Need advice on new sound system?

pa8style

I got a sony 60 inch xbr2 hdtv, PS3 and looking for a new sound system. I have done some research and the more I read the more I get confuse. I have a budget of 1500 dollar or a little more and I am looking for something that is future proof. I don't like HTIB to much. I want to mix and match. My living room is average, the distance between my tv and couch is 15 in. I am more looking into 5.1 vs 7.1 because I don't think two more speaker would make that much of a difference. Also is having a tower speaker better that having several small front speaker?

unotis

I would get the KEF 3005 home theater system which includes center channel, 2 front, 2 rear and a powered subwoofer and then get a good home theater receiver to power it, there are several very good ones like Sony, Pioneer, Marantz, Onkyo and several others.

If you want to see a review on the system and research some reviews on receivers go to www.cnetreviews.com and look them up especially the KEF system and look at the receivers and see which one gets the best review and has the best pricing.

I do know on eBay the KEF system is being sold by some reputable authorized dealers for just over $1000, then add the receiver you find it should fit into your budget.

I hope this helps and good luck!

__________________
B&K Audio/Video Receiver 507
Harman/Kardon TC30 universal remote
Martin Logan Odyssey speakers
Martin Logan Center Channel speaker
Velodyne DPS-12 Powered Subwoofer
B&W rear speakers
Toshiba XA1, XA2, A2 HD DVD players
Sony PS3 40 GB
Panasonic TH-42PZ700U 1080p plasma
Panasonic 34" Tau CT-34WX50 widescreen HD-ready CRT
Monster Power Center
Motorola Dual Tuner DVR/ HDTV capable
Officially PURPLE
HD DVDs = 105
Blu-Ray Discs = 45 with 5 on the way

Bigloww

Do you mean 15in or 15ft??? I hope ft. or your eye doctor is gonna love you. What is the rome size/dimensions? I really love the Onkyo TX-SR705 and the 805. With your budget, the 805 may fit your needs better. I can't afford the 805 and opted for the 605 myself. Great receiver for the money. They both have 3 HDMI 1.3 inputs, support Dolby True HD and DTS HD and upconconvert everything through the single HDMI out (even analog). The 705 can be had for under $600 and the 805 for around $850. Ohh and BTW, nothing is truely "future proof" but these are pretty close......

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR805...3759412&sr=1-1

That will leave you a good chunk of change for a nice 5.1 speaker package. So many to choose from in you price range. I like Polk, Infinity and Klipsch. Go out and start listening.. Here is a good package for around $650..

http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-KSW-12...759661&sr=8-10

