HT System
|
Bronze Member Username: NickaPost Number: 18 Registered: Apr-07 | I want to build an HT system and I have no idea where to start. I need help. I'm already looking at subwoofers. |
|
Gold Member Username: Arande2Extreme SQ FTW Missouri Post Number: 2229 Registered: Dec-06 | Start with a receiver. What can you budget towards one? |
|
Bronze Member Username: NickaPost Number: 23 Registered: Apr-07 | $1500 no more |
|
Gold Member Username: Arande2Extreme SQ FTW Missouri Post Number: 2230 Registered: Dec-06 | Oh excellent... Just take a look at this. http://www.rotel.com/products/specs/rsx1057.htm |
|
Gold Member Username: Arande2Extreme SQ FTW Missouri Post Number: 2231 Registered: Dec-06 | Also what is your budget for speakers? |
|
Bronze Member Username: NickaPost Number: 24 Registered: Apr-07 | Wow that looks great. $4000 no more on speakers please no more |
|
Gold Member Username: Arande2Extreme SQ FTW Missouri Post Number: 2232 Registered: Dec-06 | http://www.paradigm.com/Website/SiteReferenceProduct/RModels/StudioSeries/Studio Specs.html Look at those speaks Rotel + Paradigm is good Studio 60 is $1500 a pair Studio CC-570 is $800 ADP Surrounds are $1000 a pair totalling $3300 w/o tax I would be very happy to own that (with a sub of course). That would leave enough for cabling and for a dvd player (and TV?) I'd want the same components and would recommend a dvd player from Rotel. I would assume you have a TV? |
|
Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 2004 Registered: Sep-04 | Nick I have a couple of questions for you. These will help direct the responses. What's your total budget? Starting at one end or the other of a system is pretty much wrong. All the components in the system need to be chosen to match accordingly. Do not overlook the source. If the signal coming from your DVD player isn't that hot, no amount of jiggery pokery in the amplifier is going to fix that, and the better the speakers, the more they'll show you what the electronics is doing wrong. From your first replies, it seems you have a nice budget to play with. How it's distributed depends on the total sum and the requirements for your circumstances. How big is your room? Will you be firing down the length or width? Is your seating position at the back wall or forward from it? Do you have restrictions on speakers? (e.g. some people will only accept small satellites) Answering these questions will help us provide some answers in terms of building the system. The eCoustics forum doesn't have an area that addresses the whole spectrum, but that's the nature of your question. Regards, Frank. |
|
Bronze Member Username: NickaPost Number: 25 Registered: Apr-07 | I have around 7-8g to work with. My room size is 21x25x13 and I plan to have it on the long wall. Our sofa is currently about 1/3 or so into the room. I don't see why I'd have a restriction for speakers. Thanks for your help on my building a system. I once had some cheap little speakers one back in the day. |
|
Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 6617 Registered: Dec-04 | With or without a TV? Is your room packed full of furniture? Framed photos on the walls? Fully carpeted? Would you be able to add some discrete soundwork to the room if desireable? |
|
Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 2012 Registered: Sep-04 | Nick, Nice sized room. By bringing the sofa into the room, you reduce rear reflections (good thing), but at the same time, your placement of speakers (I assume) will be as rears behind you near or on the rear wall. The theoretical THX definition for surround speakers is to be placed high on either side of the listening position. The speakers themselves should radiate sound forwards and backwards (they're dipoles). This placement won't be possible, but we can still do reasonably well. Do you have a requirement for the rears to be on the wall? Do you have a requirement for the speakers to be close to the wall at the front? I'm full of questions but these answers help to qualify what you're after and what can be done. Note that I may become less useful as the thread progresses since I am in the UK and have little knowledge of US pricing. As a brand, I'd have a close look at Totem Acoustics. They produce speakers which are relatively easier to place in a room than many. they also seem to have this knack for making speakers with a big sound from a small box. Also, they have a model called the Lynks which is a dipole style speaker which should work well in your situation should you need the rears to go on the wall. If you wish the fronts to do so too, they make a very impressive speaker called the Tribe for wall mounting near the screen. As to subs, Totem's own subs are pretty good and timbre matched to their own speakers, but I'd also recommend velodyne who make superb subs, as you'd expect from a dedicated sub manufacturer. I've really started at the wrong end of the system since the speakers