Recommendations on Where/What to buy for a home theater system?

[Super_Geo]

Hey guys, I'm looking to pick up a (not low-end/cheap/home-theater-in-a-box) home theater system but I'm pretty unfamiliar with them and was hoping you guys could give me some advice.

Front towers: Infinity P362 (http://www.infinitysystems.com/home/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=P362BK&ser=PRI&Language=ENG&Region=USA&Country=CA). They were $1000/pair at Best Buy, or $600/pair + shipping from online vendors. They were definately the front runners out of all the other setups they had at BB, but... it is just Best Buy. What do you guys think? $1000 is the price range I would be comfortable with for a set of towers... what are the disadvantages of buying online (where they go for $600/pair)?

I compared them to the Klipsch F-2 (http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/f-2-home-theater-system.aspx) front towers and the Infinity set sounded much cleaner... the Klipsch seemed to over-embellish the mid range.

Sub: Haven't really looked... what price range would get me a good sub? The ones I saw were in the $400-800 range but I couldn't do a very good job of telling them apart.

Center & Rear speakers: I'd probably pick these to match the front towers.

Receiver: Was looking around at some Harmon Kardon receiver but I have to say that I know very little about them and don't really know what would be too much or too little. I think the price range was around $1300 for the receivers I saw? I dunno, what do you guys think?

[Mitsu3000gt]

After shopping for 8 months before deciding on anything, the best advice I can offer is DO NOT buy from chains like Best buy, future shop, visions, etc. The speakers are average and the prices are hundreds of % above cost. Go to a specialty store, where the salespeople actually know what their talking about and sell good equipment. There is a reason much of this equipment isn't in chain stores, because it has a much higher cost to the store, and they can't go out and mark it up a few hundred %.

A speaker famous for sounding as good or better than speakers 10 times it's cost is Paradigm speakers. General Audio and Sounds of Music sell these. We bought our home theatre from General Audio and they could not be beat for their prices and service. Paradigm makes some amazing subs too, so you will easily find a good match. Velodyne is also a top name in sub woofers. The Paradigm Servo-15 has been rated the best sub in the world by different magazines and costs $1800, when put up against $40,000 subs. For around $1000 you can get a very nice sub though, 10 or 12". Match all the speakers, and the sub if you can, but the sub is less important.

Additionally, do not judge a speaker by it's size. I have heard sound and bass come out of a 1 or 2 driver speaker that is nothing more than a small bookshelf speaker better and tighter than big floor standing speakers.

For Electronics, Denon, Yamaha, Harmon Kardon, and Marantz all make outstanding equipment at all price ranges. DO NOT FALL for the "watts" myth. Amps of current is what you need. Some ridiculously expensive amplifiers are 5 watts, but huge current. Also, DO NOT buy cable from chain stores, as it is literally 1000% markup or more. Nakamitchi and NAD also make some nice electronics, as does ONKYO.

After all I've said however, the only thing that matters is what sounds best to YOUR ears and not mine or anyone elses. We spent 8 months listening to every speaker available in Calgary probably before making our choice, with several "control" songs. This is why it is so important to listen to as many speakers as you can because if you can't tell the difference between a $500 set and a $1000 set, then why spend the extra cash? Our budget was way higher than what we spent, because we absolutely could not find anything that sounded better, in anyone's opinion.

Also, speakers cannot be demo'd as you walk down an isle at best buy. You need to go into a room set up for demoing speakers (proper stores such as General Audio have these) and then you listen to all the speakers your considering through the same cables and electronics and the same song.

Here is our setup:

Paradigm Studio 80 Front towers ($1800)
Paradigm Stidio Center Channel (not sure of price)
Paradigm Studio 20 Rears ($900)
Paradigm Servo 15 sub ($1800)
Denon Receiver, not sure of the model #, its a few years old now.

In our opinion and that of every magazine we read while searching, this system sounded better to many "audiophiles" and those with "golden ears" than systems costing $50,000+. Paradigm also chooses their vendors carefully, and will not let just anyone sell their speakers. This is why they are only available at 2 locations in Calgary.

