# 1st time Home audio buyer



## ACE23 (Jun 25, 2010)

I've found the audio thread! This is where I should have been posting in the first place. I'm currently buying up equipment and painting to get my projector room ready. Its wasn't built for Home Theater but the room wil be dedicated. Room size is around 225sq ft with 8 Ft ceilings and it will be carpeted. These are the systems that I have heard at the local bestbuy and I'm stuck between the 5.1 systems or go for floor standers and piece the system together. I will say the so far after hearing just the floor standing Def Tech 7006's that they sounded louder/better than any of the 5.1's I have heard

*Klipsch Quintet and Klipsch 8' sub $850 and if you buy a select yamaha reciever you get $239 back so thats like a estimated $1050 setup. Then $250 in labor to have my speakers wall mounted our purchase various stands. *$1300 *by the time its done

*Def Tech Pro cinema 5.1 600 setup $675 and then buy stands/walmount $250. Would go with the pionneer VSX920 $320. *$1250*

*Mirage Nanosat 5.1 $900 with sub. $250 for stands/wall mounting. Would go with the pionner VSX920 $320. So *$1470*

*Haven't heard the SVS 5.1 setup but seems to be members on this forum like them. Looks like they are $1000-1100 and then add in the $250 for wall mounting or stands. Pioneer VSX-920 $320 Brings it to *$1570*

*Def Tech 7006 Floor standing, Def Tech Pro center 1000, Pro monitor 800's for surround $1350, Pionner VSX-920 $320. $100 for stands Brings it to *$1770*

Can you guys give me any insight here. I only have had car audio in the past and its been JL Audio and Cerwin Vega. I originally wanted to go with 5.1 but everybody kept saying no go with the floor standing units as they have alot more to offer. Can anybody give me any alternatives to the def tech 7006's or that package...seems like a really good deal to me though.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

Personally I don't find Def Tech or Klipsch to be my cup of tea, but that's just me. They do both have loyal fans and have good products. I'd suggest you try to find some place other than Best Buy/Magnolia to audition some other speakers. Couple I'd suggest you look into; SVS, PSB, Ascend and Aperion. As for subs; SVS, HSU and of course JL Audio make some very nice subs. Though I think JL Audio would likely break your budget.

I like floor standing mains and with your budget that is what I would do. A good pr. of floor standers from SVS, PSB, RBH, or Revel and then build around them as funding permits.

There are lots of options out there and a lot of different ways to go about building your system.


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## ACE23 (Jun 25, 2010)

:innocent:


nova said:


> Personally I don't find Def Tech or Klipsch to be my cup of tea, but that's just me. They do both have loyal fans and have good products. I'd suggest you try to find some place other than Best Buy/Magnolia to audition some other speakers. Couple I'd suggest you look into; SVS, PSB, Ascend and Aperion. As for subs; SVS, HSU and of course JL Audio make some very nice subs. Though I think JL Audio would likely break your budget.
> 
> I like floor standing mains and with your budget that is what I would do. A good pr. of floor standers from SVS, PSB, RBH, or Revel and then build around them as funding permits.
> 
> There are lots of options out there and a lot of different ways to go about building your system.


Thanks for the opinion. I only went to Best Buy as they were the Logical place as a normal electronics consumer. I am going to check into the other brands you mentioned. I also need to shop within my budget and be practical. We are talking a 225sf room in the back of the house not a design and build dedicated Theater. Yes JL audio was all my car audio in the past and its pricey but good quality


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## drdoan (Aug 30, 2006)

I have had both Klipsch and SVSound. I have had to SVS's now for a few years. I couldn't be happier with their level of performance/price. I would suggest that you get the most powerful sub you can afford. Have fun. Dennis


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## Derry (Apr 10, 2010)

would also suggest looking on Audiogon for some very good buys on pre owned gear, always nice to buy better gear at a reduced price when available,, http://www.audiogon.com/

many stores selling sound components are never set up for a decent listening trial and in your price range testing in the home prior purchase will be out of the question,, everyone is going to have their favorites (for a given price range) so you will be receiving many recommendations,, 

as recommended starting with less than 5.1 and slowly building toward the 5.1 has been done by many,, unless your planning on an upgrade in a couple years I would buy the best the pocket book offers and build your system over a couple years,, 

Derry


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

Since this is a dedicated theater setup. Sound is the most important element not looks. 

