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tinyE
Since 21 Jan 2006
2004 Posts
not really an
XTreme Poster
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 Mon May 04, 09 1:07 pm OT: Audio geeks? |
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| Video is taken care of, I'm looking to step up the audio part of our theater. Does anyone have any good experiences/recommendations for a surround receiver? I want HDMI switching, and 7.1 so I can be outdated in a month. |
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pdxmonkeyboy
Since 16 May 2006
6081 Posts
forever labled as the
retired kiter & motorhead Unicorn Master
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| Mon May 04, 09 1:48 pm |
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#1 7.1 is just about the dumbest thing ever created. 90% of movies are not recorded in 7 channel audio and unless you theater room is freaking HUGE, the added 2 channels are completely non-sensical. The amount of actual sound that comes out of the surrounds and back surrounds is sooo minimal anyways. You would be much better off to get a nice center channel and some matched fronts. Probably the biggest "you get what you pay for" area is the subwoofer. I tried out like 4 different ones and finally said screw it, I'm going to build my own (infinity kapaa perfect and berringer amp) . (that is next winters project). probably won't matter as the high end receivers are 7.1 but you can always run them 5.1
#2 Anywho, I really love my ONKYO receiver. Good clean sound, decent power, multi-room capable. I have HDMI in's but no outs, but no big deal.
People also like Yamaha as well.
audiohaulics is a good website with a great home theater forum. Be careful though, the bleeding edge of audio is indeed quite sharp.
A decent amp, decent speakers and a VERY nice sub will make movies some alive. It takes some work to set up a good home theater though. Specially getting the position of the sub right. Freds sound of music has very nice gear and they will let you rent/borrow and SPL meter when it comes time to position things. |
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Hein
Since 08 Mar 2005
1314 Posts
Possessed
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| Mon May 04, 09 2:07 pm |
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+1 on the sub. Radio Shack makes decent speakers for the rest. 5.1 is plenty. good center channel is vital. I set up an outdoor theater in my backyard each summer using a projector and a 5x9 screen. Onkyo is good. Sold them in College when I worked at the stereo shop.
PDXmonkeyboy, Spec a driver and gimme some dimensions for the enclosure and I'll cut some 1" MDF. You should hear/feel the sub my daughter & I built for her Toyota Matrix.
It's not about how much power you have. You can thump with a lot less if you have efficiency. |
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pdxmonkeyboy
Since 16 May 2006
6081 Posts
forever labled as the
retired kiter & motorhead Unicorn Master
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| Mon May 04, 09 2:15 pm |
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Hein, make take you up on that when the time comes. Here is the thread on that sub. Can't decide on ported-vs-sealed. I believe that infinity likes a ported enclosure.
Anywho, here is the thread. The guy probably has the cad files for DL.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45528 |
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Hein
Since 08 Mar 2005
1314 Posts
Possessed
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| Mon May 04, 09 2:35 pm |
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| I've got an older Infinity powered sub that I use with my computer. It's ported which I believe is more efficient. We did a properly sized tuned port enclosure for the car. No baffles - just packed in some fiber fill and carpeted the outside. Adjusted the dimensions so we could nest the pieces in 1/3 sheet of mdf. Only driving it with ~100 watts but it still thumps pretty good. |
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Nak
Since 19 May 2005
4312 Posts
Camas
Site Lackey
CGKA Member
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| Mon May 04, 09 3:28 pm |
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The good thing about 7.1 is some receivers let you dedicate those two extra channels to a separate room. I've got two speakers out on the patio & that area is independent source & volume from inside.
I have two receivers, a Harmon Kardon and a Yamaha. Love the Yamaha, hate the Harmon Kardon. Six months old and it's headed back to the shop for the second time. Of course, it's a replacement for the one that died two weeks after I got it.  |
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pdxmonkeyboy
Since 16 May 2006
6081 Posts
forever labled as the
retired kiter & motorhead Unicorn Master
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| Mon May 04, 09 3:46 pm |
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| Nak wrote: | The good thing about 7.1 is some receivers let you dedicate those two extra channels to a separate room. I've got two speakers out on the patio & that area is independent source & volume from inside.
I have two receivers, a Harmon Kardon and a Yamaha. Love the Yamaha, hate the Harmon Kardon. Six months old and it's headed back to the shop for the second time. Of course, it's a replacement for the one that died two weeks after I got it. |
dude that sucks. From everything that I read, unless you want to spend 2k or something. yamaha and Onkyo are the way to go. |
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stringer
Since 31 Jul 2007
694 Posts
Chucktown
Flying Tomato
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| Mon May 04, 09 5:28 pm |
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Have you checked out the shops?
If you're ever in Portland check it out.
Fred's Sound of Music has a great selection and maybe even something used.
You can spend anywhere from a couple hundred to thousands on a receiver there.
http://www.fredsoundofmusic.com/
Echo is another good shop.
They usually have some good deals on really high end used components.
For example, they have a Rotel RSX-1067 used right now for $975 if its in the budget.
http://echohifi.com
What are you doing for speakers?
I would agree that unless your room is massive 7.1 is overkill.
