$2,000 to spend on receiver & speakers...

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#387173 2-Oct-2010 18:27

Satch: Noooo.... Stay away from an all in one system if you can. For $2,000 you should be able to get an entry level setup going using "real" equipment.

+1 whatever you do DO NOT get a all in one. You will regret it. Some good suggestions here. 2,000 should get you quite a respectable setup.

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#387416 3-Oct-2010 16:17

So I did a bit of looking around today.

Jbhifi have the wharfedale vardus pack on clearence at $1244 down from $1900 and comes with the Pioneer vsx-519 receiver. I'm thinking the receiver is a bit lacking but at this price its a bargin.

In another store I saw a Wharfedale Diamond 9 5.1 pacakage for $1685 no receiver but was thinking the $2000 budget was set by me and budgets were ment to be broken.

I'm pretty up on the plays on recievers, its the speakers where my knowledge is really lacking, so any more advice on the above speakers on any others worth looking at would be greatly appreciated.

raab

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#387417 3-Oct-2010 16:23

Just take in a CD of music you listen to and play it on various speakers to find the one you like

Handle9

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#387432 3-Oct-2010 17:13

Not sure where you are but if you're in Auckland I'd give this some pretty serious consideration

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics-photography/Home-audio/Speakers-and-stands/Home-theatre-sets/au...

Gives you plenty of coin to buy a very nice Onkyo 608 calibre amp...

LookingUp

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#387482 3-Oct-2010 21:26

Definitely trust your ears and NOT the person selling it to you. They're in for the money, and YOU have to live with it. If they don't have somewhere where you can listen to the package, or won't let you take it away to try in your environment, assume they either don't know what they're doing, or they're just taking your money.

Best advice is don't rush in - look, LISTEN and then decide.

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#387544 4-Oct-2010 09:02

throbb: So I did a bit of looking around today.

Jbhifi have the wharfedale vardus pack on clearence at $1244 down from $1900 and comes with the Pioneer vsx-519 receiver. I'm thinking the receiver is a bit lacking but at this price its a bargin.

Have heard those speakers before. Not recommended. As already suggested do not buy speakers without hearing them first.
As for the diamonds listed above in the TM auction I would not touch them. Anyone that SCREWS!! something to the top of a speaker I am sorry but I would not trust.

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#387556 4-Oct-2010 09:26

I had a similar budget but didn't want monster speakers dominating my living room, so I went for this Kef speaker package from JB Hi Fi:
http://www.jbhifi.co.nz/jb-hi-fi-home-audio/speakers/kef/5-1-channel-speaker-pack-sku-23237/

They are very well rated by What Hi Fi magazine and pack a real punch.

I also got this amp:
http://www.jbhifi.co.nz/jb-hi-fi-home-audio/receiver/yamaha/5-1-channel-av-receiver-sku-23519/

Together they are awesome as a combo and are still going strong a year later.

I managed to get the above amp and speakers for just under $2,000 along with speaker wire, an optical cable and an HDMI cable. JB Hi Fi always seem to be willing to give discounts for package deals as well.

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#387557 4-Oct-2010 09:32

The Vardus are okay 'for the price'.
And remember, that's you're key restriction here... a lot of people are used to listening to extremely expensive speakers - and as such, won't be happy with what they'll find in a complete h/theatre pack that costs under 2k.

Many people will sample speakers on systems (whether it be in home or in-store) that have not been wired correctly, are on under powered amps, with poor source material etc (whether it be MP3 players or a CD playing on a DVD player).
So the key is for you to initially bring in your own material (a BluRay you know well) and ask to demo it. If you think it sounds / looks okay, and the amp has the functionality you want - ask to demo it all at home.
As a side note, unless you're very well known to the store, this will most likely involve them taking a credit card imprint (you break it - you bought it).

geekiegeek

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#387561 4-Oct-2010 09:50

I have both the Vardus 400s and Diamond 9.5 fronts (in different rooms off the same amp). The diamonds are a much nicer speaker although the Vardus are still pretty good (specially when you factor in price).

Another thing to note is that the Diamond 9.1 rear speakers are considered a classic and are very highly regarded in there own right.

throbb

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#387706 4-Oct-2010 14:59

Went to a few more places today. Had a shop show me a Energy 5.1 setup, these sounded amazing. I have never heard of the brand before, but even $2400 for the speakers this was very tempting.
I asked about a diamond series wharfedale pack the had for $1600, he said the energy blows it away. They only had the Energy speakers setup in there demo sound room.

I checked out another shop and they had a wharfedale diamond pack there for $988, seems like a bargin, however listening to it in such a big showrrom, couldnt do it justice.

They all do look at me wierd though, when I say i'm planning on choosing speakers first then an amp to go with it, rather than the other way round. I figured the speakers will be with me many years, while the reciever will be replaceable.

raab

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#387731 4-Oct-2010 15:34

That the energy rc micro 5.1 setup from Paul Money per chance?

I've got a pair of Energy RC-30's, they're great speakers.

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throbb

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#387741 4-Oct-2010 15:51

raab: That the energy rc micro 5.1 setup from Paul Money per chance?

I've got a pair of Energy RC-30's, they're great speakers.

Nah, its this one.

http://www.energy-speakers.com/na-en/products/cf-30-5-1-overview/

LookingUp

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#387770 4-Oct-2010 17:05

In my experience, Energy makes great speakers.

I bought a pair of ESM-3 speakers well over 20 years ago as part of my first serious steps into HiFi. They're still alive, and now actively employed as rear speakers in our home theatre set-up. I'd say they're bullet proof but I did blow a tweater about 12~15 years back, but sourced a replacement (oddly enough it's branded "Mission" but otherwise exactly the same), and haven't had a problem since.

They've had a hard life, but show no signs of age or of giving up any time soon. They even survived falling face first from their stands during the earthquake - they're not small or lightweight speakers, so would have gone with a crash.

As a quality brand, Energy are certainly worth close consideration.

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cgrew

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#388109 5-Oct-2010 11:10

throbb:

In another store I saw a Wharfedale Diamond 9 5.1 pacakage for $1685 no receiver but was thinking the $2000 budget was set by me and budgets were ment to be broken.

Being a Wharfedale Diamond 9 owner I would go for the Diamond 9 5.1 setup - with the right amp, they're just awesomeness.

In my opinion they're still the best 'budget' speaker around, build quality is top notch and all their speaker components are made in England - which is an important factor for speaker quality etc.

k14

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#388124 5-Oct-2010 11:37

cgrew:

Being a Wharfedale Diamond 9 owner I would go for the Diamond 9 5.1 setup - with the right amp, they're just awesomeness.

In my opinion they're still the best 'budget' speaker around, build quality is top notch and all their speaker components are made in England - which is an important factor for speaker quality etc.

May I ask what reciever you are using? Surely the Pioneer recievers would run those speakers well? I have been researching for my first system lately too and this thread is very interesting. Pity I live in Alexandra, I have no way of testing anything without driving to Dunedin at least.

Still can't work out how I would mount the centre speaker though. My plasma is wall mounted and I don't want a stand for it underneath.

Good luck to original poster, let us know what you decide. At the moment I think either the Onkyo 508 or Pioneer 919/920 are probably looking good value for money.

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