First real HT setup need help

hyg71886

Hi everyone, I will be recieving alot of money sone from the military (annual training) and refunds from finacial aid. I have been thinking about upgrading my current HTIB system for awhile(Onkyo HT-S790). It has been great but they don't have that sound I want. The hard hitting bass, the nice rumble, clarity etc. My AKG K181DJ headphones sound better in all honosty. So I play ALOT of music, mostly rap, rock, jazz, n r&b, raggie, etc. I also watch ALOOOOOT of movies and play ALOOOT of video games(had to emphaze alot for those lol). The room isnt really big (maybe a tad bigger then 16x16) so for now I just want 2 front towers, center, sub, and to wall mount rears untill I move to add another 2 towers.

I was looking at this setup first

JBL Venue Series
Stadium tower 8in, etc

But being that there discountinued, I started looking at pol since I heard alot of good things, so this is the setup I was thinking of

2 RTi 10's- fronts
CSi5- center
No clue for the rears, or sub so open for any recommendations
Onkyo 705 or 805

Does anyone have any recommendations? I will also be buying the X-fi sound card for my recently(febuary) built PC which is where the music, gaming and movies will come from(also from my xbox 360, ps2 and ps3 when they come out with better games)

Lastly will I need an Amp? Oh budget is 1,200-2k with receiver and sound card included.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Few things:

1 - If you are going to use your PC as the primary source, you may want to consider something better than the X-Fi. I have the X-fi and it work for my PC gaming, but if I was using that as my main source for movies and music I'd want a better output. Unfortunately I don't know what to recommend, but one of the M-Audio models should work well for you.

2 - For those speakers, if you get that Onkyo 805 it will be plenty to start with. Would you possible benefit from an amp? of course, who wouldn't, but the 805 will power those speakers just fine. Those are all 8ohm speakers and fairly easy to drive - if you were going LSi that would be a different story.

3 - As for a sub, check out SVS. That's what most people recommend and my personal experience with them leads me to recommend them as well. They have lots of choices at different prices, so do some research and get what works best for you.

hyg71886

What amps would you recommend, also surround speakers? What about the PSW505 sub?

Face

There's nothing wrong with using a PC as a source with a XFi card. But, I would only use the PC as a transport with lossless or flac files and AISO drivers. Meaning, you'll have to only use the receiver, pre/pro, or DAC to process the files. Don't buy their flexy jack adapter thing. You can either purchase a 1/8" to RCA adapter from Rat Shack or buy a digital coax cable from Blue Jeans Cable with the 75 ohm 1/8" plug on one end, and RCA on the other end for your processor. It will clean up the signal, the less links in the chain, the cleaner the signal. Using my PC as a transport sounds very similar to my Marantz SA-8001 as a transport, so you're not losing much if anything at all.

For rears, you would want to use more RTi's or RTiA's to keep everything timbre matched.

I agree, the Onkyo 805 is a great receiver to start with. It has preamp outs in case you want to add external amplification down the line. From what I hear, it does run on the hot side, so it's not a bad idea at all.

For subs, I would avoid the PSW series and go right to the DSW's.

AsSiMiLaTeD

I'm a Parasound fan when it comes to amps, but there are lots of options out there. I was never that picky with surrounds, you need to determine where you're going to mount them and then buy the correct speaker based on that.

The PSW505 is nice. I suppose it depends on what kind of price you can get it for. The the full retail of the PSW505 you can get a better offering from SVS, but if you can find a deal on a 505 then it may be worth it. It's not like the 505 is bad, just may not be the best you can get for your money depending on price...

hyg71886

I looked at the SVS and I liked the PB12 and the PB12/2. Thats alot of whats (900w), I think I would shake everything off counters and walls in the building with that lol. How would you compare the SVS PB12 to the PSW505?

Cochise

For rears get the Fxi5, and if you cant find those, the FXI A6.

Search Ebay for the Polk Direct store, you can score some incredible deals for great refurbished speakers.

For a sub, most of the internet-direct brands offer good, affordable optionis (svs, hsu, av123, etc.)

hyg71886

Ok those are good, expensive though. How is the PWS505? Because I'm thinking of getting that for now because I live in an apartment so a 100lbs sub doesnt make alot of sense.

Face

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/subwoofers/series/dsw/

hyg71886

why do you recommend that over the one I listed?

suprafantx

If you already picked RTi 10 for the front, PSW505 will be perfect match. I used to have RTi 10 for front, CS1 for center, Monitor 40 bookshelf for the rear, Monitor 30 bookshelf for the surround, and PSW505. They all powered by ONKYO TX-SR702. It was a good system for both HT and music. I would recommend you should go with TX-SR805 receiver. It is awesome receiver for price ~ 700 bucks. It can be used with 4 ohm speakers also, and it comes with pre-out so can use it as pre-amp if you want to upgrade with a separate amp later. I tried to use my 702 and 805 as pre-amps, 805 is much much better pre-amp than the 702. I hope this will help you pick out your right gears.

Face

hyg71886 wrote: »

why do you recommend that over the one I listed?

Overall, it's a better sub. More versatile, newer technology, better features.

hyg71886

wat about sound wise? does it hit? for rap, rock, movie and video game purposes

hyg71886

Also how do the JBL VENUE SERIES 3-WAY 8in towers stack up against the rti10's and 12's

bigaudiofanatic

I use the x-fi and use the multi output connector you can buy. Sounds great