Sound System under $3000

[desmond]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

I think you're putting a lot of loot in the receiver because you found a nice deal on it...... and yeah that certainly is a good deal on the receiver.... but the price of receivers ALWAYS drop a lot faster than speakers for instance.... A good set of speakers will sound great 15-20 years from now (may need a re-foam etc. in that time) but in 15-20 years you'll probably go through 3 or 4 receivers because better ones will come out cheaper...... Like I said, it's a sweet receiver, but I think you'll get more instant gratification by shopping around a $500 receiver, and see what your $2,500 will get you as far as speakers goes (quite a bit if you know what to look for)

I see a lot of people think they're "future proofing" with Receivers..... and to me receivers are much like Televisions, they always get better, and the one that you might have your eye on now that is just a hair out of your price range will cost a mere fraction of it's current price in 1 year, because some new fancy add-on that you won't even need will come out, like "standard" dual LFE outs, or bi-wiring, or or some sort of auto-detection like MP3 tag, but for CDs, Blu, DVD, or what-not so it displays, in a scrolling marquee on the front, the name of the movie or song you're listening to (or shows other info about the scene you're watching) etc.... not necessary, but as soon as it becomes the "new craze" the current $1,200 receivers that don't have it will soon become $600 receivers....

Either way, whatever you get I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I just think with $3,000 budget, a LOT is going to the receiver, ESPECIALLY if you want to go 7.1 I almost stayed with 5.1 because I didn't like the cost difference, but ended up upgrading my additional surrounds when I upgraded my fronts (it's a sickness I tell ya!!!)

sage advice. also you can always go to separates later.

[maseo503]

Originally Posted by Ectoplasm

I seriously wish you would consider Paradigm brand speakers. They used to be available for a lot less in Canada (where they are made) if you can drive there (don't ship from Canada, because Customs will nail you if you're American).

I also would consider a 12" sub instead of a 10".

I have Paradigm Mini-monitors and a 12" PDR sub. Or you can check out the Monitor 7 speakers.

You can also buy Studio 20s from Paradigm, for a step up, or Studio 40s or 60s. Awesome speakers. Lots to see.

I think you should consider Monitor 7s:
www.paradigm.com

I wholeheartedly agree... and I would add that you seek out your local PSB Speakers dealer for a listen to the Image line. Polk, in my listening experience, doesnt offer anything subjectively comparable until the Rti and Lsi lines. Unless your room is approx 1700 cubic feet or less...i also agree a 12" would be better suited...nothing brings home the realism of action scenes like a good pressurized room from a well designed, under-stressed sub...
I am also of the camp who feels the best surround realism with movie 7.1 encoded material is achieved with dipole side surrounds and direct back surrounds... for a medium to small room... i dont own a large room (as the majority of us dont) so i cant comment on that size. in my 3000 cubic foot room, directs pulled off a superior performance over xx-pole speakers.
As for Polk...the discerning enthusiast's choice is Rti...

[Mystique]

Damn I wish I had 3000 to spend on a sound system.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Mystique

Damn I wish I had 3000 to spend on a sound system.

I think I can find close to $3,000 for ya....

Blu-ray Movies: 124
PS3 Games: 11

there it is!!!!

[shelland]

Originally Posted by darkblueme

I've heard Polk Audio Front and Center speakers demo'd at Circuit City, and I love the sound. I know the general rule is "buy what sounds good to you," but if anyone has an alternate brand for the money... please feel free to share.

About 6-7 years ago, I started on my HT quest. I was going to piece my system together one piece at a time. I started with a Yamaha receiver, then started my speaker search. I too listened to Polk speakers at Circuit City, and was in love. I quickly made my choice (although I wasn't ready to buy yet). I read the HT newsgroup closely for several weeks (there weren't even forums back at that time!). Based on lots of forum discussion, I decided to go find my local Paradigm dealer. I quickly forget all about Polk as soon as I heard them. I ended up spending more than I had originally planned, but I didn't care. I certainly could have spent less and still got some great Paradigm speakers. But I got what I wanted.

I am obviously partial to Paradigm myself. But I won't go so far as to say they are your only choice. There are lots of great choices out there, and sound is very subjective. Go out to some stereo shops and listen - don't limit yourself to the big box stores. You'll be surprised that you don't have to spend more at a stereo shop, and most importantly they actually know what they're talking about. Take some of you own music along so you can hear what they sound like with music you listen to. If you listen to country you don't want to demo listening to jazz. You might listen to Paradigm and five other recommended brands and still want Polk. That is up to you - buy what sounds good to you, not what people say you're supposed to like.

