help build a system for father please

[sikoniko]

My father bought himself a plasma earlier this year and wants help building surround sound. The price range he gave me was $2000 for everything, but I am going to stretch it out to 2500$.

The hardest part of this is that the TV sits on one corner and his chair sits on the opposite corner. There is a fireplace to the right of his TV, on the middle of that wall so there is no moving the TV, surround sound will have to accomodate.

With the budget, I have to get a receiver, l,c,r,sub, surround speakers.

I was thinking of getting DS6's for the back wall to help spread the sound out. I don't know how much they costs, as I couldnt find a price for them on b&w's page. I tried putting together a system on their HT builder and it recommended the VM1's.

I am thinking of getting him a middle of the road Denon. the one that costs around 600$. Please give opinions. I am wondering if trying to get b&w's is too much.

[BlazeMaster]

The DS6 has a US MSRP of $600 a pair which is the same price as the DM602, which is their biggets bookshelf, and IMO the best bang for the buck for both HT and Music in the 600s range. By comparing the DS6 to 602, I think the DS6 is a little bit too much to pay for dipole speakers that won't sound anywhere as good as the 602s sound. With $2500 budget, I don't think it'll be worth it for him to get the 600s floorstander, since the receiver within that price range won't be able to drive the 603 and 604 efficiently. A pair of 602s and one LCR600 will already be $1100, not counting tax and decent cables. I'd definitly not get the DS6, because it will squeeze the budget.
You can probably find a Denon 2805 a little bit less than what I paid for(700) now, since it's been out for a while. It's capable of driving the 602s, LCR600 and 601/600 w/ a sub in the mix.
My proposed system for your father will be the following...
Denon 2805...approx. $ 750
Pair of DM602 approx. $ 650
One LCR600..approx. $ 550
Pair of DM600 approx. $ 375
With everything above plus the decent cables and speaker stands, will be close to the $2500 budget. Add a SVS sub later, skip the B&W subs unless he's willing to pay extra for the 700s or 800s series subs. For around $700, he can pick up a SVS PCi20-39 sub, which is very capable for movies. The setup above is almost identical to what I have except for the 602s. I have no problem recommending this setup for anyone with that budget amount.
Wait...I just read the posting member's name, Sikoniko, don't you own the Nautilus range? LOL...you should be helping me with speakers, not the other way around....

[sikoniko]

to be honest, when I am looking to spend $2500, it isn't for a complete system.. it is maybe 1 or 2 pieces... I hate to sound like that, but I already have surround sound. I want him to get the best bang for his buck.

[aarsoe]

Sikoniko

I have a pair of DS6, that is being used for rear surrounds. To be really honest, I dont like them very much. They dont seem to be very effective in creating a rear surround field.
Now this could be due to my room/setup - or the fact that I have DS6 model 2, which dont have a dedicated tweeter like the series 3 does, thereby limiting the sound range comming out of them.
Bottom line - if I could get my money back I would..

Now the DS7 is a different creature - so it may be better, but I would be sure to get a return garantee when trying them.


PS. Before my DS6's I used an old pair of DCM Timewindows as rear surround, they are infact to date still the best speaker I have heard for rear surround usage, and I am sure you could pick them up used for almost nothing..

[Aussie Geoff]

Sikoniko,

I'd consider the DS6 S3's they are a whole different speaker than the S2 which was made for Dolby Pro-Logic with its 200Hz to 7 Kz range (hence no tweeter etc). This was (and is) not worth having now and should (IMO) be thrown out on any modern system!

The DS6 S3 are a whole different speaker, especially if used in Monopole mode where the tweeter is active (runs to 22Kz)

Geoff

[aarsoe]

Geoff

Be nice - they do after all "still" hang on my wall..... ;-) Even though I dont really like them..

[Aussie Geoff]

Aarsoe,

Sorry....

But seriously IMO you are right to have doubts about them and when you can afford new rear speakers you should sell the DS6 S2 - they just don't have the frequency range for Dolby Digital, DTS or Prologic II and will be seriously handicapping your systems surround sound stage...

Think of the excuse to upgrade... :T

Geoff

[hdshark]

Here is an alternative option with a 3rd party sub. The idea is that, if this system is mostly for HT, sub will cover most of the lows, so you can go with 601 S3 as your fronts. These are front ported so they are better suited for wall mounting. The 1014-TX is a very decent receiver, it is built more like the receivers in Pioneer's Elite line, and has a great acoustic adjustment feature for the room.

Receiver: Pioneer 1014-TX ($499)
Front: 2 x DM601 S3 ($450)
Center: LCR60 S3 ($350)
Surround: 2 x DM600 S3 ($350)
Rear: 2 x DM600 S3 ($350)
Sub: Hsu STF-2 ($399 but currently selling for $199 at CompUSA)

Adds up to $2500 with regular prices, $2300 if you can get the STF-2 at the close-out price.

[BlazeMaster]

Sikoniko, one advice about going with DM600s since I just got a pair. Make sure whatever way you decide to use them, make sure you have enough room between the speaker and the wall to accomdate for the cables. I'm using bananas right now and there's not quite enough room until I get some speaker mounts with adjustable platforms.

[Dan Schulze]

Hi All,

It's been a few days since I browsed this forum, and this thread caught my eye. My father too, has asked me to set up a system for him, although it will be only two channel. The budget I want to use for speakers is in the $1500 range. I was thinking of using a bookshelf/2 sub combo for him. I heard a friends two channel setup using 805's and Velodyne subs. I was blown away by the sound!!

Anyway, I was thinking of maybe using the DM602 S3's for the bookshelf speakers, but my dilemma is what sub to use. I was browsing the B&W website and the subs (one for each channel) that would be in my price range for my Dad are the ASW 300, ASW 600, and the AS1.

My question is two fold:
First - has anyone set up a two channel in this manner?
Second - I have not auditioned the B&W subs at all, and I was wondering if any of these 3 choices would work well?

Thanks,

Dan

[aarsoe]

Geoff

On the upgrade issue - I have two Krell units on their way to me, so it will be a while before my rear's are upgraded. Could alwayes switch back to my timewindows..