Home theater question
 

OK guys, help me out here. I just bought a 50" HDTV and loving life (my guy friends already have several football parties planned for *my* house.) I already have a pretty good stero and DVD player and front speakers (big ol' Cerwin Vegas that sounds pretty damn good to my unexpert ears). Well appearently I now need to get a center channel speaker and some small rear speakers. Can anyone reccomend some reasonable decent ones? I looked at best buy and there were so many different ones that I can't possibly decide knowing as little as I do. I've got a ton of people giving me advice and was wondering what you all thought. I don't want to spend a ton of money, and I can get the speakers seperately if needed. Thanks for the help! :thumbsup:

first off, just makin' sure you have checked that you have a surround receiver ;)

I like Infinity, Yamaha, and Definitive Technology.

I do NOT like Bose. Overpriced junk with only midrange. "If there's no highs or lows, it's gotta be Bose" ;)



What you wanna do is go to the stereo shop with YOUR CD that you're familiar with. Put it in and listen to the different speakers. See what sounds best to you, and get that.

Yeah, I've got a fancy schmancy Sony Prologic surroud sound stereo. I'm looking for specifics here...models and prices if you could. I don't wanna spend a ton. Thanks! :)

Actually, one thing that I have been told is that getting a decent center speaker is essential, and that Bose makes one of the best of these. It's a little pricey though at like $200. There is a Bose outlet store not too far away from me I was gonna check out and see if i could get something on clearance. I was told the rear speakers don't have to be that great sounding cause they don't play too much sound. True?

No. Pretty much nothing made by bose is gonna be anywhere near worth the money.

Buying Bose is like buying a Porsche. You can get a faster, more reliable car for much less money, only it doesn't say Porsche on it. You're paying for the name.

It's hard to give you specific models without having your ear. You really do need to go to a stereo shop and try 'em all out. Figure out what sounds best to you.

Also, I don't know if you have a subwoofer or not - if you don't, and you don't plan on buying one, then you'll need bigger main speakers to help make up for the loss of bass.

For example, my friend has a subwoofer, and his main speakers are small and output mainly midrange and treble.

I, on the other hand, don't have a subwoofer, but I have dual 12" woofers on my (FRIKKIN' HUGE) main speakers, so I don't need one as badly as my friend does.

All depends on your budget and what you want to buy, really. . . can you give us a few more specs? Also tell us about the room it'll go in - that makes a difference as well.

Blose doesn't make one of the best of anything, and $200 is not a lot for a center channel. This is an expensive center channel. This is a lifeless piece of shit. Bose is a four letter word (pun intended) in the audio world. Stay away at all costs.

Bose sucks. :) If you want to get real technical the center speaker should match the other 4. As far as speakers go I really like PSB (OK I’m bias that’s what I have) http://www.psbspeakers.com Have a look at their Alpha series.

Hey Missy...

What TV did you end up getting?

I got the 50" RCA DLP. It was a tossup between that and the 50" Sony LCD. I read a lot on the internet and people seemed to really like the RCA. It was $2850 + the maintainence. I'm pretty psyched! I feel like i almost know my shit now about these TV's! I'll ask more speaker questions later.

It's important for the center speaker and the front-right and front-left speaker be 'matched'; that is, the same model from the same manufacturer. I would purchase a new three speaker set (center, right, left) and use your two current speakers and your two rear speakers.

I would encourage you to check out Fluance. They are mail-order only, from Canada. www.fluance.com. That's what I'm using and I'm very happy.

Definitive Technology. Read the reviews, these truly are great surround speakers, yes a bit pricey but you do get what you pay for. Good Luck. ( I use these surrounds for my setup )

Missy...

Before you go out and spend more money on a center channel speaker, the speakers on the RCA TV can be used as the center channel. Basically, you hook up from the center channel output of your receiver to the center channel inputs on the TV and flip the switch that is right there to "external amplifier".

Those speakers have a decent range. That is how I have mine hooked up and the TV speakers work great for the center channel. Check it out before you go buy a new speaker...The center channel is primarily the voices and occasional action in the center of the picture.

