Greenhorn Audiophile here! Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!!

buschleaguer

New Member
Hey guys, i have been lurking for quite some time on this site...I must say first off that i appreciate all the help from everyone here...I have done hours and hours of reading right here at Audiokarma and its my #1 spot for questions that i have....Im sure most of you know there is not enough hours in the day to soak up all the information on all the audio equipment out there...the dos and donts and what nots.....I am in the early process of putting together a system build for an integrated Home theater/2 channel music listening sytstem....I have a pretty good idea of what speakers i want to use in this system....But am having trouble figuring out what components i should use to make it all come to make the magic happen....

Let me say i am not looking to spend absurds amounts of money on this system...Somewhere around $3-5k...i guess i am looking for best bang for the buck...I will give an example of exactly what i want to do below...and give you an idea what i have been looking at as far as equipment...and i would appreciate it if anyone would take some time out to help me with suggestions or advice on what i should do to improve the system or whatever.

Objective:

To create a system for a 5.1 home theatre and use that same system to jam my rock n roll music on a 2.1 channel system....I want to get the best performance out of the speakers that i have chosen....because i do like to jam out to loud music from time to time....you guys know what im talking about...ya know...after a few shots of whiskey and a few beers...or for when you are having a party and having people over...i want something that people are going to say daaaaaaaaaamn!!:banana: i would also like to be able to hook everything into this system...such as...home pc, tv, xbox/playstation..cable box...I have to be able to use HDMI...Below is a list of stuff i have on my radar.

Speakers:

Main Speakers: Cerwin Vega XLS-215

Cerwin Vega XLS-215's

Center: Cerwin Vega XLS 6c

http://www.amazon.com/Cerwin-Vega-X...e=UTF8&qid=1432021572&sr=1-1&keywords=xls-215

Subwoofer: HSU Research VTF-15H MK2

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-15hmk2.html

Surrounds: HSU Research HB-1 MK2 Horn Bookshelf Speaker

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/hb-1.html

I have Pc/Mac that has all my Flac and Lossless music on it...I would like to be able to use it to play through my new setup...And we will also use the computer to stream movies and tv shows etc....So the computer will be the main source for my media....Now i do have a Schiit Modi dac right now that i am using for my little setup...I will upgrade the DAC if i need too...i use the DAC in between my computer and my current receiver(Vintage Pioneer SX-980 along with a BiC America 12 inch sub and a pair of Vintage Sansui sp-x9000 speakers..just a little 2.1 setup)...I will also want to hook the HD tv up, and an xbox or playstation as well as the ATT Uverse cable box....So i will want to be able to switch between the computer source and the TV/Cable source and still get the best sound i possible can....below i will list the components i already have and the components i was thinking about using in my new setup.

Components i already have:

Speakers: Pair of Sansui SP-X9000's, 2 pairs of Pioneer CS-A700, BIC America F12 Subwoofer

Receivers: Pioneer Sx-980
Pioneer SX-950

DAC: Schiit Modi Dac

I might use some of my current setup for my garage system if i do not use it in my Home Theatre setup...I am also leaning towards doing separates for my setup instead of just one receiver...I am actually leaning towards getting a receiver that will handle all the hdmi requirements i need and then run a couple of power amps off of the receiver to power my mains and the surrounds...or i might just use 1 power amp to power the 2 fronts and the center and then use the receiver to power the 2 surrounds...I am also looking into get a pre amp instead of a receiver and using a couple power amps to go with the preamp...I am not sure what to do, this is where i am getting confused and lost...lol...Should i buy a nice receiver will all the bells and whistles and use my pioneer SX-980 and 950 as power amps? Do i need a DAC with...lets say a newer receiver... to get that better sound? Or do the newer receivers have a nice dac built in already? I have just been reading so much, soaking in so much information i feel like i am in school, lol....below is a list of the components i am looking at....i am trying to figure out exactly what i need and dont need..can i use some of the components i already have..

Components I am looking at:

Receivers: I have not really looked closely at any receivers...

Power Amps: Emotiva XPA-5...This is a five channel amp that i figured i could use for my 2 mains and the center...the 2 cerwin vega XLS-215 are bi ampable...and i read that it is best to have your front left and right and center to be matching in brand and to have matching amplification...so i figured i would be able to run 2 of the 5 channels of the emotiva to one of the mains and then 2 of the 5 channels of hte emotiva to the other main and then the 5th channel to the center speaker...then if i decide to go the receiver route, use that for the 2 surrounds of my 5.1 system...or possibly make it a 7.1 and use the receiver to power the 4 surrounds...or should i use my pioneer sx-980 to power my 2 mains? i want to make sure the speakers are getting the power they need...


