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EDIT 18/02/2013: Out of date post. Pioneer still makes great product but Onkyo currently is the most feature rich of the lineup. I suggest putting Pioneer in the AVR section. The fact that they have ipod/iphone connectivity built in without a dock or $80 upgrade, and that they do Audio calibration even on the cheaper units such as the VSX-820-K puts them at a dollar/value ratio higher than the Denon and Onkyo stuff. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Pioneer...0%20k&cp=1&lp=1 for reference. Also, used components in good shape can often save you a ton. Big home theatre speakers seem to have a really poor resale value, making them a great buy for someone who is decent at looking for deals through craigslist etc. Also, to expand on the Klipsch speakers... The reason people have a love/hate relationship with them is due to the horn-loaded tweeters they use. Klipsch speakers are very efficient. Over 95db/watt sensitivity from the lower model stuff and up to around 105db for the higher end. The side effect of the horn tweeter in a room is that can can achieve some very ear-piercing tones. They do high frequency sounds very very well and some people feel that they sound "bright". The treble can sound a bit raspy. If you're using good quality recordings, either high bitrate songs, CD's, blu-ray movies etc, you will be fine and probably even prefer these speakers, however they can be very harsh and expose flaws in sub-par recordings that you wouldn't normally hear with some other quality speakers. If there is one rule that remains constant among speakers: The bigger and heavier the speaker, the better it will sound and the longer it will last. This is why you should avoid subwoofer/satellite speaker combos if you have a choice. Despite what some great marketing will tell you, these small speakers can not break the laws of physics. jonathan fucked around with this message at 19:28 on Feb 18, 2013 |
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Feb 9, 2011 01:37
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quote:Jonathan: added link to Pioneer receivers. I understand they had a pretty decent speaker line out also? Used components are often very much worth the money, but it's not something I want to add into the mix when a first-timer is trying to read what he needs. I was doing some research on these yesterday for a budget buildup for my parent's place. Basically, some world renowned speaker engineer, Andrew Jones who normally builds $70,000 speakers designed and built some budget oriented speakers for Pioneer, and they're getting great reviews over at AVS forums. The sensitivity on them isn't great, but apparently people are saying the sound is better than a lot of speakers that cost 3x as much. The costs are pretty crazy cheap and they can be purchased from bestbuy. http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Speakers/Home+Theater+Speakers/SP-FS51-LR Floorstanding tower speakers, 3 woofers + tweeter $199 a PAIR. AVS took them apart and they have very nice high quality crossovers. http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Speakers/Home+Theater+Speakers/SP-BS21-LR Surrounds/Bookshelf speakers. $89 a pair! Also get good reviews. (I personally would just buy 2 pairs of the towers) http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Speakers/Home+Theater+Speakers/SP-C21 Center channel for $79. They're saying it puts out a surprising amount of bass. Now because the sensitivity is somewhat low (85db/1 watt/1 metre) on these, and they're 6ohm rated, most receivers will have trouble playing them up around reference levels, but most people can't listen to that level for long anyways. Apparently at -10db blow reference they work very well (this is probably as loud as most would ever want to watch a movie in home) The subwoofer is also decent for an 8" woofer, but for a few bucks more you can get a much better 10" sub from any number of companies. Downsides: The speaker grills aren't intended to be removed. But they're metal and child/pet proof. No built in wall mounts/threads for the bookshelf speakers Not available in Canada yet. You'd have to ship them in or drive across the line to get them if you're in Canadia.
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Feb 11, 2011 21:25
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My recipe for a budget build that will still destroy a $2800 Bose setup: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Speakers/Home+Theater+Speakers/SP-PK51FS $519 (Andrew Jones designed 5.1 setup that sounds as good as speakers costing 2x as much) http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/AV-Receivers/Pioneer+Receivers/VSX-820-K $299 (5.1 setup, HDMI upconverting, 3d support, MCACC auto calibration and on-screen menu, ipod/iphone connectivity with on-screen display) http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=2789&seq=1&format=2 $25(12ga speaker wire, good quality, thick enough that you'll never wonder if the wires are holding back your speakers) http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10401&cs_id=1040115&p_id=2801&seq=1&format=2 $20 (10 pairs of closed screw banana plugs. Not required, but taking the time to put these on means you can just plug in speaker wire rather than having to thread them into the binding posts and then screwing them down on the speakers and back of the amp. you need 2 pairs per channel, 1 pair on each end of the speaker wire). Total = $863 + tax + shipping. For that price you've got a system that can be played loud, clear, will sound better than ANY home theatre in a box type system and can be upgraded if that bug ever gets to you.
