Home Theatre help

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plas

455 posts

Ultimate Geek

#208736 25-Feb-2017 16:44

I need to buy a home theatre system and currently have nothing, I've gotten the hint the standard packages you buy in noel leeming etc are rubbish and would rather look at building a system starting with AVR and a couple of fronts then build from there.

To me the Yamaha RXV381 looks pretty good as a entry level start and appears to have all the features I require. Issue is I don't know where to start with the speakers, I was thinking maybe the Wharfedale Diamond 230s. Any advice would be appreciated, budget for 2 front speakers would be $700 max. Living room area isn't that large maybe 4.5mx4m + kitchen area. So I don't want spend money on speakers that are overkill for the size of the room.

Thanks

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#1726184 25-Feb-2017 17:11

For the size of your room, consider bookshelf speakers up front, a centre, sub and surrounds.

The Diamond 230's like more current than some other speakers.

If you're looking to go for an entry level amp try to look for speakers with higher efficiency.

plas

455 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1726207 25-Feb-2017 18:26

Thanks, I'll carry on researching :) Any opinions on the Q Acoustics 3020s? they don't seem to be badly priced and reviewers seem to love them for their performance/price point.

tangerz

625 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1726249 25-Feb-2017 20:31

plas:

Thanks, I'll carry on researching :) Any opinions on the Q Acoustics 3020s? they don't seem to be badly priced and reviewers seem to love them for their performance/price point.

Building your system from the ground up is a great idea. You'll end up with something much better than what the 'All-in-One' systems would give you.

I started with just the AV receiver and a pair of bookshelf speakers for my fronts. A little while later I added a Subwoofer as the (relatively) small fronts lacked real depth. Next I added a centre speaker that helped with dialogue in movies. Finally I bought a pair of floor-standers for the front and shifted the bookshelf speakers to the rear as surrounds.

Building it over time meant I could buy the next component as funds allowed.

k1w1k1d

1526 posts

Uber Geek

#1726287 25-Feb-2017 23:09

I see that Harvey has the RXV381 on special for $519.

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#1726434 26-Feb-2017 11:48

The Q's are great value speakers - better than the Wharfedale's to my mind.

plas

455 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1726570 26-Feb-2017 15:25

Thanks for the help I've ended up buying the RXV481 and will order a pair of Q3020 shortly.

Kickinbac

427 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1727686 28-Feb-2017 14:09

For home theater the centre speaker is the most important speaker and it should match the front speakers in size and tone. It's best to buy the centre speaker from the same range as your 3020's which appears to be the 3090C as the drivers, tweeters and speaker engineering will be the same.