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What do you guys think of this AV combo?

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vi edit said:
All it took for me to get a dedicated theatre all to myself was building her a new house.

Not sure if I'd call that a win or not.

:\
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I have a man cave that quite honestly, would make a good home theater room. The main issue is that I would have to cut back significantly on some of my other gear to make it happen.

I really wish we would've bought a house with a basement.
 
What kind of cabinet do you have? Maybe you could go 4.1, with the fronts inside cabinet cutouts (covered by a grille if necessary, but it's probably not).
 
s44 said:
What kind of cabinet do you have? Maybe you could go 4.1, with the fronts inside cabinet cutouts (covered by a grille if necessary, but it's probably not).
Click to expand...

Yeah, that won't work unfortunately. I did consider putting the fronts inside the cabinet and just opening the doors during movies. I was just concerned that the acoustics would be really bad.
 
Exterous said:
If you have to go with a teenie tiny speaker system I like the sound of the Energy Take Classic. There used to be just a 5.0 set of them out there as well

http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-speaker-systems/energy-take-classic-5/4505-7868_7-33310963.html
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The Energy Take is the one I'm kind of looking at right now. I'm thinking I may get the receiver and hook up my older, larger speakers and then "improve" the setup with the smaller ones so my wife thinks I am trying to appease her. :awe:
 
2.5" 'woofers'? Don't expect much. I'm pretty sure you'd be better off with the ultra-cheap Daytons. (Actually, I think there was a thread on this.)

You *can* get very nice sound out of fairly small speakers, but you have to pay.
 
Someone mentioned "hiding" your speakers -- this is probably a bit more do-able than you might think. Acoustic Research came out with a series of speakers designed to fit in various "home decor" implements that were designed to be acoustically transparent.

http://www.electronichouse.com/slideshow/category/664/134

Search Amazon for "AR Home Decor":

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MMVGYK
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MPQSW2
http://www.amazon.com/Rectangular-Wi...dp/B000MMWSHY/
http://www.amazon.com/Décor-Table-HD...dp/B000MMYRE6/
http://www.amazon.com/Table-Weave-HD...dp/B000MMWSK6/

I think that probably any fairly-small speaker that you could buy (such as the Energy Takes, or the Klipsches you had linked at the beginning) would fit just fine into these. You could also probably find similar wicker baskets etc. Unfortunately it looks like the Acoustic Research stuff has been discontinued, but some of it is still available at Amazon.

Another thing to consider would be in-wall/in-ceiling speakers. They take a lot of work to install, but they can be hidden pretty well.
 
I'm going to mostly oversimplify and just say when it comes to speakers bookshelf...tower..sub...you get the following choices:

1) Sound quality (vague term that covers extension, dynamics, and ability to be driven without distortion)

2) Size

3) Cost

Pick two.

And all of the best speakers in the world can be immediately humbled in less than ideal placement options.

If all you want is a little more volume & punch to your TV viewing with minimal intrusion into the room just get it over with and buy a soundbar with a wireless subwoofer for a couple hundred bucks.
 
I was about to pull the trigger on the Onkyo TX-SR608 receiver. The only concern I have is that there seems to be known issues handling 3D signals over HDMI (despite it being 1.4a compliant) and possible issues with HDMI passthrough. Otherwise it looks perfect.

UGH!
 
IndyColtsFan said:
I was about to pull the trigger on the Onkyo TX-SR608 receiver. The only concern I have is that there seems to be known issues handling 3D signals over HDMI (despite it being 1.4a compliant) and possible issues with HDMI passthrough. Otherwise it looks perfect.

UGH!
Click to expand...

Cant confirm on the 3d part for you but HDMI pass though is working just fine for me.
Just set up a 608 with an LG 50pk950 last night.

make sure you turn off the video filters that the stupid reciever has on by default.
 
jaha2000 said:
Cant confirm on the 3d part for you but HDMI pass though is working just fine for me.
Just set up a 608 with an LG 50pk950 last night.

make sure you turn off the video filters that the stupid reciever has on by default.
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So, if you have a cable box plugged into the SR608 via HDMI and your TV is plugged into HDMI out, you can watch TV without having the receiver powered on? No problems doing this?
 