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Feb 11, 2011 21:43
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ExCruceLeo posted:I picked up the set Jonathan recommended and couldn't be happier. The center speaker is larger than I was expecting so until I can get a stand for my tv to hang on it has to sit on the floor in front of my tv stand. set all your speakers to "small" in the menu, and set your subwoofer crossover function to 80hz (and on the sub itself, turn the crossover dial as high as it will go) modern receivers, when speakers are set to large, send all freqencies to the speakers, and nothing to the sub unless there is an LFE track (such as in dolby digital and dts tracks) setting to "small" tells the receiver to send signals lower than x hz to the subwoofer, plus the lfe track if it exists. THX specifies an 80hz crossover, and doint it this way also allows your receiver to have more overhead for peaks in frequencies above 80hz. it will sound better and go louder this way.
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Feb 14, 2011 10:24
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ExCruceLeo posted:I will give this a try, thanks. It's stupid really. They shouldn't be using the terms "small" and "large". It makes me feel funny that I set my klipsch F2 tower speakers to small, and this is also one of the most frequent questions I see on home theatre forums.
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Feb 15, 2011 22:21
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The speakers will be fine. They will go louder than what would be considered polite in an apartment. For a 3.1 setup, I would recommend the two floorstanding fronts, and the center speaker. For the sub, go with something front firing, not downfiring. This will put more bass into the room and less into the neighbours below. Honestly with those speakers, you probably wont NEED a sub especially for music listening. I suggest getting the 3 speakers, a receiver and not getting a sub. If you feel that the music and movie tracks are lacking in the low frequency department, save up and get one of these: http://emotiva.com/ultra_sub10.shtm when you're ready. I still recommend the Pioneer VSX-820-K receiver. It has auto calibration and room EQ, 4 hdmi ports, an ipod/usb port on the front, and for stereo or 3.0 listening, enough wattage to listen to those speakers louder than you would ever want in an apartment.
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Feb 23, 2011 03:37
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Also, for music listening from the computer, I recommend streaming it over the playstation. No real point these days of running extra rca cables when so many streaming options exist.
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Feb 23, 2011 03:39
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I use Can Amer in Blaine, as driving to Pt Roberts is a ways out. Then again, Pt Roberts doesn't have long rear end waits to cross the line. When you go, tell the American guard you're going in to pick up some electronics you had shipped in, when you come back, tell the canadian guard that you purchased some electronics. He will ask you the value and then either wave you through, or send you into the office, where you pay HST, +Duty unless it was made in America. Make sure you bring your receipt with you! you need this to bring it back into Canada.
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Mar 2, 2011 02:56
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Faikon posted:As someone that has only ever used speakers that are internal to their TV, I am very happy I came across this thread. Last week I picked up the VSX-820-K and the SP-FS51-LR/SP-BS21-LR speakers. I took an Expedit bookshelf, crammed my PS3, 360, receiver and center channel into it, 42" TV on top, and L/R speakers on the side. For my apartment, everything looks and sounds fantastic, and I could not be happier. Thanks for the recommendations, Jonathan! No problem, got pictures ? Be sure to use the auto calibration for the receiver. It works well and will make some corrections to give you a flat accurate frequency response. It might not be perfect but it will probably be about as good as can be done without having an SPL meter and a ton of time on your hands.
