An audiophile here ?

[tempestivo]

Hey ,

I am trying to set up a home theater and i am looking at getting some audiophile speakers.As I am no expert ,not even close to being one in fact , I was wondering if I could get some help on speaker brands and hook ups needed


Thanks

 

[alexo]

What's your room dimensions? Any constraints on moving the speakers away from the walls? what kind of music do you like? how important is bass to you? budget?

 

[global_dev]

Hey ,

I am trying to set up a home theater and i am looking at getting some audiophile speakers.As I am no expert ,not even close to being one in fact , I was wondering if I could get some help on speaker brands and hook ups needed

Thanks

I trust these guys at Audioholics http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/

Check out Audiogon for buying used or diyaudio for making them yourself if you have the capacity.

I have some Klipsch f-1s (for stereo) and Jamo's (for surround) that sound awesome and pretty budget. IMHO decent speakers paired with great transport and processing will still be pretty impressive.

A bit off topic and I know some people say they don't hear a great difference in audio formats, but I believe there is truly a difference between CD, SACD, DVD-A, and blu-ray audio, audible even on the budget speakers in my system.

 

[tempestivo]

dimensions would be for a 7mX5m space.I guess I'd like to keep the speakers close to the walls.I like mostly rock ,indie sometimes,classical music.Bass is very important in fact .The budget? 1500?

GlobalDev - I really know close to nothing about a sound system. What I have is a Marantz receiver and i want to build around it .What do I need ? What exactly is a pre-amp/amp device ?

Thanks guys

 

[Kouros]

Dynaudio makes the best speakers around.

Check out www.jolida.com for some great budget tube amps. Once you listen to them, you'll never go back to solid state again.

 

[alexo]

For this budget, I think you'll do well if you get second hand quality components from Audiogon.

Source - media computer - either build one (get a second hand computer if you must) or get a technician to install the hardware needed (sound card and/or DVD) and software.

I'd prioritize the budget on the electronics since good speakers are relatively easy to find and improve easily. A mere rubber plate by HRS can make a world of difference for any speaker, including very expensive ones, so improvising something like it can improve too (based on experience).

I'd get mini-monitors and sub-woofer instead of full range at this budget.

 

[DS/B MCS]

It will be difficult to put together a home theater system with your $1500 budget...unless you are looking for HT in a box. Based on your musical choices, and room size it would be possible to spend your entire budget on a good sub. If you can't increase your budget, I'd suggest searching the different audio/video forums for used equipment. Nothing wrong with preowned equipment even if you can increase your budget

 

[DS/B MCS]

Dynaudio makes the best speakers around.

Check out www.jolida.com for some great budget tube amps. Once you listen to them, you'll never go back to solid state again.

Cheap Shot

 

[tempestivo]

i am going to only get pre-owned stuff . My starting point would be -what do I need ?????

Maybe a list of things to look for ,brand names??

 

[alexo]

If you have a computer, you just need to install a sound card - a 5.1 channels like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102020

Multi channel power amplifier such as this:
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1279897447&/Marantz-MM-9000

Adcom and Rotel are also good brand to check out at this price.

Speakers - I'd go for monitors like these:
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/magnepan/mmgw.html

I have good experience with Magnepans and if you need to place them on the wall, these should do well.

The price for these will leave enough for a working sub-woofer

If you want 4 channels (you can do without a center) you'll get best results if the distance between you and each speaker is the same. I don't know if it's workable in your room. At least with the Maggies, the price is affordable enough for 4 channels.

Note: you'll have to do with cheap cables - second hand only - each speaker requires a speaker cable and you'll need an interconnect for each channel.

 

[mdevine]

If you have a computer, you just need to install a sound card - a 5.1 channels like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102020

Multi channel power amplifier such as this:
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1279897447&/Marantz-MM-9000

Adcom and Rotel are also good brand to check out at this price.

Speakers - I'd go for monitors like these:
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/magnepan/mmgw.html

I have good experience with Magnepans and if you need to place them on the wall, these should do well.

The price for these will leave enough for a working sub-woofer

If you want 4 channels (you can do without a center) you'll get best results if the distance between you and each speaker is the same. I don't know if it's workable in your room. At least with the Maggies, the price is affordable enough for 4 channels.

Note: you'll have to do with cheap cables - second hand only - each speaker requires a speaker cable and you'll need an interconnect for each channel.

I have magnepans and love them but they need to positioned out from the walls quite a bit to sound their best.

 

[alexo]

I have magnepans and love them but they need to positioned out from the walls quite a bit to sound their best.

You're right but this model is supposed to be equalized and designed to for wall placement.

 

[global_dev]

dimensions would be for a 7mX5m space.I guess I'd like to keep the speakers close to the walls.I like mostly rock ,indie sometimes,classical music.Bass is very important in fact .The budget? 1500?

GlobalDev - I really know close to nothing about a sound system. What I have is a Marantz receiver and i want to build around it .What do I need ? What exactly is a pre-amp/amp device ?

Many a/v receivers integrate the processing (pre-amp) and amplification (amp) into one unit and have certain tradeoffs for that integration. Your marantz may be a model that is pre-amp/amp.

with separates (processor & amplifiers) you can mix and match.

At the moment I have not seriously auditioned any super high-end speakers since my budget doesn't allow and I don't have the time nor "
that" ear. I was very budget conscious and my speakers were on sale at a price i couldn't pass up. I picked up an Oppo BDP-83 and have a receiver that can't decode the HD formats and isn't HDMI, but it still sounds pretty ridiculous at the HD-core levels via spdif on BR-audio. I listen to CDDA/SACD stereo audio using a mix of digital coax/pcm depending on the source.

As for bass, I like bass, but I realized I didn't need a lot of it with the proper sub and levels. I have an 8" 200W down firing sub and it is plenty good on LFE.

 

[global_dev]

A lot of people really enjoy the MartinLogans.

 

[ouch]

I have magnepans and love them but they need to positioned out from the walls quite a bit to sound their best.

I never met anyone who owned Maggies who didn't love them.

 

[xtalicious]

I did a lot of research and auditioning of speakers several years ago and ended up with speakers from Axiom.

http://axiomaudio.com/

They're fantastic speakers, and represent a great value. I would suggest building a setup slowly: start with mains, then add a center, then rears. The sub can come anytime in this sequence. I opted to build my own sub, which gave me much better performance for the money.

 

[Kouros]

Best to call Mike Allen at Jolida and Bill Baker at Response Audio. These guys know their stuff and will talk to you for hours to help you get started on a budget. They can put together a $2,000 system that will bury most setups costing twice that much.

 

[Kouros]

A lot of people really enjoy the MartinLogans.

Way too revealing if you are on a budget. They need lots of costly juice and a huge room to sound their best.

 

[Kouros]

I have magnepans and love them but they need to positioned out from the walls quite a bit to sound their best.

They need to be at least 5 feet from the rear walls to work their best, otherwise you are wasting your money. I owned the 1.6's for a while. Plus they need at least 200 watts per channel to really sing. They do not have much bass either.

 

[ouch]

They need to be at least 5 feet from the rear walls to work their best, otherwise you are wasting your money. I owned the 1.6's for a while. Plus they need at least 200 watts per channel to really sing.

So?