The Behringer 2030p's are a low cost high quality speaker with many happy users. To get better you have to spend a lot more. 
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/321847-REG/Behringer_B2030P_B2030P_2_Way_Passive.html

currently at 107 bucks a pair they are a steal. You could get 3 pairs for 321 bucks and have the remaining budget for subwoofers. For that I'd suggest DIY or SVS. 

Subs are the biggest deal in home theater so grab the behringers and get a couple of great subs. 
http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-cyl-pc12_plus.cfm get one of those and you should have a great theater. 

For mounts, and cables see monoprice.com


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## Dwight Angus (Dec 17, 2007)

I have owned a SVS 7.2 system for 1 year now and I am very happy with their performance. I also find SVS support first rate


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## ACE23 (Jun 25, 2010)

lsiberian said:


> Since this is a dedicated theater setup. Sound is the most important element not looks.
> 
> The Behringer 2030p's are a low cost high quality speaker with many happy users. To get better you have to spend a lot more.
> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/321847-REG/Behringer_B2030P_B2030P_2_Way_Passive.html
> ...


Thank you for the information. Just an Update to what I've been up to. I was originally looking at the Def Tech 7006's but not to sure about having the 2 8" subwoofers built in. I've been browsing between the Aperion Intumus 4T floorstanding and Klipsch RF-52. Think I've settled on getting away from the 5.1 in a box system and slowly building a system over time. Keep in mind my room is only 225sq ft. I'm looking at the Pionner VSX-920 as it has video upscaling and is rated at 110W X 7 Channels....I'm thinking this is at 8ohm but maybe 6ohm. I also came across the Onkyo TX NR-807 which I'm sure is a much higher end reciever and it advertises 135W X 7Channels.....It would be a great reciever but I think thats to much power for the type of speakers my budget is looking at. Also the Aperion speakers are at 6ohm....is this okay to run a reciever that is rated at 8ohm on them? Sorry for the stupid question just don't know that much yet. 
Thanks,
james


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## ACE23 (Jun 25, 2010)

Dwight Angus said:


> I have owned a SVS 7.2 system for 1 year now and I am very happy with their performance. I also find SVS support first rate


I appreciate your input. I've been reading good reviews about the CVS products


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

You can never have too much power its always much better to have an over powered amp than to have speakers that can handle more than what the amp can supply as this is inevitably going to cause distortion. 
The 807 is a good receiver however if your looking for a great receiver this one is about the same price and has the very best video processing and DACs you can get along with an even better version of THX and Aydessey.

For speakers the SVS subs and speakers are tough to beat for price and performance and come highly recommended by many here.


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## ACE23 (Jun 25, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> You can never have too much power its always much better to have an over powered amp than to have speakers that can handle more than what the amp can supply as this is inevitably going to cause distortion.
> The 807 is a good receiver however if your looking for a great receiver this one is about the same price and has the very best video processing and DACs you can get along with an even better version of THX and Aydessey.
> 
> For speakers the SVS subs and speakers are tough to beat for price and performance and come highly recommended by many here.


The shack is where I found the other Onkyo 807 for sale. Here comes my dumb question:help: So what do you do when you purchase a receiver such as this one with 140W per channel....and your speakers are rated at 100W? I imagine the reciever has way more power than need but on the up side sounds better.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

ACE23 said:


> The shack is where I found the other Onkyo 807 for sale. Here comes my dumb question:help: So what do you do when you purchase a receiver such as this one with 140W per channel....and your speakers are rated at 100W? I imagine the reciever has way more power than need but on the up side sounds better.


In all reality a speaker that is rated for 100watts can handle twice as much for momentary high output dynamics however not maintained. A receiver with 140watts will simply just need to be held back just a little but dont worry about it as distortion will damage a speaker far more than a speaker that is fed a little too much power.


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## ACE23 (Jun 25, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> In all reality a speaker that is rated for 100watts can handle twice as much for momentary high output dynamics however not maintained. A receiver with 140watts will simply just need to be held back just a little but dont worry about it as distortion will damage a speaker far more than a speaker that is fed a little too much power.


Okay that clears things up for me. I guessed on the holding back part just wasn't 100% sure. Just getting into Home Audio the Behringer 2030P's have been recommended to me and I after reading alot of info/post on them it looks like a good speaker to "Step" into the audio world. I think I can get "3" sets for $320. I'm not sure how to go about setting them up but it seems as if I could use 3 up front for a left/center/right combo and 2 for rear surround, not sure about what to do with the 6th one. I would also be purchasing a subwoofer.
Thanks


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

ACE23 said:


> I'm not sure how to go about setting them up but it seems as if I could use 3 up front for a left/center/right combo and 2 for rear surround, not sure about what to do with the 6th one. I would also be purchasing a subwoofer.
> Thanks


You can place the 6th speaker as a rear surround channel (center of the back wall) as the receiver should be able to matrix the two rear 6th and 7th channels into just one channel.