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Mar 9, 2011 03:30
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King Bahamut posted:Is the Pioneer VSX-520 decent? I just bought a new Samsung 46' LED and want real audio for the first time, but I'd like to keep it under $500. I've decided on the Pioneer SP-FS51-LR's because they fit my layout and I think a 2.0 setup should work. Besides which receiver I buy, I have a few questions. (Setup is the aforementioned TV on a HDMI cable box, a PS3 and a Wii.) -The pioneer 520 model is basically the 820, minus one hdmi input, minus the ipod/iphone interface, and lacks the auto-calibration/room correction features. If you can swing it, go with the 820, even if it means waiting an extra paycheque. a) Go 3.0, Any digital stream, including xbox/ps3 or cable box, will take advantage of the center channel. And, when you use the dolby prologic or other modes on the receiver, it will figure out dialogue from stereo tracks and mix it into a 3.0 (or 5.0 or 5.1) setup, and do a good job of it too. Music listening really sounds better when you upmix a stereo audio source to include the center channel. Much wider sweet spot, fills the room better and the soundstage becomes much more realistic in most cases. You can always order just the left/right speakers and add the center channel and maybe a sub later on. b) some people dislike this setup, but this is the way hdmi components are intended to be used. It's the simplest setup wiring wise, and convenience, and wife factor. I have it set up this way and I like it, others may disagree. c) I don't like wireless rears or subs. In your situation I would run a 3.0 or 3.1 setup, and then add wired rears once it is convenient. quote:Honestly I considered a sound bar, given that we're cheap and not audiophiles by any means I wasn't either. When I had my "755watt" sony home theatre in a box setup, I thought it was great. The only reason I upgraded is that I wanted hdmi connections, and then decided that I wanted big gently caress-off type speakers to make the room look cooler and impress my guy friends. Once I finally turned it on, ran auto calibration and then demo'd "Master and Commander" opening scene, at that point I think I turned into an audiophile. It really isnt that hard to make a living room sized home theatre sound better than a movie theatre. A decent set of speakers that are well placed and calibrated, some minor room treatments (area rug, DIY picture textured wall panels) and a subwoofer or two that are able to put out really low tones, and you will have a sound system that will most likely better anything at a public theatre. EDIT: just read the post above mine. You could follow his advice as well and be happy. I tend to like to spend a bit more money on the receiver if it means lots of extra features. jonathan fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Mar 20, 2011 |
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Mar 20, 2011 03:39
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KracKiwi posted:Would upgrading to this speaker system (plus a nice receiver) be an upgrade, sidegrade, or downgrade from Logitech Z-5500's? The control unit for the Logitech system has been randomly shutting itself off for months now and I'm trying to decide if I should go through the hassle of a return/replacement or just get a better setup. When we talk about better sound, what we mean is a more accurate reproduction of the source material. That logitech system is basically just little sattelite speakers that are really only good about putting out high frequencies, and then you have a smaller sub that doesn't go very low (below 35hz) and doesn't do (above 500hz) well. So when that system plays back a or movie, you'll get loud boomy bass and high frequencies, and lots of "holes" on the frequency range. The big speakers will do a much better job at recreating the entire frequency range offered by your source material. Will it be an upgrade ? Yes. Will it sound better ? That depends on the material. lovely low bitrate mp3's will sound worse, and quality material will sound better.
