[youonlylivetwice]

Hey all,
I am definitely a novice... I've always suffered from far too many hobbies.... just can't help but want to try things myself rather than walk into a store and buy some retail product.

Anyway, thanks for any tips....  here goes....
  I own a pair of A/V2's and I am rebuilding them.  I am thinking I'd add a center and two rear channels as I listed above. 

Before I do, any comments?  Is this a perfectly good setup for a novice?   something else I should consider?  and what kind of receiver would you buy with this rather basic setup?  I want enough to make it "match" without over or underspending.

thanks again for any thoughts!

YOLT

[django11]

Are you more interested in music or movies?  I am very partial to the neo tweeter in the N series of speakers.  So if you are partial to music the N series will be a very nice step up.  If you are planning on a movie setup I think you are better off with all the speakers being in the same series.  The A/V-O no doubt throw a very large soundstage (if they are like the x-omni) and should quite fun for surrounds.  You could always upgrade the caps and install no-rez if you have not done so.  They are worthy upgrades.  I have no opinion on av receivers but would recommend a used Virtue amp for incredible bang for your buck two.1 channel music.

[Captainhemo]

Are you more interested in music or movies?  I am very partial to the neo tweeter in the N series of speakers.  So if you are partial to music the N series will be a very nice step up.  If you are planning on a movie setup I think you are better off with all the speakers being in the same series.  The A/V-O no doubt throw a very large soundstage (if they are like the x-omni) and should quite fun for surrounds.  You could always upgrade the caps and install no-rez if you have not done so.  They are worthy upgrades.  I have no opinion on av receivers but would recommend a used Virtue amp for incredible bang for your buck two.1 channel music.

I'd have to agree  about the tweeters.  I am so  happy  witht he Neo 3 tweeters in my N3's,  they are so clear and crisp yet  not harsh at all.  I  have the sonicap upgrades.  I am driving the N3's with an older  Integra DTR 5.3 receiver  and it works well.   If you don't mind buying used,  you pick up  lots of  older 5.1 surrond recievers  from ebay for  pretty low  cost, actually  you  can get new 5.1 surrond receivers pretty cheap now too.

-jay

[youonlylivetwice]

Thanks a lot....

on receivers, new 5.1 as you mentioned, are there certain brands you would place at the top?  any to avoid?

[pureiso]

My honest opinion is to not buy older 5.1 receivers if you will be doing anything with HDMI or Blu-Ray.  You will not have the latest codecs to use the lossless format on it, and that definitely will make those speakers shine for Home Theater.

How much are you willing to spend first off?

[youonlylivetwice]

well.... like I said I'm all over different hobbies so I dont spend a ton in any one.  What would you recommend in the $500 range?  $750 range?  Or is that below anything you'd consider??
thanks a lot~

[Captainhemo]

You should be able to find  a middle of the road  Denon or Marantz in the $500 - $700  range.  And yeah,  most of the older  receivers  aren't HDMI  capable which  hasn't been important to me as I'm still using anold component  cable HD TV.
As for brands to  look for, look out for... you're going to get  +'s and ='s o0n  every brand oout there depending on  who you talk to.   I personally   reallylike my Integra  but have seen some  posts on   forums saying to avoid Integra, mine has been great.
I  have also seen  many  posts recomending  Marantz,  however  I've noticed quite a few Marantz on ebay lately with   non functionging amp sections.  Denon seems  to  get a lot of + votes

-jay

[youonlylivetwice]

Cool, thanks a lot.  my exposure over the years was that Denon was a solid choice, but that was admittedly pretty "standard consumer" opinion, not from those who really know.   thanks for the feedback.

[pureiso]

Here you go, my recommendations:

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/DENAVR2112CI/DENON-AVR-2112CI-7.1-Integrated-Network-A/V-Surround-Receiver/1.html

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/DENAVR3312CI/DENON-AVR-3312CI-7.2-Integrated-Network-A/V-Surround-Receiver/1.html

Biggest difference between the obvious of these two is the fact that the 3312CI has preouts for external amps.  This can be great if you decide to get serious about audio.  The other should be more than enough watts and clean sound though, so it is up to you.

If you got some other questions, let me know I am glad to help when it comes to this stuff.  A lot of people on here are more focused on 2 channel.

[pureiso]

Denon and Marantz are on my top list.

Pioneer and Onkyo are very good choices as well.

[youonlylivetwice]

super, thanks a lot for your help!

[pureiso]

You should be able to find  a middle of the road  Denon or Marantz in the $500 - $700  range.  And yeah,  most of the older  receivers  aren't HDMI  capable which  hasn't been important to me as I'm still using anold component  cable HD TV.
As for brands to  look for, look out for... you're going to get  +'s and ='s o0n  every brand oout there depending on  who you talk to.   I personally   reallylike my Integra  but have seen some  posts on   forums saying to avoid Integra, mine has been great.
I  have also seen  many  posts recomending  Marantz,  however  I've noticed quite a few Marantz on ebay lately with   non functionging amp sections.  Denon seems  to  get a lot of + votes

-jay

Just a heads up, but if you are a home theater enthusiast you may want to look into getting one that can read those lossless codecs.  A HUGE improvement in sound quality and dynamics, I wasn't thinking it would be that big of a deal but I am sold on Blu-Ray since hearing some of the more aggressive tracks.

[Captainhemo]

Here you go, my recommendations:

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/DENAVR2112CI/DENON-AVR-2112CI-7.1-Integrated-Network-A/V-Surround-Receiver/1.html

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/DENAVR3312CI/DENON-AVR-3312CI-7.2-Integrated-Network-A/V-Surround-Receiver/1.html

Biggest difference between the obvious of these two is the fact that the 3312CI has preouts for external amps.  This can be great if you decide to get serious about audio.  The other should be more than enough watts and clean sound though, so it is up to you.

If you got some other questions, let me know I am glad to help when it comes to this stuff.  A lot of people on here are more focused on 2 channel.

There you go.  G reat prices too

[pureiso]

Yeah, not to sound like a shill, but I regret not buying from that website on my last upgrade.  Refurb is not that big a deal, and for those prices you get a whole lot of receiver.

[Captainhemo]

Yeah,  too bad they won't ship  out of the US