1st HT, looking for input!

[dPhoenix]

First time poster, long time reader!

ALIBI: I DO NOT know that much about speakers, technical stuff that is, I can plug them in though!

I am almost ready to purchase my first true HT. I am looking for a well rounded system to make my neighbor's ears bleed! I am filling a space approximately 250 square feet. I listen to ALL types of music and lots of movies! I do not have a price limit per say, I will wait and save for anything better than BOSE like junk though. I do not need to make my neighborhood's ears bleed, just my next door neighbor. I am looking for input on receivers and systems. Currently I am looking at two receivers:

Yamaha RS-V3300

Pioneer Elite VSX-53TX

Both listed as $1500.00. Am I looking in the right direction? I don't want something so big that it will be overkill to whatever speakers I get.

Now speakers, I would like to have front floor speakers and not shelves. I will put in the money for atleast one sub and if I can afford it two. Now I have been looking at the Yamaha Receiver speaker setup and they have two main fronts two additional smaller fronts and three rear, sub and center of course. That is the setup I am looking to produce provided I get the Yamaha. KLIPSCH reference series has repeatly come up as the best for $ out there! Myself and my wife listened to them and we have to agree! But listening to them in a prepared studio environment and in your home are too different things.

I am looking for ideas for what to get here. If you need more information to assist me please let me know. Thanks.

[david5262]

it seems you have over looked one expencive option in ht. most people forget about it untill it is too late. what i am talking about is the speaker wire and component cables. you will need at a min 1 digital audio cable, 1 componet video, and 1 sub cable. if you go with monster ultra you will pay around $250 to $300. that is just the cables, now wire. you will at least want a min of 12awg wire. are you going through walls, under carpet, or some other idea? all have a huge effect on price. i can help you in both deptarments, well at least tell you how i save a lot of money. first off, cables...get canare cables. go to e bay type in "canare." these cables have crimped connectors which are better than solder and the connectors are true 75 ohm. go to who ever you choose and talk to them and read about canare cables before you buy. i own them and i will say hands down they blow monster out of the water. another plus thers cables, when you choose a seller, he/she will custom make the cables to YOUR length! no more extra cable coiled up behind your et center, and you don't have to pay for cable you won't use. the second, speaker wire. i found a guy who will sell 12 awg twisted pair 289 strands per conductor for .42 a foot! (if you buy 100ft). try looking around and you will find 12 awg twisted starts around $1.50 a foot. to find this guy go to ebay and type in "12 twisted best wire" it will say 25 ft for $8.95, he has 150ft spools so tell him how much you need and he will cut it at that length.

i hope this long message helps. any questions e mail me at davidnolting@comcast.net

[Chris Robinson]

I don't have listening experience with the receivers you're considering, but I have heard Denon and very much like what I hear. There are a lot of options in the firmware, especially for configuring speaker combinations and balancing the sound with a Sound Pressure Level meter (Radio Shack, $39, critical for optimizing HT in a room).

I think Reference series would be a great choice, esp. from a footprint standpoint. Make sure you have clear corners so you can move the speakers out a few feet from the walls; this will help your bass and imaging.

Buying new speakers will cost you though ... especially when there's so much nice Klipsch gear available used at a big discount.

For HT, I'd consider Chorus II left/right mains, or perhaps Fortes, or Academy for the center (or KLF-C7). These are all available for reasonable prices. Heresies for rears work well too.

While you can mix and match, it would be best to stay within a Klipsch "family", e.g., Heritage (like mine below), or Reference, or Synergy. You'll get better timbral matching that way.

I agree with the above comments about cabling; if you can do it pretty inexpensively as he suggests above, it is a BIG improvement to the sound over regular zip cord pulled long distances. Of course, it depends on what you can afford. A spool of zip will get you started, then you can upgrade in pieces as the funds become available.

