efesbe's HT Setup - Blu-ray Forum

efesbe · 01-30-2009, 08:07 AM

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum and this would be my first post. Just thought I'd start it off with a showcase of a humble setup. It's the best I can design with my home but not entirely ideal acoustically. Instead of making you all search for what I have, I'll put it up on this post. Starting with more critical components.
1. Plasma - Pioneer Elite Pro 1120HD (purchased for $7500 in 2005 when 50" was considered "huge" which you can now buy for probably >$1000

. Well at least it came with the TV stand. It was the very first piece of furniture in my new house and a chair, wife wasn't happy sitting on the floor)

2. Receiver - Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV (still searching for an AVR that supports DTS-HD MA and TrueHD. Any recommendations. Considering another Elite, Denon, or Onkyo)

3. PS3 - Upset that I can't bitstream. I thought it was supposed to be the best BD player around.

4. Monster Power Conditioner - Does it really improve anything or just for looks. Since I didn't notice any improvements, I guess it's just for looks.

5. MISC - DVD upconvert, HD cable box w/DVR, VCR, DVD-Recorder, and lots of dust.

6. Speakers:

*L/R: AV123/Onix Piano Rosewood Strata Mini's (doesn't really match the rest of my setup but I was given a really good deal and that finish was just stunning to me at least. These suckers are heavy at 97 pounds each)
*Center: AV123 x-voce (open baffle on top for a much more open soundstage. (xmas gift from wife but I made the purchase)
*Subwoofer: AV123 MFW-15 (it's currently hidden behind the TV stand inside the useless "media niche". Also heavy at about 100 pounds)
*Surrounds: Boston Acoustics VRS (ceiling mounted because I got the home prewired)

7. Cabling - Monster Cables and Monoprice. Monoprice makes excellent cables for those that don't want to spend all their money on cables. The monster cables speaker wires were handed down by my father along with my previous setup (Boston Acoustics VR950, VR920 and my current VRS surrounds)

I guess that's all. Would appreciate any comments and let try to keep the clean but honest if that's even possible. I know, I know... my setup was not dusted before the pictures but try to look past the dust.

The media niche actually made the entire area difficult to work with because I refused to buy a TV that fits inside limiting the size that I really want. No way will I let the home determine what my components will be. Who knows, I may move to a better home..yeah right...not possible here in S.D. CA.
Let me tell you that the Sub is inside that media niche behind the plasma and sounding pretty good. I was told to take it out of there but WAF will not allow me

A FEW PICTURES:

Blu-Griffin · 01-30-2009, 08:34 AM

Man, nice! Bet those speakers are AWESOME! Nice setup!

LUkassZ · 01-30-2009, 03:05 PM

Your audio setup is what keeps me from skipping classes and potentially failing out of college!!

efesbe · 01-30-2009, 04:13 PM

Mine is not the one you have to worry about. I've seen some crazy setups in this gallery worth close to $100K. Mine's probably considered low to mediocre Fi to those people.

jackoftech · 02-15-2009, 06:44 PM

These speakers are awesome in appearance and sound. I had a chance to listen to these at an AV gathering and they were awesome. Even compared to $8000 speakers, these still sounded just as good. These are supposed to be about $2500/pair and at that price, they are a steal. They are meant for 2 channel setups but apparently they sound good for HT as well.

toomanytoys · 02-15-2009, 10:32 PM

I have those exact pair of speakers but not the Piano finish. couldn't afford the extra cost for the piano finish. Piano black is also very nice. I do agree, I was able to audition these mini's side by side with paradigms, B&W, and a few others and I would say they were just as good as some $12,000 B&W.

Footloose301 · 02-20-2009, 07:37 PM

Wish I had the money for the AV123 complete speaker setup. I've just got the MFW-15. LOVE IT!

Fors* · 02-20-2009, 07:45 PM

Absolutely beautiful speakers!!! Even better TV. If this is a "humble" set up, then I am just plain embarrassed of mine.....

Anyway, like your set up. The only thing that could use some improvement is the wire management. I like a streamline, clean look personally. But then again, with those speakers and that TV, I probably would never even notice them.....nice job!

For a receiver, I am an Onkyo man, and I have a 605, so I'm pretty sure that the 606 on up can handle DTS-HD MA and TrueHD for your audio needs...all depends on your budget......

efesbe · 02-21-2009, 08:29 PM

Yeah I agree my wire management sucks. Actually the entire room is hard to work with. I plan on either going Onkyo or Denon next since I've never had them and want to give it a shot. It was pretty clean before I switched out the new speakers and then I just took some pictures just to post.

nezff · 02-21-2009, 08:36 PM

if you are still searching for a receiver, look at some of the onkyo, marantz, and yamaha. I like the onkyo and marantz line because they have audyssey. you can set each set of speakers to individual xover settings.

