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Home Theatre

jeanne50
18 years ago

Hi, I have been doing alot of research on a home theatre systems.I've narrowed it down to two receivers ,the Onkyo and the Denon. Can you tell me your favorites. I would also like your opinions on speakers. Thanks

Comments (9)

  • netarc
    18 years ago

    Denon, by far - AVR2807, AVR3806 will suite the majority of users out there.

  • MongoCT
    18 years ago

    I agree with the Denon.

    I've had the 380X series for about 4 or 5 years now. I think mine is a 3803. It's great for theater plus for music, it's a little more versatile in it's overall sound quality than what some other companies offer.

    Speakers are so much up to the individual. But I picked up a set of Klipsch. Two main fronts, a center, and two rear surrounds, and a thumping subwoofer that "goes to 11."

    Again, speaker are up to the individual, these sound just fine to me.

  • jeanne50
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thanks for the info. I think I'll buy the Denon.My sister just hired someone to install a home theatre.This man came highly recommended. He told her that Denon was the way to go as well. I have to do a little more research on speakers. This man recommended Canton.Hope I spelled that right.

  • dadofthehouse
    18 years ago

    You better audition a lot of speakers. What kind of sound do you prefer - warm, detailed (bright), or neutral? Are you listening to music with this system, or strictly movies? Did you want direct firing speakers for the back/surrounds, or out of phase speakers (not recommended if listening to multichannel music like SACD or DVD-A formats, but great for movies).

    Once you figure out the sound like, post back (You have to do a lot of blind tests)and we can give you more ideas of what is out there.

    BTW - Klipsch uses a horn tweeter which some people find very harsh to their ears, especially when listening to horns (like a sax) or strings (like a violin), but oth, for movies, it offers tremendous detail that would normally not be heard by other speakers.

    Personally, I prefer neutral speakers. I don't want any colorization in my sound at all - I should be able to close my eyes and try and guess if someone is in my room playing a guitar, or is it a DVD-A I'm listening too. The bad side of these types of speakers, if you have a bad recording, you'll know it.

  • jeanne50
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    I want speakers more for music. I want a clean crisp sound. I was told Polk speakers are good. What do you think? What about Bose Speakers?

  • steve_o
    18 years ago

    Polk: good stuff now. They kind of lost their way in the 90s as they expanded, but they remembered who brought 'em to the dance and they're better now. Bose: if you like the sound ... But most people who know audio will tell you that Bose trades very heavily on their name and marketing. If you're telling us you prefer "clean crisp sound", I can tell you to save yourself the sales pitch on Bose.

    As mongoct mentioned, speaker choice is very subjective and you really need to hear the speakers you're considering. I have speakers for my HT from a brand I did not even consider: After listening to my "short list" of candidates at a store that carried most of them, and not having been thrilled with any /of them, the salesman asked me to listen to some Monitor Audio speakers they carried. Still love 'em. But that's me -- and it was the salesman listening to what I wanted out of the speakers. If you're shopping at a good store, open yourself to the possibility.

  • netarc
    18 years ago

    Canton is reputed to be an excellent brand, though reports are that their speakers can trend "bright;" this is not a bad thing, but like others have said speakers are highly subjective - demo'ing is the best way to go.

  • jibba
    18 years ago

    Denon receiver is a must. I have the 2803 and love it.

    Speakers--how much $$ do you want to spend? floor standing or bookshelf? What for--HT or music or both?

    Here are some speaker suggestions:

    Canton
    Paradigm
    B&W
    Wharfdale

    Bose is overpriced junk, IMHO. No offense to anyone here that has Bose, but their marketing is much better than their products.

    Very important that you go to an audio/video specialty store and audition lots of speakers. Don't just buy them at Circuit City or Best Buy--they don't know anything about high end audio equipment there.

    Hope this is helpful.

    Jibba

  • pesto_sauce
    18 years ago

    I've owned B&W and Triad speakers. I also own Energy speakers (Veritas 2.8 & 1.8's - the original line up that are reference products in Stereophile).

    I think in that price range, you'd also be wise to give Energy speakers a listen to. Might be difficult to find a dealer, in that Compusa killed off their US distributor Goodguys, but very good value. They just released a new line that is getting good reviews.

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