PLEASE HELP: I am ready to move up from HTiB! Audio help needed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[joegs300]

I am now in the market to upgrade my speaker system / AV receiver to full power instead of HTiB!

I'm looking for the BEST that my money can buy. I am looking to spend about $1000-- and looks are VERY important to me. I want something that looks modern. I like the silver-ish tones that the Monitor series brings from Polk. I also like the orange tint from Klispch. I need the following:

Recevier: Onkyo / Sony / Yamaha
Floorstanding Speakers: Klipsch / Polk (I could do Sony too, but knowing that there is something better for the money would trigger my OCD into upgrading again...)
Rear Surround Sounds: Klipsch / Polk
Center Channel: Klipsch / Polk

NewEgg has a good sale on Monitor 50's right now... but I don't think those are the best that money can buy. If any of you guys have any recommendations, please let me know. Forgive me if this topic is like beating a dead horse, but I am excited to finally upgrade.

Please help me get out of my HTiB phase!! I already ordered 14 banana plugs from Monoprice during their sale... so a 7.1 is a possibility.

Remember $1000 is my budget (but budgets are made to be broken).. Looking for a clean set-up that looks beautiful more-so than sounds great. A blend of form and function would be perfect! Thank you all..

[Steve]

What do you expect to purchase with $1000? A receiver and 5.1 setup? 7.1 setup? How big is your room? What are your listening habits? How loud do you like to listen? Unfortunately that $1000 may not go as far as you hope. My advice would be to first pick your front left and right speakers and start there. Once you've chosen speakers, THEN decide on a receiver. Depending on the speakers you choose, an AVR may not provide enough power for them by itself, so you may need to consider an amp as well. If you like Polk I would suggest looking at the Polk store on Ebay. For working on a budget, I also recommend taking a look at The Speaker Company. You may end up having to start with just your mains and receiver, and possibly the center. Then add the sub and surrounds as the money becomes available.

[BUBBASAX420]

Is the 1000 the grand tot for everything avr and speakers etc ?????

[BUBBASAX420]

This system Ive seen at vans for 799, My brother purchased it and it sounds amazing,True hd and dts ma hd plus 7.1 great deal and a great receiver for the money.IMO the best htib on the market.
It also is thx certified and comes with a 12 inch sub I know you want out of htib but if you tried to piece this together you would spend more than a 1000< It is a great system and sounds excellent check it out if your budget is a 1000. Dont look at it like a htib look at it like a bad ass system that you spent a 800 to a thousand dollars on.

http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=...ss=Systems&p=i

[Kai Winters]

As fireman says a grand won't buy you much but it will get you off to a good start.
Buying a mid range receiver is going to set you back around $400 if you shop well and buy online. The Onkyo 606 and Yamaha 663 can be had in that price range, with a bit of luck and shopping savy for your $400ish.
With $600 left I would concentrate on a good pair of fronts and not worry about the rest until you have more money saved.

The BEST, your words, gear that can be had won't even let you listen to them for a grand...they would laugh at you and mock you to tears.

For instance I prefer Paradigm speakers and to buy a pair of Monitor 7v.5 towers would run me close to $700 for a pair, a CC290 center channel close to $500, similar sub $500ish and using the inexpensive but mighty Atoms for surrounds $250 per pair. Just for a mid range...very middish range...5.1 system has cost me nearly a grand. That is a very nice sounding system that will keep you satisfied for many years and they all have either good resale value or can be easily moved to another position as they may be replaced/upgraded.
This system isn't even close to being considered BEST by any means...just a nice sounding system but compared to the vast majority of people, not us of course lol, that are using an inexpensive/cheap htib or, heaven forbid, the tv's speakers they are a vast improvement.

Add my speakers pricing to the receiver and you have dropped $1400ish but have bought yourself a great system for music and movie watching pleasure.
I would say to get in the "wow what a system" you would be dropping around $6000 and even that is nowhere close to BEST.

My speaker pricing is using roughly what I have seen at the 6ave.com website.
Good luck, keep asking questions and keep us informed.