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Apr 2, 2011 17:23
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Subs will never match normal speakers because they operate within a different frequency range. Where as your front 3 all share the same frequencies and it is more important to match those. For subs, bigger is better. I have this one: http://www.klipsch.com/na-en/products/synergy-sub-12-overview/ You can find them on craigslist used for dirt cheap sometimes. I've seen them as low as $180 unopened. In my room I can hear it down to 21hz which is pretty good for a relatively inexpensive sub. I leave the crossover "wide open" and let the receiver handle the crossover duties. I cut off my tower speakers at 80hz which is the thx standard and let the sub handle everything below. If you want to spend a bit more money on a new sub, http://emotiva.com/ultra_sub12.shtm is a good deal. It's a sealed forward firing sub instead of a ported downward firing sub. I havent heard it myself since they're mail-order only, but AVS forums and the klipsch forums both give it great reviews. The website states it will do 110-113db, which is louder than reference volume peaks. I don't know if it a "better" sub than the klipsch sub 12, but in theory it should be slightly more accurate and dig down a little lower on the frequency range. Keep in mind that most home-theatre-in-a-box type subs don't go below 35hz or so. If you havent experienced a sub that goes down into the low 20's or even high teens, you're missing out, for music and movies it adds a new element in the form of bass tones that you didn't know existed in songs. "Down - New Orleans is a dying whore" is a good example. Even in my jeep with subs, I never heard the weird "sub bass" noise during the intro to the song. I see a lot of ads on craigslist from people saying "Selling sub, tried it for a few days but it is too loud for my apartment". Personally I think this is silly. If the bass is too loud, turn down the level of the sub! I have mine DB matched to the rest of the system, like how it should be set up, and you don't even hear the sub, all you hear is lower frequency extension. If the sub is "too loud" or overpowering the rest of the music/movie, it means something is not set up correctly. A smaller sub wont fix the issue, it will just limit you from hearing ALL of the track. In my apartment, my 12" 300watt sub has the gain/volume set to about 10 o'clock.
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Apr 3, 2011 19:18
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Hob_Gadling posted:
I don't want to get deeply into this discussion here, but I think that in a perfect recording setup, a speaker with a perfectly flat response would be better, however, source material is not recorded with perfectly flat microphones, and when the levels are mixed and the album mastered, it's done by an engineer working with speakers that arent perfectly flat, and in all likelyhood they cater to a consumer that has a speaker setup that is far from flat. So a flat speaker would end up playing material that sounds wrong because it wasn't really meant for a speaker set up that way. Or not, I'm not an audio engineer or even a musician so I could be way off.
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Apr 5, 2011 02:52
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Erwin posted:So I had picked out components and planned to buy them as they come on sale. So far I have the Onkyo TX-NR609 receiver and the Polk Audio CS1 center channel speaker (1.0 sounds better than I expected There are a ton of people who will tell you that matching speakers is the way to go. So they use something like 7 klipsch heresay speakers all around. I prefer an omnidirectional rear/surround speaker to spread out the sound a bit, however, I can't really argue that it would be BETTER than big directional speakers behind. Basically, if you can buy a bigger more efficient speaker for cheap, do it. You can't really go wrong. You just might be wasting some of their "potential" by using them as a surround.
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Apr 29, 2011 06:03
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). I just bought Polk Audio Monitor 60s for the front speakers on Newegg (on sale today!).
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_aaron posted:Is there an easy way to tell if a receiver does analog-to-digital conversion? Is that even the proper term for being able to hook up various digital (e.g., HDMI from a PS3) and analog (e.g., compenent cables from a Wii) to the receiver and running a single HDMI cable to the TV? I haven't seen those exact words mentioned in many receiver specifications, and I find myself looking at reviews to determine whether or not a given unit has that capability. Are there other keywords I should be looking for? Well, it technically does digital to analogue. You need to look for a receiver with HDMI inputs, and an HDMI output. There are other sound-only digital connections as well that would come built in, but if a device has hdmi, and you have a spare port on the receiver, use hdmi. On a side note, even the cheap home theatre in a box stuff has hdmi switching now a days.
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May 27, 2011 00:21
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Geared Hub posted:I didn't get the little setup mic You should get a mic. Either call pioneer and tell them your's broke or find one on ebay or something. The difference in sound is noticeable, especially if your room is less than desirable for speaker placement and acoustics.
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May 27, 2011 00:23
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Chin Strap posted:What exactly does a 300 dollar sub get you over something cheaper? I don't quite understand differences in all them. Like what would I miss from getting something in the under 200 category? Accuracy, punch and it will extend lower. Cheap subs have trouble playing tones into the low 30hz range. Decent subs will go down to the low 20's. The really good ones will go into the teens and make you feel like you're drowning. I really enjoy my Klipsch Sub 12. It can be found on craigslist for a little over $200 used, and extends down to about 21hz. After that it falls off.
