# New Equipment Recommendations



## billrenneker (Jul 24, 2007)

Hi all,

First of all, let me say that I've been reading and learning a great deal from all of your helpful posts. This is a great forum. I'm hoping that you can help me narrow my focus--planning on revamping most of my HT system soon, and attempting to decide on a receiver, especially what will match my choice of speakers. Most everything else seems to be fairly straightforward. The STS-01 system w/PB12-NSD would appear to fit our use, budget and the living area fairly well, I believe--any other suggestions? Would the SCS system be a good or better alternative?

Our use is probably 50/50 music/movies, and also Clapton & SRV concert DVDs, etc. I'm especially uncertain about how far up the price-chain it's necessary to go for a quality receiver, if you could help me there. Seems that every receiver I've owned over the years has had a premature failure, so I'm really trying to shop wisely for that item.

Here's what's on my short-list:

-SVS Model STS-01 5.1 Set w/ SBS Surrounds and PB12-NSD Sub package (Is this sub adequate for the room? Will this system be "musical" enough?)
-Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player
-Panasonic TCP-54V10 plasma TV
-Receiver: Need help here--maybe Denon AVR-3310CI--a bit of a stretch for my budget, is it worth it? What would I gain by going to a higher priced model?
-Remote: Suggestions for an easy-to-use remote for all this? Maybe a Logitech/Harmony model that'll do everything for me?

Room is L-shaped, with the entertainment area in the short segment of the L. That area is 9.5' deep x 11' wide. We sit about 7.5' from eyeball to screen. The rest of the room (long leg of the "L") is 12' x 23', with a stairwell. Maybe a partial stick drawing will help visualize, if the format will stay together:

---------------------------|
| TV
|
|
| SOFA
--------------|

Current setup:
Panasonic TH 42PZ700U plasma TV
Oppo 971H player
Panasonic DMR EZ47V player/recorder
APC H15 Power Conditioner in front of everything, on 20-amp dedicated circuit
Old receivers and speakers removed from service (actually enjoying pretty decent sound from the 700U!)

Thanks very much for your help!

-Bill


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## drdoan (Aug 30, 2006)

Welcome Bill. As a very happy SVSound customer, I would go with the 5.1. but, always get as much as your budget will allow. Have fun. Dennis


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## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

You will get a lot of recommendations for Onkyo's line-up for receivers. They really provide a great bang-for-the-buck. On top of that, deals can be had on previous generations that would be incredibly worth your while to look at. They are generally a lot cheaper than equal feature-packed Denons, so that might be your best bet. I'm personally a fan of Denon and own their flagship pre/pro, but I know there's a premium behind purchasing their products.


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## billrenneker (Jul 24, 2007)

Dennis and Jon, thank you for your replies. I'll look into the Onkyo lineup for receivers and do some more research. It's a difficult decision to make, not wanting to either underspend or overspend on the receiver.

Looking around more in the forum, I see I should have first posted in the new members' introduction area. Will do that now. Thanks again! -Bill


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## DougMac (Jan 24, 2008)

billrenneker said:


> Hi all,
> 
> -Remote: Suggestions for an easy-to-use remote for all this? Maybe a Logitech/Harmony model that'll do everything for me?
> 
> -Bill


Bill,

I got a Harmony One remote just before Christmas and highly recommend it. I went from six remotes to one, plus I used their "Activities" feature to make it easy to watch TV, a movie, etc.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Your getting some good advice and I will chime in with some as well.
For a remote the Harmony 880 is the best bang for the buck its full features and controls everything I have thrown at it so far. 
Without a preferred budget for the receiver I cant be sure how much you can spend but right now this Onkyo 876 is the best you will get for even twice the money spent. Its loaded with all the best features and is a very solid receiver. It has THX ultra2 certification an HUGE power supply and top of the line DACs and video processing.
The SVS system will really be fantastic and going with a PB12NSD will do you just fine. If you can swing it the SVS MTS-01 towers are a huge step up for the main front channels but not necessary if your budget does not allow for that sort of exspence.


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## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

I personally don't like the Harmony 880 style. The Harmony One, which I have, is really nice, but it's on the more expensive side.

If you want a good in-between of the two, then I would HIGHLY recommend the Harmony 720. I had that after I got the 880 and Liked it more. I only got rid of it when I finally upgraded to the Harmony One.

The 720 is hard to find in stores locally, if at all, but you can find it online, like on eBay (where I originally got mine) or other e-tailers.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Is the 720 more feature rich than the 880? Newer?


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## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

I think it was released to certain stores only, like Target, Costco. I think it was slightly newer than the 880 or maybe right around the same timeframe.

http://reviews.cnet.com/remote-controls/logitech-harmony-720/4505-7900_7-31929414.html

I just like the feel of that better than the peanut shaped 880. It has a lower profile and feels a bit better in my hands while using the remote.


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