Starting a Home Theater What do I need?

[BDS23420]

Hey guys, I just bought my new tv, Panasonic TC-P50ST30, and I LOVE it.

So now I need a good sound system to go with it, first off I need to get a decent receiver. I am looking for a 7.1 or 7.2. I dont want to spend A LOT of money on this but I know I'm gonna have too in the long run.

If you guys could please help me out and let me know what I need that would be awesome.

Thanks,
BDS

[blujacket]

What is your budget?

[BDS23420]

im not sure haha, $1500 - $2000??

I just want a nice sounding system that is 7.1 and handles 3D

The ONKYO TX-SR508 looks nnice but not sure how nice.

but I do know I think I want all Polk Audio for all the speakers, since I seen them on here a lot and figure they are the best.

[TRASHSTAR]

I've recently upgraded my sound system with a new receiver and new speakers. I can tell you that Polk would be an excellent choice for your speakers. I went with a Denon AVR-391 for my receiver and the Polk cs1 and monitor 40s for my center and front channels. With your budget you could put together a pretty sweet system...I'd recommend a Denon receiver and Polk cs2 for center, Monitor 60s or 70s for front and monitor 40s for surrounds...Its hard for me to recommend subs because I'm still shopping for one myself.

[frogmort]

If you want an amazing deal on a great sub(or subs), check out Acoustic Audio on ebay - http://shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=HD-...-SUB&_osacat=0

I got the HD-SUB12 for $160 flat with free shipping. It is, in my opinion, much better than the more expensive Polk Audio subs(and I have seven Polks in my 7.2 setup).

I was wary of buying off of ebay, but it comes from a company(Deep Discount), and they are brand new, with a full warranty.

After checking out https://forum.blu-ray.com/subwoofers...rs-thread.html on this forum, and some recommendations from Big Daddy, I got one, and loved it!

You could get two of them for about $320. I used the "Make an Offer" option.

I also have the entry level Polk Audio M series speakers, and they are amazing for the price I paid! If you moved up a tier or two, I'm sure you would be happy.(I would personally rather have some Def Techs, but maybe some day.)

You can get the Onkyo TX-SR508 for $248.00 with free shipping! A friend of mine just got this receiver and loves it. - http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR508...3759171&sr=8-1

Also, I bought all of my cables and wiring from Monoprice. Very high quality stuff for silly cheap prices!

Good Luck!

[Johnny Vinyl]

I would go for a beefier AVR than the Onkyo508. Get something that is at least 125wpc as that power is an inflated number, and you're likely only to get 50wpc when running 7 of them. Also make sure that whatever AVR you buy it has PRE-OUTS for the addition (down the road) of a seperate power amplifier.

DON'T cheap out on the AVR..it's the backbone of your steup.

If you want Polks, go ahead, but get the ones higher up in the line and start with two fronts and a matching centre channel. Then get a subwoofer, but NOT POLK. Look at SVS, HSU, etc. If you do that you'll have a great start and then in a few months add the surrounds and side surrounds.

[-RONIN-]

Surprised nobody has mentioned a "HOME". You can't have a home theater with out it.
Everything else is just a living room setup.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by -RONIN-

Surprised nobody has mentioned a "HOME". You can't have a home theater with out it.
Everything else is just a living room setup.

Not sure if I catch the drift of what you're saying...seems a bit ambiguous. Care to elaborate?

[Zombienietzsche]

I would recommend a Denon Receiver, I had a 591 and then upgraded to a 3311CI which I love (it has been tested at 97wpc when running 5.1). The new 3312CI will be out soon and you should look into in. As far as speakers I use Klipsch, more specifically RF-82II's and an RC-62II, they are horn loaded which may not appeal to you, as the sound is unique,that said they are highly efficient.

http://www.klipsch.com/na-en/product...2-ii-overview/

http://usa.denon.com/us/product/page...3-dbd2a1f57f63

take a look!

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by John72953

I would go for a beefier AVR than the Onkyo508. Get something that is at least 125wpc as that power is an inflated number, and you're likely only to get 50wpc when running 7 of them. Also make sure that whatever AVR you buy it has PRE-OUTS for the addition (down the road) of a seperate power amplifier.

DON'T cheap out on the AVR..it's the backbone of your steup.

If you want Polks, go ahead, but get the ones higher up in the line and start with two fronts and a matching centre channel. Then get a subwoofer, but NOT POLK. Look at SVS, HSU, etc. If you do that you'll have a great start and then in a few months add the surrounds and side surrounds.

Good Advise John

[Big Daddy]

Read the https://forum.blu-ray.com/home-theat...al-thread.html. It may help.

[Omegaice]

Originally Posted by BDS23420

im not sure haha, $1500 - $2000??

I just want a nice sounding system that is 7.1 and handles 3D

The ONKYO TX-SR508 looks nnice but not sure how nice.

but I do know I think I want all Polk Audio for all the speakers, since I seen them on here a lot and figure they are the best.

The SR508 is a good entry level receiver but for just a little more you can get the NR808, which my Polks love. It's a great receiver with dedicated pre-outs so you can add an amp later on. Good luck!

