TV & Audio Advice

[CommercialDoc]

Our new house is almost finished and I am picking out a 5.1 system and TV for our great room.

It has to be something somewhat discrete looking to keep my wife happy. Here is what I am thinking. Any advice is appreciated.

TV - Panasonic Pro TH-58PF11UK - 58" 1080P - no speakers for slim look
Receiver - Yamaha RX-V3900
LCR Speakers - Sunfire CRS-3s
Rears - Elan Elios 95c (I promised to use in ceiling speakers)
Subwoofer - Sunfire TS-EQ12

I hope to build a real theatre in the basement with a projector someday - but the great room is on the first floor and has to work well with the rest of the house.

This stuff is a bit expensive and I am open to lower priced suggestions.

 

[ChicagoRon]

As always, AV is very subjective, and budget ALWAYS matters, so I'm going to assume you have watched/listened to all the components you've mentioned and are happy with them.

So... here are some general thoughts:

1080P is overrated. ONLY blu-ray even comes in 1080P and most people who have watched blu-ray on the same tv in 1080P vs. 1080I can't tell the difference. I can point you to a few sources that back that up. That said, you can get a GREAT deal on 1080i tv's right now, which would free up some cash to upgrade the "receiver".

If you can afford it, I'd get separates on the sound system.
1> Do you really need an FM tuner?
2> You are looking at a powered sub. Why buy power twice? If you stick w/ the receiver, consider a passive sub.

On the speakers, are you married to the on-wall design? If so, that narrows your selection a lot. But at that price range, I feel like there are some better values out there (especially if you want to listen to music as much as theater). I am especially fond of canadian speakers for value (you could reduce price here if you find some paradigm or PSB that you like), but there are also some smallerTheils in that range that will reproduce sound beautifully....

 

[A Y]

I disagree somewhat with ChicagoRon about 1080p, but that question is moot as 1080p sets are pretty cheap these days.

Is there a particular reason you're getting an 11th-generation Panasonic? The 12th gens are out, cheap, and perform very well. See for example this review.

Powered sub is smart as most receivers don't power subs and receivers are already power-challenged. The particular sub you're looking at is that small because its amp and driver were specifically designed for each other. Any passive sub with comparable specs will be much larger.

Receivers are also where all the new features are showing up first these days. The Yamaha is OK, but if you have the time, I'd look at Denon and Onkyo as well.

Speakers will make the biggest difference in a system, and are also the most sensitive to personal preference. If you like the way your speakers sound, and you have a good local dealer support, then you're set. That said, the two most important speakers in HT are the center channel and sub --- don't be afraid of allocating more money to those two speakers.

The thing I'd worry about most in your system is the sound match between the surrounds and your fronts since they're from different brands, and use different driver technologies.

--Andre

 

[CommercialDoc]

Originally Posted by ChicagoRon

On the speakers, are you married to the on-wall design? If so, that narrows your selection a lot. But at that price range, I feel like there are some better values out there (especially if you want to listen to music as much as theater). I am especially fond of canadian speakers for value (you could reduce price here if you find some paradigm or PSB that you like), but there are also some smallerTheils in that range that will reproduce sound beautifully....

I am married to the on-wall design. I will take a look at some of these other brands.

Originally Posted by A Y

I disagree somewhat with ChicagoRon about 1080p, but that question is moot as 1080p sets are pretty cheap these days.

Is there a particular reason you're getting an 11th-generation Panasonic? The 12th gens are out, cheap, and perform very well. See for example this review.

Powered sub is smart as most receivers don't power subs and receivers are already power-challenged. The particular sub you're looking at is that small because its amp and driver were specifically designed for each other. Any passive sub with comparable specs will be much larger.

Receivers are also where all the new features are showing up first these days. The Yamaha is OK, but if you have the time, I'd look at Denon and Onkyo as well.

Speakers will make the biggest difference in a system, and are also the most sensitive to personal preference. If you like the way your speakers sound, and you have a good local dealer support, then you're set. That said, the two most important speakers in HT are the center channel and sub --- don't be afraid of allocating more money to those two speakers.

The thing I'd worry about most in your system is the sound match between the surrounds and your fronts since they're from different brands, and use different driver technologies.

--Andre

1. The Panasonic Pro was recommended - which I do not think is out in the 12th generation yet.
2. I preferred the sound of the Yamaha over the Onkyo. I have not looked at the Denon yet.
3. I do like the sound of the speakers
4. I was hoping that the Elan and Sunfire would be a decent match since they are part of the same company. Is that a silly assumption? The dealer suggested they would work together well.

Thanks

 

[A Y]

Originally Posted by CommercialDoc

1. The Panasonic Pro was recommended - which I do not think is out in the 12th generation yet.
2. I preferred the sound of the Yamaha over the Onkyo. I have not looked at the Denon yet.
3. I do like the sound of the speakers
4. I was hoping that the Elan and Sunfire would be a decent match since they are part of the same company. Is that a silly assumption? The dealer suggested they would work together well.

