Home Speakers/Receiver OR Headphones?

[NoviceNob]

Hey there all. First, thank you very much for all your comments, suggestions and lectures.

I will be building a new $2,000 computer (components only) this or next month (when Radeon 7000 cards come out). I also want to have a new media center; bluray, 46" TV, receiver (Pioneer VSX-1021-K or Denon AVR 1912 -both around $550) and 5.1 speakers (Energy Take Classic 5.1 - $400).

I live in a small studio, about 350 square feet, I do move about once a year and basically live in studios, sometimes I have to rent a room.

My question is, should I spend all this money, about $1,000 on a new sound system that will take up a lot of room OR should I just buy a great pair of headphones with an amp? Are speakers that much better? I could spend that $1,200 on headphones/amp.

I do love to listen to music, either CD's or much of the time with Sirius/XM - blues, rock, some classical.

So any advice is welcomed. Any advice on headphones, amps, etc is most appreciated.

Thank you very much for your time and have a good holiday season.

 

[musical marv]

Hey there all. First, thank you very much for all your comments, suggestions and lectures.

I will be building a new $2,000 computer (components only) this or next month (when Radeon 7000 cards come out). I also want to have a new media center; bluray, 46" TV, receiver (Pioneer VSX-1021-K or Denon AVR 1912 -both around $550) and 5.1 speakers (Energy Take Classic 5.1 - $400).

I live in a small studio, about 350 square feet, I do move about once a year and basically live in studios, sometimes I have to rent a room.

My question is, should I spend all this money, about $1,000 on a new sound system that will take up a lot of room OR should I just buy a great pair of headphones with an amp? Are speakers that much better? I could spend that $1,200 on headphones/amp.

I do love to listen to music, either CD's or much of the time with Sirius/XM - blues, rock, some classical.

So any advice is welcomed. Any advice on headphones, amps, etc is most appreciated.

Thank you very much for your time and have a good holiday season.

Go to a website called Audiophilia and there is an excellent review of a headphones there.Also amps and speakers are reviewed also.

 

[ssddx]

Headphones and speakers have two different purposes. You need to decide which applies. If ambient sound is a no no then go with phones. Personally i prefer speakers.

Also why are you spending more on a reciever than on speakers? I would say spend 1/3 to 1/2 total budget on a receiver and cabling. I have a pioneer vsx30 myself and it is great. Klipsch quintet iv and 450w klipsh sub are very nice also. In total i spent about $1300 so its near your budget.

 

[NoviceNob]

Thank you for your reply ssddx.

The receiver is about the same amount as the speakers only because the speakers are $200 off and the Energy Take Classic 5.1 speakers have fabulous reviews, so does the Denon AVR 1912. No other reason. I could spend more on both but they basically serve my needs. Don't have a big house/room so great speakers are a waste I think, same with the receiver. I need something that will plug into a TV, Bluray and 5.1 speakers and work from my computer... I hope! Even though I am having second thought about "non" PC speakers as the set up seems to be 'tricky', for a don'tknowsquat about electronics as I am.

I've read the Klipsch have great reveiws but are big on bass and I'm don't really want a lot of extra bass. Again, the receiver and the speakers would be hooked up to the computer also... I hope.

Thank you again and any other info or advice is very much appreciated.



PS. I read that the newish Sennheiser HD 598 headphones are excellent, heard anything? Thanks again.

 

[ssddx]

i'm using the set in a 14x13x10 room. its a satelite speaker set so it doesnt take up a whole lot of room. just because you dont have alot of space doesnt mean you cannot get a better product. the system should last you a long time so you can always move it around when you get more space.

once you go with a home theater setup you will never want to go back to pc speakers ever again. dont worry about setup...it is rediculously easy. if your receiver has the little speaker included and can auto-calibrate the room for speaker delay the system will sound even better. i know my model has the option.

if your video card supports sound out via dvi (my gtx470 does) then you will have just one hdmi to dvi cable (i know my evga card came with one!) to the receiver and one hdmi cable from the blueray to the receiver. you then only have one hdmi to the tv from the receiver and use the receiver to swap inputs. its great.

as far as actual speaker wiring goes...one speaker cable per speaker (two wires per cable) to the binding posts on the receiver and speakers. everything is labeled all nice and easy for you. personally i bought bananna clips (and i suggest you do to) for the receiver as it keeps everything nice and clean but its not required at all. if you are worried about seeing wires you can put in a wall plate with bannana clip connections then run wire under the floor/through the walls to hide it. once i had all the cable lengths measured, cut and finished as well as the wall plates hooked up it took me less than 20 minutes to hook it all up.

the klipsch speakers can pump out bass quite well but they arent as excessive as you make them sound. in general from listening to them i would say they are fairly balanced. of course i love turning up the sub and shaking the walls at times too but its not required. as i said i own the set and i'm very impressed with them.

yes, i have my system hooked up to a pc and a ps3.

you dont have to be having second thoughts about using real speakers. they will work fine. just be sure you have heard the speakers in action and they are what you want. also make sure the receiver has the options you want and the ports in the back you want. personally i really like the on screen display (osd) included on mine! (one of the reasons i upgraded haha)

 

[stillerfan15]

I much prefer listening to music on speakers. That said both Sennheiser and Grado make fine headphones.
Dave

 

[luccha]

if you choose to buy the speakers, you can still buy later on an nice high impedance headphone and plug it to the receiver...

 

[NoviceNob]

Best answer selected by NoviceNob.