new home theater

[tater]

OK so 2007 is drawing to a close and im looking to start doing my homework and saving for my 2008 purchase (i buy myself something new and nice every year..2006 laptop, 2007 new desktop) basicly i figure a budget of $500 - $2000 on a receiver will do good for what i want. This is a 10-20 year investment for me to be honest. But i need some help choosing a receiver and whatnot. i currently have

2 klipsch kg.5 bookshelf speakers (rms 50w peak 200),
http://www.klipsch.com/products/disc...specifications

and a

klipsch kv-3 center(75w rms, 375w peak)
http://www.klipsch.com/products/disc...ails/kv-3.aspx

Id prefer a 5.1 channel receiver but i can live with a 7.1 channel, i will be purchasing 2 floor standing speakers, and a sub which will make it so i have 5.1 setup. (will add the other 2 channels later when i get to that). but anyways all the speakers will be klipsch. i have a liking for yamaha receivers but im open to suggestions (dont waste my time suggesting low end/quality stuff). but this system will be used for a home theater setup hooked to my computer via spdif/optical. (will invest heavily into a sound card if i need too) but im sure someone is gonna call me crazy for this. in the end i hope to not spend more than $5000 on receiver, 4 speakers and a sub. (maybe i should of just went with a logitech z-5500 . o well this sounds better). but anyways thanks in advance

[Wile E]

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...TXN905B&tp=179
My recommendation for a receiver in the $2000 range.

It's 7.1, but it allows bridging of rear channels for use in upping power output to the mains, or you can reassign the rears to be used to Bi-amp a good set of mains.

But, you might be better off going for a slightly cheaper receiver, and spending the extra money on better speakers. If that's the case, I suggest this: http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...TXS805B&tp=179

You lose some features, like the networking abilities, and 10W/ch, but that would give you an extra $1000 to spend on speakers, which, honestly, is where you want to spend the money.

[Grings]

I havent a clue about u.s pricing, so wont make any suggestions on what model to go for, though yamaha and onkyo are a safe bet (though many other manufacturers are good too, i just havent seen any particular bad models from either)
As for a soundcard, i'd avoid any x-fi's as cards based on c-media chips have proper dolby d/dts real time encoding, which is far better if youre connecting to a receiver by optical/coax spdif (x-fi's only do dts/dd pass-through for dvd's etc, you have to use a 6 channel (analog) wire set to get surround in music/games etc)

[tater]

well sound card is later on after i get a receiver i really only need a card that has just a spdif/optical port on it. i just dont want to pull too much performance away from my computer to try and run audio...and i hear it sounds better..

I am unsure of onkyo. im being influenced by my g-pa he buys yamaha receivers and klipsch speakers... im not trying to spend as much money as possible either. Id prefer to just get yamaha's top rx-v3800. its my top pick but alittle much

[Wile E]

this is the setup I would get for that price range. Notice I picked a pair of mains that are meant to be Bi-amped, to make use of the Onkyo's ability to reassign the rear outputs for use in the mains.

Receiver: http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...TXS805B&tp=179

Mains: http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...15E&c=4&tp=185

Center: http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...LSICNTR&tp=189

Surround: http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...07LSIFX&tp=190

Sub: http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...0RB&c=4&tp=187

And about Onkyo receivers. While Yamaha is very good, They aren't in the same league as Onkyo. Onkyo is in the same league as Denon (and the like) in terms of sound and build quality.

[tater]

i dont need a center. i have a plenty good one right now.
im not particularly looking for speakers right now. thats 2009-2010 year purchases lol

edit..

also those seem really overpriced for there performance

[ktr]

I have onkyo tx-sr605, which is a great receiver for a good cost. And it has the latest features which should last you at least 10 years.

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by tater

i dont need a center. i have a plenty good one right now.
im not particularly looking for speakers right now. thats 2009-2010 year purchases lol

Ahh, I must have misread your OP. Then I would suggest the first Onkyo receiver I linked.

And you can't go wrong with Klipsch speakers, but high end Polks are amazing. They only fall behind Klipsch's top of the line models. They equal Klipsch in this price range.

EDIT: You can't judge a speakers performance solely on the spec sheet.

[tater]

Originally Posted by ktr

I have onkyo tx-sr605, which is a great receiver for a good cost. And it has the latest features which should last you at least 10 years.

im moving up from a 27 year old receiver. which to be honest isnt so bad. the klipsch speakers i have are actually 10-15 yrs old already. the kg.5's were in there factory sealed box up until 2 months ago.. sequential serial numbers ...worth a pretty penny but i broke the seal and hooked em up

*edit*
wile. there sensitivity and wattage are rather low compared to klipsch speakers in price range

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by tater

im moving up from a 27 year old receiver. which to be honest isnt so bad. the klipsch speakers i have are actually 10-15 yrs old already. the kg.5's were in there factory sealed box up until 2 months ago.. sequential serial numbers ...worth a pretty penny but i broke the seal and hooked em up

You are going to have a hard time finding speakers that match the timbre of those older Klipsches. I don't suggest mixing and matching like that. Things won't sound quite right in most cases.


EDIT: I've heard both the Polks, and some similarly priced Klipsches in person. The Polks are a perfect quality match in this range. And they're rated conservatively. that's why I said not to judge by the spec sheet.

[tater]

once i get some floor standing ill probably stop using my bookshelf's and buy some surrounds... then new center of the same class as the floor standing..

