Need advice for how to spend $1k for friend's HT

[secretvampire]

So I have a friend who is looking to put some cash into a modest HT setup. He'll be buying a new TV and has budgeted a good chunk of change for that, but only wants to spend about $1k on the receiver, the two front speakers, and a center channel. He already has a somewhat decent sub.

 

He had initially told me he'd like to spend $300 on the receiver and the rest on speakers. Am I mistaken, or would he not be better off putting a bit more ($500?) toward the receiver, and the rest on speakers? I could probably find him a few good candidates for the receiver in that range, but what is everybody's opinion on that and on modestly priced, bang-for-the-buck speakers? I can tell you now with his budget and interests, lossless audio formats and that kind of voodoo aren't going to be in his requirements.

[Baiter]

In that price range you're going to be stuck w/ a htib setup. Energy used to have a really good one called the take 2, I believe they still make a version of it, but not sure on pricing anymore.

 

I'd go with roughly a $300/$700 split with speakers getting the lion share. If he's getting a 5.1 system, you're only talking about a little over $100 per speaker.

[Josh]

Give us some more info about the room in which he's installing. Is he thinking small satellites and a sub, or large mains? You mentioned he wants to spend on the two fronts and center - does that mean he already has speaks he'd like to use as surrounds? If so, what kind?

[exile]

2 fronts and a center plus a receiver is doable. I'd focus on the speakers as they make the biggest difference.

 

Ascend Acoustics makes a good set of speakers. The 340 SE + center should run about $800. These should last him a long time. That shorts him a bit on the receiver but if he is willing to pony up another $100-$200 then he could consider something along the lines of a Pioneer 1016.

 

Speakers are the area I'd less likely scrimp on. The only problem is as you move up in speakers, they tend to put a bigger load on the amp thus cheaper receivers tend to crap out quicker because they cut the most corners on the amp section.

[JoeyN]

Ascend Acoustics makes a good set of speakers. The 340 SE + center should run about $800. These should last him a long time.

That's what I have, and I also have their surrounds as well. I have them paired with a Panasonic XR57 receiver which i got for $300 or so. I plan on upgrading once the new audio formats are standard soon, but its worked perfectly so far and I use it a ton

[General Zot]

What exile said. Spend 2/3 to 4/5 of his money on getting the best speakers you afford, then just get whatever decent receiver you can for what is left. Electronics get replaced all the time, speakers tend to last a lot longer (and are much more important to the sound IMHO.)

 

If you need a specific setup, AV123 always has a great return in the value market, this is their latest lineup:

 

http://www.av123.com/products_category_brand.php?section=speakers&brand=55

 

Couple that 5.1 system (for $750) with a used Denon 18xx, 28xx, or something similar and you are off to the races my friend.

[secretvampire]

Okay, so my friend and I have been emailing back and forth all day, I'll be seeing him this evening. He actually just moved into a townhouse that's in a complex, I've seen the room he's using. It's rectangular, carpeted, has normal ceilings and is open on one side (left, if you are facing the TV). It's longer along the wall where the TV and sofa would be.

 

The unit actually has in-ceiling surround speakers above the sofa on either side. I realize this is not the best solution, but he'd like to use those if possible for now and spend the money on the fronts/center and receiver. Yes, again, this is not the decision I would make, but it's not me.

 

He already has a 15" Velodyne sub which should be PLENTY for the space, so honestly I am thinking of telling him to just go with satellite style speakers since he doesn't need the extra size up front with that sub. Otherwise, that's what I know and thanks for the comments so far. Feel free to elaborate with this new information.

[GreenMonkey]

Yes, spend the money on the speakers if at all possible.

 

Does he need fancy video switching? You can get a pretty good receiver for pretty cheap. I got a refurbed 5.1 Onkyo receiver I use for my PC for ~$29 from shoponkyo.com on a freak fatwallet deal. It's the receiver that powers their HTiB.

 

Not saying you should go that cheap by all means, just figured I'd mention it I'm kind of a fan of Onkyo for their bang/buck ratio.

