talk to me about Stereo systems

[catphish]

Yamaha, Denon and Harman Kardon all make nice surround sound receivers. For music listening, I think ultimately you'll probably be dissatisfied with a home theater so I would keep a separate setup for that - which can be put together pretty cheaply.

 

 

Most of my music listening is done in my office anyway.

[bnyswonger]

Quite honestly I'd leave the 5.0 systems to the theaters and just get a kick-ass stereo, but lately it's gotten to point that all the reasonably priced stuff is geared to A-V, so you're either paying for stuff you don't care about or stuck paying for high end audiophile stuff if you just want a stereo.

Being the bottom feeder I am, I'd probably looked for used components.

[JRoll]

Since you are remodeling, the best advice I have is to run your speaker cables from your receivers future residence to the center, fronts, and backs now before sheetrocking and finishing. I was able to run all that prior to moving into our house and its nice to not see all those wires now and know they're safe in the wall. Be sure to run your coax to a place where it can easily run to your HD-DVR receiver for the TV.

Best of luck.

[mmb]

Those look pretty nice!

 

 

I'm not a fan of spending huge amounts of money on items when I know I'm not going to have *THE PERFECT* audio source, video source, or the $10,000 display technology. Every component makes a difference in your signal chain so it doesn't make sense to me to have $2000 speakers per channel when I'm only spending $500 for the audio processor. I go for the bang for the buck items and I've found the JBL Studios to be great speakers.

 

Whichever brand you pick, go with the same series of speakers for all your channels. Most manufacturers voice speaker series alike so you could have choices of sizes for your front mains, center, surround mains and rear surrounds. Sub woofers are a little more forgiving in this respect and you can get some great performance subs for lower cost if you DIY.

[catphish]

Since you are remodeling, the best advice I have is to run your speaker cables from your receivers future residence to the center, fronts, and backs now before sheetrocking and finishing.

 

 

yup. under the floors and in the walls. The location of the rear speakers is in the middle of a room....so I either need to go with speaker stands...or some creative hiding in furniture.

[T. Alan Smith]

Quite honestly I'd leave the 5.0 systems to the theaters and just get a kick-ass stereo,

 

 

That's what I'm saying.

 

Also, like pro audio, with your home audio system, your only as good as your weakest link. Start with kickass speakers that get your rox off, but make sure do don't skimp on your converters, for example.

[rummy]

I love Yamaha receivers. They're very high quality for what you pay for. I have a Dolby Digital receiver that I bought when I was in highschool, and 10 years later, it still works great!

 

Have fun deciding whether you want Blu Ray or HD DVD.

[Kindness]

I'll second the recommendation of NAD components. They are my favorite in design philosophy. High quality, low frills.

 

I also much prefer stereo over surround, but that is a very personal process.

 

Speakers are too personal for me to recommend, but the ONLY way I'd shop for them is in person, at a store with a natural listening environment, with familiar listening material.

[T. Alan Smith]

I'll second the recommendation of NAD components. They are my favorite in design philosophy. High quality, low frills. I also much prefer stereo over surround, but that is a very personal process. Speakers are too personal for me to recommend, but the ONLY way I'd shop for them is in person, at a store with a natural listening environment, with familiar listening material.

 

 

Amen. There are several places around Chicago where you can check out a wide range of bang for buck audiophile stuff. I had a blast testing out speakers at a couple of these places for my home system.

[Psilocybin]

Subwoofer placement is critical. If you get a system with a sub, spend some time on placement, and conversely, couch placement.

 

 

Back in 99' I purchased a Bose home theater. I love the sound clarity still but I wish it had a beefier sub. Its also the most sensitive, in regards to its location in the room, of any woofer I've dealt with. Some of the apartments I've lived in I never was able to find a good spot for the sub. You could be in the living room and hear almost 0 bass. Then you could move to the bedroom and it sounds like you are outside a dance club. oontz oontz oontz....

 

I've had the system set up in about 7 different houses/apartments. The first thing I do is try and find the best sub location. I sit where I figure I would normally be while watching movies or playing video games. I then move the sub to various locations in the room until I find the one which gives me the best bass from my couch. After the sub is in place I set up the 5 satellite speakers. I'm glad this system came with 6,000,000,000 feet of speaker wire:p

[Psilocybin]

My Bose 601's are 26 years old. They stack right up with my buddies Klipsch towers. Easily.

[chugheshc2]

Hi catphish,
I have bose in my little home theater. seems to do the trick.
the integration of the remote control with everything else (tv) is pretty nice too, plus it is RF, so I don't have to worry about pointing it at anything.
For the space I have, there is more than enough sound.
I'm quite sure I could spend a lot more money and get 2% *better* sound, but this works good for me. Missus approves of the diminuitive size of the speakers as well. Feel free to drop by and check it out. (I'm around the corner from you I think).
cheers
C

[RSBro]

I'll second the recommendation of NAD components. They are my favorite in design philosophy. High quality, low frills. I also much prefer stereo over surround, but that is a very personal process. Speakers are too personal for me to recommend, but the ONLY way I'd shop for them is in person, at a store with a natural listening environment, with familiar listening material.

 

 

So if you don't want to spend major grands on two systems, what's a good compromise? I usually rip my CD's at minimum 320k if not higher, and listen to them on my iPod (my compromise) w/ some nice high quality Sennheisers, when not in the car.

I wouldn't mind getting a sweet stereo system to actually listen and enjoy music, but I rarely have time for it and usually only have my receiver on when watching movies, and the rare TV show (usually sports stuff).