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Jun 2, 2011 02:25
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Chin Strap posted:So I shouldn't turn it on in games either right? Either the game supports surround or not, and I don't want to automatically upsample stereo to surround. Depends on your connections. If you use a digital connection (HDMI, optic, coaxial etc) and the device is sending a digital signal, your receiver will most likely sense that it is digital and only allow you to adjust volume and some basic other options. Turning on pro logic II on or off should do nothing. With my pioneer receiver, I usually leave it set to "Auto Surround" for all my inputs. Stereo sources will come through as stereo, 5.1 sources as 5.1 etc. However, with netflix, the movies come through in stereo, and I often use Dolby Prologic in order to upmix these movies to 5.1, which most of the time the receiver does well. Vocals come through the center, and surround stuff and echoes will come through the surrounds. When I listen to music, if I'm having a music listening session, I almost always set the receiver to Dolby Prologic Music. This expands the recording, vocals come through the center, the rest comes through the left and right channels, and some suttle ambience comes through the surrounds. If I'm just putting the music on to have it on while I'm tidying up the living room or something, I usually just set it to stereo. If I'm hosting a party I usually set it to EXT STEREO. This pumps the sound equally out of all the channels. If fills the room really well and still provides stereo seperation. Kind of like headphones I suppose. The rest of the modes I never bother to use.
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Jun 17, 2011 02:49
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Ocular posted:Should this guy's advice be trusted? No. Sounds like he's trying to push the highest markup stuff on you. For starters, I would check craigslist or kijijijijijijjjijij for some used speakers. Check some reviews or post some ads here, and we can tell you if they're a good deal or not. Quality speakers depreciate well but stand up well, so the used market usually has some gems.
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Jun 25, 2011 06:53
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Ocular posted:I'm located in Kingston, Ontario. If you can get them for a good price, there is no reason not to get them. There are better brands, but if you get yourself a set of larger towers, and a big center channel, you probably wont notice a big difference between your purchase and something triple the price. Once you get into the bigger tower speakers, the law of diminishing returns really begins to take effect. Would you be happier with other more expensive speakers ? Maybe. But if you're coming from TV speakers, or some friends home theatre in a box, or even some high end bookshelf speakers, the larger polk speakers will probably make you grin from ear to ear. Just make sure to set them up properly as far as room position, and run a calibration from your receiver.
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Jun 28, 2011 01:13
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Ocular posted:What do you think would be the best receiver for the Polk setup that's on Newegg right now. Mine should be arriving soon and I'm still not sure about a receiver. I like the pioneers. This one seems like a good deal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882117397 I also like the yamahas. It pretty much comes down to price/features. None of the receivers have good amps in them. They say "110 watts per channel" but in reality, when watching a movie, it's more like 45 watts per channel. Amps that put out 100 watts per channel weigh 60 - 80 pounds. These things weigh 25. So I would get the pioneer based on the features you get, for the price. If you ever want to get into real power to drive the speakers to their full potential you will need a seperate amp/processor.
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Jun 30, 2011 20:46
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The only "bad" thing that Polks have for them is that they aren't a very sensitive speaker. The Monitor 70's are listed as 90db. While better than a bookshelf speaker, that is also a lot lower than even the Synergy line of Klipsch stuff. What does this mean ? Well if you're trying to listen to a movie or music at high levels (lets say reference level) you're going to need a receiver/amp that puts out some good wattage to keep from damaging your speakers/amp. It's not really a huge issue. Anyone who buys a monitor 60 or 70 is going to be happy with the sound. I've heard them. I don't like them as much as I like my klipsch stuff, but maybe it's just because the higher frequency isn't as bright. I just went and looked at the prices on newegg.ca, and I think I'm going to buy a 5.1 setup for my parents. The prices really are good. jonathan fucked around with this message at 23:26 on Jun 30, 2011 |
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Jun 30, 2011 23:11
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Baddog posted:I know I need to listen to them (and I don't see any dealer for these anywhere around here), but wow, the specs on these blow the Klipsch rf-42's out of the water, and $230 less for all three. How so ? The sensitivity on the Klipsch speakers are 4DB higher (You need more than double the wattage to run the Infinities). The power handling is higher. The frequency response isn't listed on the Infinities but the Klipsch are +-3DB. I doubt the Inifnity comes anywhere near that given they don't advertise it. The Infinity go down to 40hz versus 53hz, but if you're running these with a sub you will be cutting both speakers off at 80hz or so anyways. Those Infinity speakers are a good buy, and a good speaker, a little better than the polk speakers mentioned earlier going by the numbers. I am willing to bet you would hear a noticeable difference between the Infinity and a Reference Klipsch though. The Klipsch will probably offer more detail in the mid and higher frequencies, and won't have trouble playing at reference volume when pushed by a nice amp.
