c'mon audiophiles...please help

esc

Senior member
Dec 4, 2001
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pls help a newbie setup a nice affordable hifi home theater/listening room using the pc as the main station. i just want to know what is needed to do all this without spending too much $$$. budget : $2000-5000/ cheaper the better. this system i'm talking about is like the ones that will shake the floor when you're watching movies. pls help. thanks.
 

Goi

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
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Is your budget inclusive of a display? If so, it might be a tight squeeze, if not then you've got quite a bit to work with. Assuming its not...here's what I'd recommend
I'm assuming you're using your PC as a HTPC and playing DVDs with it. In that case, get a good soundcard to begin with, such as the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 or M-Audio Delta Theater/Delta 410. A good video card such as the ATI Radeons also provided DVD hardware assistance, provided your display supports it. Then, you'll need good, quiet components(HDD and DVD-ROM). The Seagate Barracuda IV is currently the quietest drive, while still performing pretty well. The Pioneer DVD-106 or DVD-116 provides the ability to bypass region encoding as well as providing a "quiet" mode. Minimize the use of fans, which will mean a cooler, slower CPU, probably not an Athlon.

On the Audio side, get a good receiver, models from Denon, B&K, Marantz, Integra Research, Pioneer Elite and Yamaha are generally thought to be good. Choose one that fits your budget and power/features requirements. Then, obviously you need a good set of 5.1 speakers. With your bugdet, you'd be able to get a fairly competent 5.1 system from Diva, which is currently almost the undisputed price/performance leader. Check out AV123 for the entire speaker range.

Good luck.
 

esc

Senior member
Dec 4, 2001
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thanks Goi. i've seen the diva speakers you were talking about..they do look sweet and affordable, but do you know any site that compares these speakers with other brands? oh yes, one more thing, how many speakers do i have to purchase? one the av123.com site you'll see like a Diva 5.1, the Diva R3 and the Diva C3. do i still need to get the C3 if i get the R3 for the Diva 5.1? thanks again.
 

Woody419

Senior member
Sep 22, 2001
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You would be much better off using the PC for PC stuff and using a seperate dedicated player for the movie stuff, get a Panasonic DVD player, Adcom 5.1 surround electonics and the most speaker you can afford with the money left over.

There is just too much electronic interference inside a PC to get excellent sound. By the time you spend money for the best video and sound card you could have gotten an excellent DVD player with better sound and picture quality. And what about a remote? How about a pause, slow motion, chaptor selection? A dedicated DVD player will always blow the doors off a general purpose computer all-in-one cd-rom, cd-rw, dvd player, thats why convergence is a bust.
 

Goi

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
6,771
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Basically, to get a basic 5.1 surround sound system you'd need 2 front L/R speakers, 1 center channel, 2 rear L/R speakers, and a subwoofer. You could get the entire line of speakers from Diva except the subwoofer since to my knowledge they dont' make subs yet. You still haven't stated if your budget includes the display, and the HTPC either. However, a reasonable setup within your budget would consist of the Diva 4.1($699) front L/R, Diva C3($499) center channel and the Diva 2.1($399) as surrounds. That'll leave you with about $3400 for your sub, receiver, HTPC and display. If the HTPC and display aren't included in your budget, you could stretch for the Diva 6.1($1299) as the mains.
For subs, many swear by the SVS subs, but if you're looking something cheaper, try the Hsu Research VTF2 or the upcoming VTF3

There are few reviews of the Diva by Swans. The more notable ones are on Home Theater HiFi and Stereo Times. You might need to search for them as they might not be on the main page. There aren't many direct professional comparisons, but many have compared them to the B&W CDM-NT series, the Paradigm Reference Studio series, and some to the PSB Stratus series. Since I don't own any of the above-mentioned speakers other than the PSBs, I can't speak for their performance.

While Woody might be right about the audio part, a HTPC doesn't really perform that bad if you configure it right. Ease of use might be lacking, but a Pronto and IRman/Girder would cure that pretty well. With a good soundcard and S/PDIF passthrough, audio quality is pretty good. What you need to do then is to cut down on the noise of the fans so that all that SNR doesn't go to waste. The good thing about a HTPC is that its easily upgradeable, extremely configurable, and provides scaling options that only a multi-thousand external dedicated scaler can match. The bad thing, as Woody mentioned, is the audio part. Its a comprimise, and the final decision depends on you.
 

HouRman

Senior member
Mar 30, 2000
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If I could build you a home theater, I would build the following:

SVS 25-31 PCI $550
JBL S38 Studio bookshelf speakers $500
JBL S26 Surround $300
JBL S Center $250
Generic 12 Gauge Copper Speaker wire
A 5.1 Receiver with Integrated amp (Many choices $600)

If u wanted to dent your wallet you could copy my system:
Outlaw 950 Pre pro $1000
Parasound HCA-2205AT amplfifier $2000
Paradigm Reference Studio 100s $1900
Paradigm Studio CC-450 $400
Paradigm Studio ADP-450 $900
Duel SVS SS subwoofers package $5000
Crown K1 amp
Rane PE17 Equalizer
Better Cables interconnects

jk, I wish I could buy that sytem :)
 

esc

Senior member
Dec 4, 2001
314
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no display included yet. i'm thinking of a projector or a wega. well, woody has a point but i still want it connected to my pc. i don't think i'm getting a professional sound card. i just want big speakers for the pc and a nice home theater system at the same time. so for now, i'm scrapping the pc as the main station and the expensive sound cards.

how do i connect a receiver to my pc? or the pc to a receiver? where will it go in the sound card? i think i wanna get the pioneer elite 49tx or the harman kardon AVR520, depending on my budget, for whatever speakers i choose. the denons look interesting but i don't know what to pick, i might research more about them.

as for the speakers, do you have any other recommendations? i don't reside in the US so it will give me a hard time to get the divas. what are your opinions on paradigm & B&W speakers?
 

Marshy

Member
Jun 2, 2001
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IF you live in Europe,
Then go with some nice B&W 600 series v3, or mission 7 series speakers, nearly the entire range is good

If you get large front speakers then you don't nead a sub, on the other hand in you want style aswell, look at the new KEF package
4 satalites and a fat sub model number KHT2005

for the reciever depends on the price low end Marantz, and Denon make some vary nice ones, also check out Yamaha on the other hand for good looks and loverly sound NAD ;)

Most good sound cards have digital out, connect to the amp with a good coaxel cable.


 

Workin'

Diamond Member
Jan 10, 2000
5,309
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<< IF you live in Europe,
Then go with some nice B&W 600 series v3, or mission 7 series speakers, nearly the entire range is good
>>

B&W and Mission and KEF and NAD and all the others you mention are readily available in North America...
 

hagbard

Banned
Nov 30, 2000
2,775
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Here is what I'm going to do in my home office:

Use my existing computer HT setup consisting of a Pioneer slot-load DVD, SB Live card, ATI AIW128, and WinDVD2000. Downmix the DD to 4 channels and feed the Live front output to:

Realistic STA-95 50wpc receiver (circa 1979);

and the rear channels to:

Marantz 1530 30wpc receiver (circa 1979);

Run both into four Axiom M3ti bookshelf speakers ($220US pairx2)

Now, you can pickup vintage receivers for cheap at garage sales, SA, Goodwill, etc. They're actually better made than the stuff sold today, and have honest power ratings (a 1970s 100wpc really is 100wpc, not the 30wpc today). This all requires some tinkering around, but can be had for under $500.