It's not a rebuild, it's a build. Home Theater A/V edition (1 Viewer)

[Hawks64]

Great stuff, thx.

As of now, things have come full circle. He Anthem got me curious, but after more research and checking out a couple places in person, not sure I'll get better sound than the NAD, and perhaps not even as good sound in terms of matching my speakers.

So, NAD T758 followed by the Anthem 510 if I could get it cheap, then the Pioneer Elite at this point.

I can deal with less features for better sound especially as other devices cover those apps, and there is a modular design so I can swap out Audio and Video components as technology advances, without having to get a whole new system. Can likely get it for 850-900.

Well with those speakers I would likely be leaning NAD as well, I would also try out the Denon. Certainly wouldn't hurt.

I'll give it a shot, no loss for sure.I just see the NAD / Anthem / Elite a step above Marantz / Denon / Yamaha all things being equal. Part research, part personal experience - and with those experiences, biases, fair and otherwise.

But the musicality plus upgrade ability and my brand loyalty with a 15 year old NAD that still kicks ### is probably going to be too much to overcome.

I understand that, love Rotel and Paradigm, but both have gone through some major changes as the companies have grown.

I specifically inquired about Rotel. As you mention, there's apparently been some changes at the company (seems to have happened to a lot of higher end brands over the last decade or so) and while still really good, perhaps a bit overpriced and won't fit my budget regardless.Now it's just up to convincing the wife.

Both used to be a GREAT value for performance....not so much anymore They can take my Rotel amp when they pry it from my cold dead hands...or it dies.

I remember looking at Rotels way back when I bought my last NAD (97?). Was just too expensive.

It's really so hard to get any objective "truth" in this game. Between brand blindness, dealership relationships and deals, inventory at the dealer and manufacturer level and just personal preference, there are SO many freakin opinions. It seemed easier to study this back in '97 as opposed to now for some reason.

For example, I go one place and they slam NAD as having reliability issues but none of my other research suggests that (NONE). He recommends integra. I hadn't really considers them but now had second thoughts.

I go somewhere else and they LOVE the NAD, sell a ton, and STOPPED carrying the integra because of all the returns. Fwiw, this second place has been around forever, and is where I bought my McCormack amp way back.

Just so difficult to wade through it all. You really need to actually listen, if possible.

Listening is the key to be honest. When I upgraded my speakers last year I was set on new Paradigms, heard the GoldenEars and that was that.

 

[Hawks64]

Yeah, I am really happy to see this thread because I am starting to do research on a new surround sound system. Now mind you I have a 15 year old Sony Theater in a Box. Don't knock it because this thing was pretty gosh darn amazing for the $400.00 I probably spent on it, but the center channel just up and died this week.

I have a fairly new Sony 55 inch, standard Sony blu ray, xbox 360, ps4 and ps3s to run off this. The challenge is our living room is big and has 22 foot ceilings, so all the sound goes up.

My budget is limited at this point--not by my choice (wife needs a new car, braces for the 15 year old, new stove, Hawaii vacation etc) you guys get the picture. So surround sound just isn't a (her) priority at this point. So I told her I would try and do the 800-900 range.

I was looking at Energy Take Classic 5.1 Speakers about $399.00 and then I need an amp. I was looking at some of the Sony 7.1 amps that were in the $500 range--maybe the DN1040? I sort of like Sony stuff, but I need something that is going to work in this big room.

Any thoughts??

In all honesty, I think your brand loyalty could hurt you here. There's a reason that Sony hasn't been mentioned in this thread as their product is simply not on par with the more musically focused companies.

At $500 I'd be looking at Yamaha, Pioneer or a low end Elite on a deal, Denon and probably marantz, if they have something in your budget.

You could get lucky and get an 800-1000 dollar piece that is open box with warranty or a recently discontinued model of an NAD, Marantz or Pioneer Elite as well.

As far as speakers id have to look but I'd get speakers that give you flexibility moving forward if you want to upgrade piecemeal.

Since you are looking to get speakers and an amp at the same time, you should definitely audition them together as different amps will sound better / worse depending upon how they match with a specific set of speakers.

