First, some questions and thoughts.
1) If she doesn't mind buying used, she could get a 20K system for the 10K she wants to spend.
2) She should take her room size into consideration before deciding on which speakers to buy... Small speakers in a huge room will may not be appropriate. On the other hand, very large speakers are not appropriate for a small room.
3) If she buys 7 speakers instead of 5, the amount to spend for each speaker will be lower given the same budget. Remember that an extra set of speakers will give you better sound effects but 5 higher quality speakers, you will most probably get better overall sound. 5 higher quality speakers will sound better than 7 cheaper speakers. I would stick with 5 speakers.
4) Today, the 7.1 seems to be the way to go but already today, the 10.1 and 10.2 channels are being considered... She should not try to keep up with the market. Remember, spending 5K on 10 speakers will buy you much cheaper speakers compared to spending 5K on 5 speakers.
4) Is her TV progressive scan? If not, is it really worth to spend money on a progressive scan DVD. She may be better off buying a lower quality DVD player and buy a good quality CD player.
5) She should not spend more than 10%-12% of the total purchase in cabling. I would not go crazy on power cables and rear speaker cables. She should try finding a set of interconnects and loudspeaker cables she likes. Once decided of models, she should look on audiogon for a used set... Buying used speaker cables is a good way to save and since there is no electronics involved, it is pretty safe buying used cables (compared to used amps, preamps, CD players) as long as she knows what brand and model she wants beforehand.
6) As far as electronics are involved, it will be much more expensive buying separate preamp, amp and processor than buying a integrated receiver (remember, if you spend 6K-7K on electronics, there is little room for good speakers). On the other hand, buying a single unit makes it hard to upgrade. You have to change the whole unit...
7) Don't spend too much money on the rear speakers (and side speakers if you go this route) since they only give background sound effects. Your 3 front speakers are much more important... Also, try using the same speaker line for your main and center speakers. If you buy different speakers for the center and main, you may end up with deceiving results.
Enough talking, here's the setup I suggest. This is the setup I used to own before I got a 2 way system... It has a retail price of fewer than 10K...
Harman Kardon AVR-8000 Receiver (Retail:$2,800)
Toshiba SD-9200 DVD Player (Retail:$1,500)
Paradigm Studio 100v2 Main Speakers (Retail: $2,400)
Paradigm Studio CC Center Channel (Retail: $550)
Paradigm Studio 60v2 rear speakers (Retail: $1,200) (she can go with Studio 20 instead)
Paradigm Servo-15 Subwoofer (Retail: $1,500)
Cardas Spreaker cable and interconnects (I use crosslink but you can get better ones)
Note: She can get the HK for $1,550 at Agon, the SD-9200 for around $600... If she buys the whole system used, she can probably get this system for 5K...
One more thing, it is possible to get a better used system used for around 10K but if she wants to buy new, I doubt she can find a better package for this price range...
By the way, the Toshiba SD-9200 is a decent player for 2 channel music.
Important: This is just my opinion. Before buying, I went through several system auditions and felt that this package offered the most for my money. I bought the complete system new.
One more thing, try not to overwhelm her with too much information. Giving her too much info may make her shopping a nightmare.
Good luck and keep us posted
Luc
1) If she doesn't mind buying used, she could get a 20K system for the 10K she wants to spend.
2) She should take her room size into consideration before deciding on which speakers to buy... Small speakers in a huge room will may not be appropriate. On the other hand, very large speakers are not appropriate for a small room.
3) If she buys 7 speakers instead of 5, the amount to spend for each speaker will be lower given the same budget. Remember that an extra set of speakers will give you better sound effects but 5 higher quality speakers, you will most probably get better overall sound. 5 higher quality speakers will sound better than 7 cheaper speakers. I would stick with 5 speakers.
4) Today, the 7.1 seems to be the way to go but already today, the 10.1 and 10.2 channels are being considered... She should not try to keep up with the market. Remember, spending 5K on 10 speakers will buy you much cheaper speakers compared to spending 5K on 5 speakers.
4) Is her TV progressive scan? If not, is it really worth to spend money on a progressive scan DVD. She may be better off buying a lower quality DVD player and buy a good quality CD player.
5) She should not spend more than 10%-12% of the total purchase in cabling. I would not go crazy on power cables and rear speaker cables. She should try finding a set of interconnects and loudspeaker cables she likes. Once decided of models, she should look on audiogon for a used set... Buying used speaker cables is a good way to save and since there is no electronics involved, it is pretty safe buying used cables (compared to used amps, preamps, CD players) as long as she knows what brand and model she wants beforehand.
6) As far as electronics are involved, it will be much more expensive buying separate preamp, amp and processor than buying a integrated receiver (remember, if you spend 6K-7K on electronics, there is little room for good speakers). On the other hand, buying a single unit makes it hard to upgrade. You have to change the whole unit...
7) Don't spend too much money on the rear speakers (and side speakers if you go this route) since they only give background sound effects. Your 3 front speakers are much more important... Also, try using the same speaker line for your main and center speakers. If you buy different speakers for the center and main, you may end up with deceiving results.
Enough talking, here's the setup I suggest. This is the setup I used to own before I got a 2 way system... It has a retail price of fewer than 10K...
Harman Kardon AVR-8000 Receiver (Retail:$2,800)
Toshiba SD-9200 DVD Player (Retail:$1,500)
Paradigm Studio 100v2 Main Speakers (Retail: $2,400)
Paradigm Studio CC Center Channel (Retail: $550)
Paradigm Studio 60v2 rear speakers (Retail: $1,200) (she can go with Studio 20 instead)
Paradigm Servo-15 Subwoofer (Retail: $1,500)
Cardas Spreaker cable and interconnects (I use crosslink but you can get better ones)
Note: She can get the HK for $1,550 at Agon, the SD-9200 for around $600... If she buys the whole system used, she can probably get this system for 5K...
One more thing, it is possible to get a better used system used for around 10K but if she wants to buy new, I doubt she can find a better package for this price range...
By the way, the Toshiba SD-9200 is a decent player for 2 channel music.
Important: This is just my opinion. Before buying, I went through several system auditions and felt that this package offered the most for my money. I bought the complete system new.
One more thing, try not to overwhelm her with too much information. Giving her too much info may make her shopping a nightmare.
Good luck and keep us posted
Luc