Blu-ray Newbie needs help

[Nycguy84]

I'm working with a 60GB PS3. I've had it since Christmas I'm expanding my Blu-ray collection nicely since that time.

My question is on the audio side. I'm looking for a basic speaker / receiver set up. I'm not necessarily looking for cheap options but just advice on what receivers & speakers I should be looking at. The forum has so many threads diving into this but I feel lost in it.

Any help or advice would be great.

Thanks in advance.

[Slec]

Receivers that can handle lossless audio start around $400. Speakers range from $300 for HTiB to whatever you want to spend. You'll get plenty of responses to this question... What's your budget?

[Nycguy84]

I'm working with about $1200 - $1500.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by Nycguy84

I'm working with about $1200 - $1500.

Well, start with the receiver. Even if you buy a great receiver now and only 3 speakers for now on that budget. You can always fill out the rest of the speakers later as more $$$ becomes available to you. I say this because, nowadays, to get a "better than average" setup, you need a budget of about $2500 -$3000. So, I would recommend looking at the Onkyo 605/705/805 receivers. The 605 will be good, the 705 gets you more longevity with an extra HDMI input and better upconversion capabilities, and the 805 is a monster!

As for speakers, that is where things get tricky. I'd take the time to find a local high end home theatre store in your area. Take the time to go in and LISTEN to the different speakers. Just tell them that you are in the planning stages and DON'T TELL THEM A BUDGET! Just tell them that you want to run the gammit from $1000 to $10,000 if they ask and you will get to see why saving up a little more is worth the wait. I spent about a month and a half sampling speakers at many different stores. Each store I took about an hour and a half to really get a feel for the quality of sound. Take into account room accoustics as well. Some rooms are designed better for sound! One speaker may sound great in store, but in your room they might not have quite the same punch.

Thanks to my Bowers & Wilkins M-1 satellites and Bowers & Wilkins AS-2 subwoofer, the sound of a film has become 65% - 70% of my film enjoyment experience. The sound can now ruin the movie experience for me more than the picture quality!!!

[Lucy Diamond]

Start with a Receiver that can decode what you need and build your speakers a section at a time starting with the Center and fronts, then surrounds, then sub, then surround backs (if applicable) you won't have a full rig right away this way, but you will have a really nice one when you are done.

Good luck and enjoy,