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For the money, Best set up for HT and music

I have been reading for about a year; about all the different equipment you can buy to make the sound be the best it can be. I know it sounds extreme, but I want a good starter that I can build on.
He is my history (you can skip this if you like I'll put separator in front of my question)
I'm not super rich, but I do have a crazy love for music, unfortunately I'm young and haven't had enough time to build wealth to build on this hobby. Originally I was looking for the best surround sound (5.1, 7.1) for music and home theater. I came to the conclusion after a while that the Denon 2808ci would provide exactly what I wanted and give me room to grow in the future. I figured with this receiver I could pair it up with KEF 3007 5.1 speakers. I then found that, this might not be ideal. I have picked and matched other speakers and receivers, but at this point I've read so much I've become lost. So if anyone could help it would be much obliged.
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In my (short story above if you didn't read) I originally picked the Denon 2808ci for my receiver and KEF 3007 5.1 speaker system. From what I've read though, a 2.1/3.1 might best fit my needs though for now; while optimizing my money.

What would be the best set up for 4500 or less for a nice sounding home theater and music combo. It seems seems 2 speakers, with a center and a sub would optimize the sound quality; but then others say the center won't be needed for the stage if you position the two speakers correctly.

Sorry for the epic writing, but your help would greatly be appreciated, if you need any other details I'll gladly post. By the way, the living room is 18x18; unfortunately wood floors, but I suppose I could get an area rug.

Thanks so much in advance for your help and again sorry for the epic read.
bluvision
bluvision OP
5 posts
 
Hey everyone,

I just wanted to thank everyone for the great feedback and actually responding to my post. I cant tell you how appreciative I am of all your responses.

This will be a learning experience and I am ready for the journey of finding to put out amazing music, your info should give me a good foundation for a start up.

To answer Sugarbrie; if I could only have one system, it would absolutely be for music. If you like I can keep you all posted on what I get. I'm definitely going to do more research before I jump in, but thank you again. I guess the general consensus is to go with 5.1, not 7.1 or 2.1

Thank you all very much again for all your help. Any continue responses would be much obliged.
bluvision OP
5 posts
 
For the time being I figured I would be transferring my music from my computer that has a great sound card and sound output. Eventually I like the Rega idea, the Planet or something. Just a little out of budget, but looks excellent!
jrwr7
211 posts
 
Hey Y'all,

For the source, I would recommend either the Denon DVD-3910 for $500.00 OBO on Audiogon or the DVD-2910 for around $200. If you haggle about $300.00 off everything else in the system you can get the 3910 and still be around your budget. I own the John Tucker Exemplar 3910, which is one of the best multi source playback machines I've ever heard. But I understand that the stock 3910 is a very good performer for all formats. The 2910 is not as good as the 3910 but is a bit more affordable. You may also look into a Rotel source. I'm not sure though if you will get the all around performance from a Rotel DVD player as a redbook player that you will from the 3910.
weekendtoy
20 posts
 
Don't be afraid to go used on your equipment.

Last year's Denon AVR 2807 are selling used for around $325.00 That's over $700 off list from just one year ago. The only real difference between that and the 2808ci is that the 2808 has HDMI 1.3 which will decode the HD Blu-Ray audio. With the 2807 your player will have to do the decoding.

Denon 2900 universal players sell all day for around $100-$150.

This leaves lot's of money for other things such as a blu-ray player, maybe a display.

Heck, you could squeeze a dirtbike in there :)
Ag insider logo xs@2x
knownothing
1,575 posts
 
I would go for a 38XX or 58XX Denon receiver if going for used all in one box. These will do much better with 2 channel than 28XX due to greater power/current.

Given that Bluvision has a 46" Samsung, I would guess they want something that upscales DVD to 1080p effectively. Old Denon DVD players wont do that. If using computer for music source, then I would go for Oppo 981HD - 1080p up-converting with Faroudja video processor for $229. Another option is a Toshiba HD DVD player which are available at fire sale prices and do a great job at up-converting as well.
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