Critique my proposed HT Setup

lukatmyshu

Senior member
Aug 22, 2001
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KingNothing

Diamond Member
Apr 6, 2002
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Well, get the place before you get the stuff. Places require their own stuff which ought to take precedence over HT stuff.
 

bigdog1218

Golden Member
Mar 7, 2001
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why spend 700 on a reciever and get crappy speakers

Edit: If you don't want to spend a lot on speakers I'd go for Axiom or Paradigm.
 

EvilYoda

Lifer
Apr 1, 2001
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Yeah, I don't get why you'd get an X1 (great choice), 3803 (another great choice), and Fluance? I mean, seriously. You're going to be wanting to upgrade in a month...not that you won't anyway ;)
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
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Go with the Harman Kardon AVR 630 instead of the Denon.

And yeah, 200 dollar speakers suck :D
 

lukatmyshu

Senior member
Aug 22, 2001
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Originally posted by: KingNothing
Well, get the place before you get the stuff. Places require their own stuff which ought to take precedence over HT stuff.

Eh .. who needs a bed when you can watch TV on the wall. The reason I'm not so fired up about buying furniture is that I am going to be renting a place initially, while I look to buy a place in the next year or so. As such I'd rather not buy a lot of furniture and stuff and then have to move it to my new place (going to be renting in the South Bay, but buying in San Francisco hopefully)

About the speakers ... I realize that they're pretty cheap but my two thoughts were a)They're pretty cheap and b)Until I move into my own real place they're going to be pretty soft. 200 bucks isn't a lot to "waste" because I can always give them to someone as a really nice gift when I can actually afford to spend a grand or so on "real" speakers (like at the end of the year). Right now I wanted to make sure that the stuff I got was quality, and I'd upgrade the other stuff later.
 

Viperoni

Lifer
Jan 4, 2000
11,084
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What's up with everybody spending a lot on a receiver and nothing on speakers? I see it happening more and more often. I'd rather have a $200 receiver with $700 speakers. Make a heck of a difference.
 

lukatmyshu

Senior member
Aug 22, 2001
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Maybe instead I'll just buy two fronts for around 300 ... that way I can still listen to something good, but I wont have to break my budget by that much. off to look at real speakers ... <sigh> I have a final tomorrow.
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
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Originally posted by: lukatmyshu
Maybe instead I'll just buy two fronts for around 300 ... that way I can still listen to something good, but I wont have to break my budget by that much. off to look at real speakers ... <sigh> I have a final tomorrow.
did you check my link?

 

lukatmyshu

Senior member
Aug 22, 2001
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I did ... if I am going to actually "buy" something then I'd have to demo them first. I'm assuming that you have these speakers ... which ones do you have? From the price range I'd be looking at either the Level Two or the Level Three's (once they come back in stock) ... also, what receiver do you have paired with them?
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
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I bought the level ones with an extra sub. They are not fancy, but they don't pretend to be. For a small room they are great and you could sell them for about what you paid for them when you are ready to upgrade. This company gives great value at every price point.
 

lukatmyshu

Senior member
Aug 22, 2001
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Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
Go with the Harman Kardon AVR 630 instead of the Denon.

why do you say the AVR 630 over the 3803 ... just saying because the two Denons I've had/listened I've loved. Liked it better than our current Yamaha as well.
 

virtuamike

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2000
7,845
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Ugh, no Fluance please.

http://www.norh.com/

The 5.1s for $950 are a good deal, dunno what your budget is though.

Never really liked using a projector to play games on, always got scared of damaging the bulb (unless you're doing long gaming sessions, because projectors aren't meant to be turned on and off frequently like a CRT).
 

EvilYoda

Lifer
Apr 1, 2001
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Originally posted by: lukatmyshu
Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
Go with the Harman Kardon AVR 630 instead of the Denon.

why do you say the AVR 630 over the 3803 ... just saying because the two Denons I've had/listened I've loved. Liked it better than our current Yamaha as well.

Because he just got one himself. ;) I also love the H/K sound, but you might not. Denon makes great stuff, so don't sweat it...generally your Denon receivers can be a little brighter/harsher, but it varies from speaker to speaker.
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
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Originally posted by: EvilYoda
Originally posted by: lukatmyshu
Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
Go with the Harman Kardon AVR 630 instead of the Denon.

why do you say the AVR 630 over the 3803 ... just saying because the two Denons I've had/listened I've loved. Liked it better than our current Yamaha as well.

Because he just got one himself. ;) I also love the H/K sound, but you might not. Denon makes great stuff, so don't sweat it...generally your Denon receivers can be a little brighter/harsher, but it varies from speaker to speaker.

Indeed, this is true. I have heard both and I think the HK superior. I also have done some research on the AV forums, and it turns out that power ratings of many higher level companies is overrated. When the model you are considering was tested by one of the audio mags it was determined that when running all channels the 110 watts of power turned out to be less than my 75 watts. The Yamaha RxV-2400 did even worse, posting about 40 watts when driving all channels. HK and NAD are THE companies which accurately rate their amplifiers.

That said, many do like the Denon unit, but even so a great many go with the HK once they have heard both. I suggest you give it a listen before you decide.
 

lukatmyshu

Senior member
Aug 22, 2001
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God ... I remember looking at those nOrh speakers a while back and I loved the way they look. Anyone here every buy them? I'm a little put off by the guys english and grammar (I realize he is Thai and that the speakers got great reviews on audioreview.com). I'm considering buying a set of the 3.0/4.0s and if I like them buying the 5.0s and moving the ones I bought previously as rears.
 

TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
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That projector can't display full (native) HD resolutions (at 1080i, for example), but it got a good review nonetheless. I'd try and go for an LCoS projector if possible, or something that can display a more resolution. The film mode (500 lumens form 1000) on that projector shouldn't concern you if you are going to have a controlled lighting room; I'm sure that it will have plenty of lumens (after proper calibration) in a properly darkened room and a good screen. However, if you plan on viewing movies or other programs in various lighting conditions, it may initially be a hassle to have to recalibrate the picture for each lighting condition, of course thats why there are three additional user presets on the image settings.

To me, video is a little more important [than sound right now]; ever since HD became mainstream, it's become hard for me to look at regular tv or even DVDs being displayed on regular TVs. I hate it when I go into stores to look at HDTVs, but the video source is bad, and makes many many visible artifacts.

Sound is important, I agree, however I won't enjoy a movie if it has stellar sound and the picutre is bad. I also agree with spending as much as your feel comfortable with on speakers.

The power rating on the recievers' amps isn't what makes them superior or better to the other brands. I think what makes a good amp is how faithfully the amp amplifies the source, and how cleanly it does so without distortion or clipping. Some of these hand made silver wired tube amps only put out about 50watts, but its some of the best 50watts out there (it should be for the price they are!). Granted, you shouldn't run an amp at its maximum capicity for prolonged periods of time.

Just my .02 cents.