Putting together a home system
- Thread starter epic
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Pako
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Budget = $700.00
Clearest sound possible = $200k+
Good speakers alone are gonna run ya past your budget for those high standards...
Clear sound = clean power, good cable, short cable runs, good speakers, good D/A converters for digital.
So you need a receiver (with power amp for that budget) and a CD Player, along with speakers, wire, and 5.1 DTS or Dolby ProLogic?
Clearest sound possible = $200k+
Good speakers alone are gonna run ya past your budget for those high standards...
Clear sound = clean power, good cable, short cable runs, good speakers, good D/A converters for digital.
So you need a receiver (with power amp for that budget) and a CD Player, along with speakers, wire, and 5.1 DTS or Dolby ProLogic?
Pako
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BTW - almost all audio is recorded in a 20hz-20,000hz range. Nothing below, nothing above. The human ear can't even hear below 20hz. Anything below that is just distortion.....elephants could hear the bass though, I think they can hear down to 12hz.
GilesGuthrie
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I think you meant 70-15,000Hz, not KHz.
However, this is not nearly the range you need. You need 35-20,000Hz.
Although Pako is right in not being able to hear the subsonics, there are other parts of the body which experience them, most notably the stomach, which can create some rather interesting physiological effects when stimulated by <50Hz sound waves.
I would also agree with Pako that your budget is nowhere near the amount you're going to need to get an anything-like-decent Surround Setup.
My advice is to buy a DVD player now, so that you can start collecting media rather than continuing to waste money on VHS. Then save save save for the rest of the kit. You don't need to buy it all in one go (although that would be fun!)
Pako
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Well, after much consideration, you could probably get into a nice Reciever for your budget amount. At which time, maybe hit the garage sales for speakers to 'get you by' until you can make another plunge dropping another 700+ for speakers. The only reason why I say this is, is that you obviously want a good/great/best system. One question for you though, what is an example of the best system you've heard? I assume that's your reference point of what a good system sounds like. Anyhow, we should be able to find a desent receiver for $550-$700. As GG said, you don't need to buy it all in one go.
Another consideration, when picking out speakers....you said that speakers didn't matter, home, car, whatever. Well there is some considerations with the speakers Ohm or resistance capacity. Most consumer Home audio systems are based on 8 ohm loads. High End, audiophile or Pro Consumer Home audio is usually based on 16 ohm loads. Car audio runs at 4 ohm loads and below. So...., what I'm saying is, make sure if your going to hookup Car speakers to a home theatre amp, make sure the ohm loads are consistant with what the amp can handle. Don't hookup a 4ohm speaker to a 8ohm load amp.
Also, on the topic of Ohms, the higher the number, the greater the resistance which means you need more power to create the same db, however, at higher ohm loads, your power and signal to noise level with less, providing you with much cleaner power and sound.
Another consideration, when picking out speakers....you said that speakers didn't matter, home, car, whatever. Well there is some considerations with the speakers Ohm or resistance capacity. Most consumer Home audio systems are based on 8 ohm loads. High End, audiophile or Pro Consumer Home audio is usually based on 16 ohm loads. Car audio runs at 4 ohm loads and below. So...., what I'm saying is, make sure if your going to hookup Car speakers to a home theatre amp, make sure the ohm loads are consistant with what the amp can handle. Don't hookup a 4ohm speaker to a 8ohm load amp.
Also, on the topic of Ohms, the higher the number, the greater the resistance which means you need more power to create the same db, however, at higher ohm loads, your power and signal to noise level with less, providing you with much cleaner power and sound.
- 2,223
- Miami
GG, I already own a DVD Player, I have one of those Sony 6 Disc DVD Players.
Pako, the best system I've heard would prolly have to be the movies lol. but of course thats no where in my budget i know. but the home system i'm interested in making is for a smaller room, maybe 22X18ft at most is the size. thats why I said car\home\any kinda speakers because I've seen the ones that come with some of these home theatres and they are absolutely to big and will not fit in the room.
but as for right now, I can deal with the speakers I have, just not the reciever..anyone got a decent one thats affordable within my budget?
thanks for the help guys, really appreciate it
Pako, the best system I've heard would prolly have to be the movies lol. but of course thats no where in my budget i know. but the home system i'm interested in making is for a smaller room, maybe 22X18ft at most is the size. thats why I said car\home\any kinda speakers because I've seen the ones that come with some of these home theatres and they are absolutely to big and will not fit in the room.
but as for right now, I can deal with the speakers I have, just not the reciever..anyone got a decent one thats affordable within my budget?
thanks for the help guys, really appreciate it
- 9,209
- DerAlta
Harmon Kardon AVR125 Will run you about $400 new, and be a solid reciever for years to come.
