Ok, I'm defiantly not audio orientated, however with a recent sale of our house, I've come into some money that I can throw at home theater equipment. So rather than just dealing with the local stores I hate (Best Buy, and Circuit City) and buy crap. I've been trying to do a little research and get some half decent equipment.

Ultimately, a magazine lead me to Outlaw, the reviews of the 950 seem very favorable and the price is where I'd like to be. I'd prefer the equipment to look a little better, but if the sound (well theater sound) blows away any of the junk @ those stores I'm sold.

Anyhow, not to bore you with the details, however I do have some questions. Please keep in mind that I'm not in any way near to an AV novice. I just did a little reading (so I guess that makes me dangerous).

My Video equipment will most likely be a Sharp Aquos LC-37HV4U LCD TV, perhaps using the Outlaw 950/7100 (keeping price into perspective!) to drive the audio signals in to a 5.1 setup. My speakers are the hang-up @ the moment, Perhaps the B&W VM1 Stuff, but again, no knowledge here, just brief reading.

I'd welcome any thoughts and or comments as to this particular setup. Again, I need a simple, but decent (or good) sounding system without spending too much...

Thanks for your info.

The best research you can do is to go down to your local hi-fi store with some of your favorite CD's/DVD's and have them demo some speakers for you. If your ears then tell you they like the speakers, the Outlaw combo will power it just fine. If you can arrange a demo of the speakers in your room with the Outlaw combo there also, all the better...

Reading reviews is a great way of getting some background information about what gear is out there. If you read enough reviews, you'll find tendencies about how the gear might work in your room. However, until you experience it in person, you'll never really know if you'll like it or not. Also, people around here (sometimes), and on other forums (all the time), will tend to recommend what they're used to. Their recommendations may be a great place to start, but don't spend your money on their favorite gear. You're the one whose going to have to live with what you buy.

Good luck with your search, but most of all, have fun!

P.S. You're sure you can't just throw that money my way.

Jason,

Thanks for your informative reply. Your comments will be well heeded. I'm surely curious as to what other folks use for their setup so that I can as you mention, at least to glean info.

Rather than just the chain stores, I'll look up real AV houses in our area -- as they may be able to provide more guidance in the area of speakers.

Thanks again.

Brian

When auditioning speakers, I'd like to emphasize the importance of having a consistent baseline.

1. Listen to familar content rather than what is in the store. I brought several CDs/DVDs with me to stores and selected the tracks I wanted to hear. Include a range what you will hear at home - maybe movies with loud crashes and a few different styles of music (rock, female vocals, etc).

2. Consistent electronics. Make sure all tone controls (bass, treble, equalization) are set to neutral. Since loud music may sound "fuller" than the same content at low volumes, make sure the volume is at the same level and approximates what you will hear at home.

The 950/7100 combo is a very good package and will be a step up from the receivers typically sold at a large chain electronics outlet like Best Buy or Circuit City. I use a 950/750 combo (the 750 is Outlaw's original amp, 165Wx5) to drive Paradigm Reference Studio v2 speakers (Studio/60's, Studio/CC center, Studio/ADP dipole surrounds as surround backs driven by a used Parasound HCA-800 amp) and Axiom M3ti surrounds.

Speakers are a personal choice to a certain degree. Some good brands that are owned by Saloon members include Paradigm, Axiom (available online only), B&W, Boston Acoustics, Klipsch, M&K, Energy, Polk, Magnepan, Definitive Technology, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch more. I think you're heading in the right direction by checking out some local A/V shops, and as already suggested it is best to take some demo material that you are familiar with. When I bought my Paradigms, I had narrowed it down to DefTech and Paradigm Reference and spent over an hour with a few CD's, switching between some DefTech towers and Paradigm Studio/60's with the same source player, pre-amp, and amp. An in-home demo is also a great approach if you can do it and have narrowed it down to one or two speakers.

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gonk -- 950 Review | LFM-1 Review | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | Saloon Links

If you are into online companies like Outlaw, you owe it to yourself to check out www.av123.com. I own their Reference speakers and they are phenomenal, but the Rockets and ELT's are the real value of the lineup if you are into great sound and a great looking speaker to boot.

I own Ascend Acoustics CBM-170's for my front stereo pair. They sound excellent with my Outlaw 1050. Ascend is similar to Outlaw in that they sell direct via internet only, and offer great value for the performance you get. Their website www.ascendacoustics.com offers any combination of their speaker models for a HT package. They also sell Hsu subwoofers with their systems if you desire one, though I'd give the LFM-1 serious thought as it is a Hsu-derived design. You can get owners opinions at www.ascendforum.com as well. Their CBM-170 has been compared to the Rocket(Onix)Ref1 for a fraction of the cost!

Thanks for the good tips and sites. I came across a few that peaked my intrest.

http://www.fluance.com/fluanceavhtb.html

And

http://www.hometheaterdirect.com/

Anyone have any expericence with either of these companys?

