Looking for Suggestions on HT Setup

[pegglegg007]

I've been asked by my brother to find him a HT theater setup. I have been out of the loop for several years (2003) and I am hoping that all you of wonderful folks here at audioreview.com can help update me on what's new and help me make some good recommendations.

What he has: Samsung 46" DLP HDTV (last years model), HD Cable Package
What he needs: Receiver, Fronts, rears, center, sub, possibly HD-DVD
Budget: $2500-$3000 (preferably closer to $2500)
He'll only Buy NEW equipment, not used or refurbished.
Room: its 1/2 of a living room (total room dimensions are roughly 20'x21' with the back wide open to kitchen and dining room)
Fronts: HAS to be a bookshelf size
Center: should match the fronts
Rears: mountable and under 12" high (being mounted on a 12" drop from a 10' ceiling to 9' ceiling) I know that its less than ideal, but its a requirement nonetheless.
Sub: Nothing too fancy needed but large enough to notice in such a large room
Receiver: MUST do HD quality video switching from HD-DVD and Cable Box (HDMI ?)

I look forward to your suggestions.

Here's what my preliminary list looks like: Paradigm Monitor 3's ($400), CC 270 ($200), ADP 190 ($400), PDR10 ($399), Marantz 5001 ($800), HD-DVD ($500). Total $2,700. I priced this out only because I happen to already own paradigm/marantz and I like the combo. I'm definitely open to comments, criticism, and smart remarks of my prelim picks.

Thanks to all!!!

My Stuff:
Marantz SR 8000
Paradigm Studio 80s v.2
Paradigm Studio 20s v.2
Paradigm Studio CC v.2
Paradigm Servo 15 v.1 (just sold)
Pioneer Elite DV-36 DVD Player
Media PC w/ Audigy 4 SC

[icarus]

What you have there is pretty good list of suggestions, I personally do enjoy paradigm's. I have never had the pleasure using a marantz but I have heard good things about them.. Other options would be to go with a denon reciever and a polk audio for the speakers.

[jrhymeammo]

PDR-10 wont do much. That sub bottoms out too early, and will get annoying pretty fast. Of course I dont have any experience with the newest version of PDR-10. Mine was 100 watts(I think), but the new one only upped 20 watts. Which is pretty useless, but seems to put out more peak power so it might help.... If you somehow become unsure of PDR-10, and start thinking about the 12 then dont. It's not gonna be that huge of a difference. I want to recommend a DIY 12 or 15 inch Titanic sub by Dayton, but you brother might not be too thrilled with that idea. You can always build it for him though. Sounds like he doesnt know much about audio gears so you may want to convince him that it's one kickin sub. Me? I have no experience with it, but I've been here long enough to know which members I can trust. Kex and others can jump in on that if they choose to.

For your center, I would never go with CC270. Go with CC370 since they will match alot better with the Monitors.
As for a receiver, adding a huge sub can make your brother think his receiver is pretty powerful since he'll be amazed with bass. $2700 is alot money, but funny how small it becomes after trying to figure out all the components...

JRA

[GMichael]

Looks like you already have a fine set of ideas for speakers & receivers. As far as the sub? I would agree that the Daytons would do a better job. If you don't want to put one together yourself they are available pre-assembled. Here is a good 12" http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=300-763

If you don't mind twisting an allen key then you/he could save $100 or more by assembling it yourself. The box is already built on those. All you have to do is put in the insulation, screw in the amp, twist a couple of wires together and done.
Here: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=300-762

[westcott]

I would hold off on the HD DVD player and reinvest that money into a better sub or speakers up one level. 21 x 21' open to a kitchen is a good amount of space and a bigger sub will make all your speakers sound larger.

Good Luck and Happy Holidays!

[pegglegg007]

Thanks for your responses! Anyone know if Dayton has a website or if there are retailers that I could go to to demo the sub?

[topspeed]

Partsexpress.com is the best place to get Dayton. You might check in at the DIY forum here for more suggestions.

I'm surprised you didn't consider Studio 20's for the mains and Monitors for the rears. I consider the Studio 20's as one of the better monitors out there, whereas the Monitors become fatiguing very quickly. Another route would be to use Epos ELS3's & CC combined with the Dayton. The Epos sub doesn't go low enough, so skip it. You might also look into a set of Focal 706s'. The Focal's are more dynamic than the Epos, although I preferred the Epos tweeter.

For AVR's, any $500 unit from Denon, Marantz, Yammie, or Pioneer should do. You'll be hard pressed to hear the difference in sound quality, so I'd concentrate more on which has the features you're most interested in. Auto Room EQ would be high on my list.

