Help an audio noob get started ($~1500 budget)

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apieceofpie

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#280112 27-Nov-2020 09:40

Hi there,

Planning on picking up a Samsung Q80T 65", assuming I can get a store down slightly on price, and figure I should get some decent speakers.

I've done some googling and read on the basics (for reference I started at not knowing you need a receiver) and now know HTIAB = bad, and starting off with a half-decent receiver and 2 speakers is probably the way to go.

Was planning on picking something up this black Friday, but I can't really see many good deals at all, not helped by the fact I don't know the good brands from the bad etc.

In terms of receivers, the Onkyo TX-NR696 is $1100 (not on sale) from Mighty Ape, there's also a Denon AVR-X2400H for $900 on trademe (or $1100 new).

Speaker wise I have no idea, the two recommended on a reddit thread by a kiwi were the Polk Signature S15 ($440 from Harvey) and the KEF Q150s are $560 (not on sale). Haven't seen any spectacular sales but also not sure what I should be on the lookout for. There's tonnes on trademe and FB market place, but it seems like a bit of a minefield.

Keen for any savvy shoppers to give suggestions! Current budget is around $1500 at a upper limit, frankly I'm surprised my partner has approved the $3k on the tv, so don't want to push it on the speakers lol.

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#2611586 27-Nov-2020 10:01

Hi, really depends on what your future plan is and how big the room is. If you want to add more surround speakers later than you'll want 5.1 or 5.2 or even 7.2-9.2. Speaker sizes depend on room sizes so if your looking at starting with bookshelves 1st then you can add some larger fronts later and use the bookshelves as surrounds.

Your on the right track though, if you only ever want to run say a 5 speaker surround sound in a smaller room you can get Onkyo AVR for less, the 696 is quite mid specced, Onkyo NR393 (5.2 chan) can be had for $599 or slightly older NR575 (7.2 chan) for $849.

For speakers I'd look at the Klipsch R-51m on special at Harvey Norman for $463. 5 year warranty to boot. You can easily do a network AVR and two speakers under $1500

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#2611592 27-Nov-2020 10:11

Start with a cheap avr
2 good fronts
2 cheap rear
And a good sub

That's the minimum you need to get a good experience and you should in fact get an amazing experience with just those 5 bits.

2nd hand speakers is as good as new, they don't wear out over time. Either works or doesn't.

Unless you can find an amazing center speaker in my experience the center speak seems to be an afterthought by manufacturers and they sound really bad compared to their fronts. So much that for years I had wanted 3 fronts as up to 90% of movie sounds come from the center

apieceofpie

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2611621 27-Nov-2020 10:40

JPNZ:

Hi, really depends on what your future plan is and how big the room is. If you want to add more surround speakers later than you'll want 5.1 or 5.2 or even 7.2-9.2. Speaker sizes depend on room sizes so if your looking at starting with bookshelves 1st then you can add some larger fronts later and use the bookshelves as surrounds.

Your on the right track though, if you only ever want to run say a 5 speaker surround sound in a smaller room you can get Onkyo AVR for less, the 696 is quite mid specced, Onkyo NR393 (5.2 chan) can be had for $599 or slightly older NR575 (7.2 chan) for $849.

For speakers I'd look at the Klipsch R-51m on special at Harvey Norman for $463. 5 year warranty to boot. You can easily do a network AVR and two speakers under $1500

Not a massive room. 3800mm x 4110mm, but geometry is a bit strange as per the phot

timmmay

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#2611624 27-Nov-2020 10:43

If you're fairly new to this you don't need the best system in the world. About 7-8 years ago I bought an Onkyo receiver for maybe $500 - $700 and Wharfdale Vardus 5.1 speaker set for $1200 or so. $1700 and it sounds great to me for music, movies, etc. There are no doubt better systems around, but I'm happy with this.

Dunnersfella

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#2611631 27-Nov-2020 11:04

Start with a 2.0 system and then expand from there.

