Home Theater options...
 

Well there has been a few threads on TVs and such but nothing on Surround sound.

I am in the process of purchasing a new home theater setup, just wondering who has what and what has been found to be the best combination/setup.

I will be buying everything separate and not looking for a home theater in a box type of setup. Any and all comments welcome.

Will probably put together a 7.1 system, price really doesnt matter, I just want a good quality home theater setup.

Post away...

Re: Home Theater options...
 

I have a sony str-dg820 receiver and a paradigm 10 inch powered sub and some budget box satellite speakers set up as a 5.1 that sounds plenty decent. Soon will be upgrading them to paradigm towers and smaller rear surrounds to make it a full 7.1.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1176507037737

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1203815459521

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1209166340317

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1217030495040

SHAZAM!

If only I had the cash...

My Dad has all Denon and Klipsch and it's fuckin' tits.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

Definitive Technology

Nuff said.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882120122

Best Buy is so over-priced.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

Really not a fan of home theater systems in a box...

Looking at:

Polk RTi12 Towers x 2 for Fronts

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/specs/rti12/

Polk CSi5 Center x 1

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/specs/csi5

Polk FXI A6 Bookshelf x 4 for Side and Rear Surround

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/specs/fxia6



Undecided on a power sub although I would like a 7.1 or 7.2 setup. I've heard with the RTi12's you do not need a sub with a decent external amp powering the towers but I might end up with 2 - PSW505's:

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-12-...006127&sr=1-29

or 2 - PSW10's:

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-10-...006127&sr=1-25



Reciever...

I've been researching the Onkyo TX-NR906. It is kind of spendy but can be had for around $11-1200 if you really search for it. I can always add an amp later if I need it. I just really do not want to upgrade for the next few years so I'm more willing to spend the money now instead of spending more money later.


Onkyo TX-NR906

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-NR906...G6/B001AMUFG6#

or possibly:

Onkyo TX-SR876

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR876...2005366&sr=1-4

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

Harmon Kardon receivers FTW. If you can afford them.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

7.1 is a lot of speaker if you don't have a good sized room that you can spread the speakers out, otherwise you won't hear the definition with the extra two speakers and I'd guarantee you wouldn't be able to tell the difference over a 5.1 setup.

My roommate has four Mirage bookshelf speakers and their matching center channel and it sounds amazing.

Another friend has Mirage's Nanosat 5.1 system and it sounds amazingly good for their size.

After listening to many things at Ultimate Electronics (including the setups above) I really can't suggest anything else for the money.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

I'm running a 5.2 with the fronts and rears being Definititive Tech. Its not their crazy high end stuff but, it is the step or two above the Best Buy crap. I had Klipsch however, unless you listen to alot of rock music really loud you lose far too much of the crisp highs. The down fall to some of the Definitive stuff is they lack bass, unless you get the nice ones with the subs built in. That being said I have a Rokit 10" 250w sub and I built up a 500w Infinity which should(www.hometheatershack.com/forums/) hit around 20hz. The reciever is a 6.1 Yamaha htr from a few years ago. So far, I love how things sound. Everyone I know loves to come to my house and watch/listen/feel movies, everything sounds great.

What I learned... dont mix different speakers, Klipsch sound good loud but they are rated somthing like 3db louder than Infinity or Def Tech so, they drown everything out.

If you can listen to everything for a while before you but it, DO IT!!! Bring in your own cd or ipod and listen.

Do some searching on the link above, they have some great reviews on there. Best of luck.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

The newer Bose mini-systems are very good.

For 'full-sized' gear I really like the Onkyo stuff expecially the (unfortunately discontinued) TX-NR-1000.

There are some very very good computer audio and video cards available these days. If you have any interest at all look into building an HTPC.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

Oh, you did not just say that Bose is good. Shame on you.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

Yes, I did say that.

People freak out when they look at how much signal processing Bose uses, but isn't the end result (what you hear) more important than the mechanics/electronics of getting it to your ears?

I'd listen to a paper cup on a string if it sounded better than what I have now.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

Bose sucks... No highs, no lows, must be Bose!

Buy
Other
Speakers
Eventually

More here:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...1214&term=Bose

Re: Home Theater options...
 

I wish I would've researched before buying my HT in a box. What a bad idea that was. I'll be happy when I can get a new setup and throw the HT-in-a-box in the garage.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

My Philips ht system that came in a box sounds awesome.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

I use to think the same way. I have a decent 5.1 Sony system but I've been looking into building my own setup since I have upgraded TVs.

Tyler, go into Audio Designs and listen to some of their higher end home theater speakers. They sound 100000000 times better than my old POS Sony system. This is why I am upgrading.