 

Here's a good receiver for the $300 range with HDMI switching:

 

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-6j1LcnB5fnu/cgi-bin/prodview.asp?i=580TXS604B&pfxid=k3787

 

$369 for the Onkyo TX-SR604. (I own a TX-SR601).

 

You should be able to scrape at least a $20 coupon as well.

 

Oops - OOS at crutchfield. Prob find a good deal on it other places too.

[Baiter]

The unit actually has in-ceiling surround speakers above the sofa on either side. I realize this is not the best solution, but he'd like to use those if possible for now and spend the money on the fronts/center and receiver.

In wall speakers can be relatively inexpensive. I'd shorten your list of candidates to companies that sold in-wall speakers to match the front and center you're getting, and replace whatever's in the ceiling now. Surround sound loses so much of it's effectiveness when the surrounds don't match the fronts IMO.

[exile]

In Walls + good speakers traditionally will put a heavy load on a cheaper amp. I'd strongly consider a better receiver. The Onkyo's are horrifically underpowered. The 804 was only listed at <50 WPC when it's rated at 110.

 

I wouldn't be so focused on making sure the rears and fronts match. I don't think it loses that much effectiveness unless your center and mains were mismatching.

[GreenMonkey]

exile, dude, you are all about those expensive receivers. All receivers are underpowered and exaggerate their numbers. That's how the audio world works (minus perhaps Denon).

 

This is a sub-$1k home theater setup. There is no need for Denon or a Marantz or something. The money is much better spent on speakers.

 

You might also consider Panasonic's digital receivers which are well-regarded value performers on AVSforum.

 

$200 + shipping from J&R for the XR55S:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-SA-XR55S-Theater-Receiver-Silver/dp/B0009E1YPW/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-5420239-8107238?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1175606782&sr=8-1

 

$302 shipped for the XR57S with HDMI (I considered a sidegrade to this once at $250):

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-SA-XR57S-Digital-Theater-Receiver/dp/B000FYZQSW/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-5420239-8107238?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1175606782&sr=8-2

[exile]

exile, dude, you are all about those expensive receivers

The Pioneer I'm suggesting is REALLY EXPENSIVE at $400 ;)

I also wouldn't consider $1k to be expensive considering there is some HT equipment that costs more than my car. It's all relative.

 

The Panasonic is good too. Just ask Joey

 

My only knock on the Panasonic is the lack of preouts. This may not be an issue for the OP's friend. You can buy a cheaper 5 channel external amp for $450 from Av123(Emotiva) that would mate well with a inexpensive switching reciever. The only problem is that route is more than the OP's friends budget.

[secretvampire]

My only knock on the Panasonic is the lack of preouts. This may not be an issue for the OP's friend. You can buy a cheaper 5 channel external amp for $450 from Av123(Emotiva) that would mate well with a inexpensive switching reciever. The only problem is that route is more than the OP's friends budget.

Yes, that would be overkill for him, he doesn't need something that fancy at this point. If he did in the future, I don't think he'd have a problem just replacing the receiver at that point. I have told him, though, that anything he gets should have HDMI since he'll be getting a new TV and such anyway (and I'm betting I'll talk him into HD-DVD or Blu-Ray at some point in the future as well).

 

That Panasonic looks like a great option, I think I'm going to suggest it to him (along with a few other options). Then I'll turn him loose on the speaker options proposed here and see what he thinks. I'm taking an old receiver over to his place Friday night to see what the surrounds sound like, we haven't decided how that is going to work out yet.

 

Then the TV shopping begins, though I've been following the latest and greatest a lot more on that front through Dan's thread....

[secretvampire]

Small update. He used an old receiver of mine to test out the built-in speakers for surround and he's fine with using them for now. His girlfriend just moved in with him and is willing to pay for the $300 receiver, so now he'll have the full $1k to spend on fronts and a center which is very nice....with the understanding that he should probably fill out the surrounds with the same speaker line when he gets the chance.

 

On a more selfish note, please check out the Onkyo 2007 thread for a few questions I have regarding the move into the world of separates!