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Jul 15, 2011 18:36
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adding 3db will not double the volume. Adding 3db requires twice the power. I have no idea if adding a second sub doubles the volume or just adds 3db though. Generally people with multiple subs aren't trying to go for louder bass, they're trying to get into the below 20hz range. Most 10" subs can already go well above an unbalanced sound and go "too loud". It's the setups with the big wattage 15" or dual 12" type setups that go really low. If you're looking at $400 range subs, don't forget the Emotiva 12" ! quote:Power Output: 300 watts RMS, 500 watts peak http://emotiva.com/ultra_sub12.shtm jonathan fucked around with this message at 02:47 on Jul 22, 2011 |
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Jul 22, 2011 02:43
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Was checking out some pawn shops down in the ghetto the other day, and found a dedicated amp and some other stuff for the Buttkicker. Anyone know if these 1000watt buttkicker amps are any good ? They were going to get it go for $75 or something, and didn't know what it was. I think it was this kit: http://www.thebuttkicker.com/home_theater/products/htsep.htm
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Jul 22, 2011 02:50
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duckfarts posted:Is the auto-calibration included in receivers all you need to do? I'm piecing out my system with a seller/installer(going with a Pioneer VSX-921), and they want to charge about $60 for "balancing the system and speaker levels for your room". However, I thought that's what the auto-calibration and mic thingy included with the reciever was for in the first place. For $60 they won't be doing anything more than manually adjusting the levels with a decibel meter. Your receiver does that, plus a hell of a lot more. If your room isn't too complex, it will do a good job of calibration.
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Jul 28, 2011 21:27
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Ammanas posted:Im enjoying my Monitor70s and am toying with the idea of adding some bookshelf speakers as rears for a 5 speaker setup. Any reason to prefer Monitor40s vs the $30 cheaper Monitor30s? I looked at the specs. They list the sensitivity of both at 89db. The 40's go lower by 10hz. Chances are you'll be using the receiver's bass management/crossover to route anything below 80hz or so to the sub anyways. Personally I would get the 40's because they look better, and will probably sound better at louder volumes, and will have a better resale. I would assume they would give off better mids as well, so you might end up with a bit of a warmer sound when listening to music.
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Aug 6, 2011 04:58
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Turb posted:About to be upgrading my whole sound system from a last generation huge shelf system. I play mostly music some TV and movies all from my desktop computer. I have a tendency to play music of many genres for long periods of time at a very high volume. Id like to keep my budget around 800 for a 2.0 or 2.1 setup and I dont mind coming back for the sub later to get quality stuff up front. With Polk Monitor 70's, more watts will sound better, but it's not as big a difference as one might think. The problem with driving large hungry speakers to loud levels with a lower wattage amp is that eventually, you will max out the amp as you turn the volume up. This will eventually cause the amp to clip. Clipping an amp is generally the easiest way to blow your speakers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yLoltfJImM Home theatre guys like to use big wattage amps for the overhead. Sure they might only be using 15 or 30 watts on average for a movie, but when the big explosions hit on screen, you want enough available wattage to reproduce that peak sound effect without clipping the amp. This is not normal living room volume levels though. We are talking about people who run their systems loud, at reference levels with 105db peaks and 85db dialogue. The Pioneer amp you listed, while very well featured probably only really gives out around 65-80 watts per channel when driving all the speakers. The 110watt value they like to advertise usually is from only driving 1 or 2 speakers for short lengths of time. Amps that actually put out that much wattage per channel in real world conditions usually weigh in around 60 - 70lbs from the large independent transformers and things. The pioneer likely weighs around 22 lbs. I run an older version of that receiver and can get the volume going loud. For someone like you who might be using the speaker system as a P.A. for parties, you may want to think about piecing together an audio processor with seperate amps that actually put out their advertised wattage. Basically you have a device called the processor which is just like a receiver, except it only does the decoding part, it then sens a line-voltage signal out to the amp(s) that you have running to the speakers. You could start off with a processor and a 2 channel amp to drive your speakers, then add additional amps once you step up to a 5.1 system. This setup is beyond what's intended for this thread, however it can be done on a budget, and this setup is a bit more future proof. You don't need to replace amps when new audio standards come out, just swap out the processor (or upgrade it's firmware). I like the emotiva brand of equipment for processors and amps. There is better stuff, but it usually costs 3x as much, there is also much cheaper stuff. Emotiva seems to be the best bang for the buck. http://emotiva.com/umc1.shtm <-- processor http://emotiva.com/upa2.shtm <-- 2 channel amp, 125 real watts There are cheaper ways to go, and used amps can be found on craigslist/ebay. Old amps still sound good.