01-30-2009, 08:07 AM	#1
efesbe Active Member Member since:Dec 2008 Home Theater Gallery:24 Blu-ray collection:14	efesbe's HT Setup Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum and this would be my first post. Just thought I'd start it off with a showcase of a humble setup. It's the best I can design with my home but not entirely ideal acoustically. Instead of making you all search for what I have, I'll put it up on this post. Starting with more critical components. 1. Plasma - Pioneer Elite Pro 1120HD (purchased for $7500 in 2005 when 50" was considered "huge" which you can now buy for probably >$1000 . Well at least it came with the TV stand. It was the very first piece of furniture in my new house and a chair, wife wasn't happy sitting on the floor) 2. Receiver - Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV (still searching for an AVR that supports DTS-HD MA and TrueHD. Any recommendations. Considering another Elite, Denon, or Onkyo) 3. PS3 - Upset that I can't bitstream. I thought it was supposed to be the best BD player around. 4. Monster Power Conditioner - Does it really improve anything or just for looks. Since I didn't notice any improvements, I guess it's just for looks. 5. MISC - DVD upconvert, HD cable box w/DVR, VCR, DVD-Recorder, and lots of dust. 6. Speakers: L/R: AV123/Onix Piano Rosewood Strata Mini's (doesn't really match the rest of my setup but I was given a really good deal and that finish was just stunning to me at least. These suckers are heavy at 97 pounds each) Center: AV123 x-voce (open baffle on top for a much more open soundstage. (xmas gift from wife but I made the purchase) Subwoofer: AV123 MFW-15 (it's currently hidden behind the TV stand inside the useless "media niche". Also heavy at about 100 pounds) Surrounds: Boston Acoustics VRS (ceiling mounted because I got the home prewired) 7. Cabling - Monster Cables and Monoprice. Monoprice makes excellent cables for those that don't want to spend all their money on cables. The monster cables speaker wires were handed down by my father along with my previous setup (Boston Acoustics VR950, VR920 and my current VRS surrounds) I guess that's all. Would appreciate any comments and let try to keep the clean but honest if that's even possible. I know, I know... my setup was not dusted before the pictures but try to look past the dust. The media niche actually made the entire area difficult to work with because I refused to buy a TV that fits inside limiting the size that I really want. No way will I let the home determine what my components will be. Who knows, I may move to a better home..yeah right...not possible here in S.D. CA. Let me tell you that the Sub is inside that media niche behind the plasma and sounding pretty good. I was told to take it out of there but WAF will not allow me A FEW PICTURES: Last edited by efesbe; 01-30-2009 at 09:00 AM.

02-20-2009, 07:45 PM	#8
Fors* Moderator Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Pottstown, PA Home Theater Gallery:160 4K collection:12 Blu-ray collection:142 Trading Score:11	Absolutely beautiful speakers!!! Even better TV. If this is a "humble" set up, then I am just plain embarrassed of mine..... Anyway, like your set up. The only thing that could use some improvement is the wire management. I like a streamline, clean look personally. But then again, with those speakers and that TV, I probably would never even notice them.....nice job! For a receiver, I am an Onkyo man, and I have a 605, so I'm pretty sure that the 606 on up can handle DTS-HD MA and TrueHD for your audio needs...all depends on your budget...... Last edited by Fors; 02-20-2009 at 09:57 PM.*

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01-30-2009, 08:34 AM	#2
Blu-Griffin Active Member Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Australia Home Theater Gallery:1 Blu-ray collection:3	Man, nice! Bet those speakers are AWESOME! Nice setup!

01-30-2009, 03:05 PM	#3
LUkassZ Active Member Member since:Dec 2007 Blu-ray reviews:1	Your audio setup is what keeps me from skipping classes and potentially failing out of college!!

01-30-2009, 04:13 PM	#4
efesbe Active Member Member since:Dec 2008 Home Theater Gallery:24 Blu-ray collection:14	Mine is not the one you have to worry about. I've seen some crazy setups in this gallery worth close to $100K. Mine's probably considered low to mediocre Fi to those people.

02-15-2009, 06:44 PM	#5
jackoftech Banned Member since:Feb 2009	These speakers are awesome in appearance and sound. I had a chance to listen to these at an AV gathering and they were awesome. Even compared to $8000 speakers, these still sounded just as good. These are supposed to be about $2500/pair and at that price, they are a steal. They are meant for 2 channel setups but apparently they sound good for HT as well.

02-15-2009, 10:32 PM	#6
toomanytoys Banned Member since:Feb 2009	I have those exact pair of speakers but not the Piano finish. couldn't afford the extra cost for the piano finish. Piano black is also very nice. I do agree, I was able to audition these mini's side by side with paradigms, B&W, and a few others and I would say they were just as good as some $12,000 B&W.

02-20-2009, 07:37 PM	#7
Footloose301 Special Member Member since:May 2007 Location:Fort Myers, FL Home Theater Gallery:38 4K collection:2 Blu-ray collection:2 Blu-ray reviews: 1	Wish I had the money for the AV123 complete speaker setup. I've just got the MFW-15. LOVE IT!

02-21-2009, 08:29 PM	#9
efesbe Active Member Member since:Dec 2008 Home Theater Gallery:24 Blu-ray collection:14	Yeah I agree my wire management sucks. Actually the entire room is hard to work with. I plan on either going Onkyo or Denon next since I've never had them and want to give it a shot. It was pretty clean before I switched out the new speakers and then I just took some pictures just to post.

02-21-2009, 08:36 PM	#10
nezff Banned Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Apr 2008 Location:Louisiana Home Theater Gallery:36 Blu-ray collection:25 Blu-ray reviews: 4 Trading Score:5	if you are still searching for a receiver, look at some of the onkyo, marantz, and yamaha. I like the onkyo and marantz line because they have audyssey. you can set each set of speakers to individual xover settings.

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