calling all audiophiles

[Snakexor]

aight, heres the deal: i work at bestbuy, can get stuff @ wholesale above 5% so unless you can find me a better sounding system for the same price or cheaper, i have selection of the brands i am naming. this summer im gettting a shore house in oc newjersey with 3 of my buddies. the idea is to have as many fvcking amazing parties as possible in the three months well be down there. now, as everyone knows, the keys to a great party consist of 1) good looking girls, 2) enough pong tables, 3) alcohol, 4) awesome music. now with that in mind, heres what i want: A) a yamaha, sony, or pioneer receiver that can push high quality speakers. i will be using monster cable on everything since i get that cheap as all hell, so dont worry about cables, ill know what to get for that. B) A TWO SPEAKER SET-UP, preferably out of these brands: jbl northbridge (e60-e100's), klipsch (f1-f3s or higher if they make em), klh (dunno names, havent really looked into), and athena (same as klh). i listen to everything, on my mp3 cd i have panic at the disco, pearl jam, jayz, eminem, toby keith, yaddi yaddi yaddi. I want balanced sound, aka tight, deep bass and crisp highs. Now i hope the speakers im looking at will give me that, and if they dont, then i dont know anything about speakers :-/. Now i need recommendations on the speakers and the receiver to power them.

right now i think im looking at the jbl e100 or e90s, depending on how much i have. as far the receiver goes probably the pioneer VSX-1015TX or the yamaha HTR-5890BL.

now if you think i can do better for about 800 dollars or cheaper, let me know also will the difference between the 5890 (which i am leaning toward) will be huge from the 5860?

thanks

 

[Meuge]

Dunno about the receivers. Yamaha isn't bad for something under $600. Out of the speakers at Best Buy, the Klipsch is definitely the best. Just buy the biggest Klipsch floorstanders you can afford, after buying the receiver. I don't recommend going with the bottom-of-the-line ones though. Don't even think of buying a subwoofer. Your whole $600 is a minimum you want to pay for a good one, or you will regret it, I promise.

P.S. That being said, the lower-end Yamahas tend to be a little bright-sounding. The only receivers that are not bright in this price range are Harman/Kardon. Don't let the low-wattage ratings fool you - they can drive any Klipsch speaker to ear-splitting volumes with the 60W they promise.

 

[Snakexor]

have you ever turned a pair of f2s or f3s up aways? much distortion, only not seen in f3s imho, may also be the receivers being run on, but they wree top of the line yamahas back in the day (two years ago)

 

[Nohr]

I have a pair of Athena AS-F2 speakers myself, Athena's top of the line with dual 8" woofers. They're great speakers but I'd highly recommend a subwoofer to go along with them.

 

[bendixG15]

Why don't you ask one of the experts at BestBuy ???

 

[jimbob200521]

id go with the best yamaha receiver and best either athens or klipsch's you can afford. id prolly go with klipsch, but get whichever sounds better to you.

 

[daveshel]

An audiophile would hardly settle for a single component at $600. And wouldn't have a receiver. Check out low priced audiophile components at www.avahifi.com or more expensive gear at www audiogon.com (where you can spend more than $600 on a set of RCA cables).

But Yamaha makes pretty good lower priced electronics. I am not familiar with the lower-end Klipsch (they are best known for more expensive stuff) but have seen some lower-end Polk speakers that look like a good value.

 

[LED]

Sony and Pioneer Receiver come in 2 classes...if you can not get the Sony EX line or the Pioneer Elite line thn scratch them off the list as the standards are not Made in Japan and lack top notch guts...so I think you are on the right track with the Yamaha 5890...Difference between the two:
Yamaha HTR-5860 7.1-Channel 770W AV Receiver w/ YPAO & XM Ready
High Sound Quality


7.1-Channel, 770W Powerful Surround Sound (110W x 7 RMS)
Digital To P-ART and High Current Amplification
Pure Direct for High Quality Sound Reproduction
Advanced Features

