# Putting together my first real system



## Noble (Aug 25, 2010)

Hello,

I am finally getting around to putting together my first home theater surround sound system and with the number of choices out there, I wanted to run it by you guys and make sure it looks alright. I am planning on a 5.1 for now, but want an AVR that is 7.1 capable so I can upgrade after we move and I get a more dedicated room.

I have a fairly open living room where this will go with a carpeted floor. It will be used mostly for TV and movies, probably something like 80%, with about 10% for music and 10% video gaming. I would like to spend around $1000. I do have a couple of older speakers that I can use as surrounds for the time being until I can upgrade them later. That should let me focus the $1000 on the AVR, the fronts, center, and sub. I will be connecting a BlueRay player, HD-DVD player (whoops, guessed wrong there), an xbox360 slim with HDMI, and a TiVo series 3.

The AVR I am looking at is the Onkyo HT-RC260. This is currently $350 on Amazon. It seems like the popular suggestion around here is for the 607 or 707. Do those have something that the RC260 doesn't?

For the fronts, I was thinking a pair of Polk Audio Monitor 70 floor standing speakers at $200 per. And a Polk CS10 center for $120. I would really prefer a horizontal center that I can put on the stand directly beneath my TV.

That leaves me about $200 for a sub which I don't have picked out or anything.

Suggestions? I am on the right track at least?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Welcome aboard the Shack,

The RC260 is HDMI1.4 ready meaning that it will pass through the new 3D signals over HDMI so if that is a must have for you then the rc160 is a good choice.
Ove all you on the right track as far as your list is concerned however I think $200 on a sub is not going to be enough.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
Welcome to HTS. If possible, I would go listen to the Polk's and make sure that you like their sound.
If your budget can go up a bit, PSB's wonderful Image T45 (749 MSRP) are available for around 479 from DMC-Electronics and Saturday Audio. The matching C60 Center Channel is 299 (499 MSRP).

I really think PSB Founder and Designer Paul Barton is a Genius and his Speakers are getting close to unanimous praise from all Professional Reviewers.
Here is a Review of the T-45:http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/psb_image_t45.htm
Another Review of the CC and same Series:http://www.hometheatermag.com/floorloudspeakers/87/
Here is a link for the Speakers:https://dmc-electronics.com/Default.htm (halfway down the page)

For a Subwoofer, if needing to stay under 200 Dollars, I do not think you can do much better than the Dayton Sub 120. Here is a link:http://www.amazon.com/Dayton-SUB-120-Watt-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B000C9NV78
Cheers,
JJ


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## Noble (Aug 25, 2010)

Thanks for the responses guys.

Tony, honestly I don't really need the 3D support. I liked that it does upconversion to 1080p, and 100W per channel, and has a second zone. I suppose the only real non-negotiable thing that I need from the AVR though is at least 5 HDMI in. And my wife's only concern is that she be able to plug her precious iPod into it.

Jack, is the suggestion to listen to the Polk speakers first a general suggestion or is there something specifically about the Polks that I might not like?

Given all of that, if I am looking at:

Onkyo HT-RC260 $350
2 Polk Audio Montor 70s $400
Polk CS10 Center $120
Dayton Sub-120 $195 shipped 
and a pair of existing speakers for surrounds

That puts me at a little over $1000. If I could put another $300-500 more into the system, what would be the places to upgrade to get the most bang for the buck.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Noble said:


> That puts me at a little over $1000. If I could put another $300-500 more into the system, what would be the places to upgrade to get the most bang for the buck.


The sub would be my first choice, I would go with one of these. The SVS PB12 NSD is virtually impossible to beat for the price. 
The reason I suggest a sub is that most decent speakers will reproduce frequencies between 80-20,000Hz well enough to hold there own. A sub however in order to play down low needs to be built very well, have a decent driver and box along with a good amp. Subs below $400 just cant do that without sacrificing db's and depth. If you want a sub that will reach down to below 20Hz with high enough volume to be meaningful where movies really shine you have to spend more.


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Hello Noble.

Honestly with that kind of budget I would hunt the local used market. Here in Edmonton we have the Bargain Finder. At the moment in there you can get a Polk 5.1 speaker set in the box for $200 or a Klipsch/Difinitive set up for $500. 

Make sure they can be set up and listen too before you buy.

