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New member Username: Maq0kfxCape Coral, Fl USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Aug-06 | I have a budget of $4,000 to buy a TV and a systems (7.1) please recomend what do I need, such as a amps, speakers, what type of tv etc, I'm new at this and have no idea and would to waste my money, I will be purchasing in the next couple of days. Thanks Mike.... michaelcapecoral@hotmail.com theq@the-q.com |
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New member Username: KilgoretroutPost Number: 3 Registered: Mar-06 | Whoa, first off DON'T RUSH. Take your time, you'll be much happier in the long run. There's way too many variables to be able to answer your question precisely. First off, how big of a TV are you looking at? That will depend somewhat on the size of your room and the distance your seating is from the screen. I am a big fan of Costco for electronics purchases whenever possible, their return policy is unmatched. Especially for the TV that's a great place to start as most of their stores have a pretty decent selection of good quality TVs. If you are looking for a screen in the area of 50" or so, figure you'll be spending in the neighborhood of $2500 on the display. For the sound side of things, your room may not even be workable for 7.1 as opposed to 5.1 - if your seating area is at or close to the back wall then forget 7.1 and go with a 5.1 speaker setup. A general rule of thumb is to figure something in the area of a 2 or 3 to 1 ratio of spending on speakers vs. receiver. So assuming you spend $2500 on the display and have $1500 for the sound system, you'll want to spend no more than $500 on the receiver and the rest on the speakers, ideally less on the receiver if you can find something on sale or whatever. There are some decent speaker options in that price range, and a lot depends on personal taste and whether you want to go with smaller speakers or if floorstanders are OK for the mains. Room size will also play a role here, if you are trying to fill a large room you'll want to look for relatively efficient speakers. FWIW I have a Yamaha HTR-5650 receiver (cost about $300 a couple of years ago) and a BIC Acoustech 5.1 speaker system (can be had for ~ $900 including shipping). |
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Silver Member Username: HawkHighlands Ranch, CO USA Post Number: 887 Registered: Dec-03 | Michael: KT has it right here. Don't just buy--figure out what you need first. Tell us your room dimensions. That will really help in making recommendations. Recommending a set of speakers is entirely a function of the room's dimensions. Also. let us know what the room is like from an ambient light standpoint. I have a very large Great Room, two stories tall, with large uncovered windows on the second floor, so I have a lot of ambient light. So that generally rules out an LCD panel as a TV as they are not bright enough. However, if I had a fairly dark room, an LCD flat panel is probably the best choice, IMO. Best bang for the buck in tvs right now are the DLP rear projectors, but they are about 15" deep, so you can't mount them on the wall. Still, you can get a 50" model for about $1700, delivered. That leaves a lot of money for the sound system. If you want to hang something on the wall instead, I recommend the Panasonic TH42PX60U, a 42" plasma, which can be had for about $2100 delivered. Add a wall mount for another $100 and you have $1800 left for the sound system. A good receiver is going to run about $700-800. You will be disappointed in almost anything less than that, unless you have a small room. Check out the Outlaw 1070 (www.outlawaudio.com) as a starter. They sell internet direct and you have 30 days to try it at home or return for a full refund. I have a couple of other options here too, but I need to know more about what your room size and furnishings are like. Same for speakers. There are a lot of good speakers at various price points, but I really need to know the room size before suggesting any. So, let us know! |
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New member Username: PeletonPost Number: 5 Registered: Aug-06 | Hawk--do you work for outlaw |
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Silver Member Username: HawkHighlands Ranch, CO USA Post Number: 890 Registered: Dec-03 | matthew: LOL!! NO! I have been accused of being a saleman for NAD, Marantz, Dynaudio and Magnepan on thsi board, but this is the first time someone suggested I work for Outlaw. I suggested Outlaw for you since I had the impression you didn't want to do a lot of shopping. BTW, you never did tell us what size room you have . . . I am near Denver, but I am disabled so I have a lot of time on my hands to indulge my audio/video hobby and I try out a lot of stuff, so I can make informed comments on this board. I notice your username is Peleton--are you a cyclist? |
