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  1. #1
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    What do you all think about this H/T setup?

    Hi everyone, I'm new here and am looking for advice on buying a H/T setup. I know most of the basics but am looking for opinions from others with more knowledge and experience in home audio etc. First off I'm going to be putting everything in my living room which is small, about 12'x18' althoug the area the speakers will be setup is about 12'(front to back)x9'(side to side). I've been looking at Circuit City a lot since my friend works there and will probly be able to get me an employee discount. I've narrowed it down to a Harmon Kardon AVR130 receiver, Polk Audio rm6005 5 speaker package, and the guy was gonna put this together as a special package with a Polk PSW202 10" 50 watt sub for $799.00 so I'd save about $100 dollars which isn't bad. Seperate the H/K avr130 is $399 , the polk 6005's are $299, and the sub is $199 which totals $900. I was thinking of getting that setup with some Monster speaker wire/sub wire, and a Monster Digital fiber optic cable. I mainly play xbox in their, then probly dvd's, then tv. So I'd be looking for a nice dvd experience as well as nice dolby digital from xbox for gaming. I was wondering what you guys think about this setup for what I'm looking for. Other setups I have thought about are the same H/K receiver with Bose AM6 series 3, although I am thinking otherwise from those after reading all the negative reviews on circuitcity.com and other sites about them. Is this a pretty good setup for the money and what I'm basically looking for or is there a better combination etc. anyone could think of. I'm mainly looking at circuit city although I would consider other places if my friend can't get the discount. Also would the xbox dvd player hold out pretty good for now as far as it playing dolby digital though the surround setup I would have until I can get a seperate (Sony?) dvd player? Any help and info would be highly appreciated. Thanks for any help and I hope to get some feedback! Thanks, Will
    Last edited by blakcivicsi; 12-12-2003 at 10:30 PM.

  2. #2
    Oldest join date recoveryone's Avatar
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    Unhappy Sub

    Quote Originally Posted by blakcivicsi
    Hi everyone, I'm new here and am looking for advice on buying a H/T setup. I know most of the basics but am looking for opinions from others with more knowledge and experience in home audio etc. First off I'm going to be putting everything in my living room which is small, about 12'x18' althoug the area the speakers will be setup is about 12'(front to back)x9'(side to side). I've been looking at Circuit City a lot since my friend works there and will probly be able to get me an employee discount. I've narrowed it down to a Harmon Kardon AVR130 receiver, Polk Audio rm6005 5 speaker package, and the guy was gonna put this together as a special package with a Polk PSW202 10" 50 watt sub for $799.00 so I'd save about $100 dollars which isn't bad. Seperate the H/K avr130 is $399 , the polk 6005's are $299, and the sub is $199 which totals $900. I was thinking of getting that setup with some Monster speaker wire/sub wire, and a Monster Digital fiber optic cable. I mainly play xbox in their, then probly dvd's, then tv. So I'd be looking for a nice dvd experience as well as nice dolby digital from xbox for gaming. I was wondering what you guys think about this setup for what I'm looking for. Other setups I have thought about are the same H/K receiver with Bose AM6 series 3, although I am thinking otherwise from those after reading all the negative reviews on circuitcity.com and other sites about them. Is this a pretty good setup for the money and what I'm basically looking for or is there a better combination etc. anyone could think of. I'm mainly looking at circuit city although I would consider other places if my friend can't get the discount. Also would the xbox dvd player hold out pretty good for now as far as it playing dolby digital though the surround setup I would have until I can get a seperate (Sony?) dvd player? Any help and info would be highly appreciated. Thanks for any help and I hope to get some feedback! Thanks, Will
    50 watt sub! don't look at nothing lower than a 100 watt. 200 watt would be ideal.
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  3. #3
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    I would recommend staying away from the Bose system. The H/K receiver is a good receiver, but keep in mind that this model is there lowest powered one (but then again 45wpc should be good, especially since your room is fairly small). If anything, I would try to get a more powerful sub. Since your using satellites for your speakers, you will be depending on that sub for all your lower frequencies. Other than that, I think you will be happy with your system.

  4. #4
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    Thanks...

    Thanks for the replies everyone. As far as the sub goes I understand its there smallest sub although since I have a small room and Polk has there promotion of including it free with a purchase of a speaker package of $499 or more so its a good deal. I have a link here if you guys wana check it out, it has the stats and customer reviews which were good also. If I did get it even though its a smaller sub it should still be pretty powerful and clean sounding in a small room right? I see what you guys are saying I just don't have the money to go all out, and if I did I would probly concentrate more on upgrading the speakers. Also Circuit City has a good return policy now until the end of January so if you don't like what you bought you can bring it back for an exchange or money back so thats always nice to have. Thanks again for the replies and if there are any more suggestions I'd like to hear them from anyone. Thanks, Will

  5. #5
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    you might check

    you might want to check out the harman kardon auctions on ebay. They sell refurbished stuff directly from the factory with full warrenty, and it'll be alot cheaper than what you're paying.

