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New member Username: Cn1000Post Number: 2 Registered: Jan-05 | I have a Samsung 50" DLP that I am enjoying very much but I need a sound system to punch up the effect.I'm new at this game so I will tell you what I actually have besides the TV. Digital satelite PVR from bell canada, Panasonic Dvd Player(DVD-S97).That's it and my budget is around 1500. Any info would be greatly appreciated |
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New member Username: RutlandaColorado Springs, CO USA Post Number: 4 Registered: Nov-04 | How big is your room? Check out this link for speakers and a sub. http://www.hsustore.com/vt-12-stf-3.html There are tons of receivers out there that would fall into your budget. The best advice is to get out there and listen to some gear. There is no substitute for your own ears... |
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New member Username: Cn1000Post Number: 3 Registered: Jan-05 | My room is 10'x20'. 20' being the length |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 551 Registered: Feb-04 | Salut Gaetan, Here's some receiver-buying advice I give to fellow Canadians (at the risk of repeating myself, I'll just cut and paste so the examples are perhaps above your budget, but the principle applies): Receivers are way overpriced in Canada. Go to www.ecost.com or www.etronics.com and order from them. You'll get a total price that includes shipping to your door, applicable duties if any, as well as GST. There will be no extra charges when delivered by Canada post; no surprises. They are www.borderfree.com affiliated sites. I bought a factory-refurb h/k avr-325 over a year ago for a little over C$600 (total) and I'm very happy with it (it retailed fot C$1300 plus taxes at Future Shop). For example... h/k avr-235: etronics.com: US$329.95 -> C$546.51 (total, shipped) ecost.com: US$336.00 -> C$537.68 (total, shipped) Future Shop: C$899.99 -> C$1035 (after taxes) It's worth the price difference to deal with warranty issues. Heck, you could get two of them! As for speakers, Paradigm is a well-known Canadian brand that is probably cheaper here than in the US. As for subs, the best bang for the buck in Canada are from Hsu. They have a distribution network building up here. |
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Silver Member Username: Paul_ohstbucksPost Number: 921 Registered: Jan-05 | Do you have any components to start with?? Is your entire system going to be under $1500? Hmmm...Ok, if I had to buy an entire 5.1 setup for 1500, this is how I'd break things down. $250-Reveiver $200-center $450-fronts $150-surrounds $600-SVS PB12-ISD Powered Sub -------------------- $1650 ===== Ok, I went slightly over budget, but at least with a good sub, you'll have a rocking HT. If anything, shave a few dollars off your fronts to remain within budget, but if you want your theater to have punch, dont skimp on the sub. You can definitely get away with smaller fronts, so long as your sub is smokin. If you do skimp on the sub, your HT will sound weak and lack dramatic effects regardless of how much you spend on a receiver or front speakers. As you can see by my price breakdowns, the vast majority of the cost should be on your front/sub combo. An inexpensive receiver coupled with decent speakers and great sub, will blow away a system with an expensive receiver with OK speakers and a cheap sub every time. It's not even close. If you want to really 'feel' like you're at the theater, get a good sub. Good luck PS...did I mention to spend extra on a sub?? HEH |
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Silver Member Username: Paul_ohstbucksPost Number: 922 Registered: Jan-05 | Once last thing, if your dvd player is NOT 5.1 compat, you'll want to spend $100 for one that is. |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 552 Registered: Feb-04 | Paul, When you you see a DVD player that wasn't 5.1, since AC3 was the standard when the DVD came out? DVD-S97 Feature Highlights: * HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) * DCDi (Directional Correlation Deinterlacing by FAROUDJA) * 720p and 1080i Upconversion with HDMI * 480i / 480p (Selectable) Also, Geatan is in Canada where SVS are not available. Did you read my post? |
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Silver Member Username: Paul_ohstbucksPost Number: 926 Registered: Jan-05 | No, I didnt read your post. I only read the initial question. As you can tell by my response, it was very general and concept oriented in nature, nor did I give any specific recommendations (except for the Sub). If he happens to live in Canada, I guess hes SOL. |
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Bronze Member Username: VgtvidzPost Number: 45 Registered: Jul-04 | another thing is, is it 1500$ CDN or US... Also, I emailed SVS to see how could I order a subwoofer from them and here's what he said : Hey Vincent We don't have any dealers in Canada at this time but we do ship to Canada all the time. There are no duties since we are NAFTA compliant but you are responsible for your local GST/PST and a border fee of about CAN$50. You can determine the exact amount of the border fee depending on the cost of the sub you buy here: http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html So yeah, we can buy SVS here and they're not that expensive =) |
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New member Username: Cn1000TorontoCanada Post Number: 4 Registered: Jan-05 | Thanks alot guys. That gives me some ammo to work with. I guess I should have said I was canadian. I'll will check out some of the sites. |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 553 Registered: Feb-04 | You can buy them, but they will be more expensive than the equivalent Hsu, and warranty work will be complicated by out-of-country shipping. They are a good deal for the bigger models since Hsu don't compete in that market and then the brokerage fees become a smaller percentage of the cost. I was trying to find a post from this winter on www.quebecaudio.com in which someone oulined his total cost for a SVS sub. As I recall, it was a model about on par with my Hsu STF-3 but he ended up paying considerably more. It's worse with a US$400 sub. It make no sense to import that. So depends on how high-end you're buying... Since the total budget here was $1500, I didn't think he'd spend it all on a sub. |
