Spend less on receiver, more on speakers?

[mlomeli]

Ok, I don't have a great deal of money for my theater budget. My thoughts are buying the Sony 720 and more money on good floor standing speakers, sub, etc... I have a PS3 as my one and only BD player and this seems to be the best, for the price, that I can pick up new locally.

My thoughts are receivers will always get better as technology goes on, but a good set of speakers can last a great while.

Does this make sense? Thoughts?

matt

[mlomeli]

I should also add...if there is a comparable receiver at the same price (that I can pick up locally - Salt Lake City), let me know.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

GO WITH ONKYO! They have the best on board processors for handling sound throughput. And I'm not just talking about receiver decoding of the data stream. I'm talking amplification. Getting an Onkyo 705 or 805 will last you a very very very long time at a very reasonable price. Sony does not have the quality in their receivers unless you are willing to pay the price tag on their ES line.

[allstar780]

yup, onkyos are swell! lol... also the sonys are only rated at the advertised wattage from 20Hz to 1kHz, and only at one channel powered.... so for you to get 105W to one speaker from the 720 you can only run one speaker at a time, from 20Hz to 1kHz, whereas the onkyos are rated at advertised wattage from 20Hz to 20kHz (20,000 Hz) which is the full audible spectrum

[Beta Man]

I won't go into Onkyo Vs. Sony sound, because it's subjective, but your overall thoughts about more on speakers, less on receiver etc. is exactly what I'd do.... but If I had a budget of $1,000 I'd buy the cheapest AVR that could accept PCM, and spend the rest on the L/R speakers..... if I had a budget of $2,000 I'd buy the cheapest AVR, and spend the rest on the L/R/C speakers..... So I wouldn't even look at buying a sub right now.... just get the best fronts you can afford.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

I won't go into Onkyo Vs. Sony sound, because it's subjective, but your overall thoughts about more on speakers, less on receiver etc. is exactly what I'd do.... but If I had a budget of $1,000 I'd buy the cheapest AVR that could accept PCM, and spend the rest on the L/R speakers..... if I had a budget of $2,000 I'd buy the cheapest AVR, and spend the rest on the L/R/C speakers..... So I wouldn't even look at buying a sub right now.... just get the best fronts you can afford.

+1

[airkitty]

You hear the speakers - the electronics and wires are secondary - always. I learned this from Bud Fried.

[Pelican170]

Sorry guys, but i tend to think the opposite. Spend the most you can on a kick ass receiver, then upgrade speakers with time. Some will say, yea but if your speakers suck, you dont get the full use of the receiver, but that definately goes both ways...

[w3bby]

On a budget I would do something like this...
Onkyo tr-sr606 or 705
and get your surround here http://www.edesignaudio.com/htpackage.php
You can get a full 5.1 and a great avr that will soun like you spent way more for 1500.
The eD speakers are AMAZING bang for your buck!!

here is a thread i just fouind on the ed speakers.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=924325

[Stephan.klose]

Don't go with the 720. It's a really cheap made receiver. As others stated go with the onkyo 606 and spend a little less on the speakers.

You can get nice floor speakers for a good price too. But don't skip the receiver. It's the heart of the system

[Yeha-Noha]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

I won't go into Onkyo Vs. Sony sound, because it's subjective, but your overall thoughts about more on speakers, less on receiver etc. is exactly what I'd do.... but If I had a budget of $1,000 I'd buy the cheapest AVR that could accept PCM, and spend the rest on the L/R speakers..... if I had a budget of $2,000 I'd buy the cheapest AVR, and spend the rest on the L/R/C speakers..... So I wouldn't even look at buying a sub right now.... just get the best fronts you can afford.

+1. Good sound advice, Beta Man. HT 101.

