Which options should I take?

[jouyang]

According to my future wife, my allowance for the sound system is around $2000. My choice of receiver is either onkyo 787 or denon 3802 and sub would either be pw-2200 or spl-1200. Since only I got limited amount to work with, maybe you guys could help me to decide which options should I take.

Option 1:

Buy onkyo/denon and RF-7II for now and buy the RC-7II, RS-7II and SPL-1200 later.

Option 2:

Buy onkyo/denon, RF-3II, RC-3II, RS-3II for now and buy PW-2200 later.

Option 3:

Buy onkyo/denon and the Synergy 6 system. No more upgrades

If you guys go with option 1, does which speaker to buy next matters. Do you think the RF-3II would be a better choice for rear than RS-7II? Thx in advice.

Jason

[skonopa]

That is a tough one there . If you are going to use this sound system primarily for listening to music, then I'd say go with Option 1 (Reciever and one pair of RF-7s). Keep in mind that one pair of RF-7s will in itself cost a good $2 grand (unless you know where to get a steller deal at).

If you are going to be watching movies quite a bit on this system, then you could go with Option 2 (the reciever with a complete set of Reference 3II speakers). Option 1, however will get you a pair of top-of-the-line speakers and you can always add the others as funding permits (perhaps more will be available in the "used" market for far cheaper prices as time goes on).

However, if you got the space and don't mind dealing with used equipment over the internet and you want to go with Option 1, how about getting a pair of something from the Heritage line, such as a pair of La Scalas or Belles. There have been some Klipschorns that went on Ebay for less than 2 grand a pair! Of course, these speakers do need the space, which I don't have (although I did see a pair of La Scalas for $700 in my area - oh am I tempted....).

As to what speaker to get next if going with option 1 with a pair of RF-7s again depends on what you are mostly going to listen to. For movies, get the surrounds - you can make the reciever emulate a center until you get one (and these newer recievers actually does a pretty convincing job (and I have the Denon AVR-3802) - though nowhere near as good as actually having the center). For listening to music, get the subwoofer as the next speaker.

As for what to use as the surrounds, there is a pretty good holy war going on about what should be used (see the "Placement of RS-7s" thread (the 3-page one). I am personally using (when they come in) RS-7s as my surrounds - primarily because of space constraints, plus I think they'd be a closer match to the RF-7 fronts. In reality, the best way to answer that would be to actually try both options out in your setup and pick the one that works/sounds best for you. If you got a good dealer in your area, they usually have no problem letting you borrow both pairs of speakers and trying them out. Some folks on here would say a second pair of RF-7s would be the best surrounds. Yes, that would be nice, but since I am not Bill Gates - that just would simply not work for me right now. Maybe in the future, I'll be able to score a used pair cheap.

As to what reciever to actually get, I'd say go to your dealer and play with them. Both of those (Onkyo and Denon) are very good recievers. I personally have the Denon AVR-3802 and I really like it. Some people say the Denons hiss loudly, but I don't have that with mine unless I crank it up to full blast (of course, any reciever will hiss loudly through Klipsch speakers when cranked up).

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Steven Konopa

Fredericksburg, VA

Denon AVR3802 (Receiver)

RF-7 (Fronts)

RC- (Center)

RC- (Rear)

RS- (A Surrounds)

Infinity RS2000.5 (B Surrounds - recycled)

REL Storm III (Subwoofer 1)

Yamaha YST-SW40 (Subwoofer 2 - Recycled)

JVC XV-S65GD (DVD)

Sharp DX-200 (CD - ancient)

RCA DWD490RE (DirecTV/Ultimate TV receiver)

Sharp 32 inch (TV)