https://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/xpa-5

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated guys

should i integrate the pioneer receivers i have now with my new system?
should i use a preamp/power amp setup?
should i use a receiver/power amp setup?
i was reading somewhere about a Home theater bypass option on a preamp that will allow for home theater and 2 channel listening on the same system? do i need to have this option or for example will a decent denon receiver allow me to switch from 5.1/7.1 to a 2.1 and get teh sound i want out of the 2.1 setup then get the sound i want out of the 5.1/7.1?
should i get different speakers alltogether?
do i need a seperate powered subwoofer with the 2 cerwin vega xls-215's

I guess what i am saying is i want a loud system that sounds clean and clear...a system i could take to a small hall and do a wedding with....a system i can piss the old lady and neighbors off with...something where you can feell the explosion when you are watching transformers movie...something that jams my rock n roll when i get a few drinks in me..

thanks in advance guys...
 
If you are going to spend that kind of money on the sub, why don't you just buy all five of the HSU bookshelf speakers and with the money you save you can buy the Emotiva UMC-200 and a better DAC.
 
I think if I had your system goals I would look for a HT preamp/processor that has the flexibility and sound quality I was looking for. It's not a subject I know a lot about, but if you do your research you should be able to figure it out.

I personally would want separate devices for switching/processing and amplification to offer a little more flexibility down the road.

For speakers I would get the Tekton Mini Lore HT package for just over $2K. Those speakers are all quite efficient, so it would not take much juice to get them loud, which in turn will reduce amp costs.

I'd get a decent but not crazy 3 or 4 channel chip amp for the center and surrounds and drop a little more on amplification for the mains. My first picks would be Dayens or Clones Audio. The Mini Lore towers are 95dB, so 50 watts a channel would be plenty.

Anyway, that's generally how I'd do it.
 
On second thought instead of the five Hsu bookshelves and the 15H MkII, I would keep the five speakers and buy two VTF-2 subs instead of just one 15H. Two subwoofers are always better than one and 2hz extra extension on paper you will never hear. The two VTF-2's are what I use with five Ascend Acoustics speakers.
 
You'll get more on-point responses if you ask the moderator, Bigerik, to move this to the Home Theater sub forum. He's shown on the bottom right of the main page of this forum. Or, if you like, I'll ask him.

Most of the guys that hang out here seem to be more interested in two channel gear. Not much HT stuff here.

Murray
 
Thank you guys for all the responses....i appreciate the feedback....here are some other links to the stuff that is being sold locally that i thought may be some good peices to the system i am trying to build...

Quicksilver KT-88 Monoblock...There is 2 of these for sale locally..here is a pic i pulled off the internet of them...

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee431/abe39/KT88/QuickKT88-1.jpg

NAD 1155 Preamp

http://www.hifiengine.com/images/model/nad_1155_pre_amplifier.jpg

Audible Illusions - Modulus 3 Tube Preamplifier

http://i67.servimg.com/u/f67/15/97/72/78/audibl10.jpg

ATI Amplifier Technologies Inc. AT6012

http://cgim.audiogon.com/i/vs/i/f/1127184223.jpg

Pair of Paradigm Milenia 200 Main speakers: I was thinking these might be pretty good.

http://www.avsale.ru/product_images/paradigm-millenia-200.jpg

Denon AVR-E400 7.1 Integrated Network AV Surround Receiver...i figured this receiver might be good since i dont really need a top of the line receiver since i am going to go with separates

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61ncvIBnQ2L._SL1500_.jpg

Carver M 500 Amp:

http://img.canuckaudiomart.com/uploads/large/308558-carver_m500_power_amp.jpg

Carver C-1 Preamp:

http://www.classicaudio.com/forsale/misc/carverC1.jpg

Carver TFM 25 Amp...there is 2 of these

http://www.audioscope.net/images/carvertfm25.jpg

Carver CT 17 Preamp:

http://www.hifiengine.com/images/model/carver_ct-17_tuner_preamp.jpg

Hafler XL-280 Amplifier...there is 2 of these

http://images.audioasylum.com/usr/y2011/01/43670/Hafler_XL280.jpg

http://img.canuckaudiomart.com/uploads/large/169415-hafler_dh110_preamp.jpg


Is there anything in this list of stuff that i should try to snag up on a good deal? quite a bit of htis stuff is being sold by the same person...so i might be able to get a good package deal...what do you guys thing about those paradigm front speakers...should i use those over the cerwin vega XLS-215's?
 
Murray, thank you for the help buddy...i saw on the form it was under system build...so i figured htis is where it should be..thanks alot for the help...that would be great if you could ask him to move it...
 
