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Unregistered guest | OK, I am getting ready to pull the trigger on a complete HTS. I have a budget of about $10,000 and just finished my basement. I pre-wired for 6.1 and the room is rectangle, about 21' long by 15' wide. I will be sitting 16'6" from the TV. I thought I was getting close to my decisions but the more I read the more confused I become. This is what I was looking at: Sony 60" GW LCD Rear Projection HDTV KDF60WF655 Yamaha AVR2500 Yamaha DVD-S2500B Axiom Speakers: Fronts M22 Center VP150 Sub EP350 Rears 3 QS8s I want to keep the speakers mounted on the walls and away from young hands, there are many of these in my house! Power Conditioner Tripp Lite HT10DBS Where can I or should I save money or spend the extra bucks, right now I am not set on anything after reading 1000's of post and reviews I have no idea which direction to go. I believe most of the use will be TV/DVD about 80% and 20% music. I would like to not have to replace equipment 3 years down the road due to tech improvements. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!! |
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Bronze Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 78 Registered: Mar-05 | If you're set on the Yamaha receiver I would avoid Axiom speakers because with metallic drivers they are known to be quite bright and paired with a bright receiver like the Yamaha would not be a good idea (read: listener fatigue big time!). If you want wall-mountable speakers I'd get Ascend 170s for your L/R fronts, Ascend 340 center (would sit on top of your TV) with Hsu subwoofer and depending on your budget either 3 Ascend 170s for the surrounds or 3 cheap Polk R15s ($50 each). Go this link for their system bundling deals: http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/purchase/advisor.mv#bottom Ascend is an even better-reviewed and better-priced Internet-direct speaker manufacturer than Axiom, just do a Google search and you'll be inundated with glowing reviews from both pros and consumers. I love how clear, natural and accurate their speakers are, though I have to say that the 170s are not the best-looking...but the sound is simply gorgeous, beats everything under $1200 I've ever auditioned. The 340 center is massive but magnificent, really brings dialogue to life---I find that I dont need to turn the volume up so much to understand voices. If you're doing 80% TV/DVD you really don't need quality surrounds, that's more for SACD/DVD-A music listening. The receiver/amp also doesn't have to be out of this world, the $350 Pioneer 1014 should be ample, or if you want just a couple extra inputs they just came out with the 1015 which is around $500. The power conditioner is also something that you may not really need---just make sure that you buy it from someplace with a good return policy in case it turns out you can't hear any difference with it on. Where I would not scrimp is the subwoofer---go with a Hsu or SVS, these are also Internet-only makes which like Ascend have garnered near-uanimous glowing reviews and offer tremendous quality for the money. |
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Unregistered guest | The Pioneer 1014 is a good AVR for the money, however I have heard people with dishnetwork are having problems? I have dishnetwork and don't think I should chance it, has anyone gotten the 1015 with dishnetwork yet? |
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Bronze Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 82 Registered: Mar-05 | Jim, Go to the hometheaterforum.com and avsforum.com where I think there are sizable threads dedicated to the 1014/1015. Also I would look into the Marantz 7400, marked way down at $650 shipped from accessories4less.com with full Marantz warranty. That's a receiver that will make both HT and music kick butt. |
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Unregistered guest | Are the CMT-340's able to be wall mounted for my fronts? I could get them and still be cheaper than what I was going to pay for the axioms... Thanks for the recommendations! |
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Bronze Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 84 Registered: Mar-05 | Well the 340s don't have the mounting notch in the back like the 170s do, but on the other hand they are not that heavy or massive (around 25 lbs each I think) so it would depend on the strength of your wall mount. I have the 340s on metal stands, but I think if you want a more kidproof route you could go with the Ascend block stands which when filled with sand would probably be pretty hard to knock over. The 340s definitely will fill up the room with sound more readily with their extra driver, wide-dispersion tweeter, and higher sensitivity. Plus they are much more attractive-looking than the 170s! : ) |
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New member Username: Max190Maryland Heights, Missouri US Post Number: 3 Registered: Apr-05 | Jim, I take it you have listened to the Axioms before purchasing? |
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New member Username: Max190Maryland Heights, Missouri US Post Number: 4 Registered: Apr-05 | Jim, I take it you have listened to the Axioms before purchasing? |
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Unregistered guest | Steve, Actually, I have listened to many speakers at tweeter and CC but have found nothing I really like under about $4,000. So, I am willing to try the free 30 day in-home trial with the Axioms because of the tremendous reviews at Audioholics and other online sites. What do ya think??? |
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Bronze Member Username: Max190Maryland Heights, Missouri US Post Number: 17 Registered: Apr-05 | Jim, Sorry I double posted. Don't know what happened there. Anyway I forgot about the 30 day in-home trial. I would not say that the trial is free because if you decide to ship them back the shipping cost is on you. But from what I hear if you wanted to swap the 22's for say the 60's, Axiom will pay the return cost. Make sure you give the 2500 good ventilation since 4 out of 6 of you speaks are rated at 6 ohms. Good luck, Steve |