Best 12k Home Theater Audio Setup

As a basis for a home theatre system a used parasound hca1206 amp (120x6/8ohms, 200x6/4ohnms) is hard to beat at a used price of 7/800 (orig was 2k; sigh..I bought one new). I run a hybrid theatre/two channel system connected with a DB Audio passive low level (rca interconnect) switch box.

Here is what I use:

preamplifiers:
parasound psp/1500 thx a/v preamp
McIntosh C22 stereo preamp

above outputs to the DB Audio switch box....

home theatre source equipment

sony es dolby digital processor
philips q50 dvd player
pioneer elite laserdisc player (cheapest of the three models)
some cheap jvc hi fi stereo vhs player

amplifiers

audio note p2se direct heated pentode valve amp (fronts); bryston 2b is backup amp (never needed yet)

parasound hca 1206 (rears, center..three channels unused at this time)

speakers

front
linn keilidh passive
center
spendor 2010
rear
b & w rock solids (original models); have pair of spendor LS3/5A speakers for back up if required ever

Subwoofer
energy microstar 12.1

stereo components
nakamichi cr7a cassette deck
roksan xerxes turntable/audio note arm 2/madrigal carnegie cartridge
tascam da30 ProDAT deck

planned upgrades
a) replace center channel speaker with a martin logan static..cinema model....probable
b) upgrade all interconnects and speaker wiring...(small fortune)

This system sounds great both in home theatre and in stereo mode.

My vote is for the this one:

Mains:Revel F30's
Center:Revel C30
Rears:Revel S30's
Subs:Look at SVS Subs, they seem to be great for H.T. according to the reviews and are not that expensive.
Pre/Pro: Bryston SP-1
Amps: Aragon 8008ST & 8008X3.

If you scope the "pre-owned" market, this setup should be had for well under $12K! Good Luck Michael

I'm running right around 12000 with a combination of new and used equipment. I have:

4 Legacy Classics (Main and Surround speakers)
1 Legacy SilverScreen 2 center
2 Sunfire Cinema Grands (all speakers are vertically biamped)
Sunfire Theater Grand 2 preamp
Pioneer Elite DV38A with full ModWright transport, standalone and clock mods (actually waiting for it to get back from Dan).

It's a great sounding system and the components have a lot of synergy.

Greg

And by the way.... sorry for the repeat posts. I thought it didn't go up the first time like it normally would.

--Charles--

Hello Marty:

How are you doing??? Nice setup you have there. If you were to ask for my substitutions, then here is what my system would look like if was my $12K that I was spending.

Speaker System (Front): B&W CDM7NT (finished in Red Stained Cherrywood).
Speaker System (Center): B&W CDMCNT (finished in Red Stained Cherrywood).
Speaker System (Rear): B&W CDM1NT (finished in Red Stained Cherrywood).
Speaker System (Subwoofer): Velodyne HGS-12.
Power Amplifier: Bryston 9B THX.
Preamplifier/Processor: Bryston SP-1.
DVD Player: Pioneer Elite DV-38A.

And if I could manage to get this whole system from the same dealer (which in most cases, that's pretty hard to do), then I can have him to give me the whole system as a package deal. If he is able to that, then I would tie this system together with cabling from either Cardas or MIT (the MITerminator Series).

Not included in the system price (but listed anyway just for the sake of system completion, and something that I would have before hand) would be a Panasonic PT-50PD3-P 50" Plasma Display (which at $16,000.00, it exceeds the price of the entire audio system listed above).

That would be how the "audio portion" of my system would look if I had $12,000.00 to blow on audio equipment.

Cheers to you......

--Charles--

Hello Marty:

How are you doing??? Nice setup you have there. If you were to ask for my substitutions, then here is what my system would look like if was my $12K that I was spending.

Speaker System (Front): B&W CDM7NT (finished in Red Stained Cherrywood).
Speaker System (Center): B&W CDMCNT (finished in Red Stained Cherrywood).
Speaker System (Rear): B&W CDM1NT (finished in Red Stained Cherrywood).
Speaker System (Subwoofer): Velodyne HGS-12.
Power Amplifier: Bryston 9B THX.
Preamplifier/Processor: Bryston .SP-1
DVD Player: Pioneer Elite DV-38A.

And if I could manage to get this whole system from the same dealer (which in most cases, that's pretty hard to do), then I can have him to give me the whole system as a package deal. If he is able to that, then I would tie this system together with cabling from either Cardas or MIT (the MITerminator Series).

Not included in the system price (but listed anyway just for the sake of system completion, and something that I would have before hand) would be a Panasonic PT-50PD3-P 50" Plasma Display (which at $16,000.00, it exceeds the price of the entire audio system listed above).

That would be how the "audio portion" of my system would look if I had $12,000.00 to blow on audio equipment.

Cheers to you......

--Charles--

I really like a set up based on:
B&W CDM7NT
B&W CDMCNT
B&W CDM1NT
Bag End Infran 18 sub
Meridian 561 processor
Aragon 8008X5
Pioneer Elite DV-38A

Making good deals on this equipment you can get it all for just less of $12K. This set up will make you very happy listening to music and movies.