Need a little help upgrading sound

[little wing]

@little wing, Sorry. He have a lot of trouble recommending sound bars because they are so inferior to even a simple stereo. Believe me, I wish sound bars worked the miracle that they want you to believe they do, but they just don't.

If you don't want to push the envelope on the budget and want to avoid used audio equipment that is perfectly understandable.

I'll stand by what I said earlier in this thread, Vizio soundbars seem to offer a good value for their price. The also offer optical digital inputs so connecting them to the television should be a breeze. Good luck.

I know what you mean Seth. Thank you. I know soundbars are inferior. This is for a person listening to music through TV speakers, so I thought it would be an upgrade for her. But i really have to just decide which way to go here. Thanks again.

 

[little wing]

You can get a pair of AA Monitors (which offer amazing bass for a good full range speaker) for $195 (plus $20-25 shipping to PA).
http://philharmonicaudio.com/aa.html
I recently compared them to the ELAC B5 here:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/elac-b5-vs-philharmonic-affordable-accuracy-new-monitor.97171/
And against the Wavecrest HVL-1 here:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/new-2015-affordable-accuracy-speakers-by-dennis-murphy.95661/#post-1092558

Tell us where you live and we can take a look at Craigslist for you. It is not uncommon to get a nice used mid-level receiver for $60 to 80. Many people consider a 5-10 year old AVR obsolete, but for your purposes, a 15 year old AVR would work great! I picked up a Denon AVR2308 for $70 last year.
I think you can set her up with amazing sound for $300!

I live in Philadelphia, but she lives in Tuscan. I am not sure i want to put a 10 or 15 year old piece in her living room, but I understand what you are saying. Thanks for help, it is much appreciated. I just need to make a choice and go with it.

 

[KEW]

Most people that buy nice audio gear treat it very well, just don't buy a unit that was in a frat house for the last 5 years!!!

For $60, this 110WPC Yamaha would fit your needs perfectly and looks to be in immaculate condition:
https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/ele/5368179097.html


Give me a hard "no" (I'm a little stubborn) and we'll move on to other options, but this receiver with the AA monitors would give her truly good sound quality in budget!

 

[KEW]

I know what you mean Seth. Thank you. I know soundbars are inferior. This is for a person listening to music through TV speakers, so I thought it would be an upgrade for her. But i really have to just decide which way to go here. Thanks again.

Being better than TV speakers is a pretty low bar.
If you are locked into soundbars, we can make recommendations, just recognize that you are leaving a lot of sound quality behind, and especially since she is listening to music instead of TV, we all would like to see her end up with the best sound possible.

 

[KEW]

You asked about the speakers I connected directly to TV.
These are them:
http://www.amazon.com/Audix-PH5-VS-Powered-Speakers-Black/dp/B0002JJ6YA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452214104&sr=8-1&keywords=audix+ph5-vs

I cannot recommend them to you for the following reasons:
1) I got mine on a special deal for ~$100 (not $260) It was a speculative buy and one I regretted (even at $100) for the following reasons.
2) They go thump every time you turn them on (which is done using a power strip because they don't have an on-off switch ).
3) They do not look very nice
4) They are very weak for bass

On the positive, they have great sound quality if you add a sub as I did.

 

[little wing]

Most people that buy nice audio gear treat it very well, just don't buy a unit that was in a frat house for the last 5 years!!!

For $60, this 110WPC Yamaha would fit your needs perfectly and looks to be in immaculate condition:
https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/ele/5368179097.html


Give me a hard "no" (I'm a little stubborn) and we'll move on to other options, but this receiver with the AA monitors would give her truly good sound quality in budget!

Wow, that's awesome. Gonna follow up on this. Thanks

 

[little wing]

Hello to everyone that responded and gave me great ideas. I just wanted to update everyone as to how this is progressing. Kurt - shout out to you for finding that Yamaha receiver for me! I got it, and it works perfectly! I found a pair of def tech studio monitors for $170 shipped. I will be hooking all of this up for her when I get to Tuscan on Thursday. Thanks again to everyone for the help. I'll let you know her reaction when she hears for the first time.

