My Home Theater Plan (Comments/Help)

[BlueThunder]

I would just like to post my current preferred set-up below to get some advice on what people think. I know some of this is discussed in other treads but I would like some comments on my overall plan and how to improve it if required

I already have a PS3 connected to a 26” LCD, old 5.1 receiver/speaker set-up, but I will be moving into a new house soon and hope to upgrade the entire system.

Player:-
So I will be using the PS3 for the foreseeable future as it is 1080P 24fps, HDMI, and can handle the latest codecs and is now BD 1.1. The one drawback is DTS_MA support and all those FOX titles with this. Hopefully the PS3 will get the required support in the future or I may think about upgrading to a SA. I think I’ all set here

Receiver:-
I am pretty set on the pioneer VSX LX60 or 70 receiver. It can handle TrueHD, DTS-MA and LPCM 7.1 (to my knowledge). Does any one have any experience (Good/Bad) with this receiver. Also if anyone has this receiver in combination with the speakers below it would be good for your opinion.

Speaker:-
I will have a 6.1 speaker set up (New house wired for this). I am looking to get the Monitor Audio. At first I was looking at the Bronze series but I might upgrade to the Sliver series. The room is Approx. 15*13 feet and I hope to wall mount at least the surround speakers.

Wiring:- Help needed here!!

The wiring is my main concern. At the moment there is hidden wiring installed for a 6.1 system. This wiring is 0.75mm Stranded copper. I am worried that this may not be enough. This is mainly for the 3 back surround speaker as I can wire the front 3 again, and I plane to bi-wire the front three.

Will the surround speakers suffer from this wiring or is it sufficient. Sound is very important for me and I would consider it as or more important to the picture quality (Saving private Ryan was immense on DVD 5.1).

TV:-
Again I was thinking of getting the samsung 40”or 46” M87 but because I have heard such good things about the KURO I might try to push the budget to the 50” PDP-LX508D. Do you thing the extra cost will be worth it? I will be using it for both games and movies, does this really make a difference.

Any thoughts welcome and may the blu be with you.

[Nooff]

Replace the Pioneer Receiver by an Onkyo, it'll give you much more controlled power and it looks nicer too. I've read several tests on Pioneer Receivers, and they're known for huge lossess of power during 5.1 setup. The Onkyo TX-SR805 has 130W measured in 5.1, Pioneer drops to 80W - 90W.

[MacDaddyOJack]

Originally Posted by Nooff

Replace the Pioneer Receiver by an Onkyo, it'll give you much more controlled power and it looks nicer too. I've read several tests on Pioneer Receivers, and they're known for huge lossess of power during 5.1 setup. The Onkyo TX-SR805 has 130W measured in 5.1, Pioneer drops to 80W - 90W.

+1, I have the 805 and it is nothing short of wonderful. I don't like the sound of Pioneer amps either, but that could be different for you.

Your choice in speakers is excellent though, I love the monitor silver series!

As for the tv, I'd stick with the samsung. The Kuro's are very nice, but also very expensive. I'm not sure that the slight (if any) improvement is worth all the extra money.

[BLU STEAL]

everyone is gonna give there own and different opinions. Kuro tv and pioneer reciever match made in heaven.

[The Guardian]

That wiring is insanely tiny (21 gauge). This is the stuff that typically comes with HTiB systems. You want at least 16 gauge wire (1.3mm) and I personally use 12 gauge (2mm).

The good news is since it's already wired, fishing will be easier... you just attach the new wire to the old wire on one end, and pull on the other to "fish" it through the walls... slowly, and make sure it's REALLY well attached so you don't lose it

[BlueThunder]

Originally Posted by MacDaddyOJack

+1, I have the 805 and it is nothing short of wonderful. I don't like the sound of Pioneer amps either, but that could be different for you.

Your choice in speakers is excellent though, I love the monitor silver series!

As for the tv, I'd stick with the samsung. The Kuro's are very nice, but also very expensive. I'm not sure that the slight (if any) improvement is worth all the extra money.

Originally Posted by Nooff

Replace the Pioneer Receiver by an Onkyo, it'll give you much more controlled power and it looks nicer too. I've read several tests on Pioneer Receivers, and they're known for huge lossess of power during 5.1 setup. The Onkyo TX-SR805 has 130W measured in 5.1, Pioneer drops to 80W - 90W.

Thanks, i'll have to takie a look at the Onkyo 805, But its not so easy to get here in Ireland. I think i'll have to order it online.

MacDaddyOJack do you have the Silver Series and have you used them with the Onkyo 805. Which set-up have you got/heard (RS1, RS5 or RS6. Do you have the RSW 12) Thanks.

