I have about $700 to spend on a basic setup

[PascalT]

I'm looking to spend around $700 (flexible) on a receiver with 2 front speakers.

Right now it's all I want because I am in an apartment building and the owner is below and has 2 babies right under our living room that sleep there (so no big bass allowed). On top of that we have a rather small TV area. I will look to expand later to a full 5.1 system.

Right now the system would mostly be used for my xbox 360 and some movies on a 1080p Aquos. I don't really have any specific requirements for the system as it's my first foray into an HT system. I do have a hobby as a headphone audiophile so I do appreciate high quality sound.

What can $700 buy me in Canada that might be a great value or at the doorstep of high quality stuff? I don't mind paying a bit more for quality if it's warranted.

Ideally it would be available online at a Canadian retailer!

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[BassBomb]

It sucks being up here we get reamed by shipping costs or high prices in Canada.

I just bought Infinity P162 pair and a PS12 which ended up costing around 620$ after shipping mostly due to UPS.

Check out www.theaudiovideosource.com see if you can get them to go with USPS and save money that way. I'd get the P362 floor standing speakers.

Otherwise if you purchase in Canada you are really limited to entry level speakers like Polk R50 for 300$ or Monitor 50 which is not really a good price.

I'd also check out Paradigm Atom which cost approx $300 from retailers in Canada.

Good luck!

EDIT: Another reccomendation would be Onkyo 7.1 HTIB which is better than average HTIB and comes with a reciever if that floats your boat.

 

[PascalT]

thanks for the info. You're right, we get raped by costs here even tho our dollar is even to the USD.

I found this place that has a lot of options for receivers/speakers: http://2001audiovideo.ca/

 

[PascalT]

oh and yes UPS is the devil. I always always avoid them now. They charge insane broker fees because they use their own brokers.

 

[BassBomb]

Here will be some to help you:

2001audiovideo.com
futureshop.ca
bestbuy.ca
visions.ca
thebrick.com
crutchfieldcanada.com


local for me:
Oakville Sight and Sound
FairviewHiFi (they have a website)
Telecity Electronics (GTA, website does not state prices)

 

[PascalT]

thanks!

so far the best "deal" I see on a decent HTIB is the Onkyo HTSR800 here: http://www.2001audiovideo.com/...o.php?id=HTSR800B&clr= The Visions place has it at 800+

I'm just not sure yet I want to go that way. It's a simple way but I think getting my stuff piece by piece is more rewarding in a way.. I'm geeky like that.

 

[BassBomb]

I saw it for 500 somewhere once, but I don't know about shipping for it.

BTW 2001audiovideo you can't buy online

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

If this apartment situation is temporary and you'll be expanding later on, I think it's a very good idea to leave yourself an upgrade path.

Have you checked out the sticky thread? It has info on auditioning and some pros / cons of a HTIB vs. building up over time.

 

[PascalT]

Yea I read it, lots of great info. I'm really not well versed in speakers and how to pick them, so I am a bit lost as to which ones to get.

thanks.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

If you can get out to some AV type stores and actually listen to some different options, I think you'll have a better understanding of some of the differences. Without some frame of reference from listening experience, it's hard to read any sort of reviews and comments to understand what they might mean in terms of your own listening preferences. (Unless your experience from headphones can carry over)

Axiom is a big internet direct company with in-home trials (you'd have to pay return shipping though if you tested them out and didn't like them), but some people think they're a little on the bright side.

Can you check Paradigm's site to see if there are any local dealers where you could do a demo?

 

[PascalT]

True to all that. Yes I checked and Paradigm have a few retailers close to my place. I might go check them out, I've read good things about Paradigm. I'm just always weary of buying things in retail stores as they usually cost more. Online I can usually save taxes and get better prices.

Thanks!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Yeah, some brands are easy to find both online and retail, but there are a significant number of speaker brands that are either one or the other (only B&M or only Internet Direct)

 

[PascalT]

I think i'm going to aim for Paradigm speakers as they are readily available near me and I only read good reviews about them.

I just have to decide between Mini Monitor v.5 ($480) or the Atom Monitor ($288 on sale/pr)

 

[alcoholbob]

Another name to throw out is the Energy Reference series, such as the Energy RC-mini. I think from a performance standpoint they may be superior to the Paradigms, the Athena/Energy/Mirage brands are under the same ownership and have produced speakers based on the Canadian NRC research along with some other famous Canadian companies like Axiom. The RC-mini is bass shy, probably the way you like it, but with very high quality drivers. They are $400/pair retail.

