Alphonse1624705860 Posted June 29, 2007 Posted June 29, 2007 Hi All ^_^ I'm a newbie for the audio stuff. As I will be waiting for the onkyo 875, and have ordered an Opp 981 I am wondering if any of the brothers here can help out in recommending the front speakers and center to me. My budget for them is 1.5k. Will be building up my system slowly due to my CFO restriction :-[
petetherock Posted June 29, 2007 Posted June 29, 2007 Perhaps if you give more info, you will get more replies :) What is your music / HT mix, sats, bookshelves or floorstanders? Room size? There is a satellite thread and I have put together another thread on systems: http://www.xtremeplace.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=43618.0 http://www.xtremeplace.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=41975.0 The Ushers are a decent choice, the Monitor Audio RS1 and LCR, Epos ELS3 as well The threads will list these and more.
Alphonse1624705860 Posted June 29, 2007 Author Posted June 29, 2007 Oops sorry for not making myself clear :P This is how the display area will look like It is about 3m square feet. Sorry for not able to post the real pic as my house is still under renovation. I will be getting a 42' PV70, Oppo 981 for player, and Onkyo 875. After much consideration and discussion with my CFO, she has allowed me to have a 1.5k budget for the front and center speakers first. The rest will be later when she revised the budget again hopefully next year :-[ As I am a very newbie in term of audio stuffs, I will appreciate very much on how to maximise the budget given to me and seek the advice of the gurus here :P Hopefully my CFO will be impressed with the sound systems and maybe increase my budget to get the rest of the surround and sub speakers.
kzone Posted June 29, 2007 Posted June 29, 2007 no sub? n y spend so much $$ for the 875? might be better to allocate more on the speakers & sub....
Alphonse1624705860 Posted June 29, 2007 Author Posted June 29, 2007 I thought of slowly building up the system and get a good amp first. I spent quite some time convincing my CFO to allow me to get the 875 :P
yellowhandman Posted June 29, 2007 Posted June 29, 2007 you might want to consider starting with a good pair of speakers for L/R, and a subwoofer. i'm assuming your L/R will be bookshelf speakers on stands, rather than floorstanders, in which case you will need the subwoofer to give your HT the 'oomph'. centre speaker is less important, because a good pair of L/R - properly positioned - can make up for the lack of a centre speaker. but without a good sub, you won't get the KICK of a true HT.
kzone Posted June 29, 2007 Posted June 29, 2007 i wud have gone the other way.. building up my system with good speakers & when all are in place, get the latest AVR to bring out the best in the speakers & also for the latest specs... anyway, since u've decided ur path look around for small bookshelves as ur 3m wall to wall is quite a short distance.. wont have enuff distance to let the speakers breathe.. & if the 3m is based on ur floorplan, actual distance wud be even shorter... Can check out Pete's threads.. plenty of recommendation there...
Alphonse1624705860 Posted June 29, 2007 Author Posted June 29, 2007 yellowhandman, I'm not sure of the difference of a bookshelf speaker and floorstand speaker? Any recommendations for the bookshelf speaker and sub? I am thinking of going down to KEC to test out the the speakers once the 875 arrive to see how well they blend with it. kzone, Thanks actually I been reading on pete's threads thats why i joined in the MO organised by Darthpunk to get the Oppo 981 last week after checking the reviews
Alphonse1624705860 Posted June 29, 2007 Author Posted June 29, 2007 This is the pic of how the display will be with the floor plan
kzone Posted June 29, 2007 Posted June 29, 2007 nice place.. where u gonna add ur surround later? Any cables setup during ur reno?
SiriuslyCold Posted June 29, 2007 Posted June 29, 2007 I'll echo the rest of these guys and say - get a slightly cheaper amp and more expensive speakers the sound is being produced by the speakers - amps only provide the signal and power. A good speaker won't sound much different if you were using a 875 or 805 or even 605. But you will definitely hear a difference between poor speakers and good speakers, regardless of the amp. Also - especially these days - your 875 or whatever amp will be obsolete in a year or two if you are lucky. by the time you think you are going to upgrade your speakers, its time to replace the AVR as well. I'm looking at HDMI 1.4... ;D But speakers.... some people are still listening to speakers that are 20 years old.