To be perfectly honest at the total budget of 800-900 I would look into sound bars with a sub. No matter what you get you won't be able to handle a room that size so you might as well go with something that the wife will like :shurg:

Whoa, kimosabe. Gotta be a way we can help a fellow FFAer.

Open box to maximize the ROI and he can find something that may not "fill" the room, but gives good enough punch and accuracy to wow folks and enjoy, day to day.

Not all soundbars are created equal These are good, I actually listened to it and was impressed. To be honest a room that big would be hard pressed to be filled with what I am running right now and that wasn't even in the same realm of his budget. Sure you could go with an Open box (Denon would be my choice - just don't like the Elites that much) or one from Costco if Elite is the choice and the Energy system but it would be so overwhelmed by the space you won't get any punch unless you are 6-8 ft away. 22' ceilings is almost tripling your room volume.

 

[Quez]

Just get a $300-$400 Onkyo 7.1. Unless you are trying to power a bunch of zones, then you may need something more powerful.

 

[Courtjester]

AWESOME NIGHT!!!

Okay, so apparently my Theater in a box setup fried out the whole amp for other uses other than regular TV so I can't get Netflix to work on my remaining four speakers. I was using the TV speakers as the center for the past two nights to watch regular TV after the blowout. So we go to watch a move tonight and no sound.

My wife (trying to find a way to not buy a new system) says lets go upstairs and watch a movie in the bedroom on the Samsung, Cool, I am liking this idea. 4 people in a bedroom watching a 48 inch Samsung (granted it is new) but this is going to be good.

14 year old is mad--why is the sound so bad and we can't all be expected to fit on that bed, can we? 9 year old can't sit still. I am throwing out a subtle statement about how far I am away from the beer downstairs. Wife still being patient. After multiple pauses. The room is frankly stifling. Let's just say my 9 year old daughter had taco bell today. At the end of the movie my wife is like DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!! WE CAN"T LIVE THIS WAY!!

Okay, budget is up to 1,100 or so (give or take) I need speakers (sub-woofer included) and an amp. I am not married to SONY, but have read a bunch of reviews on ONKYO having heating issues.

What about the speakers I suggested earlier? Are they passable?? The reviews are very positive and I figured now I can pair them with a better amp. What would I look for in an amp (I am fine with 5.1) to not blow those up? I know a sound bar will not work on this room. I am sorry to kind of muck up this thread. You guys want nice stuff and I am just looking for just loud, paint peeling sound. So any help is really appreciated.

 

[Hawks64]

AWESOME NIGHT!!!

Okay, so apparently my Theater in a box setup fried out the whole amp for other uses other than regular TV so I can't get Netflix to work on my remaining four speakers. I was using the TV speakers as the center for the past two nights to watch regular TV after the blowout. So we go to watch a move tonight and no sound.

My wife (trying to find a way to not buy a new system) says lets go upstairs and watch a movie in the bedroom on the Samsung, Cool, I am liking this idea. 4 people in a bedroom watching a 48 inch Samsung (granted it is new) but this is going to be good.

14 year old is mad--why is the sound so bad and we can't all be expected to fit on that bed, can we? 9 year old can't sit still. I am throwing out a subtle statement about how far I am away from the beer downstairs. Wife still being patient. After multiple pauses. The room is frankly stifling. Let's just say my 9 year old daughter had taco bell today. At the end of the movie my wife is like DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!! WE CAN"T LIVE THIS WAY!!

Okay, budget is up to 1,100 or so (give or take) I need speakers (sub-woofer included) and an amp. I am not married to SONY, but have read a bunch of reviews on ONKYO having heating issues.

What about the speakers I suggested earlier? Are they passable?? The reviews are very positive and I figured now I can pair them with a better amp. What would I look for in an amp (I am fine with 5.1) to not blow those up? I know a sound bar will not work on this room. I am sorry to kind of muck up this thread. You guys want nice stuff and I am just looking for just loud, paint peeling sound. So any help is really appreciated.

What is the room size again? Is this the 22' ceiling one? Onkyo has heating issues, they run hot. My old one (which wasn't very old ran very hot). Tell me the room size and I'll find some options for you. They won't include Sony.

 

[The Tick]

AWESOME NIGHT!!!

