Critique this setup please

[Davegod75]

My Goals:

Small + efficient system that sounds great for music. I don't really care about great movie sound yet. I want a easy way to play all my digital music. Only want/need two book shelf speakers and a receiver at this point. < $1000.00

So:

Receiver: Panasonic SA-XR57K 7.1
Speakers: Polk Audio RTi6 Black Pair
Ipod Dock: Apple Universal Dock
Cables: Belkin® PureAV Blue Series 3-Ft. Y-Splitter Audio Cable
Speaker Wire: 24' Belden 5000UE Gray


Will this work for great sound (I'm no audiophile) and easy/hassle free access to my digital collection? Can you suggest replacement parts? or a better setup. Where is the best place to buy?? (keep in mind I am in Germany with an APO address)

Thanks!

* Thanks to Tiamat for recommending some of the above gear.

 

[jpeyton]

Sonic T-Amp 2 - $60
24' of lamp cord - $5
Miniplug-to-RCA patch cable - $3

Just add speakers and a source.

 

[Davegod75]

15W? I am obviously not up to speed on this thing.

 

[PurdueRy]

I like the setup, however I would urge you to buy the Polk's off ebay as I did. You can save about 50% doing so and get them New in Box. Technically you lose the warranty but that didn't stop me from registering them with Polk.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: Davegod75
15W? I am obviously not up to speed on this thing.

15W is good enough if you listen at moderate volume right in front of your speakers (like 3 feet away). You obviously want to get as sensitive speakers as possible, at least 87db/1watt/1meter. For the speakers, I am uncertain what you have available in Germany. What you have selected in your original post does have the ability for expansion later on.

Is the ipod going to be the only source for you music? If this is the case, you probably don't need the receiver. In fact, you might be able to pool the receiver/speaker/speakercable funds to buy a decent Active Monitor from you local guitar shop.

A pair ofthese are meant to be listened to in near field, are pretty accurate (typically used for recording/mixing), and are built like tanks. They would go for 900$ per pair. Here is some more information about the Mackie 624 active monitor. The idea of the active monitor is that it has switches that compensate for interactions with your desk, or the wall behind the speaker. Of course, active monitors have their own built-in amplification and do not need speaker cables as they take the source output directly. Normal speakers need stands away from the desk because they don't have the boundary compensation.

The Ipod dock would be another 50$, and the ministereo to RCA connection needed would be another 10$.

As you already know, there are plenty of 2.0 setups in your price range that will work out for you. It will come down to the features that you want, and what you think you want in terms of future expandability. If you are set on the polk, i do recommend trying to find a place to listen to them first. The speaker is a very individual thing, and they all sound different to different people (due in part to the speaker technology used, and to the variance in human ears).

 

[Davegod75]

Thanks for the info. I do like the ability to expand and have a receiver for movies, even though I will be mainly using the system for digital music.

Anyone know if any of the various IPOD docks allow you to see the IPODS menus and what not on the TV. i.e album art, ipod navigation screens, etc

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: Davegod75
Thanks for the info. I do like the ability to expand and have a receiver for movies, even though I will be mainly using the system for digital music.

Anyone know if any of the various IPOD docks allow you to see the IPODS menus and what not on the TV. i.e album art, ipod navigation screens, etc

With your original setup, you almost have enough extra cash to buy a mac mini and use that a music server lol (which should show all the album art I think, although I am not very familiar with itunes). With Itunes, and the remote control that comes with the mac mini, just sync your ipod to it, and you could "be done with it". I dont know how that suits your fancy...

 

[herm0016]

or for a bit less than a mac mini, an apple tv... that could be just what you are looking for, you can also hack the apple tv to run a regular os if you want it also.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I'm just wondering. Does that receiver just do HDMI passthrough? In other words does it decode the audio on the HDMI if you run it out from a HD DVD or Blu-Ray player?

I know the OP only is interested in stereo listening, but in the future would it not be prudent to invest in an HDMI audio solution. I'm not all that familiar with audio setups for just stereo listening. Just a thought.

Don't mean to stray off topic too much. I'm curious about the receiver's capabilities though.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
I'm just wondering. Does that receiver just do HDMI passthrough? In other words does it decode the audio on the HDMI if you run it out from a HD DVD or Blu-Ray player?

I know the OP only is interested in stereo listening, but in the future would it not be prudent to invest in an HDMI audio solution. I'm not all that familiar with audio setups for just stereo listening. Just a thought.

Don't mean to stray off topic too much. I'm curious about the receiver's capabilities though.

I believe it does not do audio over HDMI.

For a couple good deals on receivers, ClubOnkyo has some really attractive prices on refurb receivers.

The Onkyo 605 is $299
The Onkyo 805 is $599

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
I'm just wondering. Does that receiver just do HDMI passthrough? In other words does it decode the audio on the HDMI if you run it out from a HD DVD or Blu-Ray player?

I know the OP only is interested in stereo listening, but in the future would it not be prudent to invest in an HDMI audio solution. I'm not all that familiar with audio setups for just stereo listening. Just a thought.

Don't mean to stray off topic too much. I'm curious about the receiver's capabilities though.

I believe it does not do audio over HDMI.

For a couple good deals on receivers, ClubOnkyo has some really attractive prices on refurb receivers.

The Onkyo 605 is $299
The Onkyo 805 is $599

ok, was curious. How confident are you in buying refurb receivers? Those prices are pretty nice.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
I'm just wondering. Does that receiver just do HDMI passthrough? In other words does it decode the audio on the HDMI if you run it out from a HD DVD or Blu-Ray player?

I know the OP only is interested in stereo listening, but in the future would it not be prudent to invest in an HDMI audio solution. I'm not all that familiar with audio setups for just stereo listening. Just a thought.

