Home Theater Advice - Receivers and Speakers

[Steven[_3_]]

Sometime next year I am going to dive into the world of home theater
and upgrade my 10 year old 32" Sony Trinitron.

I'm looking at all the HDTV's now and narrowing down my choices. My
question relates more to the audio component of my home theater. I
have just read an excellent book on putting together high end audio
systems, "Introductory Guide to High-Performance Audio Systems" by
Robert Harley. The book explains all the aspects of putting together
the best sounding system for any budget. I would highly recommend it.
As a matter of fact, I think I will be buying a copy soon (read my
copy from the library).

Back to my question. Since I am on a budget (which I suspect most of
us are), are their any resources online to find quality reviews of
pairings of 5.1 speaker systems and receivers? Most of the articles I
come across seem to be reviewing either the receiver or the speaker
system, almost never both. I don't have the time to listen to all the
different combinations of speakers and receivers and was wondering
where I could find this information. My budget will be about $1,200
for receiver and $2-3,000 for complete 5.1 speaker system.

Thanks in advance.

Steven

PS. For this money, I am looking for a system that will truly blow me
away. Clean, crisp sound, Dolby TrueHD compatible, mostly for watching
movies but also for listening to CD's. My current setup is an
inexpensive 10 year old Yamaha receiver with 2 B&W bookshelf speakers,
so I am not used to very high quality audio.

[Clyde Slick]

On 13 Dec, 10:34, Steven > wrote:
> Sometime next year I am going to dive into the world of home theater
> and upgrade my 10 year old 32" Sony Trinitron.
>
> I'm looking at all the HDTV's now and narrowing down my choices. My
> question relates more to the audio component of my home theater. I
> have just read an excellent book on putting together high end audio
> systems, "Introductory Guide to High-Performance Audio Systems" by
> Robert Harley. The book explains all the aspects of putting together
> the best sounding system for any budget. I would highly recommend it.
> As a matter of fact, I think I will be buying a copy soon (read my
> copy from the library).
>
> Back to my question. Since I am on a budget (which I suspect most of
> us are), are their any resources online to find quality reviews of
> pairings of 5.1 speaker systems and receivers? Most of the articles I
> come across seem to be reviewing either the receiver or the speaker
> system, almost never both. I don't have the time to listen to all the
> different combinations of speakers and receivers and was wondering
> where I could find this information. My budget will be about $1,200
> for receiver and $2-3,000 for complete 5.1 speaker system.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Steven
>
> PS. For this money, I am looking for a system that will truly blow me
> away. Clean, crisp sound, Dolby TrueHD compatible, mostly for watching
> movies but also for listening to CD's. My current setup is an
> inexpensive 10 year old Yamaha receiver with 2 B&W bookshelf speakers,
> so I am not used to very high quality audio.

PSB has three 5.1 systems in the $1,800 to $3,000 range.
But, I ended up getting a pair of Vandersteen 1's for the front,
another pair of Vandersteen1.s for the rear, the Vandersteen center
channel, and a
Definitive subwoofer (D1000? i think)
the package was $3,300

The Definitive sub was $500 of that $3,300
i didn't get the Vandersteen sub, it was $1,300
anyway, its great home theater sound

I got a Sony discrete 5.1 receiver, now last\years model.
i forgot the model number
it was $499 and does the job,
it has preamp outs, if i want to upgrade the amps later.
does 5.1, also 7.1
i don't see where you need to
spend $1,200 for a receiver, put the
difference in your pocket, or in better speakers,
or best yet, in a better tv.

[Steven[_3_]]

