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audiophiles......rate my possible setup!

mcveigh

mcveigh

Diamond Member

here is what I was thinking of.
panasonic SA-XR25--$175 (shipped)
Infinity alpha center--$90
dayton subwoffer--$100
Athena Technologies AS-B1(pair) -$120
--------total-------------- $485



I'll add 2 more for rears later. this will be fed by my HTPC with a revo 7.1 digital out.


got this idea off an avs forum thread
 
no audiphiles will touch this system, as one of their esoteric cables alone will cost more than your whole system. jk 😛
 
Why not wait and save a little more money and get something better!

Here is what I would do:

1) First get the best receiver your budget will allow. The receiver is the heart/brains of your system. I think Onkyo make a great receiver IMHO.

2) Next research and match your speakers, check their sound, match the impedance, you need to get this right since this is what you will hear. If yo have a small room then you wont need a big sub. If you get HE speakers you wont need a bid amp to drive. alot to consider.
 
Why would you mix the Infinity Alpha center with the Athena speakers? Timbre match those speakers! However, for the money, it seems like you've gotten a good setup.

 
Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech
Why would you mix the Infinity Alpha center with the Athena speakers? Timbre match those speakers! However, for the money, it seems like you've gotten a good setup.
Click to expand...

I don't understand the words that are coming out of your mouth!

timbre match?????????
 
Originally posted by: mcveigh
Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech
Why would you mix the Infinity Alpha center with the Athena speakers? Timbre match those speakers! However, for the money, it seems like you've gotten a good setup.
Click to expand...

I don't understand the words that are coming out of your mouth!

timbre match?????????
Click to expand...

You want to make sure that the tone of the center speaker matches those of the front L/R speakers. If this is not the case, the sound during movies will seem kind of off.

 
Yes to timbre matching. Just make sure the 3 front speakers are from the same company, same line, and are meant to work together.
 
ok then how about
Infinity Alpha 37C center
Infinity Primus 150 x4 for front and rear
dayton sub
panny receiver

crutchfield has 2 free Infinity Primus 150's with Infinity orders over $398
so the center and 4 speakers comes to $412 w/o shipping
 
i would invest all that $450 into a downpayment on a decent Onkyo receiver. when i purchased my receiver when i worked at best buy about 4 years ago, i picked up the best receiver the store carried at the time. it was a yamaha, and i don't remember the model #, but it was $800 before discount.

you are going to have to spend atleast $500 on a decent receiver. like these other guys said, its the core of your system. you don't want to go low balling on it. good speakers won't sound good without a good receiver.

home audio stuff is not somethign you buy all at once, its stuff you buy in pieces once you have enough saved to get each part. i would NEVER EVER EVER EVER get a boxed 5.1 set that is like $500 or so. that basically looks like what you are trying to do. unless you want to upgrade in a few years or so, i would suggest buying in pieces until you can afford stuff that is actually worth while.
 
Originally posted by: purbeast0
i would invest all that $450 into a downpayment on a decent Onkyo receiver. when i purchased my receiver when i worked at best buy about 4 years ago, i picked up the best receiver the store carried at the time. it was a yamaha, and i don't remember the model #, but it was $800 before discount.

you are going to have to spend atleast $500 on a decent receiver. like these other guys said, its the core of your system. you don't want to go low balling on it. good speakers won't sound good without a good receiver.

home audio stuff is not somethign you buy all at once, its stuff you buy in pieces once you have enough saved to get each part. i would NEVER EVER EVER EVER get a boxed 5.1 set that is like $500 or so. that basically looks like what you are trying to do. unless you want to upgrade in a few years or so, i would suggest buying in pieces until you can afford stuff that is actually worth while.
Click to expand...

I was looking at the onkyo 770 HTIB originally but want something a little better. I don't plan on spendign more than $1000 when it's all setup, I'm just not that much of an audiophile. I want something nice but not snobbish
 
Originally posted by: purbeast0
i would invest all that $450 into a downpayment on a decent Onkyo receiver. when i purchased my receiver when i worked at best buy about 4 years ago, i picked up the best receiver the store carried at the time. it was a yamaha, and i don't remember the model #, but it was $800 before discount.

you are going to have to spend atleast $500 on a decent receiver. like these other guys said, its the core of your system. you don't want to go low balling on it. good speakers won't sound good without a good receiver.

home audio stuff is not somethign you buy all at once, its stuff you buy in pieces once you have enough saved to get each part. i would NEVER EVER EVER EVER get a boxed 5.1 set that is like $500 or so. that basically looks like what you are trying to do. unless you want to upgrade in a few years or so, i would suggest buying in pieces until you can afford stuff that is actually worth while.
Click to expand...