Speakers last for decades and are basically future proof. I find that I buy a new AVR every 3 years or so. I have speakers (not my HT ones) that are 20 years old yet have actually increased in value. Sinking more money into higher quality speakers is truly a sound investment that you won't regret. Those speakers along with the room you place them in are going to have more of an impact on the sound you hear than the AVR will. AVRs differ in features, bells and whistles, etc. but all they are after processing the sound are just basically multichannel power amplifiers. What you need to buy to get started is an AVR that can process your source (BDs, DVDs, etc) and has enough clean power to drive your speakers to the levels that you normally listen in the room where you are seated.

[Sith]

Originally Posted by mlomeli

I should also add...if there is a comparable receiver at the same price (that I can pick up locally - Salt Lake City), let me know.

one word....ONKYO....love mine so much and i only got the 605...

[prerich]

Originally Posted by Pelican170

Sorry guys, but i tend to think the opposite. Spend the most you can on a kick ass receiver, then upgrade speakers with time. Some will say, yea but if your speakers suck, you dont get the full use of the receiver, but that definately goes both ways...

Sorry speakers will make good components sound very bad. Speakers are the only component that you actually listen to (besides the room itself). Electronics play a part but in the end I would go with the best speakers I could buy and get amplification that can run the speakers I have chosen.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by Stephan.klose

Don't go with the 720. It's a really cheap made receiver. As others stated go with the onkyo 606 and spend a little less on the speakers.

You can get nice floor speakers for a good price too. But don't skip the receiver. It's the heart of the system

I'd like to change your analogy - the heart of the system would be the blood pumper - the one that provides life - IMHO this is not the receiver. The receiver is more like the brains of a system, the central router, but the thing that actually gives the system life - the heart of a system - starts with the speakers.

[neckedness]

I can't see spending $800 on a reciever. $400 HDMI receiver sounds just as good. Don't let mfg fool you. The ears can't hear any better unless you're superman. And I would not spend over $1000 for 5 speakers.

[Sith]

Originally Posted by prerich

Sorry speakers will make good components sound very bad. Speakers are the only component that you actually listen to (besides the room itself). Electronics play a part but in the end I would go with the best speakers I could buy and get amplification that can run the speakers I have chosen.

In a way both of you are right, but i would never put to much money towards
hardware vs. speakers if you had to choose....But in this case i would
get the best uncompressed receiver that was reasonably priced and then
buy speakers that we're top of the line when i could afford them...

If money is a concern you can always buy 2 good front speakers and then
rotate them to your back speakers when you have enough $$$ to buy top
of the line fronts.....But never skimp on your center or sub, just wait
till you can afford them off the bat...

[prerich]

Originally Posted by rwojtalewicz

+1. Good sound advice, Beta Man. HT 101.

Speakers last for decades and are basically future proof. I find that I buy a new AVR every 3 years or so. I have speakers (not my HT ones) that are 20 years old yet have actually increased in value. Sinking more money into higher quality speakers is truly a sound investment that you won't regret. Those speakers along with the room you place them in are going to have more of an impact on the sound you hear than the AVR will. AVRs differ in features, bells and whistles, etc. but all they are after processing the sound are just basically multichannel power amplifiers. What you need to buy to get started is an AVR that can process your source (BDs, DVDs, etc) and has enough clean power to drive your speakers to the levels that you normally listen in the room where you are seated.

+1 Good post!

[Sith]

Originally Posted by neckedness

I can't see spending $800 on a reciever. $400 HDMI receiver sounds just as good. Don't let mfg fool you. The ears can't hear any better unless you're superman. And I would not spend over $1000 for 5 speakers.

if your buying speakers seperately you get to $1000.00 real fast...

[prerich]

Originally Posted by Sith

if your buying speakers seperately you get to $1000.00 real fast...

+1 Agreed and my ears can tell the difference between a 200.00 speaker and a well designed 600.00 and above speaker.

[neckedness]

Originally Posted by neckedness

I can't see spending $800 on a reciever. $400 HDMI receiver sounds just as good. Don't let mfg fool you. The ears can't hear any better unless you're superman. And I would not spend over $1000 for 5 speakers.

Make that $2000 not $1000.