http://www.sounddistributors.com/buy...at_name=Search

Loves2Watch

I agree with bigloww as I have three Onkyo receivers, the TX-SR 875, 805 and 705. They are all exceptional and I believe the 805 would be the ticket for you. As for speakers, there are many quality brands available and I have chosen Paradigm as they are a great value for the money and sound better than speakers costing 2 to 3 times as much. The following is a guide for purchasing speakers.
1) Don’t scrimp.
Your home entertainment speaker system is not the place to get cheap. You’ve heard the phrase, “where the rubber meets the road” to denote something’s importance? Just as a good set of tires is essential to the performance of an automobile, a good set of speakers is crucial to the performance of a home entertainment system—whether there are 20 speakers or just two.
The speakers are the last stops for sound on the way to your ears. So you can have the world’s greatest DVD player and amplifiers, all creating this beautiful sound, but if you have a lousy set of speakers, it will still sound lousy. In other words, your system will only be as good as its speakers.
There’s no set figure on how much you should spend on audio versus video, but a good benchmark is to try to budget for them equally, and look for a set of speakers to fit the audio portion. Try to spend at least as much on your speakers as you spend on your other audio components.
2) Leave Mr. Audio at home.
Everyone seems to have a friend or relative who is a self-professed audio expert, and when he—and usually it is a he—gets wind that you’re buying a home theater, he’ll suddenly become your self-appointed shopping consultant/escort/new best pal. Leave this guy at home. Chances are he will try to talk you into buying a system that he likes, not the one that is best for you. And he may be grossly misinformed. Consult him over the phone if you must.
3) Same speakers, all around.
Ideally, you’d have the exact same speakers throughout your home entertainment system. If it’s a five-speaker system, try to use the same five speakers. This is often difficult, as the front center channel is usually positioned horizontally, and you may not have room for full-size surround speakers. If that’s the case, look for packaged home theater speaker systems, though don’t bother with inexpensive home-theater-in-a-box systems which often include DVD players and A/V receivers. Opt instead for a package that comes with only speakers. Many manufacturers sell all five or more speakers together, with a smaller center channel and surrounds. The advantage of these speakers is that they are designed to work well together.
The speakers should also have identical power ratings and frequency ranges. A 5.1 surround-sound system, for example, calls for five full-range speaker channels. Look for ranges starting at 60 to 100 hertz for the low sounds and up to 20 kilohertz for the high sounds, and leave the really low bass for a subwoofer to reproduce. Some center-channel and surround speakers may have narrower frequency ranges, as they don’t normally reproduce some lower sounds, for instance.
If you can’t get all the same models or a package for the speakers, try to get them from the same manufacturer’s line, or from the same manufacturer, as each speaker maker tends to have a signature sound. That way, the speakers will sound good together. If you have to use a mix of brands, be sure your electronics professional matches them for tonal quality. This process is called timbre (pronounced tamber) matching.
4) The center channel rules.
It may be smaller than the other front speakers. It may lie on its side and look like it’s not doing much. But the center channel is the most important speaker in a surround-sound system. All of the on-screen dialogue comes through this speaker, and about 70 percent of all sounds in a movie soundtrack come through it. That’s a lot. Scrimp on it or buy an underpowered one, and you may be constantly turning up the volume to hear what’s being said. That doesn’t make for good a home entertainment experience. That’s why the center channel should have the same power ratings as your other speakers. Don’t settle for less.
5) Power isn’t all-important.
Sure, Mr. Audio friend brags about his 200-watt-per-channel blah de-de-blah blah blah. And his system can still sound lousy. Power isn’t important unless you have a really big room to fill. Save the 100-watt-per-channel systems for dedicated home theater rooms where you want to shake, rattle and roll. Sixty watts per channel should be plenty in a family room environment. Thirty-five watts per channel is more than enough for background music.
6) Sensitivity wins.
This is the age of Mr. Sensitive. Much more important than the power capacity of a speaker is its sensitivity, which is a measure of how a speaker plays at low power. This is expressed in decibels, from about 83 to 93, the higher the better. And here’s a little factoid for Mr. Audio: An increase in 3 decibels of sensitivity is equal to doubling the power. The higher-sensitivity system will likely sound better as well.
7) Surround channels should be diffused.
That means they are meant to create ambient effects that can’t quite be localized, such as the hum of a spaceship or crickets chirping in the night. You shouldn’t be hearing your surround speakers all of the time. And you shouldn’t be able to pinpoint where those ambient sounds are coming from. For that reason, surround speakers should be located on the sides of the seating area and at least a foot above the heads of the seated audience. Many surround speakers have dual sets of speaker drivers pointed to both the front and back of the room to help disperse that sound. These are called bipole speakers. A dipole speaker goes step further and produces a sound that’s slightly “out of phase,” which you can think of as a slight delay between the two sets of drivers, thereby making the sound even more ambient. Bipolar and dipolar speakers are used almost exclusively for side surround channels.
8) More is not necessarily better.
One speaker has three drivers: a woofer for bass, a tweeter for high sounds and a midrange driver for sounds in the middle. The other speaker has just a woofer and a tweeter. The two speakers are about the same price. Which is better? All other things being equal, the two-driver speaker will likely have the better drivers, and the three-driver speaker will have cheaper ones. Moral of the story: Don’t be swayed by the notion of getting more for same price or less.
9) Try them out.
Listen to several speaker systems before you buy. And don’t just listen to the music or soundtracks the store has. The best way to judge a speaker is to hear how it reproduces the human voice. Bring CDs and DVDs of your own and that you are very familiar with. It’s a good idea to select various tracks or DVD chapters that have loud and soft sounds. Bring vocal tracks and a DVD with some really soft or whispered dialogue. Can you hear that whispered dialogue clearly? Listen to the CDs and DVDs before you go to the store, even if you’re sick of them. This will enable you to judge the speakers’ sound and perhaps pick out sounds that you’ve never heard before.
10) Buy what you like.
Don’t be influenced by “this is the better system.” or deceptive marketing (BOSE). If one speaker sounds better to you, go with it. You’re the one who’s going to be hearing it day in and day out. But be sure to take other things into consideration, such as the room decor and layout, and consult your electronics dealer on which system would be best for a large space with hardwood floors, for example.

