Wurm's 2005 Home Theater Project

[Wurms]

My Soon To Be Home Theater

Above is a pic of where my money is gonna to be going for like the next year, lol. Getting the TV in MAY then building up from there (I have a crappy Sony HTIB system to get me by until I get decent gear).

What is in the pic are as follows:
TV = JVC HD-52Z575
Stand = ZLN Z221S
Rack = ZLN Z225T
Left/Right Speakers = Energy C-7 (will probably end up getting C-9's)
Center = Energy C-1
Subwoofer = Velodyne 12" (DLS4000)

I just grabbed a bunch of pics of each item and proportioned them almost exact as they would be next to each other. The components in the rack just came with the pic, nothing specific. But they are silver and that is the look I am going for.

For my reciever I was leaning towards the Denon AVR2805S . Has pretty much everything I want.

My rear speakers will be pieces of crap until I have everything else then I will get some good ones.

Ahhh...finally the time has come to build my system.

[EM3]

Good luck! I hope it all works out for you. Looks like you have done your homework. Keep us updated on the progress.

[snipsnapsappy]

Have you looked into Axiom speakers yet? They make excellent speakers that sound very close to Energy's Veritas line for a lot less of the money. Also, their customer service is unreal, the best you will likely ever experience. I know I have never experienced anything like them. Also, they have their speakers available in a very large variety of finishes (including silver) since I am guessing you like the silver look of the Connieseurs

Also, I own a Velodyne sub, and while I think it is fine, SVS, HSU and even Axiom Subs give you much tighter, deeper bass than similarly priced Velodyne products.

The future of home theater shopping is definitely on the internet, these products are of incredible quality and the customer service is leagues beyond any store you will ever shop at. There is just no way that you can call a store and report a broken driver and they will have called the company and the company would send you a new one overnight. It just doesnt happen, and Axiom does it without thought because they know that is the way it should be done. I have been able to hear both SVS and HSU subs and can vouch for their quality, however, I dont own any of their products and cannot vouch for their customer service, although I have heard it is excellent.

Wow there are a lot of links in this post! Sorry if it seems like I am pushing a product on you, I would recommend you go with whatever you feel is the right choice. I just want to make sure you know that these great products and companies exist before you make your final decision. And considering that Energy and Axiom have very similar sound, I think Axiom might be a great choice for you to look into. Go give those Veritas speakers a listen, and see if you can tell the difference between them and the Conniseurs, if you do, I really would recommend going with Axiom because they sound almost identical to the Veritas line.

[Iguana Man]

Wurms...you're confusing me son! Did you go with the JVC or Sony tv?

Regardless...good choices, and congrats! On a side note, I came across a thread on the AVS forum of a dude checking out the Axioms and C-9's. He ended up with the C-9's and returned the Axioms based on he and his wife a/b'ing them. Apparently he felt the Axioms needed to be 4' from the back wall before they realy opened up in the soundstage department. He did say the Axioms sounded great, when 4' away, but that constraint couldn't be accomplished at home in his room.

As one guy said, for every speaker A that gets great reviews, there is always someone else who prefers speaker B. You just gotta go and listen and let your ears decide.

[snipsnapsappy]

Yeah Axiom speakers are rear ported. So if they are right near the back wall, there can be problems. It is recommended for the M60s to be at least 2' from the wall and the M80's need even more room.

[Wurms]

LOL, Iguana. Yeah, I am gonna get the JVC It speaks to me with the black and silver finish, hehe.

I have heard the Veritas and they do sound really really good, but they are WAY out of my price range (over $1K each). The C-9's were like $365 each at good guys, while the C-7's were only $250 each (haven't even searched for online prices yet). Those would be more inline with my budget for speakers. Before I buy Axioms or anything else I need to listen to them. Just havent found a store with them yet. I won't be getting the speakers for a couple months, so I have time to check all of them out.

I will have to check out those subs though. I do like Velodynes, but I haven't really heard many other quality subs for around the $500 range. I'll look into finding them somewhere around here to test them out.

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by Wurms

LOL, Iguana. Yeah, I am gonna get the JVC It speaks to me with the black and silver finish, hehe.

Wurms....please check this thread FIRST! Write down the serial numbers and take them with you. Make sure whoever you buy that TV from that the serial # is NOT one of those listed in the linked thread.