Any chance you have any interest in looking at DIY speakers? 2-way speakers using pro-audio mid-woofers and horn-loaded compression drivers can offer excellent performance at a reasonable price. The high efficiency means you can hit THX reference levels on HT AVR power. The downside, if you call it that, is that you need a subwoofer or two to round out the bottom end since most of the roll off very quickly below 60 Hz...no big deal since the THX spec for HT crossover is 80 Hz. DIY subwoofers are quite easy to build and a relatively inexpensive pro-audio amp will out perform commercial offerings costing 2x-5x.

Of course DIY does have some downsides. You need need to know what you want since you can build about anything. Cosmetics are limited by your skill and attention to detail. Resale value is limited (see cosmetics).

Based on your budget I would consider this...you will run out of ears long before you get to 11. And it will sound quite nice at normal listening levels.

Mains - http://www.diysoundgroup.com/waveguide-speaker-kits/fusion-15/fusion15-kit.html

Center (optional) - http://www.diysoundgroup.com/waveguide-speaker-kits/fusion-8/fusion8-center-kit.html

Surrounds - http://www.diysoundgroup.com/waveguide-speaker-kits/fusion-8/fusion8-kit.html

Receiver - Yamaha RX-A2030 http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-A20...id=1432496155&sr=1-1&keywords=yamaha+rx-a2030

Subwoofers 2 Dayton Ultimax 18 http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-18-ultimax-subwoofer-and-cabinet-bundle--300-7099

Subwoofer amp - Behringer iNuke 6000 DSP http://www.parts-express.com/behrin...ightweight-power-amplifier-with-dsp--248-6710

There are a thousand other DIY options you can consider...

No association with the folks linked above....

Good luck!

Don
 
You'll get more on-point responses if you ask the moderator, Bigerik, to move this to the Home Theater sub forum. He's shown on the bottom right of the main page of this forum. Or, if you like, I'll ask him.

Most of the guys that hang out here seem to be more interested in two channel gear. Not much HT stuff here.

Murray
I am interested in The HT sub forum you mentioned but never heard of that before. How do I get to that particular forum? Do you know if they have a little more discussion there on TV projectors. That kind of info/discussion seems generally scarce.
 
I think the CV's would serve your purpose. I think you should also consider Crown Drivecore amps, they are getting a lot of positive remarks: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1GCXMXZVF3JNJ7WEFE6T.

What size room will you use for HT? Reviews indicate the CVs need a big room with some space between you and them for them to shine. I believe in fitting speakers to the room. I get tickled at folks who use Voice of the Theater speakers in their den. Overkill can sound just as bad as teeny speakers in a big room.
 
I am interested in The HT sub forum you mentioned but never heard of that before. How do I get to that particular forum? Do you know if they have a little more discussion there on TV projectors. That kind of info/discussion seems generally scarce.
This is the HT forum. It would also be where you might want to ask questions about a sub. Or, in the the speakers forum.

This is not a very active forum on AK. Part of the reason is that the focus of AK is more on older two channel gear. Less activity yields less interest or maybe it's the other way around.

Posts can get few responses if the questions are sort of all over the map or just really aren't very interesting to the folks that visit here. For example, questions about buying or repairing a 15 year old ht receiver really don't interest me very much but they may get a few responses. That's just me. On the other hand, there was a thread here recently about vhs players and it went on for quite a while. Go figure.

I really don't know anything about projectors other than that they hang from the ceiling and they use a screen. But, there are guys here that have them and are quite familiar with them.

Anyway, fire away with your questions. But, I bet it will work better for you if you stay away from being vague and narrow your questions down a little.

Give it a try.

Murray
 
AVS Forum has rather active Home Theater related sub-forums...though I feel like I'm in the wrong place when the design and installation of >$50k HT rooms comes up.

Projectors...
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/68-digital-projectors-under-3-000-usd-msrp/

Subs...
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/113-subwoofers-bass-transducers/

...and you can find the rest of what you are looking for.

I will say many of the folks at AVS Forum do seem to be uninterested in the topic of integrating vintage speakers into home theater.
 
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I will say many of the folks at AVS Forum do seem to be uninterested in the topic of integrating vintage speakers into home theater.

That's a shame because my JBL Century L100's are really working well as rear surrounds.... :thmbsp:
 
AVS Forum has rather active Home Theater related sub-forums...though I feel like I'm in the wrong place when the design and installation of >$50k HT rooms comes up.

Projectors...
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/68-digital-projectors-under-3-000-usd-msrp/

Subs...
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/113-subwoofers-bass-transducers/

...and you can find the rest of what you are looking for.

I will say many of the folks at AVS Forum do seem to be uninterested in the topic of integrating vintage speakers into home theater.
Yep, quite the active forum especially for ht type stuff. Most of the time when I do a google search of something ht related, avsforum will pop up at the top of the list.

Murray
 
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