New System

[jbharley]

I am retiring an old (25+) stereo system. I have started my new system with a Yamaha RXV-2400 Theater receiver. I am looking at a clean power center to hook up my home stereo/rear projection TV. Will a Monster Cable HTS 3500 be a waste of money, or will the difference be noticeable?

[uncooked]

well i dont have any experience with them. but i dont think you need one that high up........ i think a regular like 80 buck or so moster bar will do its job. your paying alot for just a tiny bit of sound difference between that and a regular bar. and besides new amps like that yamaha have there own filters in them. you just have to keep them safe from power surges and your all good.

but by all means if you have the money then i would do it....... but for like 300 - 500 bucks you could go out and get some nice new stuff for that.

heres a link on the conditioner if anyone wants to learn about it

http://www.audiorevolution.com/equip/monsterhts3500/

[jbharley]

Thanks for the link on the 3500. I'm looking for some speakers next. I have an oddball room. I listened to the Bose am15 setup, but not overly impressed. However, my wife likes the little cubes and the fact that they hide easily. Looking for suggestions around $1000???

[uncooked]

so i guess your looking for as little as possible then? towers are out of the option for the fronts?

well for the speakers i think you have to go to your local stores and ask to hear all of them and listen carefully to the ones you like the most. even bring one of your cd's in there to listen to.

although i do recommend anything made by athena........ very very good bang for the buck there. i think athena is the most hidden masterpeice in audio. they are right down there in price with really cheap stuff but they sound awsome. and can take alot of power. without any distortion that i can find.

[Willow]

Thanks for the link on the 3500. I'm looking for some speakers next. I have an oddball room. I listened to the Bose am15 setup, but not overly impressed. However, my wife likes the little cubes and the fact that they hide easily. Looking for suggestions around $1000???

DO NOT get Bose cause your wife thinks they are cute... you might as well just give me your 1000$ and I will sing for you(trust m my voice is bad) they are not worth it . We bought them and now they are in the bed room and not used as HT just for radio. As far as a sat sub look at yes athena, polk,JBL,the take 5 system by Energy..

As far as the clean power, I was looking at them as well when I stumbled upon RCA performance series power bars with filters. It has 5 inputs and a 75ohm (cable for tv ) input and I paid 29$ cad. It works i no longer have noise (static) during a commercial wich previously had noise.

[Keith from Canada]

I'm with Willow on both the speaker recommendation (avoid Bose) and the non-Monster surge supressor. I recently put together a system for a friend that incorporated bookshelf speakers for the front and rears and did some extensive auditioning. The end result was a Paradigm system (the Atoms were his choice) followed closely by PSB and Mission. One thing that I always find is that the personal preference of the listener is ALWAYS different. It is very important that you go out and audition for yourself.

FYI -- I would be willing to bet dollars to donuts that the manufacturer cost price of a Monster power bar is virtually the same as on made by AMX or RCA. The only difference with most Monster products is the considerably higher sticker price.

[F1]

....... However, my wife likes the little cubes and the fact that they hide easily. Looking for suggestions around $1000???

Check out these cute speakers.
http://www.focal-jmlab.fr/gb/home/si...load/index.htm

[Bryan]

What size room is it? A good system for a medium size room could be the Rocket ELT system that goes for $900 plus shipping. If you have a medium to large size room, then you will need a better subwoofer. If you have a small to medium size room, perhaps something along the lines of the Rocket Tyke or HSU Ventriloquist system with either the STF-1 or STF-2 sub will work. Other possibilities are the Gallo Micros, Ascend Acoustics CBM-170s, nOrh 4.0 (either in wood or ceramic), or the Magnepan MMG.

[jbharley]

Thanks for the feedback on the new system. I took a look at the energy system--sounds way better than the Bose. I went to a store and listened to the Vienna's--WOW--but too pricey for me--I'll keep kicking tires and looking for responses.

Did hear a demo with and without a Monster cable ref sys--definitely a difference
Thx
JbHarley