Okay, so apparently my Theater in a box setup fried out the whole amp for other uses other than regular TV so I can't get Netflix to work on my remaining four speakers. I was using the TV speakers as the center for the past two nights to watch regular TV after the blowout. So we go to watch a move tonight and no sound.

My wife (trying to find a way to not buy a new system) says lets go upstairs and watch a movie in the bedroom on the Samsung, Cool, I am liking this idea. 4 people in a bedroom watching a 48 inch Samsung (granted it is new) but this is going to be good.

14 year old is mad--why is the sound so bad and we can't all be expected to fit on that bed, can we? 9 year old can't sit still. I am throwing out a subtle statement about how far I am away from the beer downstairs. Wife still being patient. After multiple pauses. The room is frankly stifling. Let's just say my 9 year old daughter had taco bell today. At the end of the movie my wife is like DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!! WE CAN"T LIVE THIS WAY!!

Okay, budget is up to 1,100 or so (give or take) I need speakers (sub-woofer included) and an amp. I am not married to SONY, but have read a bunch of reviews on ONKYO having heating issues.

What about the speakers I suggested earlier? Are they passable?? The reviews are very positive and I figured now I can pair them with a better amp. What would I look for in an amp (I am fine with 5.1) to not blow those up? I know a sound bar will not work on this room. I am sorry to kind of muck up this thread. You guys want nice stuff and I am just looking for just loud, paint peeling sound. So any help is really appreciated.

What is the room size again? Is this the 22' ceiling one? Onkyo has heating issues, they run hot. My old one (which wasn't very old ran very hot). Tell me the room size and I'll find some options for you. They won't include Sony.

Yes, they run hot, but it doesn't sound like he is planning to push some serious speakers if he's talking about box home theater stuff.

My suggest for lower end small systems is almost always polk and Onkyo. I've priced stuff out in home theater threads previously, and I think you can do ok for around $1100. That's not what I use for my personal stuff, but I think it gives a good bang for the buck. I've helped a couple people get it.

To really fill a room with 22' ceilings you'd need a lot more power than that, and really almost a $1000 sub.

Never heard of Golden Ear's before, newer brand??? Was just curious when you mentioned it. I upgraded from paradigm to dynaudio a couple years back and love it. Paradigm is always my suggestion for the next level up home theater system. Really enjoyed their speakers for a long time, but I wanted to move to bookshelves in the front and HATED high end paradigm bookshelves.

 

[Hawks64]

AWESOME NIGHT!!!

Okay, so apparently my Theater in a box setup fried out the whole amp for other uses other than regular TV so I can't get Netflix to work on my remaining four speakers. I was using the TV speakers as the center for the past two nights to watch regular TV after the blowout. So we go to watch a move tonight and no sound.

My wife (trying to find a way to not buy a new system) says lets go upstairs and watch a movie in the bedroom on the Samsung, Cool, I am liking this idea. 4 people in a bedroom watching a 48 inch Samsung (granted it is new) but this is going to be good.

14 year old is mad--why is the sound so bad and we can't all be expected to fit on that bed, can we? 9 year old can't sit still. I am throwing out a subtle statement about how far I am away from the beer downstairs. Wife still being patient. After multiple pauses. The room is frankly stifling. Let's just say my 9 year old daughter had taco bell today. At the end of the movie my wife is like DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!! WE CAN"T LIVE THIS WAY!!

Okay, budget is up to 1,100 or so (give or take) I need speakers (sub-woofer included) and an amp. I am not married to SONY, but have read a bunch of reviews on ONKYO having heating issues.

What about the speakers I suggested earlier? Are they passable?? The reviews are very positive and I figured now I can pair them with a better amp. What would I look for in an amp (I am fine with 5.1) to not blow those up? I know a sound bar will not work on this room. I am sorry to kind of muck up this thread. You guys want nice stuff and I am just looking for just loud, paint peeling sound. So any help is really appreciated.

What is the room size again? Is this the 22' ceiling one? Onkyo has heating issues, they run hot. My old one (which wasn't very old ran very hot). Tell me the room size and I'll find some options for you. They won't include Sony.

Yes, they run hot, but it doesn't sound like he is planning to push some serious speakers if he's talking about box home theater stuff.

