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Suggestions for a home theatre receiver, please - Page 3

post #31 of 41
12/30/09 at 11:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by eg1 View Post
What you guys don't understand is that I am coming out of the stone-age with respect to TV audio -- anything is going to sound better than what I have been using! To make major improvement I don't need audiophile quality stuff, just "averageness". Stop thinking 4 Michelin stars and start thinking Ruth's Chris!
Just buy some MMGs at $550 direct from Magnepan and be done with it. Good sound, good price, and good build quality.
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post #32 of 41
12/30/09 at 4:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GQgeek View Post
Posting on SF, for pretty much any topic, always has the potential to be a humbling experience. ;p

Anyway, the recommended practice is to spend multiples on your speakers what you do on electronics. So based on your 1k receiver, your speaker budget is ~4-5k amirite?

Seriously though, you could buy used speakers for a fraction of their cost new and get tons of bang for your buck. Since it sounds like you might have placement issues, avoid rear ported designs. And you're in ontario. There's probably tons of used paradigm available (stick with the reference series or above). You could probably buy a full used paradigm reference setup for under 2k, excluding the subwoofer, and it will likely be in mint condition because audio people treasure their gear more than their SOs. Definitely put your money into the LFC speakers though. The rears don't matter as much, however if you ever get in to multichannel music, it's nice to have rears that mesh with the rest of the system.

You should hear the surround mix for Star Trek on a decent system. It's awe inspiring. I think a lot of people don't get how much good audio adds to the experience until they hear an awesome system. Do yourself a favor and go to a hifi shop with properly setup listening rooms. Listen to their best products and you'll see what I mean. Then listen to the same music on systems in your price range.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Artisan Fan View Post
Just buy some MMGs at $550 direct from Magnepan and be done with it. Good sound, good price, and good build quality.

Hmmm -- lots to think about, thanks. I am going to start with the video set-up and then worry about the sound part later.
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post #33 of 41
12/30/09 at 4:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by eg1 View Post
Frankly, the room in which I am going to put this HDTV and surround system is a bit of a disaster. It is a garage converted into a living room (by the people from whom I bought the house) with an odd, angular layout and a lot of windows/french doors. Nothing is going to make this installation even approach audiophile acceptability. I will probably use some mid-end collection of surround speakers because they will be "good enough".

I wouldn't give up on the room so easily yet. Try out some good, wide-dispersion speakers in your room, and see what you think. Most good audio dealers will let you take things home on the weekend to try out.

The best sound I've ever heard was in a room that had large areas of glass on two sides, but the speakers were doing pretty good stuff to mitigate that:



Maybe the Poangs are doing good things, too.

--Andre
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post #34 of 41
12/30/09 at 4:27pm
Going back to OP, doesn't NAD have a pretty good A/V receiver with DVD included?
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post #35 of 41
12/30/09 at 4:57pm
Why are all you guys advising the OP what you want instead of what he wants? **cough, GQgeek** He doesn't need monoblocks or a pimped out stereo pair, he wants to run all his video sources through one cable. Any pre pro is going to be much more expensive for similar video processing capabilities than a receiver.

OP, if you're upgrading the whole system and it's mostly for movie/TV watching, I would invest just enough to run HDMI through your receiver, 60-70% of what's left on your display, get some cheap satellites, and a huge subwoofer.
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post #36 of 41
12/30/09 at 5:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nyf View Post
Why are all you guys advising the OP what you want instead of what he wants? **cough, GQgeek** He doesn't need monoblocks or a pimped out stereo pair, he wants to run all his video sources through one cable. Any pre pro is going to be much more expensive for similar video processing capabilities than a receiver. OP, if you're upgrading the whole system and it's mostly for movie/TV watching, I would invest just enough to run HDMI through your receiver, 60-70% of what's left on your display, get some cheap satellites, and a huge subwoofer.
Nobody is suggesting he gets monoblocks. We were just OT. I said for him to decide no what his total budget was before he goes and allocates 1000 bucks to a receiver and a bunch of really horrible speakers. The specific receivers i did recommend all cost under 1k. And when i suggested that he spend 5k on speakers, it was tongue in cheek, but I was also making the point that he should spend more of whatever his total budget is on speakers than a receiver. That said, I certainly oppose the idea of getting cheap satellites and a big crappy subwoofer. He should definitely go to a proper hifi store and listen to some good speakers in a proper listening environment. He doesn't have to spend thousands, but it will still establish a frame of reference. And if he spend ANY amount of time listening to music or movies, he'd be doing himself a huge service. There are a lot of really good speakers for very reasonable amounts of money, and if he is going to upgrade everything, he should definitely listen to some of them instead of picking at random or just taking our word on it.
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post #37 of 41
12/30/09 at 7:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by A Y View Post
Maybe the Poangs are doing good things, too.

Mine don't do much for the sound but they are damn comfy.
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post #38 of 41
12/30/09 at 7:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Concordia View Post
Going back to OP, doesn't NAD have a pretty good A/V receiver with DVD included?

I think they do. If you want some more design-y, there's Arcam, too.

--Andre
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post #39 of 41
12/31/09 at 5:20pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Artisan Fan View Post
Just buy some MMGs at $550 direct from Magnepan and be done with it. Good sound, good price, and good build quality.

I am going to give this suggestion serious consideration -- will an HT receiver like the Onkyo TX-SR707 have enough punch to drive them properly?

I will mostly be watching tv through this, and mostly sports at that.
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post #40 of 41
12/31/09 at 7:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by eg1 View Post
I am going to give this suggestion serious consideration -- will an HT receiver like the Onkyo TX-SR707 have enough punch to drive them properly?

I will mostly be watching tv through this, and mostly sports at that.

I believe so-anything 60 watts and up should do the trick. My brother uses 1.6s for his TV room and they work great. MMGs on TV and music sound very good.
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post #41 of 41
12/31/09 at 10:47pm
EG, I highly suggest you forget about a TV and get one of these instead:



Those 50" TVs are so tiny.
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