Hello all,
Not an owner...yet. Great board here though. My wife and I have decided to start piecing together a quality 5.1 setup. We mainly watch dvd's and play games, although I would like to have a system versatile enough to handle our diverse music tastes. I would say 80% of the use would be home theater, and 20% music. We listen to everything from Aerosmith to Dave Matthews, Dashboard Confessional, opera, classical, piano, and jazz.
We found Salk Sound online, and based on the reviews and comments, as well as perusing the galleries, have found that the combination of good looks and great performance are exactly what we both would like. Our limiting factor, like all younger couples, is money and space (in apt. right now). Here are my 3 options I would like you all to comment on:
A) Buy a good receiver, sub, and a pair of HT1's. Add the center and surrounds (also HT1's) later.
B) Save longer, buy a good receiver and a pair of HT3's, add 3 HT1's later to complete the 5.1 setup. No sub because HT3's are "good enough" on the low end.
C) Same as option B, but add a sub to really add the low end punch (<35Hz)
I'm quite sure option A will be the best system I have heard to date, and we would never need to replace it. The only question in our mind, is whether we should spend the extra 2K for the full range fronts offered in options B and C. My wife actually doesn't like the look of monitors on stands, she prefers floorstanders. But if I could save her 2K and have the same performance, she could "tolerate" monitors on stands. It seems to us that option C is the best money could buy (and could fill any area we could ever afford one day), but is the full range really necessary (or at least worth 2K) over a monitor when you have a sweet sub?
I have had my heart set on an SVS PC-Ultra sub, and although it would take more work, I'm sure I could integrate it well with the Salks. I'm not sure exactly what Receiver to buy to go with the Salks (or how much it would cost me), but I had been looking at the Denon 3805 and Harman Kardon DPR-2005 (wife likes the styling and small size) before I found Salk. Please comment on some receiver choices for me as well, I really want something that matches up well.
Thanks all for your time, sorry for the long post.