Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Newbie HT Purchase - Advice Appreciated

Some fantastic advice from all of you. Thank you!

Looking at my situation from the 2 prevailing angles: "Budget" and "Short Term vs. Long Term Satisfaction", it seems that the M80's would be a nice initial purchase, would fulfill my needs for "short-term satisfaction" within my budget, and also would provide the backbone to a larger more robust HT system with the 500, QS8's, etc. In short, they would get the job done and some.

@sirquack: I will definitely do my due diligence on the Onkyo. Thanks for the advice. If you have a better fit for an AVR in my price range, please let me know. I have no allegiance to any brand and would love to hear some other suggestions. Thanks!

@Mojo: Would you also suggest running the M80's in Phantom Mode as suggested by Sirquack and Hutzal, until I add the 500 and then the 150 and QS8's?

Thanks again everyone for the quick advice. You guys rock.

I would suggest the M22, Vp 150 and a Hsu VTF 2.3 sub. Skip the Axiom stands, there are less costly stands to be had or if you are handy you could build a set. Then you could save up for a set of surrounds for later. If you are going with the Onkyo I would suggest staying with an 8 ohm speaker.

Rick,

I am prettttty suprised to see THAT advise coming from your mouth! (M22s when everyone else is suggesting M80s )

Seeing the OP is looking at the Onyko and is on a rather limited budget I think he would be better served with the suggested system. I bet you weren't suprised by the Hsu suggestion though

Wid's probably right. It's easy to get carried away...

Try your Pioneer centre. If the tone isn't right, you can always switch to phantom mode.

The Onkyo has about half the dynamic power into 4Ohms that my cheap Denon has. I would expect that if you plan on pumping up the volume to ridiculously excessive levels, it would shut down particularly if you don't plan on buying a sub. But if you run it at moderate levels and are crossing over to a sub at 80Hz, you will not have a problem. Also make sure that it's ventilated adequately.

For $400, it's a heck of a deal. And if it doesn't "work", you can always take it back.

@wid: could you provide a link to the Hsu VTF 2.3? I can't seem to find that model on the HSU website. I appreciate your help. Your recommendation is similar to my initial desires. The M80 might be too much for me... I don't plan on blowing the roof off my house. I am solely after the best sound quality and something that I will be happy to build upon rather than replace.

@mojo: It would be a crying shame to blow a new Onkyo because it couldn't push the M80's. If I'm playing at moderate levels anyway, would the M60 serve me well? I've heard it has comparible mids to the M80's and possibly a more accurate treble. Thoughts?

@kcarlile: what would You do? I feel there's 2 sides to this argument, both with very valid arguments. Thoughts?

Thanks guys!

What did I do? I bought an H/K 525 first. Then I bought M50s, based (somewhat) on higher WAF on those than M22s, and the fact I wanted towers. Then I bought QS4s. Then my wife bought a VP100. Then I upgraded to M80s, because, hey, why not? My room is ~ 19x20 or so, and it's just a living room. I would have been utterly happy with M22s and an EP500, it just didn't work out that way. I still haven't replaced my old Cambridge Soundworks Powered Subwoofer 1.