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## ACE23 (Jun 25, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> You can place the 6th speaker as a rear surround channel (center of the back wall) as the receiver should be able to matrix the two rear 6th and 7th channels into just one channel.


Great! I think I'm on the Behringer 2030P bandwagon especially for $320!!! Now I need to decide to go with the pioneer VSX-920 Reciever $318 7.1 at 110W channel and 1080 upscaling, or one of the Onkyo 807 models....or the other 140W per channel Onkyo that was suggested to me. Looking at the subwoofers as we speak


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

For the money the 2030s are a good deal, However you will get allot more speaker if you spend more money on something like the SVS SBS-02s but thats just my personal opinion.


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

tonyvdb said:


> In all reality a speaker that is rated for 100watts can handle twice as much for momentary high output dynamics however not maintained. A receiver with 140watts will simply just need to be held back just a little but dont worry about it as distortion will damage a speaker far more than a speaker that is fed a little too much power.


Well in reality the ratings are usually peak for both the manufacturer and speaker manufacturer. There is no set standard for these figures so it's best to go with what you know is quality. I personally love the 876 option, but I'd probably cheap out on the receiver to get a better sub. I realize the headroom is nice, but you can get a marantz 4002 at the same site for around 300 bucks. I'd personally go that route and use the extra on upgrading the sub. FWIW the best speaker driver I know of for power is rated at 125 watts and it uses a subwoofer based motor. 



ACE23 said:


> Great! I think I'm on the Behringer 2030P bandwagon especially for $320!!! Now I need to decide to go with the pioneer VSX-920 Reciever $318 7.1 at 110W channel and 1080 upscaling, or one of the Onkyo 807 models....or the other 140W per channel Onkyo that was suggested to me. Looking at the subwoofers as we speak


I personally am not a big Pioneer guy, but they are still a quality brand. If I were buying today it would probably be Denon or Marantz. Not that everyone would. I know Tony has had a great experience with Onkyo so trust him on that.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

lsiberian said:


> Well in reality the ratings are usually peak for both the manufacturer and speaker manufacturer. There is no set standard for these figures so it's best to go with what you know is quality. I personally love the 876 option, but I'd probably cheap out on the receiver to get a better sub. I realize the headroom is nice, but you can get a marantz 4002 at the same site for around 300 bucks. I'd personally go that route and use the extra on upgrading the sub. FWIW the best speaker driver I know of for power is rated at 125 watts and it uses a subwoofer based motor.


at minimum you need to get a receiver that has THX certification not because of the certification its self but for the very useful surround modes that you get with it. Also pre outs is a must have.


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## ACE23 (Jun 25, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> at minimum you need to get a receiver that has THX certification not because of the certification its self but for the very useful surround modes that you get with it. Also pre outs is a must have.


I'm not so sure the Pioneer has that, all I found was Dolby and DTS on their website....but I am not very educated in these products so I'm not sure


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

It will be very clearly marked on the face of the receiver and in the documentation.


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

tonyvdb said:


> at minimum you need to get a receiver that has THX certification not because of the certification its self but for the very useful surround modes that you get with it. Also pre outs is a must have.


I do like some of their modes, though I've found HK modes to be just as useful. I think receivers are an intensely personal item for most folks. Some love Auddysey correction some don't. Some love THX and some don't. I only care about the movie stuff and rarely listen to music on my system. THX TV mode is really nice though.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

Yes, quite true. I could care less about THX, Audyssey, Jazz Club, Arena, Zone 2, Zone 3, etc. I'd be extremely happy if one of the manufacturers would produce a lower cost, high end, high powered receiver without all the bells and whistles that I never use. Aside from playing a movie in whatever surround format it was encoded with the only other mode or feature I ever use is Pure Direct.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

nova said:


> Aside from playing a movie in whatever surround format it was encoded with the only other mode or feature I ever use is Pure Direct.


I guess that depends on if you have only a 5.1 system. Those of us that use a 7.1 speaker setup need to have a mode that will exspand a 5.1 mix to all 7 channels and the THX movie and THX ultra2 cinima do a fantstic job of doing that and I myself use those exclusively when watching movies.


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