Amen
 
Originally posted by: purbeast0
i would invest all that $450 into a downpayment on a decent Onkyo receiver. when i purchased my receiver when i worked at best buy about 4 years ago, i picked up the best receiver the store carried at the time. it was a yamaha, and i don't remember the model #, but it was $800 before discount.

you are going to have to spend atleast $500 on a decent receiver. like these other guys said, its the core of your system. you don't want to go low balling on it. good speakers won't sound good without a good receiver.

home audio stuff is not somethign you buy all at once, its stuff you buy in pieces once you have enough saved to get each part. i would NEVER EVER EVER EVER get a boxed 5.1 set that is like $500 or so. that basically looks like what you are trying to do. unless you want to upgrade in a few years or so, i would suggest buying in pieces until you can afford stuff that is actually worth while.
Click to expand...

If you're going to start talking about down payments for a receiver, why settle for Onkyo? Why not Denon or Pioneer Elite? Or something even more high-end? 😀
 
When I started my HT system, I decided to start with two high-quality tower speakers instead of going with the 5.1 in a box bullsh!t. I got two Athena AS-F1's and a Pioneer VSX-D850S receiver. It's a nice setup. I later added a center channel Athena Audition speaker. The speakers look beautiful and the setup sounds great. The tower speakers, after being broken in, have plenty of bass that I find a subwoofer unnecessary for my current apartment.

Spend some more and get the Athena tower speakers and a better receiver. Having a slapped-together setup like that would mean getting rid of parts of it later. Plus, two speakers and a receiver is the BEST way to listen to music. A nicer receiver will still sound very nice with two speakers.


.. An audiophile, if he knows what is good for him, won't knock Athena speakers. They've gotten wonderful reviews in Sound and Vision and other magazines that typically review $1000+ speakers.


 
onkyo 602...$500 receiver on sale at ecost.com right now for $299 and on sale at j & r for $349 with free shipping.
 
Originally posted by: mcveigh
Originally posted by: purbeast0
i would invest all that $450 into a downpayment on a decent Onkyo receiver. when i purchased my receiver when i worked at best buy about 4 years ago, i picked up the best receiver the store carried at the time. it was a yamaha, and i don't remember the model #, but it was $800 before discount.

you are going to have to spend atleast $500 on a decent receiver. like these other guys said, its the core of your system. you don't want to go low balling on it. good speakers won't sound good without a good receiver.

home audio stuff is not somethign you buy all at once, its stuff you buy in pieces once you have enough saved to get each part. i would NEVER EVER EVER EVER get a boxed 5.1 set that is like $500 or so. that basically looks like what you are trying to do. unless you want to upgrade in a few years or so, i would suggest buying in pieces until you can afford stuff that is actually worth while.
Click to expand...

I was looking at the onkyo 770 HTIB originally but want something a little better. I don't plan on spendign more than $1000 when it's all setup, I'm just not that much of an audiophile. I want something nice but not snobbish
Click to expand...

well if you don't really care too much about it in the long run and don't want THAT great of quality, but just okay quality, then one of those box sets is okay for you. i personally think they are crap. i want my movie and gaming experience to be the best as possible. i like watching movies where my whole basement rumbles when a huge explosion is on screen, and thats what it does now 🙂. i like hearing the bullets fly by my ears in saving private ryan, as the bombs blow up on the beach scene and my floor shakes. it is just the coolest experience you can have in your home 🙂.

ATLien247: heh why you bring up a good point, it is pretty easy to say that this guy OBVIOUSLY won't be buying stuff of THAT quality if he's looking to spend $450 on a complete system 😛. I one day will have something better ... for now, my system rocks. saturday i hooked back up my surround system after i unhooked it when i brought my new tv home 3 weeks ago. I couldn't get off the couch yesterday watching football in HD w/surround sound, then my GF came over and we could not stop watching 24 S3 in 480p w/surround sound ... it pwns!
 
