Cobble up my own or buy prepackaged?

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Cobble up my own or buy prepackaged?

einsteinsboi

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#101102 24-Apr-2012 16:58

I'm thinking of getting a set of Klipsch speakers, and then buying an amp/mixer and cobbling up my own home theatre system as opposed to buying a prepackaged system. I really like Klipsch speakers, and find them superior even to Bose speakers, which have always been my favorite. I don't want a prepackaged system because I want to be able to pick and choose and later add-on stuff, so prefer a more modular approach.

I already have a bose sound dock that I'll move to the office, so this system will essentially be for the lounge, hooked up to the TV and all that. I would love to eventually get some outdoor speakers to the decks and hook those up as well, but still thinking through that because I'd like to be able to control the outside volume separate from the inside. Still thinking through this, and I'll admit I'm quite a novice when it comes to setting up home theatre systems, so all suggestions and ideas are welcome.

Dunnersfella

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#614526 24-Apr-2012 20:03

By mixer, you're referring to a DJ mixer eh?
What kind of connections does it feature?

You'll want a 2 zone home theatre amplifier, many of which, feature network connectivity so you can control your amp via a smartphone / tablet. This would make it easy to control everything inside and outside.

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung (affiliate link).

einsteinsboi

49 posts

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#614582 24-Apr-2012 21:18

Dunnersfella: By mixer, you're referring to a DJ mixer eh?
What kind of connections does it feature?

You'll want a 2 zone home theatre amplifier, many of which, feature network connectivity so you can control your amp via a smartphone / tablet. This would make it easy to control everything inside and outside.

I might be using the wrong word. I think I mean a tuner... bah, or maybe just the amp, the central piece that ties everything together, all the inputs and all the outputs... pardon my novice language.

Thanks for the suggestion on the 2 zone home theatre amplifier, never heard of those before, will definitely have to look into that, I think I'm going to learn a lot doing this project :)

dontpanic42

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#614601 24-Apr-2012 21:34

einsteinsboi:
I might be using the wrong word. I think I mean a tuner... bah, or maybe just the amp, the central piece that ties everything together, all the inputs and all the outputs... pardon my novice language.

The word you are probably looking for is Receiver. Or, more accurately, AV Receiver. :)

You could go with a package unit, but it is way more fun researching it all yourself.
And that way, you get what you are happy with.

einsteinsboi

49 posts

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#614613 24-Apr-2012 21:55

dontpanic42:

The word you are probably looking for is Receiver. Or, more accurately, AV Receiver. :)

You could go with a package unit, but it is way more fun researching it all yourself.
And that way, you get what you are happy with.

Ah, thanks for that :) Yeah, definitely is more fun researching it, and I really do want to put it together myself just for the fun of it, and find the best mix that I can afford

JimmyH

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#614902 25-Apr-2012 13:35

You could go with a package unit, but it is way more fun researching it all yourself.
And that way, you get what you are happy with.

And also better in terms of being:

customisable - you can build what you want for your needs, in terms of sound quality, features, components and cost. This is more likely to meet your needs than a generic "all in one" pitched at the middle of the market for the "average user".
upgradeable - you can replace/abb bits over time as your needs change and your budget permits
bulletproof - things fail over time. If something goes in a boxed system you likely have to junk the whole thing. If something goes "phut" in a component system, you only have to replace that component.
tinkerable - if you want something non-standard like (for some reason) an old school tape deck, it is easier to add it.

sen8or

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#614934 25-Apr-2012 14:48

Congratulations on moving on from Bose :)

You are best to plan into the near / foreseeable future, but how far into that future is a little difficult to gauge, with the pace that things move and alot can also depend on how big your budget is.

For a basic(ish) 5.1 setup and the klipsch speakers, almost any av receiver on the market will do, a lot can come down to brand preference (if you have one). Its the next level of your desire where things can start to get interesting.

At minimum to achieve what you want, the av receiver will need to be "multi room" or "multi zone" capable, meaning that two different areas can be playing different sources at the same time (EG tv in the living room, cd in the outdoor area). You don't have to go too high up the product tree to get this sort of thing nowdays. BUT, what you do have to consider is how the 2nd area is amplified.