With your budget, you can get one hell of a system. I will fully admit that I don't know much about that receiver. I'd highly recommend looking in the Denon, Onkyo, HK and Yamaha brands. But I would think you could spend significantly less on your receiver and put that much more into your speakers (or just save some cash). I'm not sure if there are specific features that are luring you to that receiver or price range. If not, you can still get one heck of a receiver for half that price (or even less) - again, depending what you're looking for. I paid $400 for my Onkyo 604 and don't regret staying at that price point at all. Obviously the receiver you have listed is a great receiver - but is it more receiver than you might need? That's a question for you to answer obviously...

Good luck and have fun!

[Beta Man]

To add to this........

First...

and most importantly they actually know what they're talking about.

Not necessarily true, the OWNER of the Stereo-shops, and some employees can be a WEALTH of knowledge, but the one I know, dealt with selling high-end jewelry, so they figured if you can sell someone a $15,000 pair of earings, you can sell a $15,000 pair of speakers.... this person had NO audio/video experience going into the job.... sure you learn some on the job, but the OWNER.... man... that guy is great, and he's always helpful.... You just gotta remember, if you opened your own hi-fi shop tomorrow, you'd be hard pressed to get people with the level of knowledge on high-end electronics without blowing your load on your payroll.....


Back to topic.....

as a "for instance" I spent about $10k on speakers, and I didn't spend as much for the receiver as the one the OP is considering.... My receiver cost me about $900 at the time I got it.

I am looking into separates or a new receiver when money allows though.

[maseo503]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

I think I can find close to $3,000 for ya....

Blu-ray Movies: 124
PS3 Games: 11

there it is!!!!

say his blu-rays avg $20/piece = $2,480

and PS3 games avg $30/piece =$330

i'd say you about right...
Mystique, get your priorities in check!

[maseo503]

The "Dream Team" audio shop for OP?!!

A dealer that has PSB, Paradigm, Monitor Audio, Klipsch, Polk, and Boston Acoustics in a well-treated listening room for A-B-C-D-E-F comparison...
it would have to be done at some level of secrecy...because once the regional Polk rep found out...he wouldnt be all to happy with that competition...

[Blu Haze]

Originally Posted by maseo503

say his blu-rays avg $20/piece = $2,480

and PS3 games avg $30/piece =$330

i'd say you about right...
Mystique, get your priorities in check!

HE could of got netflix and wouldnt have spent a thousand on movies.. I dont have netflix either so i should stfu

[savage1984]

wow, I'll have spent about $1,420 on BD's and games once I get my National Treasure 1 and 2 set and AVP and AVPR sets from amazon. That's crazy. Why do I do it?? Meh... I know why.

[maseo503]

Originally Posted by Blu Haze

HE could of got netflix and wouldnt have spent a thousand on movies.. I dont have netflix either so i should stfu

yep... i have netflix and STILL buy BD and HD-DVD movies... and to top it off...i have a HTPC with a LG BD/HDDVD rom with 3TBs of HDD....and i just came home to a UPS package from J&R.com with 4 new BD movies...

so a lot of us are just like Mystique... looking around for money to upgrade our HT...when its already been invested in another related prerequisite of the whole hi-def experience...

Lord help us all...

[shelland]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

To add to this........

First...

Not necessarily true, the OWNER of the Stereo-shops, and some employees can be a WEALTH of knowledge, but the one I know, dealt with selling high-end jewelry, so they figured if you can sell someone a $15,000 pair of earings, you can sell a $15,000 pair of speakers.... this person had NO audio/video experience going into the job....

There are obviously exceptions to every rule. I have never dealt with that in any of the shops I've gone to. Every single salesman I've talked to in the store where I bought all my speakers is great.

They will more often than not (an exception obviously cited above) know much more than the teenagers in Best Buy and Circuit City that read the shelf tag to you. I gave up asking questions in the big box stores if it's any harder than "where would I find xyz?"

[darkblueme]

I've been thinking a lot about the Receiver suggestions, and... I have to admit, I still want the Denon receiver. I know I could get a less expensive receiver but I can't help but salivate everytime I think of the Denon one. I dunno why... I'm just drawn to it, I guess.

Anyway, tonight I sampled speakers from Difinitive Tech, Kilpsh, Boston Acoustics, and Polk Audio. For me, it wasn't even a contest. I freakin' LOVE the Polk Audios. I still need to check out Paradigm, though. And I still have over a month to change stuff around.