XM Satellite Radio Ready
YPAO for Automatically Optimizing the Sound in Your Room
On-Screen Display
Surround Back Power-Amp Assignable (for Presence Channels) for the Ultimate Surround Sound System
8-Channel External Decoder In put
Surround Realism

Dialogue Lift for Enhanced Dialogue Sound Output
Quad-Field CINEMA DSP Programs and 14 Surround Programs
Night Listening Enhancer (Cinema/Music) and SILENT CINEMA
High Picture Quality

Component Video Up Conversion (Full)
Other Features

Accurate Touch Volume Control
192 kHz/24-Bit DAC for All Channels
Selectable 9-Band Subwoofer Crossover
Subwoofer Phase Select
Analog Mixdown
Straight/Effect Switch
Direct Stereo and 2-Channel Stereo Mode
High Dynamic Power and Linear Damping
Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, Dolby Pro Logic lIx and DTS 96124 Compatibility
Wide-Range Audio Frequency Response for DVD-Audio/Super Audio CD
9-Channel Speaker Terminals (incl. Presence Channels)
Surround Back Power-Amp Assignable (for Presence Channels)
S-Channel External Decoder Input
Speaker A, B or A+B Selection (Front L/R)
Audio Delay for Lip Sync (0?160 ms)
Virtual CINEMA DSP
Wide-Range Video Bandwidth (6DM Hz -3dB)
HDTV Compatible Component Video Out
Preset Remote Control Unit
Sleep Timer
40-Station Preset Tuning
Auto Preset Tuning
HTR-5860 Specifications

Minimum RMS Output Power (8 ohms, 1 kHz, 0.7% THD)
FrontChannels 110W+ 110W
Center Channel 110 W
Surround Channels 110 W + 110W
Surround Back Channels 110 W + 110W
Minimum RMS Output Power (8 ohms, 20 Hz?20 kHz, 0.06% THD)
Front Channels 95 W + 95 W
Center Channel 95 W
Surround Channels 95 W + 95 W
Surround Back Channels 95 W + 95 W
Dynamic Power (1 kHz): (8/6/412 ohms) 130/165/195/240 W
Damping Factor (8 ohms, 20 Hz?20 kHz) 120 (speaker A)
Frequency Response 10 Hz?100 kHz +0, -3 dB
Total Harmonic Distortion (20 Hz?20 kHz, 50 W, 8 ohms)
CD (Front Sp Out) 0.06%
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (CD) 100 dB
Monitor Out Frequency Response
Component Video Signal 5 Hz-60 MHz -3 dB
FM 50dB Quieting Sensitivity
Mono 2 uV (17.3 dBf)
Stereo 25 uV (39.2 dBf)
FM Selectivity (400 kHz) 70 dB
Standby Power Consumption 0.1 W
Dimensions (W x H x D) 17-1/8 x 6-3/4 x 16-9/16 inches
Weight 27.8 lbs.


Yamaha HTR-5890 7.1-Channel 980W AV Receiver w/ YAPO
High Sound Quality


7-Channel 980W Powerful Surround Sound (140W x 7)
Digital ToP-ART and High Current Amplification
Pure Direct for High Quality 2-Channel and Multi-Channel Sound Reproduction
Phono Input
Advanced Features

YPAO Automatically Sets Best Sound for Any Room, Any Speaker Placement
RS-232C Interface, Trigger Output and IR Port
Zone 2 Speaker Out and Amplifier Assignment, and Zone 3 Volume
Front Panel Video Aux Inputs with Optical Digital and S-Video
8 Digital Inputs (5 Opticall3 Coaxial): [Fixed and Assignable]
Surround Realism

Dialogue Lift for Enhanced Dialogue Sound Output
Quad-Field CINEMA DSP and 16 Surround Programs with 2 THX Programs
Night Listening Enhancer (Cinema/Music) and SILENT CINEMA
Audio Delay for Adjusting Lip-Sync (0?240ms)
High Picture Quality

Component Video Up Conversion
HDTV (720p/1080i) Compatibility
Wide-Range Video Bandwidth (60MHZ -3 dB)
Other Features

