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In order to help-u need to give us some details. 1) what is ur budget? 2) how big of.a sized room is the sound goin to fill?3) what do u want to hook up to theatre system (ps3, blu ray, xbox, etc)?
Answering these should help narrow down the list. As for avoiding big box stores, I say don't expect any insightful advice from these guys but if they sell a receiver for $100 less than one of those audio/video stores, I say why not buy it from the future shops and best buys.
Tips-google search some audio video forums, cnet reviews, pc mag, etc to give u an idea of what's good and what's good value.
I personally do not ever buy extended warranty. I say the price for the extended warranty is better off spent on new equipment should the old one break down on you.some sales guy put on the pressure but I don't bite. Some visas add an extra year of warranty as well. if u buy extended warranty, its like buying piece of mind. Is that $200+ worth it to you? To some, yes. To me, meh! Just so u know, Visions' extended warranty offers a full refund of your warranty in the form of store credit should u not ever need to use ur warranty.
Good luck!
Answering these should help narrow down the list. As for avoiding big box stores, I say don't expect any insightful advice from these guys but if they sell a receiver for $100 less than one of those audio/video stores, I say why not buy it from the future shops and best buys.
Tips-google search some audio video forums, cnet reviews, pc mag, etc to give u an idea of what's good and what's good value.
I personally do not ever buy extended warranty. I say the price for the extended warranty is better off spent on new equipment should the old one break down on you.some sales guy put on the pressure but I don't bite. Some visas add an extra year of warranty as well. if u buy extended warranty, its like buying piece of mind. Is that $200+ worth it to you? To some, yes. To me, meh! Just so u know, Visions' extended warranty offers a full refund of your warranty in the form of store credit should u not ever need to use ur warranty.
Good luck!
Not to sound like a snob, but if you are serious about home theatre, you will stay away from the home-theatre-in-a-box stuff, where one company makes both the electronics and the speakers.
All the companies you mentioned above make excellent electronics, but stick to a company that makes speakers for a living. B&W makes excellent speakers, but since they are imported from the UK they will be quite expensive. There are some excellent Canadian companies that make speakers -- Totem, PSB, Paradigm, Mirage, Energy, etc.
Stay away, far away, from Future Shop, Best Buy, and Visions, and go to a real audio store. Bring your own CDs and ask the salesman to give you a recommendation within your budget. Have a listen and see what you like. The real audio stores will be more than happy to give you real advice, as they are usually audio enthusiasts too. If you go to a real audio store, you can have confidence that they won't be carrying shit, so you won't go too far wrong no matter what you buy.
If you want me to make a recommendation for you, get a receiver from Rotel or NAD, and get some speakers from Paradigm or PSB. These companies are bang-for-buck leaders and will give you high-end sound without breaking the bank.
Yamaha has a what is supposedly a great virtual speaker system
http://www.yamaha.ca/av/YSP/main.jsp
One speaker bar with 20+ speakers. I don't use the Yamaha YSP system but I do have a great Yamaha HTIB and if I were upgrading I would definitely go for one of the YSP systems.
http://www.yamaha.ca/av/YSP/main.jsp
One speaker bar with 20+ speakers. I don't use the Yamaha YSP system but I do have a great Yamaha HTIB and if I were upgrading I would definitely go for one of the YSP systems.
I find London Drugs to be the best. Sometimes they have very good deals on Onkyo receivers. Sometimes Costco has great deals on speakers and packages.
Check out the AVS forum for some good advice on anything home theater related. http://www.avsforum.com/
Thank you very much to all of you for your advice.
I appreciate all your comments.
I did some reading and I have looked at Onkyo, Denon, Paradigm, polk, KEF and Rotel+B&W set up so far.
I will be hooking up, Samsung 52 A650 LCD + Sony Blue Ray, to home amp and I am leaning to Rotel with B&W 600 series speakers or maybe 700 if I can find more cash.
I really liked the sound of B&W but didnt have much of low end of sound, perhaps the sub wasnt hooked up. The mid to high was excellent to my ears and the sound was so "clean" and the speakers maintained the same quality at higher vol without breaking up. Simply I was impressed with B&W.
I will bring my own CD/movies and i will ask B&W sales person to hookup the system properly before I make my final decision.
BTW, I think Samsung LCD 650 is the BEST BANG for the buck. There are 750 and 850 model that cost more for internet hook-up or thinner TV Set but most importantly the TV engine and the screen IS SAME!!!
