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joshigh
05-01-2004, 06:12 AM
Ok, I'm slowly piecing back together my HT system. And I wanted some educated input from those with more experience than I. I'm hoping I can tell you what I'm looking at purchasing, then you tell me what you would change, or substitute to round out the system a little better. My living room is prewired for 6.1, with an open floor plan, about 20' long, by 15' wide. I'm trying to keep the budget as low as I can, without sacrificing good sound quality, especially in music. HT will be the secondary use, but I still want it to sound good, I'm just concerned about stereo sound quality from CD, and HDCD type formats, because that's what I enjoy most out of a system. My experience is limited to JBL Northridge series, and Sony mid level components, STR-D845 receiver. I had the a wide range of JBLs at one point, N28s, N26s, N24s, N38s. These never let me down, but I bet I could do better with a little bit more cash, and more knowledge going in.

Here is what I've considered so far.

Receiver - $400 on a internet deal, not retail - Onkyo, Pioneer? Undecided at this point.

Fronts - Must be bookshelf, and the cab can't be too large, due to placement. - Paradigm Studio 20 or Titans or Focus or Monitor 3 - Which is the best bang for the buck. I'm willing to sink a little more into the fronts, because two channel is more important to me than HT, but I don't want overkill.

Center - Match to fronts.

Rears - Paradigm ADP-120 or Atoms

Sub - Velodyne CT-120(already own this) I've thought of upgrading this later down the line. Sometimes I think the bass could be tighter, and more punchy in music. I have no complaints in it's performance in HT though.

Some of the Paradigm prices are unknown to me. I was planning on popping into my local dealer, to spec it all out, and see where I stand.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions on my purchases.

Wireworm5
05-01-2004, 08:28 PM
I wouldn't buy the Titans, I heard these speakers hooked to a old Kenwood receiver played at a high volume. It may have been the receiver, but I experienced ear fatique after only a few hours exposer, something I don't get with my Paradigms after only a few hours.
Personally I would buy a Yamaha receiver and the Studio 20's and monitor 3's for rears. The ADP-120 would also be good, but if you go with a Yamaha which has multi-channel stereo then I think a direct speaker would be better than dipole. However the dipole would probably be better for HT.
Good luck on your decision, that's part of the fun buying audio stuff, but you'll have to live with the results. Let us know what you decide.
Thanx