need help choosing receiver and sub

redzoneos

hello all, sorry this is my first time posting here just registered and not sure if i am in the appropriate area... Also I am extremely clueless about home theater systems and speakers so bear with me!


Over the past couple of months I have managed to purchase a pair of Monitor 60s, Monitor 40s and a CS2...

I currently have an old school (very old school) JVC receiver.... and no sub.

Clearly I need to upgrade and add.

Any suggestions?? Budget is definitely an issue but I've been taking my time buying the various speakers so I have no problem with waiting/saving to buy a better product...

I was thinking VSX-1019? I think that's the pioneer model but I could be wrong... for receiver.

and I have no idea about the sub... I was looking at the PSW10 for its wondrous price of 99.99 at newegg... but I feel it may be a bit under powered for my living room...

Not sure of the room dimensions, I'll try to update later if you really need it... but it's a 5 bedroom 2 story home with basement... typical chicagoland suburban home, so should give you a rough idea I guess.!!! sorry.

thanks for the help!!

EDIT *** so I'll be using this in my living room mostly for sports, movies, and television... occasional music, but guessing music only during parties during holidays and such.

grimmace19

Do yourself a favor and get something with more power than the psw10. I bought one as my first sub as was disappointed 5 minutes after unpacking it. The 60's and 40's don't require extreme amounts of power so any new receiver should do the trick. Look for something that does TrueHD and has hdmi inputs (if you have an hd tv of course).

Welcome

coolsax

I agree you won't want the psw10.. i have the 505 that you can get from newegg 250 shipped.. that would work great with your speakers.. its almost the same as mine cept you were smart and went with the CS2

superjunior

welcome red, the pio vsx1019 does have hdmi and preouts. the preouts will allow you to add an amp in the future if you get the upgrade bug. a good avr to start out with for sure. I too would pass on the psw10, look into polk dsw pro or micro pro lineup. great deals to be had from polk direct also. good luck
jr

cnh

Correction the 1019 has eliminated pre-outs...you now have to move up to the new 9000 series to get those....or better yet...The ELITE VSX-21.

The PSW505 is a good cheap alternative that will give you a lot more bass than the PSW10.

I'd go with one of the Pioneers above if they meet your price range..if not a refurb Harman Kardon 254 might be in a lower price range and would do those M speakers good--also have pre-outs for adding external amps.

cnh

danz1906

Welcome to the Club!

cnh

Gee danz was right..where are my manners.

Welcome to Club Polk!!!

cnh

packetjones

welcome....

I would spend more on the sub that i would the receiver. I would look at a lower priced receiver. If you think you will want to upgrade in the future and would like pre-outs the hk 254 is a great buy, I have on myself. Let us know what budget you have for these 2 and we can give some better recommendations. The psw10 is rather underpowered and i would avoid it really. As previously mentioned the 505 is decent and there are good deals on the pro/micropro subs on polk direct.

I would look to spend about 60/40 towards the sub, if not 70/30. electronics come and go but a good sub will last a long time.

redzoneos

wow you guys are awesome thanks so much for all the quick responses and greetings!

I was doing a quick search through your recommendations. I have decided that I will buy a quality sub first, and wait a month or so before I buy the receiver, because both together (with your recommendations, is putting me out of my immediate budget)...Didn't want to spend more then 600 total, but now it looks like it'll be around 800-900...

SUB: seems you guys are all unanimous with regards to the sub... I'm gonna buy the PSW505 from newegg... Since I'll be delaying my receiver purchase anyway, if you have any better suggestions for sub please let me know (Don't wanna go over 300 though)

RECEIVER: I'm not really sure what bells and whistles I need and maybe skipping on some of the stuff may save me money??? I dunno... I couldn't find the HK-254 anywhere, but did find the Elite VSX-21... Just using the pioneer models for basis of comparison, can you tell me what features I would really need?? again, I have not been into home theater, pretty much EVER so I am clueless!

please compare these 3 receivers and it's price so I can decide what kind of receiver to look for! future proofing is always good, but if it will save me a couple hundred dollars right now, then im all for it because god knows when i'll upgrade again lol!


VSX 1019 - 499.99
VSX 919 - 399.99
VSX-21 THX - 569.99

just looking at price I feel like the 1019 is eliminated because it's so close to the 21THX... but I dunno, is the extra 200 worth the cost of the 21THX over the 919?? and if so, any other receivers you would recommend in the sub 600 price range that are better??

redzoneos

@coolsax, our system is virtually identical... I even had pretty much the same HDTV as yoU!! I have the PN50B650, and a playstation 3 for blu ray... how do you have your center channel mounted, that CS2 is GINORMOUS, it's sitting on a desk under my tv right now, lol.

cnh

The VSX is more powerful regradless of what the specs say....it has better DACs, it has jitter reduction which will improve 2 channel digital sound, better power supply (transformer, etc.). It's an Elite so it has a 2 year warranty instead of the standard Pioneer One year.

It has pre-outs, it's almost 10 pounds heavier--which indicates better construction--most of the time...I could go on. The reason I'm pushing this is that if you buy the 21 you will keep it for years and can use it; and when you decide to upgrade you're still good with this receiver....If you can swing it..I'd consider the Elite!

cnh

redzoneos

cnh,
thanks for the info! you have me sold... I will be buying the VSX come february... hopefully it'll be on sale!! lol

jerjon7

hey, on ebay you can get the elite receiver for cheaper than the 1019, that is the rought i took, got a warrantied VSX-21txh brand new for 479.99, so far so good, that price is including shipping and i think he still has some left.

jso

Reading a few threads on here convinced me to go with a quality used late-model receiver for the same price as a new mid-level one. I don't care about HDMI or any of the new BluRay codecs. (And even if I ever get BluRay, I'll just use the player's decoder). I just wanted a good quality amp and pre-outs in case I ever decide to get an even better external amp. So I found a guy selling a Denon in good condition on craigslist and am happy with it. Depending on what you're looking for you can probably find something for $200 or so.