home theater question

mustangmike01

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I know a lot of you have some crazy setups.

I need some new input. This is what I have. the room is 25x17 on a slab.

I bought all this stuff in 2012.

sharp 60" led

4 Polk Audio Monitor70 Series II Floorstanding.

1 center speark

Pioneer VSX-1121-K 7.1-Channel A/V Receiver.

I have it setup with Hdmi cables and so on.

The receiver just started to act up by not working in dolby pro logic. The sound was very low and sounded like it was far away. I tapped the receiver with my figure and it came back on. To me this is a bad sign that its about to fail for good.

So first off should I be concern or let it be and see what happens?

I thought Piomeer was a good receiver and would last a lot time. I guess not. I used to be a sony guy but there s... has gone down hill, so that's why I wanted to try Pioneer.

What are some good receivers out there that would last and have just as good or better sound and picture quality then I have now?

My plan was to also get two Polk shelf speakers for the middle of the room.

And Yes I do not have a sub.

What are some good subs that will take some low end Frequency Response? I know that seems to be a problem with the polk subs, the reviews I read anyway.

thanks
 

03cobra#2

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I've always used Yamaha recievers and have the best luck with them. For subs there are a thousand choices. I would look at Polk first just to match up with what you have.

In regards to the 2 side speakers are you implying you want to run a 7.1 set up?
 
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CobraBob

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I just upgraded my home theater components last year. I went with an Acoustech PL-200 sub and a Denon AVR X-2000 receiver. I've been very pleased. Not too expensive, either.
 

mgh471

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The polk bookshelves will fill in nicely with the monitor 70's. Polk subs suck. I ditched 2 10" Polk subs and built an infinite baffle manifold in the attic of the theater with 4 15" Dayton subs. The Monitor70's do well with enough power on them. 25x17 is a good size room so you will need a substantial sub to fill the space. Not sure how far you want to go with it, but Emotiva makes some nice processors and amps. I went with all separate components for not much more than the cost of a nice powered processor.
 

oldmodman

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Take the cover off and make sure all the boards are fully seated and that all the strip cables are engaged.

Next if the problem keeps popping up look for and correct cold solder joints.

Or just chuck it and take a look at some of the Yamaha Receivers.

Or if your name is Treynor take a look at McIntosh separates.
 

01svtL

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One word buddy BOSE

LOL, surely said in jest.

What is your budget? I'd go with separates (Processor and amp). Marantz and Emotiva both have new(ish) offerings for 2015 that will handle anything you want to do and the sound will blow your Pioneer out of the water at relatively entry level prices (as far as separates go). PM me if you want to discuss further.
 

TK Doom

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LOL, surely said in jest.

What is your budget? I'd go with separates (Processor and amp). Marantz and Emotiva both have new(ish) offerings for 2015 that will handle anything you want to do and the sound will blow your Pioneer out of the water at relatively entry level prices (as far as separates go). PM me if you want to discuss further.

He is jesting, everyone with a brain knows that Bose is bad.
 

Tx5811

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LOL, surely said in jest.

What is your budget? I'd go with separates (Processor and amp). Marantz and Emotiva both have new(ish) offerings for 2015 that will handle anything you want to do and the sound will blow your Pioneer out of the water at relatively entry level prices (as far as separates go). PM me if you want to discuss further.

Lol of course purely in jest
 

TheVikingRL

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SVS makes a lot of nice subs and a good value compared to other high end stuff. I have their SB13-Ultra and it's a monster. Other one I've personally used and could recommend is some of the Velodyne stuff. I've never heard a 10" hit harder than some of their Optimum/SPL stuff. Not cheap but definitely worth the money IMO. I know this sounds crazy to many but if you can swing it, buy 2 matching subs. Even a killer sub can get lost if it's not placed right. Two subs goes a long way to help compensating for room acoustics.

+1 on the Yamaha or Denon vs Sony or Pioneer. They still make a lot of good receivers, although they have dumbed down a bit over the years. I have had two Yamaha and two Denon receivers that worked flawlessly. Don't skimp out on the center channel. It's by far your most important speaker along with the sub for home theater. LOL on Bose.

Good luck with your upgrades!
 
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STAMPEDE3

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Budget?

I do like my AR sub (Acoustic Research) but there are others out there.
As far as receivers, budget is the question.
You will however be surprised at how many will sound better than Pioneer. If you are in the well under 1K range take a look at some JVC units.

Denon would be a good choice.