I've heard great things about the Tannoy 5.1 sets. Especially for the price.
Fred's carries Paradigm which makes some sweet surround speakers too at a (relatively) low price.
_________________
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10069384@N05/sets/ |
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K4L
Since 19 Jan 2009
483 Posts
Obsessed
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| Mon May 04, 09 6:48 pm |
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| I love my Yamaha with paradigm speakers for surround. Probabally gone now but craigslist had some paradigm speakers with center channel for less than $300 couple weeks ago |
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scottman
Since 08 Jun 2007
150 Posts
hillsboro
Stoked
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| Mon May 04, 09 8:29 pm |
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| From my research I decided on the Onkyo TXsr805. Its the way to go. It has HDMI switching, THX certified and has sub pre-out. I run the sub pre out to a 1000W amp and an SVS subwoofer. HSU is another brand of sub you should look at. |
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shred_da_gorge
Since 12 Nov 2008
1365 Posts
Da Hood & Da Wood
XTreme Poster
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| Mon May 04, 09 9:15 pm |
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Two words... Bob Carver.
Oh wait, I'm dating myself. My Yamaha DSP is pretty nice, too. Good sound, lots of power, no problems. I agree that 7.1 is overrated and a tuned port sub is the way to go. I've got Boston Acoustics and Klipsch speakers but that's a subjective thing; there are better ones out there. |
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pdxmonkeyboy
Since 16 May 2006
6081 Posts
forever labled as the
retired kiter & motorhead Unicorn Master
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| Tue May 05, 09 8:31 am |
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| scottman wrote: | | From my research I decided on the Onkyo TXsr805. Its the way to go. It has HDMI switching, THX certified and has sub pre-out. I run the sub pre out to a 1000W amp and an SVS subwoofer. HSU is another brand of sub you should look at. |
Now there is a system from someone that knows their audio. Both SVS and HSU are awesome subs! Expect to lay down a grand for one of them but then you can rest assured that you will never ever want for another sub (and you'll be able to crack your drywall seams if you want to). 
speaker wise I tried infinity which I typically love for their midrange, klipsh, paradigms (the cheaper ones just sounded kind of hollow and the really good sounding ones were really expensive). I wanted to give the rocket series from AV123 a try but they are really pricey and I ultimately got tired of listening to speakers every weekend. I went with a set of Polk audio RTi'5 for the mains and a Csi4 center channel. They sound awesome but I can tell when listening that they want to be in a slightly larger space.
I tried a low powered polk and infinity sub and they both sounded muddled, boomy, and well, they sounded like cheap POS's. Went over to a friends houses and listened to his SVS ...WOW so that is what a good sub sounds like! |
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PDXF
Since 10 Sep 2008
116 Posts
Stoked
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| Tue May 05, 09 9:05 am |
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I too have Harmon Kardon... The sound is so so (picked up an old Proton amp and it kicks the HKs ass for sound quality) but I think the DAC is quite good. My HK also died so I had to replace its rear channel amps.
Don't bother with a ported subwoofer. MUDDY. Do as PDXM is going to do and build a sub box matched to the woofer, there are web sites dedicated to designing enclosures. I modified a web-spreadsheet to take the drivers specs and match the q's (throwing out the jargon now) of the enclosure to get my dimensions. Sweeet sounding well rounded base. No band pass here.
My advice: get really good speakers (they don't have a programmed obsolescence) and get a used "obsolete" 5.1 receiver. |
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tinyE
Since 21 Jan 2006
2004 Posts
not really an
XTreme Poster
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| Tue May 05, 09 9:23 am |
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Thanks guys, I appreciate the info... the TX-SR805 might be out of my range right now...
does anyone know anything about Denon? It turns out I have a 'friend in the business'. |
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scottman
Since 08 Jun 2007
150 Posts
hillsboro
Stoked
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| Tue May 05, 09 12:00 pm |
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| tinyE wrote: | Thanks guys, I appreciate the info... the TX-SR805 might be out of my range right now...
does anyone know anything about Denon? It turns out I have a 'friend in the business'. :thumb: |
look at onkyo's entry level tx-sr606 it looks like it is retailing for about $500 at newegg so you can probably find a deal somewhere for $400.
Denon is good but will cost more than the equivalent Onkyo. |
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pdxmonkeyboy
Since 16 May 2006
6081 Posts
forever labled as the
retired kiter & motorhead Unicorn Master
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| Tue May 05, 09 12:04 pm |
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the 606 is a great receiver. 90 watts a channel, farudja upscaling to 1081 i. HDMI 1.3. $400 on the bay. oh good christ, when did I become such a techno humping douche bag?  |
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scottman
Since 08 Jun 2007
150 Posts
hillsboro
Stoked
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| Tue May 05, 09 12:09 pm |
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[quote="pdxmonkeyboy"] | scottman wrote: | (and you'll be able to crack your drywall seams if you want to). :thumb:
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Try "U571" the depth charge scene. You'll know if you have a good sub if it can make it thru that scene! The SVS will pump out 110dB flat down to 10Hz. I reinforced the floor below the sub because of the excessive floor vibration. |
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