IndyColtsFan said:
So, if you have a cable box plugged into the SR608 via HDMI and your TV is plugged into HDMI out, you can watch TV without having the receiver powered on? No problems doing this?
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I own a TX-SR607. I powered the receiver off and I lost the picture on the TV, all connected via HDMI.

I have own this receiver for 6 months now and I am extremely happy with it.
 
Thanks for all the feedback. After reading a ton of reviews, forums, and comparisons, I've decided to drop the TX-SR608 from further consideration due to many reported issues. I'm likely going to the Denon AVR-791.
 
IndyColtsFan said:
:thumbsup:

I would assume that the Denon 791/1911 would be the same way then. I just don't want to have to power on the receiver for when my wife just wants to watch some basic TV.
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Heh, it's all about setting those expectations. When my wife first moved in with me, I had a front projector setup with 5 speakers (2 front towers included) in a studio apartment. The receiver *had* to be turned on because the projector had no internal speakers. We have moved twice now, and I have changed my setup around a bit (I think I've upgraded receivers twice, and gone through a couple of speaker configurations) but she has been used to turning on the receiver from day 1. She loves watching movies (checks out DVD's from the library and usually watches 2 or 3 a day -- we don't have cable and never watch actual TV) and I think the sound is a big part of that. She doesn't like to crank it super loud, but I can often hear the bass from way in the other room.

IMHO a receiver is actually more convenient than switching sources on the TV. At least with the receiver you have direct button access to any source; with a TV, you usually have to cycle through them with a single button.
 
slashbinslashbash said:
Heh, it's all about setting those expectations. When my wife first moved in with me, I had a front projector setup with 5 speakers (2 front towers included) in a studio apartment. The receiver *had* to be turned on because the projector had no internal speakers. We have moved twice now, and I have changed my setup around a bit (I think I've upgraded receivers twice, and gone through a couple of speaker configurations) but she has been used to turning on the receiver from day 1. She loves watching movies (checks out DVD's from the library and usually watches 2 or 3 a day -- we don't have cable and never watch actual TV) and I think the sound is a big part of that. She doesn't like to crank it super loud, but I can often hear the bass from way in the other room.

IMHO a receiver is actually more convenient than switching sources on the TV. At least with the receiver you have direct button access to any source; with a TV, you usually have to cycle through them with a single button.
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Yeah, and if I have to have the receiver on, it isn't THAT big of a deal; either way, it is transparent to her because everything is controlled by a Harmony 880 remote. I just know, however, that if she watches TV and sees the receiver on, the questions will start (she works for an energy conservation company).

Initially, I am going with my old speakers and then I will buy a new set shortly. Probably the Energy Take Classic 5.1 set. I figure if I use my older, larger speakers at first and then switch to smaller ones, I can spin it as me trying to work with her on her desire for the speakers to be "heard, not seen." :awe:

I had a 5.1 setup at my old house, before we got married. I didn't use it lots, but when I did, it rocked. I seriously think we would use it more now.
 
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Now keep in mind that you should not run the TV speakers and the receiver speakers at the same time so this is why I have the speakers in my TV disabled in the options. This may become an issue when your wife turns the TV on and can't get the sound working. Now there may be a setting in your receiver that will not sent the audio to your TV when it is turned on and that would solve this problem easily.
 
Number1 said:
Now keep in mind that you should not run the TV speakers and the receiver speakers at the same time so this is why I have the speakers in my TV disabled in the options. This may become an issue when your wife turns the TV on and can't get the sound working. Now there may be a setting in your receiver that will not sent the audio to your TV when it is turned on and that would solve this problem easily.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I just read that you can configure the receiver to pass audio directly to the TV when the receiver is in Standby mode, which is exactly what I need. So on the Harmony remote, I'll probaby have a "TV" button for just that scenario.
 
Gah -- just when I think I've made a decision, I learn that last year's AVR-890 and more importantly, the AVR-2310CI are on a fire sale and are the exact same price as the AVR-791. The main difference, of course, is the lack of HDMI 1.4a on the 2310. Hmmm....
 
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