Help please! I'm looking at putting in my first home theater system (finally). Seeking advice from those of you more experienced.
The room has a sloped (9' - 18') ceiling and is on the large side size-wise (18 ½ ' x 21 ½ '). This will be an entry-level setup with a 50-50 music-movie mix so I'll probably upgrade a few years down the road when the budget can handle what I'd really like.
My first thought was to go with a HTIB deal, possibly the Onkyo HT-S770 because I'm thinking the small speakers in many of the HTIB systems won't cut it in this size room, besides I hate the sound of little speakers that are too crisp with no bottom end. The down side I see with the Onkyo is the receiver...no phono input (yes, I still have one of those turntables). So then I start thinking of maybe the speakers from the Onkyo and maybe a Kenwood VR-8070 receiver. I know there are those who don't care for KW, but I've had nothing but success with them for the last 25 yrs.
So tell me, am I missing something or what other options should I consider?
You never stated a budget. But I will pass on the Onkyo speakers, they make great receivers but the speakers are something I cannot recommend. If you are using a VR-8070, I have heard them paired to Athena ASF-2 and they are stunning. I have had success with Kenwood for years myself. Still have turntable myself, an old reliable Technics SL1200. cheers
Oops, sorry, As for budget, I'd like to stay around $800 - $1000 speakers and reciever included. Also I have a good set of tower speakers on my existing system, I'd think they'd be a very good option for FL & FR in a HT setup too. Maybe give some more flexibility, etc.
A couple of tall older Axiom 3-ways, the model escapes me right now, but they still sound great. As for the Athenas, what about the micra 6 as a possibility? Got the wife factor going on...I've got the ear, she's got the eyes and anything too big could be a deal breaker...if it where just me well, a whole different story there, then we wouldn't be talking budget either! LOL
I found the Athena Micra 6 setup at BB. Obviously not the optimum listening environment, but they still sounded pretty good. They also had the Klipsch Quintet II setup there so I listened to them also since they had decent reviews. They sounded good too, maybe a little better with music, but it was hard to tell for sure due to the way BB had these systems set up. The Klipsch would also be a bit more $ since I'd need to get a sub separately (which may be a good thing, I don't know). Hopefully other folks have had the chance to compare between the two in a better environment. That said can someone offer advice between these two speaker systems based on thier experiences? Worst case I'd get both and keep the one that works best in my home while returning the other. I'd like to aviod that option if possible though. Let me know...
One other thing I forgot to mention...would one of these work better than the other if I decided to use it as a 7.1 setup with my twin towers in front as opposed to the 5.1 setup out of the box?
