Help A Brother Out!

[treta]

Two part question:

It's been several years since I've shopped for audio equipment and need some advice.

1) Looking into buying a Yamaha HTR-5850 to replace a very old a/v surround receiver. Anybody know how the Yamaha 5850 rates?

2) what would be a good set of speakers (6.1 preferrably) to put with this unit. Anything decent on the market for under $800?

Hoping to get something that sounds good with both movies and music.

Thanks

[PAT.P]

Tetra Welcome I just bought a Yamaha receiver to replace a Sony and what a improvement.I was able to get last years model at a reduce price .I bought one step higher HTr-5760(7.1) The reason I went for this one is because it as theOptimizer microphone to acheives accurate sound adjustments of speakers.With the 5860 you have to set up by tone manually.It as 9 cross-over setting for subwoofer .For speakers there the Paradigm Cinema ,Energy ACT 6,Dahlquist Orbit 5.1.As for speaker only your ears will tell.Pat.P

[EdwardGein]

The best speakers out there for the price you mention are Orb Mod 1 Satellite Speakers & their supereight sub. This consists of 6 satellite speakers & a sub. I and my brother Hershon have this system which with a Denon 3801 receiver and a Harmon Kardon 31 DVD player connected by fiber optics cable is awesome. This system is sold direct online by the company- go to orbaudio.com They give you I think a 30 day return no questions asked policy. All the details & specs are on that site. Always glad to help a brother.

[Eric Z]

One quick clarification- the Yamaha 5860 does have the YPAO mic, but the 5850 does not. I think you will be happy with either one, but if can come up with the extra cash for the 5860, go for it- the YPAO will make your life that much easier. Also, if you're able to find last years models, check to see if you can get a deal on one of those- the 5850 is the newer model of the 5750 and the 5860 is the newer version of the 5760. I have the 5760 and love it! I'm thinking about getting another one or the 5860.

I've looked online at a few places and found a place called electronics-expo.com that has the 5860 for about $315. I ask people on this forum if they heard of this place and Markw from NJ said it's a legitimate store up there- they just opened a few of them recently. Their website says they're an authorized dealer, too- if that's the case, then the $315 is a steal for this receiver- however, I'm always a little hesitant to buy online. The part that makes me feel better is that it's an actual store and not just an online one.

Regarding speakers, start off by looking at many different speaker companies- Paradigm, Canton, Definitive Technology, B&W, Energy, Mirage, Klipsch, Athena, etc (there's plenty more, but those are the ones that came to the top of my head). If you stick with a major speaker company that only produces speakers, you should be in good shape- the next step, however, is finding something that sounds good to you. I'm not that picky of a listener so all sound decent to me and I'd probably be fairly happy listening to any of them, but why not pick something you really like!

Start with 5.1 and go from there- $800 is a pretty tight of a budget to get a 5.1, but you can definitely start it. I recommend getting 2 fronts and a center channel first if you plan on using this for home theater (these need to be matched for timbre purposes). Then later you can pick up a sub and surrounds.

Good luck and enjoy!
Eric

[edtyct]

Okay, I admit it. I really am just waiting for the chance to say something flattering about these speakers. They are a little outside treta's budget, with shipping and sub. But I just had the chance to hear them in action--Magnepan's MMG Ws and MMG C five-speaker system. For $870, with the Audio Review discount, they come under the heading of "Steal." Shipping would add another $50, and the sub is a bit of a wildcard. SVS and Hsu get a lot of the ink these days, and deservedly so, but they aren't the only kids on the block. JBL's Northridge series 10" and 12" subs at their closeout price online also fall under the heading of "Steal." The bigger JBL is available for as little as $215. But the factory-direct Maggies are the stars here. I wonder if Wooch, Kexo, Topspeed, and other audio mavens at this site have had the benefit of hearing them.

By the way, as a 5-ohm load across the board, the Maggies would give many modest receivers a run for their money, but the impedance remains stable. The worst that might happen in many cases is that a given receiver might have to run at a slightly higher volume than with a typical 8-ohm load.

Ed

[GMichael]

Thanks edtyct, these are on my wish list also.

treta,
The HTR-5850 is a solid unit. I am sure that you will enjoy it wherever you buy it. I found it on this link. You can also get a discount on the JBL sub at the same time. No freight, no tax.
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...ails/538503512

[Worf101]

Two part question:

It's been several years since I've shopped for audio equipment and need some advice.

1) Looking into buying a Yamaha HTR-5850 to replace a very old a/v surround receiver. Anybody know how the Yamaha 5850 rates?

2) what would be a good set of speakers (6.1 preferrably) to put with this unit. Anything decent on the market for under $800?

Hoping to get something that sounds good with both movies and music.

Thanks

I'd also look at the HSU sattelite system they have on sale. You can usually find a link to their web somewhere around here. I've done two rrecent system builds with Yammie receivers YPAO is a great feature and I'd recommend you go with that.

Da Worfster