Please help a newbie on a budget! ($1500 or less for 5.1)

bodhidog · « **on:** 20 Aug 2003, 10:32 pm »

I've been reading on multiple sites for the better part of a week, as well as going to local stores, and I'm pretty overwhelmed. My goal: the best-sounding music/5.1 home theater system I can buy for $1500 or less. I need a receiver, sub, and all speakers. My room is not completely enclosed (it's open to the kitchen/DR on one side of the TV, and to the hallway leading to bedrooms on the other), but is roughly 15' x 25' or so. Hardwood floors and bare walls for the most part; we just moved in and my 10-yr-old JBL 8" spkrs have finally bitten the dust. I've auditioned the limited selections at Circuit City and Tweeter, and came up liking the sound of the Polk RM7200 5.1 set (played through the Panasonic SAHE100 receiver). The Infinity, Bose, and Polk 6700 came up short in comparison.

My first dilemma began upon reading up on all these speaker brands I've never heard of and have no way of listening to in person: Axiom, Norh, Atlantic Technology, Ascend, and Aperion. They all get great reviews on different websites, so I'm unsure what to do next. My brother had the opportunity to visit a member's home in Denver to hear the Norh 4.0s, and can't rave enough about them. But having heard surround PLII and a SACD at the stereo stores, I'm leaning toward a 5.1 setup (front and rear would likely have to be wall/ceiling mounted, which leans me away from the Norhs).

My second dilemma is making heads or tails of the receivers; the specs don't mean a whole lot to me, and the stores in town only carry one or two brands, rather than a wide selection. I need to be able to hook up a
TV with DirectTV, DVD, CD, PS2, and VCR to the receiver, as well as the 5.1 setup.

Any advice you folks could offer would be much appreciated; if anyone in the Chicagoland area could offer me a listen to any of the above, that would be great too. Thanks in advance!

Tyson · « **Reply #1 on:** 20 Aug 2003, 11:09 pm »

The 4.0's are clearly better than the Axioms or the Atlantic Technology speakers. Haven't heard the others, so cannot comment. I'd go w/3 ceramic 4.0's up front and a pair of wood 4.0s' for the rears (the wood 4.0's can be wall or ceiling mounted VERY easily, just remove the rubber leg, you have a pre-made screw hole to attach to a mounting bracket).

Pair it w/an SVS, Hsu, or Adire audio sub and an Outlaw 1050 and you are set.

I had 4.0's all around at one time, and I still think it is the best pure HT setup I've ever heard for a medium sized room.

Tyson · « **Reply #2 on:** 20 Aug 2003, 11:12 pm »

BTW, I own Axioms now for my HT due to being impatient (had the 9.0's for my HT, decided they were being wasted in my small HT, sold them and put the 4.0 ceramic package on order). There was a delay getting the 4.0's built, I got impatient, canceled the order and got an all Axiom setup. Big mistake, I shoulda stuck w/nOrh, clearly better speakers than the M22ti and the M2i that I have now.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #3 on:** 20 Aug 2003, 11:34 pm »

I think, though Tyson, he's talking $1.5k for the speakers, subs & recvr. That's a pretty tall order. You could get the nOhrs & a decent sub for around that money, but you'd have to get a pretty cheap HT reciever then. There are some nice ones that won't break the bank, but I'd say you'd have to spend at least $350-400 to get something that would do them justice. Again, I'm saying just for HT. You wouldn't want to skimp here for music.

Going with the 4.0's (X 5) would be about $1000, the Hsu sub about $500. An Adire Rava might be a good choice but it'll cost about the same. I can't think right off of any sub that would fill the bill under $500, although Audiojerry says he's really impressed by the cheapo Yamaha subs.

