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Author Topic: So I'm somewhat new to the endeavor of home theatre setup...  (Read 6344 times)

Gatherum

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...and I have certain ambitions for my living area (read: it's the common area of a particularly well-off military barracks room :P).

Basically, I'm trying to assemble a 7.1 surround speaker system (with the possibility of becoming a 7.2 later, if it would really mean anything), to be used, of course, in conjunction with an AVR and a hypothetical HDTV. The primary purpose will be for watching movies, but I sure wouldn't mind pushing it with some loud, bass-heavy sludge metal now and then (among other things).

Recently, I've been looking a lot into speaker, subwoofer, and AVR wattage and impedance ratings, and I feel like I'm starting to understand what it all means, but admittedly, I am still an audiophile-in-training, at best. What I'm looking for, I suppose, is suggestions on an appropriate AVR, to which I can connect the following without destroying something:

  • Two Pioneer CS-M555's, as FL/FR. My roommate is ETS'ing, and leaving these behind. I suppose, by now, they'd be considered vintage, having been released sometime around 1992-1993 (literally almost as old as I am :P). Despite their age, they're in good working order, and quite powerful. (150W maximum, 8 Ω)
  • One Polk Audio Monitor 25C, as C. ("Rec. amp. power range": 25-175W, 8 Ω)
  • Four Polk Audio Monitor 45B's, as SL/SR/RL/RR. ("Rec. amp. power range": 20-125W, 8 Ω)
  • One Polk Audio PSW125, as SW. ("Cont./Dyn. power": 150/300W)
Perhaps foolishly, I didn't come here to ask this beforehand, but I have already ordered the 25C and 45B's via Newegg (it was a sale, cheapest they were going for anywhere, new or used in "like new" or "refurbished" condition, and I suppose I wanted to make the leap and acquire them now so that I wouldn't end up spending a lot more for them later), and they are on their way. So yeah, I'm committed. The subwoofer, however, is actually still up in the air. I'm favouring a sub with similar specs to that one because it looks to be more or less comparable to the one I already have, as part of the Logitech Z-5500 5.1 surround system, but with a 12" woofer.

(I'll also admit that part of the incentive to buy this stuff is the fact that all of the Polk stuff comes in cherry finish, which better matches the Pioneers. :P)

In any case, I don't feel as if these speakers will be too difficult to get to work together, and I am willing to entertain the possibility that I am thinking about this too hard. But, I'd appreciate any suggestion regarding an AVR for this set-up. Once again, I'd prefer a 7.2-capable AVR (I see little point in adding any more channels than that), at a price point of somewhere between $300 and $600, if possible; I am willing to consider more expensive options, though I would almost certainly opt for something used and/or refurbished under such circumstances in order to cut costs. However, I'll go for a 7.1 if it can be definitively stated that adding another subwoofer to a system like this would be redundant or overkill in most circumstances. Most modern AVR's that are capable of supporting 7.1 or 7.2 systems will also have plenty of HDMI ins and outs, so I'm not too worried about that; four ins would likely suffice. Don't much care about networking capabilities for the AVR itself (if anything, I'll take care of all of that via more traditional routing solutions). 3D... is an intriguing possibility, but by no means a deal-breaker, though I find 4K passthrough/upscaling to be enticing, if only for the sake of longevity.

I'd also appreciate opinions on why this hypothetical system does or does not seem like a good idea. It's all kind of a learning experience for me. :P
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