2. home-theater
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Two channel home theater set up

I am thinking of setting up a two channel home theater in my family room. I have an 80 wpc kenwood receiver but need advice with the DVD player and speakers. I am looking for some two way monitors ($400 max) and a DVD player with virtual or tru-surround capability ($300 max). The monitors should have >90 db sensitivity since my receiver is current limited and they should reach as low a frequency (45 hz preferably) possible since I am not planning on installing a subwoofer. Feel free to comment and suggest any speakers.
salsero
bomarc
501 posts
 
I will second Sean's suggestion about the Polks. I have a pair of Polk 7s hooked up in my den that I bought used in 1983, and they're still going strong. Not up to today's standards in some ways, but for your purposes they (or the 10s) would fit the bill quite well. Certainly more and better bass than you could buy in your price range today, and still a very musical speaker. In those days, Polk liked to demonstrate how much their speakers sounded like Spendors.
tlhub
23 posts
 
The PSB Image line of speakers is highly efficient. I too would recommend a sub, the PSB Image line has a nice sub that is not too expensive, the Image 6. Maybe the Image 2B + the Image 6 sub would be a good set up.

I don't have enough DVD experience to give you any advice. However, I do have a question: why do you want surround sound capabilities on your DVD play if you are only using two channels? Maybe you were thinking of future upgrades / expansions?

Good luck.
bomarc
501 posts
 
T1: I think he's talking about a unit that can simulate surround through two speakers. Perhaps someone more familiar with it can fill in the details.
sean
6,231 posts
 
Bomarc, we recently changed the tweeters in one of my buddy's Polk 10's and the difference was quite staggering. The sound was far more open, detailed and spacious. He was so overwhelmed and "giddy" by the increase in performance that it made me laugh. The great thing about this is that they were a perfect drop-in with the same exact cosmetics. It was like getting a brand new set of much improved speakers for something like $60 ( if i recall correctly ). Sean
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salsero OP
16 posts
 
Thanks for all your responses. The polk speakers sound like a good idea. I think I may get some OK speakers for that budget, however, a decent sub-woofer may cost more than what I want to spend. The virtual surround DVD player simulates the surround effect and just requires two channels. It takes advantage of the inner-working of your ears (I think - I just do not know the details), the new BOSE 3-2-1 uses the same principle. Finally, I will just use my receiver as a pre-amp and run two spare marantz MA-6100 monoblocks as my amplifier. Feel free to provide any further ideas, specially anyone who knows about virtual surround sound.
Good listening, Salsero
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