Hello all!

Been lurking here for awhile looking for some speakers. I am 99.9% that i'm going with Aperion (4t Hybrid), especially with the ratings Cnet has given the speakers coming out from Aperion. I've always liked Cnet, and they have yet to dissapoint in thier reviews.

I am going to upgrade my "home theather" and need some help. So any info is greatly appreciated.

This is what i am working with:

Room Size: 16 x 16

Seating: 13 from TV

TV: Pioneer FD-111 (already have it)

Budget: 3,000 (for reciever and speakers)

Components: PS3 / HDTV Cable Programing / DVD player (component) / Ipod

Use: 70% Movies / 30% Music

I am trying not to buy a reciever that does more that what i really need. I am by no means a hardcore audio / video person, but i do enjoy the nice things in life.

Another thing about the reciever, it should compliment the TV.

So, can someone recommed a speaker system and reciever?

Peace,

JG

Hey UF2. Welcome. I joined the family about 3 months ago and I started with exactly the same idea (went from an old stereo receiver) and wanted to match it with a TV (LCD Bravia XBR4 instead of plasma) with the same budget 3K for all speakers and receiver. For me I also wanted a receiver that was as future-proof as I could find with the understanding that all electronics are going to be outdated within a year or two in terms of new codecs/specs...etc.  My room is a bit differently shaped 20x15 and I sit 12 ft (very close to yours). For me I wanted towers and wanted them to be able to stand on their own so I went with 2 5T's ($990), a 5C ($350), 4B for surrounds ($260) 8D ($499) for 2099. Thankfully no shipping from aperion. Now for your receiver, there's a lot of options. I went with the onkyo tx-sr805 because a) everybody loves it b) aperion sells it and even if you buy it elsewhere they are happy to help you troubleshoot setup and c) it has some of the best specs/price that it was as future-proof as I could find. You can find them for under $700 now since the newer series 806 has come out. That would easily fit into your budget and you'll get to save some money for buying movies to watch with your PS3 and sound system. The 805 has 3 HDMI inputs and you'll use 2 (PS3 and cable) and gives you the option of possibly upgrading the DVD player or adding an additional HDMI device in the future. Since you'll still have some money you could also buy another pair of speakers for a 7.1 system instead of 5.1 (which is what I've outlined). There's little that is written in 7.1 these days but the 805 is capable of handling a 7.1 system and as bluray takes over more 7.1 coded movies will come out I've heard. Again, a nice receiver to grow into. 

 One thing to keep in mind in terms of music listening: if you plan on listening to all channel surround music (which Dan describes as listening to music within a bubble) you may want to change your surrounds from 4B to 5B (more mid/lows). I've found that playing with all channel surround and old school stereo that the towers really shine with played on stereo and my 4B's lack some mids with all channel. If you want to swap the 4B's for 5B it'll make the overall purchase about $200 more. The 5B's over the 4B's are unnecessary I think for watching to movies as the surrounds don't play as much of a role. 

Having gone from a crappy stereo setup to my aperion setup is easily night and day. I have no idea what I was listening to before but CD's were not musical and movies weren't interesting. I'll stop there before I sound bubbly like Dan. Anyway I started off thinking I was going to use it for 80/20 movies/music but now I find myself listening to much more music then I ever thought. In any case remember then 1 year trade up program on all speakers (not subs).  

Jason,

Thanks for such a fast response and taking the time to post.

For me this is a HUGE upgrade. My previous system was a 8 year old panasonic home theather in a box.

So you would suggest building the speaker system vice buying one of the Aperion packages?

I can see myself using it for more music easily, so i will probably want to go for the All Channel Sound.

The Onkyo tx-sr805 / 806 is something i have been looking at along with the Pioneer Elite VSX-91TXH

When it comes to the reciever, do i really need a upcoversion feature (1080i/p) if the PS3 (already at 1080p) is my main player?

 Anybody else have suggestions?

Peace,

JG

UF2:

Jason,

Thanks for such a fast response and taking the time to post.

For me this is a HUGE upgrade. My previous system was a 8 year old panasonic home theather in a box.

So you would suggest building the speaker system vice buying one of the Aperion packages?

I can see myself using it for more music easily, so i will probably want to go for the All Channel Sound.

The Onkyo tx-sr805 / 806 is something i have been looking at along with the Pioneer Elite VSX-91TXH

When it comes to the reciever, do i really need a upcoversion feature (1080i/p) if the PS3 (already at 1080p) is my main player?

 Anybody else have suggestions?

Peace,

JG

Just to give you a little more to think about, Home Theater magizine just reviewed the Onkyo 606 and were very impressed.  They wer very impressed with it's music ability as well as video.  It is not as feature packed as the larger models but it can be had for mid $300 range.  A great bargin that!