Originally posted by: brxndxn
When I started my HT system, I decided to start with two high-quality tower speakers instead of going with the 5.1 in a box bullsh!t. I got two Athena AS-F1's and a Pioneer VSX-D850S receiver. It's a nice setup. I later added a center channel Athena Audition speaker. The speakers look beautiful and the setup sounds great. The tower speakers, after being broken in, have plenty of bass that I find a subwoofer unnecessary for my current apartment.

Spend some more and get the Athena tower speakers and a better receiver. Having a slapped-together setup like that would mean getting rid of parts of it later. Plus, two speakers and a receiver and a 250w floor firing subwoofer is the BEST way to listen to music. A nicer receiver will still sound very nice with two speakers.


.. An audiophile, if he knows what is good for him, won't knock Athena speakers. They've gotten wonderful reviews in Sound and Vision and other magazines that typically review $1000+ speakers.
Click to expand...

fixed that there for ya 😛
 
actually thats a great choice on the receiver ...esp if you are on a budget (just keep in mind its 5.1 and not 6.1). The fronts and sub you choose are good value for money the center however is not. Id spend more and get the jbl ec35(3-way). The center handles a lot of the vocals so if you are going to be watching a lot of movies it ll make a huge difference. The ec35 is some 300 bucks at bestbuy.if you look around carefully on ebay and online retaileres you can find it closer to 150
 
Originally posted by: purbeast0
Originally posted by: brxndxn
When I started my HT system, I decided to start with two high-quality tower speakers instead of going with the 5.1 in a box bullsh!t. I got two Athena AS-F1's and a Pioneer VSX-D850S receiver. It's a nice setup. I later added a center channel Athena Audition speaker. The speakers look beautiful and the setup sounds great. The tower speakers, after being broken in, have plenty of bass that I find a subwoofer unnecessary for my current apartment.

Spend some more and get the Athena tower speakers and a better receiver. Having a slapped-together setup like that would mean getting rid of parts of it later. Plus, two speakers and a receiver and a 250w floor firing subwoofer is the BEST way to listen to music. A nicer receiver will still sound very nice with two speakers.


.. An audiophile, if he knows what is good for him, won't knock Athena speakers. They've gotten wonderful reviews in Sound and Vision and other magazines that typically review $1000+ speakers.
Click to expand...

fixed that there for ya 😛
Click to expand...



lol.. For a while, I had a 400W side-firing sub that my friend and I built (it was his). For today's music, it sounded better with the sub, though it sounded more like the way a club plays the music and not as much the way I like to listen to it. Though, it did help a lot with classical music and things like Enya too. With classic rock, it wasn't used near as much. It definitely made rap sound better.. It also shook all the beer bottles I have standing up in my kitchen.


 
you should serious think about matching your center and your front speakers. (i.e. all the same brand and models) You'll get a lot from the timber matching, and your front sounds will blend.
 
I agree with the invest in the receiver recommendation.... I have a Yamaha HTR-5760 (paid about 250) and it has 7.1 and is the best budget recevier out there.
 
Originally posted by: purbeast0
you are going to have to spend atleast $500 on a decent receiver. like these other guys said, its the core of your system. you don't want to go low balling on it. good speakers won't sound good without a good receiver.
Click to expand...

I disagree, drastically. While a medicore receiver won't help matters, its place in the home theater food chain is definitely second to your speakers. You can have a crappy receiver driving fantastic speakers, and it will still sound very good. Compare this to a fantastic recevier driving crappy speakers, which will always sound like crappy speakers.

You should be focusing your spending on the 3 front speakers, which as others have pointed out a few times, should match. Everything else is secondary.

I'm an "ex-audiophile," I ended up trading in my system for a Jeep Wrangler. Now I have a much more sensible setup - 6 matched B&W bookshelfs, a 10" sub, and a yamaha receiver... and I kept my old $300 speaker wire to remind me not to spend $300 on speaker wire again.

 
I don't see why everyone is putting down the panasonic reciever. They are actually great recievers for the money. I have the XR-10 and its amazing. Timbre matching is important but on a budget its not that easy to do. Granted most audiophiles would die if they saw my setup. Panasonic XR-10, really crappy Pioneer center from a box set, 10in "100 watt" Pioneer sub from the same set, pair of Inifinity Entra Ones for the rear, pair of Advent AS2s for the front. It would sound great if I just replaced the stupid center and sub.
 
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