[BlueThunder]

Originally Posted by BLU STEAL

everyone is gonna give there own and different opinions. Kuro tv and pioneer reciever match made in heaven.

I know I will get a lot of different opions, but Its nice to have as much info as I can get before making my final desicion. Do you have the KURO or the VSX LX 70/60. It certainly looks like a match in heaven but its also quite expensive and abouve the limit of my budget at the moment

[BLU STEAL]

Originally Posted by BlueThunder

I know I will get a lot of different opions, but Its nice to have as much info as I can get before making my final desicion. Do you have the KURO or the VSX LX 70/60. It certainly looks like a match in heaven but its also quite expensive and abouve the limit of my budget at the moment

I have the pioneer elite vsx-94txh but not a kuros model tv i have an older pdp-5016hd. I love the build quality and features and warm sound pioneer receivers produce. The best advice I can give you is to find a retailer that you can demo these different combinations. Everyone has there own opinion about what sounds nice and does not.

[MacDaddyOJack]

Originally Posted by BlueThunder

MacDaddyOJack do you have the Silver Series and have you used them with the Onkyo 805. Which set-up have you got/heard (RS1, RS5 or RS6. Do you have the RSW 12) Thanks.

I have some older Polk towers (see sig) that I got about 6 years ago, but they work wonderfully. Nothing like quality speakers. I have heard the Monitor Tower speakers, I can't remember the exact model as I was in a home theater store when I heard them. I listened to a lot of stuff that day, but I rememeber the monitors being impressive. I imagine that the match would be wonderful though. The 805 has an 8-band equilizer that is adjustable for all 7 channels (and subwoofer) independently. I can't say enough good things about the reciever.

[Vlad44]

consider something bigger - 60 inch or so. 42 or 46 are too small exept u are sitting too close to the screen. Dont chase plasma or lcd, they are stil overpriced. consider rptv, f.e. sony kds60a3000 or like. also rptv consumes less power (60in rptv 250w, but 60 KURO more than 500w!!!)

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by BlueThunder

Thanks, i'll have to takie a look at the Onkyo 805

I would have to disagree...Pioneer makes a superior Receiver. If you want to save a little money, then by all means the Onkyo would be a great system...but Quality is Pioneer's trademark.

[kingofgrills]

My best friend has the Monitor Audio Silver Series speakers based on my recommendation, and they sound incredible. If your budget allows you to step up to the Gold Series, by all means do so. However, Silver sounds great too.

If you are building a home theater room, which I did, I would suggest upgrading the receiver to a Yamaha. Yamaha receivers use 192Khz/24 bit Burr Brown DACs in all channels, and they have really beefy power supplies which deliver incredible amounts of power with almost no distortion. They also have extended frequency ranges (10 hz to 30Khz), so they're ideal for uncompressed linear pcm tracks, Super Audio CDs, and DVD-Audio tracks as well, all of which are playable (except DVD-A) through your wonderful PS3.

Just go audition a Yamaha with Monitor Audio speakers before you buy. If you're investing that much in a home theater room already, you won't regret it. I would recommend trying out the RX-V 1800 before buying. It provides an amazing amount of detail when paired with Monitor Audio Silver Series speakers.

[sokrman14]

The only reason to get something made by onkyo is if you do their Integra line. The Onkyo's are alright, but the Integra is upto par the companies like Pioneer Elite and Denon, etc.

[BryanHyde]

i posted this in a few other threads so, apologies for the repetitiveness.

im looking for comments/opinions as well...

i think i lucked out with my set up.
although its definitely not high end, i know it rivals those 3k dollar and up home theatres.
this was basically my first entry into the home theatre market.

Optoma DV10 + Free 100 inch Greywolf Screen - $500
PS3 - $300
Philips 5.1 - $150

Video is hooked up through the sony ps3 component cables outputting video to 1080p (thats what it says on the screen and i know the optomas are hd ready, however i dont know if its true hd...if anyone knows thatd be great)

audio is hooked up via optical

this is in a 20x10 room which is acoustically set up with auralex foaming etc.
(i produce music as well and use this room for music production)

all i need now are movie theatre seating :]

and maybe a higher end set up, but, i dont have a huge budget and im completely stoked with this set up as ive compared it to others of way higher budgets that have had similar results, (to my naked eyes perhaps).

maybe i dont have golden eyes/ears, but it works

[BlueThunder]

Originally Posted by The Guardian

That wiring is insanely tiny (21 gauge). This is the stuff that typically comes with HTiB systems. You want at least 16 gauge wire (1.3mm) and I personally use 12 gauge (2mm).

