School me on home audio

[motoman]

Over the past 4-5 months I've been putting together a decent setup with my tv, blue ray, and xbox but now I'm ready to put together a home theater/surround sound system. But this is where I need some help from you guys that have done it.

First I want to ask if a home theater system & a surround sound system are the same thing? Or are they 2 different things in the audio world?

Is it better to purchase components as a set or purchase them piece by piece?

Are there components that are worth spending more money on?

[LS1Goat]

Consumer grade home theater gear is generally a 5.1 or 7.1 channel surround format. Now that more Blu-ray titles and games are becoming available in a lossless 7.1 DTS MA, you are now seeing a greater bias of 7.1 AV receivers on the market. However, most of my Blu-ray titles are in 5.1 channel Uncompressed PCM, DTS MA, or Dolby True HD. And if you like to stream HD content, Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 is the de facto standard. And will continue to be for quite sometime for IP streaming of HD codecs.

The two main questions you need to ask yourself are; What is your budget? Are you looking for a entry-mid level plug and play HTIB type system or a reference component system? Your budget will usually dictate which one that is.

People who are new to AV sometimes like to go with a quality HTIB system or a budget component system. A reference system involves much more than just plugging in speaker wire, cables, and running AudysseyEQ. Speaker location & height, acoustic treatments, calibrating with a weighted meter, etc....all come into play if you're looking to accurately reproduce the authority, image, sonic detail, and directionality at your listening position.

If you chose a HTIB system, it's plug n play and no worries. Pro's: Easy setup, matched components, smaller foot print in some cases, aesthetics, etc.. Con's: Marginal to decent sound, small under powered subs, supplied speaker wire is crap, limited connectivity, no room to grow, etc..I've heard a couple that are decent.

A component system starts with a quality AVR. Onkyo, Denon, Marantz, etc..And all new models decode lossless audio codecs, 3D ready HDMI 1.4 spec, Pro Logic IIz, and have features like DLNA. Speakers will depend on how fat your wallet is and how much air space you need to fill. You can find quality speakers in small form factor without having giant floor standing speakers or spending big money on tapped horns. And, of course, don't mix and match your mains, center, and surrounds. Keep them the same brand and all impedance matched. Most speakers are 8 ohms. Most new AVRs will support 6 - 16 ohm speakers. When it comes to subs, that's were you don't want to skimp. Most Blu-ray action flicks today dig deep into infrasonic levels. Going below 20Hz with real authority is expensive. SVS, Dr. HSU, DIY, EPIK, Elemental, etc.. are all some of the top brands for serious AV enthusiasts. Sub placement is also crucial. Speaker wire, I use 12 and 14 gauge speaker wire even on short throws. Try to keep your speaker wire cuts as equal in length as possible, especially for the mains.

AudysseyEQ with the supplied microphone, will get you in the ball park regarding speaker calibration. I personally use a mid grade sound level meter with C weighting to manually calibrate to reference. I just allow Audyssey to set the speaker delay. I recommend getting a AVIA calibration disc, but the built in test tone on any decent AVR will get you in the ballpark. If you are looking for accurate sound reproduction, this is an important step. Especially, in poor acoustic environments like open living rooms, high ceilings, speakers not on same horizontal plane, etc..

[motoman]

I'm wanting to keep it under $1500 if at all possible. My biggest thing is I want to have something I add onto or build off of later on down the road.

[4.6coupe]

We have enjoyed our bose package for years now... crystal clear, amd no noise in the background at low volume. Pretty pricey upfront, or you can get a used set prettt cheap...

[94mstng94]

Not a fan of bose.

No highs, no lows... bose

[motoman]

How does the Klipsch brand of home theater stuff rate? I've been a fan of their computer speakers for a while and wouldn't mind sticking with them if they have quality equipment.

[LS1Goat]

Klipsch is good gear. They also make some good affordable ported down firing subs that are fairly clean and accurate. I've heard some of there reference series horn based floor standing speakers. The sound was very precise, bright, and clear.

