tdunlap0001 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Hello all, Just getting into audio systems. I want to get a really nice setup but don't know much about it. What im looking for is an all around good system. I listen to a lot of music ranging from techno to barry white and enjoy watching Blu-ray movies. I live in an apartment, but i plan to buy a house in the next few years so i would prefer something that works well for both. Currently, my apartment is in 20x12x10 (L,W,H) ft. My hope is for 5.1 setup. As i look through the different systems that come pre-assembled, i notice a lot of them have surround speakers in place of rear speakers, is that the best option? The two sets i was looking at where: http://www.klipsch.com/rf-52-ii-home-theater-system http://www.klipsch.com/f-10-home-theater-system aesthetically i like the rf 52's but the price is a bit intimidating. What is the difference between the two sets? If you believe a different setup is more applicable to my scenario, please let me know; I am not hard set on either of those. I am also oblivious to which receiver would work the best for my needs and expectations. Things i plan to run through the receiver: HTPC HD Satelite TV Playstation 3 Blu-Ray I would love for them all to use hdmi: cleaner. I am on a budget, a dynamic one, as i am still finishing up my degree. Thank you in advance for aiding a newbie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Accessories4less.com sells factory reburbished avr's at great prices. You might start there. Surround speakers are preferred for HT use I have been told but alot of people just use bookshelves or a second set of floorstanders (myself included) with good results. IMO your front three speakers are the most important. Center channel for movies and your front towers for music. I personally would not go smaller than the rf62ii's. Same at center with the rc62ii. I had the rc52ii and it sounded very small to me. The synergy line is a good speaker. They just lack some clarity IMO and I had the f-2, and f-3 front towers with the c-2 and c-3 centers before going to the reference line. There are deals to be had used in the garage sale section and at audiogon.com. You'll want a nice sub for HT use as well and I recommend checking out Internet direct companies like elemental designs, emotiva, and svs. For less expensive sub options there is a company called lava that makes subs that get decent reviews over at avsforums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrod Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 +1 on Accessories4less.com; ordered an Onkyo-9555 (2-channel integraded, not AVR) a couple weeks ago. Loved A4L's price and quick shipping. They are an authorized dealer of both Onkyo and Marantz, you can shop w/ confidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Welcome to the forum! For a room that size, you would do better to have dual 6" woofers in your front speakers and center, but it depends on your preference. Bigger drivers will give you more bass. JJC is correct that the Synergy line (or ICON line) will give you a little less clarity comparative to the Reference line, but they are still good speakers. Since you are budget constrained, consider buying your receiver, and two tower speakers followed by a center channel. This will give you the most versatilityin a system and allow you to complete the HT when it's more budget friendly. In order to save money you can certainly use bookshelf speakers as surrounds, and later you can adapt it to a 7.1 system with the bookshelfs in the rear if you choose. Once you move out of the apartment, get a sub. It will make a HUGE difference. A good sub to compliment that system can be found for under $400.00. As for receiver, I use the rule of thumb to get about 100 watts per channel in a 7 channel receiver. Yamaha, Onkyo, Denon all do well. Harmon Kardon also makes great receivers, but their watt scale is measured differently so they don't list 100 watts per channel. 60 wpc is probably equivalent for that brand. A receiver in the $400.00-$800.00 dollar range is probably sufficient. If you ar really into bang for your buck, check out Craigslist and find some top used gear. We, here on the forum can help you price it so you know if you are getting a good deal. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I have also returned an avr to them after 28 days and they were very accomidating. (a4l) as for the the avr specs. You'll want hdmi of course. Hdmi 1.3 works great, you only need 1.4 if you plan on doing 3D at some point. Look for preouts as well because if you decide to add an external amp later you'll need RCA preouts. I agree that getting your avr and towers first is the way to go. You can always just watch movies in stereo until u can afford the center channel u want instead of upgrading 10 times and spending slit more money. The watts per channel thing is kind of misleading. All avr's that I know about give you the rated wpc for 2 channel use only. So once you hook up your center and surrounds and your pushing 3, 5, or 7 channels your power on a 100 watt avr will drop by like 40%. that is why so many people add amps to their system. I have had the onkyo HT RC-180 (on a4l for $350 right now) and it worked great. Just as an example. The best bang for your buck sub I have heard is the elemental designs a2-300 ($415). The best low budget subs I have actually listened to are the klipsch sub 12, Polk psw505, and the lava 12. All can be had for under $200 except the lava which will run u just under $300 brand new. I highly recommend spending money on a quality sub though when your budget allows for it. The most important speaker for HT IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdunlap0001 Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 Hello, Thank you all for replying. Can anyone tel me what an AVR is? Also what features should i look for in a receiver? what kind of speaker inputs should i get? Since i am strapped for cash, should i start with a receiver and front speakers then expand when i can afford it? Are the rf-62 the best option in my case? How much should i expect to pay for a pair used in near perfect condition? Thanks all, Terry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Are you looking to make a single purchase and then just enjoy it for the next 10 to 15 years, or are you looking more to get into the audio hobby and play around with stuff? The reason I ask is because you could always just start off with a nice AVR and a pair of better mains to give you a killer 2-channel setup. Then in the future