About to have some fun

[OZZZZZ]

Finally finished with the house furnishings. Its now time to have some fun in the family room (20x22). I have 20-25k to spend on home theatre/audio.

I am not locked into anything yet... well maybe except the TV. I love the look of the Pioneer Elite Pro-151FD 60" Plasma. Figure 5.5-6k there.

I am having trouble finding stores where I can view and listen to equipment. BBuy seems to have a limited amount of high end equipment that they push but I'd like to compare and see more product. I live in the NY, NJ area. Suggestions?

Need help on a receiver (Seems like Onkyo and Denon are the way to go based on the latest threads), blu ray player and speakers Suggestions?

[Johnny Vinyl]

Must be nice to have 20-25K to spend on a HT system.

One word of advice...do not equate BB with anything High-End.

There have to be dozens of true High-End dealers in your area and for $15-$20K (exluding the Pioneer Elite you quoted on your post), you can get an astounding system.

There are several guys on here with true high-end systems and I'm sure they'll be pleased to give your their recommendations.

I have a mid-fi system (see sig), but it still set me back 6K (excluding the Panny Plasma and the turntable).

25K, eh? I sure am envious! Good luck in your search and let us know what you end up with.

[Scooby Blu]

Don't live close but here are some stores that might work for you !


link : http://www.rotel.com/NA/Dealers.htm?...x=9&Submit.y=6

link : http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/displa...pid=0&crid=151

[OZZZZZ]

Thanks for the info on the stores. This is exactly what I was lokking for.

Yeah 20k sounds like a lot but I have lived without any audio equipment and only a 20" tv for the last 15 years. My wife and I always said we would do it right when we could. The time has come. Shopping for it and putting it together will be 1/2 the fun.

[mdabb]

I would take a little time on this one........... Your budget will allow you to get some great gear. Is this the budget for electronics only or does it include the furnishings.

By NY-NJ area does that mean you are close to the NYC area??? If so you won't have a problem finding quality pieces. Are there any space limiting factors, restrictions or certain criteria to be met??? Some room details and personal taste requirements would help for suggestions.


You should get some great suggestions here............

[Driver_King]

Let's put the subwoofer out of the question, shall we?

[OZZZZZ]

I defintely won't be rushing into this. I enjoy this stuff, although I am so out of date with electronics its pretty sad.

Yep,I work in NYC. No space limitations but I have one issue that I have to make sure doesn't cause problems. One wall which leads to the kitchen is half completely open to the kitchen and the other half is a cutout window. Don't know if it will completely blow the sound.
The room is actually 19x17, don't know why I thought 22x20.

The only other thing that I have to be careful with is that I have a very rustic look going on in the room and I can't completely kill it with modern looking speakers and such. I will need to find black non glosssy speakers as the TV will put enough gloss in the room for my taste or should I say more importantly the wife's taste.

Thinking
60" Pioneer Elite Pro-151FD Kuro Plasma
Integra DTR-8.8 Receiver - (friend swears by it)
Playstation 3 for gaming but will get a separate blu-ray not sure which one
Speakers? No idea yet. I hear Mirage OM series is pretty good.

The budget is for electronics so I have enough to play with. If I find I don't need to spend it all, naturally I won't go out of my way to find a way.

Speakers and receiver will be key though. I love listening to crisp sounding music and love the sound and feel of thumping action movies.

[Driver_King]

Get this Blu-ray player. If you have a large room, you definitely are going to want a large sub. (the eD I linked you to is massive and is one of the best subs on the market period) Would you be speaking of these speakers as well?

[crackinhedz]

I always thought one of these would be 'fun' to have:


Escient FireBall™ DVDM-100 (sold at crutchfield.com)

paired with:

Sony DVP-CX777ES 400 Disc DVD/SACD/CD Changer




edit: this one uses HDMI

[mike79]

I live in north new jersey, close to the city. I do not know of any high end dealers around here. All we really have are best buy, circuit city, pc richards, and electronics expo.

PC Richards is good, because they have a good price match policy. And they will usually give you a good deal on an extended warranty. I bought my xbr-2 there a few years ago, and they beat every price in the area and gave me a 5 year extend warranty for $100.

[red_5ive]

Originally Posted by OZZZZZ

Thinking
60" Pioneer Elite Pro-151FD Kuro Plasma
Integra DTR-8.8 Receiver - (friend swears by it)
Playstation 3 for gaming but will get a separate blu-ray not sure which one
Speakers? No idea yet. I hear Mirage OM series is pretty good.

The budget is for electronics so I have enough to play with. If I find I don't need to spend it all, naturally I won't go out of my way to find a way.