Whilst some AV receivers allow for the multi-room functionality, they won't actually have any sound going to the speakers without an external amplifier. If you go slightly higher up the product range tree, some of the AV receivers will allow you to dedicate some of its own internal amplifiers to powering the 2nd zone (for example, my own Denon AVR3805 is a 7.1 receiver, but I can run it in 5.1 in the HT and 2 channels on a 2nd zone).

It may be more economical to spend a few hundred more now on a receiver that will allow this functionality rather than having to buy a 2nd amp down the track.

And as Dunnersfella has said, something that can be controlled via iphone/ipod/android tablet would also be on the list of requirements.

Good luck

Ragnor

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#614957 25-Apr-2012 15:29

Entry level AV receivers are around $400-600ish, the popular main brands available in NZ are: Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer, and Onkyo. You can't really go wrong in bang for buck if you stick to the common brands.

Other more niche brands available are: Marantz, Harman Kardon, Rotel - but they tend to be higher end, more $$$.

Jbhfi sell Sherwood which seems to be an OEM manufacturer (ie other brands are actually made by them) but don't know much about the quality of their own branded units, so can't specifically recommend them or not.

Choosing a receiver, start with things like:
- How much you want to spend max?
- How many speakers you want to support 5.1, 7.1, 7.2?
- How much power you need to drive the speakers?
- Number of hdmi inputs required (tv, xbox/ps3, media player/htpc, bluerary/dvd player etc)
- etc etc

Here are some examples:

Denon AVR-1312
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=863810

Yamaha RX-V471
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=869736

Yamaha RX-V371
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=869739

Pioneer VSX-521
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=887826

Onkyo TX-SR309
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=827637

Onkyo TX-NR509
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=838398

Onkyo TX-NR609
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=826676

Depending on how much you are spending on the speakers you may want to go higher end than these, but be careful home audio is a slippery slope once you pay attention to audio quality people get hooked on improving it.. you can easily spend thousands on just a receiver.

Dunnersfella

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#615133 25-Apr-2012 20:20

As the OP is after a 2 zone receiver, the only one on that list that will work is the Onkyo TX-NR609.
Other amps to include are:
Yamaha RXV671
Pioneer VSX921
Denon AVR1912

Do some reading, try going into stores and using / listening to them.
That's right, every receiver will sound different - making a solely on-line purchase a risky one. Reviews are often biased, so trust your ear.

Oh and here's the thing.
Specs don' mean squat unless you're matching like with like, then, sometimes manufacturers gloss over specs. Even though they may list 100W @6 ohms (20Hz-20kHz) 2 channel... they may only consistently achieve 50Watt under load. That's why some upper tier companies (Marantz etc) will claim a 70% power rating...

I have listed some ways to understand specs in another post... it's at the bottom there.
Link below:
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=34&topicid=100414&page_no=2

einsteinsboi

49 posts

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#615180 25-Apr-2012 21:58

Wow, thanks for all the input everyone. Ragnor, that list is amazing! Thank you.
sen8or, that's very helpful information regarding the multiroom functionality. Will definitely investigate to make sure I get the right thing.
Dunnersfella, thank you for the shortlist. Yeah, this is definitely not something I would buy online without actually going into the store, and listening to them. I hope to find stores that don't mind me doing a whole lot of listening :)

Thanks for the info guys, I'm starting to learn a lot and really excited to see what direction I take with it. Any more suggestions are most welcome :)

timmmay

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#615281 26-Apr-2012 09:08

Beware the Onkyo x08 models, they get super hot. I put a 140mm fan in the back of my AV cabinet, when it's doing 5.1 that fan has to be running full speed else you can fry an egg on the receiver. I'm going to start cutting more holes in my AV cabinet and sealing other areas to try to draw the air through the receiver soon.

That's apparently improved with the x09 models.

kiwijunglist

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#615435 26-Apr-2012 13:34

I think it's best to stick to the hifi brands that are carried by the larger chain stores, (eg. harvey norman, etc.) because they seem to make lower margins so you can haggle the price down and I think you get more for your coin, compared to the specialist shops that have a lower turn over and higher margins. Of course specialist shops do have their advantages : more variety, different brands, more technical experience, better showroom demonstrations etc.

You mentioned kilpsh speakers, some of these can be bought online, so check online prices before you come to an agreement on price.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.