My suggest for lower end small systems is almost always polk and Onkyo. I've priced stuff out in home theater threads previously, and I think you can do ok for around $1100. That's not what I use for my personal stuff, but I think it gives a good bang for the buck. I've helped a couple people get it.

To really fill a room with 22' ceilings you'd need a lot more power than that, and really almost a $1000 sub.

Never heard of Golden Ear's before, newer brand??? Was just curious when you mentioned it. I upgraded from paradigm to dynaudio a couple years back and love it. Paradigm is always my suggestion for the next level up home theater system. Really enjoyed their speakers for a long time, but I wanted to move to bookshelves in the front and HATED high end paradigm bookshelves.

I ran the old NR808 as a preamp, all line level out to my Rotel and thing was so hot you could cook an egg on it.

Goldenear was founded by Sandy Gross (who actually posts over at AVForums in the goldenear thread) and they have won a crap load of awards for their speakers. I have the Triton Twos and they are simply amazing, the new Triton Ones are being raved about by all the industry folks and are very reasonably priced given their performance.

Paradigm fell WAY WAY off and I was shocked to see the how crappy the monitor series had become in comparison to my gen 2 Monitor 9s.

As far as recommendations there are a bunch and everyone's tend to favor their preferences. Koya likes Elite, I don't but wouldn't hesitate to recommend them as they are quality for their price. Onkyo IMO is not based on my experience with one of their higher end receivers. Personally I would go with a Denon/Boston Accoustics combo or the Energy system and low end Denon, Pioneer or Yamaha receiver. Best bang for the buck IMO is that Energy system though.

 

[joffer]

gonna segue for a minute,

Hawk,

you up to date on the latest video processing stuff? ever heard of this Darbee technology that Oppo has built into their universal blu-ray players?

 

[Hawks64]

gonna segue for a minute,

Hawk,

you up to date on the latest video processing stuff? ever heard of this Darbee technology that Oppo has built into their universal blu-ray players?

Not really, I only research that stuff when I am upgrading anything that touches the video. To be honest I am more into the audio than the video side of the house. HD is fine for me as long as the color is good and the black isn't grey Sorry I couldn't be more help.

 

[joffer]

gonna segue for a minute,

Hawk,

you up to date on the latest video processing stuff? ever heard of this Darbee technology that Oppo has built into their universal blu-ray players?

Not really, I only research that stuff when I am upgrading anything that touches the video. To be honest I am more into the audio than the video side of the house. HD is fine for me as long as the color is good and the black isn't grey Sorry I couldn't be more help.

no prob. starting looking at new BD players and trying to research it. Figured I'd ask.

 

[Koya]

AWESOME NIGHT!!!

Okay, so apparently my Theater in a box setup fried out the whole amp for other uses other than regular TV so I can't get Netflix to work on my remaining four speakers. I was using the TV speakers as the center for the past two nights to watch regular TV after the blowout. So we go to watch a move tonight and no sound.

My wife (trying to find a way to not buy a new system) says lets go upstairs and watch a movie in the bedroom on the Samsung, Cool, I am liking this idea. 4 people in a bedroom watching a 48 inch Samsung (granted it is new) but this is going to be good.

14 year old is mad--why is the sound so bad and we can't all be expected to fit on that bed, can we? 9 year old can't sit still. I am throwing out a subtle statement about how far I am away from the beer downstairs. Wife still being patient. After multiple pauses. The room is frankly stifling. Let's just say my 9 year old daughter had taco bell today. At the end of the movie my wife is like DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!! WE CAN"T LIVE THIS WAY!!

Okay, budget is up to 1,100 or so (give or take) I need speakers (sub-woofer included) and an amp. I am not married to SONY, but have read a bunch of reviews on ONKYO having heating issues.

What about the speakers I suggested earlier? Are they passable?? The reviews are very positive and I figured now I can pair them with a better amp. What would I look for in an amp (I am fine with 5.1) to not blow those up? I know a sound bar will not work on this room. I am sorry to kind of muck up this thread. You guys want nice stuff and I am just looking for just loud, paint peeling sound. So any help is really appreciated.

Not mucking at all. The more discussion on audio or HT here, the better.

