# Noob in desperate need of a lot of help!!



## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

Ok here's the deal. I've got b&w dm302's which I bought brand new and I love them. I want to include them anyway I can for my home theater. I need a new receiver and centre channel and most likely fronts. What do you recommend? Id love to say I have 800 for the audio and 1500 for my projector. I'm looking at the optima hd33 right now and heard good things.

I am also moving my gear into the basement but I am not finishing two poured concrete walls. It's a budget setup for now but I am a good DIYer. Any cheap recommendations for basement mods to reduce reverb?

I am looking to spend around 400 on the receiver as well. Keep in mind that I expect to buy everything used. 

I appreciate your help with this

Sean


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

I also have a velodyne subwoofer which I will be keeping.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Hi Sean, Welcome aboard the Shack!

Have a look at this receiver, its got more than you need for power and it amazingly inexpensive for what you get. I know its over budget but its an amazing deal


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

Hello and thank you for your welcome into this community. 

I've heard great things about Onkyo except for the shelf life. A lot of people seem to be complaining about it failing. 

I want to pair my b&w dm302's with other brands of speakers. Should I stick with b&w's? Also I will be buying used so I can get higher end stuff for cheaper.


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

It is always best to stay with the same brand of speakers for all channels so that the individual speakers will sound as much as the same as possible. That will make left-right and front-back pans smoother. Having the exact same speaker in all locations is the best, but many times space and budget will not allow that.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

SeanMc said:


> Hello and thank you for your welcome into this community.
> 
> I've heard great things about Onkyo except for the shelf life. A lot of people seem to be complaining about it failing.


Thats just rubbish! I have had my Onkyo for 5 years now and not one issue at all. and I know many many other Shack members here who also have had the same success with their Onkyos. 



> I want to pair my b&w dm302's with other brands of speakers. Should I stick with b&w's? Also I will be buying used so I can get higher end stuff for cheaper.


As mentioned above you defiantly want to stay with the same series of speakers for your front in particular so look for another B&W 300 series centre channel.


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## JQueen (Jan 11, 2012)

Onkyo owner here I've had no issues with my 805


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

hjones4841 said:


> It is always best to stay with the same brand of speakers for all channels so that the individual speakers will sound as much as the same as possible. That will make left-right and front-back pans smoother. Having the exact same speaker in all locations is the best, but many times space and budget will not allow that.


Really? I can get the exact speakers I have for like 100 on Kijiji. Would you recommend those and a random b&w center channel?


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

JQueen said:


> Onkyo owner here I've had no issues with my 805


Good to hear that. It's hard searching the net for this kind of stuff with so many random comments. It's nice to be on here now with people that know what they are talking about


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

You could most certainly use another 302 as your centre channel but you can not place it on its side it must remain upright. If you have a decent sub using 302s all around would be a great option.


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

tonyvdb said:


> You could most certainly use another 302 as your centre channel but you can not place it on its side it must remain upright. If you have a decent sub using 302s all around would be a great option.


I've got a velodyne sub. I didn't know you can use an upright speaker as a centre channel. Interesting. 

I'll try my luck and ask here. My dad does some work in a church and they swapped out the audio system. They gave him who game me very large speakers where the theater has a horn and there is a 12" woofer. Can I use this in a home theater setting?


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

the matching center for the 302s is the CC3 if you can find on used.

Here is another option for a receiver
http://www.accessories4less.com//ma...V-Home-Theater-Receiver-w/Airplay/1.html?c=t5
Not as good as what Tony recommends imho but still a nice unit.

If you are building your HT in a concrete room, you can go different ways to minimize reverb

A. Hang heavy curtains around the room and put carpet and underpad down
B. Frame the room and add fiberglass bat in the cavity
C. Buy absorption panels
D. A combination of the above


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

Andre said:


> the matching center for the 302s is the CC3 if you can find on used.
> 
> Here is another option for a receiver
> http://www.accessories4less.com//make-a-store/item/DENAVR1912/DENON-AVR-1912-7.1ch-Network-A/V-Home-Theater-Receiver-w/Airplay/1.html?c=t5
> ...


Wow thank you Andre very informative and helpful. I don't need 7.1 for my application. How does the Denon AVR-1713 compare?


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Why go down when the 1912 is cheaper by $10....:spend:


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

Andre said:


> Why go down when the 1912 is cheaper by $10....:spend:


Is it really cheaper than the older model? Hmmm in that case 1912 it is. 

