Onkyo and Denon (along with Marantz) make fine receivers. I find Onkyo a bit cool in its sound profile while Denon is more neutral and, IMO, far more appealing. That being said, once you run the dynamic equalizer that is part of both the Onkyo and Denon receivers, you should be fine and it softens the coolness you might hear.

Those speakers on the other hand, I am not in love with. I put together a 7.1 system a few years back and originally planned on Klipsch Reference and found them to be extremely bright. Reviews have said they need time to burn in but I listened to speakers that had been on a retail floor for months and I still found them unpleasant.

I think the Polks are better but I still feel they have a bit of a bright edge to them. This is me though. They are way more neutral than the Klipsch speakers and you might be fine with them. If you like the Polks, you should also listen to the DefTech's.

The key is, you need to listen to them and decide if you like them. I suggest taking in a recording or a soundtrack that is bright. I use Only the Young from Journey as my test for brightness. If that song sounds good on a speakers, I know I will like it. I find jazz and strings work well. You will hear almost a raspy edge to the sound on a bright speaker.

It looks like B&W is not available at Best Buy in Canada but 5 B&W M-1s with a decent subwoofer should be right around $2K in CAD $ and would be superior to booth. They are a very transparent speaker and I think a very strong value for the money. Plus, since they are small, tend to be wife/girlfriend friendly.

You might also check out NHT who sells direct and makes some great home theater speakers for the money. I would definitely pick the NHTs over either the Polk's or the Klipsch lines you are looking at and would think long and hard about them vs. the B&Ws I mentioned above.

Regarding proper wattage, you want to look at the SPL rating on the speakers. If it is 87dB or above, unless your room is huge, the above receivers will work wonderfully. You need 60w into 5 channels to drive it to deafening levels. If it is below 87dB, you will need to look at NAD or Cambridge receivers which will do a better job with low sensitivity speakers.

Francis87 wrote:

Hi everyone,
Just recently converted my many loyalty points into Best Buy (Canada) gifts cards and accumulated $3,500 CAD worth of gift cards.

Wish to use them on building my first respectable surround sound system. Would this community be kind enough to help me through the many questions I should be asking myself or even suggestion on better buys.

I currently do not need a system bigger than 5.1 surround sound however, would like to have a "future proof" setup so that I could add two surround rear speakers to a 7.1/7.2 system.

System will be running TV/BluRay/Apple TV/PS4. Turntable has its own bookshelf/sub system so likely not looking at having it hooked to the surround sound system.

Current budget is $3,500.

Thanks - help is much appreciated.

1) I strongly advise against Klipsch or Polk speakers. I know of NO ONE who has been satisfied with them for any long period of time.

2) Denon receivers are not too bad, but Onkyo, Yamaha, and Pioneer are not very good for sound quality IMO. I recommend NAD and Marantz receivers.

You have one of the best speaker companies in the world in Canada; PSB. They have excellent speakers and there may be some price advantages to buying from a Canadian dealer that carries Canadian products. If you plan on owning these speakers for a long time, it is also nice to know that you will only have to ship them to a Canadian location if repairs or upgrades are ever desired.

PSB has many dealers in Canada, and you can find them by using their dealer locator on their website.

I see that Best Buy Canada has the Marantz SR6010 for $999.

That is a great deal on an excellent receiver. You might want to jump on that quickly while it is available.

1) I strongly advise against Klipsch or Polk speakers. I know of NO ONE who has been satisfied with them for any long period of time.

2) Denon receivers are not too bad, but Onkyo, Yamaha, and Pioneer are not very good for sound quality IMO. I recommend NAD and Marantz receivers.

You have one of the best speaker companies in the world in Canada; PSB. They have excellent speakers and there may be some price advantages to buying from a Canadian dealer that carries Canadian products. If you plan on owning these speakers for a long time, it is also nice to know that you will only have to ship them to a Canadian location if repairs or upgrades are ever desired.

PSB has many dealers in Canada, and you can find them by using their dealer locator on their website.[/quote]

In looking at the speaker systems Best Buy Canada has available, it is rather discouraging. I don't see a single system there that is worth a damn. You may be forced to look elsewhere. They sure have a lot of soundbars and micro-speaker setups, but that is garbage.

commsysman wrote:

I see that Best Buy Canada has the Marantz SR6010 for $999.

That is a great deal on an excellent receiver. You might want to jump on that quickly while it is available.

1) I strongly advise against Klipsch or Polk speakers. I know of NO ONE who has been satisfied with them for any long period of time.

2) Denon receivers are not too bad, but Onkyo, Yamaha, and Pioneer are not very good for sound quality IMO. I recommend NAD and Marantz receivers.

You have one of the best speaker companies in the world in Canada; PSB. They have excellent speakers and there may be some price advantages to buying from a Canadian dealer that carries Canadian products. If you plan on owning these speakers for a long time, it is also nice to know that you will only have to ship them to a Canadian location if repairs or upgrades are ever desired.

PSB has many dealers in Canada, and you can find them by using their dealer locator on their website.

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