Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater New Home Theatre - need input and deals

Hello all, I've enjoyed reading this board the last few months.
My home theatre is almost ready. Just some trim, minor wall repairs to do.
I would just like to know what you think of my choices - good /bad and changes I could make.

So heres my info.......

basement room is 17'3" long X 13'3" wide and 8'5" high
It is a walkout and has a large window to the right middle of the room (this could be a subwoofer sound problem for neighbours).
I wired it with firecode 12 guage wire (green jacket) for 7.1

So to start with....I have almost chosen my Axiom setup

M60ti
VP150
QS8 (4)
Sub EP500 or 350

For the TV, I plan on purchasing Sony's KDSR60XBR1 60" SXRD with stand.

Before Christmas I managed to purchase a ExpressVu 9200. So I have this still in the box waiting for authorization.
DVD - I got the LG-531 upconvert with DIVX support.

Now for a receiver...I would love to get a Denon 4806.
This receiver may blow the budget. Alternative? 3805?

The good news is my wife ordered a couch and recliner that won't be in till late Jan or early Feb. So the Sony SXRD and Denon might drop in price after the Vegas CES show. If I could find a dealer that sells both Sony & Denon I could swing a better deal.

Digitalmack

If you want to save a few $$$ on the receiver Best buy has the Denon 886 (same as 2106) on this week for $699 in Canada. A little less power than the Denons you mentioned but still almost all the bells and whistles except for HDMI switching that the 4806 has.

From what I hear the 3805 is a pretty formidable receiver in it's own right. One avenue you can pursue is authorized Denon resellers for refurb or B-stock units. I for one went that route and saved a couple of hundred dollars. I think a few of the other forum members have also. Dakmart is one of these resellers. Depending on the item you can get a 90 warranty up to a full Denon warranty.

The 3805 is quite a receiver, but I'm still not too happy with the Denon user interface and manuals. They seem quite easy to mess up...

The Yamaha receivers are very nice. RX-V757 or above should foot the bill. They are excellent for the money.

save your money and get the 500, you will be much happier with the 500 over the 350..

I went the same route and got my 3805 though Dakmart and absolutely love it. I have the EP 500 and I think it is the way to go. There are many here who have upgraded from the 350 to the 500.

Digital Mack,

The 350 is a very fine sub, I've owned both the 350 and the 500. My room is pushing 900Sq Ft. and the 350 did fine, but the 500 does awesome. You may be satisifed with the 350, it is no slouch.

I have the 50 inch SXRD, the Denon 3805 and EP500. I am a verry happy camper. I think for you the EP500 is a must.

Might be worth going with a Denon 3806 over the 3805 to get the HDMI connectors ?

Thanks guys for the input

I just visited the costco.ca site and they have the 3805 for $1100 delivered. Here is the link

http://www.costco.ca/en-CA/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10284369&whse=&topnav=&cat=3840&hierPath=79*3840*

Costco also has a great return policy.

In regards to the subwoofer, the 500 sounds like it is worth the extra money.

Mack, search around. I think you can find a much better price than that for the 3805. For example, check here. Crutchfield, a well respected etailer has it for $800 with free shipping. Other vendors have it for even less.

You must be careful of some etailers. However, as I said, Crutchfield is a very respectable vendor. If you find another vendor you're interested in, ask us about it, and we'll see if we can give you some information about it.

EDIT: I found Crutchfield's 30 day money back guarantee. Sounds good.

I think Mack is talking about those funny Canadian dollars. The best price we found on a 3805 in Toronto was also $1100 -- but we also found the 3806 for $1400 and figured it might be worth the extra $$.

DOH! My humble apologies for forgetting we're an international crowd. DUMB!

Mack,

Fully understanding the concept (and expense ) of bigger is better and "MORE POWER", the 3805 or 3806 are excelent choices. Take a few minutes to get to the Denon website and do a compare of the 2106, 3805, 3806 and 4306.

They are all wonderful units and dependable. In your comparison, all you need to do is decide between featues, price and, well, testosterone.

The 2106 should give you all you need for your system and you wouldn't NEED to spend more. The 3805/6 are a sweet spot for you, delivering a bit more than may be required with a comensurate price. The 4306 is lilkely more than you need, but the price isn't comparatively stunning and it would provide neighborhood bragging rights for what you WANT. The 4806 is on the side of overkill (did I say that out loud?? ) and is very expensive, but would add several debits to your man card.

Even with all of the incredibly incisive detail I have provided here and your soon-to-be-done trip to the Denon site to compare, you still need to decide what you really want. Your comments in this thread indicate the classic need/want conflict we endure with this hobby.

I will also share with you that I originally bought an 1803 that was more than adequate to power my setup, but I WANTED a 3803. After 11 months of ringing my hands, I sold the 1803 and bought the 3803. Happy Guy. If you are also the type to chew on yourself, make the happy decision upfront.

Good Luck with the hunt.

“My humble apologies for forgetting we're an international crowd.”

Blame Canada……..

Couldn’t resist… good luck with your endeavor to find your receiver.

I should of mentioned cdn dollars in my costco reply. Also the 9200 ExpressVU I have is the same as the DishNetwork 942.
If the SXRD has enough HDMI inputs, I won't need to use the receiver amp as a video switcher.
The Dish receiver and upconvert dvd both have hdmi outputs.
I will go with the EP500.....I'll have to bs to the wife since she told me she doesn't want a subwoofer that shakes the house. I may also get the sub from the outlet store since it will be hiding in a corner and any blemishes won't be seen.
So for now, I will order the speakers in the next few days and wait till later Janurary to get the SXRD and amp.
I read on this board or another one, that Christmas and Super Bowl are the biggest events for people buying big screens. Also some of the new 2006 CES products should start hitting the street making last years models that much cheaper.

>>I may also get the sub from the outlet store since it will be hiding in a corner

Sorry, I just had an image of your poor little sub cowering in the corner hoping your wife didn't notice it

Chances are you won't be able to see the blemishes even if it were sitting on a pedestal in the middle of the room. All of the outlet pieces I've bought have had either the tiniest of blems, or no visible blems at at all.

Unless you're in a hurry, it's foolish to buy any Axiom products outside of their factor outlet.

Or if you want a custom finish.

well, yeah...that too.

When you bought from the outlet store spiffnme how accurate were the wait times?
I was looking at Boston Cherry and the wait for a 500 sub is 3 weeks, but the QS8's, I think are around 9 weeks.


I'll be hiding with the sub bridgman after the first movie.

when you order two items or more from the outlet your wait time will be calclulated as follows. shortest wait plus longest wait divided by two. so in your case 6weeks.
Jake