Advice for a new setup?

Aman · « **on:** 13 May 2004, 01:23 am »

Hey guys,

I just joined, and i have some questions reguarding my next speaker setup. I hope to turn my love for audio into a full-blown hobby. I hope that I don't sound too uneducated to you guys, but I have a budget limit and a limitted amount of knowledge of speakers.

Basically, I need a speaker setup that will be able to play digital (DVDs, Digital Cable, and Video Games) and analog (CD Player, Mp3 Player). I already own two 60 watt sony speakers that I plan on using as temporary rear-surround speakers until I can afford to get new ones.

Basically, I just need help finding a reciever and floorstanding speaker combo that is under 400 dollars in total. It must be able to have Coaxil and Optical digital connections available and be able to support future upgrades like a subwoofer, center channel, and of course be able to process Dolby Digital and the like.

So, my first question is: By looking at the type of uses this system will be handling, what kind of reciever should I get?

My next question is: What kind of floor-standing speakers should I buy?

Next: If I get a reciever that supports 100 watts per channel, and my speakers, say, put out 300 watts - does that mean I can use an amplifier to meet that requirement?

Another Question: When I can afford to upgrade my system to get a center channel and a subwoofer, what would you recommend (again, on the cheaper side)?

Lastly: If I am to upgrade my rear speakers, what should I get?

Basically, I just need to know what kind of system I can get that meets the requirements of what I need it to do, what parts I should get for it (currently, I will only be purchasing a reciever and floor standing speaker pair, I will have two 60 watt speakers in the back and I can find another speaker to do the center channel - I will upgrade those speakers and then get a subwoofer when I get the money). And I need the floorstanding speakers and the reciever to cost no more than 400 dollars in total.

I appreciate any help given. I am a pathetic newbie and I would really appreciate any guidance given to me.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Aman

MikeCTM2 · « **Reply #1 on:** 13 May 2004, 02:19 am »

you'll need to be able to spend more money before you get any good answers. i say the min is $1,000. Save up and post again when you've reached this amount or beyond. four hundred total for everything isn't going to do.

Aman · « **Reply #2 on:** 13 May 2004, 02:21 am »

Quote from: MikeCTM2

you'll need to be able to spend more money before you get any good answers. i say the min is $1,000. Save up and post again when you've reached this amount or beyond. four hundred total for everything isn't going to do.

Even for just two speakers and a reciever? It's not enough??

pjchappy · « **Reply #3 on:** 13 May 2004, 02:30 am »

Not really. . . especially if you want floorstanders.

If you could go used monitors and a used receiver, you could get something ok. But, yes, about $1000 would be a good start. Most people on these site have at least that, if not well-over.

For $400 you couldn't get a cheap receiver AND a pair of floorstanders from Best Buy. Maybe look towards monitors. . .

This is just to give you some perspective. For what you want and for what you are willing to spend, the used market would be a good start.

p

Aman · « **Reply #4 on:** 13 May 2004, 02:38 am »

Well, let us say I had close to 1000 dollars.

What equipment would I be buying?

Because then, if I know what equipment I should be getting, at least I will knwo what my money is going towards before I use that money for something else

To start, my music tastes are prodominately:

Classic Rock (Eagles, Beatles, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd)
Nirvana and other sloppier music styles like Grunge
Electronica/Dance/Techno

As far as movies go, I watch mostly drama movies, harmonic music, for example

My favorite movies are The Godfather, The Lord of the Rings series, Big Fish, and etc. I do watch action movies here and there, and a lot of comedies, but they are not audio-brilliant anyway.

So, what kind of equipment would I be going for? If I knew what I was getting before I bought it, then I could buy them as I get the money (I am a poor college student

).

Thanks for the help!

