What do I buy to drive my new HT?

AshishG

I used this ongoing deal on NewEgg:

Speaker Expiry Code Total after Code
M70-Black 1/1/2010 EMCMNNT58 159.99
CS2-Black 12/27/2009 EMCMNNM34 109.99
M30-Black 12/27/2009 EMCMNNM35 85.99
PSW10-Black 1/1/2010 EMCMNNT59 92.99

You can use this to build your entire 5.1 system for ~$600! All speakers go with each other, except the sub. The sub will do something, but not much with M70. PSW505 will be much better with M70.

I just bought the above (except the sub). My first setup!

Any recommendation on which reciever to buy? I wont bi-wire or pre-amp these. I hoping to get something <$400. Thats all I can pay for at this time.

I asked the same question on "Speakers" forum and xcapri recommended Yamaha RX-V765 for ~$450 and wesouth recommended Onkyo TX SR 707 for $469. Thanks guys! I have a decent sized room and I have 1080LCD, Blu ray with BD and Wii in use. THANKS IN ADVANCE!!

coolsax

having the 665, i would second Xcapri's suggestion of the Yamaha

Pycroft

Harman Kardon HKAVR 354. I got it for less than 400 dollars from the Harman Kardon Ebay store. Can't go wrong at all with this unit!

AshishG

Thanks for the reply! One thing confuses me though. Why pay for a 7.1 when I need 5.1; and no thoughts of increasing the channels?

I have been looking at Amazon also and Sony features prominently among top best sellers. But on one here recommends them. Is the becuase they are not that great or they dont go with Polks?

rcrook317

would recommend used denon from ebay/craigslist....etc

i own hk 354.which is a good unit but i previously owned a denon and was very happt w its performance

concealer404

Budget $100 more and get the Onkyo TX-SR707 on amazon right now for $500 shipped.

AshishG

So is the Onkyo TX-SR707 is the best new reciever for $500 ouh there?

Pycroft

If you are strictly looking at NEW, then Onkyo is probably the best bang for the buck for 500 bucks. I bought two refurbished units, and have had no regrets.

concealer404

AshishG wrote: »

So is the Onkyo TX-SR707 is the best new reciever for $500 ouh there?

On the new market, arguably yes.

AshishG

Hmmm......so my receiver selection has reduced. I looked for price comparison and this is what I think I can get for less than $500:

HK AVR 354 - Refurb/Used
Yamaha RX-V765 - Refurb/Used
Onkyo TX-SR707 - New

I can go for Used/Refurb if sound quality is much better. Still long way to go before it narrows down to 1 for me. I guess I need more help!

LuSh

If you need help why don't you seek the advice of a professional and see a dealer? Why would you rely on an internet forum? The argument from some would be that you get unbiased opinions from a forum where a dealer sells and recommends what he carries...internet forums are however no different. People will tell you to buy whatever they own in an effort to justify their very own purchase.

concealer404

LuSh wrote: »

If you need help why don't you seek the advice of a professional and see a dealer? Why would you rely on an internet forum? The argument from some would be that you get unbiased opinions from a forum where a dealer sells and recommends what he carries...internet forums are however no different. People will tell you to buy whatever they own in an effort to justify their very own purchase.

Well... that's not true either... While as they say, nobody likes to have their baby called ugly, i don't think we all just spew out whatever we own when these questions come up.

I vote for the Onkyo. I don't own an Onkyo receiver. I own a Pioneer reciever. I HAVE owned Onkyo receivers, and HAVE owned Pioneer receivers, and the Onkyos were better in my experience, but i didn't need that. So now, i "settle" with a Pioneer VSX-50 Elite.

The dealer would want you to just spend as much as he could possibly get out of you, except for those rare dealers that are in it for the love, not the money.

Really, in his instance, he could pick any of those three receivers and be perfectly happy, as they're all pretty capable. All we can give, and all we are giving right now are opinions. He makes the decision in the end.

LuSh

A dealer who doesn't have a customers best interests in mind will likely not be a dealer for very long...it amazes me the bond or trust people have with somebody sitting several thousand miles away typing via keyboard but wouldn't trust a brick and mortar store with a real live person who has to stand behind what they say.

Two suggestions within this very thread were from those who already own the gear, and basically that's the majority of answers you'll see in threads over and over. A number of people recommending gear they own.

concealer404

I'm unsure what you're saying now...

