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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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In Reply to: Wow! a whole $2,000 posted by Joe M on January 24, 2008 at 04:45:27:
... for $2000 is a challenge but is indeed possible. You need to think outside the box. If you spend equally on your parts (source, receiver, speakers, and sub) you will get the following.
a) A good $500 DVD/DVD-A/SACD player
b) A good $750 receiver (if it was on sale for $500)
c) A mediocre $500 subwoofer
d) Mediocre $500 speakers
In this case, the speakers and sub are the weak link. You can spend less on sources and receiver and still get comparable sound quality, thus freeing up money for speakers. The difference between $500 and $1000 speakers is very big IMO. You don't GET much for $500, even on sale. $1200 - $1500 is even better. The differences between $1500 and $2000 speakers is smaller, until you get into true high-end speakers starting at around $5K per pair. But remember that $5K high-end speakers are "bottom of the high-end barrel" and sometimes don't even sound as good as a good pair of $2000 mid-fi speakers!!
Here is what I would do.
1)SKIP HD and BLUE RAY FOR NOW. Save money. Buying into new formats will crush your budget. HDMI is only needed if you have a true hi-def monitor. Many people are upsampling with older monitor technology (not true 1080 compatability) and are wasting their time (IMHO) with high buck HDMI products unless they soon plan to upgrade to a true HD monitor (1080p). Many people are mixing HD *compatible* gear with HD gear. A waste of time if you ask me. HD on $2K? You'll end up with junk. Get a good $2k NON-HD system - you'll get better sound, and better DEALS too - since non-HD audio is being sold at crazy low prices. Like this:
http://www.ecost.com/Detail/DVD+Players/Pioneer/DV45A-OBD1/38607220.aspx
2)THE ABSOLUTE BEST sound quality to cost ***VALUE*** on the market is a refurbished or open-box JVC digital receiver from E-Cost.com You can get a 770W receiver (refurbished) for $100 to $250 for a basic model.
3)Also, do not bother getting an expensive SOURCE yet. The difference between a $200 and $500 source is sort of hazy these days. You're either getting into a $150 DVD-A/SACD/DVD-V player or your getting into a $1000 Denon. Sure, there are middle-of-the-road sources. But do they contain better DACs and sound better than the cheaper players, or do they just have MORE FEATURES? Tough question and answers will vary. But trust me. There is nothing wrong with a $200 source in a $2000 system.
4) Get a $450 subwoofer kit from Parts Express. There is not a subwoofer for $450 RETAIL that can touch ANYTHING parts express "Titanic" brand woofers and plate amps can do for the same money. To beat a $450 PE subwoofer kit, plan to spend over $1000 (half your budget). Why buy retail? Retail subwoofers are the single biggest RIPOFF in home audio if you ask me. And every one of them under $2000 sounds like crap to my ears. I've seen $1500 retail subs with cheesy $45 woofers with 20oz magents in them and crappy particle board enclosures. PE uses solid MDF enclosures and good plate amps with some real power behind them. Their speakers have 80 - 120 oz. magnets. I've used these woofers in DIY designs and have first hand experience with them - they are built SOLID. Sure I'm a PE shill. But it's not MY fault they offer such good value on their sub kits, right?! Both my friends are all happy with the subs I made for them from parts express parts - I didn't mind the bass either. (Then again I have different standards. My last "sub" used a $2000 professional amplifier w/ 2000 Watts and a $600 speaker driver).
5) Spend the rest on speakers.
Formula:
Receiver $200
Source $100
Sub $450
Speakers $1200
Leaves you $50 for some speaker wire! :o)
Used speakers for $1200 on Audiogon might be the trick. But since you're using a SUB you can probably get away with a couple nice stand-mount speakers like from Totem acoustics. IF you set your receiver to "small" for the main speakers, your sub is doing all of the bass "grunt" work, meaning you don't NEED tower speakers with 2, 3 or 4 bass drivers in them. Besides. A 12" woofer does low bass better than 2, 3 or 4 bass drivers anyways! If you are running your front speakers 90Hz and up (aka set to small) then one driver that is 6" to 6-1/2" is MORe than big enough!
I know this sounds crazy, but it will work. If you don't like the receiver, (how it sounds) do NOT upgrade to a higher-priced model of digital receiver, since they all bascially sound quite similar within the JVC line anyways. Save up and get a good used "analog power" receiver instead.
Hope this helped.
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