I have a Boston Acoustic AVR7120 sitting at home now.
 

zak88lx

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Get a Yamaha receiver.
They are built to last, and I have never had an issue with them.
I'm currently running a Yamaha RX-V3800 receiver in my home theatre room.

SVS makes nice subs, but they can be pricey.
 

01svtL

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SVS makes a lot of nice subs and a good value compared to other high end stuff. I have their SB13-Ultra and it's a monster. Other one I've personally used and could recommend is some of the Velodyne stuff. I've never heard a 10" hit harder than some of their Optimum/SPL stuff. Not cheap but definitely worth the money IMO. I know this sounds crazy to many but if you can swing it, buy 2 matching subs. Even a killer sub can get lost if it's not placed right. Two subs goes a long way to help compensating for room acoustics.

+1 on the Yamaha or Denon vs Sony or Pioneer. They still make a lot of good receivers, although they have dumbed down a bit over the years. I have had two Yamaha and two Denon receivers that worked flawlessly. Don't skimp out on the center channel. It's by far your most important speaker along with the sub for home theater. LOL on Bose.

Good luck with your upgrades!

Good advice on the dual subs. In addition, I would suggest to make sure your receiver/processor has 2 sub inputs and has the capability to room correct for them separately.
 

mustangmike01

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Well, let me tell you what my plan is for the room in the next year. I'm going to rotate every thing 90 degrees so all the speakers will be lined up and they will be separated by 18x17. plan is gutting the room and installing insulation on all 3 walls and sound proofing the ceiling. I'm no sound engineer but I would think by doing this it will keep the sound in the room and sound better. right now there is only 1/2" rock on every wall with no insulation:nonono:

away I did not get a polk sub at the time because I hard they where not good. So I ever found one that I liked.

My center is an older boston. I can't remember the specs on it. But it sounds great and at the time is was like 300. it still sounds great. man its 15 years old, dam.

My pioneer was a new model and it was 799. I liked that I could adjust each speakers bass and size and volume. Not shore if you can do that will every receiver now.

Yamahao I was starting to look at them last night.

I would like to keep it under $1000 for the receiver.

I did look at pioneers new stuff and there normal one as less options and stuff then mine. To get something better then I have now I would have to get there elite and its 1000.

Plan is to get the polk RTiA3 or not, I'm not 100% shore yet. I will use them for the middle of the room speaks so I would be running true 7.1

Bose dose s.... I know many people that have them and the speakers sound it not great. My polk sound so much better.

I like a lot of bass. for my pc I run an old dell 5.1 500watt system that came with two 8" in one box. at half way I'm about to brake the windows in my office. It's good for video games, like I have time for that anymore. An that room it like 15x15. My wife hates loud things. You know what I say to that!!! All well..

So with that. I'm looking for a some that I can turn up and have nice clear bass and shack the room if I want but at the same time, if we watch tv or she watches a show I would like to turn it away down or off for her. I'm not 100% shore if you can do this or not.

I would like to keep the sub under 1000 also. I'll try one sub for now and see how I like it.
 

03cobra#2

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Sounds like a great plan. My suggestion for the reciever is to get one with pre-outs... That way you can add power Amps to your system as you upgrade overtime. For the sub don't skimp. It's a piece that you will keep for a long time that won't become obsolete.

I'm running a Yamaha mid level reciever and using a stack of older Adcom power amps to run big NHT speakers which are power hungry and could never be driven off just a reciever. Teamed up with a older Velodyne HGS-15 sub (vintage 1999) and the setup sounds awesome. Absolutely rocks the house and the sound quality is sweet. You can rock a movie that will pound your chest, jam to heavy metal loudly, or do critical music listening with a glass of wine. I was able to piece things together for pennies on the dollar compared to new by searching Craigs list and eBay. It does help I worked in the industry and know what is good and for a good price when hunting for used... But anyone can do it. I just refuse to pay retail for this stuff.

Tons of awesome deals out there as people get this stuff and sell it to upgrade all the time.
 
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hoamskilet

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Always been a big fan of Denon myself.

If you want to really get into it, take a week off of work, log on to avsforum, and read for days lol
 

99cobradave

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I agree with most others. Here's my $0.02.

Powered sub is a must. Internet direct companies are hard to beat. HSU, SVS, Power Sound Audio and Reactive Audio have AWESOME subs. A good subwoofer is your best investment for home theater.

As far as receivers, you can't go wrong with a good 7.1 or 7.2 receiver from Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer, whatever.

And BOSE sucks.

Good luck, man!
 

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