Speakers and receiver will be key though. I love listening to crisp sounding music and love the sound and feel of thumping action movies.

Integra makes great receivers, but I really think with your budget and the fact that you mentioned music you should really consider separates and at least towers for you mains. Integra makes a pre-pro with all the HD Codecs that retails for about $1600 (model: DTC 9.8). You can add a multi-channel amp from there in the $1.5k - $3k price range, names like Parasound, Rotel, and Emotiva are solid choices which together won't break your budget, but will deliver great sound quality. You could of course look into bigger names like McIntosh and Krell, but bottom line is I really think you should shop the separates market for sure.

[mdabb]

I wouldn't be the first to say it but when you decide about the audio portion of your system I think you should consider your speakers first. The fact you enjoy music should make it a must.

There are a lot of great speakers out there and I just recently upgraded to high-end speakers for the first time. I am extremely happy with my choice to do so. Some great brands are B&W, Revel, Monitor Audio, Martin Logan, Von Schweikert, Salk Sound, Dali, Focal, etc............ I'm sure others will help fill in the gap as there are a lot of speakers you might want to check out. You live in an area that has a lot of choice.


If you put up a thread in the speakers section you will get some great advice and recommendations. I have gotten some great advice here which helped get me on the right path. In any case your budget will allow you to get a great home theater/ music setup.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by OZZZZZ

Finally finished with the house furnishings. Its now time to have some fun in the family room (20x22). I have 20-25k to spend on home theatre/audio.

I am not locked into anything yet... well maybe except the TV. I love the look of the Pioneer Elite Pro-151FD 60" Plasma. Figure 5.5-6k there.

I am having trouble finding stores where I can view and listen to equipment. BBuy seems to have a limited amount of high end equipment that they push but I'd like to compare and see more product. I live in the NY, NJ area. Suggestions?

Need help on a receiver (Seems like Onkyo and Denon are the way to go based on the latest threads), blu ray player and speakers Suggestions?

If you have 20-25K look at seperates (or a high-end receiver used as a prepro with external amps). You live in a good area for High-end audio, the shops are just smaller. Google some names like Revel, B&W, Snell, Dali, Martin Logan, Dynaudio ect.... hit their sites and go to the dealer locater section find out where they are located (within your zip or traveling distance) and I assure you - you will find other high-end stuff there too !!!!!

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by OZZZZZ

Finally finished with the house furnishings. Its now time to have some fun in the family room (20x22). I have 20-25k to spend on home theatre/audio.

Before you shop - prioritize these things:

Size - do you want smaller wall mountable stuff, floor-standing speakers, or a mix? You've got a big space to fill with sound, but you may have lots of stuff in the way of your speakers delivering the sound you want. Figure out the placement of your speakers - no question, you'll be able to find something that delivers the sound, either way.

Style - Do you want avant-garde looks, sleek wooden classical looking speakers, or brute force "2001 Monolith" sound machines? You can have all types - but they don't mix well. Again, great sound comes in all styles.

Finally (this is where your budget gets tested) - what is the prime use, audio or home theater? I found out the hard way that if you like to listen to Coltrane, Linkin Park, and the subway truck crash from I Robot, you will spend hellacious gobs of cash to get all three in the same unit. Home theater, ironically, is less expensive that great, smooth sounding audio.

Originally Posted by OZZZZZ

I am not locked into anything yet... well maybe except the TV. I love the look of the Pioneer Elite Pro-151FD 60" Plasma. Figure 5.5-6k there.

I have pure Sony gear, but that Kuro is so sweet - I might wind up getting it myself, if I can't afford that Sony 70" LCD when it comes out.

Originally Posted by OZZZZZ

I am having trouble finding stores where I can view and listen to equipment. BBuy seems to have a limited amount of high end equipment that they push but I'd like to compare and see more product. I live in the NY, NJ area. Suggestions?

My son is at Fort Drum up in Watertown; the dearth of audio outlets there and in Syracuse drove him nuts. He wound up with standard gear from Best Buy, and I nearly disowned him (was a bit hasty, I listened to it and it sounds great) but I have no suggestions - I'm from California. But the way to find it is to go to the manufacturer sites first, see who sells what's interesting, and then go listen. You MUST listen to it.

Originally Posted by OZZZZZ

Need help on a receiver (Seems like Onkyo and Denon are the way to go based on the latest threads), blu ray player and speakers Suggestions?

First, you are filling a very big area. Even with your budget, if you went with true high end audio gear ( separates, like pre-amp, amps, etc.) you'd break the bank before you got to the speakers.

