Receiver and Speaker opinions ?

[jcc183]

Got a question for you guys into home audio... I'm looking at buying a receiver and a decent set of home theater speakers...

for the receiver i've been eyeballing the Sony DE-945, which would fit in nicely with my sony wega and sony dvd player, and i can get it at a pretty good price ($365 shipped - company discount)... however, i've been reading some other forums that suggest buying a receiver capable of 6.1 at this point... i'm not really sure if i'll be able to find a good one at that price, plus i'm not sure if i'd ever fully appreciate it... to be quite honest, i doubt i'd be able to tell the difference between a medium receiver and high end anyway, so whats the difference to me ? will the newer receivers have that many more features that will make it worth the money in the long run ? i'm not sure if i can beat this receiver for this price...

as for the speakers, i've been looking at the Bose Acoustimass 6 Series II ... i've seen them at best buy for $600, or outpost has them for $600 with free overnight shipping (save on tax) ... i'll probably go down to best buy this week to give them a listen... will these speakers reproduce music well ? i don't need earth shattering sound, but i remember i listened to my friend's set of bose speakers and they didn't sound very full when playing music, but sounded excellent while we watched dvd's on his 53" projection screen... hehe... are there other speakers better than this for around the same price ? i was hoping to go with a package deal since i'm no home theater buff...

this setup will be in a medium sized apartment so its not necessary for it to be the loudest system in the world.. just something that will make the movies come alive and satiate my music listening needs... your advice/opinions are appreciated.... thanks...

-- Jeff

[hapoo]

http://www.gotapex.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=14646

[IrishSS]

In my opinion, don't buy the Bose stuff... way over priced and doesn't end up sounding that great.

I bought 2-pair of JBL S-38's just a while ago, and am amazed at the sound they put out. Aside from their THX systems, the 38's sound far better than any of their others (N-series anything, S-310's, S-312's etc.). Now if you are in an apartment, then maybe the S-36's are a little more for you. They only have the 6' woofer, and aren't ported. But a high level of bass isn't exactly what your after I take it... I paid $300 a pair for the S-38's, and I think they are worth well over that (retail was $189 a speaker). Match them with the JBL S-Center, $150, and you have a top-rate system.

As for the receiver, I have the Sony STR-DE845, and it easily fulfills my needs for music and movie sound reproduction. I'm sure the 945 would be almost overkill for you, as it gets 10W more per channel, it has a 2nd audio in-port, and a fancier remote. That's all you really get with the 945 over the 845. So for an ampartment, I'm sure the 845 would suit you just fine. I got it for $300, so it'll save u a bit of cash as well.

If you want me to go more in depth about the stuff I have, just email me and I'd be happy to answer any questions you have...

[hapoo]

as far as watts go, DO NOT BUY A RECIEVER/AMP BECAUSE OF THE WATTAGE RATING. Believe it or not the diffrence between a 100 watt reciever and a 200 watt reciever is only 1-3 decibals.

[IrishSS]

Originally posted by hapoo
as far as watts go, DO NOT BUY A RECIEVER/AMP BECAUSE OF THE WATTAGE RATING. Believe it or not the diffrence between a 100 watt reciever and a 200 watt reciever is only 1-3 decibals.


True True... but make sure not to get yourself something that is under-powered...

[LPMiller]

I wouldn't really worry about 6.1 yet. The standards are really 5.1 and DTS for home DVD stuff...6.1 is a lot like ATA100 - there for the future, but I think that is a bit off yet. Hate to spend the money for 6.1 for like, 3 movies a year from now.

[The Happy Squirrel]

Hey, I have a freind whos in home audio and theater installs. He works for a company Called MEI <Maney's Electronic Interiors> SO of thier clients include Randy Moss, and Kirby PUckett!!
If you relaly wanna know waht the good stuff is call the company and ask them. These people know thier stuff better then anyone i have ever met, spoken to of heard of.
give it a try

(612) 922-6453

[chrissy]

str-de835 is the Sony model that we have.

Bought it last year for our system and it is beautiful.

It had enough ins and outs for all the hubby's toys and got it at a good price.
The one you are looking at, I think we looked at the last model on that one too. Decided that it would be nice but hard on our pockets.

As for speakers, I suggest JBL. They are a great investment when it comes to home entertainment.

[LPMiller]

maybe I'm strange, but I rather like the sound of paper cones, if the quality is right.

when I said all in one, I meant the reciver came with cheap speakers and a sub...god, stay away from those shelf/boom box systems, they may be cheap, but they don't sound near as nice as a decent tuner, and they always leave something out...like a center channel.

Monster cables ARE good, but are also expensive. I've found that gold plated Radio Shack cables do a very good job as well, and don't cost near as much. Go with the monsters though, if you have a lot of interference where you live. I highly reccommend the monster power strip as well, as it filters the noise interference nicely. Don't use a generic power strip.