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New member Username: Maq0kfxCape Coral, Fl USA Post Number: 2 Registered: Aug-06 | Ok here is the information about the room, the front wall is about 12ft wide by 11 feet tall, it's an open room plan, it incorporates the kitchen and breakfast nook, fo after the wall the room open to about 25 wide by 35 deep. We will be seating about about 10ft from the TV, so any ideas on the right size of Tv would be also appreciated, I kind of am leaning toward a 1080p DLP, it the 68" to big?. Floor speakers are ok for the front, but I thought maybe wall mount or flush on the ceiling. I appreciate all feedback. Thanks. Mike... |
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Silver Member Username: WestcottLeague City, Texas Post Number: 117 Registered: Oct-05 | You will need quality audio and video cables, connectors, a rack or some other type of AV equipment cabinet. A remote and an RF system is also a possibility. Do you want HD? A video receiver, an AV receiver, a DVD player, and possibly a CD player to boot. A Calibration DVD and an SPL meter to calibrate your system video and audio is also recommended. As others here have stated. Take your time. It is a lot of money to invest so do some homework. Are all your devices HDCP compliant? Is HDMI the way to go? Will you need a switcher for more than one HDMI device? Have you ever heard of front projection? Does a 100" HD screen for $1500 interest you? Can you control the light in the room? Do you need to budget for curtains? Do you or your family suffer from rainbow artifacts or other video issues using DLP technology? Will the video technology you pick have good off axis viewing? Will you need it if people are sitting all over or standing in the kitchen? The point is, do your homework. Lots of questions need to be addressed before making such a large financial investment. I planned for over a year before I bought a single component. Good Luck and ask a lot of questions. "His and Her Room!" |
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Silver Member Username: HawkHighlands Ranch, CO USA Post Number: 916 Registered: Dec-03 | Mike: 68" is probably too big since you are only 10' from the TV, but hey, some people literally want a Home Theater! Get what you want and don't worry about it. Anything from 42" to 56" is probably optimum, however. Given the relatively small space you have (12' wide and 11' tall) for your primary viewing area, I would actually stay away from big floorstanding speakers because of the relatively narrow wall the sound system will be in front of. You want to stay away from getting side boundary reflections as much as possible. 12' is only 120 inches, so if you get a 68" tv (probably about 65" wide), it pushes the speakers pretty far to the side and towards the side walls. Not a real good thing. Ceiling speakers are useless, IMO. My in-laws did that and they complain all the time they can't hear the sound. In-walls work o.k., but you have to be sure that wall they are in is an outside wall--otherwise the other side of that wall will sound like the inside of a drum. Something to consider. You might consider an "on-wall" speaker system that actually hangs on the wall, as an option. Good ones I know of include the NHT L-5s and the Paradigm Cinema 330s. But these actually work better with flat panel tvs which are also hanging on the wall. No, I would suggest a nice pair of bookshelfs for the fronts. I actually have a system in mind here. I would recommend that you go to the website for saturday audio (www.saturdayaudio.com), which is the sole agent for selling out the last of Monitor Audio's Silver line of speakers. These are excellent speakers and the newer ones (the "reference Silvers") will cost quite a bit more. Here is the system I would recommend, all of which would be available from Saturday Audio: NAD T743 Receiver ($699 list, available for about $500); Monitor Audio Silver 2s for your front mains (MSRP is $750/pr., available now for $499/pr.) MA Silver 1s for surrounds (MSRP is $600/pr, sale price is $399/pair) MA SLCR for your center (MSRP is $600, sale price is $399). That is a total system price around $1800 for the receiver, and five speakers and this would be a killer system. Add a Hsu Research STF-1 subwoofer for $299 (www.hsuresearch.com for the best budget subwoofer anywhere), and you are at $2100 for the whole thing, leaving about $1900 for a a good 56" DLP. Now, if you don't need 1080p (there is no programming for it), here is a great deal on last year's Samsung top of the line: http://www.bestbuyplasma.com/Plasma/Product.asp_X_Sku_Y_HLR5087W However, if you do want the 1080p, check out this one: http://www.bestbuyplasma.com/Plasma/Product.asp_X_Sku_Y_HLR5668W Just a few thoughts . . . |