Home Theatre systems

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

G'day audiophiles. I'm after some advice which is slightly OT from the OP.

I'm looking at buying a stereo. Not interested in a home theatre system as I don't watch much tv or movies (couldn't even tell you the last time I went out to the movies!).

So, I'm looking at spending between $1-2k fro a decent stereo. Must have bluetooth so I can stream form my phone.

I'm not particularly fussed with sound reproduction clarity (I'm playing MP3s anyway) but want something that is loud and has decent kick in the bass.

Any suggestions for a good system? I have an acquaintance who is high up in Yamaha; are their component systems any good? Will I be able to get something decent in my price range?

Happy to go with the second hand market too if you think there is value in that space.

Appreciate any advice/thoughts.

Cheers.

Craig

[eaglem]

Yamaha make a range of top end audio gear but they also make medium quality gear for the lower end market so you need to know what models to select. I had Yamaha for years now and have never been disappointed.

[asagaai]

I have a 5 way Yamaha system in my B second home theatre.

As said Yamaha is what I would call vanilla neutral, clear, sterile, loud and perhaps a bit cold. In studios a lot of mixing rooms have Yamaha small desk monitors as a 2nd or 3rd set of speakers to use as a reference -as they are accurate and neutral, if somewhat cold. Their towers and centre speakers and amps are good, their subwoofers are meh.

In my A first home theatre studio I have SVS ultras and SVS sealed subwoofer. Very soulful and 3D in a way that the Yamaha cannot compete with especially with music. But are a bit more obscured for voicing given they are so thick and warm with bass -so for dialog the more sterile Yamaha system is better.

Cannot go wrong with Yamaha, very solid system for price, but if you want punchy tight dry bass ditch the typical ported Yamaha subwoofer and go for a sealed subwoofer- an SVS SB 2000 is pretty amazing .

[graphicgoose]

Originally Posted by psychobimbo

G'day audiophiles. I'm after some advice which is slightly OT from the OP.

I'm looking at buying a stereo. Not interested in a home theatre system as I don't watch much tv or movies (couldn't even tell you the last time I went out to the movies!).

So, I'm looking at spending between $1-2k fro a decent stereo. Must have bluetooth so I can stream form my phone.

I'm not particularly fussed with sound reproduction clarity (I'm playing MP3s anyway) but want something that is loud and has decent kick in the bass.

Any suggestions for a good system? I have an acquaintance who is high up in Yamaha; are their component systems any good? Will I be able to get something decent in my price range?

Happy to go with the second hand market too if you think there is value in that space.

Appreciate any advice/thoughts.

Cheers.

Craig

If you're looking for convenience for use with your phone but good bass I'd highly suggest a Sonos Soundbar and Sono Sub. That'll set you back under $2k but connects to your Wifi and you use your phone as the controller. I have a Sonos Soundbar and Sub in my bedroom and it's excellent and extremely convenient.

[burnz]

Originally Posted by psychobimbo

G'day audiophiles. I'm after some advice which is slightly OT from the OP.

I'm looking at buying a stereo. Not interested in a home theatre system as I don't watch much tv or movies (couldn't even tell you the last time I went out to the movies!).

So, I'm looking at spending between $1-2k fro a decent stereo. Must have bluetooth so I can stream form my phone.

I'm not particularly fussed with sound reproduction clarity (I'm playing MP3s anyway) but want something that is loud and has decent kick in the bass.

Any suggestions for a good system? I have an acquaintance who is high up in Yamaha; are their component systems any good? Will I be able to get something decent in my price range?

Happy to go with the second hand market too if you think there is value in that space.

Appreciate any advice/thoughts.

Cheers.

Craig

technic amp, Yamaha everything else..
your budget will kill your speakers, they literally make the system work.

JBL Auculab, Audiosonic..

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Thought I'd come back in and update what I've ended up going with.

Harvey Norman had a special a few weeks back on Yamaha components, with up to 30% off.

Went into the local store and talked to the young fella in there. Ran through what I wanted from the system and my budget, and he recommended going with a 5.1 receiver, but running in in dual channel mode. Also suggested getting a 5.1 speaker package as it actually worked out cheaper than just buying the twin main speakers by themselves.

Wasn't convinced by that, so ended up making contact with the acquaintance who works at Yamaha. He knows his product very well, and actually talked me into going with a dual channel receiver instead. Matched that with a great set of speakers and a powered amp.

Can't give away too many details, but the price of the system still remained within my original budget.