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-NR808...=2YTOGP3XYR7QW

[-RONIN-]

Was it really necessary to delete my post, John?

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by -RONIN-

Was it really necessary to delete my post, John?

John didn't do it !

[daemonfly]

I got my Polks from Newegg.com. If you sign up for their email mailing list, they send daily sales on many various pieces of equipment, including home audio. I was patient and got my 2 front towers when they popped up on sale, then added in the other pieces once they showed up as well. Same way I got the Pioneer AVR, and just recently picked up some Rosewill 3' & 6' HDMI cables with 180deg swivel ends that work fine.

They also have many Onkyo pieces.

You might find stuff cheaper somewhere else though, but might as well check.

[Vracer111]

Originally Posted by BDS23420

Hey guys, I just bought my new tv, Panasonic TC-P50ST30, and I LOVE it.

So now I need a good sound system to go with it, first off I need to get a decent receiver. I am looking for a 7.1 or 7.2. I dont want to spend A LOT of money on this but I know I'm gonna have too in the long run.

If you guys could please help me out and let me know what I need that would be awesome.

Thanks,
BDS

Mostly has been mentioned, but a nice receiver with pre-outs is a good idea. I'd recommend going with a 5.1 speaker layout up front, then expand to 7.1+ later. Put as much money towards the speakers as possible...they are what is most important, much more important than the receiver. Receivers are much easier and less expensive to upgrade than speakers. I'd put no more than $300-$400 for your first receiver and $1700 to the speakers for a ~ $2000 budget. Polk Audio is good to buy factory refurbished from too...like brand new for a very big discount.

Going factory refurbished direct from Polk Audio, you could get into the RTi line which is where their excellent quality starts (their Monitor series are ok, but can't compare to the RTi series - If going Polk Audio, the RTi series would be the one to go with)

For $1700 you could put together the following 5.1 RTi series setup:

RTi-A5 Front pair for $560 (Cherry)/$500(Black)(RTi-A5 is the BEST of the RTi line for sound quality - The A7 and A9 sacrifice quality midrange and mid-bass for a little extra low end. A5 + good sub is much better.)
CSi A4 center for $200(Cherry)/$180(Black)
FXi-A6 side surround pair for $330(White)

So Cherry/white would be $1090 leaving $610 for a subwoofer. So you could get a HSU VTF-2 MK 3
Black/White would be $1010 leaving $690 for a subwoofer. Maybe stretch the budget some and go with an HSU VTF-3 MK3 or maybe still the HSU VTF-2 MK3 and put extra towards receiver.

The rear surrounds can always be added at a later time. The step from 5.1 to 7.1 is just for more detail...like going from 80% to 100%. At least with 5.1 you'll be getting plenty of detail compared to just a front 3.1 sound stage layout.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by BDS23420

im not sure haha, $1500 - $2000??

I just want a nice sounding system that is 7.1 and handles 3D

The ONKYO TX-SR508 looks nnice but not sure how nice.

but I do know I think I want all Polk Audio for all the speakers, since I seen them on here a lot and figure they are the best.

based on??

you see them on here cause they are so cheap. With your budget I would go a different route. You can get better speakers with your money, and that is what i would suggest.

Receiver: Marantz 5004 $350
Subwoofer: elemental Designs A2-300 $415
Mains: WHARFEDALE - DIAMOND 10.2 $450
Surrounds: WHARFEDALE - DIAMOND 10.1 $300
Center: WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 10 CM $450
Speaker Stands: VTI UF-29 $129.00

Total is $2095, however I would call and talk to someone at Music Direct and ask them to give you both free shipping(they might already do that) and 20% OFF, then go to www.monoprice.com and buy yourself 2 HDMI cables, Speaker wire, and banana plugs.

EDIT:: you could also look at the Wharfedale Diamond SR for surrounds, they are $229/pr and are wall mountable, that would save you $70 over the 10.1 bookshelfs.

OR

Receiver: Marantz 5004 $350
Subwoofer: Hsu Research STF-2 $392
Mains: WHARFEDALE - DIAMOND 10.2 $450
Surrounds: Axiom QS4 $440
Center: WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 10 CM $450
Speaker Stands: VTI UF-29 $129.00

$2200 approximately. But you get probably one of the best surrounds speakers out there.


Either system would have a level of detail and realism that you just don't get from speakers typically in that price range. Sweet highs, excellent mid-range detail and clarity, and good bass is what you get from Wharfedale.

[BDS23420]

thanks for the input guys, Im gonna have to read all of this and so some searching.

[BDS23420]

one other question, what kind of speaker wire should I get, and how do you connect them to the speakers?

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by BDS23420

one other question, what kind of speaker wire should I get, and how do you connect them to the speakers?

I would recommend that you get no less than a 14-gauge wire (the higher the gauge #, the thinner the wire), so stay away from the 18-20 gauge and up stuff.

The easiest way to connect wire to both your AVR and the speakers is via Banana plugs. This also allows for easy unplugging/replugging for those times when you need to do so.

Both can be found at Monoprice.com very inexpensively.