Veteran Member
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I saw that we already have a great thread on those that already have a home theater were they can post their systems specs and pics:
AppleNova Home Theather Setup Thread But I thought I would start a thread where people thinking of setting up a home theater can come and exchange purchasing advice. My issue: I am finally getting around to setting up our first true home theater on our third floor. Main part of the room is 16 x 24 wide with a small gym hooked next to it in a separate room through a traditional door (important issue since I would like to play music on the home theater and hear it when working out in the gym.) Main room also has a high peaked ceiling (maybe 16 feet or so), so the room has a lot of volume. We purchased a Panasonic 50" Plasma (can remember model number) on Christmas 2006 with 1080p and 2 HDMI inputs. All we currently have hooked to it is a PS3 and a DVR box from Cablevision. I mostly go up there to watch HD football and Basketball but the kids are starting to use it more and more versus the traditional TV we have on our family room. It wasn't until the past Christmas that I actually got some Blu-Ray DVDs for the kids (Lost Season 3, Pirates) and hooked the PS3 to the TV with a HDMI cable that we saw what we were missing. Heck, even Madden 2007 PS3 game looked amazing. So now I am on a mission to buy a home theater system and make this TV the primary area to view TV. I went out this past week to look at the various options in my budget (I started at $1000 and realized that was not going to cut it if for no other reason that I need a receiver that is going to cost a lot, so I moved the budget up to $3000.) But I realized that since I bought my last speaker/stereo system (like 1982 ) there are so many more options and manufactures I have never heard of. I currently have two systems from two firms being pitched to me: Best Buy 1. Receiver: Sony STR-DG910 2. Front and Rear Speakers: Def Tech BP7006BLA 3. Center Channel: Def Tech Mytthosseve 4. Sub Woofer: none necessary since each Def Tech speaker has it built it When I got this recommendation, I actually like the sound but have never heard of Definitive Technologies--any one know them? Also, the idea of burying the subwoofer into each speaker seems foreign (gimmicky?) to me. I then went to my local stereo guy that I have used once in my life to see what they recommended: Local Stereo Store 1. Receiver: Denon 2808CI 2. Front Speakers: Monitor Audio RS270 3. Rear Speakers: Monitor Audio R90 but on a integrated stand made specifically for them 4. Sub Woofer: Monitor Audio R360 5. Center: Another Monitor Audio but can't find the model number I have always thought Denon products where good price/value but this receiver he is recommending is twice the cost of the Sony. However, the speakers are a little cheaper all-in than the Def Tech Speakers. One of the reason he is recommending this Denon receiver is the ability to scale up non HD TV signals to look a lot like HD. I forget the term he used but said this alone doubles the cost of the receiver but will make watching regular TV on the 50" plasma more pleasurable--any one think this is true or a waste of money? Also, any experience with either of these two speaker manufactures or any other ideas. Now that I got a job, I can buy more Apple products! |
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superkaratemonkeydeathcar
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I have the Sony Receiver and will vouch for it. But if the Denon in fact does what he says I would get it.
Upscaling works well on DVDs, My wife can't tell the difference, I can but it's close. Get the best that you can afford, and that's package #2. "What's a Canadian farm boy to do?" |
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careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
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I have a full set of Definitive Tech speakers including the bipolar BP7001SCs w/integral subwoofers and love them. Unless your home theater is a huge living space, anyone who tries to sell you a 14" or larger subwoofer is just trying to make a sale.
On the other hand, I bought a cheap Sony STR-DE835 for my computer room in 2000 or so and found it very typical of Sony CE. Something on it will probably fail soon after you buy it, and it won't be anything major. In my case it was the motor for the main volume dial. I will also vouch for Denon since I currently use a AVR-4802 with my home theater as well as a DVD-2900. |
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Ruling teh World
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Boston, MA
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Whaa? I've got a tiny room and I wouldn't trade my dual 18s for anything less. At some point you need to have enough displacement to go deep enough. Measuring a sub by the size of its cone isn't the smartest thing to do.
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Veteran Member
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Does any one have any first hand knowledge of Monitor Audio? I have never heard of them.
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Ruling teh World
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Boston, MA
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Monitor Audio is a fairly respectable brand.
