Getting rid of my HTiB. Any suggestions for new setup?

[yophoto91]

Hi all,

I’ve decided my $200 Samsung 5.1 HTiB isn’t cutting it and want to upgrade. By no means am I an audiophile, but sound is still very important to me. I would like to keep the total price for everything at $800. If it is absolutely necessary, however, I can go up to $1,000. Please let me say that I’m not the type to upgrade my equipment often so this setup needs to last me several years. Even though I’m only building a 5.1 setup at the moment I would like the receiver to be as “future proof” as possible (7.1 support, etc.) My display is a Samsung LN40A650 and my player is a Sony BDP-S550. One thing that I’m concerned about is the small size of my bedroom (10.8’ x 12.1’). If it matters, the flooring in the room is hardwood.

I know some people will suggest spending my money on an excellent 2.1 system and add to it as time passes, but I’m not planning on exceeding my budget. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If possible, I will try to checkout some local stores and hear them firsthand, but it would be helpful if I had a starting point.

Thank you for your time.

Take care,

Mark

[Another_Dude]

Onkyo 606
Polk 6750s

[Aerodude73]

Originally Posted by Another_Dude

Onkyo 606
Polk 6750s

+1. Great AVR, Excellent speaker set-up for a Smaller type room (they were my speakers up until recently, when I spent many months & $$$$$ upgrading). Great value for the dollars.

[mozen_1ne]

Originally Posted by Another_Dude

Onkyo 606
Polk 6750s

can't go wrong with this setup in a small room. i have this in my living room and i absolutely love it.

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Cha...1758626&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_e_...efix=onkyo+606

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-SA2...1758804&sr=1-1

[lojack1976]

Are you looking for towers, bookshelves, or satellite speakers? For $800-$1000 range there are some good options for you. There are handful of speaker packages and some good speaker that are sold individually that will fit within your budget. Your preference can help with the suggestions.

[jw]

I just bought this for the LR setup, Absolutely amazing for the money
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VEI2OA

Great starter, comes with all the speakers and sub, plus you can upgrade the speakers at a later date

[aesnakes]

I have the sony str-dg820with those speakers the polk 6750 setup and it is amazing!

When we watch any movie with huge sound are place rumbles. Depending on the size of your room we havnt even pushed these speakers near the limits, Good audio in low levels and higher levels, very loud and if you want to extend your setup it gives you some options. I went to 7.1 by adding 2 Polk M20's and think they fit very nicely.

Good luck on the upgrade, I highly recommend the Polk 6750's

[CosmoKid]

I know everyone who has Polk's is going to tell you to buy them. I like Polk's and all, but I think a better budget set-up is something like this....

Energy Take 5 from Vann's

$199 for the 5 speakers.
$299 with the 8" sub.
$399 with the 10" sub.

Free shipping and no tax. The packages with the sub are in the same link on the right side.

Then you have your usual suspects in terms of receivers...

Onkyo 606
Yamaha 663
Yamaha 565

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by CosmoKid

I know everyone who has Polk's is going to tell you to buy them. I like Polk's and all, but I think a better budget set-up is something like this....

Energy Take 5 from Vann's

$199 for the 5 speakers.
$299 with the 8" sub.
$399 with the 10" sub.

Free shipping and no tax. The packages with the sub are in the same link on the right side.

Then you have your usual suspects in terms of receivers...

Onkyo 606
Yamaha 663
Yamaha 565

I second this idea. I'm not a big Polk myself. IMO Energy sounds much better.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by CosmoKid

I know everyone who has Polk's is going to tell you to buy them. I like Polk's and all, but I think a better budget set-up is something like this....

Energy Take 5 from Vann's

$199 for the 5 speakers.
$299 with the 8" sub.
$399 with the 10" sub.

Free shipping and no tax. The packages with the sub are in the same link on the right side.

Then you have your usual suspects in terms of receivers...

Onkyo 606
Yamaha 663
Yamaha 565

I like Polks, but I second this over the RM6750 setup. They have better range, look nicer, and will stave off upgradeitis for longer.

[Grevlin]

Originally Posted by CosmoKid

I know everyone who has Polk's is going to tell you to buy them. I like Polk's and all, but I think a better budget set-up is something like this....

Energy Take 5 from Vann's

$199 for the 5 speakers.
$299 with the 8" sub.
$399 with the 10" sub.

Free shipping and no tax. The packages with the sub are in the same link on the right side.

Then you have your usual suspects in terms of receivers...

Onkyo 606
Yamaha 663
Yamaha 565

Nice package, +1 (With the 10" sub, 12" even better) Would be looking at around $800

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by jwbbud

I just bought this for the LR setup, Absolutely amazing for the money
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VEI2OA

Great starter, comes with all the speakers and sub, plus you can upgrade the speakers at a later date

That set-up has hdmi pass-through. If he went with the HT-S6100, then he would have an hdmi switching receiver with TrueHD and DTS-HD MA support.

[Semp1]

What you should get is for the front Polk tsi200-$299(pair), for the rear tsi100-$199(pair), and center cs10, for the sub go with Sony sa-w2500-$89 on Amazon, rceiver should be the Sony str-dg820 which can be found for under $300. You add all this up and you get a fantastic system for less than $900.

