Looking to buy a receiver and speakers for under $5,000

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Looking to buy a receiver and speakers for under $5,000

ashman10

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#82449 29-Apr-2011 11:50

We are wanting to upgrade some gear at home(I think the wharfedales are 15 years old!)Anyway we have a Samsung led and sony blue ray ,so we were looking to add a receiver and new speakers. We don’t want clutter so the kef 5.1 channel speaker pack grabbed my fancy with some stands and then I was wondering about the Yamaha rx-767 so we can add speakers outside if needed.

I don’t want to put any speakers in the ceiling or anything like that .

I was thinking the kefs would cope with music quality ok?

Budget was to be under $4,000

timmmay

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#463711 29-Apr-2011 13:28

$4K's a decent budget! Would you rather spend less and get very good sound, or spend your budget and get excellent sound?

I posted what I have in this thread. It's fantastic value, though if I were doing it now i'd get a slightly higher model of receiver that does DLNA so I don't have to turn the PS3 on for that. My TV does it but I don't have an optical out to feed sound to the receiver, and I like less cables.

I will eventually upgrade my speakers, but the Vardus sound good to me, and the price can't be beat.

ashman10

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#463726 29-Apr-2011 14:04

Thnaks for that.Good sound on the lower budget makes sense!

vinnieg

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#463733 29-Apr-2011 14:27

ashman10: We are wanting to upgrade some gear at home(I think the wharfedales are 15 years old!)Anyway we have a Samsung led and sony blue ray ,so we were looking to add a receiver and new speakers. We don’t want clutter so the kef 5.1 channel speaker pack grabbed my fancy with some stands and then I was wondering about the Yamaha rx-767 so we can add speakers outside if needed.

I don’t want to put any speakers in the ceiling or anything like that .

I was thinking the kefs would cope with music quality ok?

Budget was to be under $4,000

The KEFs will do well :) I like my Kefs, I really want another set for my master bedroom and another set for the garage now!

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

geekiegeek

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#463743 29-Apr-2011 14:56

spend $1700 on some Wharfedale diamond 9s - http://www.lvmartin.co.nz/public/products/ProductViewDetails.aspx?productcode=D9HCPSW150&level1code=...

Fantastic for the price - really good for stereo as well. Then spend the rest on the biggest baddest reciever you can find.

;-)

Dunnersfella

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#463828 29-Apr-2011 19:55

Before I make any suggestions re: speaker types etc, can I ask what you would like to use your home theatre system for?
Is it mainly music?
Gaming?
Movies?
TV shows?
If it's music, then stand mounted speakers may not offer you the ooomph you're looking for - and in the long term leave you feeling short changed. Compare a set of the KEF's in-store with a set of floor standers. You should notice a much fuller sound, that can allow the music to really hit home.
If it's to accentuate TV, then keep the budget low as anything should be an improvement compared to built in TV speakers ;-)

How big is the room?

Are you replacing a home theatre system?
Do you really want or need 5.1? Or would a nice 2 channel music system in the lounge work, combined with an okay 2 channel system for outside?

Now one thing a lot of people are caught by, is buying a system that incorporates bookshelves as surrounds. A decent system will use a bipole or dipole speaker, which fill in the sound stage nicely, whereas bookshelves are very direct - and can sound a little odd when used as surrounds. Take a look at Tannoy surround speakers, some Polks etc etc. Wharfdale Vardus / Diamond's use bookshelves... which is a little odd to be fair. But NZ consumers have been lumped with bookshelves for surround speakers for some time, so maybe we've all learned to just accept it?

Phew...

Remember, there's a lot of advice out there - and forums like this are only guidelines, really you need to trust your ears. Take your favourite music into a store and listen carefully.

ashman10

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#464070 1-May-2011 05:56

thanks for the advice guys
Primarily i want this for music and movies.
The room is 10 m x15 m.
i am not replacing a home theatre system but i was away at Easter and we had a 5.1 system we were playing movies through and it was great so I thought "hmmmm" time to upgrade.
My old speakers are Wharfedale CRS9's so I think your posts have just saved my old speakers.i love these speakers .Maybe a 2 channel system upgrade is all i need.i suspect i have n't been maximising the technology i already have.

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timmmay

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#464089 1-May-2011 09:39

Buying some surround and center speakers with a receiver might be all you need.

I'm considering replacing my rather large Wharfdale Vardus surround speakers to hang something smaller up high on my walls, but that might take me a while to get around to.

marmel

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#464117 1-May-2011 11:38

ashman10: thanks for the advice guys
Primarily i want this for music and movies.
The room is 10 m x15 m.
i am not replacing a home theatre system but i was away at Easter and we had a 5.1 system we were playing movies through and it was great so I thought "hmmmm" time to upgrade.
My old speakers are Wharfedale CRS9's so I think your posts have just saved my old speakers.i love these speakers .Maybe a 2 channel system upgrade is all i need.i suspect i have n't been maximising the technology i already have.

Definately 10m X 15m? That is a very large room. The average lounge would be half that size at the most.

You should certainly be looking at a decent set of speakers to fill that space if the measurements are correct.

timmmay

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#464152 1-May-2011 12:55

My lounge is 4x5 meters and it's pretty big. My whole house is less than 10x15m. Ashman must live in a mansion! ;)

ashman10

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#464374 2-May-2011 09:13

It is a big open plan area including lounge,dining,kitchen