Newbie

[Superblackbird]

Please help,another newbie starting up with a new hobby with ZERO knowledge about HT.Been around listening and auditioning,AVR(yamaha rv-2500)rotel pwr.amp 1095 and denon 3805,but still can`t decide if i should go separate.pls.help ops:

[dyazdani]

The general rule is to go with separates if possible.

What equipment (if any) do you already own and what kind of budget are you trying to shoot for?

[Kobus]

And provide us with your budget.

Kobus

[aud19]

Go seperates if you can. My advice would be an "inexpensive" receiver from the likes of Marantz, Yamaha, Denon, Pioneer etc in the $750-$1250 range until HDMI 1.3 and BluRay/HD-DVD are finalized and any kinks worked out for your pre/pro. Then down the line you can look at upgrading your pre to something dedicated and higher end.

As for the amplification, unless you have ineficient speakers or plan to upgrade to fairly expense ones down the line, the 1075 would probably be more than enough power. You can always add a 2-ch amp later for improved stereo performance as well.

Otherwise, as the others mentioned, a budget as well as what other equipment (sources, speakers etc) you plan to use with it would be helpful.

[Superblackbird]

Thanks for the quick response.My budget would be ard.5k.,would that be sufficient to get a rotel pre/pro or should i just get the receiver by it self and a good 5.1 speakers.what i really had mind was to get the rotel pwr amp to drive my L,R and ctr speakers and the receivers for my back speakers.what would you reckon?

[dyazdani]

Thanks for the quick response.My budget would be ard.5k.,would that be sufficient to get a rotel pre/pro or should i just get the receiver by it self and a good 5.1 speakers.what i really had mind was to get the rotel pwr amp to drive my L,R and ctr speakers and the receivers for my back speakers.what would you reckon?

Is that $5000? Hard to tell if the period is part of "around" or "5k"

If you're going to get a Rotel amp, say a 1075 or 1095, I'd just power everything off of it if you go 5.1. Does that $5000 have to buy speakers too? If so, it might be a little tight to get a Rotel pre/pro and 5ch amp with 6 speakers.

[Superblackbird]

dya,Like i said earlier in my post .i`m really a newbie with ZERO knowledge about setting up a HT system.I`m just about to take up this new hobby from scratch.I can get a system in a box if i want too for a starting a system,but then thats not wha i`m after for.Please if you can give me a rough guide line of how much do i reallyy need if i wanna get the Rotel pre/pro and a good set of 5.1 speakers sys and not forgetting all the cables and i/c.

[dyazdani]

If you go used, you should be able to get a Rotel pre/pro and 5ch amp for $2000-2500 pretty easily. A good 5.1 system will cost you a minimum of $2-3000 as well. I'd budget another $500 or so for cables if you go entry level.

Depending on your budget, your best option is often to start small and build your way up. For example, you could get a good receiver like Jason suggested and a good pair of front speakers and possibly a sub. Then as funds allow, add a separate amp, center, surrounds etc.

[Clive]

Please help,another newbie starting up with a new hobby with ZERO knowledge about HT.Been around listening and auditioning,AVR(yamaha rv-2500)rotel pwr.amp 1095 and denon 3805,but still can`t decide if i should go separate.pls.help ops:

Okay, thank you for posting in "The starting Block" Now, according to your post you have been already "Auditioning" AVRs which means that you were right there in an AV store with setups, right?

The posters were answering whether or not you should go separates. I join in to support them in saying that separates is the way to go :T

Now, in singapore we are not sure how these components are priced. For example, I live in Canada and right south of us in the USA the pricing say for a sound meter is $89.99 here but approx. $40.00 in the USA sold at the same chain Store. Get the point?

When it comes to cables, it all depends on 1)how you want to wire your system 2)how big your room is 3)whether or not you gonna get a front projector or front projector 4)whether or not you have High Definition and 5) depends on how many other components you have.

You have done the right thing by auditioning some great units. I am assuming that these auditions took place at an AV store. If so, there must have been a price tag associated with the unit/s.

For starters you will need the following:-

Television/display unit
DVD player
AV reciever
5 speaker system (left main, right main, center, right & left rears)
Sub-woofer
And cables to hook it all up

Now, after you've finalized your auditions and you bring the prize home, we can further assist you with other pointers.

Let us know

[aud19]

Even if you can afford a pre/pro I still say get a good amp and moderately priced receiver at this point. The amps will last you years but any pre/pro (or receiver) will be out of date in 6months with HDMI 1.3 and BluRay/HD-DVD on the way. In other words spending big money now on any processing will be a waste of money

For your $5k budget I'll assume you don't need a display. Now let's break it down:

Source - a decent DVD player from $200'ish
Cables - $300-$500
Receiver - $750-$1250
Amp - $1000- $2000
Speakers/Sub - $2000-$3000

For subwoofers I'd look at SVS if importing is not prohibitive to import them. If it is, Velodyne make great subs (though they're not overly cheap) and Paradigm makes good subs for the money as well.

For Speakers I like B&W, Energy, Kef, PSB, Paradigm, Polk, Totem and Vienna Acoustics. Try to listen to as many brands/models as you can

[Clive]

Jason are we sure all these brand names are available in Singapore? It would be also helpful if he could give us an example of how things are priced i.e The Denon or Rotel he saw. He will definately be happy with the SVS you mentioned :T

[aud19]

I'd assume at least some are, but with no further info to go on I thought I'd go through the usual suspects

[Clive]

Yes I saw that........

[Superblackbird]

ok.guys.just for your info.we do have the above brands of speakers here in Singapore except for the SVS which i suppose that we`ve to get it on-line,right.As for the Rotel and Denon the price is pretty much the same as in the U.S.A after conversion to the local currency.For the B&W speakers its a bit pricey here.Anyway thanks for all your help.have to go for more audition i reckon.But i`ve narrowed down to the Denon 3805 and the Rotel 1905.As for the pre/pro,i guess i`ve to wait for the HDMI 1.3/Blu Ray/HD DVD which is coming soon(6 mths)-but it will hit our shore 1 year afters you guys.By the way,can you guys recommend me a good speaker which is good for music and HT.Be using it 50/50.Thanks and i`m gonna learn from all you guys.

[aud19]

For good speakers look at the brands I mentioned above as well as any other ones you run in to while listening to them in store

Personally I'd say your wasting your money on the 3805 if you plan on using seperate amplification. I'd say get a lesser model with the same processing and less power and spend your money elsewhere. Also I'd probably get the 1075 rather than the 1095 and then add a seperate 2-ch amp for better music performance if you feel it's necessary. You'll be surprised how much power REAL wattage from Rotel is

[Superblackbird]

audi,i guess i`ve to take the advice from the expert like you.

[Superblackbird]

Here`s the link for what things roughly cost here in Singapore

http://www.streetprices.biz/