Hey all i'm looking to get a new home theater to replace my Panny HTIB.  I already posted a few things on another forum so i'll just paste it here.  Thanks for the read.....

Hey all just looking at making a new home theater purchase to go with my Panny plasma in my living room. At first I was gonna go with a Paradigm/Axiom system with a higher budget, but finally came to relize that dream isn't going to be happening anytime soon lol. So what i'm looking at is a 5.1 system that i'd like to be bases around towers and will prolly run with something like a Yamaha rxv1900 (newer 1800). The system will be used mainly for dvd/digital satilite playback, and some music and game play. The ratio will be about 60/20/20, and am looking at either the C or CF series. I've heard the C series local, but have just noticed the CF so some feedback would be appreciated. Now the budget will be around $2500 cdn, and the whole system will be Energy including the sub, no iffs, and's, or but's. 

 I noticed a CF package at FS. http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=BDL10003089&logon=&langid=EN

 But personally I wouldn't want that sub.

 I recently finished building a C series 5.1 with both an esw v8 and a esw v10 sub, both of which blow away the c8.

 Even with both those subs the whole thing cost me just around $2000, including my reciever.

I am not sure about the level of quality difference between the cf and c series though, havn't heard cf. CF looks cosmetically superior though.

And just to add some info, I am very happy with the c-series for movies.  they are perfect for HT.  For music though, I will probably build a second setup, but only 2 channel, with some RC 50s or something and steal my esw v8 from my HT to go with it.

I'm looking at one of these 2 systems to be paired with either the ESW-V10 or S12.3....

1) C-500's Fronts

C-C100 Center

C-CR100's Surrounds

2) CF-50's Fronts (CF-70's if the price isn't to high)

CC-10 Center

CR-10's Surrounds

For the record i'm not that unhappy with this crappy HTIB, just doesn't have any hdmi inputs, or digital audio.  The passive sub is lacking in the low end so i'm sure with one of the systems listed above it's gonna blow me away.

I have been putting together a 7.1 Energy package over the last several months... all from advertised specials at FShop.

I was using 4 older speakers (front towers and surrounds) and began my upgrade with the ESW-V8 sub. (Paid $300 - Retail $600). Next the towers were replaced with C-C500's. (Paid $350 pair (full warranty) for demos... last pair for $400 were gone.Retail $900) Next added in C-C100 Center. (Paid $150 and retail was $240). I then bought pair of C-200 Bookshelf to replace my old pair. (Paid $180 for the pair - Retail $399). To complete my 7.1 I got a pair of C-R100's ($160 pair - Retail $360).

My total outlay was ($1140 + Tax)

I'm driving the whole set with my Denon 4308-CI receiver. As they say in the ad for McDonalds, I'm lovin' it.

All said I would reccomend the Energy C series speakers to anyone... I expect if I went to the RC series It would be better still but not to the degree that I would have been WAY over the price I paid out on the C series. (I put most of my HT money into my Denon receiver with the idea if I want to go for the "ultimate" speakers at a later date, my receiver would not need to be upgraded).

Good luck with your choice of receiver and speakers.

Spunky, did you get your cc-100 at Future shop?  I can never seem to find them anymore.

You built a very similar system to mine, over the same period of time too.  I got all the same sales as you too, except I went with the c-300's because I got them for $199 for the pair, but I had to pay shipping so it came to like $280 for the pair after tax and shipping brand new. Still I saw that as a better deal than anything I ever saw the 500s going for, and it's pretty much the same speaker, probably not quite as loud. My ESW v10, I got for $450 AFTER tax, but I didn't get that one at Futureshop. And I went with the Yamaha htr 6160 reciever, as I, similar to you and your choice, felt it would last me many years for home theater, and it had all the new decoders and stuff.

Also, Why build the 7.1? ... Nothing supports 7.1, few movies even support 6.1, and you need a very large room to do it properly. You could have put the extra money into getting the ESW V10 instead of the ESW v8.  The v10 was on sale for $499 at FS aboiut 2 weeks ago.  Normally $879.

 You will never get 7 channels of discrete audio in your 7.1 setup. so why bother?

 I am actually moving into a bigger house, so I am going to use my old Center channel as a rear for 6,1 (If I can find the cc-100 for my new center). At least than I will have 6 discrete channels for movies, well ones that actually support 6.1.

 I am just not a big fan of the back two speakers being shared mono.  And like I said, it's about money too.  A better sub would do more for your home theater than the back two mono speakers which hardly anything even supports.

 But to the original thread question, I think c- series offers a better bang for the buck right now if you get it on sales so that might be the way to go.

Yes

JAMIE:

Spunky, did you get your cc-100 at Future shop?

Yes... They had the RCMini Center on sale and I was about to buy it when I found a C-C100 in store. I asked the price and it was full price but I chose to get it at the time instead of the mini. Then a couple weeks later I found it was reduced by $50 so I did end up with a "sale" price on it. (Price paid to the penny was $149.97)

JAMIE:

Also, Why build the 7.1? ... Nothing supports 7.1, few movies even support 6.1

7.1 Channel Surround (digital discrete: Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD)

Delivers seven audio channels and one LFE channel from an 8 channel source:

Describes the Dolby Digital Plus discrete Surround system. Source media, usually Blu-Ray and sometimes HD DVD is often branded with "Dolby Digital Plus" and/or "DTS-HD" logos.

DTS-HD High Resolution Audio
DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, like DTS-HD Master Audio, is an extension to the original DTS audio format. It delivers up to 7.1 channels of sound at 96 kHz sampling frequency and 24 bit depth resolution. DTS-HD High Resolution Audio is selected as an optional surround sound format for Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD with constant bit rates up to respectively 6.0 Mbit/s and 3.0 Mbit/s. It is supposed to be an alternative for DTS-HD Master Audio where disc space may not allow it.

So to summerize, My Denon 4308-CI supports these formats and when I finally go out to get a BlueRay player, I'll be ready for full 7.1 sound.

Here is a link to Denon Canada if you're interested in looking at the specs for my receiver (including audio formats supported).

http://ca.denon.com/#start

Spunky,

My reciever is like yours regarding the audio decoders. http://www.yamaha.ca/av/Receivers/HTR6160B.jsp

 You are correct that the new audio formats support the decoding of 7.1 through DTS hd, Dolby True hd, Dolby digital Plus,  My reciever does this too.  The problem is the SOURCES, the movies themselves. There are no 7.1 sources.  I have an HD dvd player and about 30 hd dvds and not even ONE of them supports 7.1 sourround, even though I use the True Hd or Dolby digital plus decoders for all of them. (More often True hd when available.)  Most of them support 5.1 only, and there are about 3 or 4 of the 30 that even support the extra 6th channel.

There is also no 7.1 sources on Blue Ray.  So although you are correct that the audio formats on your reciever and supported by Blue Ray are in theory capable of discrete 7.1, there is not yet any 7.1 sources.

The benefit for sound of having a reciever that supports the new audio decoders and a blue ray player or hd dvd is the higher bit rate.

Any movie you get in blue ray will not support discrete 7.1 right now, regardless of your hardware.

Maybe in the future, discrete 7.1 will exist, but right now, it doesn't, and  I personally think the extra money for the rear speakers is better spent on a better subwoofer, rather than rear speakers you can't use properly for anything right now.

Also, to set up 7.1 properly requires a fair room size. Bigger than what most people have.

Thanks for the info on the cc-100. On the Future Shop site they do not advertise having it, nor do they have any on display. Ever.  It must be, that I have to askk about it.  I try to avoid the sales people there for obvious reasons, but I guess I'm going to have to ask. 

Thanks.

well I got some prices quoted to me from my local energy dealer and they didn't look to good for the C-series.  Now I know few have even had a chance to demo the CF series stuff but on paper which of these seems like best bang for the buck?

1)  CF50/CR-10/CC-10 = $1430.00

2)  CF70/CR-10/CC-10 = $1630.00

3)  C-500/C-R100/C-C100 = $1245.00

I also got quotes on the ESW-V10 and S12.3 at $750 and $799 respectivly so for that money I think i'd be better off going with a lower end SVS sub, or going all out and get a PB13 Ultra.  I'll prolly get the other speakers first then add the sub so i'm thinkin of going with the cf70 combo as i'd like these speakers to last at least 5 years.  I've also decided on matching these with the Yamaha rxv 1900.  Any opinions on wiether you think a pb13 ultra would be overkill with this system?

OK... I'll be ready when 7.1 audio finally does appear on blueray.

Also... My first deal with the Energy speakers was to buy the sub when it went on sale (July 3/08). Ialso bought PSP for $59.99 which gives me warranty to July 3//17. It wasn't until Sept 25/08 that I brought home any more Energy deals. If I returned the sub, I would have lost the PSP $60 (60.00 + 7.80 tax) and then bought the ESW-10. Of course I would have bought the PSP again (a bit more expensive for this item). I would have a 10" sub but lost all benefits of the sale prices.

I do find the 8" sub is sufficient for my listening room. I've used the auto-setup on my receiver with the included mic. When I put on a DVD such as Independence Day or The Matrix... there's PLENTY room rattling base to go around lol. Typically have the volume set around -20db from reference and my dear lady wants to turn things down when the special effects kick in. The volume control on the rear of the sub is set midway and the crossover is set off... The receiver has crossover set at 80hz.

Regards

Fluffy Bunny, I personally think the SVS pb13 would be a fantastic sub, from what I have read. How big is your room? That would be a hell of a lot of sub for a smaller room. I have never heard it, but why spend so much on a sub for a cheap little speaker setup?  That is a $1700 sub, for the equivalnent gloss finish, or $1600 otherwise, plus tax and shipping. It just seems a little unbalanced price wize.  I would do it if you plan on upgrading your speakers in the future or if you can get it for really cheap somehow.

I would go with the SVS pb10 NSD for that setup if you want to go SVS. Keep in mind though, that the ESW v10 goes on sale often (was on sale 2 weeks about for $499), and that you will be paying shipping for the SVS.  Even the pb10 NSD after tax and shipping will be like $600.

I would go with the SVS pb10 nsd only if you don't feel like waiting or looking for an Energy Sale, because if you get the sale, you will get a much better bang for the buck with the Energy ESW v10.

 Also, your prices seem high for those setups.  The c-500/cr100/cc100 should be no more than $1000 total if you got it them all individually on sales.

Are you in Canada?

Do you need to get everything at once?

I am in Canada and the closest FS is about 800 km's from me.  Those prices are tax included and local so no shipping.  For now i'm renting a 1 level 3 bedroom house with a 1 bedroom suite below me, but it's been unoccupied for the last year. 

Well on paper, cf70 seems similar to the c500 except they can handle up to 300w instead of 150w, but your reciever puts out what? 135w RMS per channel?

Really, you would have to hear the two pairs running off your reciever. You can't tell much from paper.

Everyone That I have talked to and evything I read about people who owns c series was very positive, and people were very happy, especially when HT was their pimary concern. so it might not hurt to save a few bucks and just go c series, especially if your main focus is HT.  For HT I will tell you right now, c series is great. For music, not so much, but still decent.

And I would order a SVS pb10 nsd since you would probably waste a ton of money on gas getting to future shop and back even if there was a sale on the ESW v10 hehe, and shipping would make the v10 more expensive even after a sale price, and if you're looking into c series versus CF you obvioiusly care about how much money you spend, so the PB13 seems a bit much.

just to update the situation......I've decided to go with the cf's (50 or 70 gonna wait till I can hear them) and match them with the new pb12+ from svs.  Due to a recent bill from the government (@#$#$@) i'm gonna have a wait a couple months probably, but it will give me a chance to listen to the energy's at my local shop.