 

[Koya]

AWESOME NIGHT!!!

Okay, so apparently my Theater in a box setup fried out the whole amp for other uses other than regular TV so I can't get Netflix to work on my remaining four speakers. I was using the TV speakers as the center for the past two nights to watch regular TV after the blowout. So we go to watch a move tonight and no sound.

My wife (trying to find a way to not buy a new system) says lets go upstairs and watch a movie in the bedroom on the Samsung, Cool, I am liking this idea. 4 people in a bedroom watching a 48 inch Samsung (granted it is new) but this is going to be good.

14 year old is mad--why is the sound so bad and we can't all be expected to fit on that bed, can we? 9 year old can't sit still. I am throwing out a subtle statement about how far I am away from the beer downstairs. Wife still being patient. After multiple pauses. The room is frankly stifling. Let's just say my 9 year old daughter had taco bell today. At the end of the movie my wife is like DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!! WE CAN"T LIVE THIS WAY!!

Okay, budget is up to 1,100 or so (give or take) I need speakers (sub-woofer included) and an amp. I am not married to SONY, but have read a bunch of reviews on ONKYO having heating issues.

What about the speakers I suggested earlier? Are they passable?? The reviews are very positive and I figured now I can pair them with a better amp. What would I look for in an amp (I am fine with 5.1) to not blow those up? I know a sound bar will not work on this room. I am sorry to kind of muck up this thread. You guys want nice stuff and I am just looking for just loud, paint peeling sound. So any help is really appreciated.

What is the room size again? Is this the 22' ceiling one? Onkyo has heating issues, they run hot. My old one (which wasn't very old ran very hot). Tell me the room size and I'll find some options for you. They won't include Sony.

Yes, they run hot, but it doesn't sound like he is planning to push some serious speakers if he's talking about box home theater stuff.My suggest for lower end small systems is almost always polk and Onkyo. I've priced stuff out in home theater threads previously, and I think you can do ok for around $1100. That's not what I use for my personal stuff, but I think it gives a good bang for the buck. I've helped a couple people get it.

To really fill a room with 22' ceilings you'd need a lot more power than that, and really almost a $1000 sub.

Never heard of Golden Ear's before, newer brand??? Was just curious when you mentioned it. I upgraded from paradigm to dynaudio a couple years back and love it. Paradigm is always my suggestion for the next level up home theater system. Really enjoyed their speakers for a long time, but I wanted to move to bookshelves in the front and HATED high end paradigm bookshelves.

I ran the old NR808 as a preamp, all line level out to my Rotel and thing was so hot you could cook an egg on it.Goldenear was founded by Sandy Gross (who actually posts over at AVForums in the goldenear thread) and they have won a crap load of awards for their speakers. I have the Triton Twos and they are simply amazing, the new Triton Ones are being raved about by all the industry folks and are very reasonably priced given their performance.

Paradigm fell WAY WAY off and I was shocked to see the how crappy the monitor series had become in comparison to my gen 2 Monitor 9s.

As far as recommendations there are a bunch and everyone's tend to favor their preferences. Koya likes Elite, I don't but wouldn't hesitate to recommend them as they are quality for their price. Onkyo IMO is not based on my experience with one of their higher end receivers. Personally I would go with a Denon/Boston Accoustics combo or the Energy system and low end Denon, Pioneer or Yamaha receiver. Best bang for the buck IMO is that Energy system though.

Actually, I'm not a big elite fan. Wife is but it's more name than anything. But I was consisting them earlier.

I'm an NAD fan personally. Just fits my perspective best. Sound over features.

But pioneer has some decent values from what I've seen in their lower end categories (600-800 or so)

 

[Courtjester]

AWESOME NIGHT!!!

Okay, so apparently my Theater in a box setup fried out the whole amp for other uses other than regular TV so I can't get Netflix to work on my remaining four speakers. I was using the TV speakers as the center for the past two nights to watch regular TV after the blowout. So we go to watch a move tonight and no sound.

My wife (trying to find a way to not buy a new system) says lets go upstairs and watch a movie in the bedroom on the Samsung, Cool, I am liking this idea. 4 people in a bedroom watching a 48 inch Samsung (granted it is new) but this is going to be good.