Tyson · « **Reply #5 on:** 13 May 2004, 02:43 am »

I'd say get one of the Panasonic all-digital receivers for about $300, and a pair of Paradigm Atoms. For the $$ the Atoms are not bad at all ($90 each). Start with 2, then add a small sub when funds are available (SVS, HSU, VMPS, and Adire all spring to mind as good sub makers for little $$). Then down the road, simply add 3 more Atoms and then you have a full 5.1 surround setup that will sound very good.

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #6 on:** 13 May 2004, 02:48 am »

I almost forgot the br-1 diy speaker kit from partsexpress. You could pair that to the panny receiver and be pretty close to $400.

pjchappy · « **Reply #7 on:** 13 May 2004, 02:48 am »

The Panny was a suggestion I was going to make. As for speakers, Tyson, he mentioned floorstanders. . .I'm not sure if that is a sticking point, or not.

Here is another speaker suggestion. . . supposed to be decent (not floorstanders, though): $250 for a pair.
http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=speakers&product=32.1

So, w/ a Panny XR25 and a pair of monitors, like the ones above, you could spend around $500 or so for a good sounding set-up.

You could add 2 matching rears and a center and a sub as you move on w/ these, too.

p

bubba966 · « **Reply #8 on:** 13 May 2004, 02:53 am »

A good solid receiver that won't cost you a fortune that would do all that you're asking (and a good bit more) would be something like a Pioneer VSX-D812K. You can get one here for $265

Personally I'd say go for the slightly nicer model now (VSX-D912K), and wait on the speaks later.

You'd be surprised how good so-so speaks can sound on a good receiver. That's how I started ($1,200 receiver & $50 pair of speaks) and was most surprised at how well it all sounded as I figured the cheap ass speaks I had wouldn't sound any good at all.

Anyway, the Pioneer's are great receivers. Easier than most every other receiver to use. Sound pretty damn good. And are built well to boot.

Denon's are very nice as well. But are a bit more spendy than an equivalent model Pioneer (for no real apparent reason).

Aman · « **Reply #9 on:** 13 May 2004, 03:19 am »

I am going to take a combination of ideas here, and stick with the VSX-D812k reciever (CNET said the only difference between the later version was the easier to use setup menus and the LCD control, I don't need the bells and whistles quite yet), and i will go with those great 250$ a pair monitor speakers. I can't believe they have tweeters at that price!

It looks like a great foundation, 510 dollars for the whole setup. I can get the reciever now and at least get it playing 2-channel digital on my tv speakers for the time being. when i can get afford the speakers, I can purchase them and then enjoy some real sound !

And then later I can add on the rears, center, and sub. Possibly those Atom speakers would be a good rear speaker sollution?

Thanks a lot for all of your guys' help! I really appreciate the feedback, and I know I will be one happy man when I can afford all this stuff! Thank you thank you thank you!!

Aman

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #10 on:** 13 May 2004, 03:24 am »

Don't forget tax and shipping :p That could easily be another $100...

Aman · « **Reply #11 on:** 13 May 2004, 07:14 pm »

Right, but I will probably try to buy these locally if possible

dave_c · « **Reply #12 on:** 13 May 2004, 08:33 pm »

If you're just starting out, go for used 1st. You can get significantly better gear due to lower prices. If you can live without latest surround sound technology, you can find used receivers that were once top or near top of the line for less than 1/3 of what they cost before.

As far as speakers go, try Axiom's. I had some M3 ti SE's that sounded great. They might stretch your budget but keep them in mind.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/

Here's some ads on Audiogon and AVS Forum:

Sherwood Newcasle 9080
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?homeproc&1088062083

Denon AVR3600
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?homeproc&1087988696

Onkyo TX DS494 ($99!)
http://avsf.videogon.com/cgi-bin/buy_cl.pl?rcvr51ch&1088714950

Anyway you get the idea. $400 isn't much but most of have been there. At least you're taking the initiative to research before you go to BestBuy and by something silver, made by Sony with 10 million features for $399.

All that being said, $1000 does get you a lot farther than $400.

