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- Thread starter pimp racer
- 12 comments
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- 5,107
- Panama City, FL
Is that budget for the audio system, or for DVD player, TV, everything? How big is the room, and how is it furnished? Do you want the floor to shake when things blow up, or is this an apartment and you have neighbors you need to keep happy?
General guidelines, buy the BEST speakers you can afford. The biggest difference in sound quality comes from the part that actually makes the sound. Do NOT buy the flashiest coolest electronics and then skimp on the speakers 'cause they're just a box on the side. You'll be very disappointed.
Then get the most power you can afford. Ignore "Max Power" ratings, they are meaningless. Look at RMS power at a specified distortion. Unfortunately, distortion levels are generally higher when rating video receivers. For example, my receiver has a stereo rating of 120W/ch RMS into 8 ohms 20-20,000 Hz at 0.08%THD. Yet it's also "rated" at 100 W/ch for 5 channels, which is ludicrous.
Lastly, stuff does NOT sound the same in your home, in teeny little rooms, compared to a store's thousands of square feet open space. Know the return policy before you take stuff home.
Hey, BTW, you stationed at Tyndall (your location coordinates)?
General guidelines, buy the BEST speakers you can afford. The biggest difference in sound quality comes from the part that actually makes the sound. Do NOT buy the flashiest coolest electronics and then skimp on the speakers 'cause they're just a box on the side. You'll be very disappointed.
Then get the most power you can afford. Ignore "Max Power" ratings, they are meaningless. Look at RMS power at a specified distortion. Unfortunately, distortion levels are generally higher when rating video receivers. For example, my receiver has a stereo rating of 120W/ch RMS into 8 ohms 20-20,000 Hz at 0.08%THD. Yet it's also "rated" at 100 W/ch for 5 channels, which is ludicrous.
Lastly, stuff does NOT sound the same in your home, in teeny little rooms, compared to a store's thousands of square feet open space. Know the return policy before you take stuff home.
Hey, BTW, you stationed at Tyndall (your location coordinates)?
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- 5,107
- Panama City, FL
I'm north of the airport, almost Lynn Haven. Anyways, that's a good budget for audio only. You gonna have it done, or put it in yourself? Makes a difference in getting cables where they need to go. I'm assuming cabling for surround speakers can be done during construction, then?
I don't have any specific recommendations, other than to reiterate what I said before, buy the speakers as your first priority, as they are the weakest link in the system, and the most objective as far as appreciation goes. You'll probably want to look at multiple amps for the system, too, if you can spend the money. A 'surround receiver' will be compact, but there's only so much juice a single box can work out. You might even start with a nice receiver, get one with pre-amp outs for the surround channels so you can add outboard amps later if spreading the money out gets to be a consideration.
Avoid the built-in wall speakers. They're certainly unobtrusive, but they're kinda hard to adjust or relocate if they turn out to be in the wrong place. Also, unless they actually have an enclosure, as opposed to just being a plate on the wall, they will use the wall cavity itself as an enclosure and lose a lot of energy into surrounding spaces.
You didn't say if multi-room was a consideration, and I'll assume it's not. Many modern receivers can send CD, for example, to another room while the DVD is played in the main room. Adds complexity, and is it really that hard to put a CD player in the other room? If you can avoid this feature, do so.
Furnish the room right. Don't expect a good sound from a room with a hardwood floor and bare walls. Way too live. You'll need carpeting, and maybe wall treatment, too. I've even seen faux drapes, i.e. a drapery over a blank wall, just to get acoustic treatment.
Lastly, I don't know if this has entered your planning, but so many 'decorators' want to HIDE all the stuff, like doors over the TVs, electronics in a closet. They want the room to look like Southern Living instead of like an entertainment center. I say, make it what it is! Put the screen on the wall where God and everybody can see it, put the amps in a rack or on a set of shelves, put 23 remotes on the coffee table. OK, maybe in a basket under the coffee table. The only thing that should be behind doors is the movie and music collection itself. When you get furniture, keep in mind how stupid it is for an entertainment center to have storage space for 30 CDs. How many CDs and DVDs do you have already? Get space to keep them, that's all. But keep them out of sight, because that really is a lot of clutter, and will be an eyesore.
I don't have any specific recommendations, other than to reiterate what I said before, buy the speakers as your first priority, as they are the weakest link in the system, and the most objective as far as appreciation goes. You'll probably want to look at multiple amps for the system, too, if you can spend the money. A 'surround receiver' will be compact, but there's only so much juice a single box can work out. You might even start with a nice receiver, get one with pre-amp outs for the surround channels so you can add outboard amps later if spreading the money out gets to be a consideration.