14 year old is mad--why is the sound so bad and we can't all be expected to fit on that bed, can we? 9 year old can't sit still. I am throwing out a subtle statement about how far I am away from the beer downstairs. Wife still being patient. After multiple pauses. The room is frankly stifling. Let's just say my 9 year old daughter had taco bell today. At the end of the movie my wife is like DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!! WE CAN"T LIVE THIS WAY!!

Okay, budget is up to 1,100 or so (give or take) I need speakers (sub-woofer included) and an amp. I am not married to SONY, but have read a bunch of reviews on ONKYO having heating issues.

What about the speakers I suggested earlier? Are they passable?? The reviews are very positive and I figured now I can pair them with a better amp. What would I look for in an amp (I am fine with 5.1) to not blow those up? I know a sound bar will not work on this room. I am sorry to kind of muck up this thread. You guys want nice stuff and I am just looking for just loud, paint peeling sound. So any help is really appreciated.

What is the room size again? Is this the 22' ceiling one? Onkyo has heating issues, they run hot. My old one (which wasn't very old ran very hot). Tell me the room size and I'll find some options for you. They won't include Sony.

Room is 25 feet long, 15 feet wide and 22 foot ceilings, The room is basically a big rectangle. You walk in the front door and straight across from you 25 feet away is the tv on the other side of this rectangle. It is above a fireplace. To your right if you walk 10 feet in is the opening to the kitchen. It is basically an acoustic nightmare.

I started my quest today at a local stereo store because I wanted to hear some speakers. They were pushing Yamaha Amps specifically the RXV-677 for $599.00 or the RXA-730 which was also $599,00. However he personally said what he had in his house was the Integra DTR 20.4 and he said it is a loud, nice amp. He told me upfront he had zero speakers at my price point but he could order the Energy Take Classics that I mentioned earlier in this thread for 399.99. So $100 for wiring, etc, I can stay within budget.

I can't find many reviews on the Integra amps except that they are the upper tier of Onxyo. They don't look as nice as the Yamaha, but seem to have some decent features.

However, it was a little sobering to basically be told my budget is not realistic.

I am off to Listen Up tomorrow. They seem to have several NAD, Marantz and Dennon amps that are in my price point. I guess I will hit Best Buy Saturday (not looking forward to that), but that is about the extent of the stereo stores in town.

 

[Hawks64]

AWESOME NIGHT!!!

Okay, so apparently my Theater in a box setup fried out the whole amp for other uses other than regular TV so I can't get Netflix to work on my remaining four speakers. I was using the TV speakers as the center for the past two nights to watch regular TV after the blowout. So we go to watch a move tonight and no sound.

My wife (trying to find a way to not buy a new system) says lets go upstairs and watch a movie in the bedroom on the Samsung, Cool, I am liking this idea. 4 people in a bedroom watching a 48 inch Samsung (granted it is new) but this is going to be good.

14 year old is mad--why is the sound so bad and we can't all be expected to fit on that bed, can we? 9 year old can't sit still. I am throwing out a subtle statement about how far I am away from the beer downstairs. Wife still being patient. After multiple pauses. The room is frankly stifling. Let's just say my 9 year old daughter had taco bell today. At the end of the movie my wife is like DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!! WE CAN"T LIVE THIS WAY!!

Okay, budget is up to 1,100 or so (give or take) I need speakers (sub-woofer included) and an amp. I am not married to SONY, but have read a bunch of reviews on ONKYO having heating issues.

What about the speakers I suggested earlier? Are they passable?? The reviews are very positive and I figured now I can pair them with a better amp. What would I look for in an amp (I am fine with 5.1) to not blow those up? I know a sound bar will not work on this room. I am sorry to kind of muck up this thread. You guys want nice stuff and I am just looking for just loud, paint peeling sound. So any help is really appreciated.

What is the room size again? Is this the 22' ceiling one? Onkyo has heating issues, they run hot. My old one (which wasn't very old ran very hot). Tell me the room size and I'll find some options for you. They won't include Sony.

Room is 25 feet long, 15 feet wide and 22 foot ceilings, The room is basically a big rectangle. You walk in the front door and straight across from you 25 feet away is the tv on the other side of this rectangle. It is above a fireplace. To your right if you walk 10 feet in is the opening to the kitchen. It is basically an acoustic nightmare.