So we don't have his best interests in mind here? We certainly aren't gaining anything regardless of what he ends up picking... all we can do is offer choices and inputs. He asked, we'll answer. What we have hear is a group of people that have a far greater range of experiences than ANY dealer, so it's a better source of information. It would be pretty unlikely for one dealer to have experience, or carry all three of these AVRs, and be able to comment on them. If the dealer only carries Pioneer and Yamaha, but not Onkyo, then he's potentially missing out on the oppurtunity/privilege to have that 3rd choice to choose from, and that 3rd choice MIGHT even be the "right" choice for him.

Should i have recommended Pioneer instead, because that's what i'm using?

The difference is that WE aren't selling him anything.

LuSh

The difference is he's confused and a dealer might be able to help. Most dealers have carried all the brands you have mentioned at some point. And the difference is a dealer has to stand behind what he says, if he makes a mistake then he has to answer for it, unlike a web forum which riddled with mis-information. I use to post on here often but over the years I've come to learn what it is, for the most part a cess pool of mis-information. Make no mistake there is a place for forums and I still visit to see whats new from poster's I've learned to trust over the years but they are few and far between.

The 'we aren't selling him anything' can be completely disregarded for the same reasons you imply. Because nobody is selling him anything it is less likely he will likely get the correct information and accurate information because nobody is around to clean stuff up when things are incorrect, instead the person is left more confused. I digress...use forums if you wish but in this particular case I think the OP is better to seek the advice of a dealer and gain a strong foothold.

AshishG

Just came back from lunch.....

I like this forum becuase:
1. Mostly eveyone owns a Polk (like I do)
2. There are lot of people with more experience than I have
3. Unbiased to some good extent (I feel)

When I first decided to build by HT system, my experience with dealers over here was not that great. I felt being pushed to buy something they had in stock and for the max I can cough $$ up. Thanks to some of the pre-exiting threads that I read, I felt confident in getting the Monitor series for my first HT.

Having said that, folks reading threads over here, should be responsible enough to do some basic research of their own.

Again, thanks to all the Polksters:).

AshishG

Thanks for your opinion LuSH. I will also talk to some dealers in next few days before making my final decision.

Pycroft

The best to judge is you. I had a difficult time because I couldn't find dealers that dealt with HK equipment, and the Denon I was looking at wasn't local also. From my point of view, I upgraded from the Onkyo 606. I was unsatisfied with the music coming from it, but was pleased with the HT usage. Listening to the 354, I think it is more powerful, and more musical. I have not compared it to the 707 (one step up from the 606/607 I had). Again, i suggested the 354 as an option because I have it, and love it, and have heard many other comparable models (Including Denon 1610, 1910, Marantz 5003, Pioneer Elite VSX 21/23, SC 05, HK 254, etc,). I am pleased with my purchase because it filled my needs...listen to as many as you can, read what you can, talk to people who own it (I talked to about 5 people on this forum alone about the HK 254 and 354...sending a PM was a great idea because the people always responded very nicely...thanks guys!). I'm sure you'll make an informed decision! Good luck!

James

Kingface

I have to agree with Lush's thoughts regarding trusting B&M's. They seem to be slowly disappearing. These people make their living selling, fixing, studying A/V gear. They should not ignored. Too many times people read all of these great deals on this site from Amazon, Newegg etc.... then people make a blind purchase because it's a 'can't miss deal'. The fat of the matter is...there will ALWAYS be another deal. What you're passing up though is the fun of auditioning stuff, having good conversation and maybe other options that may creep in.

I would audition a bunch first...then see what you like most...then come here and share your thoughts and opinions.

AshishG

Will do!!! I am planning to hit Best Buy and Fry's tomorrow. :cool:

wutadumsn23

LuSh wrote: »

If you need help why don't you seek the advice of a professional and see a dealer? Why would you rely on an internet forum? The argument from some would be that you get unbiased opinions from a forum where a dealer sells and recommends what he carries...internet forums are however no different. People will tell you to buy whatever they own in an effort to justify their very own purchase.

