Struggling to know what to get.....first time with this

[thetriplethreat5]

Hey,

I'm in college and haven't got a superior experience in sound equipment. My dad owns vicious sound equipment and has explained most stuff to me but thats for his cds and turn table. I just bought a PS3 and HDTV and now I'm looking for sound. I'm passionate about music and refuse to have anything but good sound, however, this is the first time I'm having to get my own equipment.

Basically, I'm looking a for a good amp and speakers to start off with. I'm searching for a pre amp and amp in one. I know a friend who has a sony integrated amp like this but when I went to their website all I found was "Home Theater A'V receivers"...I quite liked the ones that have 7.1ch but what exactly are those A/V receivers? Can someone explain exactly what the difference between an amp and A/V receiver is? I want to have a system that I can use for my Blu Ray movies so through that and also eventually through a CD player. I quite like the Magneplanar MMG as speakers as my dad has Magneplanear, only way up there...and they're monsters. I'm confused as to what to get for all this....I know cables complete the deal and are just as important. At this point I just want to get a feel for whats what but I'm not looking at an infinite budget let's say.

Thanks a lot for your help! much appreciated...

[Mr Peabody]

A receiver has the amp, preamp and tuner all in one box. The A/V receiver is what you want, it adds decoding and processing for surround sound, that is if you want multi-channel sound. A/V receivers will have 5, 6 or 7 channels of amplification. An integrated amp is just a pre and power amp in one box.

What is your budget, do you want more than stereo, would you want a receiver or separates?

You can find A/V receivers that still yield decent sound for music by brands like Arcam, NAD and Rotel. Watching Blu-ray, the extra surround channels are a lot of fun.

Maggies are good but being in college and younger, you may want a speaker that rocks a bit more and not so hard to drive. Brands like Paradigm or B&W are well respected and offer budget series. Also, the Maggies could be a pain if you will be moving a lot.

[Audioman00]

Best way to go IMO is to pick up a used set of higher model speakers from a reputable name, I won't mention any because I'm not advertising anything, but just a good set of speakers and a higher model receiver + 3 separate smaller surround channel speakers will sound better than you would think.... just don't go to best buy and pick up the first $200-$300 piece of malaysian plastic receiver that you see, because you can still find awsome higher models on ebay and the like for way cheap! I'm into my setup about 600 bucks total but the retail would be way over 1500+... good luck

[thetriplethreat5]

Mr Peabody

Thanks for that information. By the sounds of what you said, receiver is the way to go. Obviously, its college so I don't have a living room or anything so I'm just looking to have good sound with the least amount of equipment...receiver having all that included seems the most convenient. Also I think more that stereo depending on prices and so on. I'm looking at a budget between $1200 to $1500 but not much over. The receiver I liked the look of before I came on here was the Sony STR-DG910 for a decent price....

I also have a question concerning how would I connect my PS3 to the TV to the receiver and with what cables? Never really could find that out anywhere.

Thanks a lot.

[Mr Peabody]

This is only my opinion, I would not recommend Sony, JVC, nor Pioneer. If you are wanting a mass market brand receiver you will get better performance for your money going with Onkyo, Denon or Marantz. If you have Cambridge Audio in your area they would be in your budget and give you better sound than a mass market receiver. Also, the Panasonic receivers are using digital amp technology and getting very good reviews. This may be your all around best option if your like them.

I'm not a gamer so I don't know what connections the PS3 has. You would most likely use a digital audio output to your receiver and then video, or HDMI, to the TV. Some people run HDMI to the receiver and then to the TV to take advantage of convenient video switching, either would be fine, but HDMI is known to have some capatibility problems with some equipment. HDMI is a digital connection that carries both video and audio.

You want to be sure if using a 5.1 speaker set up that the center and mains match as far as brand and model. This is for seamless panning of sound from side to side. Definitely plan in your budget for a sub. It's the .1 in 5.1 and will allow you to use bookshelf speakers for your other five.

You might want to take a peak at www.crutchfield.com they carry several brands of receivers, you can compare features, see what they look like and what the price is.

[PeruvianSkies]

Ok, so do you need speakers and a receiver at this point? With your budget of $1200 this is very possible, but you also want to think long-term, so I would invest heavily into my left and right main speakers, get something inexpensive for the surrounds and probably a mid-line center channel. I'd say go with a Denon or Marantz receiver with 6.1/7.1 capabilities. You will also need a sub, perhaps, unless you go with floorstanders, but considering you are in a small space, I doubt that you'll need much in terms of bass, so the sub might not be crucial at this point. Make sure to leave some cash for cables, and a power conditioner/surge protector would be a wise investment, you can get the Belkin PureAV unit like I have on eBay for a great price. Often times they are not even used.

[pixelthis]

Hey,

I'm in college and haven't got a superior experience in sound equipment. My dad owns vicious sound equipment and has explained most stuff to me but thats for his cds and turn table. I just bought a PS3 and HDTV and now I'm looking for sound. I'm passionate about music and refuse to have anything but good sound, however, this is the first time I'm having to get my own equipment.

Basically, I'm looking a for a good amp and speakers to start off with. I'm searching for a pre amp and amp in one. I know a friend who has a sony integrated amp like this but when I went to their website all I found was "Home Theater A'V receivers"...I quite liked the ones that have 7.1ch but what exactly are those A/V receivers? Can someone explain exactly what the difference between an amp and A/V receiver is? I want to have a system that I can use for my Blu Ray movies so through that and also eventually through a CD player. I quite like the Magneplanar MMG as speakers as my dad has Magneplanear, only way up there...and they're monsters. I'm confused as to what to get for all this....I know cables complete the deal and are just as important. At this point I just want to get a feel for whats what but I'm not looking at an infinite budget let's say.

Thanks a lot for your help! much appreciated...

Dont worry about surround sound, that requires some space, I have mine in a bedroom,
but your space might be smaller...
Check out outlaw audio.com, they have a great little stereo receiver that , when paired with a nice set of speakers will sound great.
If you really want surround then get little sat speakers and a decent sub.
Yamaha has a neat "soundbar" that bounces sound around the room with no speakers
at all! Just this 749 dollar box in front of your TV
You might try that

[Curmudgeon]

I would agree with those above who suggest 2 channel stereo and used equipment. Whether speakers or receivers, the same dollars buy better 2 channel equipment than they possibly can spread across 5 or 7 channels.

I'd strongly suggest used equipment. eBay has become (in my opinion) a place where fraud potential has been increasing. Audiogon is better I think, although care needs to be taken there as well. NAD, Outlaw, Creek, and some others have good reputations for value; I've always liked NAD myself. The Onkyo/Denon/Marantz suggestions above I feel are not quite as nice sounding as the NAD, but are more available and probably better built. And are certainly substantially better than the Sony/JVC/Pioneers another post warns against.

Smaller Maggies tend to be a bit bass-shy, and all Maggies I know of do require substantial amplifiers, and are fussy about placement. (I had 1.6's and 3's long ago.) Their sound is very good though, especially at the price. Whatever you do buy in the way of speakers should be speakers you've heard, preferably with a couple of your CD's that you're very familiar with. Even better, with your amp, in your room.

Cables; the low end of the Cardas, Kimber, and Wireworld lines are good choices. Cardas Cross, Kimber PBJ's or Heroes, and several of the WW's should fit your needs. If you buy the cables new, bear in mind that they do need break-in. (They shouldn't but they do.) I like the Cardas contact cleaner/conditioner.