Now almost all of the retail brands here listed have the "smiley face" sound to them, also known as East Coast Sound, British Sound. This is when the midbass and the treble are boosted in order to sound like there is more bass than there is and greater "clarity."

Check out soundstageav.com for speaker measurements.

I've noticed most Canadia brands have this, maybe attempting to sound like B&W? Paradigm also goes for the smiley face sound except with their Signature series.

 

[PascalT]

thanks for the info. I'll check them out. Right now I am pretty set on buying av123's x-ls encore series, along with the center/sub. A lot of ppl say they are much better than the Paradigms.

 

[PascalT]

The Energy series comes out to almost double the price of the AV123s.. $100 more for the fronts and 150 for the center channel. It's a bit expensive tho he saves me some shipping fees since AV123 ships from the US.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I would think that X-LS shipped + fees to get to Canada would bring the price up quite a bit. I believe I've seen some classifieds ads in the AV123 forum from Canadians that mentioned some significant fees to get them.

I believe you also give up the risk-free trial going outside the US as well.

 

[PascalT]

Yep. I compared the costs of the 3 options when I decide to go for a sub/center.


Paradigm Atom Monitor

288 fronts
300 center
400 sub
------------
1000


123AV x-ls

299 fronts
130 Center
199 Sub
100-175 shipping
-------------
725-800


Energy C-200

400 fronts
300 center
~300 sub
--------
1000

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Keep in mind that the subwoofer doesn't have to match the speaker brand. Matching the front three speakers is important, but unless you're getting a really good package discount for buying the whole system at once, then I think the subwoofer decision should be independent of your speaker choice.

 

[PascalT]

True, some of the subs are quite expensive. Another option would be to get an Onkyo 5.1/7.1 HTIB at around 700-800, or an Energy 5.1 at around the same price. I'll have to mull over all these options for a while.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

A big part of that decision might be your mix of movies vs. music.

If this is entirely a gaming / movie / tv type setup, you'll probably be quite happy with a lower cost 5.1 set.

If music is a priority and you're used to having it sound good with headphones, then I think it's more critical to get better quality speakers and build up from there.

 

[PascalT]

I'd say gaming 60%/TV and movies the rest. I don't listen to music on my TV (unless it's on the music channel which is not too often). I have a set of phones/amp/DAC for my music already.

So knowing that you'd recommend me a set like this one: http://www.electronicsforless....p_-_Power_Sub_in_BLACK

Should I avoid HDMI passthrough connections? I heard I need seperate audio cables for each connection if it has it?

Thanks a TON for your help.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: PascalT
I'd say gaming 60%/TV and movies the rest. I don't listen to music on my TV (unless it's on the music channel which is not too often). I have a set of phones/amp/DAC for my music already.

So knowing that you'd recommend me a set like this one: http://www.electronicsforless....p_-_Power_Sub_in_BLACK

Should I avoid HDMI passthrough connections? I heard I need seperate audio cables for each connection if it has it?

Thanks a TON for your help.

You can use the HDMI on the receiver if you want to (possible sync issues / HDCP crap), but it may be more convenient from an input switching standpoint (you wouldn't need to switch both the TV and receiver source when switching).

If you have a decent remote though, then you could potentially still just hit a single button to switch both or at least just have to use one remote to do both.

I think you have to get up to the Onkyo 908 HTIB to get audio over HDMI?

Up until that point, yeah, you'd need to have an additional cable to do audio.

As for HTIB like this vs. an upgrade path system, it's going to be up to your personal preferences and your expectations for the system.

Do you think you can find a spot to test out those systems? From my experience the HTIB systems like that tend to be out in the "regular store" area vs. "listening rooms" at the Best Buy / Circuit City type places in the US.

 

[PascalT]

Yea currently I have to turn off my cable box when i put my 360 on, or else i get some stupid HDCP "crap" as you call it and I need to re-sync it. I'd obviously prefer to avoid having to buy audio cables for my cable box AND 360.

I think I will have to hear SOMETHING in the stores to make up my mind, otherwise it's a bit of a crap shoot. I'm just debating if going "ok" 5.1 over "great" 2.1 is worth it or not for mainly gaming. anything is an upgrade to my TV's speakers that's for sure.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

The audio cable cost shouldn't be too big of a deal. A basic digial optical cable should only run a few dollars hopefully.

Another thing to think about is what kind of purchaser you are in general. I know I'm an upgrade kind of guy so even though I got a whole system to start with initially, soon I knew I wanted to add to it and make improvements. Since I had a full system to start with, that meant that I'd end up replacing something rather than simply adding to it.

But yeah, go out and try to listen to some different stuff to get a feel for them if possible.