# Looking for advice



## th1986 (Oct 25, 2009)

New to the site & the world of home theater purchases.

I've been looking around the site but decided the best way to get on track is make a thread and give my budget and what I'm looking to do.

About a year back I got a HTIB , LG brand , and was very dissapointed , and don't even use the thing anymore. I hate how the DVD player is basically the receiver , I could only get audio to play through the speakers when it was playing from the DVD Player. Hopefully doing this by buying my own receiver and speakers+sub will be easier. I have some experience with old school speakers , with RCA cords and such but not sure if w/ all the high tech electronics these days if that's the way it's done still.

I have a 58' inch plasma , ps3 , tvix and blu ray player , oh and the dreaded cable tv :yikes: . So my hope is to be able to switch between these while having the audio source be the surround sound speakers. if that makes sense :huh::help:

As far as room size that's gonna change soon. Right now I'm in like a half basement , but will soon have my set up (few months down the road) in a living room , in prob a 1000-1500 sq ft 2-3 bedroom home , so likely smaller than the basement my TV/Set-Up is in currently.

So i guess i need a receiver , speakers + subwoofer . 

Also would like to know people's thoughts on onecall ? I get "bonuses" in the form of gift cards and this is the only place where i can get home theater stuff with said bonuses. Using the bonuses for this is not a must though , just a thought. 

I'm thinking $2k max .

Thanks in advance for any advice. Very informative site/forum you have here.


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## glaufman (Nov 25, 2007)

I'm not sure about onecall, but one of the best deals and values you can get on speakers are ID companies like SVS, Hsu, Apperion, some of them will have packages for around $1k with 5 satellites and a sub... then you just need a rcvr and cables...
D/o you have a sketch of the room it's going into?


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## th1986 (Oct 25, 2009)

Thanks for the reply glaufman

13 feet wide and about 19 feet deep is the size of the room , but no sketch although i could mspaint one , but I don't know how helpful that will be.

My guess is the fit will be tighter when i move a few months down the road , unless i find a house with a basement . 

Right now i have the TV against the back wall (the "deep end"?).


Thanks for the suggestion on speaker brands , i will check all those out. Reading around the forum I see a lot of people suggesting the SVS.

While reading one thread here i seen someone say with a budget of 4k to spend 50% on speakers , 30% on the sub woofer and 20% on the receiver. I'm guessing this isn't the case though if my budget is only 2k?

I would like to get a pretty nice receiver though , because I would obviously like to upgrade to better speakers/subs in the future but if possible keep the receiver , if that makes sense.

Again , I'm very very new to home audio , but have learned my lesson about these home theater in a box gigs , and really hate them.

So if i can get some decent speakers+subs off those sites than i have about 1k i can spend on a receiver , any brand suggestions/model suggestions?

Thanks again.


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## th1986 (Oct 25, 2009)

The S-Series SBS-01 Systems on the SVS website look nice.

I like how they have stands for each speaker. I'm guessing for a newb like me that would be the easiest when it comes to installation opposed to hanging speakers on the wall? 

I'd like to avoid having a professional hook it up. The only place i know around me for home theater installation is best buy and they seem quite pricey.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

For a receiver I highly recommend the Onkyo TX SR876 It is the best receiver in its price range and can not be beat for even almost twice as much money spent.
There is one Here for $888


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## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

Well EMP is having a sale and from what I hear they are good speakers especially for the sale price. You could get these towers...http://www.emptek.com/e5ti.php Then you could look through the site to see what you could match them up with.


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## glaufman (Nov 25, 2007)

th1986 said:


> 13 feet wide and about 19 feet deep is the size of the room , but no sketch although i could mspaint one , but I don't know how helpful that will be.


And the height? Never can tell till you see one...



> My guess is the fit will be tighter when i move a few months down the road , unless i find a house with a basement .


Ah, originally it sounded like you'd found the place already...


> While reading one thread here i seen someone say with a budget of 4k to spend 50% on speakers , 30% on the sub woofer and 20% on the receiver. I'm guessing this isn't the case though if my budget is only 2k?


Probably not, but it might not be too far off either. Truth is there's probably very little if anything wrong pairing the Onkyo Tony recommended with the SVS, and that would be about 50% AVR 50% speaker/sub... You might do well with putting a little more into the sub for the 12"... 



> I would like to get a pretty nice receiver though , because I would obviously like to upgrade to better speakers/subs in the future but if possible keep the receiver , if that makes sense.


Sure it makes sense. Good chance that Onkyo will be very happy to grow with you. Could very easily be the same with the SVS. If you're interested in comparing against other AVRs, you can also take a look at the low end of the Pioneer Elite line...


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## spartanstew (May 7, 2009)

th1986 said:


> I would like to get a pretty nice receiver though , because I would obviously like to upgrade to better speakers/subs in the future but if possible keep the receiver , if that makes sense.





glaufman said:


> Sure it makes sense.


Actually, it doesn't make sense. A good set of speakers will last a long, long time. I've had my Klipsch's for 12 years and my Axioms for 6 years. With no thoughts about changing either set. I've gone through 5 or 6 receivers during that time. 



glaufman said:


> If you're interested in comparing against other AVRs, you can also take a look at the low end of the Pioneer Elite line...


Agreed. The Onkyo 876 is probably a bit of overkill unless you need things like 3 zones and dual HDMI outputs. You can get the Pioneer 1019 for less than $500. Pair that with the Axiom Epic Master 175 or perhaps Emotiva ERM-6.2's (LCR) and ERD-1's (sides) and your good to go for quite awhile for under $2000.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

There is no such thing as overkill on a receiver and the 876 is not overkill by any means it has the Reon HQV chip that is the best video processor available in a receiver of that price range has THX Ultra2 certification giving you some really useful surround modes and has top of the line BurrBrown DACs and the list goes on something that you dont get with the 1019.
I have the Onkyo 805 (the same receiver without the Reon chip) and would not give it up for anything.


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## glaufman (Nov 25, 2007)

spartanstew said:


> Actually, it doesn't make sense. A good set of speakers will last a long, long time. I've had my Klipsch's for 12 years and my Axioms for 6 years. With no thoughts about changing either set. I've gone through 5 or 6 receivers during that time.


Sorry, when you said you were upgrading, I assumed you had low end stuff now... which Klipsch and Axioms, and why are you now thinking of uprading then?


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## spartanstew (May 7, 2009)

I think you're confusing me with the OP


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## spartanstew (May 7, 2009)

tonyvdb said:


> There is no such thing as overkill on a receiver


Spending half your budget on a receiver (when you still need speakers and a sub) is overkill. That doesn't mean it's a bad receiver, it's a great receiver, but when someone wants to spend $2000, they're much better off spending $500 on a receiver and $1500 on speakers and a sub.


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## glaufman (Nov 25, 2007)

spartanstew said:


> I think you're confusing me with the OP


Me? Sorry.


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