  6. #6
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    Thanks, I looked on Ebay like you said and I found Ebay stores selling harmon and polk audio stuff but I can't find places where you guys talk about where they sell new refurbished stuff with factory warranties. Could someone help direct me to these places you guys mention? Thanks

  7. #7
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    Wink ebay

    Quote Originally Posted by blakcivicsi
    Thanks, I looked on Ebay like you said and I found Ebay stores selling harmon and polk audio stuff but I can't find places where you guys talk about where they sell new refurbished stuff with factory warranties. Could someone help direct me to these places you guys mention? Thanks

    You can check the listing of the units and do a search of :Factory Dealer of (name brand of unit).
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  8. #8
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    here's a site

    http://www.accessories4less.com/Amaz...=RECEIVER&tpc=

    Look at the Marantz SR-4300, they sell it refurbished. This is a great site with great customer service, and they're an authorized dealer for Marantz so you don't have to worry if it starts acting up on you. I bought about 6 months ago and it looks and plays like brand new. It's also a bit more powerful then the HK and cheaper with all the new formats. And no that Polk sub will not fil you're room with enough clean bass. and that's a real ripoff for anyone that buys it for $200. Also stay clear of the Monster cables, they are too expensive. Just go to Radioshack or Walmart and buy their cheaper cables. Make sure the RCA cables are Gold PLated so they don't corrode, and an optical cable should cost you no more then around $18. Don't buy a "subwoofer cable" a regular RCA will do the same thing but cheaper.

    -joey

  9. #9
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    Thanks for the input guys. I've been looking around online and on Ebay for new refurbished stuff etc. and I found a few things that looked good but I don't know a whole lot of buying refurbished and things that are brand new on ebay but are much cheaper than retail. I was wondering what you guys think about a few of these things I found on Ebay that are supposed to be brand new, some even say they're not refurbished etc. Are they legit or what, whats the deal with them being so cheap? Heres an auction for a big seller listing a Polk ds7200 HT setup for a little over a thousand while retail for that system is around $2,600.( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ory=32861&rd=1 )
    Also I found some Harman Kardon receivers for pretty cheap. ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ory=39794&rd=1 ) , ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ory=39794&rd=1 )
    With that Polk system what type of receiver is that? I read about it on the polk site but I'm not familiar with how that unit is different from a "receiver" etc. Would you need a normal a/v receiver to go along with that or that one with the speaker package will work like a receiver? Thanks for any help guys I really appreciate it. I'd like to get a pretty nice surround sound setup soon for under or maybe around $1000 or so. Thanks again, Will

  10. #10
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    Given the budget and constraints therein, I would recommend a different route. The Denon AVR483 goes for $168.06 including shipping from 6ave.com, an authorized Denon dealer. It is basically an AVR1603.

    Next, the sub will be the biggest component of your system. You can either get a cheap one, such as the free Polk one you previously mentioned, or one that will last and you will be happy with for a long time to come. Might I be so bold as to recommend either the Adire Audio Rava or HSU VTF-2? Either one goes for roughly $450 shipped.

    Finally, add the speakers. Now these are not the best nor the worst and you get what you pay for. The Fluance SX-HTB system. Goes for $260 shipped.

    Figure $20 for wire and $10 for an optical cable for the dvd player and you will have about $90 to spend on a dvd player.

  11. #11
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    this link is to harman kardon's store on ebay.
    http://www.stores.ebay.com/id=26519532&ssPageName=L2
    they sell stuff refurbished directly from the factory, with the full warrenty. the two ones you were looking at are most likely legit, they both have lots of positive feedback, but are not authorized dealers, so the warrenty would be no good. Not to say that last suggestion wasn't good, I have a vtf2 myself and I love it, just pointing out the difference between ebay sellers.

  12. #12
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    well I have that sub..it also came free.....for us right now it does the trick its not great but not awful either. I find it blends in well with the speakers and we can't tell were its coming from sounds like the centre. it provides enough bass to fill the sound and room (14ft/11ft) without too much bass but thats what we want right now due to the living room set up and neighbours.(garden home). We got 2 weeks ago but only managed to watch one movie with it and it was ok I hadn't done to much tweaking with it. as far as the cables go...I have a monster dig coax and a ratshack optical....I can;t tell the difference between the 2. the are both hooked up the the dvd player I use the coax for DVD and optical for cd( idid this so not to have to change settings on the receiver. One day I set them to the same and went back and forth...NO CHANGE. so instead of spending 50 $extra $$ on each cable buy cheaper ones and invest in a better receiver or speakers.