Take a look at www.audioholics.com for recommendations. They have been pretty good about staying unbiased (aka less grains of salt are needed) |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Promise Land of Trustafarians
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I can vouch for Monitor Audio. I don't own them (I've got Paradigms, and they're amazing), but a dealer near me stocks them and I have heard them. They're good.
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Dallas
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I recently got a Yamaha HTR-6080 receiver and am very happy with it. No regrets at all.
HTR-6080 You can find it cheaper, I got mine for about $650 by asking. You can also substitute with the RX-V861 which is pretty much the same thing. RX-V861 Comparo Also, in case you don't already know, monoprice for your wires. The stores are a complete rip. Quote:
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
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I have a Definitive 17" unit and I can't imagine anything more in my den. My best recent move was geting rid of all my shelf speakers and instead installing 7 8" directional SpeakerCraft in-ceiling units. |
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Veteran Member
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One thing the review pointed out (CNET) is that: The AVR-2808CI also includes onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, two of the new high-resolution soundtrack formats available on HD DVD and Blu-ray. The actual usefulness of this feature is somewhat questionable, as there are currently no Blu-ray or HD DVD players that can output soundtracks in bitstream format--although Denon has announced a Blu-ray player that apparently will be able to do this. This guy told me that the PS3 does NOT do this (my only Blu-Ray player) and that I need to new player. Any one have a clue? Now that I got a job, I can buy more Apple products! |
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Veteran Member
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Actually I just found this info on the 2808 on another review (although some of this is beyond my understanding) but it appears you do need the 2808 with a PS3 to get this:
Here is what took me so long to understand. Read it carefully, and don’t listen to the other misinformation on the web. A lot of people are confused about the sound output settings… If you want the Denon to do the audio decoding, you MUST have a player that can output “BITSTREAM” Dolby True-HD, and DTS Master Audio. Most all new players internally decode the Dolby True-HD, and DTS Master Audio and send them out as processed PCM audio. The little light on your Denon will not light up “Dolby True-HD or DTS Master Audio” unless you are connected to a source that can output BITSTREAM audio. I personally was on a quest to have my new receiver light up “Dolby True-HD”, so I bought the Toshiba HD-A35 that has the bitstream ability. The Sony Playstation 3 DOES NOT have the ability to bitstream out Dolby True-HD, and DTS Master Audio. It does have a “bitstream” setting, but this is only to “bitstream” the original Dolby Digital 640kb signal. If you have a PS3 you want to select “PCM”. With the PCM setting, the players internal decoded translates the Dolby True-HD signal to an uncompressed PCM signal. PCM is the same signal, bit for bit, that Hollywood uses to mix their movies. Basically think of Dolby True-HD, and DTS Master Audio as “ZIP Files”. When they are decoded, they become Uncompressed PCM. So does it matter if the decoding is done on the player, or the receiver? Tough call… Either way they get the same PCM signal in the end. They both sound great to my ears! I kind of like the fact that the Denon is doing the heavy lifting. I would assume Denon would use higher quality components than Toshiba/Sony. Now that I got a job, I can buy more Apple products! |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
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Without getting into too much detail that I don't have time to dig up right now. I'll just throw in two recommendations: Yamaha components and Paradigm speakers. See if there is a dealer in your area and give Paradigm a listen. You'll have a hard, if not impossible, time finding a bad review of them, and typically they are put up against speakers twice their price. I'd recommend the Monitor series (not to be confused with the 'Monitor Audio' brand that you posted.
As for the Yamaha, they have two model lines, the HTR and RX series. The HTR are usually more consumer oriented, and the RX can be more audiophile oriented. That said, there are some great HTR boxes that will more than likely exceed your needs. The Yamaha website has some good comparison pages so that you can see exactly what is different from model to model. Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Portlandia
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It's important to remember that wattage is only a measure of dB (or loudness/intensity) if you're looking at it exponentially. Purchase your amplifiers based on the power needs of your speakers. Contrary to popular belief, you are much more likely to "blow out" your speakers by under-powering them than overpowering. Edit: Oh, and I like Marantz receivers, if you aren't looking at completely separate amplification, integration and processing. B&W speakers are pretty awesome. "What a computer is to me is it's the most remarkable tool that we've ever come up with, and it's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds." - Steve Jobs Last edited by sunrain : 2008-01-14 at 13:17. Reason: a little added info. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
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My setup uses a Marantz receiver too, and it's completely awesome. It is getting old though, I want to get a new one that supports all the new audio formats and has more modern ports (my current one has no HDMI). I have an Atlantic Technology 5.1 speaker setup, which I absolutely love. I am an AT customer for life at this point.