Also, don't spend a ton of money on your rear speakers either. Just get reasonably priced bookshelfs. The frequency range that goes to the rear surround is not nearly as wide as that that goes to your front speakers. Being as you have already spent a bunch of money on the set, I would just use your Cerwin Vegas, the TV speakers for the center channel, and two reasonable rear channel bookshelfs. Your sound will be more than adequate, and if you decide to upgrade later on down the road, your won't be out a lot of money.

If you have Cerwin Vegas You don't need to rush out and get a subwoofers. I don't know what model you have but most CV's have big woofers and can handle bass just fine.

These guys above are steering you towards expensive speakers that I don't think you need. I've been in electronics since 1988 and always see people buying way more than what they truely need.

I'm a huge fan of Paradigm speakers. I have had many pairs over the last ten years and keep coming back to them when I upgrade. I'm not sure about American pricing, but in Canada, you can't beat their price to quality. Scroll down this page for the info on their two "Studio" Centers.

http://www.paradigm.com/Website/Site...udioSpecs.html

They also have a more expensive "Reference" line and an even higher "Signature" line. Everything I ever want to know about Home Theater, I get from this site:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/main.html

They have reviewed most of the paradigm stuff.

A Dolby 5.1 soundtrack can send full bandwidth information to the rear speakers if called for. That was one of the big step ups from Pro Logic. PL rears were only mono and they did not have the potential to reproduce the full audio spectrum. I don't want to say you need full sized rear speakers, but don't get shit ones either. I would also recommend dipoles as rears, as they give better surround-ing sound. On the note of subwoofers, I recommend a subwoofer with any speaker used for home theater use. There is information encoded to go to the subwoofer and nowhere else. Sometimes even a Wilson Alexandria will get shortchanged on the ultra low bass. Cerwin Vega's do have decent bass output, but they still cannot hang with a well rounded speaker. My Def Tech BP-10's (2 6.5" drivers, transmission line enclosure) give more substantial bass output than my parent's CV E-310's (10" woofer, ported) in our family room.

I also resent the implication that we are trying to steer him towards expensive gear. I have been in the electronics business for a while now too, I am non commissioned, and I very rarely steer a customer to more than they need. Sure I'm guilty of going a bit overboard at times, but I'm sure you have as well.

Thanks for the help guys! I've been doing some research and think I might get the Cerwin Vega E76 center channel and two E705's found here:
http://www.cerwinvega.com/products/h...deo/index.html

Its not top of the line but they appearently match my current speakers. I'm not looking to spend a ton of money or have the best system in the world, just get something that sounds pretty decent. I might look into the subwoofer thing too down the road. Sheesh, after spending 3 grand on a TV, this is getting out of hand!

How come it is that they all go back to Cerwin Vegas. I don't get it :lol:


Enjoy Missy!

Probably because they are inexpensive and loud as hell.

I have long suspected that the most important part of a home theater is 5 speakers and a sub. ANY five speakers. The hardcore music folks will be stroking out about now, but for home theater I suspect you could end up with a really nice experience by just getting the 5.1, ANY 5.1, regardless of price.

Just don't buy Sony speakers. They suck pretty bad. I would reccomend Yamaha, Infinity, Polk, or Bose. Anything you buy from them is gonna sound great.

I like it when people say funny things. heh heh.... Bose....heh

I am going with them because they match my current speakers. I don't feel any manly need to have the best speakers on my block and I certainly don't have $2600 to spend on new speakers like you suggested. I asked for AFFORDABLE speakers, you didn't seem to catch that part.

Missy, I do apologize and my comments were not meant as a slam to you. There are many choices of speakers out there and everyone has their own opinion on what he/she thinks is good.
My motto, save money until you can buy good quality equipment, even if it takes you a couple weeks or months. And even if you have to buy it piece by piece.

I know many people who have and love their Vegas. Rock On!


EDIT: The BPX's are only 700 ea.

I have JBL speakers in my house, and I love 'em. Best Buy does carry them, too. Think you can get fronts for $500/pr, rears for $200/pr, and figure $250 for the center.

Martin-Logans. AWESOME!!

www.martinlogan.com