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by Wile E

EDIT: I've heard both the Polks, and some similarly priced Klipsches in person. The Polks are a perfect quality match in this range. And they're rated conservatively. that's why I said not to judge by the spec sheet.

Caught me in an edit. lol.

[tater]

Originally Posted by Wile E

Caught me in an edit. lol.

idk im just stuck on klipsch speakers, yamaha receiver

i really like these speakers for the price..
http://www.klipsch.com/products/deta...er-system.aspx

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by tater

idk im just stuck on klipsch speakers, yamaha receiver

i really like these speakers for the price..
http://www.klipsch.com/products/deta...er-system.aspx

Like I said, can't go wrong with Klipsch, I was just defending the Polks, cause they're good as well.

But I'm sticking by my Onkyo recommendation. It's a better receiver, in both sound quality, and build quality. It seriously pwns Yamaha, which says a lot, because Yamaha is a good brand. If not Onkyo, then I say Denon, in this price range. Yamaha is just out-gunned in this class of receivers.

[tater]

i gotta find a place to listen to both of these receivers in an even comparison....i think i have strongly decided on the speakers ill use

http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/f-3.aspx
http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/b-3.aspx
http://www.klipsch.com/products/deta...gy-sub-12.aspx
http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/s-3.aspx
http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/c-3.aspx

Im pretty confident when i say i can get all those for less than $2000 msrp.. i got a friend who is a salesman at HHGREGG who carries all those speakers..and he can cut me a deal

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by tater

i gotta find a place to listen to both of these receivers in an even comparison....i think i have strongly decided on the speakers ill use

http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/f-3.aspx
http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/b-3.aspx
http://www.klipsch.com/products/deta...gy-sub-12.aspx
http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/s-3.aspx
http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/c-3.aspx

Im pretty confident when i say i can get all those for less than $2000 msrp.. i got a friend who is a salesman at HHGREGG who carries all those speakers..and he can cut me a deal

Very good on the speakers, but you may want to consider a more powerful sub (or more than one). You figure it has to compensate for the lack of bass on at least 3 channels (surround and center).

[tater]

im not looking for tons of bass...if i wanted bass id buy jbl to be honest. (and i was right hhgregg has all the klipsch for $1480 a very reasonable price.. I may buy my speaker first ..although i only have a 2 channel receiver)....

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by tater

im not looking for tons of bass...if i wanted bass id buy jbl to be honest. (and i was right hhgregg has all the klipsch for $1480 a very reasonable price.. I may buy my speaker first ..although i only have a 2 channel receiver)....

Hey, you can still use those mains. lol. If you buy the speakers first, something new may come out on the receiver front anyway, so you can't really go wrong with doing it either way.

As for the bass, I agree on the music front, but the movie aspect will suffer. Plus, you can always turn down a higher powered sub, but you can't turn the lower powered one up past it's specs.

[tater]

well its gonna take me this whole year to get the receiver, then across 2009, and 2010 i hope to finish off by buying the speakers as soon as i get enough for each one. Im saying $3000 for the whole thing across 3 years $1000/yr is very manageable for me. i wonder if i can get a long term loan for $3000 payable across 2-3 yrs

*edit*...what do u think about this sound card?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829132001

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by tater

well its gonna take me this whole year to get the receiver, then across 2009, and 2010 i hope to finish off by buying the speakers as soon as i get enough for each one. Im saying $3000 for the whole thing across 3 years $1000/yr is very manageable for me. i wonder if i can get a long term loan for $3000 payable across 2-3 yrs

*edit*...what do u think about this sound card?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829132001

Very good in the sound quality department.

Also look into the Auzentech X-Meridian.

[tater]

nice.. i figure if im gonna spend what im gonna spend on this thing integrated audio just isnt gonna cut it...gotta get a monster spdif cable, 12ga monster speaker wire, and some bannana plugs...its scary how much just the cables are gonna cost

[ktr]

the E-MU are fantastic too...used in professional audio recordings.

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by tater

nice.. i figure if im gonna spend what im gonna spend on this thing integrated audio just isnt gonna cut it...gotta get a monster spdif cable, 12ga monster speaker wire, and some bannana plugs...its scary how much just the cables are gonna cost

Don't bother with the Monster spdif cable. Any shielded cable will do. The monster cable is a whole lot of money for no real benefit.

Oh. and I agree with KTR. Forgot about the E-Mu cards. Very high quality as well.

[tater]

cool. well i have a long way to go to get to assembling my home theater. i gotta buy 2 new hdd's, and a new video card. then i can start saving for this venture..

[AsRock]

Originally Posted by Wile E

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...TXN905B&tp=179
My recommendation for a receiver in the $2000 range.

It's 7.1, but it allows bridging of rear channels for use in upping power output to the mains, or you can reassign the rears to be used to Bi-amp a good set of mains.

But, you might be better off going for a slightly cheaper receiver, and spending the extra money on better speakers. If that's the case, I suggest this: http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...TXS805B&tp=179

You lose some features, like the networking abilities, and 10W/ch, but that would give you an extra $1000 to spend on speakers, which, honestly, is where you want to spend the money.

Even though how much i like ONKYO i cannot agree with you reconmending it as everyones ears are differant all so music taste might come in play as well.

Best way is to get out and do some heavy shop \ Hi Fi visiting.