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Aug 18, 2011 22:50
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emocrat posted:Do you use the UMC-1? Its on a clearance right now for a pretty sweet price but some looking around the web gave me the impression that the software is fairly buggy and a decent amount of features do not work as advertised. Just wondering if you had personal experience with and what your thoughts were. I don't own one myself. I live in a condo so my pioneer pushes my klipsch stuff to sound levels that are more than adequate for non-dedicated-theatre listening. I've played with the umc-1 though, and listened to a few setups with them. Overall it sounded really really good. Was listening to some Jazz and blues demo material on a 3.1 setup with some sort of live music/concert mode decoding. It really sounded great at a loud level. The common complaints with the umc-1 (according to the avr and klipsch forums) were launch issues and have since been fixed with a year's worth of firmware updates. Once I move out of this condo and into a place that allows for a dedicated theatre/listening room (good luck near vancouver. I'll need $1000000)
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Aug 20, 2011 18:11
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Alfajor posted:Also, since this is from February... Not a lot of change between the two receivers. Choose whichever one you can get for the best deal or if the 821 has an important feature, go with that one. As for the bookshelf speaker, I'm sure it's decent, but the price of the floorstanding makes it a much better buy. Bookshelf speakers are midway between a floor and a satellite speaker as far as frequency range etc.
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Sep 1, 2011 20:48
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Avocadoes posted:Can't really find where to put this question but I think here would be best: What sort of equipment do you have to drive the speakers ? I'll ask in another way; Do you intend to buy some sort of amp, or do you want some sort of speaker with a built in amp ? We can help with the first type, but the powered speaker style might best be asked in a computer related thread. There is also the vintage/stereo thread which can make some recomendations.
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Sep 15, 2011 03:08
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You aren't going to be impressed with satellite speakers like those. Doesn't matter if it's Klipsch, bose, Boston acoustics, you can't break the laws of physics. They have their place, mainly to keep out of the way and be cheap. Sound quality and frequency range are not a strong point with tiny speakers. Because the au currency is different from canadian, I won't talk about budget, however, that receiver is a good one. Are you sure you want 7.1 ? 95% of Blu rays only do 5.1 anyways. You could get the vsx-821 for a bit cheaper and probably be just as happy. Do you have polk audio speakers available ? The monitor 50-60-70 series could be within your price range.
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Sep 16, 2011 00:18
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Frank Dillinger posted:What is the prevailing opinion on the Polk R300 vs the Klipsch F10? Polks are at 120 each, F10s are 150 each (Canada) I'd like to run them as 2.0, then eventually add a center, and after that move them to the back and run some nicer speakers at the front. On paper the Klipsch is better. It's more sensitive, Frequency response is lower, it weighs 10lbs more. An important note, the klipsch has a front firing bass port, the polk has a rear firing, which means the polk can not be placed against a wall. The klipsch will have a "brighter" sound to it because of the horn type tweeter. I like the sound personally, but some can describe it as being harsh. This really depends on the source material.