I suggest you may want to check out the Athen Technologies speakers; the Audition Series is in your price range and Best Buy carries them. Don't laugh out loud til you hear them- they've gotten pretty good reviews and they do sound really good for the price. Now before I blow my "street cred", there isn't a lot of choices at the price range laid out by your first post. The Athena's have fair bass (they dig deep enough to mate well with any decent sub), pretty natural midrange and a nice, unhyped tweeter. The B1 & B2 are bookshelf models around $150 pr & $250 respectively. The center is around $150.

I think that Denons 1804/1603 would be a good choice in that price range. Both have all the features you'll likely need, with good sound and lots of flexibility. The market is crowded with recievers with most of the same features, but one draw of the Denons is that they correctly apply bass management to all the inputs, digital & analog, in all modes (note: this does not apply to the 5.1 input!). Few companies can honestly say this.

I've been very satisfied with my Hsu subs and they're great guys to deal with. If you have any questions about their products or just want placement advice, check out http://www.hsuresearch.com; they have their own forum, too.

Tyson · « **Reply #4 on:** 20 Aug 2003, 11:52 pm »

Actually, the 4.0's are $850 for all 5, and the Adire Rava is $399, the Outlaw is $499. Total of $1750, but if you can find the Outlaw used you can make the budget. Or look for the 4.0's used, there used to be some around for sale, but I haven't seen any for a while. Besides, $250 over budget for a signifigantly better setup is worth it, IMO. I've had times in the past where I scrimped by on lesser gear because of a pre-defined budget, and I regreted it later every time. . .

If you should scrimp on anything, IMO, it should be the receiver - it will need to be "upgraded" far sooner than the speakers or the sub, simply because technology evolves and what is current today will be obsolete in the future. I say get the good speakers and good sub up front, then upgrade the reciever in the future.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #5 on:** 20 Aug 2003, 11:54 pm »

That's cool; I was thinking the nOhr site lists the 4.0's @ $400 per pair, or do you mean wood ones?

I agree that spending more is better than cutting corners, but I don't know how much flexibility he has with the budget.

Tyson · « **Reply #6 on:** 20 Aug 2003, 11:56 pm »

They are $400 for a pair, but they have a package deal of $850 (delivered) for all 5. The center 4.0 comes video shielded. It's a smoking deal for the quality that you get.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #7 on:** 20 Aug 2003, 11:58 pm »

No doubt! Is this a regular thing or a special limited time offer? For that you get the ceramics? That would be a killer offer.

bodhidog · « **Reply #8 on:** 21 Aug 2003, 04:56 pm »

Thanks for the speedy replies! I'll check out the Athenas at Best Buy, but otherwise that Norh deal sounds pretty great. One question about the Outlaw; I was under the impression it was not capable of PLII reproduction. True? Also, what makes it so popular on all these audiophile websites?

Woodsea · « **Reply #9 on:** 21 Aug 2003, 05:21 pm »

Check out this set up from AcendAcoustics. Their CBM170 have never received a bad review. I have a pair for rears, they are awesome.
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/Main/HT/2000.asp
They have their new center channel now available.
For a receiver you can go to one call and get the HK 325 http://www.onecall.com/PID_19088.htm?BCPID=241 for $386 + tax, or the 525 http://www.onecall.com/PMN_859.htm?BCPID=241 for $511 + tax.
I use the 520 from ubid refurbed purchased last year. Great buy, neutral and powerful.

bwkendall · « **Reply #10 on:** 28 Aug 2003, 07:22 pm »

You might also consider the Wharfedale Diamond series speakers. If you get their dual mid/bass floorstanders, you could skip on the sub until later.

Either way, you'll get excellent results and probably come in under budget.

witchdoctor · « **Reply #11 on:** 30 Aug 2003, 02:30 pm »

There are 3 things to remember when looking for a great deal:
Audiogon, Audiogon, Audiogon.
Electronics are just like cars, once they leave the showroom the resale value drops drastically. So many audiofiles get upgrades you can score some great deals. Many have return policies or you can resell it.Just make sure they double box fragile stuff when shipping.