Some AVR's on the market even let you run Wifi rears if you can't run cable to your surrounds.

Many people (myself included) would suggest buying a set of bookshelf speakers first.

Then, add a centre (it is key for dialogue), followed by a subwoofer.

Then add in a pair of floor standers for the fronts and move the bookshelf speakers to the back of the room for surround sound duties.

This gives you the opportunity to upgrade your system with meaningful improvements AND not break the bank to begin with.

Re: amplifier.

If you're looking at Onkyo, beware that they are now insolvent.

This includes their off-shoot brands, Pioneer home audio and Integra.

ShinyChrome

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#2611695 27-Nov-2020 12:26

Pretty much what Dunnersfella and others have said above for progression and this is exactly how I went myself.

Receivers... hoo-boy, is now a bad time to buy unfortunately. Prices have gone bananas over the last year. In general, I'd consider Denon, Marantz, and Yamaha the go-to entry-level brands. The recently released Yamaha RX-V4a might be worth a look in your price bracket, it seems to be hanging around the $1k mark. It's a pretty basic 2020 model 5.1 channel model, but should suit your needs for now. Stock does seems to be limited at the moment though.

The Denon X2400h is a pretty capable AVR, but it is a couple of years old now and depends on your risk appetite for buying used. The closest new Denon worth considering would be the Denon X1600h, but even at $1348, that would put you above your budget when combined with speakers.

For reference, I bought the older version of the Onkyo NR696 a few years ago on special for $697, so $1100 is probably a tad over-priced. And as above, the future of the brand etc, etc

Speakers; I don't think you could go wrong with either of those suggestions, so I would pick whichever takes your fancy in lieu of being able to listen to them both. At worst, both can be re-sold easily. They are both reasonably good prices at the moment; not the cheapest they have ever been, but still worth it.

One thing to bear in mind is the KEF Q center (Q250c, Q650c) is great, but not cheap; one alternate is to actually pickup another pair of Q150s, use one as a center and re-sell the second one to someone who wants to do the same.

Personally I'd avoid the Klipsch reference range, as I feel they only get good starting from the Reference Premier and above. Unfortunately they are also double the price of the ones you are looking at.

Is there any particular reason you have your heart set on the Q80T?

Edit: I just spotted that JB is doing the Sony STR-DN1080 for $749. It's a few years old now and has somewhat mixed opinions, but $749 for a new AVR with a warranty is hard to turn down.

apieceofpie

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Wannabe Geek

#2611741 27-Nov-2020 12:42

Cheers for the advice.

Still tossing up between the Q80T, shops don't seem to want to go lower than $3200, so might rather go for the Sony X950H or 900H- which has dipped in price by quite a bit since when I first did my tv hunting. Thoughts?

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ShinyChrome

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#2611747 27-Nov-2020 12:55

apieceofpie:

Cheers for the advice.

Still tossing up between the Q80T, shops don't seem to want to go lower than $3200, so might rather go for the Sony X95H or 90H- which has dipped in price by quite a bit since when I first did my tv hunting. Thoughts?

While the Q80T is probably a better TV, I don't think it is $600-800 better than the X9000h. Money which could go towards your audio budget...

The Samsung also doesn't support Dolby Vision, only the less prevalent HDR10+, and has a proprietary OS vs. the Sony's Android TV, which can be a love it/hate it affair either way. The Sony on the other hand is still awaiting features like VRR to be added via firmware (same story as the PS5), whereas the Samsung has them now.

apieceofpie

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#2611752 27-Nov-2020 13:01

Yep, when I was looking at early Oct there was only about $200 in it. Think I'll probably go with the X95, and as you say, can maybe get a bit better speaker wise.

apieceofpie

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2611759 27-Nov-2020 13:24

ShinyChrome:

Pretty much what Dunnersfella and others have said above for progression and this is exactly how I went myself.

