Pioneer 5.1 recevier to replace my 20 year old Pioneer (that sounds better, sorry) and a pair of Inifinity SM 125 towers that are also 20 years old. Seems like Infinity is going down the crapper though. Thanks best Buy. You suck! Dedicated stereo shops are where it's at!

Truth be told, find an audiophille local store and go there. You will be impressed. Bring your favorite music.

Biggest problem is that most web forums only talk about what you can buy at big box stores and that is often not the best stuff, espeically when looking to spend $2K

 

[DAGTA]

Thank you for the feedback!

I did purchase the Pioneer 1222 receiver. It arrived today but I haven't opened the box, yet.

I passed on the JBL speakers after listening to them at Frys. Sounded "tin-ny" to me.

Now I'm considering the following speakers:
Klipsch WF-35 Icon-W Series floorstanding loudspeakers x 2
Klipsch WC-24 Icon-W Series center
Klipsch Reference RW-12d powered sub

No idea on surrounds.

Any thoughts about those? Anyone have some of those speakers?

Thanks!

 

[sdifox]

Thank you for the feedback!

I did purchase the Pioneer 1222 receiver. It arrived today but I haven't opened the box, yet.

I passed on the JBL speakers after listening to them at Frys. Sounded "tin-ny" to me.

Now I'm considering the following speakers:
Klipsch WF-35 Icon-W Series floorstanding loudspeakers x 2
Klipsch WC-24 Icon-W Series center
Klipsch Reference RW-12d powered sub

No idea on surrounds.

Any thoughts about those? Anyone have some of those speakers?

Thanks!

Klipsch is an acquired taste. Did you listen to them?

You can do better than the Klipsch sub.

 

[DAGTA]

Klipsch is an acquired taste. Did you listen to them?

You can do better than the Klipsch sub.

I haven't listened to them. Looking for local stores to listen to gear.

Thanks for the feedback. Is there another sub you recommend?

 

[sdifox]

I haven't listened to them. Looking for local stores to listen to gear.

Thanks for the feedback. Is there another sub you recommend?

Budget?

And how open are you to DIY? Good subs are very expensive, but if you are willing to put in the labour, good sub is attainable.


I want to build one of these


http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...ts/54452-official-ib-infinite-baffle-faq.html


I am laughing at "600 W All Channel Driven Power Output (1kHz, THD 1% @8 ohms)" but I guess given the budget, you got what you got.


mine is

http://pdf.outlawaudio.com/outlaw/docs/750manual.pdf

 

[DAGTA]

Budget: $1400 for speakers. There is some flexibility to that. I planned to keep the entire budget to $2000 or less and I have spent $600 on the receiver.

I'm open to building it myself, but I have not done this before. My concern is that I'm quite the noob and do not want to mess things up.

Thanks!

 

[sdifox]

Budget: $1400 for speakers. There is some flexibility to that. I planned to keep the entire budget to $2000 or less and I have spent $600 on the receiver.

I'm open to building it myself, but I have not done this before. My concern is that I'm quite the noob and do not want to mess things up.

Thanks!

if you can do some woodwork, you are good to go.

aesthetics, Do you need the sub to be pretty? I was asking specifically the budget of the sub. Did you listen to the Energy Veritas? Or the Polks?

good thing with your receiver is it has pre-outs, which means you could add an amp to it and make it kickass later when you have money.


this is a pretty popular diy sub.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_6_3/diy-11-sonotube-subwoofer-september-99.html

 

[fralexandr]

i think you should take a look at polks also, i don't think anyone would call them "tin-ny", you might just like them (most people consider them warm, so they aren't as clear/bright sounding as klipsch and many other makes)
all of the frys around my area have them in their demo rooms, so it'd probably be easy for you to listen to them.

there are some pretty easy do it yourself speakers, with all the parts already cut to size for you, or you could buy preassembled cabinets (most city folks don't have woodshops nowadays)
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2244917&highlight=build+speakers
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2271978&highlight=fostex

madisound's fostex bk-20 8" single driver cabinet seems pretty awesome
http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/full-range-speaker-kits/fostex-bk-20-cabinet-sold-flat-each/

 

[DAGTA]

Thanks guys!