[joegs300]

Originally Posted by fireman325

What do you expect to purchase with $1000? A receiver and 5.1 setup? 7.1 setup? How big is your room? What are your listening habits? How loud do you like to listen? Unfortunately that $1000 may not go as far as you hope. My advice would be to first pick your front left and right speakers and start there. Once you've chosen speakers, THEN decide on a receiver. Depending on the speakers you choose, an AVR may not provide enough power for them by itself, so you may need to consider an amp as well. If you like Polk I would suggest looking at the Polk store on Ebay. For working on a budget, I also recommend taking a look at The Speaker Company. You may end up having to start with just your mains and receiver, and possibly the center. Then add the sub and surrounds as the money becomes available.

Thanks Fireman. This is for a small room. I have a 50'' Panny Plasma. The pictures of the room are in my home theater gallery to the left, under my avatar. I am looking for a 5.1 to start, then maybe a 7.1 in the future. $1000 is just my starting budget.. I'm not sure where that will take me. I want to get a great receiver that will stand the test of time. Right now, I am looking at the Onkyo 606. Everyone has one, so that has to be a good thing. I want floor standing speakers. I don't know much about power and Ohm's and all the technical terms that audio comes with. I'm a genius when it comes to laboratory science and clinical labs, but when it comes to technology and electronics I'm a n00b.

Originally Posted by BUBBASAX420

Is the 1000 the grand tot for everything avr and speakers etc ?????

$1000 is just a starting number.. I know the receiver will set me back ~500... Maybe the two front floorstanding speakers + Center channel can be the next 500.

Originally Posted by Kai Winters

My speaker pricing is using roughly what I have seen at the 6ave.com website.
Good luck, keep asking questions and keep us informed.

I was just looking for the best that my budget can afford right now. I just bought an APC H15 so I got that base covered. I play all my blu's off of a PS3 so that is my gaming/stand-alone.

In regards to floor standing speakers, can you make a floor standing speaker a rear satellite or is that overkill?

[BUBBASAX420]

http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/rf-62.aspx



Ive seen these as low as 499 for the pair and the rc 52 center as low as 299.IMO they are great floor standers for the money. Check them out they sound amazing.

[BUBBASAX420]

BTW the onkyo 606 is a great receiver

[joegs300]

Originally Posted by BUBBASAX420

http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/rf-62.aspx



Ive seen these as low as 499 for the pair and the rc 52 center as low as 299.IMO they are great floor standers for the money. Check them out they sound amazing.

Are these considered higher end? 499/pair isn't bad if that's the base. I might get one of the cs10 or something speakers if I decide to go klipsch. something that costs around 250/shipped for a cs.

[Steve]

Ok, given your starting budget and room size and the other components in your system right now, it's my opinion that you should be focused on your mains and receiver right now. Possibly a center as well, but that will make things really tight.

Also I hope you will take what I'm about to say about receivers seriously. I don't know if you've looked at my gallery, but I'm using an Onkyo 605, the predecessor to the 606. It's a great receiver and loaded with features, but it has one HUGE drawback. It has no pre-outs, and neither does the 606. This is my ONLY complaint against these otherwise great receivers. I had no idea when I got mine that I would ever end up with the huge speakers I have now. I would like to add an Emotiva amp to my system, but unfortunately I would have to replace my receiver to do so. I strongly recommend that you look for a receiver with HDMI audio decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio (even though you're using a PS3 and wouldn't need it right now), pre-outs, a sufficient number of HDMI inputs, and some kind of auto-calibration system. The 606 has all of these except the pre-outs, and the Yammy 663 has everything with only 2 HDMI inputs. This may or may not be enough for your setup, but please don't limit your future options. You may regret it later.

Originally Posted by BUBBASAX420

http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/rf-62.aspx



Ive seen these as low as 499 for the pair and the rc 52 center as low as 299.IMO they are great floor standers for the money. Check them out they sound amazing.

IMO this would be a great speaker setup, but I'm admittedly biased toward Klipsch. Klipsch has a particular sound and some love it, but others hate it. You should definitely try to listen for yourself before you buy. Also as pointed out before, I think the Polk RTiA5 (or 7) setup should receive serious consideration. Polk has a different sound than Klipsch, and I'd be surprised if you didn't like either one.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by joegs300

Are these considered higher end? 499/pair isn't bad if that's the base. I might get one of the cs10 or something speakers if I decide to go klipsch. something that costs around 250/shipped for a cs.

