S2kRob

Actually, all that remains for completion is a receiver and the speaker system. Any suggestions? I'd like something that sounds great at moderate volume levels, very pure, accurate and crisp sound with great imaging, and I'd like the speakers themselves to be as unobtrusive as possible. The room is only 12 or so feet deep, too.

What can be done for about $3k? For $5k?

Thanks for the help.

simon2000

I always go straight to the source "Bay Bloor Radio".. and then the Bang Olufsen store for very rare sleek pieces. You probably won't find a more knowledgeable staff than at Bay Bloor. Also, they have a great service dept. should you "blow" anything :-)

-simon2000

kamehamaha

Speakers:

Satallite system:

Boston Acoustic is excellent. A speaker system in this name would run you about $1600 for a high end system. I have heard it many times, and it is possibly the best satalite system you can get in my opinon.

Bookshelf/Tower speakers (seperates) :

Klipsch, Boston Acoustic, or Mirage. will work really nicely. the price for these will run about $700/pair. For surround speakers, you have to decide on what design you want: monopole, dipole or tripole. and a dedicated center in the same manufacture (which is a must) can run $400-700.
then you have to get a sub. Add about $600-$1000 for that depending on how low you want to go.


Recievers:

four names: Yamaha, Denon, Sony, B&K

A really nice one with Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES and Prologic II decoding and SACD and DVD-Audio decoding can run up to $5000

B&K will top that list at $5K+. The others are more "reasonable".


that is my little spill to help you get started. I could go on, but my fingers are tired.

Decide on who you want your speakers to be made by.
then choose what design: satalite or bookshelf or floorstanding speakers. Also keep in mind what radiation pattern you want to the speaker to have. LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN!!!

Do the same for you reciever only decide here what kind of decoding you want to be able to do, so that you don't have to go out and get another reciever in the next couple of years to have the latest and the greatest.

Hope this helps. Oh and by the way, everyting you described about the sound you want is almost wholly dependant on the room acoustics. If you need some tips on what to put where, email me and I can give you an idea on what you should do.

PLYRS 3

i have a pretty good home theatre set-up at my place and have received many compliments on the sound and quality - here are the components with approx. prices

1 - Sony DB9XX receiver - 6.1, dolby, dts, dsp etc. etc. ($700)
5 - MK speakers ($2,000)
1 - MK shielded subwoofer (incl. in above price)
1 - 53" Sony XBR big screen tv - ($2,000 - 1999 demo bought in 2000 - i still can't believe i got it for $2K)
1 - Sony 7700 DVD ($900) - i had to buy it because i loved the motorized face plate - it's way cool!!!
1 - Sony VHS ($300)
1 - touchpad master remote control ($200)
4 - Apollo speaker stands ($150)

wiring, installation, set-up and tuning were professionaly done.

not including a tv, $5,000 should be more than enough - not to mention i went a little overboard on the DVD player - my sony NVP 400 in the bedroom ($350) is just as good as the 7700 (i think).

because i bought everything from the same place (except tv) - i got a lump sum discount of about $800 off retail.

i got my stuff from Brentview Electronics on Mt. Pleasant.

family run, been there forever, carry EVERYTHING (Marantz, HK, Yamaha, Denon etc) , have a service dept. too - great bunch of guys.

good luck.

nimesh

matrix

Hmmm, this is a difficult question to answer without knowing more. For example what do you plan on using the Home Theater for? For example...only with DVDs or with VHS also? What type of DVD do you have and does it have built in decoders.

For example I have a Sony S7700 it has built in decoders for DD and DTS, my plan is to have this directly connected to an amplifier because I never use my VHS any more (on my Home Theater), so I won't have any video switching requirements and the DVD player can play cds so I won't have any audio switching requirements...so the receiver/processor is not needed.

So if you are interested in this route, the amplifier to get is Bryston...IMO one of the best out there and you can't beat their warranty (20 years!) and Canadian made to boot. The 9B (5 channel amp) is a little expensive, another good amplifier to consider is Anthem MCA 5 or 50 (5 is an older model, 50 has improvements in the power supply mostly)...also Canadian made.

As far as speakers go...I always recommend Paradigm...IMO you can't beat them for the $$$ and they are Canadian made also.

Here is where things get interesting, Paradigm also has powered speakers, so you could hook your DVD player straight to them and your done.

If you need audio/video switching you will need a reciever/processor. The ones mentioned in the other posts are good. I also like the Anthem processor - AVM20 that would match up nicely with the MCA 5 or 50.

If you want to do some snooping around, here are the web sites:

www.bryston.ca
www.sonicfrontiers.com
www.paradigm.com

Just my 2 cents.