Building a sound system

[Squigster]

I've been looking for a 5.1 multimedia system have been a bit disappointed. The Promedia Ultra 5.1 has the performance level that I want, but it seems to have some reliability issues. The Z5500 and the S750 do not have the fidelity I am after. I was looking into sound systems a little more and noticed that you could build your own... but I'm a little out of the loop on what brands are good and what would be practical.

Do you have any suggestions on what reciever, amplifier (if necessary), and speakers I should get. I don't have any problems with electronics, but I'm new to the area of sound and am shaky on what brands to go with and what sized speakers to get.

[Rdmarsiii]

How much are you looking to spend?

[Squigster]

Up to $1000 for the basics (reciever and 2.1) but if a center speaker and 2 surrounds is doable with that budget. An alternative: is there any way to fix the problem with the Promedia Ultras?

[Rdmarsiii]

Are you looking for something that can do concert/ear splitting levels? You could get a pair of Cornwalls and a vintage Harman Kardon 430/630/730/930 to power em, and you'd be set.

[Juba310]

You make it sound like the Ultras all have a problem. You should just get them from Bestbuy with an 2-year extended warranty and save yourself 500 or so dollars.

[Squigster]

I don't need concert level sound. I'm more concerned with accuracy and fidelity. And since I'll be in a rather small dorm in a year, portability is a bit of a concern (don't want to have to lug 100lb speakers up 10 flights of stairs). Are the Harman-Kardon Recievers high quality, or should I look more at specs than brand?

Edit: Good suggestion Juba. Would it be worthwhile to hook the Ultras up thru a DDTS-100 decoder?

[tofu]

if you're looking for portability and high fidelity sound, i'm sure others are going to recommend heresys

[Blackmesa]

The ultras dont have a problem, the older 5.1's did.

You can get the ultras then swap out the sats for something better like RB-25's or RSX's which may have a better crossover match. It will still be a little less than getting a receiver with a separate subwoofer unless you get really cheap stuff.

My advice, grab the ultras for 350, then buy a pair of RSX-4's for 200 off the internet.

I owned the DDTS but sold it, I would stick with soundcard decoding. Try the audigy4

[DrWho]

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On 7/6/2005 8:46:13 PM tofu wrote:

if you're looking for portability and high fidelity sound, i'm sure others are going to recommend heresys

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except the heresies aren't shielded which makes them suck for use near a computer or a TV (don't get the magnets close to your computer tower or you'll lose data on your HD).

For about a $1000 you could get an entry level synergy system with a reciever which would smoke just about any 5.1 computer speaker setup. With the right sound card and right reciever it would be really easy to hook up.

Or if you were willing to go with 2.1 for now (which sounds more reasonable considering the small dorm room coming up), then you could get a pair of synergy B-3 mains for $300 and the synergy sub-12 for $450, which leaves $250 for a reciever. I would recommend going with this one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=353173&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation ($270).

Then later down the road when you're done with college you can expand your system to surround sound...perhaps get the F3 mains and move the B3's back to surround duty and then get yourself a C3 center channel. I know the HK is "only" rated with 40 watts per channel, but they are very clean watts and they tend to underrate their recievers (you could probably expect a good 80 watts out of them no problem). But it doesn't really matter because the sensitive klipsch speakers don't need that much power to drive them anyway.

[Squigster]

Good suggestion blackmesa. I'll probably get a set of ultras and expand on them with RSX's and an RCX as my funds come in, then get the reciever, the sub, and some respectable front speakers and move the RSX's to satellite duty, or replace them altogether.

I already have an Audigy 2 ZS. Plan on getting the X-Fi card when its available.

[Colin]

Dorm? I would be thinking something that can run off PC, like GREAT headphones, vintage HARMON KARDON and Fortes