Aman · « **Reply #13 on:** 13 May 2004, 11:53 pm »

Well, it just so happens that my grandfather built speakers about 30 years ago a lot.

Has much changed since then?

Because he is offering to help me just do a DIY project instead.

With that in mind, what would I be able to get for a DIY project if my grandfather can in fact help my build the speakers? And will it come in a kit with any instructions or will I have to buy every part seperately?

I build computers a lot. Will this help me in any sort of way?

I will still buy the amplifier, but if I can build the speakers I think I may just go for that

If that's the case, where can I find good instructions/tutorial to do this, and how long do you think it would take to build something like that?

Can I build all the channels (front, rear, sub, and center)?

Thanks for the help guys

Aman · « **Reply #14 on:** 14 May 2004, 12:38 am »

Ah,

I will buy the BR-1 speaker kit I guess.

When I need to upgrade, I can then use my knowledge gained from this kit to make better fronts and send the BR-1s to the rears.

I guess I will then be purchasing the Pioneer reciever I mentioned before, and those speakers. I then will purchase the sub, then the rears, and finally the center.

Thanks for everyones' help. I think DIY is the best solution for me at the moment, because I have electronics-building experience and I am on a budget. And I hear the BR-1s sound great.

Thanks, again!

By the way: I don't have any soldering skills. My grandfather can probably help me here, but just in case he cannot, how skilled must you be to build these speakers?

And I can't tell from the description: Are these speakers suitable to be just placed on the floor/carpet? Because I don't have any shelves or whatnot to place a bookshelf speaker on.

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #15 on:** 14 May 2004, 06:23 am »

Good job going for the br-1's. Btw, go to www.speakerbuilder.net and consider Wayne's Dayton Budget 2 way. I think it's fair to say that most people think Wayne's crossover sounds better than the br-1 kit developed by Wayne's friend.

By the way, floor or carpet is not an option. You will need stands of some sort. If money is tight, consider going to www.tnt-audio.com and building one of their diy speaker stand ideas. I got away with it for about $32 and change. On carpet though, you'll need spikes, and spikes cost money. Or you can try nails...There are also many cheap stands available on ebay for around $30. This will save you a LOT of work. Lemme tell you, building those diy stands without all the proper tools and improvising was killer. It took me 9 hours.

John Casler · « **Reply #16 on:** 14 May 2004, 04:08 pm »

Quote from: Aman

Ah,

I will buy the BR-1 speaker kit I guess.

When I need to upgrade, I can then use my knowledge gained from this kit to make better fronts and send the BR-1s to the rears.

...

Aman,

These speakers (assembled) come highly reccomended. They have been around for "many" years and excellent for the "entry level" audiophile.

http://www.danaaudio.com/

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #17 on:** 14 May 2004, 04:18 pm »

Be aware that those sanus speaker stands can be found for 1/2 to 1/3 of the price they offered on ebay. That clues you in a bit to their pricing structure. The speakers are probably pretty good though, so I hear, but I don't know how their value compares to DIY. An alternative if you don't want to do the DIY work. I think a good amp is more important at this price level. A bad amp will make most speakers sound terrible.

Aman · « **Reply #18 on:** 15 May 2004, 01:44 am »

So, I need a bit of explanation reguarding amps.

I am getting a reciever, do I need an amp?

Also, I would really like to only build a speaker that comes with everything already. In this case, I think that the other DIY idea mentioned is not the best idea. Are the BR-1s going to really out-perform my crap-tastic Logitech Z-560 speaker system I have now? As long as they do that, I will be very happy

I will find the stands somewhere/somehow

Possibly eBay will be able to handle that for me.

Thanks!

Jay S · « **Reply #19 on:** 15 May 2004, 01:58 am »

Enjoy your new setup!

Does anyone here have experience with the MCACC room correction circuitry that is built into many of its digital receivers? The Advanced MCACC sounds similar to what you find in the TACT RCS!