buckee1

Hello All,

In October I'll be upgrading my entire HT starting with the 61" Samsung DLP. I Know that I also want one or two of those SVS Subs but am at a loss for the receiver, cables and DVD player. I prefer JBL speakers but have'nt a clue as to which are the best bang for the buck. I'll have roughly 15K to spend on everything and would really like your opinions on what I should/should not be picking up for this set up. All bits of info are really, really appreciated.

Cheers

wordtoyamotha

FWIW I purchased my speakers at www.av123.com and couldn't be more happy with them. To be totally honest, there are LOTS of good speakers out there. Names you've heard of, names you haven't heard of, reference quality, pro-series, etc. I purchased mine on a recommendation from this forum and never looked back.

I have always been partial to Yamaha receivers but Denon and Onkyo seem to have good reps. Just wake sure the receiver has enough power to match the speakers and a surround setup to match the number of speakers (ex. 6.1).

I hope that helps!

buckee1

Thanks for the preferences on recievers. I'll definately look into Yamaha, Denon & Onkyo. All good names and excellent track records. Out of curiosity, which speakers did you pick that were referred to you here?

Brian Shannon

With that kind of budget and time frame you have many, many choices.

I recommend you go to as many local stores in your area as you can and listen to each and every speaker that you think might interest you.

Some brands to consider, B&W, Paradigm, Definitive Technology, NHT, Boston Acoustics, Canton and PSB.

Take your time and good luck!

wordtoyamotha

No problem with the recommendations. I purchased Onix Rockets. Models RS550 and RS200. Here they are http://www.av123.com/products_catego...eakers&brand=3

I love 'em!

buckee1

Thanks for the advice Brian! Dill Do! Wordtoyomotha, those speakers look sweet!

cajun_junky

With that kind of budget I would seriously look at Denon receivers. I also like the Paradigm Speakers very much. Just before my wife decided to go back to school, I had a Denon receiver and Paradigm speaker setup picked out. I had done alot of research and had roughly $3000 to spend. For that money I could find nothing that sounded ANY better to me. But, like I said that was before my wife decided to finish her degree. I ended up with the Onkyo HTS760 which has really been a great setup and fell within my revised budget.

You should also check out Home Theater Spot . I got alot of great information there also.

Good luck!!

buckee1

Thanks Cajun_Junky for the info. Does anyone happen to know if there are any receivers that can support two DVD players? I have a JVC Code Free player and will be getting another R1 player to play solely R1 discs. All the decks i have seen seem to only have one set of ports for only one player. Any ideas?

cseyer

Depends what you mean when you say "ports" most will support multiple audio connections and many you can re-label the inputs so even if it comes labeled MD you could rename it to DVD2 or something. Most only have two component video inputs so your limit will be w/ video connections. If you dont plan on running your video through the receiver then shouldnt have any problems with 2 DVD players. I have two one is a JVC all region I run into the optical input, the other is a SONY DVD/SACD that I run into the analog 5.1 inputs and a digital coax input.

B.A.

w/ that budget:

Speakers:
Rocket 750 Ultra HT

Check out the other Rocket HT Speaker Packages

Also check out:

Ascend

Axiom



In addition to SVS subs, take a look at Hsu and the Rocket UFW-10. SVS and HSU have a wide range of subs depending on your price. The UFW-10 is supposed to be a great sub for the money.

You can get a great set of separates (950pre-pro/7100 7-channel amp) from Outlaw or from many other reputable brands for more $$$. Or you could just get a nice home theater receiver from HK, Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, Sony ES, Marantz, Pioneer Elite, etc....

Good luck and have fun spending your $$$. I am envious of your budget, but w/ a baby on the way will have to bide my time and just dream for a while.

DVD Josh

Get a receiver with component switching. These will have more than one set of RGB inputs. Most higher end receivers will have this.

buckee1

DVD Josh, B.A. & Cseyer thanks for the advice! You guys really know your stuff! Please keep the info coming!

DVD Josh

As for speakers, you mentioned JBL. I've always found JBLs to be very boomy. Rather than mention brands, I'm just going to suggest you find nice bookshelves that do accurate mids and mellow highs. Then get a tight sounding sub (SVS, HSU) to bottom you out. Also, in your price range, I'd consider multiple fronts. Some receivers have A/B speaker outs and some will let you play them in concert. On mine, I accidently hit the wrong button and was surprised with how full they sounded. Worked well on music, but may be too aggressive for movies. Check it out!

hoyalawya

If you are going to get a DLP rear projection, by all means get a DVI DVD player. To my friend's set, it makes a significant difference over his Panny RP-82 (the one with the Faroujda chip) on his HLN 50" set. At about $250, the Bravo D2 from www.vinc.com seems to be the best DVI DVD player for the money right now. (The new Samsung 841 seems to have a lesser PQ based on user reviews at avsforum.) Thus, forget about getting a receiver with HD component switching and reserve some money for a DVI switcher instead.

Also, per your DLP set, the Samsung HLP modesl are coming out and Samsung is phasing out the HLN models. I have not seen the new HLPs yet but, on paper, they suppose to offer significant improvement over the HLNs.

Meatpants

This may be under-budget for the OP, but someone mentioned the Onkyo HTS760 a few posts up - it was offered for $219 at ecost.com this week. That doesn't include the $140+ shipping charge it quoted me, but still significantly cheaper than the $499 it's listed as in most stores.

http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecsplash/...sp?dpno=301920

EDITED: This is an Onkyo refurbished package, but if you look around this forum and others, refurbished Onkyo packages from authorized dealers like ecost.com have very good reps. They come with a 1 year warranty from Onkyo IIRC.

cajun_junky

As a followup, here is the receiver I listened to several times and liked very much Denon 3805 . Its big brother is THX Ultra2 certified Denon 5803 . Be sure to check out the large pictures on that website as well as the spec's. Match either of these receivers with a top of the line set of speakers and SVS sub and your house will rock. I mention the Denon line of receivers because I personally listened to them several times and from my research they seem to have most (if not all) of the features necessary for a state-of-the-art home theater. From countless reviews I have read, their quality is second to none. This is not to say there are not other receivers in the same league. Marantz is another top notch brand as is the Pioneer Elite.

One thing to keep in mind when you are shopping is that not all wattages are the same. Check around and you will see that LOTS of people will say this. A receiver with less wattage can actually sound better and cleaner than a receiver with alot more wattage. It boils down to quality.

Another thing to consider with all that expensive equipment is a line conditioner+surge suppressor. Monster and Panamax both make quality products for this purpose. Don't buy a cheap surge suppressor.

Don't forget to budget in some nice furniture for the setup. Things such as audio/video rack, etc.

Back to work, I go.....until I think of something else.

Good luck

lccalvert_1999

Also check out RBH Speakers (www.rbhsound.com). Check out the RBH AC Series System II. There is a web site called Audioholics (www.audioholics.com) - they have recommended systems for different price points.

These guys are true audiophiles and use RBH as their reference systems. The AC Series System II is really cool looking too.

buckee1

To everyone who has chipped in thus far THANK YOU VERY MUCH! There is so much to consider and a wealth of choices from which to make these big deciscions. I've not heard about the new line of DLP that Samsung will be phasing in though. Does anyone know what the differences between the new line and the current line are proported to be?

buckee1

I was looking at this receiver on yesterday. It fits the bill and is on my list! Thanks for the additional headz up. It's "big brother" is a bit too big for my wallet though.

cajun_junky

I know what you mean of the "big brother".....it is a little high. The only real thing I liked about it was the THX Ultra 2 certification but IMO I don't think it is worth that much extra $$$.