I started my quest today at a local stereo store because I wanted to hear some speakers. They were pushing Yamaha Amps specifically the RXV-677 for $599.00 or the RXA-730 which was also $599,00. However he personally said what he had in his house was the Integra DTR 20.4 and he said it is a loud, nice amp. He told me upfront he had zero speakers at my price point but he could order the Energy Take Classics that I mentioned earlier in this thread for 399.99. So $100 for wiring, etc, I can stay within budget.

I can't find many reviews on the Integra amps except that they are the upper tier of Onxyo. They don't look as nice as the Yamaha, but seem to have some decent features.

However, it was a little sobering to basically be told my budget is not realistic.

I am off to Listen Up tomorrow. They seem to have several NAD, Marantz and Dennon amps that are in my price point. I guess I will hit Best Buy Saturday (not looking forward to that), but that is about the extent of the stereo stores in town.

One point of contention...they are receviers not Amps. Sorry it's been driving me nuts. Yamaha's are fine, as are all that you listed. I would stay clear of Onkyo but that's more of a personal preference based on my less than stellar experiences with the them.

As to your room, it's not a nightmare but it will take some powerful and efficient equipment with a very good calibration to handle it. If I were you I would go with the highest level of receiver you can possibly get. That way you can upgrade your speakers without worrying about having upgrading the receiver as well.

 

[Courtjester]

Thanks for the response. Sorry I am a newbie to this area, so my terminology is obviously not accurate. I hope to see some different options tomorrow.

 

[Hawks64]

Thanks for the response. Sorry I am a newbie to this area, so my terminology is obviously not accurate. I hope to see some different options tomorrow.

No problem and feel free to ask more questions. And I was busting balls about the amp thing...

 

[Koya]

Thanks for the response. Sorry I am a newbie to this area, so my terminology is obviously not accurate. I hope to see some different options tomorrow.

Fwiw, I've heard that the integras have had some real issues lately. The place that I know best around me said they would be very reticent to sell one as they'd sent a whole bunch back. Prior to that I had heard one place talk about them, but I have a feeling they were trying to dump product.

 

[Koya]

Hawks (or others) - tell me more about these Golden Ear speakers. What's the price point where it makes the most sense (because 5k on speakers is not going to happen for a long while. 3k, tough, 2k maybe, still down the road)

 

[Courtjester]

So in the continuing saga--I went to Listen Up. Now I knew going in this is me with a Ford budget walking into a Mercedes dealership.

I was straight up with him about budget because I didn't want to waste his time. He said he has been in the business for 25 years and seemed to know his stuff. He had several Denons and one Marantz in my price range, He said that Denon has drawn the short straw this year because this year's product line was basically downgraded to compete with the lower end Receivers such as Sony (ouch that hurt). and they just are not that good. The Marantz he showed me was $700,00--the slim series. It was okay, but when I asked him (like some had suggested on here) that perhaps could I get this unit, pair it with a cheap speaker system and then buy better speakers later on, he laughed and said no. That it was a lower power receiver and just wasn't very upgradable.

He did have a speaker system the Definitive Tech 400s, which I had previously researched, but when he said they were trying to clear them out, I didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling as he still wanted $500 for them and he had none of them hooked up that I could hear.

Went to Best Buy as well--that was terrible--no need to say more. Don't know how that place stays in business.

So long story short and after hours and hours of research on every site I can find--I think (unless someone on here tells me DONT DO IT) about going with the Onkyo TX-NR727 for 599.00. It seems like the reviews are mostly positive. It has more bells and whistles than I need, but it is in my price point.

I am still leaning with the Energy 5.1 Take Classic speakers. The guy at Listen up said they were solid, but old. I looked at a Pioneer system as well, but it has more negatives.

So Speaker wire (Monoprice??), banana clips, I want to get a couple good optical cables and I should be right in my wife's budget of 1,100.