[catphish]

Amen. There are several places around Chicago where you can check out a wide range of bang for buck audiophile stuff. I had a blast testing out speakers at a couple of these places for my home system.

 

 

This is true, of course. While there are lots of great shops around here, they don't carry every brand. I plan on starting off at abt and "the little guys", but neither of them carry NAD, so i'll need to make a trip to another place for that.

[catphish]

Hi catphish, I have bose in my little home theater. seems to do the trick. the integration of the remote control with everything else (tv) is pretty nice too, plus it is RF, so I don't have to worry about pointing it at anything. For the space I have, there is more than enough sound. I'm quite sure I could spend a lot more money and get 2% *better* sound, but this works good for me. Missus approves of the diminuitive size of the speakers as well. Feel free to drop by and check it out. (I'm around the corner from you I think). cheers C

 

 

I know the audiophiles will snub Bose, but there systems are damn sexy, and simple, and yeah, the RF controller is very nice.

[catphish]

I'll second the recommendation of NAD components. They are my favorite in design philosophy. High quality, low frills. I also much prefer stereo over surround, but that is a very personal process. .

 

 

I have rarely used my main system for anything but tv, and movies. As sad as this is...most of music listening is done on a computer.

[T. Alan Smith]

So if you don't want to spend major grands on two systems, what's a good compromise? I usually rip my CD's at minimum 320k if not higher, and listen to them on my iPod (my compromise) w/ some nice high quality Sennheisers, when not in the car. I wouldn't mind getting a sweet stereo system to actually listen and enjoy music, but I rarely have time for it and usually only have my receiver on when watching movies, and the rare TV show (usually sports stuff).

 

 

Again, like pro audio, always go quality over quantity. For example, instead of a bunch of li'l speakers for center & surround, etc...go with a pair of nice ones for high quality stereo.

What's your budget?

I would hesitate to spend less than $400 on a receiver as it tends to be a longer term investment. The examples given here are great places to start. For loudspeakers, a pair of 2-ways with 5" drivers, for example, will fill a small room, and you can get REALLY nice ones for just a few hundred bucks. Check out some Canadian loudspeaker builders for starters.

[Kindness]

This is true, of course. While there are lots of great shops around here, they don't carry every brand. I plan on starting off at abt and "the little guys", but neither of them carry NAD, so i'll need to make a trip to another place for that.

 

 

Saturday Audio Exchange is on Belmont near Sheffield. Visit them. I'll even meet you there.

[RSBro]

Again, like pro audio, always go quality over quantity. For example, instead of a bunch of li'l speakers for center & surround, etc...go with a pair of nice ones for high quality stereo. What's your budget? I would hesitate to spend less than $400 on a receiver as it tends to be a longer term investment. The examples given here are great places to start. For loudspeakers, a pair of 2-ways with 5" drivers, for example, will fill a small room, and you can get REALLY nice ones for just a few hundred bucks. Check out some Canadian loudspeaker builders for starters.

I hadn't even thought about it like that.

Good idea.

How do you guys get accurate sound reproduction though? Like what medium? HD-CD, or just a nice CD player or what?

[i_wanna_les_paul]

I hadn't even thought about it like that. Good idea. How do you guys get accurate sound reproduction though? Like what medium? HD-CD, or just a nice CD player or what?

The really wacky guys will get a CD transport with an outboard converter. Some will buy a pre/pro with good converters and run the digital out of the CD player into that. DVD-Audio and SACD have made a dent, at best, in the hi-fi world, IMO.

 

Then there's vinyl.

[T. Alan Smith]

I hadn't even thought about it like that. Good idea. How do you guys get accurate sound reproduction though? Like what medium? HD-CD, or just a nice CD player or what?

I just use a decent CD player. I can't recommend truly high quality converters enough tho. The difference between them and typical consumer stuff is UNREAL.

[Kindness]

So if you don't want to spend major grands on two systems, what's a good compromise? I usually rip my CD's at minimum 320k if not higher, and listen to them on my iPod (my compromise) w/ some nice high quality Sennheisers, when not in the car. I wouldn't mind getting a sweet stereo system to actually listen and enjoy music, but I rarely have time for it and usually only have my receiver on when watching movies, and the rare TV show (usually sports stuff).

 

 

The stereo system I have hooked up in my living room to my TV and the one that gets used for the majority of my listening is a $350 NAD integrated amp, a $200 NAD dvd/cd/mp3 player, a $300 Audio Controls analyzer and equalizer (they key component being the analyzer) and a pair of NHT speakers that cost about $350. This system would benefit from a dedicated sub crossed over around 80 Hz, but I haven't taken the time to add that to the system yet.

[Psilocybin]

I know the audiophiles will snub Bose, but there systems are damn sexy, and simple, and yeah, the RF controller is very nice.

I guess I'm just not picky enough. The system I purchased 9 years ago works just fine for me. I'm sure someone on this forum will tell me that I'm wrong and that I need to go buy a new one.

[catphish]

Saturday Audio Exchange is on Belmont near Sheffield. Visit them. I'll even meet you there.

I plan on it.

[Kindness]

I guess I'm just not picky enough. The system I purchased 9 years ago works just fine for me. I'm sure someone on this forum will tell me that I'm wrong and that I need to go buy a new one.

My mom and stepdad have a newer Bose system for their home theater setup. They love it. So do the vast majority of the people that hear it. Like any other audio related issue, I would never say that something that works well enough for you is a bad choice. I prefer other systems, but maybe you would hear my stereo setup and say ICK!