[crackinhedz]

YAMAHA RX-V465 (5.1 only)



or

Yamaha RX-V565 (7.1)





Polk Audio Monitor 60





Polk Audio CS2





Polk Audio Monitor 40 Surrounds (Pair)





Polk Audio PSW10





-------------------------------

5.1 ~ $975 + free shipping








you could up the ante on the sub:

BIC America F12

[Grevlin]

Let me add, before you go out and just buy one of these "packages," I highly recommend reading through many threads and checking out the specs on all of the individual pieces. It will all eventually make sense, and you may find little things like this:

My Onkyo 606 has no extra 120 volt plugs in the back. Various receivers have these and you can plug things like LED's or cooling fans in and they will turn off and on with the receiver. I didn't even know to look at the time. I will be putting my 606 in an enclosed console, and need to sort out cooling control now. Minor thing, but it would have been nice to know back in the day.

Read Read Read, ask questions and audition if possible. Then start pulling the trigger.

[Beta Man]

ED SUB for $325

Def Tech Pro-monitor 100's for fronts ($333 for pair) http://www.amazon.com/Definitive-Tec...801582&sr=1-18

Def Tech Center $180
http://www.amazon.com/Definitive-Tec...801582&sr=1-23

Pair of these Cambridge Soundworks for surrounds... ($70 for the pair )

http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/s...3CW0005AA001-8

I have recommendations for receivers.... but are you using a player that can decode the audio?

I have to run, but will update this later.... sorry.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by Grevlin

Let me add, before you go out and just buy one of these "packages," I highly recommend reading through many threads and checking out the specs on all of the individual pieces. It will all eventually make sense, and you may find little things like this:

My Onkyo 606 has no extra 120 volt plugs in the back. Various receivers have these and you can plug things like LED's or cooling fans in and they will turn off and on with the receiver. I didn't even know to look at the time. I will be putting my 606 in an enclosed console, and need to sort out cooling control now. Minor thing, but it would have been nice to know back in the day.

Read Read Read, ask questions and audition if possible. Then start pulling the trigger.

Really good point. Or the fact that it doesn't have pre-outs. I didn't care about that when I got it, but my attitude on that definitely changed quickly. Having a receiver with an outlet and pre-outs right up front (Yamaha's 663/665 has it?) will help with not having to upgrade frequently.

Crackinhedz' suggestion of the Polk floorstanders is really good too. Energy, Polk floorstanders or the Def Techs would all be good choices.

[Grevlin]

Originally Posted by aramis109

Really good point. Or the fact that it doesn't have pre-outs. I didn't care about that when I got it, but my attitude on that definitely changed quickly. Having a receiver with an outlet and pre-outs right up front (Yamaha's 663/665 has it?) will help with not having to upgrade frequently.

Crackinhedz' suggestion of the Polk floorstanders is really good too. Energy, Polk floorstanders or the Def Techs would all be good choices.

YES! --- I will have to buy a new receiver when I switch to separate(s) - I was probably going to anyway But again, it would have been nice to know before I bought it.

[yophoto91]

Thank you all for your suggestions thus far. It is greatly appreciated. To answer some questions and to ask a few more...

Lojack1976: The speaker type doesn’t really matter as long as they aren’t too big. I already have 2 pairs of speaker stands from my previous system which I would like to use but it is no biggie if I don’t. For the time being this setup is going to be in a small bedroom which measures in at 11’ x 12’. However, I would still like the system to have plenty of power because I’m planning on moving it to a larger room in a couple of years.

Beta Man: My player is the Sony BDP-S550. I believe it decodes the latest audio formats (dts-HD Master Audio and Dolby True HD).

Pretty much my major concern is keeping this system as “future proof” as possible. Like I mentioned I would like it to support 7.1 and all the latest audio formats.

A stupid question for you guys...I already have plenty of 12 AWG wire from Monoprice. Am I going to run into any issues using it with these suggested receivers/speakers? I ask because with my current HTiB I had to purchase speaker pins in order to get the wire to fit into the receiver/speakers.

One more question...If I’m not the type to blast the sound very loud do you think it would still be necessary for me to get a 12” sub as opposed to a 10”? I don’t want to annoy my neighbors, nor spend more on something I won’t be utilizing.

Finally, if I’m not planning on making a hobby out of home theater sound should I worry about these “pre-outs” and outlets? From what I able to research online it seems these features are only necessary if you are going to be connecting several devices to the receiver. Or do I have that wrong?

Forget what I said about keeping trying to keep the price under $800. I’m definitely willing to spend $1,000 but that is the limit.

Sorry for all the questions. Thank you all again for your assistance.

Mark

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by aramis109

Really good point. Or the fact that it doesn't have pre-outs. I didn't care about that when I got it, but my attitude on that definitely changed quickly. Having a receiver with an outlet and pre-outs right up front (Yamaha's 663/665 has it?) will help with not having to upgrade frequently.

Crackinhedz' suggestion of the Polk floorstanders is really good too. Energy, Polk floorstanders or the Def Techs would all be good choices.

I still am in that same old boat aramis with my 605. I'm starting the homework and research now for seperates, as it will be some time before I pull the trigger (I had promised myself by the end of the year with B-day, X-mas, saving $). But by that time, I will be well educated and will have enough listening time spent to know what I like and hopefully find a good enough AVR and amp that will future-proof me for around 5 years......