Don't mean to stray off topic too much. I'm curious about the receiver's capabilities though.

I believe it does not do audio over HDMI.

For a couple good deals on receivers, ClubOnkyo has some really attractive prices on refurb receivers.

The Onkyo 605 is $299
The Onkyo 805 is $599

ok, was curious. How confident are you in buying refurb receivers? Those prices are pretty nice.

I've never bought a new receiver

I bought a refurb HK from harmanaudio, a floor model Pioneer from BB, and a used Onkyo from CraigsList.

I've had good luck with the purchases and wouldn't hesitate to buy another one used.

The ones from ShopOnkyo come with a 1 year warranty and you can purchase an additional warranty on top of that iirc.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
I'm just wondering. Does that receiver just do HDMI passthrough? In other words does it decode the audio on the HDMI if you run it out from a HD DVD or Blu-Ray player?

I know the OP only is interested in stereo listening, but in the future would it not be prudent to invest in an HDMI audio solution. I'm not all that familiar with audio setups for just stereo listening. Just a thought.

Don't mean to stray off topic too much. I'm curious about the receiver's capabilities though.

I believe it does not do audio over HDMI.

For a couple good deals on receivers, ClubOnkyo has some really attractive prices on refurb receivers.

The Onkyo 605 is $299
The Onkyo 805 is $599

ok, was curious. How confident are you in buying refurb receivers? Those prices are pretty nice.

I've never bought a new receiver

I bought a refurb HK from harmanaudio, a floor model Pioneer from BB, and a used Onkyo from CraigsList.

I've had good luck with the purchases and wouldn't hesitate to buy another one used.

The ones from ShopOnkyo come with a 1 year warranty and you can purchase an additional warranty on top of that iirc.

nice...now I know where to look when I'm ready for a receiver.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
I'm just wondering. Does that receiver just do HDMI passthrough? In other words does it decode the audio on the HDMI if you run it out from a HD DVD or Blu-Ray player?

I know the OP only is interested in stereo listening, but in the future would it not be prudent to invest in an HDMI audio solution. I'm not all that familiar with audio setups for just stereo listening. Just a thought.

Don't mean to stray off topic too much. I'm curious about the receiver's capabilities though.

I believe it does not do audio over HDMI.

For a couple good deals on receivers, ClubOnkyo has some really attractive prices on refurb receivers.

The Onkyo 605 is $299
The Onkyo 805 is $599

ok, was curious. How confident are you in buying refurb receivers? Those prices are pretty nice.

I've never bought a new receiver

I bought a refurb HK from harmanaudio, a floor model Pioneer from BB, and a used Onkyo from CraigsList.

I've had good luck with the purchases and wouldn't hesitate to buy another one used.

The ones from ShopOnkyo come with a 1 year warranty and you can purchase an additional warranty on top of that iirc.

nice...now I know where to look when I'm ready for a receiver.

Occasionally there are really good deals for new receivers too, so keep an eye out.

6ave recently had some really good deals on the mid-upper Onkyo units that would have made buying used not worth the risk.

audiogon and videogon are a couple audio-specific used sites to check out as well.

Several manufacturers also have forums where members post used equipment too. Really good if you're looking for used equipment from that manufacturer, but a lot of random stuff turns up as well.
Examples: Polk, AV123

 

[Davegod75]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
I'm just wondering. Does that receiver just do HDMI passthrough? In other words does it decode the audio on the HDMI if you run it out from a HD DVD or Blu-Ray player?

I know the OP only is interested in stereo listening, but in the future would it not be prudent to invest in an HDMI audio solution. I'm not all that familiar with audio setups for just stereo listening. Just a thought.

Don't mean to stray off topic too much. I'm curious about the receiver's capabilities though.

I believe it does not do audio over HDMI.

For a couple good deals on receivers, ClubOnkyo has some really attractive prices on refurb receivers.

The Onkyo 605 is $299
The Onkyo 805 is $599

How could I make this this receiver does/does not do Audio over HDMI. What do i need to look for?

 

[Davegod75]

Also, I like polks but what do others recommend the same price range?

How about speaker stands... Is this way too much to pay http://www.crutchfield.com/S-U...x?i=051SF22B&s=0&cc=01

 

[Davegod75]

bump

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Davegod75

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
I'm just wondering. Does that receiver just do HDMI passthrough? In other words does it decode the audio on the HDMI if you run it out from a HD DVD or Blu-Ray player?

I know the OP only is interested in stereo listening, but in the future would it not be prudent to invest in an HDMI audio solution. I'm not all that familiar with audio setups for just stereo listening. Just a thought.

Don't mean to stray off topic too much. I'm curious about the receiver's capabilities though.

I believe it does not do audio over HDMI.

For a couple good deals on receivers, ClubOnkyo has some really attractive prices on refurb receivers.

The Onkyo 605 is $299
The Onkyo 805 is $599

How could I make this this receiver does/does not do Audio over HDMI. What do i need to look for?

If it did audio over HDMI, it would probably advertise it as a big feature.

To be sure, you can find the product manual and check for how it shows to connect up HDMI devices. If it makes a note that you must connect another cable to transmit audio, then you know that the HDMI input does not do audio.

Most of the budget receivers do not do audio over HDMI, which is one thing that makes the Onkyo 605 a cut above most of the other offerings at this pricerange.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Davegod75
Also, I like polks but what do others recommend the same price range?

How about speaker stands... Is this way too much to pay http://www.crutchfield.com/S-U...x?i=051SF22B&s=0&cc=01

I have a list of some options in my sticky thread.

I'd be looking at AV123's X-series at about this range too.

Those look like nice stands, but you want to make sure you're getting a good height based on your speaker to get the tweeters at ear level. I'd also have a hard time getting stands that expensive for budget speakers.