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Silver Member Username: Paul_ohstbucksPost Number: 929 Registered: Jan-05 | I thought that sounded weird when he said SVS wasnt available in canada. Why on earth wouldnt they ship to canada?? It'll be well worth the $50 border fee. As owner of a new SVS PB12-plus/2, I think you'd have to be nuts to buy anything else. My sub offers the most incredible combo of pure brute force, and ultra-smooth response/finese that you'll ever find in the same package.(short of spending about 4x more from a competitor) |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 554 Registered: Feb-04 | They aren't available in the same sense as Hsu or even Axiom are. You have to import them. It only makes sense if you're buying an expensive sub. Paul, am I really nuts for spending less than half the money you did? If I never use the headroom, is there a point to spending so much extra to get it? |
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Silver Member Username: Paul_ohstbucksPost Number: 930 Registered: Jan-05 | I guess it depends on how much the border fee is. If it's only going to be around $50 for a $600 sub, then I'd go with the SVS. If it turns out to be a lot more, then it obviously isnt the way to go. As for being nuts??...I guess not. It all depends on personal taste, and what you expect from your HT soundsystem. For me, it's ultra-important that my HT sounds 'big' like the real thing. From everything I read, the HSU VTF-3 is probably apples to apples with the SVS PB-12/ISD and either would be a good choice for the money. Whichever is cheaper, is how I would choose between the two. Both are good value for the price. Now if you spent twice as much for half the sub from a 'boutique' brand, then I'd think you were nuts. HEH |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 555 Registered: Feb-04 | Paul, you recommended the $600 SVS PB12-ISD. I would be curious to price this delivered to Canada compared to a Hsu STF-3. I'll bet the SVS ends up being a few hundred dollars more... |
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Silver Member Username: Paul_ohstbucksPost Number: 931 Registered: Jan-05 | sorry...not the STF. I meant the other one.....VTF3. I got the model numbers confused. The VTF3 and SVS PB12-ISD are apples to apples. I also corrected my typo in the previous thread. |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 556 Registered: Feb-04 | Paul, you got the 'boutique' brand right. I auditionned a C$1500 Mission sub and it didn't have the stuff at all. i'm much happier with the Hsu STF-3, and it was half the price. The thing about a SVS in Canada is that it's a very heavy box to ship, so might end up costing over US$100 to ship, then there about US$60 to pay for brokerage fees, and then usually both federal and provincial sales tax (15%). So a US$600 sub can end up costing US$875. I paid C$20 in shipping for my Hsu from another province and paid only federal tax (no provincial) and I have a full, valid in Canada, warranty. |
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Silver Member Username: Paul_ohstbucksPost Number: 932 Registered: Jan-05 | yea, shipping the SVS cost me $100, however we have no sales tax on internet purchases. That must be a 'canadian-only' thang..... I wouldnt stand for a 15% salestax on anything. The canadian govt is obviously r@ping it's citizens with rediculous tax rates. I guess they have to pay for the social medical system somehow.....HEH J/k |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 557 Registered: Feb-04 | Okay, at least their web page calculates shipping for Canada: US$86.66 So total is US$685.66 + US$46.85 brokerage fees (if paid in advance, otherwise a bit more) + US$110 taxes = US$842.51 = C$1053 Compared to about C$875 for a Hsu STF-3 (you could get it for less than the retailer in Toronto who is said to reduce the price by 20%) |
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Silver Member Username: Paul_ohstbucksPost Number: 933 Registered: Jan-05 | You wouldnt pay US taxes. There is no US tax on internet orders. Anyway, the SVS PB12/ISD compares more closely to the VTF-3. When I typed HTF, it was an accident because I saw that model number floating around in this thread. |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 558 Registered: Feb-04 | I just listed the taxes in US dollars. They are the Canadian and Quebec taxes (15%). The amount varies a little across provinces. I'd rate the SVS PB12/ISD half-way between the STF-3 and the VTF-3 myself... Anyway, it wouldn't make much sense for the person who started the thread to import a US$400 sub from SVS when he can get a Hsu in Canada. |
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Bronze Member Username: VgtvidzPost Number: 46 Registered: Jul-04 | I would never put 66% of my total budget in a subwoofer, although I might not be as freak as you guys, what I would do is to start building a home theater (get a good receiver/front/sub) instead of buying the whole thing for 1500$ because what will probably happen is that Gaetan will get more and more into this whole thing (having a kickass HT) and he will end up upgrading everything... Peter, which retailer is supposed to drop is price by 20%? |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 562 Registered: Feb-04 | From the "HSU or SVS in canada" thread: Sorry for the delay...I saved about twenty per cent off the retail price. I love my HSU! It kicks ***! Here's the details, its 'Electronics For Less', 410 Denison at the corner of Victoria Park...weird little store tucked in behind a golf clearence store. (905) 944-9339. The sales guys there are pretty cool. |
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New member Username: Cn1000TorontoCanada Post Number: 5 Registered: Jan-05 | Electronics for less. hmm That address is about 10 to 15 min drive from my home. I will check it out in the morning. Thanks again guys and salut Peter. |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 563 Registered: Feb-04 | Lucky stiff! Let me know if it works out! And ask them if they'd ship to Quebec please. I have a friend in the market for one. |
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Bronze Member Username: VgtvidzPost Number: 47 Registered: Jul-04 | and maybe me =) |