Speakers such as Nuance are C R A P and they sell for ridiculous prices. Many people see how big they are or see how many drivers they have and think they must be good. Soundsaround enjoys selling these to people.

Brands to look at: Paradigm, B&W, Totem, JM Labs (Focal). You will not find much that can stand up to those speakers.

In summary, don't buy from a chain, go look at General Audio and talk to the guys there, listen to some paradigms. We looked around for SO LONG before doing anything, if you have any other questions feel free to ask, as we invested a massive amount of time in this making sure we did it right.

You are more than welcome to come over and hear our setup and have a look at things, just let me know.

[lamp_shade_2000]

Im a fan of the pollk audio line up. Some RTi8or RTi10 towers, RTi4 or RTi6 rears or even an FXi3 as a rear. for a center channel either CSi3 or CSi5 and for sub I would go velodyne, their DPS series sounds quite good. price wise you are looking at as follows

towes:
RTi10 ~1299
RTi8 ~999

Rears
RTi6 ~499
RTi4 ~399
FXi3 ~499

center
CSi5 ~399 or 499
CSi3 ~249

Sub
DPS10 ~499
DPS12 ~599
DPS15 ~899

Those are some speakers that I have really liked while working with audio sales. Hope that helps, at least give them a listen.

[Super_Geo]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
After shopping for 8 months before deciding on anything, the best advice I can offer is DO NOT buy from chains like Best buy, future shop, visions, etc. The speakers are average and the prices are hundreds of % above cost. Go to a specialty store, where the salespeople actually know what their talking about and sell good equipment.

A speaker famous for sounding as good or better than speakers 10 times it's cost is Paradigm speakers. General Audio and Sounds of Music sell these. We bought our home theatre from General Audio and they could not be beat for their prices and service. Paradigm makes some amazing subs too, so you will easily find a good match. Velodyne is also a top name in sub woofers. The Paradigm Servo-15 has been rated the best sub in the world by different magazines and costs $1800, when put up against $40,000 subs. For around $1000 you can get a very nice sub though, 10 or 12". Match all the speakers, and the sub if you can, but the sub is less important.

Additionally, do not judge a speaker by it's size. I have heard sound and bass come out of a 1 or 2 driver speaker that is nothing more than a small bookshelf speaker better and tighter than big floor standing speakers.

For Electronics, Denon, Yamaha, Harmon Kardon, and Marantz all make outstanding equipment at all price ranges. DO NOT FALL for the "watts" myth. Amps of current is what you need. Some ridiculously expensive amplifiers are 5 watts, but huge current. Also, DO NOT buy cable from chain stores, as it is literally 1000% markup or more. Nakamitchi and NAD also make some nice electronics, as does ONKYO.

After all I've said however, the only thing that matters is what sounds best to YOUR ears and not mine or anyone elses. We spent 8 months listening to every speaker available in Calgary probably before making our choice, with several "control" songs. This is why it is so important to listen to as many speakers as you can because if you can't tell the difference between a $500 set and a $1000 set, then why spend the extra cash? Our budget was way higher than what we spent, because we absolutely could not find anything that sounded better, in anyone's opinion.

Also, speakers cannot be demo'd as you walk down an isle at best buy. You need to go into a room set up for demoing speakers (proper stores such as General Audio have these) and then you listen to all the speakers your considering through the same cables and electronics and the same song.

Here is our setup:

Paradigm Studio 80 Front towers ($1800)
Paradigm Stidio Center Channel (not sure of price)
Paradigm Studio 20 Rears ($900)
Paradigm Servo 15 sub ($1800)
Denon Receiver, not sure of the model #, its a few years old now.

In our opinion and that of every magazine we read while searching, this system sounded better to many "audiophiles" and those with "golden ears" than systems costing $50,000+

Speakers such as Nuance are C R A P and they sell for ridiculous prices. Many people see how big they are or see how many drivers they have and think they must be good. Soundsaround enjoys selling these to people.

Brands to look at: Paradigm, B&W, Totem, JM Labs (Focal). You will not find much that can stand up to those speakers.

