Looking for Receiver/Speaker Advice

[Gagliada]

Hi everybody, this is my first post in this forum - I am in the market for a new receiver and speakers and was hoping that the knowledgeable people in this forum could give me some advice.

About me: I am a lowly law student living off loans for the moment. I know a little bit about home theater systems (sold TVs at everybody's favorite consumer electronic giant for a summer in high school.) I have about $1,000 to spend total, but would really like to keep it down even lower if possible.

What I have: I just got a 37'' vizio lcd tv and a sony dvd player capable of upconverting to 1080 for christmas. Ive upgraded to Time Warner HD cable service. I have no immediate plans to get a Blu-ray player, but would like to in the future. The Dvd player is hooked to the tv with an hdmi cable and the TW cable runs through component cables.

What I want: I would like to add a pair of either freestanding or bookshelf speakers and run them through a receiver so sound from all components could be played through them. I would like the option to connect both an I-pod and a Laptop through the receiver. Everything is in the living room of a small second floor apartment that is about 12'x16'. I am not concerned with surround sound at this point, but would like the ability to upgrade to 5.1 in the future. I don't plan on getting a separate sub so I would like the speakers to provide the lows. Sound does not need to be loud, but I would like low distortion.

What would you all recommend for somebody in my position? And thanks in advance for any help =)

[02audionoob]

How about the Onkyo TX-SR606...

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...r-BLACK/1.html

It seems to have the latest technology covered. Onkyo has a handle on these budget home theater receivers. I might leave the speaker comments to others...not something I know a lot about.

[thekid]

There are many choices available to you at your budget. I generally try to stay away from making specific recommendations because your ears are the best judge not other people's opinons. I'd start with the receiver and then pick your speakers. I'd recommend going to the local bookstore and looking through a few stereo or HT magazines to familiarize your self with what is out there and the prices. Several of these mags will even price out gear at different levels so it might give you an idea what you can expect to get for your $1,000. A few general guidelines that I think you should consider;

Do not skimp on the receiver. Great speakers matched with a poor quality receiver will be a waste whereas often a great receiver can at least make poor speaker choices tolerable.

Listen to as many speakers as possible speakers before buying and do not pay too much attention to speaker specs. Your ears are the best judge and you will find variations in sound even among speakers that seem identical.

Try to use a CD that you like to listen to for testing speakers. This will give you a baseline for making your comparisons. Try to pick something fairly wide ranging soundwise so you will be able to hear the highs and lows that the speaker can produce.

Make sure the receiver has the connections you want now and in the near future. Situations change but you do not want to be laying out several hundred dollars more for a receiver upgrade after only a couple of years because of poor planning.

Enjoy the hunt!

[zepman1]

The Onkyo 606 is a good option for sure. I would also consider the Yamaha 663 as it is very similar and adds preouts in case you want to add an amp later on. I think the Onkyo has a little better amp section though, of the two. These units are are similarly priced $350-$450 depending where you buy it.

That leaves a good budget for speakers. If you are building a home theater you will eventually need a subwoofer, so choose speakers with that in mind. You don't need to worry about low end extension or performance below 100 Hz. There are a lot of options for speakers, too many to list really. My advice would be to first find what is available locally at high end audio stores so you can audition it. Good value brands are Paradigm, PSB, Monitor Audio, B&W, Energy, NHT..... There are many more. At about $500 there are lot of good bookshelfs out there. Not so much with floorstanders.

Another route is to take advantage of the 30 day trials for some online direct brands, which can be very good, and maybe even superior at their price points to the in store brands. A few to look at are Axiom, Onix (AV123), Ascend. You can try them for 30 days and return and get your money back. In some cases you may have to pay the return shipping, so keep that in mind.

Ideally, it would be nice to compare them all side by side in your home. That may or may not be possible.

Good luck.

[blackraven]

Onkyo 606 receiver and any one of these speakers-

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ATLS500

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=BOCS226

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ENC300

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...key_id=1782873

These should fit in your budget and give you good sound with out needing a subwoofer.

[Gagliada]

I just wanted to take this chance to thank everybody for your help. I ended purchasing the Onkyo 606 and a pair of Ascend Acoustic CBM-170 SE's that were discounted online. They should be arriving in a few weeks and I can't wait to put it all together!

[zepman1]

Let me know what you think of the Ascend's. I have been curious about those, and may eventually give them a look myself.