I'm liking the idea of a 12" sub instead of a 10" sub. Is there a cheaper, similar brand to SVS?

By the way, the money is from a nice bonus at work combined with my tax return. It just happened to come at the right time. As soon as we move into our new home with our nice-sized entertainment room, the order will go through Amazon (or whoever else I need to order through).

The big box stores have good selections to demo, but Amazon has the best prices. No tax and free S/H. Sweet!

Anyway, thanks for all of your suggestions. I'm excited to check out Paradigm Speakersto see if they are really as good as people are suggesting. Wicked awesome!

[maseo503]

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by darkblueme

I'm liking the idea of a 12" sub instead of a 10" sub. Is there a cheaper, similar brand to SVS?

Polk Audio Monitor Series PSW12 12-Inch Powered Subwoofer ($278)

Polk to match?

[shelland]

Originally Posted by darkblueme

The big box stores have good selections to demo, but Amazon has the best prices. No tax and free S/H. Sweet!

FYI - You can't get Paradigm online unless you find them used on eBay or Craigslist or something. Paradigm does not allow internet sales (at least through authorized dealers).

[darkblueme]

Originally Posted by shelland

FYI - You can't get Paradigm online unless you find them used on eBay or Craigslist or something. Paradigm does not allow internet sales (at least through authorized dealers).

D'oh! Well, there is a local store in Utah that has Paradigm Speakers. I'm gonna check them out today. I like the look of them. I'm excited to see how they sound.

[darkblueme]

OK, I spent a good hour this afternoon listening to several different Paradigm speakers. I have to be honest and say that I was not in the least blown away by the sound, though I'm pretty sure it was the fault of the salesman.

No matter how many times I explained that I wanted to hear Paradigm speakers set up for a "movie-watching experience," the sales rep only seemed interested in showing off the two front speakers with nothing else connected.

When I finally did talk him into letting me listen to a 5.1 multichannel set-up, he didn't bother to plug in the side, rear, or subwoofer speakers. A second sales associate popped in every few minutes and said, "Just listen to the clarity and bass of those two fronts."

I admit, they sounded OK, but I'm not about to fork over my hard earned money on speakers they don't want me to hear.

I dunno. I wouldn't say Polk Audio are the best speakers, but they have a sound that makes my ears smile. You know what I'm talking about. It's that feeling you get when you hear a good set-up. You feel an instant connection with it, right? That's what happens to me EVERY TIME I hear Polk Audio speakers. It doesn't happen with any other brand, so I think it's safe to say that for better or for worse, I am a Polk Audio man.

I'm sure my tastes will mature over the years, but for now, I like Polk Audio. Go figure.

Now... let's hope the prices drop a bit before May!

[pmac]

Originally Posted by darkblueme

For my birthday, smack dab in the middle of May, I'll have enough saved up for a $3000 sound system. So far, this is what I have in mind:

*** EDIT: I have updated the side and rear speakers, bringing the total to about $3300 Thanks for the suggestion, guys! ***

• 1.) The Denon AVR-3808ci Reveiver. $1245
  

• 2.) A pair of these sweet Polk Audio Monitor 70 3-Way Floorstanding Front Speakers $590
  

• Edit: 3.) 2 sets of these Dipole/Bipole Polk Audio FXi A4 Dipole/bipole surround speakers for my side and rear surrounds. $800
  

• 4. A sparkly Polk Audio CSI A4 Center Channel Speaker $250
  

• 5. The SVS Powered Box 10" Subwoofer $430
  

Everything but the sub can be seen in my Amazon Wishlist here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wi...ayout=standard


What changes (if any) would you make?

Well if you want to bring the $$$ value down a little without sacrificing sound quality, I would make one recommendation...Audition a pair of PSB Alpha B1's!
I did and for just over $220/pr they sound Way better than the Warfedales i had. They were value product of the year, and runner up in the unlimited class for one review site last year (Unlimited class has speakers up to $75,000 approx "runner up!"). I am extremely pleased and shocked at the price. (Canada they are a little cheaper than USA, but List is $299.95/pr US). Worst case, you dont like them. I will be buying a second pair when time/money permits later this year to replace the last pair or warfedales (I had 2 pr).
check them out in the link of sig.
Regards,
pmac

edit: I have the 3808CI...LOVE IT!!!!

[mlomeli]

Originally Posted by darkblueme

D'oh! Well, there is a local store in Utah that has Paradigm Speakers. I'm gonna check them out today. I like the look of them. I'm excited to see how they sound.

What store???