Here's what he suggested:

R-N803 receiver

NS-F700 main speakers

NS-SW700 powered sub

Pay for it tomoz and should be delivered by the end of the week. Can't wait to get this all connected and pumping! Not so sure the neighbours will love it as much as I hope to

Appreciate everyone's input. At the end of the day, I just couldn't pass this system up at the price offered.

[asagaai]

Originally Posted by psychobimbo

Thought I'd come back in and update what I've ended up going with.

….
Wasn't convinced by that, so ended up making contact with the acquaintance who works at Yamaha. He knows his product very well, and actually talked me into going with a dual channel receiver instead. Matched that with a great set of speakers and a powered amp.

Can't give away too many details, but the price of the system still remained within my original budget.

Here's what he suggested:

R-N803 receiver

NS-F700 main speakers

NS-SW700 powered sub

Pay for it tomoz and should be delivered by the end of the week. Can't wait to get this all connected and pumping! Not so sure the neighbours will love it as much as I hope to

Appreciate everyone's input. At the end of the day, I just couldn't pass this system up at the price offered.

Congratulations - less is more sometimes in terms of simple great quality amp powering 2 towers, and a good subwoofer. Looks like a great system- please let us know what it sounds like.

And please, do not stick the towers or subwoofer close to a wall or worse in a corner . where it will create huge bass phasing issues.

Can you please report back on your sound- and also remember, it may sound a little flat at first as good speakers need to be broken in- ie playing at volume for some 24-48 hours etc...then they start singing and give you that nice depth and dimensionality.

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Originally Posted by asagaai

Congratulations - less is more sometimes in terms of simple great quality amp powering 2 towers, and a good subwoofer. Looks like a great system- please let us know what it sounds like.

And please, do not stick the towers or subwoofer close to a wall or worse in a corner . where it will create huge bass phasing issues.

Can you please report back on your sound- and also remember, it may sound a little flat at first as good speakers need to be broken in- ie playing at volume for some 24-48 hours etc...then they start singing and give you that nice depth and dimensionality.

Thanks for the tips, asagaai. So, how close is close? And if I don't put them close to a wall or corner, where do I put them? They'd look a little strange sitting in the middle of the loungeroom floor!

Never thought of it before, but it makes sense that the speakers would have a 'run-in' period, no different to any other mechanical device.

Will definitely report back once I have everything set up and running.

Can't wait

[asagaai]

Originally Posted by psychobimbo

Thanks for the tips, asagaai. So, how close is close? And if I don't put them close to a wall or corner, where do I put them? They'd look a little strange sitting in the middle of the loungeroom floor!

Never thought of it before, but it makes sense that the speakers would have a 'run-in' period, no different to any other mechanical device.

Will definitely report back once I have everything set up and running.

Can't wait

In terms of the wall behind the towers, I have my towers about 1 foot out from the wall. All is a matter of aesthetics and what you can get away with- but anything under 4 inches is a no go.

In terms of a subwoofer, you need to trial and error where to place it in the room. Try to avoid corners, especially if the corner is solid brick/concrete, as the bass will collect more as a bass mess in the corner.

In my new house I have been forced to put my subwoofers in corners, but put them 2 foot from side wall and 1.5 foot out from back wall- but the house is cedar timber with plaster, so the bass will pass through the walls a lot more easily and not collect so much in the corner like a corner built of concrete/brick.

A tip on subwoofer placement, in sound recording when setting up a drum kit or double bass to record, a trick in a tracking room is to walk around and clap your hands deeply, where it sounds deepest and best is the spot where you place your drum kit/double bass etc.

Same principle can be applied to placing a subwoofer- in theory.

Obviously we all décor restrictions, some of us have partners who would buck up etc, but balancing all this try to place a subwoofer 1.5 out from a wall as far from a corner as possible- towers not in corners if possible and if cannot avoid try to get 2 feet from side wall and 1 foot odd from back wall.

If you are stuck you can always get bass trapping, earlier in thread I gave some links.

Good luck and have fun experimenting with speaker placement.

Chhers

[asagaai]

Originally Posted by psychobimbo

Thanks for the tips, asagaai. So, how close is close? And if I don't put them close to a wall or corner, where do I put them? They'd look a little strange sitting in the middle of the loungeroom floor!

Never thought of it before, but it makes sense that the speakers would have a 'run-in' period, no different to any other mechanical device.

Will definitely report back once I have everything set up and running.

Can't wait

How is it sounding Psychobimbo?