If the emphasis is on home theater, basically movies, the combination of Pioneer and Definitive Mythos can't be beat. I didn't buy all this stuff at the same time, but in the room that is essentially dedicated Home Theater, here's my setup:

-Pioneer Elite 84TXH (140 watts per channel, 8 ohms) $1,200
-Mythos ST Super Towers for R/L channels (subs built in, more on that in a moment) $1,800/Pair
-Mythos Ten Center Channel $700
-Mythos One Surrounds $1,400 pair
-Mythose Three rears $500 each
-JL Audio Fathom 13" subwoofer $3,000

Came to just under $10K for the audio. I have yet to hear superio audio, from any rig I've had the pleasure to audition, for home theater. It's in my living room, 24' by 26', and does an effortless job. Data comes from the Sony S300 Blu-Ray player, a home built HTPC used as an audio server with all lossless recordings, and a Sony 400 DVD player for the master CD's and DVD's. If you have an extensive DVD library, you really need to get one of these - no more walls covered with cases filled with DVD's and CD's.

But I didn't start out with Mythos. I'm a nut for sound, without a sound nut's wallet, so I was going for music audio at first. Wound up with:

Pioneer Elite 84THX again
Sonus Faber Piano Domus - Right/left, $4,000/pair
Vienna Acoustics Bach Grand Surrounds - $1,400/pair
Vienna Acoustics Theatro Center Channel - $700
Klipsch SUB-12 subwoofers (2, one didn't cut it) - $400 each
B&K 125.2 - $400

I found out real quick that Pioneer couldn't handle the 4 ohm load, even though it's a brute at 140 watts per channel at 8 ohms, so I added a B&K amp for the Domus. It wound up still being too weak in the knees to drive the Domus for home theater. So I went out and got;

QSC RMX 1450 - $400

The QSC is a musician's amp, with great specs - it's butt ugly, and has a noisy fan, but is absolutely clean, fast, and drives the Domus so sweetly it's incredible. Moved the B&K down to the Vienna Acoustics Bach, a good fit.

But sweetness, and the ability to make Coltrane's sax sound like liquid gold, aren't the same thing as the Master and Commander cannonades; these units can deliver, but I blew the 15 amp breakers on my house about six times before the message came through...don't crank them up that loud, unless you want to rewire the house. I moved that rig to the family room, where we listen to music, watch normal TV, and look at lighter fare on Blu-Ray. It can blow you out of the room, but the room is 2/3 the size of the living room.

Less efficient speakers may sound great, but they're hell to feed. Don't get me wrong - the Definitive rig sounds great with music when it's loud, but isn't as good at lower volumes, to be honest. It's efficient, ultra clean, etc.

Side note: the Super Towers have subs, but they really turn the speakers into the full range speaker from hell - they're NOT room-filling subs. They're not set up on the sub channel; they're tied to the R/L channel. Absolutely stunning sound.

You will get lots of talk about subs; I listed to everything I could, and the JL Audio Fathom 13" - just one - pounds the air out of your lungs, just an astonishing unit. Light years beyond anything else, incredibly fast and responsive, and amazingly, is a sealed unit. No ports - no need. I'm sure there are units at half the cost that deliver the pounding, and the volume, but nothing is a absolutely clean as the JL. Strongly consider this as a foundation if movies is your prime focus. You don't need it for music, although is also the most musical sub I've heard.

Hope this helps.

[ak808]

I would go with the mythos line or maybe the paradigm reference series. Not sure on the price on the paradigm. However, if I had that kind of budget I'd spend around 11k on a nice projector (JVC RS2) and a 100" or larger screen. This would leave you with a 9-14k budget for audio and trust me you can get some really nice stuff with that amount.

[ground chuck]

crap....i'll throw in my 2 cents for speakers...


Definitive, the name says it all. they're not the best but, they're better than 90% of the speakers out there.

[Beta Man]

Here's a link you'll want to look into.

http://www.readyacoustics.com/index....cts.categories

You'll probably want a standard room package.

[HOME THEATRE ADDICT!]

I just jumped in here to say "it must be nice"! Wish I had that kind of $ to put into a H.T. system.

[Deadset]

no kidding... I really want to see pics of this when you get it all setup. Just wondering what it'll look like!

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Deads3t

no kidding... I really want to see pics of this when you get it all setup. Just wondering what it'll look like!

$25k won't go as far as you'd think...... especially if he's buying the T.V. out of that fund too.....

You can do well with $25k though, no doubt about that. Not sure I'd spend the 5.5-6K on the T.V. but that's just me.