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I have $2000 to spend on home theater speaker / audio setup. help me!

R

Rufio

Banned
I already have a 42" plasma.

I need to get a home theater speaker/receiver/dvd player setup ASAP.

I have about $2000 to spend on it.

Speakers need to be small (like the size of Bose). I am NOT going to get Bose.

Help me out guys.

** edit ** updated post **

excellent help so far guys.

i'm looking at these right now:

Hsu Ventriloquist VT-12/STF-1

KHT 2005.2

Orb Audio complete system

Energy act6

JBL SCS300.7

Of course, i want people's opinions on this and other speakers too.

Receivers:
I am very close to getting that Pioneer 1014 - heard so many great things about it. Would that receiver work for the speakers i listed above?

DVD Player:
any recommendation? I have a cheap $80 one I got from Best Buy. Should I throw out some extra $$ and get a real dvd player? 🙂

Cables:
Any recommendations?

Installers:
I am getting this installed in teh Long Beach, CA area. Any installers you guys can recommend there?


**UPDATE MADE A DECISION**

I have settled on the Energy Act6 speakers.

It was a close call, but I trust Energy speakers, and since I'm going to install them myslef, i didn't wnat to have to run a crapload of wires inside the walls . these are only 5.1 -- the others were more than that.

I called ken cranes and they have it for $798.00 in the store. I'm gonna go there unless there is a better option.

I'm gonna talk to the ken cranes guy today about the receiver, but i'm still leaning towards teh pioneer 1014.

Any thoughts on this setup? Anyone know where i can get the Energy Act6 speakers for cheaper?

Thanks!
 
Originally posted by: Reck
can the promedias even be hooked up to a reciever? I think you'd blow them out like that.
Click to expand...

Klipsch quintet.

EDIT: quick BB link

Oh, get an SVS if you can. Your budget certainly allows for it 🙂

Pioneer 1014 or 1015 is a great receiver in the $400 to $500 range.

I'd suggest overall spending about $900 on the speakers, $500 on a sub, and $500 on the receiver (leaving $100 for odds and ends)

just a rough estimate. (as in don't get a $1000 reciever and $500 speakers)
 
Klipsch? C'mon guys, you can do better than that.

Take a look at some packages from Onix. They have packages at several price tiers; Tyke, ELT, and Rocket are probably the only ones that will fit your budget.

Add this Pioneer wolf in sheep's clothing...has a lot of similarities to their Elite reciever.
 
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Klipsch? C'mon guys, you can do better than that.

Take a look at some packages from Onix. They have packages at several price tiers; Tyke, ELT, and Rocket are probably the only ones that will fit your budget.

Add this Pioneer wolf in sheep's clothing...has a lot of similarities to their Elite reciever.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying Klipsch is a good idea. I was just clarifying that he didn't mean promedias.

I agree with the 1014 or 1015 as I posted above 😉 (the internals are from the Pioneer Elite VSX-52TX btw)

Too bad this wasn't 2 months ago, AV123 and Plasmadocs were getting rid of their stock of cherry ELTs for $129/pair. I seriously considered getting some.

Rufio, if Ascend Acoustics 170s would be small enough for you, those could be a great option.



 
excellent help so far guys.

i'm looking at these right now:

Hsu Ventriloquist VT-12/STF-1

KHT 2005.2

Orb Audio complete system

Energy act6

JBL SCS300.7

Of course, i want people's opinions on this and other speakers too.

Receivers:
I am very close to getting that Pioneer 1014 - heard so many great things about it. Would that receiver work for the speakers i listed above?

DVD Player:
any recommendation? I have a cheap $80 one I got from Best Buy. Should I throw out some extra $$ and get a real dvd player? 🙂

Cables:
Any recommendations?

Installers:
I am getting this installed in teh Long Beach, CA area. Any installers you guys can recommend there?
 
I've heard great things about the ventriloquist set if you absolutely need it that small. It's a great deal if you're getting an HSU sub. An HSU STF-2 was a close second when I was picking out my sub.

I ended up with an SVS PB-10 and I'm loving it. Hometheatersecrets Review

Don't spend too much on cables. You're not going to notice a difference. Just get a decent gauge for the length you need.
Partsexpress is a great place for HT cables for cheap.

Proper placement is important too.

That Pioneer should work just fine with any of those speaker sets.

Installers? 😛

 
Rufio,

HSU makes great subs. Ventrilos are great, but better suited for smaller rooms with seating in the sweet spot. The Ventrilos are only enjoyed if you're sitting in the sweet spot so the center channel can do its work. Great for the price though.