The RF-62's are pretty well regarded. Over in the AVS forums, there's a LONG thread dedicated to Klipsch, and also one to Polk. If you're interested in either of these brands you might try posting there to get feedback from people who own each system.

[joegs300]

Limiting myself is one of the reasons why I regret buying the HTiB. I cannot upgrade anything without messing something up. I owned Klipsch speakers for my Alienware gaming computer system and they were wonderful. I used to be a highly regarded Counterstrike player and those speakers won me many tournaments (lame, I know...) I am a tad biased towards Klipsch as well. Truth be told, price is not THAT BIG of an issue. If I want something, I will find ways to fund it. I just don't want to be limited, like you said. I don't need the power to be UBER powerful.. and I have my Mitsu to watch cable outside in my den. I don't need so many HDMI inputs.

So the Yammy would be a better choice than the 606, huh? Both can internally decode all the latest codecs, though right? NewEgg has a great deal on an open box 606 but I wouldn't roll the dice with open box material.

[BUBBASAX420]

MAYBE A 706 NOT THAT MUCH DIFFERENT IN PRICE AND A GREAT RECEIVER,I LIKE ONKYO ALOT, IMO THEY MAKE GREAT RECEIVERS FOR THE MONEY EITHER WAY YOU GO I'M SURE IT WILL SOUND GOOD,BTW THOSE KLIPSCH RF 62 ARE EXCELLENT IF YOU LIKE THE SOUND OF KLIPSCH AND IT APPEARS YOU DO,NOTHING WRONG WITH POLK JUST LISTEN TO EACH FIRST THEN CHOOSE. CRAP SORRY ABOUT THE caps lock bad habit from work

[Steve]

Originally Posted by joegs300

So the Yammy would be a better choice than the 606, huh? Both can internally decode all the latest codecs, though right? NewEgg has a great deal on an open box 606 but I wouldn't roll the dice with open box material.

Yes, they both do all the latest audio codecs. I'm hesitant to say the Yammy is "better", but I do like that it has pre-outs. Just my opinion. Other than the pre-out thing, I couldn't be happier with my Onkyo 605. The flip side is that with Klipsch being extremely efficient speakers, I wonder if I would truly benefit from adding an amp. It's not like I would want the volume to be any louder than I listen to now. But of course I'll always wonder....

As Bubba mentioned, the 706 is would be an awesome receiver also. It has all the features of the 606, plus pre-outs, an upgraded Audyssey auto calibration system, and is THX certified.

I think the most sought after Onkyo receiver right now is the old 805. A lot of people feel it's superior to the new 806 for several reasons. They're getting pretty hard to find though. There is this used one on Audiogon (very reputable trading site), but if you want it, I suggest you move on it fast.

It's fun spending other people's money.

Edit: I just checked and there are some also available on Amazon.

[joegs300]

Originally Posted by BUBBASAX420

MAYBE A 706 NOT THAT MUCH DIFFERENT IN PRICE AND A GREAT RECEIVER,I LIKE ONKYO ALOT, IMO THEY MAKE GREAT RECEIVERS FOR THE MONEY EITHER WAY YOU GO I'M SURE IT WILL SOUND GOOD,BTW THOSE KLIPSCH RF 62 ARE EXCELLENT IF YOU LIKE THE SOUND OF KLIPSCH AND IT APPEARS YOU DO,NOTHING WRONG WITH POLK JUST LISTEN TO EACH FIRST THEN CHOOSE. CRAP SORRY ABOUT THE caps lock bad habit from work

I USE CAPS ALSO AT WORK!!!! I WORK AT THE UCLA MEDICAL CENTER AND OUR INFORMATION SYSTEMS USE CAPS. HAha... Thanks for the help finding speakers! What are the circle things inside of the wooden frame called!? Don't kill me for asking.. I'm a n00b... Are those the horns?

Originally Posted by fireman325

Yes, they both do all the latest audio codecs. I'm hesitant to say the Yammy is "better", but I do like that it has pre-outs. Just my opinion. Other than the pre-out thing, I couldn't be happier with my Onkyo 605. The flip side is that with Klipsch being extremely efficient speakers, I wonder if I would truly benefit from adding an amp. It's not like I would want the volume to be any louder than I listen to now. But of course I'll always wonder....