The good news is since it's already wired, fishing will be easier... you just attach the new wire to the old wire on one end, and pull on the other to "fish" it through the walls... slowly, and make sure it's REALLY well attached so you don't lose it

I think at this stage I might chase a channel through the concrete floor and run new wires from the front to back (for 3 surround speakers), before I put the flooring down.

The present wires go on a complicated run from what I remember, but I might use these for surround 12V LED lights instead(3 sets)

Is it worth bi-wiring the speakers also since the speakers are capable. Should I run the same gauge to both the bass and treble.

Also if I run new wire is it worth adding an extra back speaker to bring the system up to 7.1 for the size of the room I have. Especially when the THX set-up is to place both side by side.

On a side note, the BD drive (DVD and CD also) has died on my PS3. Updated to 2.10(don't think this was the cause), then after play POTC for 5mins it froze and now won't load any discs. Will be returning the system to the store tomorrow.

[BlueThunder]

Originally Posted by kingofgrills

My best friend has the Monitor Audio Silver Series speakers based on my recommendation, and they sound incredible. If your budget allows you to step up to the Gold Series, by all means do so. However, Silver sounds great too.

If you are building a home theater room, which I did, I would suggest upgrading the receiver to a Yamaha. Yamaha receivers use 192Khz/24 bit Burr Brown DACs in all channels, and they have really beefy power supplies which deliver incredible amounts of power with almost no distortion. They also have extended frequency ranges (10 hz to 30Khz), so they're ideal for uncompressed linear pcm tracks, Super Audio CDs, and DVD-Audio tracks as well, all of which are playable (except DVD-A) through your wonderful PS3.

Just go audition a Yamaha with Monitor Audio speakers before you buy. If you're investing that much in a home theater room already, you won't regret it. I would recommend trying out the RX-V 1800 before buying. It provides an amazing amount of detail when paired with Monitor Audio Silver Series speakers.

Hi kingofgrills, I certainly take a look at the Yamaha and see whats its like.

I was looking at the specs on it and it only says 20-20K frequency response on the European model. Is the extended frequency range something else you are referring to, or maybe a US model?

[victorvondoom88]

For the price of the Kuro $6,000.00. You might want to check out front projection if its a dedicated room.

[mainman]

I also am looking for a new receiver.

I am thinking between Pioneer LX-50 or Onkyo TX-SR805.

My question is:
Does the Onkyo SR805 have 24p passthrough?

I know the Pioneer LX-50 does have this feature, but not sure on the Onkyo.

[kingofgrills]

Originally Posted by BlueThunder

Hi kingofgrills, I certainly take a look at the Yamaha and see whats its like.

I was looking at the specs on it and it only says 20-20K frequency response on the European model. Is the extended frequency range something else you are referring to, or maybe a US model?

The 20-20K rating you're seeing is the standard frequency rating used for the power handling test. The 20-20k stat is just the standard industry "full range" used for the wattage test, and it's independent from the receiver's actual frequency range capability. SACDs and DVD-Audio tracks offer an extended frequency range that goes beyond 20k, so it offers greater headroom extension. If you have speakers that can handle it, you'll have a fuller presentation that more closely represents live music.

Keep in mind though that audible hearing for humans typically peaks at 20k. Studies have shown though that humans pick up inaudible elements of audio above 20k though, and that's where SACD, DVD-A and Blu-ray lossless audio tracks come in.

Oh, I did make a mistake though. The frequency response for the RX-V 1800 is actually 10 Hz–100 kHz +0, -3 dB. You can find it listed on the specification page (not feature page) on Yamaha's UK web site (I'm not sure where in Europe you are). Here's a link:

http://www.yamaha-uk.com/av_amps_rec...pecification=1

[Blu-Dog]

.....edited my post, fouled up the quoting something awful...

Another poster also vouched for the Monitor Audio speakers, but I beg to differ.

The Monitors are probably the best looking speakers I've seen in both the Gold and Silver line. I was dead set on getting them, then did a bunch of side by side comparisons, and I was amazed at how weak they sounded in comparison with other speakers in the same price range.

This may not be a huge concern - your room is small, so you don't have to crank them too hard to get the sound out - but they're simply not very efficient, and you may have to get a pretty muscular amp to drive them. They claim 91db efficiency, but I actually twirled knobs and it took more juice to get the same noise out of the Monitors.

At worst, you'll need to up the budget for the receiver - and that wiring situation isn't going to help, you'll be very inefficient trying to push power through kite string wiring.