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New member Username: EbarakPost Number: 1 Registered: Nov-05 | Hi all, I am interesting buying a full set (speakers, receiver and DVD). I listen to music (all kind of music) most of the time (more than 80%) and watch movies. Most of my music is on my computer; therefore I need to make sure that I can attach my laptop to the receiver. In addition, as I am watching movies form time to time, I would prefer that the speakers will produce surround sound. My knowledge and understanding in this topic is very limited so I will appreciate if one can give me some recommendations for a full set (including cables if they are important), to which I can listen to and choose the one I prefer. My budget is around $2,000. Thank you in advance for your help, Effi |
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Silver Member Username: NuckParkhill, Ontario Canada Post Number: 387 Registered: Dec-04 | Effi, if you post in home theatre(in a box) you will get many quick responses. Good luck! |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 2974 Registered: Mar-05 | Effi, If you have $2K, you need to look at buying all of your components separately...you'll be much happier with the results than any lousy HTIB. As for the cables, no they are not important and particularly not in that price range...go to Home Depot and get the cheapest 10-12 gauge cables you can find, ditto with the interconnects. |
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New member Username: EbarakPost Number: 2 Registered: Nov-05 | Hi, Thanks for your swift responses. Actually, I am interesting in separate components and not HTIB. Do you have any suggestion as to a combination I should go and listen to. As I said in my first message, I would like to have several suggested combination to which I can listen to, and choose to one I like. Thank you for your help, Effi |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 2981 Registered: Mar-05 | Good for you, I had a feeling $2K for an HTIB was kind of strange! : ) For your receiver, the best performance-to-price ratio by a very long shot would be the $250 all-digital Panasonic sa-xr55, IMHO. This puny-looking 10 pounder singlehandedly retired my much bigger and heavier analog Marantz 5400 and NAD separates (which cost 3x and 6x more, respectively), easily surpassing them in both sound quality and most surprisingly, real power. There are a small handful of people on this board who vociferously dislike the Panny's "digital" sound, so I would advise ABing it at home with another analog receiver up to 3x its cost, like a Yamaha 657 or a Harman Kardon 435, and sending back the one you like less. Return shipping on the Panny is a piddling $15 which I think is a very small risk. Read up on all the buzz, including people with much more expensive gear than me who ended up preferring the Panny, and you'll see why: https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/160136.html http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/sh...51&page=1&p p=10 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=530504 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=417894 As for the speakers, for maximum bang for the buck given your $2K cap, I'd recommend the Internet direct brands like Ascend Acoustics for speakers and either Hsu or SVS for the sub...again far better bang for the buck than paying local retail since there's no middleman's markup involved. All 3 brands are extremly well reviewed, just do a Google search and you'll see. For example: Ascend CMT-340center, CBM-170 L/R, CBM-170 surrounds, and Hsu STF-2 subwoofer ... $1321 shipped from ascendacoustics.com That coupled with the Panny would leave you well under budget, so you could go with an even better subwoofer like the STF-3 for an extra $200 plus have change left over for speaker stands, cables, etc. Log on to the Ascend website's forum and ask if there's an Ascend owner in your area who'll let you come listen. That's how I went about it, though I would have used their 30-day no-hassle refund policy if necessary...just order a single pair of their speakers and take them into stores to AB against other speakers. Takes a little trouble but these are not huge floorstanders we're talking about, and it's the only way to really know what you like. |