New fronts and sub

J

Jhalf

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 16, 2007
Messages
313
hey all...

I am looking for bookshelfs that will serve as the two fronts and center and a new sub to complete my 5.1 system.. they will be getting power from a pioneer 519.

Can someone recommend a front set for around 200, and a sub fior around 150?

The sub doesnt have to be too great cause it is going into an appartment (although there aren't neighbors above, below, just on one side, and that wall happens to just be their dining room wall-very far away from their bedroom).

Thanks a lot.
 
so you need three speakers or two for $200?

honestly $200/pair you can do alright, but if you need three speakers for that, you'll be hard pressed to fit that together (since it leaves you like $60/speaker)

as for inexpensive subs, look at Dayton, Hsu, Yamaha, and Polk
 
will three hundred for the front three be better?

and do you have any recommendations on wattage req. for an apartment sub?

edit: is the only way I have to connect it to the sub by LFE?
 
jhalf said:
will three hundred for the front three be better?

and do you have any recommendations on wattage req. for an apartment sub?
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$300 for the front will be much better :)

look at something like the Yamaha NS-333's and the NS-C444 center, should be around $300 from Amazon; what do you have for surrounds?

as far as wattage on a sub, I wouldn't take that as a literal definition of the device's quality, most $100-$150 units are around 100-150W and 10-12", any of them will be easily enough for your space (my 100W 10" unit is enough to make my neighbors/roommates want my head if I turn it up, and its not a powerhouse sub); Hsu is very popular around here, I don't own one but they're supposed to be decent

Dayton makes a quality product, so does Polk, so does Yamaha, Dayton probably has the largest following around these parts, I'd be happy with any of the three
 
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I bought the vsx-519 on a whim at bestbuy last month and was only able to buy a pair of pioneer t-15's to go with them (~100$ bookshelfs). My plan is to move those to surrounds.

The sub def. doesnt have to be anything good as it is going into a room measuring ~9x8.. its going to make for a killer little 5.1 gaming room



edit: those speakers are on sale at amazon for ~280, so it sounds good
 
jhalf said:
I bought the vsx-519 on a whim at bestbuy last month and was only able to buy a pair of pioneer t-15's to go with them (~100$ bookshelfs). My plan is to move those to surrounds.

The sub def. doesnt have to be anything good as it is going into a room measuring ~9x8.. its going to make for a killer little 5.1 gaming room



edit: those speakers are on sale at amazon for ~280, so it sounds good
Click to expand...

if those are the Pioneer's I'm thinking of, they're not bad at all (they have sort of yellow looking drivers?)

I'd probably just grab the Yamaha thats like $90 on Amazon and call it a day, to be honest (you only run about $30 over your original budget)
 
obobski said:
if those are the Pioneer's I'm thinking of, they're not bad at all (they have sort of yellow looking drivers?)

I'd probably just grab the Yamaha thats like $90 on Amazon and call it a day, to be honest (you only run about $30 over your original budget)
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can you elaborate on which yamaha you are refering to? what do you mean? sorry if I dont understand

and no they don't have yellow drivers... all black
 
How would i connect that sub to the reciever? A sub cord from the sub out(reciever) to the left channel in(sub)?
 
is there a local preference between the Yamaha ns-333's and the polk rti4 fronts?
 
jhalf said:
How would i connect that sub to the reciever? A sub cord from the sub out(reciever) to the left channel in(sub)?
Click to expand...

user manual will explain, but yes, LFE/Sub out to a line input on the sub

jhalf said:
is there a local preference between the Yamaha ns-333's and the polk rti4 fronts?
Click to expand...

I personally prefer the Yamaha, but the Polk are nice speakers as well
 
thanks, Ill prob make a decision on whichever is cheaper next week when I buy on both the speakers and the sub.

Would the yamaha's go better with the yamaha center or does it even make a difference?
 
jhalf said:
thanks, Ill prob make a decision on whichever is cheaper next week when I buy on both the speakers and the sub.

Would the yamaha's go better with the yamaha center or does it even make a difference?
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if you're buying the C444 center, get the NS-333 bookshelves, they use the same drivers and similar enclosure, hence they are a far better match to one another than the RTi4's, if you want the Polk system, get a Polk center from that line which will be a better match

theres also the cosmetics, personally I'd prefer if things were at least somewhat similar looking
 
Hey Bob, or anyone else,

I am about to pull the trigger on these speakers and I have a quick question.