Avoid the built-in wall speakers. They're certainly unobtrusive, but they're kinda hard to adjust or relocate if they turn out to be in the wrong place. Also, unless they actually have an enclosure, as opposed to just being a plate on the wall, they will use the wall cavity itself as an enclosure and lose a lot of energy into surrounding spaces.
You didn't say if multi-room was a consideration, and I'll assume it's not. Many modern receivers can send CD, for example, to another room while the DVD is played in the main room. Adds complexity, and is it really that hard to put a CD player in the other room? If you can avoid this feature, do so.
Furnish the room right. Don't expect a good sound from a room with a hardwood floor and bare walls. Way too live. You'll need carpeting, and maybe wall treatment, too. I've even seen faux drapes, i.e. a drapery over a blank wall, just to get acoustic treatment.
Lastly, I don't know if this has entered your planning, but so many 'decorators' want to HIDE all the stuff, like doors over the TVs, electronics in a closet. They want the room to look like Southern Living instead of like an entertainment center. I say, make it what it is! Put the screen on the wall where God and everybody can see it, put the amps in a rack or on a set of shelves, put 23 remotes on the coffee table. OK, maybe in a basket under the coffee table. The only thing that should be behind doors is the movie and music collection itself. When you get furniture, keep in mind how stupid it is for an entertainment center to have storage space for 30 CDs. How many CDs and DVDs do you have already? Get space to keep them, that's all. But keep them out of sight, because that really is a lot of clutter, and will be an eyesore.
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GilesGuthrie
Staff Emeritus
- 11,038
- Edinburgh, UK
- CMDRTheDarkLord
Yamaha are currently top of the pile when it comes to A/V amps, closely followed by Denon. If you want it to be good with music as well, and you can get them, look for Arcam stuff.
Do you get B&W speakers (Bowers & Wilkins)? If so, you should be able to work your way into the MT-30 (UK price £1600) plus a Yamaha amp at around the £800 level. The rest of your budget (£400 - assuming the usual £1 = $1 when it comes to electronics) should be spent on good quality speakers and stands.
Alternative speakers would be the Quad L-Series, which are physically much larger than the petite B&W kit.
Do you get B&W speakers (Bowers & Wilkins)? If so, you should be able to work your way into the MT-30 (UK price £1600) plus a Yamaha amp at around the £800 level. The rest of your budget (£400 - assuming the usual £1 = $1 when it comes to electronics) should be spent on good quality speakers and stands.
Alternative speakers would be the Quad L-Series, which are physically much larger than the petite B&W kit.
- 745
- Columbus
GilesGuthrie
Funny you should mention both Arcam and B&W. Because our TV that we have in the family room has an Arcam Diva AVR-200 amp. And if I felt like spending more money, I'd probably just get an old Alpha amp for college, but my Nakamichi should be fine for now.
And then on monday, the speakers I just ordered are supposed to be delivered. They're B&W DM601 S3. I already have a pair of B&W floor-standing speakers, but the 601s are going to be for my college dorm & then the two rear channels for my stereo at home.
I'll make sure to post pictures when I get them.
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GilesGuthrie
Ah sorry for not responding early everyone. Thanks Giles I will look into B&W. They look like they got some very good products! I might just get a Yamaha amp.
Hey STLbarcelona5 tell me how them B&W DM601 S3 once ya get them please.
GilesGuthrie
Staff Emeritus
- 11,038
- Edinburgh, UK
- CMDRTheDarkLord
I have a pair of B&W DM602 S3s, and they're the canine's cojones.
- 745
- Columbus
pimp racer
Simply put, they're AMAZING. First time I had everything hooked up, as in enough to listen to CDs, I just didn't know what to say. Compared to my old Sonys that I'm replacing with these, well there really isn't any comparison. And now that I have everything properly hooked up, 14ga. Ixos wire versus 18ga. radio shack stuff, and now Ixos banana plugs instead of bare, I couldn't be happier.
Actually no, I could be happier. I was happier when I found out that it was only $288 for both speakers, 55ft of wire, and 2 packs of banana plugs. Because my friend works at the video/home theatre store and I got their employee discount.
Now I just need to get a proper Mini to RCA adapter so that I can have my new Macbook Pro played through the receiver.
But now I'm rethinking a new receiver. Well actually just an Amp. A family friend of ours is somehow connected to Arcam, so if I can get an old Alpha amp that would be fantastic, because I'm really starting to notice some faults with my Nakamichi sr-2a receiver.
Just going to have to wait to see how this will all play out.
GilesGuthrie
Staff Emeritus
- 11,038
- Edinburgh, UK
- CMDRTheDarkLord
STLbarcelona5
Ahh, the upgrade trail.
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