I'll post my setup in the other thread when I can get some pictures and stuff, but I highly recommend Marantz and Atlantic Technology. I have a dozen or so DTS 5.1 audio CDs that sound just spectacular through this system, like Steely Dan's Gaucho. |
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Veteran Member
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I went back to the local stereo store and the subwoofer they are recommending with the monitor audio's is a Snell Basis150.
Any one have any experience with these? $850 bucks for a subwoofer sounds like a lot of money. I am starting to think the Def tech option from Best Buy is a lot better and cheaper. Now that I got a job, I can buy more Apple products! |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Promise Land of Trustafarians
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Two Monitor 5's in front, the CC370 center and two ADP370 surrounds. These are from the previous version, they've since revamped the entire line. |
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Mac Mini Maniac
Join Date: Sep 2005
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Dual 18s... Pffft... http://youtube.com/watch?v=O2rJSZKZsyQ
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
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My Yamaha is pretty old, I can't remember the model, but it's an old Pro-logic. My mains are an older model of Paradigm as well, not part of the newer Monitor series. They're 12 or so years old, but they still sound great. I've only got a CC170 Center, but the same surrounds as you. Of course this all surrounds a lovely 27" Sony square TV ...someday. Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Promise Land of Trustafarians
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
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The problem with front projection is that it's all about being big, but not so much about quality picture. Unless you're going to spend in the tens of thousands, the quality of projectors just doesn't compare to plasma or lcd, and even at tens of thousands, I'm not sure it compares.
Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Promise Land of Trustafarians
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Ruling teh World
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Boston, MA
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I have a pair of Mach5 Audio MJ-18s. They are just unbranded OEMs that I picked up for about $80 each. They look real nice and have plenty of kick. It also is great for dance parties! |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
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I need a new receiver that can do 7.1 and power three zones.
Anyone want to make some suggestions? Right now I'm leaning towards the Pioneer VSX-94TXH. |
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Stallion
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Milwaukee
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
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Besides, I don't want to have to make the room pitch black just to be able to watch something. And every projector I've seen looked very washed out in normal lighting. Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
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*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
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JColey2, did you end up buying that Sony STR-DG910 receiver?
I was actually looking to buy that same one because my decade+ year old Awia receiver just peaced out. I was also thinking about upgrading and getting myself a Polk CS2 center channel. They also have a CS1. I'd love some recommendations on a center channel, but I'm trying to get price down because I'm a cheap-skate, ha. Actually, just make all suggestions and I can weed them out. By the way, has anyone noticed Best Buy's lack of home audio stock? I went there and they had nothing in the lines of receivers. It was pathetic. Die young and save yourself.... @yontsey |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
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The Worst Buy near me has one of those Magnolia sections, in there you can find high end receivers and components. Most people buy those home theater kits, hence the lack of choice of the main floor. |
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*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
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Yeah, I already have speakers though and a lot of their receivers are like $500-1000 and I don't care enough about my sound to pay that much, ha.
That's why that sony receiver interested me because it also had 3 HDMI inputs and I can get it for like $400. Die young and save yourself.... @yontsey |
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http://usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3510.asp I hooked both Apple TV, DVR and PS3 thus far to it. Also went went with speakers from Monitor Audio. Four Radius 270 (probably overkill for rear's but great for music) http://www.monitoraudiousa.com/produ...e=4&product=29 Center was Radius 250: http://www.monitoraudiousa.com/produ...e=4&product=28 They do not make a good sub woofer so I bought a Snell 150 basis http://www.snellacoustics.com/ProductDetails/3474.asp That sub is amazing. You can feel it in your heart. Good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions. Now that I got a job, I can buy more Apple products! |
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