[GuineaMcPig]

Hello,

I'm interested in improving the sound of my home theater. I'm currently playing sound out of my Pioneer plasma's onboard speaker, and as you can imagine, the sound isn't particularly satisfying.

My goal is to assemble an all-purpose 2.1 setup that would sound good playing music, videogame or movie audio. I'm currently limited by two factors: price and space.

I've read good things about the HSU STF-1 sub, and since I'm living in an apartment I don't necessarily need (or even want) floor-shaking base, the low power and smaller driver don't faze me. I'm mainly concerned about finding a decent pair of bookshelf or tower speakers and an integrated amplifier to drive them.

The Magnepan MMGs (and their cheaper sibling, the MMG-Ws) hold a lot of appeal for me, but I'm concerned about being able to afford a quality integrated amplifier capable of driving them. (I've read that you need an amp capable of putting out 200+ watts at 4 ohms.) I'm also concerned about room placement - my apartment is small, and I realistically have no extra space to move them about and try and find the ideal spot.

Other than Magnepan, I'm not sure what other companies offer high quality speakers at this low of a price point.

Finally, I have specific needs with an integrated amplifier. I have three sources - an Xbox 360, a PS3 and a Wii - and I would like to be able to connect the first two to the amplifier via HDMI and the later via component video.

Given that the HSU STF-1 is $250 by itself, is it even possible to achieve the system I've described for $750 or less?

Thank you very much for your time!

~Jordan

 

[GuineaMcPig]

One more thing to add: If you know of a forum that is more focused on speakers or home theater with a similar reputation as Head-Fi, I would definitely appreciate a referral

 

[powerslave]

AVSFORUM.com is pretty good as far as home theater is concerned. Just click on the forum tab at the top. They have an audio section which focuses on speakers, cd's, etc. As far as planar speakers, i'm not terribly familiar with them. You might want to check out the audiogon forums as there might be some posts there specific to planar speakers and what's needed to drive them.

 

[Alai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuineaMcPig /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hello, I'm interested in improving the sound of my home theater. I'm currently playing sound out of my Pioneer plasma's onboard speaker, and as you can imagine, the sound isn't particularly satisfying. My goal is to assemble an all-purpose 2.1 setup that would sound good playing music, videogame or movie audio. I'm currently limited by two factors: price and space. I've read good things about the HSU STF-1 sub, and since I'm living in an apartment I don't necessarily need (or even want) floor-shaking base, the low power and smaller driver don't faze me. I'm mainly concerned about finding a decent pair of bookshelf or tower speakers and an integrated amplifier to drive them. The Magnepan MMGs (and their cheaper sibling, the MMG-Ws) hold a lot of appeal for me, but I'm concerned about being able to afford a quality integrated amplifier capable of driving them. (I've read that you need an amp capable of putting out 200+ watts at 4 ohms.) I'm also concerned about room placement - my apartment is small, and I realistically have no extra space to move them about and try and find the ideal spot. Other than Magnepan, I'm not sure what other companies offer high quality speakers at this low of a price point. Finally, I have specific needs with an integrated amplifier. I have three sources - an Xbox 360, a PS3 and a Wii - and I would like to be able to connect the first two to the amplifier via HDMI and the later via component video. Given that the HSU STF-1 is $250 by itself, is it even possible to achieve the system I've described for $750 or less? Thank you very much for your time! ~Jordan

No. Firstly, most receivers or integrated amplifiers are terrible for amplifying higher quality and generally harder to drive speakers. Secondly, HDMI capable receivers by themselves will blow out most of your budget already, particularly at $750 ($1k might be doable but still at least half, probably most, of your budget would be the receiver). I'm not as familiar with receivers as I am with speakers, so once you find a doable receiver, then maybe we can talk. Since most of your budget will be blown on receiver, maybe you could stick with AV123 B-Stock ELT525M, CBM-170SE (B-Stock sale by Ascend Acoustics right now), or Polk RTi6 which are commonly sold on eBay or on CL for a used pair.

Btw, where do you live? Maybe we can help with a CL search?