can only do what the electronics tell them to do. However, I have a fair idea of the costs of Totems, and electronics vary wildly by comparison. My favoured brand at around your level is Arcam. They have just released an all-in-one unit called the Solo Movie which contains DVD, Tuner, and 5 amps all in one. However, it's so new I haven't had time to play with it yet, and any all-in-one unit has compromises due to sheer lack of space. I think you might be able to fit something like a Denon DVD2930 (don't go below this for a quality result) and Denon AVR2807 receiver. These are minima for what I would consider a quality system finished with Totems, and the higher you can go the better of course. that's just a start. Regards, Frank. |
|
Bronze Member Username: NickaPost Number: 26 Registered: Apr-07 | Wow you're overwhelming me. I don't have any reason I'd have to put the speakers on the walls. The room is pretty open and I can pretty much do anything except change the room around. Those Totem speakers look different than I'm used to seeing and I've never heard of Onkyo or Arcam before. Thank you |
|
Gold Member Username: Arande2Extreme SQ FTW Missouri Post Number: 2260 Registered: Dec-06 | Hmm, glad that you guys took over for me so I don't totally guide someone wrong (not that whati suggested isn't totally bad).  |
|
Bronze Member Username: NickaPost Number: 27 Registered: Apr-07 | Would a pair of large speakers be better than small speakers? I don't know the exact numbers I listen at, but I know it's extremely loud sometimes when it's something I really like that has a lot of slam to it. When I try to turn things up with my little mini system it sounds bad and won't go very loud. I want what I get to not sound bad when I turn it up really really loud so that I can turn it up when I want. Thank You |
|
Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 2028 Registered: Sep-04 | Any speaker has a limit, whether it's a little satellite or not. Most domestic speakers have a peak output of around 112db at 1m. Typically, the pain threshold is about 116db which is a lot more since this is a logarithmic scale. As you'vefound with your mini system, when you turn up a system that can't go loud, it distorts which causes all sorts of nasties that make you turn it down. This distortion can be caused by any number of items in the system's chain, from a poor source (DVD player) through a struggling amplifier to struggling speakers. A struggling amplifier is the most common source of distortion. If the amp doesn't struggle, then it will drive the speakers cleanly until they hit their end-stops. Of course, this doewn't mean that they won't distort, just that they're less likely to distort. When more power is put through speakers, they have a tendency to change character, just as an engine note changes character in a car the faster you rev it. Another way of achieving higher decibels (the unit of sound) is to have more efficient speakers. Every extra db of quoted efficiency is a signifcant number of watts less that the amplifier has to provide to drive the speaker. As always there is a trade-ff, and in this case more efficient designs (such as Cerwin Vega for example) tend to be less accurate, generally speaking. There are exceptions but they're often heaps of money. Loud also depends on the size of the room. Your room is larger than average, but not huge, so I would not expect a quality speaker to have problems driving the volume that the room represents. Then again, everything has its limits, so if you intend to play loud regularly, you should consider a larger speaker - not huge necessarily, but not those with the smallest drive units such as Totem Dreamcatchers, which have the smallest drive units I've seen that create scale of decent size. I'd suggest that you make sure the main drive units on your prospective speakers aren't any smaller than 5 inches to ensure you get the scale you're looking for. It's an arbitrary choice and different speakers do get different amounts out of their drive units so take this with a pinch of salt. Another way of addressing this is to ensure that the speakers can handle a significant amoutn of power. One of the best in this category is Dynaudio. Their speakers are designed to handle significant power (150w or so) easily and they also enjoy good scale. Just bear in mind that at 4 ohms for the whole range, they're not the easiest load. Hope this helps. Regards, Frank. |
Main Forums
Today's Posts- Home Audio Forum
- A/V Receivers Forum
- Amps Forum
- Cassette Forum
- CD Players Forum
- CD Recorders Forum
- DAC & Transports Forum
- DVD-Audio & SACD Forum
- Equalizers Forum
- Integrated Amps Forum
- iPod Docks Forum
- MiniDisc Forum
- Mini Systems Forum
- Digital Music Systems Forum
- Phono Forum
- Preamps Forum
- Speakers Forum
- Subwoofers Forum
- Tuners Forum
- Home Video Forum
- Home Theater Forum
- Car Audio Forum
- Accessories Forum
- All Forum Topics