|   Help Me Choose!!! | svirac
Aug 1, 2002 12:30 PM | | I am in the market for a new home theater system. I am considering a variety of options, but have no venue nearby at which to audition anything. I am on a limited budget. I am considering a Denon 1802, a Marantz SR-5200, and an Onkyo TX-SR600 for my receiver. For speakers, I am nearly clueless, but a friend mentioned Mirage, so I was thinking of 2 FRx-3 bookshelfs, an OM-C3, 2 FRx-Rear Surrounds, and the LF-150 subwoofer. Any advice as to which of the three receivers I should choose would greatly help. Also, is the speaker package I have in mind sufficient? Should I consider other subwoofers? Should I consider other brands altogether?? I would appreciate any and all advice. Thanks
-Dave |
| re: Help Me Choose!!! | Denon_man
Aug 1, 2002 4:22 PM | | Hi,
I would buy the Denon AVR-1802. Denon always makes good quality stuff, you won't hear much bad about them on this board. Mirage are nice speakers, but are typically very expensive for nice ones. You are in a tight spot if you can't audition. In my opinion, you can never go wrong with B&W speakers. They too maintain good quality products and are one of the biggest bangs for the buck. I personally own the B&W 602 S2 and the Center Channel 6 and I love 'em. I am in the process of buying a sub, it's probably gonna be a Paradigm. Paradigm also makes quality speakers, but the sound is subjective to one's ear. For rear speakers it doesn't really matter as long as they are bipolar. I hope I was of help, tell us how your system turns out.
Cheers,
~DeNoN_MaN |
| re: Help Me Choose!!! | Keith from Canada
Aug 2, 2002 4:51 AM | | Although I generally concur with Denon_man, I would also point out that, just like Denon, companies like Marantz and Yamaha also make very good products for the dollar. Given the name, it's not surprising that he opted for Denon (and there's nothing wrong with that) however, Denon is far from your only choice. You should be focussing first and foremost on sound quality in stereo and HT and then move to the various options that each receiver has.
As for speakers, I would argue that Denon_man has led you somewhat astray unless he shops at a place where B&W speakers are more moderately priced than where I live. In my city, as with many others, B&W is generally considered to be a higher-priced speaker brand that doesn't compete very well with the likes of PSB, Paradigm, Klipsch etc. For a comparable price, you can do much better than B&W in most places. Of course, if they are competitively priced where you live, then by all means give them an audition, they do make some good stuff (although I'm not personally a fan).
My last point would be especially important when it comes to speaker selection. In my opinion, it's VERY important to go in with a relatively long list of possible contenders and audition them all. As Denon_man hinted at, speaker selection is HIGHLY subjective and really does require auditioning to find out what suits your needs. You'll quickly find that your long list will be cut down as you audition and you'll likely hear a set of speakers that stand out above the rest.
Good luck and remember to have fun!!! |
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