[garymd]

My honest opinion is this (speakers only):

Take your time and buy used Klipsch heritage speakers all around if you have the room. Nothing in the price range comes close, not even the reference series. 1 pair of Cornwalls for fronts. 2 pair of heresys (surrounds and centers). Then get an SVS or RSW-12 or 15 sub. With those speakers it won't matter what receiver you get (as long as it's decent like those you've mentioned) because you will have the best system around. It will absolutlely run circles around any of your friends or neighbors. If you want to spend more money, still get a nice setup but stay smaller, go with the RF-7s, RS-7s, RC-7. Very nice but not nearly as impressive as an all-heritage HT IMO. Cornwalls are at historic lows right now so if I were just starting out, that's what I'd do. If you have the room, buy 5 or 6 cornwalls and really have a blast!

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

[dougdrake]

FWIW, and this is a hotly debated topic, I have a mix of interconnect cables from Radio Shack, Acoustic Research, Audioquest, and Monster. Nothing over about $30 each, and I have no problem making my neighborhood's ears bleed.

[garymd]

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On 8/5/2003 2:51:25 PM dougdrake wrote:

FWIW, and this is a hotly debated topic, I have a mix of interconnect cables from Radio Shack, Acoustic Research, Audioquest, and Monster. Nothing over about $30 each, and I have no problem making my neighborhood's ears bleed.

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What a coincidence. I also have a mix of RS, Monster and AR. No problems shaking my neighbors houses either. I did notice a BIG difference going from old POS cable to the AR when I was short 1 cable. Just make sure it's not the old stuff from the 70s. Any decent $20 - $30 cable will do the trick. $100 for a cable is just a waste of money IMO. Others disagree. Those canare look nice for the price I must admit.

[Geo1]

A couple of years ago, I bought a spool of about 200 feet of Belden 8241F RG-59 coax. It is 75 ohm and low capacitance and has a flexible center strand. I buy Canare 75ohm crimp-on RCA connectors as I need them and cut the coax to length and make my own cables. I bought a good crimping tool from Radio Shack and the cables look good and are great quality for analog audio, digital audio and video, including component video connections. The RCA connectors cost under $3.00 each from Markertek and the cable probably comes out to less than $.20 per foot. Construction effort is minimal and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to do it. This has worked out very well for me.

[Bruinsrme]

Welcome aboard. If you are comfortable ordering via internet you can save a great deal of money.

Take a look at WWW.docdvd.com and when you decide on a receiver request a price quote and Josh will respond with in 24 hours. He is authorized in the items he sells.

However, he does not sell Klipsch.

I frequent the local Best Buy and always take a listen to the synergy system. For the price they are a very nice system.

Ii would estimate the vsx 53 can be had for around $800 and the 57 for under $1000.

Pioneer is also releasing a new disc player that will play dvd audio and sacd for around $250 click here DV563

I am with the other inputs on cables. The main thing I look for in a cable is the Connector. Radio Shack has 2 decent grade cables with good connectors at reasonable prices.

Comparing the $100 monster cable to the $30 Radioshack cable, I could have used that $70 on movies.

keep us informed on your progress.

Scott

[kjohnsonhp]

I like the Denon 3803 (or similar) to start for $900. You can then add a big powerful amp and use the the 3803 as a pre. The next step would be to sell the 3803 if you want to add a fancy dedicated pre/pro.

The entry price and scalability of the 3803 is attractive.

The NAD AV reciever might be worth checking out, too. They are known for value.

I use a $350 used under warranty Outlaw 1050 receiver with $350 value 250w Carver 2-channel amp and it rocks my world. I have tube gear for 2-channel.

The Outlaw 950/4100 at $1500 is a great value for components.

I find last year's model of components by big names like B&K or Antham to be attractive for pre-pro and multi-channel amps. You can get a B&K Ref30 (was $3k for $1.2k) and matching 5-channel amp for another $1k or so. See audiogon.com for more details.

For speakers you need to determine your form factor requirements. I could recommend monster Heritage speakers like mine but they are hard to fit in many rooms and have a low WAF.

KLF-30 based used speakers could be a good value in a more traditional package. Of course a nice used pair of modern Reference Series is a great choice.