high-end home theater recommendations

[googe]

im in the market for a nice home theater setup. i dont know much about brands, so im looking for people that know what theyre talking about that would like to offer their opinions. i dont want to spend ridiculous amounts of money and they dont have to take any crazy high wattages. i do value definition though.

2 brands of speakers ive been told to look at are mission and paradigm, but i dont know if the people that recommended those know much or not. hesitant to look at anything places like future shop carry.

im more looking for opinions on speakers, as i dont care about fancy features on receivers, just power ratings and whether or not it does 5.1.

and please dont answer if youve actually paid money for nuance

thanks!

[1badPT]

LOL everyone who went into International Stereo sat through that Nuance sales pitch I think

My current setup is with small kenwood speakers and they are alright, but my old system (wasn't 5.1 though) had paradigm speakers and the sound was much better on them. When I replace these, it will be with Paradigms unless I hear a better speaker when I'm ready to buy. Haven't demo'd mission speakers.

I won't buy anything Kenwood ever again not for lack of functionality but for the idiotic way the remotes are set up and how the menu system on the receiver works.

Short version:

Kenwood
Paradigm
Nuance
Mission

[googe]

b&w is another one i was told is good.

[hash]

bose audio is pretty premium stuff.

[Ajay]

Receivers I'de go with a Harman/Kardon or Onkyo....they make really powerful receivers with nice, clean power.

For speakers you can't go wrong with Polk in my opinion...been a big fan of theirs for awhile and never had any issues with them. Energy is alright but I wouldn't say they're high end....they're good though.

Bose is probably the best in my opinion and you do pay a premium price for the Bose setups. Guess it all depends on how much you wanna pay and what you're looking for.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by hash
bose audio is pretty premium stuff.

only if u shop at future shop.

googe, the best way to tell is to use your ears. to test speakers, u need to hook them up to the same amp and listen to the same track. an easy way to tell is to see how loud u can turn it up before it starts hurting your ears. this is a good test for distortion. same goes for amps. every manufacturer has a different way to measure wattage. again, true clean power can only be tested with your ears, the same speakers, and the same track.

as far as features go, i think u should definitely care. for one, u should be shopping for something that can do 6.1 discrete, not 5.1. 5.1 is getting pretty outdated. other features u might find important are things like 2 room amplification, how many inputs/outputs u have, whether it supports the newest stuff like DVI, etc etc...

[googe]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
only if u shop at future shop.

googe, the best way to tell is to use your ears. to test speakers, u need to hook them up to the same amp and listen to the same track. an easy way to tell is to see how loud u can turn it up before it starts hurting your ears. this is a good test for distortion. same goes for amps. every manufacturer has a different way to measure wattage. again, true clean power can only be tested with your ears, the same speakers, and the same track.

as far as features go, i think u should definitely care. for one, u should be shopping for something that can do 6.1 discrete, not 5.1. 5.1 is getting pretty outdated. other features u might find important are things like 2 room amplification, how many inputs/outputs u have, whether it supports the newest stuff like DVI, etc etc...

yeah I agree with letting the ears decide, just at this point im trying to make sure i get the candidates sorted out. theres a lot of brands i dont know about so i want to know of them so i can find someone that carries them and demo them, you know? i dont want to go into future shop and a&b and demo what they have if theres another lesser known shop that i dont know about that carries stuff 10 times better that isnt mainstream or something i guess.

i suppose i can opt for 6.1, just seems that most things are still just using 5.1. maybe there are features i would like that i just havent heard of. what is 2 room amplification? outputs and inputs are important yeah, but from what ive seen most things over a few hundred dollars have a good configuration there. i just dont want something like a top of the line denon because i know i dont need half the shit it does, and while some might be cool i wouldnt use the extras to get my 2 grand worth kind of thing.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by googe


yeah I agree with letting the ears decide, just at this point im trying to make sure i get the candidates sorted out. theres a lot of brands i dont know about so i want to know of them so i can find someone that carries them and demo them, you know? i dont want to go into future shop and a&b and demo what they have if theres another lesser known shop that i dont know about that carries stuff 10 times better that isnt mainstream or something i guess.

i suppose i can opt for 6.1, just seems that most things are still just using 5.1. maybe there are features i would like that i just havent heard of. what is 2 room amplification? outputs and inputs are important yeah, but from what ive seen most things over a few hundred dollars have a good configuration there. i just dont want something like a top of the line denon because i know i dont need half the shit it does, and while some might be cool i wouldnt use the extras to get my 2 grand worth kind of thing.

more and more movies are coming with dolby digital ex or dts-es so i tihnk 6.1 is a must. 2 room amplification is just the ability for the receiver to output to 2 sets of speakers. 1 for the main room, and 1 for another pair of speakers in a different room.

imo it sounds like u shouldnt need to spend any more than 1200 for a receiver. i personally like HK and denon receivers (ive tried everything!!) and for speakers...well again let your ears decide. everyone has different tastes too.

[Kid_a]

Mission is good stuff

[googe]

wow, for the size and price, the mission m33s are amazing. if there is better for comparable price id sure like to hear it. havent heard paradigm yet though.

[badseed]

Gotta Go 7.1, it's coming soon and when it does aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

[Street_Soldier]

Harmon Kardon Reciever.
Infinity Speakers.
Just my thoughts on the best and affordable home theater stuff.

[googe]

ok i know about bogus power ratings, but even then, HKs seem very low. the avr230 is $799 and is only 50watt x6. how is that going to compare to a yamaha rxv-550, which is a $599 receiver and is rated at 90x6?

[npham]

Yamaha's are great bang for your buck. I have their old flagship amp DSP-A1, it weighs like 80 pounds, no lie. But that came at a $4000 MRSP, which I didn't pay mind you.

B&W are great speakers, they are costly though. They are very nice and warm if you can afford them. A set of bookshelf speakers will run you $800+ for their lower end stuff.

I think you are better off with Mission, and Infinity. They are great companies and reliable. Also, I would check into Polk Audio too, they have a great selection of speakers.

I wouldn't buy Bose unless you are going all out. Their satellites are fine, but their high end stuff will simply blow you away. I have a pair of 901's and they are insane. They dont have a power rating for the speaker, just a little note that says, "can be powered by any conventional ampifier"

I think you need to decide on a budget and then start looking for speakers, receiver, amp, processor, cd/dvd player etc.

[TrevorK]

Originally posted by googe
ok i know about bogus power ratings, but even then, HKs seem very low. the avr230 is $799 and is only 50watt x6. how is that going to compare to a yamaha rxv-550, which is a $599 receiver and is rated at 90x6?

Listen to a HK and you'll hear a complete difference.

It's just like in car audio - some manufacturers rate their amps at 50Wx2, yet they can outperform others that put out 250-500Wx2.

The best part of your system SHOULD be a receiver. However, if you have shitty speakers, the receiver may not shine as well as it should....

[B17a]

As for speakers, I've had Polk, B&W, Infinity and Paradigms. All very good, if I had to rank them I'd probably saw Paradigms, B&W, Polk, Infiity.

[danno567]

http://www.klipsch.com/

look at the The Quintet MicroSystem

Nice stuff.

Wicked sub box.

[benyl]

The higher end Denon receivers are good.

[iceburns288]

I'd go Harmon/Kardon. If you want the best amps or anything that's not a speaker: McIntosh Labs. The best. And don't let their website fool you, they have much more amazing stuff than what's on the site. Like 2000 dollar DVD players...

[badseed]

HK are the best amps to buy hands down. High current is what makes the difference, most people read the low power ratings and rule these amps out. Yamaha is good shit too but HK dominates all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!