On Dec 13, 11:36 am, MiNe 109 > wrote:
> In article
> >,
>
>
>
> Steven > wrote:
> > Sometime next year I am going to dive into the world of home theater
> > and upgrade my 10 year old 32" Sony Trinitron.
>
> > I'm looking at all the HDTV's now and narrowing down my choices. My
> > question relates more to the audio component of my home theater. I
> > have just read an excellent book on putting together high end audio
> > systems, "Introductory Guide to High-Performance Audio Systems" by
> > Robert Harley. The book explains all the aspects of putting together
> > the best sounding system for any budget. I would highly recommend it.
> > As a matter of fact, I think I will be buying a copy soon (read my
> > copy from the library).
>
> > Back to my question. Since I am on a budget (which I suspect most of
> > us are), are their any resources online to find quality reviews of
> > pairings of 5.1 speaker systems and receivers? Most of the articles I
> > come across seem to be reviewing either the receiver or the speaker
> > system, almost never both. I don't have the time to listen to all the
> > different combinations of speakers and receivers and was wondering
> > where I could find this information. My budget will be about $1,200
> > for receiver and $2-3,000 for complete 5.1 speaker system.
>
> A competent review of speakers should mention the amp/receiver used, and
> vice versa, but a glance at hometheatermag.com shows this isn't always
> the case.
>
> > PS. For this money, I am looking for a system that will truly blow me
> > away. Clean, crisp sound, Dolby TrueHD compatible, mostly for watching
> > movies but also for listening to CD's. My current setup is an
> > inexpensive 10 year old Yamaha receiver with 2 B&W bookshelf speakers,
> > so I am not used to very high quality audio.
>
> Be sure to look at the room set-up sections of the "Introductory Guide."
>
> You should have plenty of good choices at those price points. Don't miss
> Arcam on the receiver list.
>
> Stephen

Stephen, I had never heard of Arcam. I checked out their website and
the nearest dealer is over 1500 miles away. Thanks for the
recommendation.

Steven

[Steven[_3_]]

On Dec 13, 1:31 pm, ScottW > wrote:
> On Dec 13, 8:45 am, Clyde Slick > wrote:
>
>
>
> > On 13 Dec, 10:34, Steven > wrote:
>
> > > Sometime next year I am going to dive into the world of home theater
> > > and upgrade my 10 year old 32" Sony Trinitron.
>
> > > I'm looking at all the HDTV's now and narrowing down my choices. My
> > > question relates more to the audio component of my home theater. I
> > > have just read an excellent book on putting together high end audio
> > > systems, "Introductory Guide to High-Performance Audio Systems" by
> > > Robert Harley. The book explains all the aspects of putting together
> > > the best sounding system for any budget. I would highly recommend it.
> > > As a matter of fact, I think I will be buying a copy soon (read my
> > > copy from the library).
>
> > > Back to my question. Since I am on a budget (which I suspect most of
> > > us are), are their any resources online to find quality reviews of
> > > pairings of 5.1 speaker systems and receivers? Most of the articles I
> > > come across seem to be reviewing either the receiver or the speaker
> > > system, almost never both. I don't have the time to listen to all the
> > > different combinations of speakers and receivers and was wondering
> > > where I could find this information. My budget will be about $1,200
> > > for receiver and $2-3,000 for complete 5.1 speaker system.
>
> > > Thanks in advance.
>
> > > Steven
>
> > > PS. For this money, I am looking for a system that will truly blow me
> > > away. Clean, crisp sound, Dolby TrueHD compatible, mostly for watching
> > > movies but also for listening to CD's. My current setup is an
> > > inexpensive 10 year old Yamaha receiver with 2 B&W bookshelf speakers,
> > > so I am not used to very high quality audio.
>
> > PSB has three 5.1 systems in the $1,800 to $3,000 range.
> > But, I ended up getting a pair of Vandersteen 1's for the front,
> > another pair of Vandersteen1.s for the rear, the Vandersteen center
> > channel, and a
> > Definitive subwoofer (D1000? i think)
> > the package was $3,300
>
> > The Definitive sub was $500 of that $3,300
> > i didn't get the Vandersteen sub, it was $1,300
> > anyway, its great home theater sound
>
> > I got a Sony discrete 5.1 receiver, now last\years model.
> > i forgot the model number
> > it was $499 and does the job,
> > it has preamp outs, if i want to upgrade the amps later.
> > does 5.1, also 7.1
> > i don't see where you need to
> > spend $1,200 for a receiver, put the
> > difference in your pocket, or in better speakers,
> > or best yet, in a better tv.
>
> Pay attention to the speakers input impedance
> and your chosen receivers ratings. Not all support
> 4 ohm speakers for example.
> The "high current" label some apply to their receivers
> isn't always supported by their performance and can
> be just marketing hype.
> That said, I think a lot of $1200 receivers are in that price
> range more for features like video converters or audio
> self setup with a mic than better sound.
>
> Scott

Thanks Scott, I will.

Steven