Home theater suggestions requested.

[ipodbill]

I am thinking of upgrading my home theater surround sound system. Logitec z5500
Budget $2000
I am leaning toward the onkyo sr805 a/v receiver @$700 so that leaves around $1300 for speakers.
I would like a 5.1 surround sound system but have no idea what to get. I have looked at some of the klipsch systems, but I dont know how well they sound. I dont have any home theater salons near my home to hear various components/combinations. Suggestions?

 

[jvc]

The Onkyo is a very good choice.
Everyone says these speakers are outstanding! We already know they make one of the best subwoofers on the planet.
SVSound - Complete Systems

 

[harshness]

I dont have any home theater salons near my home to hear various components/combinations.

I'd suggest you hit the road and find someone who will demo systems to you. If you're going to be dropping in excess of one large, the speaker system better be well matched.

The Onkyo can handle volume differences between speakers, but it can't fix tone disparities.

Sound is one of those things that you shouldn't do using specifications alone. I'm not even all that keen on offering advice as to what sounds good to me because my preferences aren't shared by everyone.

You need to let on whether you are looking for a combined audio and home theater system or just something to support your TV as some of the sub-sat systems don't perform all that well in an audio only application. I've assembled my own collection of speakers as I want good stereo performance in addition to multichannel movie audio.

 

[jayn_j]

What harshness said. There are large disparities, even within a brand. I love my Klipsch setup, but there are big differences between the reference stuff and the small Synergy line. You could not possibly mix these, and nobody could make a recommendation on brand alone for this reason. There is also the size/cost/sound tradeoff to deal with. My setup is too big for my TV and dominates the front of the room, but I have a problem with smaller bookshelf stuff.

It is definitely time for you to take a road trip to the nearest big city and do some serious listening.

 

[Paul Wozniak]

I own the Onkyo, couldn't recommend it more. I'm driving current loving Maggies with mine. You should be able to pick the Onkyo up for less than $700, now that it's been discontinued. Check the Magnepan site for speakers. Just add a sub, and you're good to go. I have MC1's in front, MMG-W's in back, and MMG center, a Velodyne URL-12 sub and a JBL 12" sub. The W's are $300 a pair, as is the center. Thats $900, and like I said, add a sub, and you're in around the $1300 mark. Ask around about the Maggies, once you go Maggie, there's no going back to box speakers. Extremely recommended.

 

[harshness]

I auditioned some Magneplanar speakers once and found them to be severely wanting in the low end (great for apartments though). I also felt that they were decidedly lacking as multichannel speakers as their sound field seems to facilitate some peculiar interference patterns.

I'm also not fond of center channel speakers with multiple same-sized drivers as they seem to excel at producing phase cancellation at certain listening angles.

 

[Paul Wozniak]

I auditioned some Magneplanar speakers once and found them to be severely wanting in the low end (great for apartments though). I also felt that they were decidedly lacking as multichannel speakers as their sound field seems to facilitate some peculiar interference patterns.

I'm also not fond of center channel speakers with multiple same-sized drivers as they seem to excel at producing phase cancellation at certain listening angles.

The wall mounted maggies do roll off severely under 100hz, hence the need for a subwoofer. As for the "peculiar interference patterns", can't say I've experienced that, or I don't understand what you're saying. I have found my Maggies (which are set up correctly) to broadcast a seemless, and very coherent sound field. May I add, a very large soundfield, that totally immerses me.