Thanks. Brian

If you put priority in HT sound over accurate music reproduction, as well as the lowest possible cost, those may work for you. The HTD stuff will give you high output home theater sound, but may leave your ears hurting for more natural music reproduction. The Fluance line seems "cheap" to me, just my opinion. The best thing to do is find real user reviews of these products to get real world opinions. The Ascend forum I linked in my former post is a good place to ask speaker questions as there are posters there who have done some serious comparisons among various speaker brands. Don't try to be too frugile, you will have to live with your choice!

Way off topic here.........Gonk, I thought you'd appreciate this:
gonk
gonk /gonk/ vi.,n. 1. To prevaricate or to embellish the truth beyond any reasonable recognition. In German the term is (mythically) `gonken'; in Spanish the verb becomes `gonkar'. "You're gonking me. That story you just told me is a bunch of gonk." In German, for example, "Du gonkst mich" (You're pulling my leg). See also gonkulator. 2. [British] To grab some sleep at an odd time; compare gronk out.!

Don't know why you ended up with that nickname?

Personally, I don’t subscribe to the idea that what is good for music is bad for HT. I think striving for accuracy serves both purposes well. I’m assuming that good for music does not mean ‘colors the sound or applies the corrective measures I like,’ but instead means ‘closest to the recorded sound possible, even if I disagree with the way the recording was made.’ I think that great reproduction of fine music had previously been more difficult to obtain than general HT audio has been, but this has changed. I don’t mean that it has gotten easier to reproduce music, I’m saying it’s become more difficult to bring out HT audio in the fashion it now deserves. Some theatrical film/DVD release audio is very finely done and a HT system with reasonable accuracy that reveals audio nuance is a benefit. Of course, whether HT or music, a system that brings out nuance in a fine recording is going to reveal the problems in a poor recording as well. Additionally, if one is going to eventually be listening to multi-channel SACD or DVD-A, then one may wish to have as much accuracy in the whole system as possible within reason.

Of these three goals in a loudspeaker: sensitivity (efficient at turning watts into decibels), accuracy, and convenience (usually means fitting into the environment in a way that at least partly satisfies a significant other, i.e. smaller is better), it seems we can approach only two goals at a time – in some cases only one of these goals, such as the very small sat-sub systems. The priority order that suits my situation is accuracy first, convenience second, sensitivity third. This meant I eventually spent more money to gain additional wattage because I did not have sensitivity. Other situations, like a dedicated HT and/or a spouse with an appetite for function over form, may allow for an order such as accuracy, sensitivity, and then convenience.

So, if you’ve got to start somewhere other than all-at-once, go for the best/accurate music reproduction that is reasonable for you. Then add HT in a manner that reasonably approaches your music quality.

Most people end up building their system in phases. Think of how you would like the system to end up. Then think of the stages you will use to get there.

Not that what I did will be the perfect method for you, but initially I spent most of my budget on the front three speakers and what was a good sub at the time. I went middle-of-the-road in a receiver, and cheap on my surrounds. Over a year later I upgraded my surrounds when I found used gear that matched my existing fronts. Many months after that, I purchased Outlaw separates for pre/pro and amp. Months later I sold my original sub and went to dual subs cabled for stereo operation. Almost a year after that, I added SACD/DVD-A capability, but not high-end yet – I think the material available in those formats is still maturing.

If, in pursuing such a process, the gear that ends up not being in your system is of the type that would appeal to the general consumer, you can sell and recoup some of your initial investment in the ‘temporary’ gear. Or you could retire that gear to an alternate location, or give to a relative that liked listening to your system the way it was before your upgrades.

… Hope you found this helpful …


[This message has been edited by bestbang4thebuck (edited July 19, 2004).]

Alternate definition, actually. Gonk is also another name for a power droid from Star Wars. The PC that I used in college bore a cursory resemblance to this droid, so we named the PC "gonk." I borrowed the name when I set up a user name at another web forum.

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gonk -- 950 Review | LFM-1 Review | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | Saloon Links

[This message has been edited by gonk (edited July 19, 2004).]

Ahhhhh.....the mud is clearing now! (I personally like the term "Gonkulator")

bschott,

I found some speakers at www.bicamerica.com Go to their Acoustech line link. A complete 5.1 system for around $1200. They are nearly identical to Klipsch reference series in driver configuration, but have better cosmetics, better sound and cost about half as much! They are sold through Costco.

let me rank the importance of your HT components:
1.tv
2.center speaker
3.subwoofer(s)
4.front speakers
5.processor
6.amp
7.surround speakers
8.dvd/cd player (note if seeking dvd-a/sacd, then this would be higher, but they are not ht formats, so 8th it is)
9.surge protector
10.cables/other accessories


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This post has been brought to you by curegeorg, thanks for reading.

Hmmm...



"Let me rank the importance of your HT components?"

Gently I say, “I think not.”