 

[KEW]

Hello to everyone that responded and gave me great ideas. I just wanted to update everyone as to how this is progressing. Kurt - shout out to you for finding that Yamaha receiver for me! I got it, and it works perfectly! I found a pair of def tech studio monitors for $170 shipped. I will be hooking all of this up for her when I get to Tuscan on Thursday. Thanks again to everyone for the help. I'll let you know her reaction when she hears for the first time.

Excellent - you got that receiver! No other way you could have touched that type of quality for your budget!
I've never heard the Def Tech's. Def Tech has a history for fudging their numbers, but most guys seem to like them. Just understand that those 5-1/4" woofers (I'm guessing the SM45's) will not not play down to 35 Hz (no 5-1/4 speaker would ... unless it was some freakish thing). But I'm sure she'll still be impressed by what bass it does put out.
Compared to the best soundbar you might buy for $250, you are in a totally different league.
Let us know what she thinks!

 

[little wing]

Excellent - you got that receiver! No other way you could have touched that type of quality for your budget!
I've never heard the Def Tech's. Def Tech has a history for fudging their numbers, but most guys seem to like them. Just understand that those 5-1/4" woofers (I'm guessing the SM45's) will not not play down to 35 Hz (no 5-1/4 speaker would ... unless it was some freakish thing). But I'm sure she'll still be impressed by what bass it does put out.
Compared to the best soundbar you might buy for $250, you are in a totally different league.
Let us know what she thinks!

Yes you got it, SM45's. I did read somewhere about Def Tech specs....Anyways, coming from TV speakers, I think she should be pretty good. I am glad everyone convinced me to stay away from going the soundbar route. I'll let you guys know when I get everything set up.

 

[Seth=L]

Yes you got it, SM45's. I did read somewhere about Def Tech specs....Anyways, coming from TV speakers, I think she should be pretty good. I am glad everyone convinced me to stay away from going the soundbar route. I'll let you guys know when I get everything set up.

Yes, those will be infinitely superior to a soundbar. Good choice, nice price too.

 

[little wing]

Yes, those will be infinitely superior to a soundbar. Good choice, nice price too.

Thanks Seth. I'm looking forward to hearing them and seeing her reaction.

 

[little wing]

Hey everyone, just dropping by for an update. First, lugging a 25 lb receiver through security and on two planes is not something I would recommend (unless you like that sort of thing) They cut through my meticulous bubble wrap to make certain the receiver had not been "tampered with" ( no complaints at all there) But once I got there, and set up her system, and she heard it for the first time......first a look of astonishment, then a smile started to creep across her face. Joy! It felt good to turn a music lover onto good sound. Her words " I don't think I'm gonna leave my place other than for work.

But after a couple of days of listening, the OCD in me started to take over. I couldn't help but think I could get better bass response then the def tec SM45's (not a bad speaker at all mind you!) So, I ordered the Accuracy Monitors from Dennis. He'll get them together once he digs out from under the blizzard. She is going along with my OCD. I think she's got the bug now. I'll report back with pics once the Philharmonics are in place. Thanks again to all who gave me guidance on this!

 

[KEW]

Thanks for the follow up!

Isn't it great to share quality sound with someone who enjoys music but just hasn't really looked that direction!

The AA Monitors provide spectacular bass (and accurately, not with some low-end bloat). You will be amazed!

 

[little wing]

Thanks for the follow up!

Isn't it great to share quality sound with someone who enjoys music but just hasn't really looked that direction!

The AA Monitors provide spectacular bass (and accurately, not with some low-end bloat). You will be amazed!

It really is great! Can't wait for her to hear the monitors. Thanks again for all your help.

 

[little wing]

Here is a picture of the Monitors from Philharmonic audio. She loves them! Interesting thing, she is a non audiophile to be sure. And she instantly noticed a difference and said these were clearly better! Imagine that, and these were about $170 less then the def tech sm45s. Goes to show you, more money doesn't always equal better. We will get some speaker stands in the near future to give them room to breath. Thanks again to all. Peace and blessings.

Thanks to Dennis as well! That northeast blizzard threw everybody off track.

 

[Seth=L]

I'm beginning to consider trying these. I don't know that they would dethrown my beloved Infinity Interludes though. I am one with those speakers.

 

[little wing]

I'm beginning to consider trying these. I don't know that they would dethrown my beloved Infinity Interludes though. I am one with those speakers.

I remember hearing the Interlude years ago. beautiful looking and sounding speaker. I'll never sell my Infinity Crescendos