A950 uses LED lamp but that is over priced for being "NEW"
I heard from 3 different people that the best SONY screen is made by Samsung, cant confirm and didnt find out for sure. I know Samsung has been over very long time, 10+ years I think, invested heavly in the their R&D and they are leaders in semi conductor I believe. I fingured cant go wrong with higher end Samsung and Sony is over priced.
I appreciate all your comments.
I did some reading and I have looked at Onkyo, Denon, Paradigm, polk, KEF and Rotel+B&W set up so far.
I will be hooking up, Samsung 52 A650 LCD + Sony Blue Ray, to home amp and I am leaning to Rotel with B&W 600 series speakers or maybe 700 if I can find more cash.
I really liked the sound of B&W but didnt have much of low end of sound, perhaps the sub wasnt hooked up. The mid to high was excellent to my ears and the sound was so "clean" and the speakers maintained the same quality at higher vol without breaking up. Simply I was impressed with B&W.
I will bring my own CD/movies and i will ask B&W sales person to hookup the system properly before I make my final decision.
BTW, I think Samsung LCD 650 is the BEST BANG for the buck. There are 750 and 850 model that cost more for internet hook-up or thinner TV Set but most importantly the TV engine and the screen IS SAME!!!
A950 uses LED lamp but that is over priced for being "NEW"
I heard from 3 different people that the best SONY screen is made by Samsung, cant confirm and didnt find out for sure. I know Samsung has been over very long time, 10+ years I think, invested heavly in the their R&D and they are leaders in semi conductor I believe. I fingured cant go wrong with higher end Samsung and Sony is over priced.
HavingFun
I think you are on the right track; I have B&W speakers and a Rotel amp myself and absolutely love them.
As you move up the loudspeaker food chain, you are mostly paying for bass response and the ability to play loudly cleanly. At moderate volumes and with midrange heavy material (eg. voices), it's hard to tell the difference between say, a $3 000 pair of speakers vs. a $10 000 pair. With that in mind, I would say get the best speakers your budget can comfortably handle, then add a quality subwoofer later.
Good advice about buying used, as that is how I managed to score my B&Ws. However, I would add a couple of caveats:
You have to know the market a little bit, because high-end audio is a lot like the car business, and to make a car analogy, you might end up paying $30,000 for a BMW 750iL thinking you got a deal, only to find that features that used to cost a lot of money are now standard in the newer cars and so are a lot cheaper. On the other hand, you could get some speakers that are still currently being made at a 20-25% discount.
Talking generally, buying used speakers is pretty safe (but again, know what you are buying so you don't get something too old), but used electronics is more of a crapshoot because features change so fast. It wasn't that long ago that progressive-scan DVD players were only in the high-end and costed thousands of dollars. Now you can get them for a hundred bucks. Same with HDMI video switching, etc.
I think you are on the right track; I have B&W speakers and a Rotel amp myself and absolutely love them.
As you move up the loudspeaker food chain, you are mostly paying for bass response and the ability to play loudly cleanly. At moderate volumes and with midrange heavy material (eg. voices), it's hard to tell the difference between say, a $3 000 pair of speakers vs. a $10 000 pair. With that in mind, I would say get the best speakers your budget can comfortably handle, then add a quality subwoofer later.
Good advice about buying used, as that is how I managed to score my B&Ws. However, I would add a couple of caveats:
You have to know the market a little bit, because high-end audio is a lot like the car business, and to make a car analogy, you might end up paying $30,000 for a BMW 750iL thinking you got a deal, only to find that features that used to cost a lot of money are now standard in the newer cars and so are a lot cheaper. On the other hand, you could get some speakers that are still currently being made at a 20-25% discount.
Talking generally, buying used speakers is pretty safe (but again, know what you are buying so you don't get something too old), but used electronics is more of a crapshoot because features change so fast. It wasn't that long ago that progressive-scan DVD players were only in the high-end and costed thousands of dollars. Now you can get them for a hundred bucks. Same with HDMI video switching, etc.
Great advices!
Thank you all.
I am now looking for maybe used B&W 802 D speakers but still those are still expensive. I cant even imagine how great those sound compare to 700 series.
I am set on B&W but where can I buy a used set locally?
Yellow pages, I guess...
Thank you all.
I am now looking for maybe used B&W 802 D speakers but still those are still expensive. I cant even imagine how great those sound compare to 700 series.
I am set on B&W but where can I buy a used set locally?
Yellow pages, I guess...