Make sure you go to a quality audio/video store so that you have more quality options as opposed to BB or CC.

__________________
Theater 1 - Panasonic TH-85PF12U Plasma TV, 6 Conrad Johnson LP275M Amps, Anthem Statement D-2 Pre/Pro, 6 Thiel SCS4 Speakers, 2 REL T-1 Subs, Infinity Interlude 120S Sub, Simaudio MOON Orbiter Universal Disc Player, ELP Laser Turntable, 2 Dish Network ViP 622 DVR's, Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Player, Onkyo DV-HD805 HD DVD Player.

pa8style

Bigloww and unitos, thanks for the reply. unitos I check out them speaker at cnet and I am very impressive. I have never heard of KEF before but I am glad you brought it to my attention. Bigloww, yea it's 15 ft lol. So onkyo are pretty good receiver? how good are they compare to the yamaha 661 I think.

360kid

You do not really have to go with a HTiB but I wouldn't "mix n match" either. You can get a reciever and speakers from different brands, but, what ever brand speaker you choose, buy all of the same brand speakers.

Do NOT buy Polk fronts and Onkyo rears and a Yamaha center, etc.

Do buy all of the same brand and model line for the speakers. For example, if you like Polk, then get all of your speakers from Polk from the same Model line. This way all of your speakers are sound matched and will work well with one another.

I personally recommend a High end Polk, Onkyo, Yamaha, or Denon set up. Find something from one of these brands for between 1 - 2 grand and you will have a pretty rockin system.

Also, tower vs small speakers does not matter, only Quality matters. Some small speakers will sound better than some towers and vice versa.

__________________
Hitachi 50" Plasma 1080HD
Sharp 32" LCD
Toshiba HD-A2
Playstation 3
Xbox 360
Pioneer HTiB
Directv HD

unotis

Believe me, KEF is a high end speaker company (based in England I think), If you want the best for the money they are it!

Look at my speaker system, can you see them?.. the total speaker set-up ran over $10,000 and I would buy the KEF system in a heart beat and think it is actually a better system for a medium home theater set-up.

And yes, Yamaha is a really good audio/video receiver company and I would actually think they are slightly better then the also very good Onkyo receivers but look at both and you decide and also look at the cNet reviews of them.

Mine is actually a little large for my room, now don't get me wrong I am not replacing it but, if I had seen the KEF system I would have saved the money and still been thrilled.

__________________
B&K Audio/Video Receiver 507
Harman/Kardon TC30 universal remote
Martin Logan Odyssey speakers
Martin Logan Center Channel speaker
Velodyne DPS-12 Powered Subwoofer
B&W rear speakers
Toshiba XA1, XA2, A2 HD DVD players
Sony PS3 40 GB
Panasonic TH-42PZ700U 1080p plasma
Panasonic 34" Tau CT-34WX50 widescreen HD-ready CRT
Monster Power Center
Motorola Dual Tuner DVR/ HDTV capable
Officially PURPLE
HD DVDs = 105
Blu-Ray Discs = 45 with 5 on the way