It has 4 inputs, and it's got your choice of 3 Co-ax or 3 optical inputs. This would leave you $300 extra to pick up the extra speakers or Sub or Cables that you need.
Polk Audio 50 Watt Powered Sub can be found for about $150. That leaves a center and two rears, assuming you already have two front speakers.
I do recommend Monster Cable (any good wire) for Speker wire, as it makes a big difference from the cheap stuff at Radio Shack. In all, figure about 20% of your budget will go towards wire connections.
And these guys above are right. If I'd have paid store price on my stuff, I would have dumped $5000 on my audio system alone, not including the TV.
Now that's not to say that your budget is too restrictive, You've got a realistic budget that can be used to build a nice system. Don't skimp on the reciever. You can easily sell a set of speakers and pick up new ones. It's tougher to find a buyer for a nice amp.
Good luck,
AO
It has 4 inputs, and it's got your choice of 3 Co-ax or 3 optical inputs. This would leave you $300 extra to pick up the extra speakers or Sub or Cables that you need.
Polk Audio 50 Watt Powered Sub can be found for about $150. That leaves a center and two rears, assuming you already have two front speakers.
I do recommend Monster Cable (any good wire) for Speker wire, as it makes a big difference from the cheap stuff at Radio Shack. In all, figure about 20% of your budget will go towards wire connections.
And these guys above are right. If I'd have paid store price on my stuff, I would have dumped $5000 on my audio system alone, not including the TV.
Now that's not to say that your budget is too restrictive, You've got a realistic budget that can be used to build a nice system. Don't skimp on the reciever. You can easily sell a set of speakers and pick up new ones. It's tougher to find a buyer for a nice amp.
Good luck,
AO
Pako
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http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=567695/prsrt=1/ut=405b7634c161b6cb
Might be just tad over his limit. At that price point, you might as well go with seperate power amps..., per channel.
- 2,223
- Miami
that one is nice, but its more than triple my budget, lol and thats just for the reciever.. it doesnt need to be top of the line equip.. but I don't want pure crap either..
Der Alta, thanks for the input, I have a sub and 2 front speakers already that i can bare with for a lil while until I get enough to get new ones.
main things I need at the moment are: rear speakers, center speaker, amp and reciever.. i have around 100ft of monster cable so I'm good on the wiring budget. but those are the main things I need to look in to as of right now
Der Alta, thanks for the input, I have a sub and 2 front speakers already that i can bare with for a lil while until I get enough to get new ones.
main things I need at the moment are: rear speakers, center speaker, amp and reciever.. i have around 100ft of monster cable so I'm good on the wiring budget. but those are the main things I need to look in to as of right now
- 9,209
- DerAlta
Epic: hey, You're welcome.
So really at the moment, what you'd like to do is spend $700 wisely on a reciever and 3 speakers?
Take a walk into Circuit City/Best Buy, pick out the HK AVR125, (2) Polk R15BLACK speakers, and the Polk cs120BLACK center speaker. All total $635. Make sure you've got all the other necesary cables to hook up components. Not top of the line B&M's but they'll do for the moment. In two years, you can upgrade the front speakers, and another year following add on a power amp, using the HK as the pre-amp.
For the time being the HK will have enough power to drive everything you need to enjoy a movie.
In my system at home, I have an Onkyo reciever and Infiniti speakers. The HK and hte Polks will drive the bass much better. My music tastes aimed me in a different direction.
Also note, that Denon makes excellent equipment and it's very likely that you can find an equal to the HK in a Denon Product.
Good luck,
AO
So really at the moment, what you'd like to do is spend $700 wisely on a reciever and 3 speakers?
Take a walk into Circuit City/Best Buy, pick out the HK AVR125, (2) Polk R15BLACK speakers, and the Polk cs120BLACK center speaker. All total $635. Make sure you've got all the other necesary cables to hook up components. Not top of the line B&M's but they'll do for the moment. In two years, you can upgrade the front speakers, and another year following add on a power amp, using the HK as the pre-amp.
For the time being the HK will have enough power to drive everything you need to enjoy a movie.
In my system at home, I have an Onkyo reciever and Infiniti speakers. The HK and hte Polks will drive the bass much better. My music tastes aimed me in a different direction.
Also note, that Denon makes excellent equipment and it's very likely that you can find an equal to the HK in a Denon Product.
Good luck,
AO
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