Help for girlfriend HT speaker system???


O.K. folks, this is a serious call for help!

I have an AV receiver (Pioneer Elite VSX-09TX) that is pretty much just sitting in my bedroom with an older Sony DVD I've been using as a transport and a pair of JSE 1.0's. (I've got a condo on the beach, so my living room system is within 20 feet of my bedroom) so I don't need the BR system that much, and prefer the sound of the living room system (BTW the living room system is an Activ Linn HT with a Pioneer Elite DV-09, Linn AV 5103, 5x5105, 2x5140,1x5120, and a Pair of Snell E.5's)

I'm considering giving this (AV receiver and older DVD) to my girfriend. It's not a bad setup, it puts out 120 wpc into 6 Ohms (yes, six) and has reasonable sound. I need to get a speaker system that would work well with this combo to complete the HT that will probably be her house warming present. (When she gets one...) Room situation isn't yet available....

The question is, I've never looked for something that will "just do". I've always looked for something I love. I therefore need your help for speaker systems that will work well with this power, and aren't too expensive (she's a triathlete, not an audiophile!)

What I'm looking for is something that would allow me (and her) to:

1) Watch DVD's when at her place, with a decent HT (my issue).

2) Allow he and her kids to use netflix so she's not always paying late fees (a personal pet peave of mine!)

3) Do this all without cutting out the next three vacations I've been booking this week.

I would be willing to spend ~$2000 for speakers (including fronts/center/rears, and a sub (optional)), which is all I/she'd need there.

I would like to know what your experience has been with speaker systems in this range, and what you'd recomend.

My problem is, as I said, I like what I like, but for this system, I want something I can live with for ~$2,000. I'm sure that will be something she loves....and (hopefully) allow me to enjoy movies at her place!

All and any of your experiences will help!

Thanks!

Ken
kennyt

Showing 1 response by chaskelljr2001

Kennyt:

I hear you man. Before I can say anything about home theater speaker systems, let me lay down the difference between men and women. Men want their speakers to sound good and perform well, damn the cost, looks and the size of the critters. Women on the other hand, tend to go for looks, and sound quality (and in many cases, cost and size) be damned in their case. You catch my drift, don't you?? So, while it is okay to have a girlfriend and all (I know, I have one too. But she ain't living with me, and that's fine too. That way, I can put in the kind of s**t that I want to put in when it comes to my home theater. I'm heavily into this stuff, she's not), all I am saying is be careful man. Because right now, it may start with dating and courtship (and that is one of most beautiful phases of beginning a relationship), but soon enough, you'll be feeding breakfast to her in bed, and then the dreaded "M" word is going to come up, and we all know what that means. When the "M" thing happens, your stuff becomes her stuff too. But when the relationship goes sour, it's funny that nine times out of ten, she's the one that ends up with the stuff that you have bought. So, at a risk of opening up a can of worms here, all I'm saying is, be careful. I'm in the same boat as you are, but in my situation, she already knows how I feel about marriage. As soon as you say "I DO" to her, she'll be getting half of everything right off the top. And when it comes to my home theater, I ain't having that s**t.

But anyway, on to speaker systems now. For a budget of $2,000, here's what I would look at:

(A). Keep your receiver and dvd player right now. You have a very nice A/V Receiver.

(B). For speakers, if looks as well as sound are going to be part of the issue, I would go for something like the Gallo system that others have mentioned. I would also go for a H/T ensemble from either Cambridge Audio, Definitive Technology (they aren't bad looking speakers either) or from Infinity (they also make some speakers that look good as well as sound good). Boston Acoustics will be another one I'll be looking at also. If you can come away with something decent without reverting to an awful sounding Bose Acoustimass 7 system, then you'll be doing something great.

Let us know what you end up with. Good Luck.

--Charles--