Thanks again for all the help--just one last dumb question, My Sony Theater in a box has a decent sounding, powered sub--this is from my untrained ear of reference obviously, but it is a 120 v 60 hz 100 watt Model SAWMSP85 could I use this in addition to the sub that comes with the Energy system just to add more depth or would it actually make the system sound worse? I know when I get this all set up it is going to blow my family away since all my kids have known is this Sony system, but I don't want to degrade it by using that sub as well.

 

[Koya]

So in the continuing saga--I went to Listen Up. Now I knew going in this is me with a Ford budget walking into a Mercedes dealership.

I was straight up with him about budget because I didn't want to waste his time. He said he has been in the business for 25 years and seemed to know his stuff. He had several Denons and one Marantz in my price range, He said that Denon has drawn the short straw this year because this year's product line was basically downgraded to compete with the lower end Receivers such as Sony (ouch that hurt). and they just are not that good. The Marantz he showed me was $700,00--the slim series. It was okay, but when I asked him (like some had suggested on here) that perhaps could I get this unit, pair it with a cheap speaker system and then buy better speakers later on, he laughed and said no. That it was a lower power receiver and just wasn't very upgradable.

He did have a speaker system the Definitive Tech 400s, which I had previously researched, but when he said they were trying to clear them out, I didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling as he still wanted $500 for them and he had none of them hooked up that I could hear.

Went to Best Buy as well--that was terrible--no need to say more. Don't know how that place stays in business.

So long story short and after hours and hours of research on every site I can find--I think (unless someone on here tells me DONT DO IT) about going with the Onkyo TX-NR727 for 599.00. It seems like the reviews are mostly positive. It has more bells and whistles than I need, but it is in my price point.

I am still leaning with the Energy 5.1 Take Classic speakers. The guy at Listen up said they were solid, but old. I looked at a Pioneer system as well, but it has more negatives.

So Speaker wire (Monoprice??), banana clips, I want to get a couple good optical cables and I should be right in my wife's budget of 1,100.

Thanks again for all the help--just one last dumb question, My Sony Theater in a box has a decent sounding, powered sub--this is from my untrained ear of reference obviously, but it is a 120 v 60 hz 100 watt Model SAWMSP85 could I use this in addition to the sub that comes with the Energy system just to add more depth or would it actually make the system sound worse? I know when I get this all set up it is going to blow my family away since all my kids have known is this Sony system, but I don't want to degrade it by using that sub as well.

Don't know the Onkyo personally, but it should serve you well for the price. They are generally solid as I understand. I fondly recall my six-cd changer from Onkyo way back. Good stuff - and probably still works.

 

[Ilov80s]

I have an older Onkyo system, 10 years old. It lacks the bells and whistles, but the sound is great and it has more power than I know what to do with.

 

[Courtjester]

Okay, I need to stop researching stuff. I was ready to pull the trigger last night on the system I mentioned above..

Now this little gem comes into the picture (keep in mind my limited budget and the fact I just want something for movie watching) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120187

Almost 350 less than what I planning to spend and the fact I get 7 speakers and it is all the same brand, I may buy this instead.

I know the Receiver isn't as advanced as the one I was looking at before, but this looks like a decent solution with the main complaints seeming to be how it is packed/shipped--135 pound box seems to get destroyed in shipping.

 

[Hawks64]

Hawks (or others) - tell me more about these Golden Ear speakers. What's the price point where it makes the most sense (because 5k on speakers is not going to happen for a long while. 3k, tough, 2k maybe, still down the road)

What do you want to know specifically? I have the Triton Twos, SuperSat 60 for the Center and SuperSat 30s for the rears. They aren't cheap but they are about half of what they should cost. 10-15k speaker sound from these....simply amazing.

 

[Hawks64]

Okay, I need to stop researching stuff. I was ready to pull the trigger last night on the system I mentioned above..

Now this little gem comes into the picture (keep in mind my limited budget and the fact I just want something for movie watching) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120187

Almost 350 less than what I planning to spend and the fact I get 7 speakers and it is all the same brand, I may buy this instead.

I know the Receiver isn't as advanced as the one I was looking at before, but this looks like a decent solution with the main complaints seeming to be how it is packed/shipped--135 pound box seems to get destroyed in shipping.

I can't really say how much better or worse than the Energy system this will be, but you won't get more volume out of 7 speakers than 5, just more surround sound.