In summary, don't buy from a chain, go look at General Audio and talk to the guys there, listen to some paradigms. We looked around for SO LONG before doing anything, if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

Holy shit THANKS! If you didn't step in I would've probably bought them from BB and be kicking myself in a few months when I have the time to actually learn about home theaters and realized I was taken from behind.

Thanks for taking the time man! :thumbsup:

[Super_Geo]

Originally posted by lamp_shade_2000
Im a fan of the pollk audio line up. Some RTi8or RTi10 towers, RTi4 or RTi6 rears or even an FXi3 as a rear. for a center channel either CSi3 or CSi5 and for sub I would go velodyne, their DPS series sounds quite good. price wise you are looking at as follows

towes:
RTi10 ~1299
RTi8 ~999

Rears
RTi6 ~499
RTi4 ~399
FXi3 ~499

center
CSi5 ~399 or 499
CSi3 ~249

Sub
DPS10 ~499
DPS12 ~599
DPS15 ~899

Those are some speakers that I have really liked while working with audio sales. Hope that helps, at least give them a listen.

I've looked at some Polk systems and I liked how they sounded, but I couldn't compare them to anything.. but I'll definately be checking them out. What store would you recommend? Thanks dude!

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by Super_Geo


Holy shit THANKS! If you didn't step in I would've probably bought them from BB and be kicking myself in a few months when I have the time to actually learn about home theaters and realized I was taken from behind.

Thanks for taking the time man! :thumbsup:

Anytime, let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.

[hifiguy]

I have to agree with both posts. You are getting good suggestions. I'm sure if you follow mitsu's detailed steps you will be definitely spending more than what you had planned, however, it will probably be a better sounding investment. My only additional recommendation would be to listen to Energy and NHT speakers. Unfortunately, these brands are sold at the big retailers, and they might not be good at demonstrating the product, but don't let that prevent you from bringing your own music and listening to those brands. Both companies have good speakers worthy of test trials. Absolute audio video and K&W are good shops to check out too. As for subs, M&K subs are good alternatives to velodyne. I'm not a big fan of shopping online, however, buying used is a good way to find some gems while saving money. Timbre matching for different speakers may pose a problem if speakers are acquired seperately. Electronics are generally pretty close in performance these days. If you are willing to invest in good sound, seperate pre-amp and power amplifiers would be the next recomendation. Nad, Rotel, and Adcom offer good quality entry level seperates that will deliver better sound and performance over the typical receiver. If you buy a decent receiver, it will probably have pre-outs so you could add a seperate power amp to improve sound and increase output and dynamics down the road. Careful selection will result in better value for your dollar. Good luck, you can pm me with any questions too. Happy listening!:D

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by hifiguy
I have to agree with both posts. You are getting good suggestions. I'm sure if you follow mitsu's detailed steps you will be definitely spending more than what you had planned, however, it will probably be a better sounding investment. My only additional recommendation would be to listen to Energy and NHT speakers. Unfortunately, these brands are sold at the big retailers, and they might not be good at demonstrating the product, but don't let that prevent you from bringing your own music and listening to those brands. Both companies have good speakers worthy of test trials. Absolute audio video and K&W are good shops to check out too. As for subs, M&K subs are good alternatives to velodyne. I'm not a big fan of shopping online, however, buying used is a good way to find some gems while saving money. Timbre matching for different speakers may pose a problem if speakers are acquired seperately. Electronics are generally pretty close in performance these days. If you are willing to invest in good sound, seperate pre-amp and power amplifiers would be the next recomendation. Nad, Rotel, and Adcom offer good quality entry level seperates that will deliver better sound and performance over the typical receiver. If you buy a decent receiver, it will probably have pre-outs so you could add a seperate power amp to improve sound and increase output and dynamics down the road. Careful selection will result in better value for your dollar. Good luck, you can pm me with any questions too. Happy listening!:D


I forgot Rotel, they make some good stuff too - good call one that. We personally thought NHT was crap, but again, as I said, it only matters what sounds good to your ears! Also K +W is where we listened to Totem speakers, which we also loved. It's worth the trip.