Home Theater Mega Thread

[CroFlames]

Ugh this market is so overwhelming for a noob. I want to get into it, but I want to make sure I'm getting value. I don't need the absolute best $10,000 system, but I certainly don't want to throw away $500 on a home theater in a box that will ultimately suck.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Ugh this market is so overwhelming for a noob. I want to get into it, but I want to make sure I'm getting value. I don't need the absolute best $10,000 system, but I certainly don't want to throw away $500 on a home theater in a box that will ultimately suck.

Buy used. Most of the technology here doesn't change that frequently.

[Fuzz]

I built my system over the years buying a piece or 2 at a time. Buy stuff that lasts. So say you want to buy speakers first. Get a couple good towers. Obviously you will need something to power them, so ya, you can find lots of used receivers for $100-$200 that will do the job, then when you have some cash to add on, either get a good receiver, or maybe the used one is OK for now, so buy a sub or surround speakers.

What, in my opinion you don't want to do is spend your life buying mediocre crap that you replace every 5 years. You will probably end up spending more over 20 years.

[CroFlames]

I hate buying mediocre crap, but I love finding value. If I'm buying something, I'm always of the school of thought that you should buy the best thing for your needs. The key is needs. Many people get upsold because they think they need something, when in reality, they don't. Therefore they get better value with a lower end product.

Problem is I don't know what my needs are, and I don't trust Bestbuy or Fry's people to lead me.

I want a nice movie watching experience; I likely won't be listening to too much music on the setup. Gaming too, but I'm not an uber competitive multiplayer gamer, so I don't need anything geared towards gaming. If I'm feeling competitive, I go to my PC anyway.

Starting with a receiver and towers is a good start you think?

[Fuzz]

I guess that depends on your budget...

[CroFlames]

Well what makes sense for a budget? The way I look at it is I may as well spend the dough now to buy a really good receiver, then work my way from there. What should I expect to spend on a "really good" receiver?

[accord1999]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

What I'm looking for is a used amp or AVR big on clean power and small on bells & whistles. Budget's around $300. Can be either 5.1 or stereo. I've been watching for old Crown amps, or NAD, Marantz, Onkyo, Denon. What other brands should I be watching for in the classifieds?

With an amp, you'll still need another receiver because I don't think the VSX-521 has the required pre-outs.

As for power, how loud do you listen to audio currently?

[Baron von Kriterium]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Next up is power. I'm running an entry-level Pioneer VSX-521 ("80w x 5") and it drive the RTi10s alright but I've got to turn it up quite a bit, and things start getting a bit fatiguing at high volumes.

What I'm looking for is a used amp or AVR big on clean power and small on bells & whistles. Budget's around $300. Can be either 5.1 or stereo. I've been watching for old Crown amps, or NAD, Marantz, Onkyo, Denon. What other brands should I be watching for in the classifieds?

There are so many routes that you can take, but it seems to me that you should find a used AVR within your budget. Just ensure it has the pre-outs so that you can add external amps in the future if that’s what you want.

I looked at a picture of the rear of the VSX-521 on the WWW. There are not any pre-outs for external amps (other than the sub). Thus, if you want to add external amps, then you need an AVR or an AV Pre-amp with some pre-outs. I suspect, though, that you will have to be patient to find a set-up that fits your budget of $300.00.

The mid- to higher-end models of any of the AVRs will have some/all of the pre-outs that you need. Check Kijiji for whatever manufacturer interests you. These AVRs get cheap quickly on the used market because everyone wants to upgrade to the latest and greatest thing. I think they are all roughly the same and it comes down to which unit offers the features you are looking for.

In my situation with a small room, I only run front mains and a center. I bought a re-furbished Marantz Nr1403 for US$299.00 last year. It is fine for my purposes. It runs the center speaker and I have 2 x Audiosource Amp/2 for the mains duty. I like the Audiosource because they are bridgeable and can be daisy-chained. I don’t use a sub or rears. I run old Reynolds Advance with an 8” driver and a 10” passive radiator. They provide enough low-end for my needs. The whole home theatre set-up is not a big deal to me, so I use a minimal set-up.

The Crown XLS series offers the most power/$$. Good luck finding them used, though. They have turned over to the XXX2 series, so you might be able to find a deal on a new model XXX0. Before our dollar tanked, you could find some deals on ebay. They don’t weigh that much, so shipping often isn’t too bad. Choose a 1500 over a 1000 model.

