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Need advise on my first basic home theater build (1 Viewer)

tol

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rishab
Dear Audiophiles,

Hoping to get your kind insights. I am new to the AV world, and would like to setup a basic but solid quality ("value for money") home theater system - 5.1 to start with but expandable to 7.1 and Atmos addition if needed. My budget is $1000 total, but willing to go to $1,250 if I can get a much better system for the extra $250 bucks.

Based on whatever research I have done, I figured I need a decent AVR to form the core of the system so that it is "future proof" I ended up selecting the Onkyo TX-NR656 that 7.2 with Atmos, DTS and the works. This is between $350-$399 NEW.

Next I selected the Monoprice 9723 12-Inch 150-Watt Powered Subwoofer based on an article by Wirecutter (NYT).This is around $100 new (currently out of stock, but i can wait).

Now, in terms of speakers I was looking at different permutation and combinations of the Pioneer and ELAC Andrew Jones speaker lines. So the Pioneer SP-FS52 Andrew Jones Designed Floor standing Loudspeaker, Pioneer SP-BS22-LR Andrew Jones Designed Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Pair) or the ELAC B5 Debut Series 5.25" Bookshelf Speaker, ELAC C5 Debut Series 5.25" Center Speaker, Debut B4 Bookshelf Speaker (Black, Pair).

What suggestions would you have for me? Have I missed something obvious? Here are the various permutations I ran. All are in the $1200 range. Thanks in advance for reading this and your advice. See attached workbook for price comparison.

Option 1: ELAC B5 (FRONT), C5 (CENTER), B4 (REAR), ONKYO and Monoprice Subwoofer - $1,228
Option 2: Pioneer SP-FS52 Andrew Jones Designed Floor standing Loudspeaker, B4 (REAR), C5, ONKYO and Monoprice Subwoofer -$1,227
Option 3: Pioneer SP-FS52 Andrew Jones Designed Floor standing Loudspeaker, Pioneer SP-BS22 (REAR), C5, ONKYO and Monoprice Subwoofer - $1,176

Tol
 

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David Willow

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I like the Onkyo. Good solid choice. Check around for last year's model as well. Sometimes you can get much cheaper if you are willing to skip the latest.

I am not familiar with the Monoprice sub so I can't comment directly on it. But... If it were me buying this system I would look at a better sub. Something like this: https://www.svsound.com/pages/subwoofers#1000-series

I'd also look at Fluance speakers. I had Fluance many years ago and can say they were very good for the price. If I was building a budget system today I would not hesitate to get them again. http://www.fluance.com/sxhtb-high-definition-surround-sound-home-theater-speaker-system-black

The sub and speakers would cost you about $900 leaving just enough for the AVR. Don't forget to get speaker wire and sub cable too (monoprice is a great place for this).

Good luck.

EDIT to add that mixing and matching different brands of speakers across the front is generally a bad idea. You want these speakers to all sound the same (timbre match).
 
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tol

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rishab
Thank you very much David. Your Fluance idea is very interesting. I am leaning towards it, but I guess the center channel is the weak link. I see your comment around same brand across front, but was debating whether to use a ELAC C5 for center instead.
 

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