Home Audio

[chibahawk 10+ year member]

What should I check out if I want to try and put together my own home audio setup?

Or are there good prefab setups etc?

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Moved to the correct section...

How much of a budget do you have?

 

[Audio Junkies 10+ year member]

Man, in NYC you have a lot of access to hear some great stuff. Make it to the Home Entertainment Show in May and you'll be able to hear tons of stuff in person and get an idea for what you like and what is affordable to you.

http://www.homeentertainment-expo.com/

Like Jim asked... budget?

Also, stereo or surround?

 

[chibahawk 10+ year member]

im guessin surround. im gettin a new 42"-50" rear projection LCD for 1080p. So im guessin Surround is what I want.

My only experience with home audio is goin with my dad to buy a 27" CRT TV and 5.1 speakers. We bought a prefab Sony setup for more than the TV cost and weren't too happy.

Basically. I'm not looking to hurt the neighbor's ear drums. I'm not looking to hear a pin drop if an extra drops it on the set of Die Hard. I just want probably 4 good speakers and a sub.

So I'm looking bang for the buck and DIY stuff but hopefully having a total that's around $400-600. Hopefully less.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

How much are you spending on the TV?

Now compare that to the speakers.

See the disconnect? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Fast1one 10+ year member]

If your handy with wood and crossover units there are several projects in parts express http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/homeaudio.cfm

If the thought of building your own crossover units is daunting, you can go fullrange with 5 tang band W3-871s, two of them in these enclosures http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47403 for your fronts. This is what I was going to go with, and probably will eventually. You will still need a sub obviously...

Those are just a few choices....thats my contribution for DIYers....

Edit: Of course as Jim pointed out, theres no point in going full HD if your sound stage is going to lack...

 

[chibahawk 10+ year member]

aha i love it ... audiophiles make me want to spend more dough.

see im not overly picky but yea I definitely don't want to break the bank on the speakers.

help me cover the basic first.

i'll need a receiver/amp/dvd unit.

will I need 4 speakers? and like place two behind me in the corners and then two up front for the center and then a sub?

 

[chibahawk 10+ year member]

p.s. im spending about 1200-1500 on the new tv. probably getting a good deal.

 

[chibahawk 10+ year member]

you can go fullrange with 5 tang band W3-871s, two of them in these enclosures http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47403 for your fronts. This is what I was going to go with, and probably will eventually. You will still need a sub obviously...

Those are just a few choices....thats my contribution for DIYers....

Edit: Of course as Jim pointed out, theres no point in going full HD if your sound stage is going to lack...

Aha you guys are killing me man - I don't want to blow wads of cash. I like the look of 5 of those tang band speakers.

So let's say I pick up 5 of those. That's about $100.

Then I would need a receiver, and sub.

How would I be spending a ton here? I'm guessing the receiver would cost me like $300 if I wanted to get something nice entry level?

 

[chibahawk 10+ year member]

Looks like that design you posted on diyaudio is very popular. Seems right up my alley too. I'm definitely going to need to smarten up to home audio though.

If I buy Tangbands and make that Cyburg design, what else will I need per speaker. Do I need T-amps and crossovers ... clueless i am!

 

[Fast1one 10+ year member]

You can just run them off a good entry level 5.1 unit...Pioneer makes some descent entry level receivers..

As far as crossovers, Look for a receiver with high pass filters and apply them to all the speakers around 60HZ where the sub will take over...

This is only one option, IDK if you'll like the sound of a full range driver. I was skeptical at first but i love the sound of mine...

 

[chibahawk 10+ year member]

yea i guess im going to be too budget concerned to be pissy about how my speakers sound. im not a big time audiophile, i just want a pretty cool setup.

So probably drop like $200 on a unit like this?

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=250-500

Get tang bands for the 4 channels.

What kind of good advice can I get on a budget subwoofer? Seems like PE.com kits start out at like $400+ which I thought was nuts.

 

[Audio Junkies 10+ year member]

$400 isn't too bad for a sub, amp, and enclosure.

You could always get a Mach 5 driver, cheapo plate amp, and build the enclosure yourself. That is still going to cost you about $250 though.

Check ebay and audiogon, I see pretty good deals on both.

 

[chibahawk 10+ year member]

$400 isn't too bad for a sub, amp, and enclosure.
You could always get a Mach 5 driver, cheapo plate amp, and build the enclosure yourself. That is still going to cost you about $250 though.

Check ebay and audiogon, I see pretty good deals on both.

A mach 5 driver.. thats a sub im guessing? Also what's the deal with plate amps?

There needs to be some kind of tutorial or something. I mean I've seen these plate amps just stuck onto the enclosure right?

**edit - would a sub sound bad if it was only getting like 70-80W off the receiver? I do realize that probably wouldn't be the actual amount tho...

 

[dumple 5,000+ posts]

i have a powered subwoofer i can sell you