Phono Input
Accurate Touch Volume Control
192 kHz/24-Bit DACs for All Channels
High Dynamic Power and Linear Damping
Digital Tone Controls for Front LJR, Center, Presence and Subwoofer
Wide-Range Audio Frequency Response for DVDAudio / Super Audio CD Compatibility
Analog Mixdown
Audio Delay for Lip-Sync (0-240ms)
9-Channel Speaker Outputs with Zone 2/ Presence Speaker Outputs
Selectable 9-Band Subwoofer Crossover
Speaker A, B or A+B Selection (Front LJR)
Wide-Range Video Bandwidth (60MHz -3 dB)
8 Digital Inputs (5 Optical/3 Coaxial, Fixed and Assignable) and 7 S-Video Inputs
HDTV Compatible Component Video Out
Virtual CINEMA DSP
Front Panel Video Aux Terminals
Direct-Access (Macro-Command, Learning and Preset Capable) Remote Control Unit with Macro-Command Buttons
HTR-5890 Specifications

Minimum RMS Output Power (8 ohms, 1 kHz, 0.7% THD)
Front Channels 140W+ 140W
Center Channel 140 W
Surround Channels 140W + 140W
Surround Back Channels 140 W + 140 W
Minimum RMS OUtput Power (8 ohms, 20 Hz?20 kHz, 0.04% THD)
Front Channels 120W + 120W
Center Channel 120 W
Surround Channels 120W + 120W
Surround Back Channels 120W + 120W
Dynamic Power/Ch (Front Ch, Speaker A) 8/6/4/2 ohms 155/195/250/330 W
Damping Factor (8 ohms, 20 Hz?20 kHz) 140 (speaker A)
Frequency Response 10 Hz?100 kHz +0, -3 dB
Total Harmonic Distortion (20 Hz?20 kHz, 60 W/8 ohms)
CD (Front Sp Out) 0.04%
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (CD) 100 dB (250 mV:
VIDEO SECTION
Monitor Out Frequency Response
Component Video Signal 5 Hz-60 MHz -3 dB
TUNER SECTION
FM 50dB Quieting Sensitivity
Mono 2 uV (17.3 dBf)
Stereo 25 uV (39.2 dBf)
FM Selectivity (400 kHz) 70 dB
GENERAL SECTION
Dimensions (W x H x D) 17-1/8 x 6-3/4 x 16-11/16 inches
Weight 33.1 lbs.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I'm no audiophile

If you're looking for really loud, Klipsch is probably the way to go with their really high sensitivity ratings.

But really, go into the demo room and listen to some stuff. We can give you suggestions all day, but it comes down to what sounds best to you.

JBL northridge and a decent Pioneer is probably a good bet.

You might still want to get a sub if you listen to music with a lot of bass.

I'm not exactly sure what kind of prices you are getting, but there are some pretty good deals out there for us normal folks too
A couple e60s off harmanaudio
http://cgi.ebay.com/JBL-E60BE-3-way-8-i...7QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem = $180
Get a decent receiver going with whatever discount you can get = $200?
You could pick up a couple dayton 12" subs froms partsexpress and wind up around $600.

Make sure to demo a big 2.0 set vs a 2.1 set with smaller mains and a decent sub.

 

[Meuge]

There are no demo rooms in BestBuy. At least none that are set up properly, with proper electronics.

I've heard a pair of F-2s and they are pretty good. Nothing to write home about, but certainly much better than anything BB can offer at the same pricepoint.

P.S. As far as real audiophiles not buying anything below $600, that's pretty much true, which is why most of my equipment is second-hand. If anyone is into sound, Klipsch is clearing out some of the Aragon (really high end electronics) preamplifiers on their ebay store. You can get a 28K MkII preamp for $500. With an MSRP of about $2K, it's a deal that no audiophile should miss. I own the original 28k, and after 2 years of testing other preamps I've still not been able to find anything that would be better for every type of music.