The amps I use in my stereo rig are Parasound HCA 1000s. I prefer Parasound to most of what is out there. I highly recommend Parasound because the HCA 1000s and higher were designed by John Curl and he emphasizes a bias towards a Class A amp. Does that make Parasound better? No, but it is what I prefer. There is a multi-channel Parasound on Kijiji right now.

Some other 90s-era amps to consider are: ADCOM, Audiosource and B&K Components. If you find a Soundcraftsmen in your search, tell me, because you have found the Holy Grail. The Audiosource at C$150.00 are numerous on ebay. The Amp/2 is 80W (200W as mono). That is more than enough power.

[Fuzz]

I think if you start at adequate, that is powering 5 speakers, have enough inputs, good quality but not as many features, you start at around $400, though I haven't looked in detail. "Really good" is, well, the sky's the limit but I'd say $1000 would get you to very good. Something I would absolutely be happy with, anyway.

For tower speakers I think you start around $500, but $1000 would be a better price range to look at.

Honestly I haven't spent much time looking in the past few years, as I have everything I need, but that's about what I would roughly guess. Perhaps someone else can offer more.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Baron von Kriterium

There are so many routes that you can take... That is more than enough power.

Post of the year.

Thank you for your insight.

[Thor]

My limits have always been based on how much my neighbors can tolerate

[stang]

Has anyone put a home theatre in an RV? Would like to update our A/V but don't want to break the bank

[keratosis]

I have an old technics amp and speaker set I'd be willing to part with.

[Baron von Kriterium]

Originally Posted by keratosis

I have an old technics amp and speaker set I'd be willing to part with.

What is the model# of the amp?

[keratosis]

I'll check it out when I get home.

[Baron von Kriterium]

For someone's consideration:

Had this little gem been available last year, I would have snapped it up:
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-electronics/calgary/integra-pre-amp-dhc-40-2-surround-processor/1135144413?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

It's an Integra AV Preamp/Surround Processor and there is a decent write-up here:
http://www.soundandvision.com/content/integra-dhc-402-surround-processor#l8fyx6rkTzOq5jsO.97


The con is it is a preamp only, which means you need some amps. Buy a couple of amps of your choosing for the mains and sub and chip amps for everything else and I think you will be way further ahead than buying an AVR.


Alternatively, buy the aforementioned Parasound available here:
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-electronics/calgary/parasound-hca-806a-6-5-4-multi-channel-amplifier/1135344731?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
and connect it to the Integra processor and you should be set with an outlay of $700.00-$800.00.

[Fuzz]

That's a pretty sweet find. Curious about the value of buying that kind of pre-amp new though? I got my Yamaha about the same time, it does almost everything the Integra does, except includes an amp and cost half as much.

[accord1999]

The pre-amp market is targeted at the high-end market; if it's too cheap potential customers probably won't want it while value buyers will go for conventional AV receivers.

[Baron von Kriterium]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

That's a pretty sweet find. Curious about the value of buying that kind of pre-amp new though? I got my Yamaha about the same time, it does almost everything the Integra does, except includes an amp and cost half as much.

The preamp/processor appeals to those people who prefer separates to an all-in-one solution. Much like an amp/preamp/tuner are preferable by some to a stereo receiver. "Value" isn't really a factor to them.

The AVRs tend to be at the forefront of the features technology parade and at a substantially lower price than the pre/pros. However, they suffer in the power stage in my opinion. Thus, people who want emphasis on power will likely choose the pre/pro external amp route.

I think you will get better quality/reliability with the pre/pro, but it is probably only a slight improvement and likely not worth the price. Then again, flux capacitors and DACs blessed by the tears of a virgin Elf don't come cheap these days.

So, which is a better value really depends on the environment that they are used in and the speakers attached to them. Having a prepro/power amp in an environment that is small enough to be comfortably covered off by an AVR is probably a waste of money just as it is using an AVR that's trying to power difficult loads loudly in a large room. It really depends on the application.

I will drift into religious audiophileland momentarily, but I must confess I do like the "idea" of having separate units dedicated to their individual functions, though. In my first year in the Army, I took out a loan in order to buy some Carver components. Insane, I know.

[Fuzz]

Oh, I like the idea too, I just don't understand the pricing...Probably a bit of a marketing failure on the part of the audio industry by not building a lower end market for this.