Cheap speaker cable is cheap sound.

speakers as subjective...so listen to 'em first if you can. For instance, my 50 dollar yamaha speakers have a much richer sound that some 300 dollar speakers - but ifyou have the cash, JBL, Cerwin, Infinty. No bose. Ish. If you need to go really really cheap, don't shy away from the KLH's...cheap yes, but good if you just need speakers NOW, but plan on saving up for the good stuff later.

I've built mine over time, others do it all in one shot - depends on your money. I'm happy with my speakers right now, but do plan on getting some high end ones...should I ever get a job again. Keep your room size in mind - to large a speaker in a small room doesn't do you any favors.

gah, the server time is screwed up again.

[ChIcKeN_HaWk]

I went with the Klipsch satelites. They rock, and the sound quality out of the $400 speakers is unbeliveable.

If you go that route you also have to buy a sub, I went with the infinity 12" powered. Very nice for movies and all around sound.

DTS is either on it's way out or is never going to reach a peak like 5.1 Dolby. The newest Bose equipment doesn't even decode DTS. Watch out, it's nice but I don't know....

[Talk2raffi]

I like Yamaha personally ... Mine is a 55x5 and it can pump my Cerwin Vega 15s like you can't believe...

Last year in my on campus appartment at UCSD I could make the little white bumps from the acoustic ceiling start to fall off...

[helius]

Originally posted by hapoo
as far as watts go, DO NOT BUY A RECIEVER/AMP BECAUSE OF THE WATTAGE RATING. Believe it or not the diffrence between a 100 watt reciever and a 200 watt reciever is only 1-3 decibals.

Ah, but that statement in itself is also misleading. Believe it or not, anything item that has double the power of another is, by definition "only 3dB louder". :)

[LPMiller]

Originally posted by Talk2raffi
I like Yamaha personally ... Mine is a 55x5 and it can pump my Cerwin Vega 15s like you can't believe...

Last year in my on campus appartment at UCSD I could make the little white bumps from the acoustic ceiling start to fall off...

my friend just got a yamaha, one of those all in one packages with the tiny speakers that sound surprisingly good considering. It's a nice 100x5 piece, and the sound is very crisp and powerful.

I have a pioneer myself that I like, though it is a bit goofy to set up with a sub. It's only 80x5, but I has plenty of juice for me.

[Leon]

Originally posted by hapoo
as far as watts go, DO NOT BUY A RECIEVER/AMP BECAUSE OF THE WATTAGE RATING. Believe it or not the diffrence between a 100 watt reciever and a 200 watt reciever is only 1-3 decibals.

The decibel rating is a logarithmic scale, so that 1-3 units could come out to be a lot.

[Talk2raffi]

I wouldn't go for a mini-system if i were you..never liked those...

Instead buy the components you want.

One important thing for me was AMP circuitry.

I think the new Technics stuff all use IC chips. When these get hot they start to suck big time.

Find something that uses capacitors. You'll be much happier. And I know that Yamaha uses 5 Separate AMPs in their recievers, not just one big one.


For speakers, I would start looking at The Good Guys. Once in a while they sell off their floor models. My Cerwin Vegas(VS-150} were $347 EACH when I was there, went back a week later and they were selling the floor models for $149 each.

And don't skimp on cable either. I use all Monster Cable personally, and this year when I moved I was short a couple feet for one of my rears so I just used some generic stuff I had laying around. You can noticably tell that the rear speaker with monster cable is louder than the other.

If you are going to go with a Sony reciever, get something from their ES line, that stuff rocks. Don't worry about not being good at these things, it's a real breeze to set up.

I also think that YAMAHA speakers use a paper cone, try and avoid that if you can, unless you're getting a real good deal.

Good luck, and Have Fun!!

Edited for spelling.

[Edited by Talk2raffi on 02-24-2001 at 12:24 PM]

[progman]

thought i would add to everyone saying what they like...

well, i recommend a cheaper pair of infinity towers if you're on a budget. i'm not sure what the model is now, but I bought a pair of RS4s for around $300 and they sound quite nice.

as for bose, i guess it is cool that they can fit an entire surround system in a yo-yo, but they don't sound that good.

[hapoo]

Originally posted by Leon

The decibel rating is a logarithmic scale, so that 1-3 units could come out to be a lot.

Details Details... :rolleyes:
If your really interested I can get the actual numbers.
My point is that the difference that wattage makes isn't as much as you think. 90% of the time you won't be able to tell the difference between a 150 watt and a 250 watt reciever.

[ArkiStan]

what are your opinions on Cambridge Soundworks products in general?

[progman]

i have only listened to cambridge soundworks stuff in stores, and, in general, i would say that the stuff is over rated and over priced.