Purchased a very nice TV, now its time to purchase a very nice audio setup.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

You really need to balance the speakers with the amp. The head units are a bit closer now, but if you get something like a Denon, they are really bright and you want a speaker that isn't as bright or your ears will kill you. H/K is good, but their features are usually a little behind. Best bang for the buck on a very nice system is almost always the Sony ES line. Top notch features and they use nice guts inside. They also tend to be very neutral for sound.

Speakers are subject to a lot of things, mainly your taste and your head unit. Do a lot of research at avsforums.com and you can make a good choice. Subs, you can't make up for size. I have a faily cheap Cerwin Vega 15" with 250w RMS amp built in. The thing rocks and is probably 15 years old now. A higher quality 15" (possibly 12") would be the way I would go. I had a nice 10" also and the explosions in movies just don't feel the same, even though they are as loud, they are as deep or carry as much force.

Def Tech has been the speakers that I like the most, if I had the cash. They have matched speaker systems for HT. The Mythos ST/STS series is awesome, strap a Supercuber reference sub (1800W 14") on to that and hold on!

Re: Home Theater options...
 

Never buy an ht-in-a-box by listening to broadcast TV. Bring in a DVD/blue-ray that you really like. Hunt for Red October, even though it's almost 15 years old (already??) is a great flic to test sound systems with. Blade Runner is another.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

Sitting at my uncles Home theater display room at his store, between the Sony's, Bose, (couple other ones) and Difinative, The Difninitive was a clear winner, once you year them you will love them. and they cost substantially less then a comparable bose system.

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I agree. However, if you want some really good sound, the 15" drivers dont hit quite as tight as the smaller stuff. If your getting really into it, you almost need a driver/sub with crossovers for individual freq.

Btw, check out the Def Tech Trinity sub. I would love to get one of them... The Def Tech Supercubes rock, I had the 12" version for a short while and it rocked!!!

Re: Home Theater options...
 

seat shakers and a 10" sub for each viewer.......

Re: Home Theater options...
 

I do really like the Definitive speakers, but I've read a lot about Definitive and Polk going hand in hand. The prices for Polk, I can get a pair (2) of tower and bookshelf speakers for the same price as one single Definitive tower and one Definitive bookshelf speaker that are equally alike. This is my only dilemma. I want a nice quality setup but why pay double just for the same thing and different brand.

I mean price really isnt a big issue, but I'm not going to be stupid about it and buy the first thing I see. I will still look for the best deal. I figure I'll end up spending $4k on everything and have a nice "medium" quality home theater system. I've seen some that are upwards for $30k but thats just a little overboard! I should have no problem getting a very nice setup that will be more than I'll ever need for $4k and should last quite a few years.

Now for a sub, I've thought about trying to configure both a 10 and a 12 but honestly it would probably be too difficult and sound like ass. I am leaning towards 2 - 12s but still looking for options. I agree with the 10 being "tighter" but I like the deep bass too so I think the 12 would be good and not quite as sloppy as a 15.

AVSForum is pretty decent, I've found a lot of info on there and need to find somewhere that sells Polk so I can actually listen to them compared to Definitive which I agree sound pretty amazing. I guess in the end its all up to my ears when I purchase the setup. The hard thing is finding a company that carries many different high end brands to compare.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

It is very easy to quickly configure subs. Nearly all the amps, short of rack style, have the crossovers built into them. All you really need to do is run the sub line out to it and adjust the crossover to you liking. I love bass in movies and music and will probably be adding either a 15 or an 18 to really bring out the lows. There are alot of options out there, the Def Tech supercubes might be worth checking out for you. They are smaller subs but they hit very low(subsonic). They work well for a tight sound but still have the extension to get the 16hz range.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

Good quality 15's are by no means sloppy. I like nice tight bass, and they can deliver. I do prefer a 15 in a sealed enclosure though, it will keep it tighter. Cheap 15's give all the rest of the 15's a bad name though, you need a big ass magnet and VC to move that cone accurately.

If you are on more of a budget, then I wouldn't go Def Tech, they are nice but are spendy. Polk's are pretty nice, especially for the money. I would recommend buying a nice quality receiver, med high quality front and sub and med-low quality center and rears. You can always upgrade the rears and center later, but they play a smaller role in things.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

Center speaker is where all the dialogue of a movie comes out of, I would not recommend skimping out on that.

Re: Home Theater options...
 

Yeah, any half decent speaker can produce highs though. You obviously have to be a little selective, but there are some cheap centers out there that will do just fine. Movies also aren't nearly as critical as music, which uses the front speakers more.