New sound system

[djfatben]

Basically, I'm trying to set a friend up with a new home theater system which will have a lot of music played on it as well. I don't have a set budget yet, but I'm giving him a list of things to choose from, and he'll get one from each category. I'm also recommending one specifically to him. The Recommended option has ***** above and below it. Anyone had experience with any of these products? I've just done a bit of research on them and haven't had a chance to experience them all first hand. Ignore the pricing info. Also, any feedback on my matching of products would be appreciated too. Thanks,
Ben


A: Receivers/Amp

$500 (www.etronics.com)
Receiver: Yamaha HTR-5790

$657.88 (www.dealznet.com)
Receiver: Yamaha RX-V2400

$450 (www.cambridgesoundworks.com)
Receiver: Marantz SR5400

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$1898 combo price (www.outlawaudio.com)
Preamp: Outlaw Audio 950 $799
Amp: Outlaw Audio 755 $1299
***********************************

B: Speakers ( Mains and Surrounds )

$1323 (www.brandnamez.com)
Mains: Klipsch RF 35 $660
Center: Klipsch RC 35 $265
Surround: Klipsch RB 35 / Klipsch RS 35 $398

$1472 / 1304 (Best Buy)
Mains: Klipsch Synergy F3 $680
Center: Klipsch Synergy C3 $264
Surround: Klipsch Synergy B3 $528 / Klipsch Synergy S3 $360

**********************************************
$1396 (www.magnepan.com, www.ascendacoustics.com)
Mains: Magnepan MMG $550
Center: Ascend CMT-340c $298
Surround: Ascend CMT-340m $548
**********************************************

$2005 / 2060 (www.onecall.com)
Mains: Infinity Kappa 600 $899
Center: Infinity Kappa Center $504
Surround: Infinity Kappa 200 $602 / Infinity Kappa Surrounds $657

C: Subwoofer/Amp

***************************
$1149 (www.SVSubwoofers.com)
Sub: dual SVS 20-39CS
Sub Amp: Samson 700 Watt Amp
***************************

$429 (www.SVSubwoofers.com)
Amped Sub: PB10-ISD

[djfatben]

Nobody has any thoughts?

[kfr01]

I don't recommend buying audio equipment this way. Take him to a store and let him listen to various choices with HIS music. Educate him on the way in which equipment sounds different. He'll quickly develop a preference if he's able to A/B/C a couple options. A couple years ago when I was visiting my parents I took them out to the A/V store as they badly needed new stuff. Even as generally uninterested in electronics as they are, they quickly heard the difference between H/K, Denon, and Yamaha receivers, selected one and moved on to select the speakers. Similarly, after A/B testing their favorite music they quickly learned which brand's voice they liked better and found a good compromise between price and quality.

Anyway, unless your friend simply doesn't care about sound differences, you should START the process by going out and demoing some equipment. I know many people, including myself, that simply don't care for Klipsch sound at all. On the other hand, some people simply love it. You need to involve the listener in the process. The internet simply can't help here.

Also, this forum is generally about building diy speakers, not selecting commercial ones. http://www.avsforum.com/ might be more willing to give opinions on stuff like this.

[Kittle]

Easy solution IMO.

Buy the electronics
Build the speakers

[morbo]

Agree with Kittle on the speakers. Where is the DIY here?

[Timn8ter]

Originally posted by morbo
Agree with Kittle on the speakers. Where is the DIY here?

Absolutely. On a DIY site you're going to get recommendations for DIY, not retail. I would like to make one suggestion at this early stage; consider making all the speakers in the surround system the same or at least, very similar. This will pay off when playing DVD-A or SACD surround music.

[Bill Fitzpatrick]

Don't offer any choices. Force him into something good, telling him that his preferences don't mean a whit.

As an aside, I wouldn't pay even 1 camel to hear an ocassional footstep or laser blast coming from the rear. Consider getting him a two channel system, bi-amped with one or two 12" woof per channel. Set it up right and he'll be licking your boots in no time. Later, when they encode DVDs so they are unusable on 2 channel systems (which they surely will) he can, ahem, upgrade.

[Timn8ter]

Later, when they encode DVDs so they are unusable on 2 channel systems (which they surely will) he can, ahem, upgrade.

[simon5]

You should really choose that for your friend:

It's a new bundled "home theater in a box" package from Klipsch...

RF-7 Home Theater System (2x RF-7, 2x RS-7, 1x RC-7, 1x RSW-15)

Then you power that up with a Yamaha RX-Z9 receiver.

[djfatben]

Thank you all for the responses - and the link. I didn't know of any good forums for commercial stuff, and had just heard of this forum. As for doing a DIY for this stuff, I'm not opposed but I don't know if my friend would go for it. Also, it's a gift from his girl to him, so he's not going to be able to preview it. That said, if you had a budget of 1800-2000 for materials/drivers, what would be the best bet for a good/decent full range 20-20k system for music, but with capabilities for good surround sound?
Again, thanks.
Ben