Receivers... hoo-boy, is now a bad time to buy unfortunately. Prices have gone bananas over the last year. In general, I'd consider Denon, Marantz, and Yamaha the go-to entry-level brands. The recently released Yamaha RX-V4a might be worth a look in your price bracket, it seems to be hanging around the $1k mark. It's a pretty basic 2020 model 5.1 channel model, but should suit your needs for now. Stock does seems to be limited at the moment though.

The Denon X2400h is a pretty capable AVR, but it is a couple of years old now and depends on your risk appetite for buying used. The closest new Denon worth considering would be the Denon X1600h, but even at $1348, that would put you above your budget when combined with speakers.

For reference, I bought the older version of the Onkyo NR696 a few years ago on special for $697, so $1100 is probably a tad over-priced. And as above, the future of the brand etc, etc

Speakers; I don't think you could go wrong with either of those suggestions, so I would pick whichever takes your fancy in lieu of being able to listen to them both. At worst, both can be re-sold easily. They are both reasonably good prices at the moment; not the cheapest they have ever been, but still worth it.

One thing to bear in mind is the KEF Q center (Q250c, Q650c) is great, but not cheap; one alternate is to actually pickup another pair of Q150s, use one as a center and re-sell the second one to someone who wants to do the same.

Personally I'd avoid the Klipsch reference range, as I feel they only get good starting from the Reference Premier and above. Unfortunately they are also double the price of the ones you are looking at.

Is there any particular reason you have your heart set on the Q80T?

Edit: I just spotted that JB is doing the Sony STR-DN1080 for $749. It's a few years old now and has somewhat mixed opinions, but $749 for a new AVR with a warranty is hard to turn down.

AV world has the KEF Q150 at $600, but the Q350 at $700. Would they be worth the extra $100? Comments seem to suggest they'd do bass a bit better, which may mean less urgent need for a subwoofer.

ShinyChrome

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#2611896 27-Nov-2020 15:04

apieceofpie:

AV world has the KEF Q150 at $600, but the Q350 at $700. Would they be worth the extra $100? Comments seem to suggest they'd do bass a bit better, which may mean less urgent need for a subwoofer.

While you might get a bit more output in the mid-bass > 100hz, a) I don't think it will be a noticeable difference unless you compare them side by side, and b) it probably won't add any meaningful extension in the lower/sub bass region. Me personally, I would save the $100 towards a woofer of the sub variety and go with the Q150s. There is a theory that the Q150 shares a bit of lineage with the LS50 drivers, but there is no concrete proof to support that, other than user impressions.

Hell, I'd even just consider going with the Polk S15s for the $160 difference to the Q150s. The Signature lineup was on my radar for awhile and there is a lot they get right; looks being one of them and the sound is pretty good for the price. Plus, you can rock on down to a Harvey Norman and listen for yourself.

There is a SVS PB-1000 on TradeMe for a decent price at the moment that you might consider with any leftover budget. Q150/S15 + a PB-1000 would be a killer budget setup.

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#2611969 27-Nov-2020 17:27

apieceofpie:

Yep, when I was looking at early Oct there was only about $200 in it. Think I'll probably go with the X95, and as you say, can maybe get a bit better speaker wise.

I'd add $300 to that and get yourself a nice 2.1 Speakers with a nice sub, a good mid level HT Amplifier and build from there :)

Loismustdye

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#2611981 27-Nov-2020 18:00

I’ve got the listed polks as rears and they good little speakers, although not as small as you might think. Paired with a good sub these would see you right I reckon initially. As an added bonus the finish marries up fairly closely to the svs subs.

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#2612050 27-Nov-2020 20:23

would you travel on a plane with a sub checked in? very tempted ...

i just saw that the SVS PB 2000 costs US600. don't ask me what it costs over here i'm upset ...

Loismustdye

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#2612085 27-Nov-2020 22:19

Batman:

would you travel on a plane with a sub checked in? very tempted ...

i just saw that the SVS PB 2000 costs US600. don't ask me what it costs over here i'm upset ...

just picked one up for $1499 from rapalloav, still listed on their site as well

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