as funds replenish, you could add a center and surrounds, and maybe a subwoofer....basically growing the system over time. One of the advantages to this approach is that it is usually cheaper in the long run to make purchases towards the final goal instead of trying to resell things to fund the next upgrade. Another direction I've seen used is to purchase bookshelf speakers and then use them as surrounds when better mains are purchased. You can also reuse whatever speakers you might already have as surrounds too. Btw, how loud do you listen and what kinds of music/movies do you enjoy? Would this primarily be for movies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Pm me and ill help u out with pricing stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechnut Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 AVR - Audio Visual Receiver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechnut Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 A member on the forum is selling his total system for $600. Good place to start. Add in shipping and your started. (garage sale section of the forum) http://community.klipsch.com/forums/t/151063.aspx Onkyo tx-sr607 Synergy B-20(mains) Synergy c-3(center) acoustic research HD510 satellites w/ 2 stands and the matching sub. (surrounds and sub) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdunlap0001 Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 I would like to avoid buying a setup now to just sell later on to buy a new setup. I think buying nice speakers, speaker by speaker, would be the best idea. I am just worried about my first purchases becoming outdated as i buy my last ones. I have noticed that you normally get a better deal when you buy sets as apposed to a single component at a time. As for the volume, i like it pretty loud: within reason. I would say the intensity of a louder movie theater would probably be close. I just don't want to reach the max volume and be sad it cant go higher. It would be used for both movies and music. I love all kinds of music: rap, rock, new age, techno, country, classical.. etc. As far as movies, i tend to go more for action but i touch in comedies and a few others frequently. I wont be able to pick anything up for another month and a half. I try not to look to much until i have money in hand; otherwise my credit cards will get abused. Thanks for all the replies, i feel like through this forum my HTS will sound amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 If u want a kickass system and want to save some cash then go used. There are 2 sets of rf63's in the garage sale forum and I can tell u that they are great speakers. Originally $2000 they are in the $8-$9 hundred range now. Rf7's come up for sale every once and a while also rf83's. Their matching center the rc64 is always available as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechnut Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Where are you located?? What do you want to set for an initial purchase budget?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 You can get a really good system using RF-62 speakers. I used the older model equivalents for 5 years in a 13X22X10 room that is open to the kitchen and dining room. I'm now using them as my rears in a 7.2 dedicated HT room. I'd strongly recommend those or the RF-82s for HT with an RC-62 center. You could easily pick all of those up for under $800.00 if you watch your local craigslist. I would't worry too much about them being outdated as there are a ton of used, and the old and new look similar and sound great together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdunlap0001 Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 I live in Long Beach, CA. My initial budget is pretty dynamic, the only problem is, the more i spend the less i can spend later on. i have a finite amount of money to last me for the year. So i want to get something that i will be happy with and can expand on, but not something that i will cause me to be eating mac n chz for the rest of the year. That being said, i think around 1500 for the speakers and receiver would be doable, maybe a little more. Just trying to avoid living on ramen while enjoying awesome sound quality Thanks again for all the awesome feedback. I am getting a good idea of the direction i want to go in. Will a pair of floor speakers really put enough bass out to avoid music and movies sounding empty and lacking depth? How do you put spaces in your posts? i put a space in the message when i type it but then when i post it, its always run together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Can't do paragraphs from a mac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechnut Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 From a Mac (iPhone, iPad) you have to manually put in (less than)(p)(greater than) manually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechnut Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Here is an RF62 system with yamaha receiver in your area for 1300 http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/ele/2475831207.html i am selling a complete surround sound system which includes the following. yamaha reciever rx-v1600,2x klipsch rf62 floor speakers,1x rc-52 center speaker, klipsch reference series powered sub, and two rear bookself speakers by klipsch. all speakers are black. Or trade for comparable tv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrod Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 My suggestion is to not be afraid to buy used. Search A-gon and Craigslist relentlessly, but... be patient. Have cash in your hand and be ready to pounce on a great deal. Personally, I think this is a fantastic deal, and it would give you quite a bit of room on whatever speakers you decide: http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKHTRC180/Onkyo-HT-RC180-Thx-7.2-channel-Network-Receiver/1.html Even w/ shipping you are looking at around $1100 to spend on speakers. That leaves quite a few options. Someone earlier mentioned the Rf-82/Rc-62 combo, I would second this recommendation, it's a great set-up. I would also look for a sub before looking for surrounds. IMHO, I think a sub adds more to the "home theater" experience than surrounds. You can grab surrounds down the road. my $.02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I'll second that receiver at that price. Excellent choice, and it's only 30% of retail. I doubt you will find a better deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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