  13. #13
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    Thanks for the help guys. I checked out that Harman direct store on Ebay, it looks pretty good although its mostly last years models from what I can see. As far as this system goes ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ory=32861&rd=1 ) whats the deal with it? The seller has huge feedback but its being sold for half the retail, and it says its not refurbished etc etc. Also what is the difference between that "pre amp/processor" and a standard "a/v receiver"? That unit with that package would act like the receiver I'm guessing but is it better/worse to have that one? Also does anyone know of a good Polk factory or regular store or person seller on Ebay? I saw one of you guys mention the sub would be the biggest component of the system, the sub is really the most important over speakers, receiver, etc.?

  14. #14
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    a pre amp/processor doesn't have any amplifiers. You'd need to add your own outboard amps. A preamp lets you choose your source (you plug everything into one box, which then lets you choose which source as you do on your reciever now) which is usually incorporated to the processor if it's for home theater. The processor does the decoding off the input signal (takes the bitsteam and divides a dolby digital signal into 5.1 analoge channels for example), and an amp takes that analoge signal and amplifies it so the speakers have enough going through them to move the speaker drivers. A reciever is a pre amp, processor (usually), tuner, and amplifiers all in one box. The advantage to seperates as opposed to a reciever is that there is more space for better parts, more heat dispersion, more isolation between different parts and the ability to upgrade (you'd only have to get a new processor for a new surround format if you already had the amps). It's good to get a reciever with pre amp outs for all channels, that way, if you someday decide to get seperate amps, you can use the reciever as a pre/pro.
    as far as the new line of H/Ks, I don't know what exactly the difference is between them and last years, someone else will have to help you out with that.

  15. #15
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    Research First

    The CC discount does not seem to be such a great discount. First, it would be a very good idea for you to research the products. Thereby, you will be doing yourself a favor and get a better bang for the buck. If you search this board and other departments too---you will find alot of good info as well as sellers. It takes patience. Be patient. Be an educated consumer.

    Before venturing on to Ebay it is good to know what you want and what you will pay. Who the seller is and all that stuff.

    The HK/Infinity refurbs directly from the manufacturer is a good place to begin, since they do stand behind their refurbs. And instead of HT in the Box(Polk)...think of receiver and speakers and other components and integrate them into a system. Don't waste your money on Monster stuff...its way over-rated and over priced.

    A 50 watt sub, no matter who its from, is light. Read up on subs.

    If I had 1K to blow on a system, I would go the component path and think of everything being replaceable individually as time passed. I would also buy everything refurb or used to get the best value and sound for my money. You have to invest the time to know quality. Good luck.

  16. #16
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    What do you guys think about this...

    What do you guys think about something like this? These speakers ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ory=32861&rd=1 ) with like this receiver ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ory=39794&rd=1 )? If I got those 2 things and some speaker cable, fiber optic cable... Would that be a good setup for the small room etc. I have or what? Thanks for the recommendations everyone.

  17. #17
    DIY Dude poneal's Avatar
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    Those polk speakers are a little expensive it seems like to me. The harman kardon was a good deal.

  18. #18
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    Expensive..?

    Hmm I thought they were cheap. They're at $700 used in "prestine condition" and they retail $1,500 as you can see here, ( http://www.polkaudio.com/home/produc...03f0f956d13644 )

  19. #19
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    I'm still not sold on the Polks. The sub is 8", 40 lbs., and has a - 3 db point of 28Hz. Alot of movies now have strong output in the 25Hz range, if not 20Hz and below.

    For $900 delivered you can get the ELT system that is put out both by ACI and AV 123. I'd recommend going through ACI as the shipping is included there and I do not believe that is the case if you go through AV 123.

    Add a receiver, such as the afformentioned Denon one and you are looking at an excellent entry level system for around $1,200.

  20. #20
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    How would you compare to a car?

    How would you guys compare the previously mentioned polk speakers to a car? ex) what make and model compares to them. Doing this makes it easier for me to understand how speakers compare. Also how would you compare the HK receivers I've mentioned such as the HK AVR 130 or 230? Thanks again, Will

  21. #21
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    New news...

    New news on my interest in buying a HT system is I can get the employee discount at circuit city from my friend so I think I'm gonna buy my stuff there when I figure out how to get enough money. What I really wana get is the Polk rm7200 set, Harman kardon avr130 receiver, and probly the Panasonic 5 disc or single disc dvd player

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