I have optical out going to the receiver from the on board audio and I have seen mixed reports on whether or not my computer will be able to pass through the 5.1 via optical for gaming. I am using a p5q deluxe motherboard. Under the sound options, Windows asks me if my receiver can decode DTS and Dolby Digital. So will I need a soundcard that does Dolby Live or will Windows 7 with my board be fine by itself?
 
The onboard sound just has to support Dolby Digital live or DTS interactive and you'll be fine.I'm sure it will have atleast Dolby Digital which will work perfect with most games.
 
jhalf said:
Hey Bob, or anyone else,

I am about to pull the trigger on these speakers and I have a quick question.

I have optical out going to the receiver from the on board audio and I have seen mixed reports on whether or not my computer will be able to pass through the 5.1 via optical for gaming. I am using a p5q deluxe motherboard. Under the sound options, Windows asks me if my receiver can decode DTS and Dolby Digital. So will I need a soundcard that does Dolby Live or will Windows 7 with my board be fine by itself?
Click to expand...

you need DDL or DTS:C to stream 5.1 rendered content out to the receiver, passthrough will work either way

the P5Q, P5Q Pro and P5Q Deluxe do not mention anything related to DTS:C or DDL on their web pages, so I'm guessing that no, it will not work as desired
 
Just fyi, I would never personally run a subwoofer in an apartment setting because it really inconveniences the neighbors. I've been on the receiving end (and people coming over complaining about it--and that was with bass on minimum dial). Especially if you are studying for midterms and you hear crappy 1 note bass playing repeatedly through the walls.

Besides, unless you have an entire floor to yourself, I'm guessing there's plenty of bass reinforcement in the apartment.
 
lol i guess it'll just give me a reason to finally get a soundcard.

Would any of those cards you mentioned in the 5.1 HTPC thread work Bob? I wouldn't mind spending upwards of $150 if it'll make a difference.

edit: to the above, I'm kind of in a special situation because of the room location. But, I have experience dealing with this.... I've lived in many apartments
 
jhalf said:
lol i guess it'll just give me a reason to finally get a soundcard.

Would any of those cards you mentioned in the 5.1 HTPC thread work Bob? I wouldn't mind spending upwards of $150 if it'll make a difference.

edit: to the above, I'm kind of in a special situation because of the room location. But, I have experience dealing with this.... I've lived in many apartments
Click to expand...

I have my current "favorite 7" in a number of threads, they are (with no particular order):

Creative X-Fi Titanium
Auzen X-PLOSION
HT Omega Striker
Asus Xonar D1/DX
Turtle Beach Montego DDL
bgears b-Enspirer

they're all 7.1 analog/5.1 digital with decent quality/quantity of inputs and outputs and plenty of processing features (everything you need and probably some stuff you don't) - they should all also be $100 or less (the b-Enspirer is probably the exception, and may appear as high as ~$105; price does not mean quality here, its just a bit more expensive)
 
Thanks Bob, I saw some of your other posts mentioning these cards after I had originally posted. I think I'm settled on either the HT Striker, or the HT Claro. Thanks for all of your help.

I'll post my experiences after everything comes in.
 
jhalf said:
Thanks Bob, I saw some of your other posts mentioning these cards after I had originally posted. I think I'm settled on either the HT Striker, or the HT Claro. Thanks for all of your help.

I'll post my experiences after everything comes in.
Click to expand...

honestly I wouldn't bother with the HT Claro or other ~$150 boards, you aren't gaining anything in terms of features or I/O unless you've found a niche board (HDMI, headphone amp, breakout box, etc); quality claims are more or less a non-issue as any of the boards I've listed will easily measure/spec at parity with stuff double the price (in the vast majority of cases) - or at least close enough to not matter
 
Yea, within the last couple hours I've decided on the striker. Thanks!
 
Good choice.Thats what i have and its been working perfectly.Just when you get it download the latest drivers from their site.
 
Yes it does but you have to make sure to get the newest driver or else you will come across some problems.But yeah works perfect with Windows 7 x64
 
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