Hope this helps.

[GMichael]

Thanks for your responses! Anyone know if Dayton has a website or if there are retailers that I could go to to demo the sub?

Did I forget to post the websites? Here.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=300-763
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=300-762

No showrooms that I know of. Unless you'd like to hear mine.

[pegglegg007]

Anyone know what the going rate for Studio 20's v.2 would be? I happen to have a set and am thinking about upgrading to the ADP's. Maybe I could interest my bro in buying mine. What's a fair price? I purchased them new in 2002, black ash finish.

[Woochifer]

Anyone know what the going rate for Studio 20's v.2 would be? I happen to have a set and am thinking about upgrading to the ADP's. Maybe I could interest my bro in buying mine. What's a fair price? I purchased them new in 2002, black ash finish.

The Studio 20 v.2 probably wouldn't fetch more than ~$400. IMO, the ADP would not be an upgrade per se because I generally prefer direct firing surrounds over dipoles because that diffused dipolar sound does not work especially well with multichannel music and some newer DVDs that might have been repurposed for home theater playback. Some people like dipoles, others don't -- count me among the latter group.

As far as recommendations for your brother, right now would probably be a good time to try piecing together a 5.1 setup with the Studio v.3 series because they've been discontinued. When the v.2 series was discontinued, dealers were offering about 15% off and a larger markdown might be negotiated if your brother's looking to buy the whole speaker setup at once.

The budget breakdown will depend a lot on which speakers he chooses. The Paradigm Studio series is not very demanding on the amp, so a high entry/midlevel receiver in the $600-$1,000 range will probably work fine. But, if he chooses to go with a more demanding low impedance speaker like the Dynaudios, then he'll need to also factor in the cost of an outboard amplifier because most midlevel 5.1 receivers can only handle one pair of low impedance speakers at a time, if that.

Some other items to consider:

tall speaker stands for the surrounds - Looking at more than $200 for a pair of durable stands that can support heavy bookshelf speakers like the Studio 20s. Most stands are shorter than 30". For surrounds, I would look at a MINIMUM of 36" and most of the stands in the more ideal 42" height cannot support more than 10 lbs. Sound Anchor is one vendor that can build a speaker stand to any height you want, and they are very durable and stable.

room treatments - Often the most overlooked part of any audio system. The room acoustics are second only to the speakers in how much variation they can create. Fortunately, room treatments can be as simple as carpeting or wall treatments. But, commercial products such as acoustic panels and bass traps can make a huge difference in how it all sounds.

test disc and SPL meter - Even more important than picking out the right equipment is getting everything setup correctly. Calibrating the levels on the speakers/subwoofer, and the video settings makes a huge difference. Sound & Vision's Home Theater Setup DVD costs only $15, and the Radio Shack SPL meter is $40.

parametric equalizer - Not necessarily novice territory, but equalizing the subwoofer is perhaps the most important addition you can make to your system. By filtering out the boomy peaks caused by the room boundaries, you smooth out the bass and make it sound fuller. You can furthermore crank it up to a higher level because you no longer have to worry about the boominess dominating what you hear. The Behringer Feedback Destroyer is a popular choice because it's inexpensive (~$100) and it works exceptionally well for what you pay. Lots of previous threads on this board discussing the BFD. It's a bit of a steep learning curve, but there are a lot of resources out there and you can look up more info at the BFD Guide.

[Rock789]

Here's what my preliminary list looks like: Paradigm Monitor 3's ($400), CC 270 ($200), ADP 190 ($400), PDR10 ($399), Marantz 5001 ($800), HD-DVD ($500). Total $2,700. I priced this out only because I happen to already own paradigm/marantz and I like the combo. I'm definitely open to comments, criticism, and smart remarks of my prelim picks.

for a sub, I would suggest the dayton... tell your brother to go for the 15 if he can fit it in the price limit...

for speakers, the Studio 20's are very nice sounding,

I would also suggest checking out Focal JM Lab Chorus S series (or the V series if it's in stores)
the 706S sounds very good and is ~$400-450 / pair, and a CC700S is ~$400
there is $1300, which leaves a lot of money left for the reciever and sub...

the 705S also sounds very good and is a bit cheaper ~$350/pair and there is a C70S which uses the same woofer for about the same price, but I personally like the 706S a little better for not much more $...

Paradigm also has some smaller floor standers that sound very good for <$400... but they may still be bigger than your brother wants...

as others have stated... pretty much the same for the $700-$1000 receivers...
go with what you like...

goodluck