Thanks

The Panny pro offers two main things over their consumer line: you can generally get them cheaper, and they don't come with speakers. I'd take a look at their consumer line to see if they're sleek enough, just so you've turned all the rocks over.

Some people like to have speakers in their TV so they don't need to turn everything else on, for what it's worth. It's never been a big deal for me.

The only way to tell with 4 is to listen to them. Sound matching is more important for the fronts, but it's nice to have for the surrounds as well. Get something that pans around to the back to check --- there's a scene in Dragonheart where the dragon is flying around the viewer talking that people like to use to check for surround matching.

--Andre

 

[ChicagoRon]

All fair, AY. But I'd still say that w/ 1080p being cheaper than it used to be... 1080i offers insane value.... there are Pioneer Elite and Fujitsu Plasmas out there for a steal. Here is an article from a source I trust: http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/lcdt...p-vs-720p.html Regarding the SUB, I did not know that. I'm a 2-channel guy for the most part. I like TV and movies, but look at a stereo as a music producer first, hence my love of separates. So, I did not realize that all-in-one receivers come with no amp for the sub. In a rack with a pre-amp / surround processor and external 5-6 channel amp, I would expect you want to use the external amp and have a passive sub. DOC - I did not notice DVD / Blu-ray player on there... I have been told that PS3 is the best on the market, but right now my PS3 is on the fritz and needs a new blu-ray laser, so I don't know if I believe the hype. What are your plans in that department?

 

[CommercialDoc]

As for receivers, the makes and models that seem to be in the ballpark are:

Yamaha V-3900
Yamaha RX-7
Onkyo TX-NR706
Denon 4808
Marantz SR8002

I want to make sure I have enough power to utilize the Sunfire CRS-3s or similar speakers. I like the networking ability of everything but the Marantz. I did think the Marantz had the fullest sound. The Onkyo has nice gadgets but the Yamaha sounds a bit richer. The Yamaha seemed to have the best video output. The Denon has the worst video output from what I have read. The Denon is also considerably more expensive.

Thoughts?

 

[A Y]

I would not worry about the video output so much because the Panasonic will almost certainly have better video processing than the receivers. If there's a way to set the receivers to just pass through video instead of processing them, that would be a good feature to have because you can use the TV's superior processing. Transcoding video (like from S-Video to HDMI) is a good feature to have in the receiver so you only have to run one cable into the TV, but not all transcoding is equal ...

--Andre

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by A Y

The Panny pro offers two main things over their consumer line: you can generally get them cheaper, and they don't come with speakers. I'd take a look at their consumer line to see if they're sleek enough, just so you've turned all the rocks over.

Some people like to have speakers in their TV so they don't need to turn everything else on, for what it's worth. It's never been a big deal for me.

The only way to tell with 4 is to listen to them. Sound matching is more important for the fronts, but it's nice to have for the surrounds as well. Get something that pans around to the back to check --- there's a scene in Dragonheart where the dragon is flying around the viewer talking that people like to use to check for surround matching.

--Andre

That's probably the only reason to own the movie.

 

[Sprezzatura2010]

You should pick different speakers. That center channel is among the worst-designed (and worst-sounding) out there. There are no highs unless one is directly on axis, and the midrange quality is astoundingly poor for the price.

Also, Sunfire's subs are poor values. What's are the biggest dimensions you would consider for a subwoofer?

If you must get the Sunfire speakers (which are overpriced and not very good anyway) then at least get three of the L/R speakers, and stand them all up.

 

[Nexus6]

58" screen, my goodness!
I hope you are sitting at least 14 feet away from the screen.
I would get motion sickness with a screen that size,
but congratulations

 

[CommercialDoc]

Sprezz - What would you recommend instead? I have read tons of good reviews - is this just good marketing?

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by CommercialDoc

Sprezz - What would you recommend instead? I have read tons of good reviews - is this just good marketing?
I have yet to hear any Sunfire's but I know somebody who owns them and he's impressed. He's also an Ed Hardy wearing douchebag so take that review with a grain of salt. I've always been a fan of Paradigm speakers. Heard good things about the AV123 speakers as well. Ultimately, it really comes down to what you think sounds best. My best advice would be to take a few of your dvd's and cd's and go to a local place to try out their speakers.

 

[ChicagoRon]

Originally Posted by Rambo

I've always been a fan of Paradigm speakers. Heard good things about the AV123 speakers as well. Ultimately, it really comes down to what you think sounds best. My best advice would be to take a few of your dvd's and cd's and go to a local place to try out their speakers.
I'm with you, Rambo. Canadian speakers are best value for the money. RE: Reviews - Stereophile is my most trusted source. I know there are some more high-end / less glossy pubs out there, but I've always found my personal taste in line pretty well w/ the guys at stereophile. I'd look up their review of the Sunfires, as I'm sure they did one.

 

[Artisan Fan]

Stereophile is good as is HiFi+