petetherock Posted June 29, 2007 Posted June 29, 2007 Hi bro Nice place, Some thoughts: Thankfully your room is not 3m by 3m, thats a bit too square Actually you can afford to get a 50" which can give you some serious visual enjoyment that even your wife will like But at 3m it is a tad narrow for a floorstander, unless you get one with a well controled bass, or use some form of room treatment, eg 'blackout' curtains to absorb some of the bass and reflections. A good set of floorstanders - eg Monitor Audio BR or RS series (I am biased towards them) can help you get by without the sub, OR a decent set of bookshelf speakers which should be mounted on stands plus a sub, sans centre OR as you said, fronts and centre, esp if you are not too bass mad, and slipping the bass unit past your wife might be an issue... I would try and avoid sats for the sound compromise. Ushers have high gloss finish which may pass the WAF. As for your amp, beware of specs and tech details which impress. In your room size, a Onkyo 805 is more than enough, but do you need the Onkyo? Make sure you audition properly and avoid getting caught up in the frenzy of the current fever. I do believe a good amp is important, but if you buy a mid-level amp, the main cost they charge you for, is not the amp components, but all the frills and high tech features first. Hence the concern of the bros here about your choice of amps Assuming you can afford the 875 (which is more than 2k) plus 1.5k for speakers, you can instead proportion 1.6k for say the Onyko or another brand, then set aside 2.5k for speakers including a sub. That will be quite a lot, and you may wish to look out for people selling their Denon 3930, which is a serious DVD player. Otherwise the PS3 or even a Toshiba A2 is a possible hi def alternative. Remember to budget for cables , and the room treatment. BTW if you live near AMK, you are welcome to pop by and see the MA RS series in anger and hear an 'old tech' AV amp driving them and see if the 2.1 or 3.0 or other setups suits you. My room is close to your listening area in size. BTW, you may also want to put a carpet between the lounge and the TV. Good luck
kzone Posted June 29, 2007 Posted June 29, 2007 yellowhandman, I'm not sure of the difference of a bookshelf speaker and floorstand speaker? Bookshelf Floorstander
SiriuslyCold Posted June 29, 2007 Posted June 29, 2007 there is a fallacy of thought that a bookshelf takes up less space than a floorstander - in truth, a good bookshelf (or properly called standmount) speaker is best placed on good stands (and never in a book shelf) for it to sound best. As a result the footprint is usually the same as a floorstanding speaker (as can be seen in the picture kzone posted. However, bookshelves are cuter, and not as imposing as floorstanders - and in small living rooms probably - psychologically - do not intrude as much as a floorstander would. higher WAF most likely. the main differences is that bookshelves usually give you better imaging and less bass. they are usually harder to drive and require more power to sound as loud as floorstanders. on the other hand, because of the smaller box/construction a bookshelf is easier to make (less problems with resonance etc) and cheaper than a floorstander (you can probably get a better bookshelf for the same amount of $) course you have to take the cost of a good stand into account
zapp1624705742 Posted June 29, 2007 Posted June 29, 2007 Bookshelf Floorstander This is bad poison :p
kzone Posted June 29, 2007 Posted June 29, 2007 This is bad poison :p no, this is bad poison : actually wanted to post pics of the armatis, but dunno where to get..
kzone Posted June 29, 2007 Posted June 29, 2007 there is a fallacy of thought that a bookshelf takes up less space than a floorstander - in truth, a good bookshelf (or properly called standmount) speaker is best placed on good stands (and never in a book shelf) for it to sound best. yeah but generally, floorstanders need more dist to the front wall so will end up "using" more space..
SiriuslyCold Posted June 29, 2007 Posted June 29, 2007 actually wanted to post pics of the armatis, but dunno where to get.. here's the whole Homage family (click on collections)
Alphonse1624705860 Posted June 30, 2007 Author Posted June 30, 2007 petetherock, My new flat is at compassvale road near to compass point. There will be a carpet and a coffee table in between the tv and the sofa. I have got the oppo 981 for dvd player already :P joined in the MO organised by darthpunk. Anyway will be getting a wii from friends as house warming gift hehe. Thx for th invitation btw, i will most probably pop in your house to check out your monitor audio :P kzone, Wow those speakers look really impressive. What brand are they called? Hopefully not too expensive. For my surrounds, I am still not sure where I should placing them. I am thinking of having them on stand instead of wall mount. Need some advise on this. Anyway thanks alot for the inputs and advise. Think I will most probably get the 805 then my budget for the speakers can increase to 2-2.5k. I will most probably be getting them in august when my renovation is done up. Thought of going down to KEC to reserve the 805 first but not sure if they do accept reservation.
petetherock Posted June 30, 2007 Posted June 30, 2007 kzone's speakers, cheap cheap 10k or 20k..... Buy the 805 first, I can help you season your amp.... :) The sats thread and the 1.5k thread has placement tips too. Or just mount them on the wall. I am having an easy morn and will be in til I leave for Transformers in the evening, if you want to come.
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