New to Home Audio

[jockhater2 10+ year member]

YAMAHA RX-V373BL 5.1-Channel AV Receiver - Newegg.com

I'd buy used. I literally just picked out a receiver for my sister. Used lets you get a better one than what you could buy for new. She got a Yamaha that was the 2nd highest model when it was made. And it looks like the guy never even used it. $100. and it was $550 when it was new.

 

[Boomsday 10+ year member]

I'd buy used. I literally just picked out a receiver for my sister. Used lets you get a better one than what you could buy for new. She got a Yamaha that was the 2nd highest model when it was made. And it looks like the guy never even used it. $100. and it was $550 when it was new.

I have no problem buying used I just dont no what to look for, I'm gonna need two, one for the main living room and one for my man cave

 

[jockhater2 10+ year member]

I have no problem buying used I just dont no what to look for, I'm gonna need two, one for the main living room and one for my man cave

Dang. You really need 2?

Well I didn't know what to look for either when I was helping my sister out. But I started searching Craigslist. First thing I did was reply to ones that had features I wanted. To make sure the person still had them. Because we all know that no one ever deletes there ads on craigslist. because that would just make too much sense.

So when they would reply back to me and they had it. I would google search the name and model. I would check CNET reviews. And try to find the manufacturer page to see if it was a low-mid-high end receiver corresponding to the other models.

The yamaha I picked out for her came in 10 models I believe. Her model was the 2nd highest model. So you know it has good features and quality since it isn't a entry level.

 

[Boomsday 10+ year member]

Dang. You really need 2?Well I didn't know what to look for either when I was helping my sister out. But I started searching Craigslist. First thing I did was reply to ones that had features I wanted. To make sure the person still had them. Because we all know that no one ever deletes there ads on craigslist. because that would just make too much sense.

So when they would reply back to me and they had it. I would google search the name and model. I would check CNET reviews. And try to find the manufacturer page to see if it was a low-mid-high end receiver corresponding to the other models.

The yamaha I picked out for her came in 10 models I believe. Her model was the 2nd highest model. So you know it has good features and quality since it isn't a entry level.

The man cave one doesnt have to have much of anything, could be a cheap, free, or old, just as long as it works

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

Get an onkyo with on screen display from accesories4less like mentioned, the best one you can afford, they are the only onkyo refurbished authorized distributor online, they will honor the warranty, pick up 3 pairs of these for center, fronts, and surrounds

Dayton Audio B652 6-1/2" 2-Way Bookshelf Speaker Pair 300-652

Get one of these subs

Powered Subwoofers in the Home Audio / Video Department at Parts Express | 95 - 301

Get these

Dayton Audio TT25-16 PUCK Tactile Transducer Mini Bass Shake 300-389

Get this to power them

Dayton Audio SA70 70W Subwoofer Amplifier 300-784

And get a 100ft roll of 16awg while you are there and some Dayton hdmi cables (which are on sale) and don't forget a subwoofer rca cable and a short rca to jump from the sub to the other plate amp

Thank me later

 

[Boomsday 10+ year member]

Get an onkyo with on screen display from accesories4less like mentioned, the best one you can afford, they are the only onkyo refurbished authorized distributor online, they will honor the warranty, pick up 3 pairs of these for center, fronts, and surrounds
Dayton Audio B652 6-1/2" 2-Way Bookshelf Speaker Pair 300-652

Get one of these subs

Powered Subwoofers in the Home Audio / Video Department at Parts Express | 95 - 301

Get these

Dayton Audio TT25-16 PUCK Tactile Transducer Mini Bass Shake 300-389

Get this to power them

Dayton Audio SA70 70W Subwoofer Amplifier 300-784

And get a 100ft roll of 16awg while you are there and some Dayton hdmi cables (which are on sale) and don't forget a subwoofer rca cable and a short rca to jump from the sub to the other plate amp

Thank me later

Any advantage/disadvantage of using bookshelves verses towers?? ALso I already have a TC-2000 for sub duty.. I was gonna get a Dayton 500watt amp for it, but im starting to think it may be a bit much...maybe a 200-300watt amp would help blend better

 

[E-Rock 10+ year member]

I love home audio. I actually kind of enjoy it a little more than car audio. Except I spend all my time on here.

My current receiver is a Pioneer 822 5.1. It was one of CNET's top rated budget receivers. I really don't feel a need to get 7.1 or 3D but that is just me. HDMI is so helpful when it comes to reducing wires and it is nice to switch sources with just one button on a remote. (Xbox 360, Blu-Ray, HD cable box, PC).