And if you are looking for room to grow in the future, then a component system is the way to go. A good AVR will give you a myriad of connectivity options and features. And you can build a good system with your budget. Shop around on Newegg for good speaker package deals. Crutchfield also will post package deals every once in a while. I get a lot of miscellaneous stuff (e.g., sanus stands, cables, etc..) super cheap at partsexpress.com

[Venom]

I just bought a new house with a media room so I have been researching a lot of HT and AV stuff. If you want good quality stuff with lower prices stay away from the big box stores. There are a few places that are online only manufactures such as www.htd.com and www.bicamerica.com. They are not on the level of the high end stuff but they are a good beginner system that allows you to grow. I am going with inwall for aesthetics so I am sacrificing some sound quality but I am not a true audiophile like other people so the no names work for me. I am going with BIC America horn speakers for my setup.
www.accessories4less.com has the best deal on AVR's if you don't mind having a refurbished unit. HTD has a showroom in Plano if you want to go and listen to their stuff. It probably doesn't need to be said but you can find stuff cheaper if you shop around online. I have very limited knowledge but I'm in the same boat as you. Let me know if you need anymore help.

[motoman]

Thanks for the info so far fellas, this is definitely the sort of info I've been looking for.

Klipsch is good gear. They also make some good affordable ported down firing subs that are fairly clean and accurate. I've heard some of there reference series horn based floor standing speakers. The sound was very precise, bright, and clear.

Is the Polk brand a lower quality brand than Klipsch?

[LS1Goat]

Is the Polk brand a lower quality brand than Klipsch?

I say comparable. I'm biased though because my mains, center, and surrounds are Polk. I think they are a quality speaker for the money. There's always better, but that's the case in any hobby.

[motoman]

I say comparable. I'm biased though because my mains, center, and surrounds are Polk. I think they are a quality speaker for the money. There's always better, but that's the case in any hobby.

So going with Polk may be a way to get comparable sound quality for a less expensive price? Most of the Polk stuff I've looked at so far is $100 or more cheaper.

I see you've got floor standing speakers, a center channel, a sub, and then rear/surround sound speakers. How are floor standing speakers different than rear/surround sound speakers?

[LS1Goat]

Yes, my mains-center-surrounds are Polk. I run dual Infinity 400watt RMS 12" ported subs utilizing Monster sub interconnects. They are calibrated +3 dB above the mains.

The floor standing speakers usually just feature a larger speaker diameter. Usually, offers more mid bass as opposed to the small form speakers. The frequency range will be lower than the typical 100Hz that you usually see on the small form factor speakers. This allows you to dial down your sub crossover points. Usually meaning a more smooth transition.

Polk is all across the board in terms of price. You can find the RTi floor speakers for $300-$400 apiece. You can also get sound of the cheaper packaged sets like the RM85s. That produce great sound from a small footprint.

There are a lot of good brand speakers out there. It just depends on your budget and how big of a footprint you desire for your listening area.

Klipsch is a great choice, if that's what you're interested in. And so is SVS and Infinity.

[fordracing19]

I have the older klipsch reference series towers and surrounds and a svs pb2+ sub. It sounds great for home theatre and music. To my ears the smaller book shelf speakers and cubes are not very musical.
Sent from my iPhone killer!

[stangin4lyfe]

Lots of good info in this thread!

I just wanted to share what I purchased this past weekend for a really great price(incase anyone else is interested in a good deal too).
The system was $1,297 regularly and I paid $497 at Frys in Arlington(they had 2 left).
Do your research and you will see this is a pretty sweet deal.
Tiger Direct had a similar deal, but it did not include the powered 8" subwoofer.
This system sounds great and is well worth the money(the receiver alone sells for $300-$350).

ONKYO AND JAMO HOME THEATER PACKAGE INCLUDES 2 TOWERS, 2 REARS, 1 CENTER CHANNEL, 8" SUBWOOFER AND ONKYO 3D READY HOME THEATER RECEIVER

I got it at Fry's(here is the ad: http://www.frys.com/ads/page6)
Onkyo TX-NR509(read here: http://reviews.cnet.com/av-receivers...-34505278.html)
Jamo surround sound w/subwoofer(these are built/shipped straight from Klipse).

[momo]

im not a fan of polk audio but even i would buy the LSi series.

buy these:

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ele/2554621691.html