As for AVRs I like the Yamaha's for entry level, LOTs of feature but mostly because of the YPAO speaker set up system with a mic. RX-V467 for 5.1 or RX-V567 if you looking at 7.1 later on.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

YAPO is nice and works well. Yamaha also makes good receivers and nothing really different than any others available in that price range. For me personally weight is always the first thing I look at if its a light receiver then that means a small power supply and that equates to poor power output in the amps all channels driven. Ratings are far to wishy washy and a 20lb receiver rated at 90watts per channel is never going to do that when movies call for it to do so. Usually drops down to less than 60% of its rated power and gives you distortion and poor sound quality.


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

At this level I personally don't use weight as a comparison tool. When we get into units with Torodial Transformers....well that a different ball of wax.


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## Noble (Aug 25, 2010)

Well, I am definitely not interested in the used market. That is one thing that I didn't like about the T-45s that Jack linked to. To get the 479 price, you are getting the ding and dent versions and I would rather not right now.

So, after looking around some more, I was wondering what people's opinions were on this set of hardware.

Onyko TX-SR608 $400

Klipsch F-2 for the fronts $200/per
Klipsch C-2 for the center $150
Klipsch Synergy Sub-12 $350

and eventually picking up a pair or four of the S-2s for the surrounds.

Anything particularly bad about this setup? Would the SVS sub for an additional $250 really make that big of a difference?


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Never been a fan of the low end Klipsch. Additionally, those models are discontinued, so they may not be a "new" as you think.

In the end as long as you and your ears are happy all is well. My first HT was from Cambridge Soundworks, years ago with the dual subs. I was very proud of them a the time..


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## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

I have bought a blem from PSB I can tell you if you were to look at my 6i you couldn't tell it was a blem unless I pointed it out to you. There is a white swirl on the underside of the plastic outrigger which no one would ever see the MSRP for the sub was $699 but because of that small blem I got it for $499. So long story short if PSB sells a blem it's a minor imperfection so minor in fact that most people would never notice it.


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

I did the same with my Axioms, never been able to find the blem


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## JCD (Apr 20, 2006)

Have you listened to the speakers that you've listed? It's hard to recommend something like a speaker -- what I perceive as good sound might sound awful to someone else.

That being said, my go to budget speaker right now is the Usher S-520 for $399/pair. At that price, they simply can not be beat. I'd buy two pairs so and use one for the center and then sell the extra, or keep it for 6.1 surround. You could also buy the S-525 if you really wanted to, but it's less of a bargain at $379. I prefer to use the same speakers up front anyway, so getting an extra speaker for $20 seems like a better deal

And the sub -- unless you're willing to build your own, anything from SVS or Hsu is going to blow away anything you might get locally at whatever price point you look at.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

I think that I'd suggest something a little different for your budget.
The previously mentioned PSB T-45 and the previously mentioned SVSound PB12 NSD.
Two good speakers and a good sub will, IMO, outperform a low end Polk, Klipsch, Def Tech et al, 5.1 system. But, that's just me :R :coocoo: :dontknow:


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## Noble (Aug 25, 2010)

Hi JCD,

Unfortunately, I don't know where in my area I can go to listen to some of these speakers. I have been shopping for them pretty much exclusively online. I understand that the speaker sound can be subjective. I do appreciate the help and suggestions that people have already given in this thread. Unfortunately, with my setup the way that it has to be I don't have anywhere to put bookshelf speakers for fronts and have them be ear level. Also, the center is going to go on a TV stand so will need to be one of the horizontal speakers.

I think that I am leaning towards the T-45s and their center counterpart since the consensus seems to be that no one has even really noticed what was blemished about the speakers that they received, at least without really searching the underside. If anyone has gotten a blemished speaker from there and really seen what was wrong, I would love to hear about it before I order.

And I will most likely spring for the SVS sub since everyone here seems really high on that even though it is more than I really wanted to spend. At least it should last me a good long time before ever needing an upgrade, right?


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
I do think the SVS PB-12NSD is well worth the extra money over the Klipsch Subwoofer. The SVS truly is comparable to Subwoofers that cost in the thousands of Dollars. Truly stunning value.

The PSB Speakers really are special. They Bench Test fantastically, sound great with both Music and HT, and are an amazing value. The T-45 is a great Speaker that will provide years of joy.
Cheers,
JJ


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