My system is pretty budget as I found some Advent Audio towers on CL from a home audiophile that I got for $30 (steal). He also demo'd his new setup for me when I bought them. My surround are the Dayton outdoor 3-ways, but I got these from a buddy at Radioshack for half price and they are labeled Auvio. Center channel is the Dayton one from Parts and my sub is the Dayton 100.

I have a budget system now because I am a student and I wanted to upgrade from the typical HT in a box setup. Once I get a new place with a garage that I can finally build boxes and towers I will spend some more $$$. I want to build some dual 8'' towers, but picking the drivers is the hard part.

I have heard the Dayton woofers are very nice. But there are tons of others like Seas, Morel, Peerless, etc... Tweeter options open up too. You can do horns, ribbons, etc.

Onkyo, Pioneer, Denon and Yamaha make some great receivers. Just go to AVS forum like mentioned above and search on the interwebs for what will suit you. The nice thing about home audio is that you can do some pretty crazy things as far as subwoofers go. Since you are not as limited for space as you are in a vehicle. I plan on doing a folded horn enclosure.

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

Any advantage/disadvantage of using bookshelves verses towers?? ALso I already have a TC-2000 for sub duty.. I was gonna get a Dayton 500watt amp for it, but im starting to think it may be a bit much...maybe a 200-300watt amp would help blend better

I like the bookshelves cause really that's all you need and I prefer to have every speaker exactly the same, just easier to tweak it right, like your rears could sound to drab or flat, well if you eq it up then your fronts may be too bright then, or the sound shift to the back and all the sudden the back is brighter, just a preference of mine to make it easier

 

[naughtyca 10+ year member]

you can get 2 of these for your sub you can blend them by the volume, when you do 2 sub the bass goes a lot deeper even on low volume

For only $98.55 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 12 Inch 150 Watt Powered Subwoofer - Black

 

[naughtyca 10+ year member]

you can do towers like these up front $149 each

Polk Audio New Monitor 65T Three-Way Ported Floorstanding Loudspeaker (Black) Each - Newegg.com

or these $219 each

Polk Audio New Monitor 75T Four-Way Ported Floorstanding Loudspeaker (Black) Each - Newegg.com

Bookshelf these sometimes goes down to $75 a pair but still decent price at $109 a pair

Polk Audio New Monitor 35B Pair Home Audio Speaker - Newegg.com

what i did was 4 of those polk bookshelf 2 subs and a center channel at first then replaced my fronts with those tower speaker

you can also scour the pawnshops but with these polk audio prices and brand new it will be hard to beat

 

[naughtyca 10+ year member]

Here's a guy that tried to build his home theatre speakers, its not as easy as building a car stereo system

Home audio - FloridaSPL

 

[DoesDad 10+ year member]

BIC America makes really good reasonable speakers too. You can usually get a pair of Klipsch towers or Polk towers for around 200-300 bucks on Craigslist. At least in Tulsa that's the case. And old school vintage speakers like Marantz and JBL's can come pretty cheap on cl too. Just do some homework. Go to Best Buy or Fry's or whatever and model some. Here's some big ol' window shakers for 130 a pc. http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=303-422&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pla

 

[naughtyca 10+ year member]

BIC America makes really good reasonable speakers too. You can usually get a pair of Klipsch towers or Polk towers for around 200-300 bucks on Craigslist. At least in Tulsa that's the case. And old school vintage speakers like Marantz and JBL's can come pretty cheap on cl too. Just do some homework. Go to Best Buy or Fry's or whatever and model some. Here's some big ol' window shakers for 130 a pc. BIC RtR 1530 15" 3-Way Tower Speaker 303-422

Those look really nice, reviews are good too but I think if you run 2 powered sub plus 5 speakers the sound will be more defined just my 2 cents those will probably good on stereo receivers

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

What conversion would there be? Minimizing cabling may have been a factor in the old analog days but HDMI is digital and not susceptible to signal loss and the receiver just passes the video signal through untouched...

not always the case when the receiver also does up-conversion of other inputs to HDMI. then the signal can pass through a process.

all connections are subject to digital loss. all contacts, plugs, etc. are sources of resistance.

 

[Boomsday 10+ year member]

I found one of these via my local CL for $150, is it a better deal then the Onkyo??

VSX-920-K - 7.1-Channel 3-D Ready A/V Receiver | Pioneer Electronics USA

or

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKTXNR414/Onkyo-TX-NR414-5.1-Home-Theaterl-3-D-Ready-Network-A/V-Receiver/1.html#!more