I probably won't do the build it myself speakers. I don't have those tools or much wordworking experience.

My current speakers are polk, but a very low end HTIB set. I think they are decent for what they are, so it probably would be worthwhile to go listen to some higher end polk speakers.

I setup the receiver last night with the current speakers and already notice an improvement. Partially because I was finally able to get the sub working and partially because it just sounds better to me. I was hoping for a quality improvement with the new receiver but mostly bought it because of the extra features.

 

[dieselpower]

wow, lots of different ideas, but i did see some good advice here. it's good you have discovered that HTiB sounds bad, and i'll bet you can tell the difference of what sounds good to you...you noted that JBL's sound tinny, to me they sound thin.
klipsch is actually a good choice for (most) people that have high frequency hearing impairment, but listen to them first. if you hear tinny in JBL, the klipsch may be wayyyy to bright for you.
go to a stereo store and stay away from big box omni-corp stores, they are the bane of the economy.
"showrooming" is hugely unfair to to the shop owner, and the salesman trying to make a living. if you find something you like at least make an offer, don't just use their time and investment for your own pleasure and then scamper off and order online because you save 5 bucks. they have to make a living too, just like you.
the pleasure of owning quality music systems is enhanced by doing some research, meeting some people, building a relationship and spending some money. you will be rewarded every time you turn it on.

go to a tailor and get custom fitted for the most expensive suit you can afford, and then buy one off the internet where you "buy one get two free!!!"

wear each suit, and see what you feel like in them, and you will know exactly what i mean. you and you new tailor will become great friends.

 

[Anubis]

Budget: $1400 for speakers. There is some flexibility to that. I planned to keep the entire budget to $2000 or less and I have spent $600 on the receiver.

I'm open to building it myself, but I have not done this before. My concern is that I'm quite the noob and do not want to mess things up.

Thanks!

does that 1400$ include the sub? or no?

some of the easiest "DIY" subs can be found here http://www.diysoundgroup.com/speaker-kits/subwoofer-kits.html - these can be put together with tape and glue + they come with an amp, however I'm not sure if Erich is shipping again yet, he had to take a break because he had too much going on.

As for speakers ther ARX A3s and A5s might be one of the best deals out there currently http://www.theaudioinsider.com/manufacturers.php?mPath=13&osCsid=1587c5fea28639ea672ae26576a04b70 - ill be listing to them (A5s) in a couple weeks at a G2G and I'm quite excited about it. Reports from those that have them is that that preform well above their pricepoint.

 

[alkemyst]

Thank you for the feedback!

I did purchase the Pioneer 1222 receiver. It arrived today but I haven't opened the box, yet.

I passed on the JBL speakers after listening to them at Frys. Sounded "tin-ny" to me.

Now I'm considering the following speakers:
Klipsch WF-35 Icon-W Series floorstanding loudspeakers x 2
Klipsch WC-24 Icon-W Series center
Klipsch Reference RW-12d powered sub

No idea on surrounds.

Any thoughts about those? Anyone have some of those speakers?

Thanks!

I am a Klipsch guy, never cared for the Icon series.

I really like the Heritage lineup even to this day. Add newer crossovers and better diaphrams and it's pretty much like listening to the source directly. Most like the tall skinny look better though and supplementing with subs. I have Quartets and an Academy for mains and an Emotiva Ultra 12 as a sub. RS25's for surround.

My dad loved the way mine sounded so hunted down Fortes (or Chorus I forget) and an Academy. He added the Ultra 12 as well, but is using phantom surround.

 

[DAGTA]

Thanks everyone!

I'm still looking at different speakers and considering options, so the feedback is very welcome.