Don't really agree here. I do recommend Onkyo's mostly (and yes I own one) but if there are other options out there that are similar in nature and happen to be cheaper or closer to what the OP wants, then I will recommend something else. Have recommended RTi's, LSi's, amps and subwoofers that I don't own and probably never will. For me, it is getting what the person wants at the price they want. Just my $.02

-Jeff

AshishG

I GOT MY MONITOR SPEAKERS DELIVERED TODAY. The packaging was little roughed up, but the speakers seem to be in good condition. I couldnt find a scratch.:)

I also jumped on a Denon 790 deal at Overstock for $320. It has all the features I want with my (future) 5.1 system. Right now I am at 5.0.

I guess I will have to wait for 1-2 weeks to actually get the reciever, but this price was too good to pass and I liked the Denon also at the dealers.

I hope evrythign works out to my satisfaction in the end as I havent listed to Denon with Monitor together.:rolleyes:

rcrook317

denon is excellent brand,like i said previously,i owned one before and it sounded great w/ my polks

Sherardp

Are you an AVS forum member, if so this a very good deal. Allot of bang for buck at this price being offered.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/vbclassified.php?do=ad&id=12388

bevo

LuSh wrote: »

A dealer who doesn't have a customers best interests in mind will likely not be a dealer for very long...it amazes me the bond or trust people have with somebody sitting several thousand miles away typing via keyboard but wouldn't trust a brick and mortar store with a real live person who has to stand behind what they say.

Two suggestions within this very thread were from those who already own the gear, and basically that's the majority of answers you'll see in threads over and over. A number of people recommending gear they own.

I went to 5 different stores trying to put together my HT. # were high end stores that were snobs when they seen how I was dressed (tshirt and jeans) and wouldn't even try and answer my questions because they assumed I was broke. electronic stores that also sold speakers and they coudn't even answer my questions.

I ended up buying the rm 95 package before I found this forum just on my own. After I got in this forum I ended up upgrading and saving literally 1000$ buy using polk direct after someone told me about it. Now the only piece of equipment I don't like that I own is one that a guy in a store sold me. He said it had all the power any speakers I bought would need. It's a dennon 1909 with 90 watts and no pre outs.

If I would have known this forum was here before I started buying things, I would have saved more money and got twice the setup I have now.

The best way to do it, is to arm yourself with knowledge from the forums and then go into the stores educated, that way you don't get taken for a ride. After all that you just buy the stuff online for 2/3 the price the store is selling it for, but at least you have hundreds of peoples opinions and a few "experts".

In my opinion these forums are much better then going into some store and not knowing what your looking at.
And as far as suggesting the receiver I have , I wouldn't do it. I would tell them to look online for factory refurbished receivers and get the best bang for the buck they can.

AshishG

bevo wrote: »

After I got in this forum I ended up upgrading and saving literally 1000$ buy using polk direct after someone told me about it.

The best way to do it, is to arm yourself with knowledge from the forums and then go into the stores educated, that way you don't get taken for a ride.

Well Said!! Glad you saved your hard earned money.

bevo wrote: »

Now the only piece of equipment I don't like that I own is one that a guy in a store sold me. He said it had all the power any speakers I bought would need. It's a dennon 1909 with 90 watts and no pre outs.

What dont you like about this? is 90W not sufficient or you wanted pre-outs?

bevo

AshishG wrote: »

What dont you like about this? is 90W not sufficient or you wanted pre-outs?

90 watts isn't to bad for me for now, but I would like to upgrade to the rtia 9's in the future, and I would need the pre outs for an external amp.

The 1909 has issues as well besides the pre outs. Audysey always messes up calibration, but I like the EQ settings it used for movies. So everytime I switch inputs with it, it takes my speaker levels back to the audysey settings and they are way off, by 5 db for some speakers, and by 8.5 db for my sub. So everytime I turn on my receiver I have to change the speaker levels. I can't for the life of me figure out how to save my personal settings for each device I have hooked up to it.
I have a xbox, ps3, and cable box, and I set in different spots in the room for each of them. I would really like to be able to save my levels and distances for each one.

MANSKITO

I think my Yamaha RX-V463 is ****. However the RX-V765 might be a good bit better.

I have a pair of monitor 60s and a CS10 in front with monitor 40s in the back. I have heard both sets of speakers with different receivers all other things being equal and the my Yamaha is wonderful under performer. But it was a $99 floor item and the 765 is much higher up on the food chain. However I would still say Onkyo, H/K Denon etc... do a better job. Just don't buy a Sony thats even worse then my Yamaha.