Speaker/Source noob, please help.

[zaguar]

THE FOLLOWING IS JUST GUESSWORK BASED UPON OBSERVATIONS



So, to listen to music, you need a source (a CD/DVD/SACD player kinda thing), an AMP (The thing that powers the speakers?) a reciever (the thing that takes multiple inputs and sends out one, in this case, to speakers) and the speakers. Now, i live in Australia (perth) so i cant get all the stuff you americans get. I am comfortable buying from etailers, but how much do i need to get a decent sound setup? I think 2K US total should work. We dont have a decent TV, but we may get a nice HD one in the future, so if it can be expanded to a 5.1 setup, that would be great.

So, noble head-fiers, please help! What do i need to get a decent setup?

 

[Necros]

You need...

Source- CD player, tape, vinyl
Amp...one of the following..
Stereo integrated amplifier
Stereo pre-amp and stereo poweramp
AV Receiver or AV Amplifer
then speakers.

£1500 GBP should get you a nice 2 channel system. If you're looking into 2ch now, then DD/DTS later on I would buy a 2ch system first, then add a AV Amplifier and use that to power your centre & rear speakers, and to send signal to subwoofer. Take L/R pre-outs from AV amp to stereo integrated amp.

Are there any Australian made source/speakers/amps? Should be able to get better deals, compared to imported components.

 

[zaguar]

So a 2 ch system, i get a nice source, an amp, and speakers? Then, if i want DD/DTS, i get an av reciever and some more speakers? Is that correct?

 

[gordolindsay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zaguar So a 2 ch system, i get a nice source, an amp, and speakers? Then, if i want DD/DTS, i get an av reciever and some more speakers? Is that correct?

True but if you are planning on going to a full home theater set-up (5.1,6.1, or 7.1) then you might just want to start with the av reciever. or you coule get the integrated amp for now and when you want to move up to more speakers you could use the integrated to power the rear channels. Just depends on what you want or what you plan on wanting.

 

[zaguar]

Okay, so i need: an AV Reciever, speakers, and a source. Do some recievers have an integrated amp?

 

[Necros]

The problem with getting a AV amp now is that most sound pants compared to a decent hifi amp, poweramps inside av amps are also inferior compared to hifi amps ..good ones are pretty expensive compared to hifi amps (and you get better sounding hifi amps at much at price compared to av amps) And if he gets a HT system in a few years the AV amp will be out of date by that time.

Unless you want a HT system NOW, get a 2 channel system, then add a AV amp and the remaining speakers (centre, surrounds subwoofer) and DVD player, TV/projector etc

 

[Aman]

Just remember this:

Receivers try to accomplish doing many things at once:

PreAmp to control volume
Amp to power speakers
AND a massive input/output director

You will get more quality parts getting JUST the amp or JUST the preamp, because they have more money to spend on just one thing, contrary to receiver manufacturers who have a more limited amount of cash flow for each individual section of the unit because they have to cover much more ground.

Just so you know.

 

[soundboy]

zaguar,

In your initial post, your description of a receiver....

Quote:

a reciever (the thing that takes multiple inputs and sends out one, in this case, to speakers)

is actually describing an integrated amp.

No one mentioned where the term "receiver" comes from? A receiver includes a tuner, which receives AM/FM radio signals, hence the term "receiver".

An integrated amp is basically a receiver, but without the tuner.

An integrated amp contains a power amp and a pre-amp (also known as a control amplifier). If you look at the above description, you will find that each individual section can be purchased separately. A receiver is merely a one-box solution.

So you have to decide whether you want a 2 channel stereo receiver or a multi-channel (5.1, 6.1, or 7.1) receiver.

 

[zaguar]

What kind of proportions should i spend on speakers/source/amp?

And please, this confuses me. It goes source to pre-amp to amp to speaker, correct? And a reciever is simply an integrated fm tuner and amp, and this can be multi channel or 2ch? correct?

 

[gordolindsay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zaguar What kind of proportions should i spend on speakers/source/amp?

It really depends on how much you want to spend. You absolutely must start with a great source so decide on how much you want to spend total and probably allocate half of that to the source. Then you can split the remaining half in half again and use towards speakers and amp.

I'd say around $500 for a good source, $300 for descent speakers, and $200 for a certain integrated amp (Pioneer Elite A-35R)

Of course the last componant is purely my suggestion, you could easily spend quite a bit more and get a little bit of performance gain but not huge if you're staying with the integrated amp thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zaguar And please, this confuses me. It goes source to pre-amp to amp to speaker, correct? And a reciever is simply an integrated fm tuner and amp, and this can be multi channel or 2ch? correct?

You are correct.

If you go into BB or Circuit City, all they have are recievers. They don't carry integrateds or just plain power amps. You'll have to look harder for amps and pre-amps.

 

[zaguar]

Well, im Australian, so no BB (thank god) and audio is quite limited

 

[zaguar]

Is this system alright?

Source - Cheap cd player with optical out to Benchmark DAC1

AMP-Pioneer A35R

Speakers - Paradigm Mini-Monitors $300,NHT-SB3 $450 PSB-B25 $450, Energy C-3 $385 Totem Mites $350? (I dunno which)

(Thanks to GordoLindsay for his help)

 

[zaguar]

Anyone?

 

[Snufkin]

I would highly recommend DIY for speakers

Before you run away screaming, have a look at www.theloudspeakerkit.com - it's in Leederville, you can go in and have a listen, you'll actually walk past me to get to the speakers as well

In terms of performance - you'd be looking at kits that are designed to perform against commercial speakers costing 3-4 times the price.

The catch? You have to do 5 mins of gluing and you have to finish them yourself. It's actually easier to assemble their most complex kit than it is to assemble your average piece of Ikea furniture - they can also help with amps and CD players too.

 

[zaguar]

Thanks for tip, snuffers.