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Sep 17, 2011 18:11
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Frank Dillinger posted:Went with the klipsch F10s, the price got lowered after I posted. Picked up a pair for 70 some-odd bucks each, and a Mission MS10 sub for 160, all in all a good day, I think. Now I get to play the waiting game as far as recievers are concerned. Does anyone know when Pioneer updates their product line? Once a year or so. Why bother though, I can't see any updates in the future that will having you wish you held out. My pioneer is from late 2009 and there is not a single feature missing from it other than it doesn't support 3d.
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Sep 17, 2011 21:41
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Frank Dillinger posted:Nah, I just want to scoop up an 821 or 921 on special when the new models drop. Hopefully it works out that way anyway. Why not look for a used 820 or 920 ? They're the same receiver and should be dirt cheap.
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Sep 17, 2011 21:49
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Got news that I'm going to be getting a rather large pay increase. I'm putting together a wish list of home theatre gear. Going to buy a place sooner than later and I'm going to build a dedicated home theatre room. Going to tear out the drywall and do in wall wiring for all speakers devices. Amps, processors and media devices will be rack mounted. Maybe in a closet or perhaps outside the entire room with an IR blaster to control everything. Going to use a 1080p projector. I'd like to be able to set the center speaker behind the pulldown. I don't know if this is possible or not. Thinking of doing platforms for the seating, with elevated theatre seats behind. Not sure if I want to go with THX compliant reciever and speakers, or do seperates amps and a pre/pro. If I go with a THX setup, I could take out a lot of equipment and cables by just going with a THX certified receiver: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/AV-Receivers/Elite+Receivers/SC-57 And then a badass Speaker setup: http://www.klipsch.com/thx-ultra2-home-theater-system The receiver claims 140watts per channel, and with a THX spec, I would assume thats with all channels driven, but the receiver only weighs 39lbs, about 1/2 of what a stand alone amp weighs. The other route would be something like this: http://www.klipsch.com/rf-7-ii-home-theater-system And add the ultra II subs from the other setup and the dedicated sub amp. The RF7 II's have dual 10" woofers. Because of some frequency response dips, these speakers need a lot of headroom from the amps. A normal receiver wont cut it, and I'd suspect even that reciever listed above might not be up to the task. Something like this http://emotiva.com/xpa5.shtm (5 channel) plus this http://emotiva.com/upa2.shtm (2 channel for the rear or maybe surrounds) Plus a processor to drive the amps: http://emotiva.com/umc1.shtm Both systems would be nice, and similar priced. Some say that the THX setup is better for movies, but the system is sort of "flat" for music listening. Others say the Reference setup is much nicer for music. It also has huge drivers versus the 6" stuff in the THX speakers.
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Sep 17, 2011 22:17
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28_days posted:Are RCA inputs and outputs the same? Although you can physically hook it up, the input is not the same as the output.
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Sep 17, 2011 23:00
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coolskillrex remix posted:To be frank those thx ultra klipsch speakers are garbage. RF7s not so bad. If i were you the choice would be simple... order these with the DE250 upgrade I've heard nothing but good reviews, but i'm leary to buy thx stuff because I'm sure R&D blows a lot of money getting thx certified rather than spending it on the actual design.
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Sep 21, 2011 02:09
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BattleHork posted:I'm sure these may well sound good, but it'd look like you live in a club. Well, for a dedicated home theatre room it doesn't really matter. Basically it will be a room with no windows, some theatre seating on risers, some pot lights that dim. Speakers at the perimeter of the room, big retractable screen at the front, and some movie related posters and acoustic treatments.
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Sep 22, 2011 21:04
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coolskillrex remix posted:Thats a correct assessment of thx, that its basically a bought label and nothing more. Lots of logitech speakers have thx for christs sake.. This is a good post. Thanks so much for the clarification. It's weird because they're THX Ultra certified, which means they are "rated" to hold reference levels in 3000 cubic foot rooms, yet they don't seem like a very big speaker. My Klipsch F2's are of similar dimensions...
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Sep 29, 2011 17:37
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