Home theater setup recommendations?
Following up from my prior post and adhering to those principles, here is a system I put together for my brother's friend who was in a similar situation and was also ready to check the dreaded "Bose" default option. He wasn't willing to deal with the used market, so I stuck to direct sellers and heavily discounted items (all with very good reviews) to keep the cost down. The whole shebang cost about $2500 (plus cables, but I just used some old ones I had hanging around), and after getting it set up and dialed in he was totally blown away by the results. And I have to say even I was shocked at the level of performance for that amount of money. I'd bet your daughter would be absolutely thrilled by it as well if she considers Bose good. Here are the speakers, sub, and receiver he bought... https://www.aperionaudio.com/collections/open-box-closeout-speakers/products/open-box-intimus-5t-tow... https://www.aperionaudio.com/collections/intimus-speakers/products/intimus-5c-center-channel-speaker... https://www.aperionaudio.com/collections/intimus-speakers/products/intimus-4b-satellite-speaker-pair... https://www.svsound.com/products/sb-2000 https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrxa870bl/yamaha-rx-a870-7.2-ch-x-100-watts-net... I chose a Yamaha receiver for him because they get high ratings for sound, are fairly user friendly, and have been very reliable (many other brands that sound good have very spotty reliability records). As a prior poster mentioned, I myself would be sorely tempted to buy a used Anthem MRX710, but used it's still more than double the price of the above Yamaha that sounded great when I heard it. I'm sure the Anthem would sound even better, but that'd be up to you (and the budget) if they'd appreciate the difference. I own the same sub myself, and despite being a sealed box design it can literally shake my fairly large family room with movies but is quick and tight enough to blend with music too -- and it's not very big, which is really nice. It goes down to an honest 20Hz and feels every bit of it. Anyway... As someone mentioned above, I have no idea of the size of the room, budget, etc. so I wouldn't presume to think this would be the right system for your daughter. I'm just throwing something out there that I found to work well so hoping it just gives you some ideas for your situation. Best of luck. |
Wow, lots of help and suggestions..............much appreciated folks. I learn more every day..........40 years, two channel audiophile, but the HT thing will be new ground. Lots of similarities, but important differences as well. Daughter is in Florida, I'm in Maryland, so it will be a field trip for me to do this, which is fine. I'll be the one buying the gear and doing the setup since they have no idea where to start. They'd likely just go to Best Buy, get whatever was on sale that day, stick everything in corners and think they'd done good..........ugh.........Always fun spending other peoples $$$. My impression is that that this will be a dedicated room, so aesthetics should be less of a concern than in multi-use rooms. That will give me some leeway to do it properly. Decent gear and some appropriate acoustic treatment should provide them with a new experience they'll be very happy with. I did check out the Master Switch article that was recommended..............good stuff, Thanks folks |
For starters or for someone who isn't an audiophile such as your daughter I think a good quality AV receiver would suffice it. As suggested by audiotroy earlier I would look for audiophile brand receivers eg NAD, Rotel, Arcam, Audio Control, Anthem, Cambridge Audio for good reproductions of both music and surrounds (movies) and avoid those Japanese mass produced AV brands as they usually won't sound that good for stereo music playbacks but fine for movies (surrounds). The Cambridge Audio CXR200 av receiver retails for $2k but recently I think there's one offered for sale here for around $1200 if I'm not mistaken. This is a quite musical sounding receiver and this will be your cheapest audiophile receiver option IMO. The Cambridge isn't loaded with features or bells & whistles like those found on Japanese mass produced AV receivers but for stereo music playbacks the Cambridge CXR 200 will sound better than most if not all Japanese av receivers. The NAD, Arcam, Rotel, Audio Control make great sounding av receivers especially for stereo music reproductions but cost more than the Cambridge Audio. So your best cheapest audiophile quality receiver will be the Cambridge CXR 200. For speakers there are countless options out there and you should look for the ones that are suitable for both music and movies as suggested by audiotroy earlier. KEF, Paradigm, Martin Logan, Monitor Audio, Golden Ear Technology, B&W, PSB are great options for both music and home theater (movies). |
As several have already mentioned, without a budget and more info about the room, I can’t give you recommendations on specific equipment but I do have experience introducing a non-audiophile (my wife) to the benefits of a decent home theatre setup. I definitely agree with what was said before about needing at least a 5.1 system to really get that “WOW” factor. My wife had never experienced surround sound and was initially a bit annoyed when I cut holes in the walls of the living room for surround speakers, but it took about two days for her to be totally won over by hearing effects from our favorite shows coming from behind us or in the room. She still after 3yrs occasionally darts a look over her shoulder and smiles about being fooled by it when an effect gives that immersive feeling...especially on a scary or suspenseful scene. It’s mid-fi, but she likes that room way more than another setup we have with much better stereo speakers & electronics but without the surrounds. She was also annoyed by the “big black box” (an SVS SB2000) that “ruined” the aesthetics of the room...for about 36hrs until a scene in Game of Thrones where one of the dragons landing gave that sensation where you can feel it in your chest. She literally paused the show just to look at me and say “that was cool” and I’ve not heard a complaint about that big black box ever since. Total game changer compared to the micro sub from an old pioneer home theatre in a box that had been in the room before. So get a real subwoofer...or two :). Depending on the budget, neither surround speakers or a decent subwoofer even need to give anything away to room aesthetics anymore as there are really good in-wall/in-ceiling options these days for both. I’m not suggesting the in-wall are better or as good for a given price point, but for surround and subwoofer channels where sound quality is less vital compared to the center and front R/L, they do a great job...especially if the room will have to stay multifunctional. As as for electronics, my only suggestion is to keep it simple. Ideally have the whole setup controllable from a single remote &/or phone or tablet apps. Audiophiles might not mind getting up and sequentially turning on multiple components or having 5 different remotes to control every part of a home theatre system, but that’s annoying to most people. Also, be sure any receiver you get is 4ohm stable and has pre-outs in case they want to upgrade to a separate amp down the road...most decent ones will have both qualities, but some of the lower end models won’t. |