As Bubba mentioned, the 706 is would be an awesome receiver also. It has all the features of the 606, plus pre-outs, an upgraded Audyssey auto calibration system, and is THX certified.

I think the most sought after Onkyo receiver right now is the old 805. A lot of people feel it's superior to the new 806 for several reasons. They're getting pretty hard to find though. There is this used one on Audiogon (very reputable trading site), but if you want it, I suggest you move on it fast.

It's fun spending other people's money.

Edit: I just checked and there are some also available on Amazon.

Fireman-- I might go with the 706 because of the features you listed!!! You just sold me on it.. I like the fact that it's THX certified.. I owe you one. Please continue to support me in my quest to find a good system. Should I use the speaker wire that comes with the speakers or should I go to monoprice or bluejeans to buy better gauge wire?

[BUBBASAX420]

What are the circle things inside of the wooden frame called!? Don't kill me for asking.. I'm a n00b... Are those the horns?

I guess I don't know quite what your asking my bad please try to clarify, The 706 is great I'm glad to hear you say that you will go for that receiver,If you decide to go klipsch i will help you with shopping for prices just due to the fact that I checked allot of places when i was purchasing mine.

[BUBBASAX420]

The horn is above the 2 woofers

[I Bleed Blu]

If you have never listened to the Klipsch I would highly recommend you do before you buy them. I had never really listened to any other speakers before buying Klipsch. After later demoing some Paradigm's I was blown away by how much better they sounded than the Klipsch (IMO anyway). The Paradigm Monitor 7's would be great floorstanders and have much better mid's and high's than the Klipsch do. Also, because Paradigm just released their v6 you should be able to get a great deal on the v5's. The only difference is barley noticable, they changed the grill, and tweaked the crossover I think. Same drivers, etc.

I had Klipsch RF-63's, RC-64, RS-52's. I now have Paradigm Monitor 11's, CC-390, and ADP-390's. I can tell you without hesitation the Paradigms blow the Klipsch away. And the Klipsch I had were MUCH MUCH more powerful than the RF-62's mentioned above.

[I Bleed Blu]

Originally Posted by BUBBASAX420

What are the circle things inside of the wooden frame called!? Don't kill me for asking.. I'm a n00b... Are those the horns?

I guess I don't know quite what your asking my bad please try to clarify, The 706 is great I'm glad to hear you say that you will go for that receiver,If you decide to go klipsch i will help you with shopping for prices just due to the fact that I checked allot of places when i was purchasing mine.

I assume your talking about the woofers (or drivers), thats the orange looking thing in the front of the speaker frame. The "horns" are the tweeter in Klipsch case. They have Horn Tweeters, these are at the top of the speaker, and they are night and day different from what is in say Paradigm. They have a very different sound.

[Kai Winters]

Electronics generally no longer stand the test of time for a home theatre system. If you buy a receiver, say the Yamaha 663, today there is a possibility that new audio codecs, video transfer/upconverting, etc. may change in 2 years rendering the 663 out of date...that does not mean unusable just out of date to the latest media signals/etc.

My 3 year old Yamaha 659 is a great receiver but it does not do hdmi nor the latest audio, True HD, DTS HD. So I am not able to get the most out of my Sony 350 bd player. That means I am now contemplating spending another $400 or so to replace it. My speakers on the other hand will sound great regardless of the receiver or BD player...speakers last longer and are worth the investment over a piece of electronics in my opinion.
I would put the bulk of my money in the speakers. I would also put the bulk, if not all of that money on the fronts and add the others as my budget allows and deals come along.

Choose your speakers by sound and do so carefully. Speakers sound differently to us all and you should spend some time listening to them before purchasing. Most of us will take a few favorite music cds, or a compilation cd of your favorite material, and favorite movie dvds and audition the speakers at the local shops, or do the best you can at the local BB, etc. Make sure they have a return policy so you can listen to them in your environment and bring them back if you are not that happy with them. A great sounding pair of speakers will provide years of pleasure. You can use towers as surrounds, see some of the systems on this forum for examples, allowing for a good tower purchase today knowing as the budget allows you can buy a great pair of fronts and move the good ones to surrounds.