starting home stereo system! need help!

[nissanrider06 10+ year member]

Ok well i had to 10's i was hoping to use.i know i need a receiver and and some speakers, i am gonna use this mostly to listen to cd's and was hoping to me able to hook it up to my computer and maybe xbox ro tv and was wondering wat i need to look for in a receiver, if someone could recommend some good speakers ( non subs) do i need midbass and tweeters or just full range? also the subs are dual 4 ohm and 400 watts rms. any help is appreciated

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

What kind of a budget are we talking about here for speakers/receiver?

5.1 surround or just 2 channel?

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

Make sure the reciever you buy has component video switching and at least 4 digital audio inputs (either optical or digital coax) That way it won't be obsolete as technology advances, and you won't have to change your TV's source, the reciever will do it. Wattage in a home stereo app, is totally different than in a car, unless you are running some extremely power hungry speakers (like Dynaudios) you don't need more than around 75w per channel, except for the sub, and subs are nearly always self-powered. Virtually all recievers have a Dolby chip in them, which means they all do the same Dolby decoding, so that is a wash for the most part. Stick with major brands, and you will be happy, just make sure it does at least 2 component video in hookups, and a component video out monitor- these are the plugs that are 5 cable rca's- 3 for video and 2 for audio- required for High-Def TV.

 

[nissanrider06 10+ year member]

idk um 2 channel might work i dont know really what i need, i want at least one sub, cuz im guessing im not gonna be able to use my 2 RF rfp-1210 10's that need 400 watts each??? or will i? how many speakers will i need you think and wat kind (6.5 midbass, 4 inch full-range) im a newb when it comes to home stereos. i want more bass probably than just a selfpowered computer sub, but i guess that would be the easiest and the cheapest??? thanks for any help

 

[nissanrider06 10+ year member]

maybe i should just buy a pre made, 5.1 system off ebay... are those any good? can anyone send me some links to some around the 150-200 area, are the sub channels the same as the speaker channels? so i could replace one of the speakers with another sub? or would one sub be sufficient??? im mainly using this for music, but occasional dvd's

 

[Beat_Dominator 5,000+ posts]

If you want an easy solution, I'd look no further than a good PC speaker system. You're definitely going to get the most for your $ that way. If you want to treat it like a hobby, you need to slow down and analyze what you need.

1)Receiver/Controller

2)Source (CD player, PC, etc.)

3)Speakers (1,2,or 5 if you want mono,stereo, or multi channel)

4)Wires //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[nissanrider06 10+ year member]

but wont i want a home theatre system not computer system? i want to be able to hook it up to my computer, tv and xbox if possible.

EDIT:: http://cgi.ebay.com/399-Philips-HTS3400-700-WATT-Pro-Scan-Home-Theater-SYS_W0QQitemZ5836330862QQcategoryZ1499QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem would this work? and then i would just get a sound card for my comp or something???

 

[Beat_Dominator 5,000+ posts]

Yeah something like that might work, I sell that one at work at it doesn't sound too bad.

They are commonly called "HTIB" or Home Theater in a Box. Look for one that Kenwood makes, they have somegood ones for the $

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

The Yamaha ones are decent too. The key is to listen to them, but that's hard to do in a noisy best buy and be objective.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Make sure the reciever you buy has component video switching and at least 4 digital audio inputs (either optical or digital coax) That way it won't be obsolete as technology advances, and you won't have to change your TV's source, the reciever will do it. Wattage in a home stereo app, is totally different than in a car, unless you are running some extremely power hungry speakers (like Dynaudios) you don't need more than around 75w per channel, except for the sub, and subs are nearly always self-powered. Virtually all recievers have a Dolby chip in them, which means they all do the same Dolby decoding, so that is a wash for the most part. Stick with major brands, and you will be happy, just make sure it does at least 2 component video in hookups, and a component video out monitor- these are the plugs that are 5 cable rca's- 3 for video and 2 for audio- required for High-Def TV.

For a system that's mostly going to be used for music, that's overkill //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

To get the most for your money, I'd stick with vintage gear and a pair of full range speakers such as CSS FR125 4.5's. Solid-state receivers in the 1975-1980 range offer a hell of a value and are hard to kill...if you're just listening to CD's, an integrated amplifier would save a little money vs. something that has a built in broadcast tuner.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

http://cgi.ebay.com/NAD-C340-Stereo-Integrated-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ5834970972QQcategoryZ3280QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

NAD for the win.

 

[Beat_Dominator 5,000+ posts]

Go-NAD's stink //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif

Look for a Naim Nait 5i //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

http://cgi.ebay.com/NAIM-NAIT-5i-INTEGRATED-AMPLIFIER-BOXED-7-MONTHS-OLD_W0QQitemZ5834352601QQcategoryZ3280QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Something tells me it's out of his budget //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Beat_Dominator 5,000+ posts]

Well if you want to run with the big dogs....

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Well if you want to run with the big dogs....

Don't go solid state?

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif