FurrTECH

The Furrball HT Experiance

Intro

Being a college student required a certain type of stereo, it had to be powerful yet small and sound good but not break the bank. This means that a set of Klipsch Promedia V.2-400 speakers were the perfect choice. They had everything a college student wanted: good price, lots of volume, small in size and could really piss off the neighbors. I was more than happy.

All that has changed now. My days as a college student are now over. I recently got a new job and now live in a small 2-bedroom house. My needs has shifted and I need to fill them. On to my quest for a kickass 5.1 home theater system. I decided that I want to spent no more than $1500.00 on this system and that needs to also include a ~20" tv (like a 20" Pure Flat Toshiba).

I am fairly familiar with most mid to high-end audio equipment, although most of my knowledge comes from reading. Off to Crutchfield to get an idea of prices and such, Polk Audio and AR for speakers and Onkyo for receivers. My first choice was AR but seeing that the AR stuff is a bit more, I started leaning towards the Polk.

Looked like about $1410 for Polk (per Crutchfield prices): Receiver: Onkyo 494 - $300, Front Speakers: Polk RT35i - $350, Rear Speakers: Polk RT25i - $260, Center Speaker: Polk CS175i - $150, Subwoofer: Polk PSW450 - $350.

About $1600 for AR (per crutchfield prices): Receiver: Onkyo 494 - $300, Front Speakers: AR15 - $400, Rear Speakers: AR17 - $300, Center Speaker: AR4C - $300, Subwoofer: ARS112PS - $300.

Learning

Before I could spend that kind of money, I needed to consult AudioReview and read some reviews. Here is what I learned

Receiver: After reading all the reviews of the Onkyo 494, it was apparent that I might want to look to other receivers. People seemed to condemn the new Onkyo stuff. Seems that they are not as reliable as their older counterparts. They also seemed to be underpowered and lack bass. The better choice seemed to be either Denon or Yamaha.
Front and Rear Speakers: Both the Polk and AR bookshelf speakers got great reviews, but it seemed that the speakers were in different leages. In other words, people were comparing the Polk speakers to Bose and Infinity but comparing AR to Paradigm, B&W amd Monitor Audio. Seemed that people had two complaints about the Polk bookshelf speakers, they were a little weak in the mid-range and the front grill was really cheap. People also seemed to have two complaints about the AR bookshelf speakers: muddy high-end and the grills.
Center Speaker: The Polk CS175i got overall bad reviews. Seems that it lacks fullness, mainly bass. The AR4C got nothing but great reviews.
Subwoofer: The PSW450 got great reviews. The only problem I had was the that most the people over-praised it. What I am trying to say is that nobody compared it to anything but just said that it was the absolute best. The ARS112PS got overall good reviews. Complaints include being a bit "boomy" and the crossover min being set to high (80Hz).

After reading all the reviews, AR seemed the way to go. My new list: Receiver: Denon AVR-1602, Front Speakers: AR15, Rear Speakers: AR17, Center Speaker: AR4C, Subwoofer: ARS112PS.

Specifications of the System

Receiver: Denon AVR-1802
- Dolby Digital, DTS, Pro Logic II processing
- 80 watts x 5 into 8 ohms (20-20k Hz) at 0.08% THD
Front Channels: Acoustic Research AR-15
- 1" Plasma Transferred Diamond-Coated Titanium Dome Tweeter
- 6-1/2" MagAlloy™ woofer
- 2 Sets of Gold-Plated 5-way Binding Posts
- Black Ash Finish
Rear Channels: Acoustic Research AR-17
- 1" Plasma Transferred Diamond-Coated Titanium Dome Tweeter
- 5-1/4" MagAlloy™ woofer
- Gold-Plated 5-way Binding Posts
- Black Ash Finish
Center Channel: Acoustic Research AR-4C
- 1" Plasma Transferred Diamond-Coated Titanium Dome Tweeter
- Dual 5.25" Magnesium/Aluminum Monocoque Woofers
- Gold-Plated 5-way Binding Posts
- Black Molded Polymer Enclosure w/integral swivel bracket/stand
Subwoofer: Acoustic ARS112PS
- 12" Down-Firing Woofer w/foam surround
- 120-watt RMS Amp
- Frequency Response 30-250 Hz
- Crossover frequency control: 80Hz - 220Hz
- Black Ash Finish

Pricing the System

Now to find some place to buy them with better prices than Crutchfield. I started by searching for Denon 1602 on Google. I instantly found several Yahoo stores that carried Denon recievers and they had better prices. Looks like there are other place to buy audio stuff.

While surfing AudioSound, I found that they also carried AR and that their prices were about 75% of Crutchfield.

My last stop would be eBay, as I always look there. I did a quick search on Acoustic Research and found several entries. Sadly, I found the prices not much better than AudioSound. I did find another AR seller, AudioVideoMan. This seller sells many items on eBay but also has a seperate store. AudioVideoMan sells AR stuff at nearly 60% Crutchfield prices.

The Start of the Buying

My plan for buying the system was simple, buy a piece a paycheck. Although it has not gone that way thus far, it is progressing nicely.

My first purchase was at AudioVideoMan, a set of AR-17s for $164 + $30 s/h. I recieved the AR17s after about a week and although I have no way of testing them, I am rather impressed with their build quality and weight.
Next came the purchase of the receiver. I decided to spend a little extra and go with the Denon AVR-1802. I purchased it at MyDigitalUniverse for $364 + $33 s/h. After waiting 21 days, I did receive the Denon. All is good.
I purchased the sub at AudioVideoMan on 11/6/2001 for $205 shipped and received in 3 days later.
I purchased the center and front channels at Etronics.com. Other than a lack of communication, the purchase went smoothly.

Updates and Info

10/18/2001
Now that I have the Denon, I can comment on sound of the AR-17. I had a friend bring over a set of Alpha A/V (.50" poly tweet and 6.5" poly woofer) speakers for comparison and this is what I found.
- The AR-17s handle the mid and high-end ranges very well. They do lack in bass but I expect that with 5.25" speakers. They seem to be a little bright but they should break-in after some time. I also noticed that there is some port noise at louder levels. After listening to them for a few days, I would have to say that I rather enjoy them.
- The PSB Alpha speakers also sound much different than the ARs. They had much a softer high-end and seemed to lack in mid-range. They did have more bass but it seemed a bit boomy.
- In the end, I found the PSBs better for listening to rock and heavier stuff and the ARs better for clasical, techno and movies.

1/30/2002
I have had the sub for 2 months and have to say that I am very happy with it. I believe I have made the best choices thus far and can not wait to finish the system. I plan to finish the system within the next few weeks.

3/10/2002
I am happy to say that my system has been completed and everything is well.

Final Thoughts

Denon AVR-1802: The heart of the system and I just love it. I have had no problems with the 1802 but after using it for a few months, I do have two complaints. The first is the placement of the IR receiver. This makes it difficult to use the remote at angles. The second is the display. It is small and difficult to read at angles, espesially the volume display.

AR15 front channels: Simply a very nice speaker. Very sililar to the smaller AR17s. I have had one problem with them. When I first received the speakers and set them up, there was a crackling coming from the left channel. I did some troubleshooting and found it to be the woofer on the left speaker. The rubber surround was not installed correctly and this was pressing on the cone, forcing it to rub internally. I gently pulled up the rubber surround and relayed it. Problem fixed.

AR17 rear channels: Still a very nice speaker. No problems.

AR4C center channel: I have to say that I am very impressed with both the sound and build quality of this speaker. When I ordered it, I was debating weather to get this plastic enclosed model or the more expensive 3-way wooden AR2C. I was worried about the quality and finish. I finally decided to just give the AR4C a try. Lets just say I am glad I decided to save the extra money.

ARS112PS subwoofer: The bass-maker and good at it.

I am very happy with the system and have no regrets. If I were to do it all over again, I would only change one thing. I would buy two sets of AR17s instead of a a set of AR15s and a set of AR17s. It would be a little cheaper and would sound close to the same.