KHT...good stuff, but I have no personal experience.

Not too sure about the Orb. Traditional speaker design for sats (midrange + tweeter) has always sounded better to me. Energy's are nice. Make sure you take a look at the Onix Tykes.

Reciever - Get the Pioneer.

DVD Player - depends on if your plasma is EDTV or HDTV. If EDTV, check AVSForum for the best 480P progressive scan player (Denon, Panasonic are two names that pop up a lot). Make sure they have Faroudja deinterlacers. If you have a HDTV plasma, fixed pixel displays benefit greatly from upconverting DVD players. The best under $200 is the Toshiba V592 (has a Faroudja deinterlacer and upcoverts to 720P/1080i). Panasonic, Zenith/LG and Denon also have great upconverting players (that incidentally have the same Faroudja deinterlacer as the Toshiba). Make sure you get a player that has outputs to match your plasma (be it component, DVI, or HDMI).

Cables - you are going to get a lot of arguments over this. I try to walk the middle-ground to avoid both extremes. First rule: avoid Monster cables - overpriced. Second rule: Don't buy into the super-expensive boutique cables - even if they offer an improvement, you're not going to notice it unless you spend significantly more on your AV equipment.

Optical cables, DVI/HDMI, and digital/coax cables - you're not going to notice the difference between $10 cables and $70 cables because it's all 1s and 0s. Just get one that looks like it's built well and you'll be fine.

For component video cables, search eBay for "canare" and/or "belden". There are a lot of people who make cables using Canare and Belden cables and interconnects, they are price reasonably, and they are broadcast quality components with ample bandwidth for HDTV. I figure it's worth the $30-$40 bucks for them. $20 Acoustic Research component cables are a good alternative as well.

Speaker cables - just get a spool of 12-14 gauge OFC speaker wire from partsexpress.com and add some gold plated banana plugs.

Installers - you're only spending $2k on audio equipment. Install it yourself. You'll need a measuring tape, a drill, a level, speaker mounts/stands, wall anchors, and an weekend to setup/tweak. Just plan ahead, and do a good job with running your wires discreetly.

The Pioneer will do the audio setup by itself using the MCACC, and you can do a basic picture setup with a Video Essentials or AVIA DVD. Hire a reputable ISF calibrator when the opportunity arises.
 
For a DVD player why not just use your computer? If you have a powerful enough computer you can get a picture better with FFDshow than any upscaling DVD player. That's assuming that you have an HD plasma and not an ED one. If you do have an ED plasma than the picture won't get much better than your $80 DVD player.
 
Originally posted by: HombrePequeno
Originally posted by: CheapArse
Get a part time job at bestbuy/circuit city and cash in on the 60-70% discount.
Click to expand...

and like 90% on any sort of wires.
Click to expand...

Nothing like turning your $2000 into a >$4500 HT system...plus you could earn enough to pay for it working nights & weekends.
 
I have settled on the Energy Act6 speakers.

It was a close call, but I trust Energy speakers, and since I'm going to install them myslef, i didn't wnat to have to run a crapload of wires inside the walls . these are only 5.1 -- the others were more than that.

I called ken cranes and they have it for $798.00 in the store. I'm gonna go there unless there is a better option.

I'm gonna talk to the ken cranes guy today about the receiver, but i'm still leaning towards teh pioneer 1014.

Any thoughts on this setup? Anyone know where i can get the Energy Act6 speakers for cheaper?

Thanks!
 
Originally posted by: Rufio
I have settled on the Energy Act6 speakers.

It was a close call, but I trust Energy speakers, and since I'm going to install them myslef, i didn't wnat to have to run a crapload of wires inside the walls . these are only 5.1 -- the others were more than that.

I called ken cranes and they have it for $798.00 in the store. I'm gonna go there unless there is a better option.

I'm gonna talk to the ken cranes guy today about the receiver, but i'm still leaning towards teh pioneer 1014.

Any thoughts on this setup? Anyone know where i can get the Energy Act6 speakers for cheaper?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Have you listened to them yet? I wouldn't recommend investing that much $ into something without listening to them first. Don't trust what reviews say on their word alone.
 
Originally posted by: nitsuj3580
Isn't the Pioneer 1015 just around the corner? I was going to buy the 1014 myself but am waiting for the 1015 now.
Click to expand...

1015

EDIT: on the page before that, it lists it as in stock, not sure if that's a glitch or not.
 
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