Cheers

Russ brings up a good point. the 606 is a good deal, however it doesn't have the 192k/24 Burr Brown DACs so the musicality of the receiver may not be as strong. One of the other things I learned about the onkyo lines from reading a lot of forums is that the 905 is built above all the others. Then the 875 and the 805 are built with a pretty similar outline in construction. Below them is the 705 and 605...etc etc. Meaning that the independent amp/pre-amp construction you find in the 875 is the same in the 805. The 705 and 605 are not built with two separate compartments. A lot of the AV forums people talk about the need to separate them. I have no idea exactly why but it lead me to move from the 705 (which i was set to get) to buy for a little extra cash a receiver that was built more solidly. 

The Pioneer Elite is about $100 more than the 805 and has 1 less HDMI input and 20wpc less then the 805. It is able to decode all the same codecs as the 805 so I'm not sure what it has that the 805 doesn't have. The onkyo is 50lbs and the pioneer is 33lbs. To put the weight in prespective (in terms of build quality) the 605 and 705 are about 28lbs. So the step up (805) is almost double in weight (50lbs). The 875 is the same weight as the 805.

 Here's a review on the 805 which shows you the inner workings of it and you can see from the photo that the sheer weight is not because they have put bricks in to take up space:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_14_3/onkyo-tx-sr805-receiver-9-2006-part-1.html 

I don't mean to push the more expensive product because its more expensive but I'm trying to show what is the best bang for your buck and since you've set yourself a budget that is very comfortable (3000) you can get yourself some nice toys to play with and still come out with a little left over. 

 Hope that helps. :)

 p.s. one thing to keep in mind that the aperion speaker packages are not discounted. They are really just an easy way to not have to put individual speakers in your checkout cart. There is no difference between buying a package or the speakers individually if you know what I mean.  

Russ,

Thanks for the input on another cost effective option.

J,

Love the comparison with the Pioneer. From most of my research, it seems that the Onkyo recievers are the way to go. They also seem a better deal than the Pioneer. The only reason i was even considering the Pioneer is because my tv is an Elite. As far as picking the reciever, i want the most bang for the buck.

Checking out the review.....

Peace,

JG

16x16 room size,,hmm.

To be honest here is what I think will get you the most bang for your buck...

If you want the most out of 2 channel music and some good HT go with 5T's, 5C and 4B's. The key here is room size.  I really don't think spending the extra money on 5B's for surround duty is going to be worth it. I have 4B's as my surrounds in a 12x20 room and they are more than adequate as surrounds and double nicely as multichannel music speakers to go along with my front 5B's. 4B's are an excellent surround speaker in medium size rooms.

If you are looking for awesome multichannel music and equally awesome HT go with 4 5B's and a 5C

Or if you just want to be studly and spend a whole lot of money you can go 5T's all around....But not necesary 

The key here is your room size! 

Either way treat em with a nice 805 AVR

I truly think either of these setups would be more than adequate for Home Theater in that size room.  It's just a matter of whether you want multichannel music or 2 channel. 

Just my $.02

But in the end you have that 30 day return policy to let your own ears decide.  Best of luck and let us all know what you decide

Dan,

Thanks for the input.

What a hard decision on picking speakers. I guess with the return policy, i can always switch out something i don't like. Tower or bookshelf???

Looks like another recommendation for the 805.

Any thoughts on the 805 vs 806? I ask because i can get the 806 for 800.00.

Not yet.

Want to get the reciever first, then get speakers in the same time frame so i can get it all hooked up.

 Still trying to figure out a reciever, 805 / 806 / 606.

Trying not to overspend on features i wouldn't use. Waiting to hear more about the 806 and if it's worth the money.

Peace,

JG

UF2:

Not yet.

Want to get the reciever first, then get speakers in the same time frame so i can get it all hooked up.

 Still trying to figure out a reciever, 805 / 806 / 606.

Trying not to overspend on features i wouldn't use. Waiting to hear more about the 806 and if it's worth the money.

Peace,

JG

Are you going to utilize the 806's video processing/upconversion? Do you require the additional HDMI input it comes with? If no, then I think the consensus is that the 805 is the better deal. It can be bought for much less and has better audio processing capabilities. That's just my 2 cents from having read a number of posts on this exact topic.
 

Ditto....

805 all the way...The good thing about the 805 over the 606 is that it has pre-amps.  This means you will be able to hook up a seperate amplifier one day should you choose...I've heard the 805 makes a decent preamp processor.  I don't think I would ever invest in an AVR that didn't have the ability to hook up an external amp..Hey, you never know how far your upgradeitus is going to take you :)

See that is thing, i really don't have that many things to hook up. I have a PS3, Panasonic DVD player (component), and an Ipod. I don't have cable, but am planning on getting it. Does the upconversion really improve the SD cable picture?

806 - more features than i probably need.

805 - highly recommended, but is a beast in size and weight.

606 - also recommended, but heard it has a PS3 buzzing problem?

UF2:

See that is thing, i really don't have that many things to hook up. I have a PS3, Panasonic DVD player (component), and an Ipod. I don't have cable, but am planning on getting it. Does the upconversion really improve the SD cable picture?

806 - more features than i probably need.

805 - highly recommended, but is a beast in size and weight.

606 - also recommended, but heard it has a PS3 buzzing problem?

Where did you hear about a buzzing problem?  I would like to check into that.

Cheers