Any recommendations on large speakers meant for arena etc. I'll try to reduce the picture size


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...Networking-Receiver-w/AirPlay-3D-Ready/1.html

Ok, not sure if I am reading that right, you are looking for speakers for an arena? As in pro sound hanging from the ceiling?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Just be aware that the Denon 1920 has been bench tested and did really poor on power output. When you step down to low in the receiver lineups you loose out on much more than just features.


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

tonyvdb said:


> Just be aware that the Denon 1920 has been bench tested and did really poor on power output. When you step down to low in the receiver lineups you loose out on much more than just features.


What receiver would you recommend if not the 1912?


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Tony recommended the one from Amazon




tonyvdb said:


> Hi Sean, Welcome aboard the Shack!
> 
> Have a look at this receiver, its got more than you need for power and it amazingly inexpensive for what you get. I know its over budget but its an amazing deal


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

Andre said:


> Tony recommended the one from Amazon


Yes, but I'm looking for something a little less expensive an something I am
likely to get used.


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

okie dok

any clearification on your request for area speakers? Are we talking Gym or hockey arena...


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

SeanMc said:


> What receiver would you recommend if not the 1912?


If you dont want to spend as much as the Onkyo 809 or 709 This Onkyo 609 is still better than any of the Denons mentioned and was bench tested to output better than 85watts per channel all channels driven. It also has a very good video processor and has THX certification giving you some very useful processing modes.


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

The Onkyo does have a better amplifier section and better overall build quality.

The notable differences between the Onkyo 609 and the Denon 1912 imho are:

Audyssey multeq http://www.audyssey.com/audio-technology/multeq (going up to the 709 gets you this)

Airplay http://jailbreakessentials.com/what-is-airplay applicable only if you would like to stream video/audio from an Apple device.


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

Andre said:


> okie dok
> 
> any clearification on your request for area speakers? Are we talking Gym or hockey arena...


I wish I could post the pic but I have to downsize the file. It was for a church, so the tweeter has a horn in front of it and the woofer is about a 12" and 8 ohm. Apparently they are like 2000 bucks but I believe they are custom. I dot know what you really call it. Monitor speakers? 

They are approximately 3 ft high an made from plywood. They are also like 75 lbs.


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

tonyvdb said:


> If you dont want to spend as much as the Onkyo 809 or 709 This Onkyo 609 is still better than any of the Denons mentioned and was bench tested to output better than 85watts per channel all channels driven. It also has a very good video processor and has THX certification giving you some very useful processing modes.


Yes man this one is prettying perfect. Whats with accessories 4 less. Is this a good company to buy from? I live in Ontario Canada


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

Andre said:


> The Onkyo does have a better amplifier section and better overall build quality.
> 
> The notable differences between the Onkyo 609 and the Denon 1912 imho are:
> 
> ...


Hmm I'd pay extra for the 709 for the mic thingy I don't need AirPlay as everything I have is Mac inc apple tv


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

I've had my eye on the Optima HD33 for quite some time. Just waiting for the price to come down a bit. At the same price range should I have my eyes set on another brand model? I don't need or want 3d and I'll e in a basement with little ambient light. 

Not sure this is the right place to post but I've had a good response so far.


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Forget A4L they don't ship recievers to Canada
Check if the Amazon.com receiver Tony sugestted ship to Canada if so its a great deal.
If not, http://www.electronicsforless.ca/au...16-7-2-channel-network-a-v-receiver-2860.html Is another option.

Are you considering putting those church speakers in your small HT? If so, I wouldn't, they are ment to throw sound a good distance and upclose wouldn't sound correct imho


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

Andre said:


> Forget A4L they don't ship recievers to Canada
> Check if the Amazon.com receiver Tony sugestted ship to Canada if so its a great deal.
> If not, http://www.electronicsforless.ca/audio-3/amplifiers-receivers-13/onkyo-tx-nr616-7-2-channel-network-a-v-receiver-2860.html Is another option.
> 
> Are you considering putting those church speakers in your small HT? If so, I wouldn't, they are ment to throw sound a good distance and upclose wouldn't sound correct imho


Well that's the answer I was looking for. I really didn't know how they would sound in a basement setting. Thanks


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

Andre said:


> Tony recommended the one from Amazon


What about the onkyo 509?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

The 509 falsl into the category where you loos alot of features and the power output drops to a level thats not very good.


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## SeanMc (Mar 11, 2013)

tonyvdb said:


> The 509 falsl into the category where you loos alot of features and the power output drops to a level thats not very good.


Good to know... Thanks


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Its the Onkyo 809 $520



tonyvdb said:


> Hi Sean, Welcome aboard the Shack!
> 
> Have a look at this receiver, its got more than you need for power and it amazingly inexpensive for what you get. I know its over budget but its an amazing deal


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