I’m in the market for some new home theater speakers so I’m wondering if any of you have any recommendations. My current receiver is an older Onkyo TX-SR608. The specs can be found here: http://www.hometheater.com/content/onkyo-tx-sr608-av-receiver-specs
Cost isn’t a huge issue. I have about $500 in gift cards/reward points for Best Buy and I’m willing to kick in a few hundred extra. The primary use is for watching movies and an occasional “increase in volumn” when a good tune comes on. The only thing I don’t want are tower speakers, I’d prefer to have smaller wall/pedestal mount speakers. I have small kids and the wall mount ones work better for me. Don’t ask me how many times I’ve had to surgically remove Minnie Mouse from the port in my sub-woofer.
Yeah, I should stick with BB. Just cheaper that way. I’m currently using just 5.1 but was thinking of using the Zone 2 feature where I can toggle between the 7.1 or 5.1 and a 2nd zone.
Doesn’t necessarily have to be a package set. I’d piece a set together if need be.
Stick with Onkyo, you can’t go wrong. Check out www.shoponkyo.com as they have good deals and refurbs. I’ve not bought 7 receivers from that site, saved a boat load and never had a single issue from any of them. You can always sell your BB GC’s on CL or eBay or something to get the cash should you find a good deal on the site I linked you to. Just some thoughts on the subject.
I bought a 7.1 setup years ago. I don’t know if it’s different now, but nothing back then used the 2 extra speakers so it was a waste. I also suggest sticking with a 5.1 setup.
Still a waste. I even have a dedicated theater with stadium style seating and don’t have 7.1ch setup. I have 5.2 and the .2 is two 15’s and to me that’s more important than the two side/surround speakers I didn’t install. Focus on the center channel since that’s the majority of your sound (other than LFS and LFS doesn’t require accuracy) and make sure the mains and rears ‘timber’ match up and you’re good to go. You can spend a fortune and you still will never be happy or you can research and get the most for a lower budget and be excited for your performance v dollar ratio. I prefer the latter and nobody has ever complained about my setup.
Bowers & Wilkins produce some VERY high end home audio speakers. A set of their speakers and a good receiver will have your house sounding like a movie theater.
7.1 can work but you have to have a decent size room and decent gear IMHO to really hear the two rear channels and its more a show off
OH OK Listen their it is !
so skip it !
but again if you are spending over 10K on sound then its not a big deal to go all the way if I was spending less than say $3000-$5000 I would stick with higher end 5.1 for sure and put the money into better speaks or sub or as mentioned 2 subs
I have a pretty good setup PSB speakers Velodyne Sub and NAD amps and a really nice projector from Joe Kane and half the time I dont care about the 7.1 I have but I got the two extra matched rears I use at a really good deal and had the money at the time again skip the 7.1 notion at this point trust us that say so hahahahaha
one thing is you want the center channel to match your two sides so the sound is more timbre matched etc… and also if can keep them on the same level
not sure if your onkyo has a auto setup EQ ? but some DVDs Blurays have a basic THX setup I think includes audio ? I know it can do basic pic adjustment
A good friend of mine also highly recommended the Def Techs. I’ll have to take a look into them. They’re in the price range I was thinking of.
So I guess I’ll ixnay the 7.1 for now. We’re building on an addition to our house this summer so I was planning on at least wiring in for 7.1. I can always add the the two rear speakers later if I feel the need.
Thanks for the help guys!
I nix’d the 7.1 idea, however, I’m gonna still wire it in for future. I just have my phone right now & BB’s site kinda sucks the way it is. I’ll see if I can provide a link later on when I get home. I’d prefer to keep it under $1k if possible. Thanks
You can keep it under 1k I’m sure, but it may or may not make you happy sonically speaking. Just like an AR, some times it’s best to start with a good base and add to that as $$ comes in vs try and do it all first purchase, but does depend on what you want quality of sound wise.
Eg, a base Colt 6920 you add to over time is far better than a DPMS with every mall ninja thing on it for the same price. It’s like that…
That’s the point. You may be far better off buying a decent pair of L/R speakers now, and adding a center, rears, sub later as $$$ allows. The addition of the decent L/R will sound far better then you have now anyway and make for a base of a solid system that you enjoy building on vs box O speakers you buy.
Just depends on what you want from it and plan to do with it.
Sure, I get what you’re saying & I’m open to that idea. I don’t need anything real extravagant. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of the Def Techs that we’re mentioned above. But again, I’m open to piecing together a speaker set.
Absolutely stellar advice. In fact with 2 high quality speakers up front you may not even feel the need to have the others for quite some time. A little friendly advice, stay far away from any type of “sub-woofer” they sell at those stores as well.
His specific rec was it needed to come from BB, so I recommended listing brands they had, and we can help narrow it from there. BB not my first choice for home theater audio, but he can make some smart choices with good L/R and work from there. I’d take a good set of L/R vs crappy box O 5.1 set up any day for home theater or music.
Online, I see BB does carry some of the “lower end” B&W stuff, as well as DT (good for the $$$):
BB’s site kinda blows. I got roped into their Rewards program years ago and have acquired points and gift cards over the years, that’s why I was hoping to purchase from there. I figured it’d keep the price down. I’ve been leaning towards the Def Techs but if you guys see something better, let me know. Like I said, I don’t need to go crazy on these. I can already see my kids hanging off of them like its a jungle gym. What I’m looking for is decent quality for a good price. The Bose cubes appeal to me but more so just because of the size. Are they any good or are they just an overpriced name?
Also, thanks for the forum link. I’ll check it out.
