Hey - newbie alert. Be gentle. Here's my story (as relates to the forum, anyway). Kick back, it's a long one.
Boss wants desperately to buy the audio section of my old HT. He'll be getting a Yamaha HTR-5440 receiver and some Paradigm speakers - Titans up front, CC-170 center and Micro surrounds. I've been exhausting myself with the research I've done on what to replace all of it with. So, if we were each other, which of the following would you go for? I've stumped myself. And yes, budget IS a factor. No more than $600 total. Give or take a little, depending.
RECEIVER: - HK AVR 225 - refurb direct from HK for just under $300. I've wanted an HK for a long time. Is this my chance?
- Onkyo TS-XR501 - Same price, pushed kinda hard by the specialty audio guy I chatted with. He said, "HK isn't what it used to be." Hmmm. (Do I really need 6.1?)
- Yamaha (something with 6.1, TopArt, LCD remote, etc.) - floor model marked down to $250 from $600. A lesser model is going for about the same. Don't remember which one that is, either. Big help. This Yamaha will be #3 in a series I've had.
SPEAKERS: - JBL NSP1II - found a great price (new sets cheaper than refurbs at Harman.com!), but a review says they're not that refined.
- Paradigm Cinema - possible budget breaker, and the specialty audio guy couldn't audition 'em (movin' stuff around on the display floor/ceiling). But I've read that they're great. AND they're Paradigms...
- Paradigm Titans - more of the same, but I've got a serious thing for the rosewood finish (I have black ones now). I'll just do fronts to start and take it from there if I go with this plan again.
So that's what I'm up against. You can wake up now.