 

[javiervi]

Originally posted by: bendixG15
Why don't you ask one of the experts at BestBuy ???

LOL! he is THE expert at bestbuy...

 

[Snakexor]

thanks yoyo, personally i think the jbls sound the best, i havent heard the e100 or e90s yet, but if they scale as well as the e60 -> e80 sound (even though smaller subs, better high range response) the larger subs should put out some good sound, much better than the f1/f2/f3s sound off a similar receiver. i can get e90s for 188 and e100s for 215 through my hookup, do you think the difference there will be warranted??

and meuge, no offense, but bestbuy is not as bad as you think, i dont know what bestbuy you go into, but my bestbuy (mount laurel, NJ) is getting a magnolia hifi room this spring and i have been to our magnolia store, and people know what they are talking about, the people you talk to are probably seasonal people during the holidays, not people that have been there 2+ years....

 

[Snakexor]

edit : changed budget

 

[Meuge]

Well... On the risk that you might not listen to my advice after you hear this... the "Magnolia" rooms will feature really highly marketed merchandise, most of which will cost far too much for its performance.

In either case, the $800 budget doesn't really change much, unless you're willing to scour audiogon.com for 2nd-hand deals. I figure you can get a very good preamp/amp combo for $500, but it's going to be missing a ton of features, compared to a receiver (even though it will sound much better).

I guess you can get larger floorstanders.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Wow, are those pair prices on the JBLs? If so, that's an amazing deal. If individual, it seems about on track with the refurb harmanaudio prices.

If you've already demo-ed the JBLs and liked them, it seems like that's the way you should go :thumbsup:

If you can get a good deal on the JBL subs too, I'd suggest trying out e60s/e80s with a JBL e250 vs the e90s/e100s on their own if those are similar cost combos for you.

I didn't demo any JBL myself so I'm not sure on differences between the different model numbers.

EDIT: it seems like you have a lot of access to all this stuff, I think listening to all this stuff on your own with your own source material is the way to go.

 

[Snakexor]

remember, i dont pay mark up on anything, so whatever bestbuy pays for hk stuff, thats what i pay plus 5%

i didnt mean to be mean meuge, im just saying

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I don't understand all this preamp/amp audiophile mentality in this situation.

I mean come on, the source material is an mp3 cd? Why get a used $500 preamp/amp set if the source material is compressed and the audience is going to be a bunch of drunken partiers?

 

[Snakexor]

source material will be ogg files i believe, come out of a creative xi-fi platinum (would get the x-mystique, but i game on headphones)

<33

 

[Arcanedeath]

Of the brands of recivers you listed unless you can get a pioneer elite series unit get something from Yamaha, In this case based on your usage I'd suggest getting a sub espicaly based on the type of music you listen to get a decent powered sub 10" or greater a good reciver and spend the rest on the mains and when you get more cash replace the mains w/ better units (thats the ex audiophiles view, lol not enough cash to support my habit anymore, I just head over to my dads house, now he's a true audiophile )

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Snakexor
source material will be ogg files i believe, come out of a creative xi-fi platinum (would get the x-mystique, but i game on headphones)

<33

Sounds classier than the kind of parties around here in Madison

 

[Snakexor]

is the e250p a good sub?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Snakexor
is the e250p a good sub?

Yeah, it's supposed to be pretty good.

I've heard a JBL PB12 and that was pretty good, certainly plenty loud. The PB12s had a tendancy to destroy themselves though. I don't think the e250s have the same problem.

 

[Snakexor]

now im thinkin e60 or e80s and a sub, god damnit people...

what do you think will sound better??

 

[Pariah]

If you work at BestBuy, can't you just set the equipment up as you like and demo it for yourself after store hours with permission? Asking someone what will sound best is like asking someone what's the best color of shoes to own. Everyone will tell you something different (unless there is a huge difference in the products which isn't the case here), and it's possible you won't agree with any of them since it is all personal preference.

 

[Snakexor]

we dont have e90 or e100s in store,

we have f1,f2,f3s in store, and i think they sound horrible