Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Getting in the Hi-Fi bandwagon ...

My brother in law is getting in the Hi-Fi bandwagon ... I guess the last radiohead show got to his head ... He has about 1,500$ to spend on an receiver and a pair of main towers. What do you guys recommend ?

He as a 20x20 room, will listen to about 70% music (Radiohead and the likes), 30% movies (sci fi,action). He his buying a house this month or so, so the gear must be able to handle a bigger room.

We audition PSB (sucked!),Mission (sucked more!), Klipch (He liked them, I was so so) and Boston ( We both liked them a lot ) loudspeaker wise. For receivers, we tried NAD, Marantz and Denon up to now. He did'nt audition my Axiom, Yamaha combo yet, but I don't want to sound sold to my gear ...

What do you think ?

You're just looking for 2 channel stereo? Or do you want to work your way up to full 5.1 (7.1) Home Theatre? The room is 20x20, but how far away would you be sitting while listening?

If you have $1500 to spend, and are just looking for 2
channel stereo, and can sit at least 10' back, I'd recommend this...

Axiom M60ti $800
Rotel RA-1060 (integrated amp) $700

That would sound sweeeeet.

Look for refurb recievers. Denon's can be found at dakmart.com.

Marantz can be found at accessories4less.com.

If music is the main goal, the Marantz is the better bet. I think the SR5300 can be bought there for just over $400 with free shipping.

This will help open up plenty of room for speakers(5.1 setup). If he is going just mains, spiff has it right.

He want's a good start up stereo kit to upgrade to 5/6/7.1 further down the line. But for starters, basic stereo ...

His listening couch is about 10 feet from where the gear will be ...

I tried to convince him that he could find refurbished or used gear for less and spend more on other things, but he insist on getting new stuff, his lost ...

OK...if he wants to eventually move forward towards surround sound, he's got numerous receiver options.

Some very popular models include:

Denon AVR-2803
H/K 525
Pioneer VSX-53tx
Yamaha RX-V1400

If he's not comfortable with buying used, that's understandable, but refurb units from factory authorized dealers come with the full factory warantee. The only thing he's got to lose is his money. Buy REFURB!

Good luck!

is that 1500 dollars to spend usd?

Nope, Canadian dollars

Thank's a lot for the advice and suggestion !!!

Patrick, $1500Cdn, has to be towers and new is a bit tight. The M60s are on sale now if he can get the color he wants. If that limit is firm, he'd have to go a little low on the receiver; I'd suggest the Pioneer 912.

He can get a good deal on refurb Marantz's or Denon's.