Calling Johnny B. Home theater audio question

[BadgerDave]

It's finally time to upgrade the home theater package I bought on your recommendation several years ago. That system is still working fine and will be repurposed to either the bedroom or the basement in my new home.

I'm moving shortly and the new place has a very open floorplan. he kitchen, dining area, living room and entry are pretty much a single room taking up the main floor of the house. I'm putting my main TV and audio system in the living room and the old system isn't going to be big or powerful enough to cut it.

I'm looking at a Marantz SR5007 AV receiver:

http://www.amazon.co...=I2JTPQ7ZA5MIH2

and Polk Audio speakers. I have a Polk center channel speaker now and I'm thinking of adding a pair of these:

http://www.amazon.co...=I27DYQ2DDD3091

for the main side speakers

plus this:

http://www.amazon.co...=I3VO8O0WYIAUTN

for the subwoofer

The room is currently wired for surround, but I don't remember if its 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1, so I'll wait to decide on the number and model of the surround speakers. I'm considering these:

http://www.amazon.co...=I38C4SXT8DHTQV

Do you approve? Any suggestions for alternatives that provide a better value ?

As always, your advice is very much appreciated.

[MCChris]

Now you've done it.

[hamerhead]

[JohnnyB]

Wow, Badger, you've really done your homework. For one thing, both Marantz and Polk are on a roll these days, getting high marks both from the mainstream and audiophile presses. Anything that I could come up with that might sound better would cost significantly more money for an incremental improvement. It's also a support advantage that both companies are big, healthy, and well-distributed.

I've heard some excellent Marantz electronics lately and read enthusiastic reviews of others. Remember, a few months ago I enthused over one of their 2-channel integrated amps, and if I had the wherewithal to upgrade my AV pre/pro, it would be to a Marantz AV7005, no question.

And I really like what Polk is doing these days, what with special cone composites for better linearity.They used labs and computer modeling at Johns Hopkins to develop these composites. I've read test reports and seen response curves of their recent speakers and they are textbook flat (a good thing).

The only small caveat is the sub, and that's dependent on the room size and how loud you listen to movies. According to this review, they managed to max out the sub on some loud movies with explosions and crashes, but I don't know how loud they were listening, For the money, that sub offers a lot and my advice would be to get the exact package you suggested, and if it turns out you need more subwoofer, just get a second one.

[ZR]

Awwww, that's not right. Where are the Audio Advisor links? And, it seemed too short as well. Maybe someone hacked his account?!

[hamerhead]

Yep - pretty disappointing, JB. Not only did you agree, but did it in 4 short paragraphs.

You feeling OK, buddy?

[JohnnyB]

No, really. I researched everything BD listed and he put together an excellent package, esp. at that price. The only way to beat it is to go after closeouts, and the best ones I knew of were sold out. Current Marantz and Polk offerings are really good, Since he already has a Polk center channel, staying with the same brand for a surround system is the best way to go,

Since last night, I did find a speaker package to compete at that price, and it's a Mordaunt-Short closeout at (surprise!) Audio Advisor. But even there, Polk offers more subwoofer for $350 and the towers go deeper and have higher power handling, and BD already has the Polk center channel, saving $250 right off the bat.

[cynic]

+1 on Marantz. I grabbed one of the NR1602 receivers on closeout when the 1603's were hitting the street.

I was over the whole home theater thing and going back to only L/R and center channels to significantly reduce the clutter of cables/wires/components. More of a "zero focus on theater, sole focus on music on the cheap" setup.

The sound is fantastic and the compact size is perfect for what I was looking to achieve.

[BadgerDave]

I have studied at the feet of the master.

Thanks, Johnny.

[carfish7]

What if a guy wanted to run a turntable these days? Is it hard to find a suitable unit to feed it into or is there a newfangled way to get that signal into your system for us vinyl-lovers?

[JohnnyB]

What if a guy wanted to run a turntable these days? Is it hard to find a suitable unit to feed it into or is there a newfangled way to get that signal into your system for us vinyl-lovers?

There are more good turntables available at every price point than ever before. There are also good affordable outboard phono preamps if your receiver or integrated amp doesn't have one. What's your current receiver/amp?

Now that the Technics SL12x0 series is out of production, the best starter TT I know of is the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon, so-called because it has a carbon fiber tonearm. Pretty cool features and color selection for $399.

For $100 more you can get it as a USB version, but I like the cartridge on the standard version better and you can always get a separate USB phono ADC if you decide to rip your records.

If your receiver doesn't have a phono stage, there are cheap-to-reasonably priced ones. A standout according to picky reviewers is the Audio Technica AT-PEQ3, which was a runner-up for Stereophile's 2010 Budget Component of the year, reviewed by Michael Fremer who famously listens to vinyl on a $100,000 turntable.

Another approach is to get an Audio Technica AT120 or AT240 turntable which has a built-in phono stage and USB ADC for ripping LPs. These are solid-performing units with slick controls and rugged mechanicals.