You know, I forget which Sony LCD I saw @ BB, but it was a 45-50" set and man I thought HD looked better on the JVC. But hey, it could have been a different model.

[snipsnapsappy]

Wurms,

All the speaker and subwoofer manufactures I showed you are not available in stores. They are only available online throught the manufacturer. However, they have forums where you can meet people who live near you and do an audition at their house. So dont start going to Good Guys or Magnolia looking for Axiom or SVS, no one carries them. I can tell you that the Axiom M60 and M80 sounds very similar to the Paradigm Studio Reference 100, the B&W 703, and Energy Veritas V2.4i. However, all of these speakers cost considerably more. If you factor in the cost of the Energy C-6 + tax and possibly shipping, it would end up being very similar in price to the $900 a pair M60's (free 2 day shipping and no tax). Only you would also get Axioms 5 year warranty and incredible customer supprt.

Definitely give these Paradigm, B&W and Energy speakers a listen, if you can tell a difference over the Connieseurs, I would recommend buying a pair of Axioms, dont worry, you have 30 days to send them back for a full refund if you dont like them. Then you can compare them to the Energys in your home and not feel buyers remorse because you will know which speaker you prefer in your own home, with your own equipment.

[Wurms]

Phase 1 complete!!!

JVC 52Z575 now acquired (Well, actually it won't be here until end of week)

I am a month off schedule. Was planning on having this baby last month but a rock smashed my windshield and my comprehensive on my insurance is shit, plus I backed into a 1956 Austin Healey...ALL IN THE SAME WEEKEND. Boy can I pick em. It couldn't have just been a damn 89 Honda Civic or something.

Anyways, that kinda put a kink in my plan. But I finally got around to my TV

Next...speakers, and receiver.

Eh, while I am here. How good of a surge protector does one really need? I bout the MPHTS2500 with 1865 joules rating, 10 outlets, and Stage 2 filtering. I got it for $160. But then, I noticed the HTS800 protects up to 1675 joules, 8 outlets, and Stage 1 filtering for only $50. Now, 8 outlets is enough, and filtering isn't much of a problem because I'm not a television watcher person anyways, I like my DVDs. But the joule rating is so damn close to the 2500, I felt like saving $100 but I like the look of the 2500 better sitting on my component rack and didn't want to scimp out on my tv if those extra joules help.

Also, besides Monster, what are other good surge protectors out there? Or is Monster the best? I saw like an Inland SurgeMaster 4500 or something like that for $50-$60 on ebay and it has a 3600 joule rating, but I never heard of that before and I'm not about to risk my TV on it.

I am in earthquake valley and power outages are a norm around here. I wanted the 3600 but didn't quite have the cash on me at the moment and figured the 2500 should suffice.

[Wurms]

Just picked up the Onkyo TXSR502 open box for $99 at Circuit City That will be a decent enough receiver til I save up a bit more. Plus I went to goodguys for the Energy C-5's but they were out of stock so I picked up the Energy C-3 bookshelves for $250/pair and they sound awesome. They will probably get moved to my rear later on though, maybe. These puppies are nice.

Oh, and I found a TV stand I like better than the Z-Line in my original post. I picked up the Bush Furniture Genesis II TV Stand at CompUSA for $99!!! Retails everywhere else for $200 or more. Sweet!!!



So, all in all, I have saved a crapload of money. I saved $250 from the C-3's cause they were half off. $150 from the Onkyo 502, and instead of my $350 stand I wanted I got this stand for $100 that I like more.

So, I saved about $650 so far

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by Wurms

So, all in all, I have saved a crapload of money. I saved $250 from the C-3's cause they were half off. $150 from the Onkyo 502, and instead of my $350 stand I wanted I got this stand for $100 that I like more.

So, I saved about $650 so far

Remind me to bring you along when I upgrade...

[Wurms]

Here are some pics. I am pretty pissed off cause I just found out that something is wrong with my digital camera (hence the nasty pics). Hoping this sucker is still under warranty

I picked up a Toshiba 5980 dvd player, since my cyberhome is a cheapy that I had just for all-region capability. Have my toshiba hooked up with BEAUTIFUL HDMI.

Anyways, here are my crappy pics:

[Iguana Man]

SWEET! How do you like the TV?

Try moving (since it appears you have some room) those fronts more forward. I betcha ten to one the front soundfield opens up. If I'm wrong, so be it, but I think you might be suprised.