5.1 system for under $1000

zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
I can get the NX for 270.
I am still unsure which speakers to get. I will most likely get the RXV577 for receiver, I have mostly apple product around and air play would be nice! The bostons are nice but $800 for 5 speakers is a little pricey.
The Yamaha 577 is $399 on Amazon Ca - you can start with 2 or 3 Boston
speakers to begin with - and get a Dayton sub.
http://www.amazon.ca/YAMAHA-RXV577-7-2-Channel-Network-Receiver/dp/B00KV61A70/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1428946991&sr=8-2&keywords=yamaha+577

Then get some cheaper speakers for surrounds - like Yamaha
http://www.amazon.ca/Yamaha-NS-AW194BL-Indoor-Outdoor-Speakers/dp/B007QTAWYC/ref=sr_1_48?ie=UTF8&qid=1428947289&sr=8-48&keywords=surround+speakers

As stated, if you choose Fluance - then go for the SX series.
 
rojo

rojo

Audioholic Samurai
Here's another alternative:

Yamaha RX-V577 - $399
NXG NX-BAS-500 - $270
PSB Image B4 bookshelfs + PSB Image C4 center - $530
Fluance XLBP bipolar surrounds - $200
Stands - $36
rubber shelf liner (for your speaker stand platforms) - $3
100' OFC speaker cable - $40
Subwoofer cable - $9

Total: $1487

As for whether it sounds $450 better than the all-Fluance SX series, well, it may. That Fluance center channel has a funky looking crossover point (8kHz), and I'm wondering whether sibilance would be strained because of it. Either way, both Fluance and Crutchfield offer in-home trials. According to the Fluance website, they'll pay return shipping. You might try the SX combo first; and if it fails the audition, send it back and try the PSB combo.
 
V

varsis

Audioholic Intern
Hmm I was reading online to stay with same brand to prevent issues with surround weird tones and such.
 
rojo

rojo

Audioholic Samurai
That's generally good advice, especially for the front stage. But for surrounds it's not as crucial. I think it's probably more important for multichannel music recordings, but for movies you may never notice the difference in timbre -- especially if you're using your surrounds as rears rather than sides. And since most music is stereo, and movies are only maybe 5% surround content, it can't hurt to try cheap and see if it works. Or you could be even more cheap and just start out with 3.1 (as zieg suggested), then add the surrounds later as your next birthday present to yourself. :)
 
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zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
As for whether it sounds $450 better than the all-Fluance SX series, well, it may. That Fluance center channel has a funky looking crossover point (8kHz), and I'm wondering whether sibilance would be strained because of it.
I would just buy an extra pair of bookshelf speakers and use one as
a center channel - there is no blocking acoustic/phase lens on their
tweeter, if restricted to horizontal placement.
 
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
Hmm I was reading online to stay with same brand to prevent issues with surround weird tones and such.
Funny - no real weird tones in surround movie playback - we do
not really recommend different surround speakers in vain.:)
 
V

varsis

Audioholic Intern
Nothing wrong with the receiver - however, the speakers will not
keep up with what we recommended.
Too bad.. Costco has an awesome return policy. (Main reason)
Think I will be going Pioneer or Fluance. How are the Fluance subs? For 500, I can get the tower speakers set and sub.
 
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
Think I will be going Pioneer or Fluance. How are the Fluance subs? For 500, I can get the tower speakers set and sub.
I can not comment on the Fluance subs - however, they should
be better than cheap Yamaha subs.
 
V

varsis

Audioholic Intern
As before the sonossound.com seems to be a fake site. After looking into them a bit no business at the address...
For $900 I can get the Fluence SX Set with Sub, tower speakers. 577.

OR

Fluence 5.0 SX, Dayton Sub, 577

OR

$300 - Pioneer SP-BS22-LR x 2
$262 - Dayton Sub
$400 - 577
+ Some Centre Speaker
$962

OR

$480 - Boston A25 X 3
$262 - Dayton Sub
$400 - 577
$1142

I am thinking the Top 3 for setup, just can't justify only 3 speakers for that price at this time, also really want 5.1 for TV/Movies
 
afterlife2

afterlife2

Audioholic Warlord
Too bad about the NXG, but the Dayton(I have them in a stereo only and they are really nice) is good. Pioneer(Have them and they are nice for the price) or Fluence(Never heard them but almost bought one of their series) will be fine. Bostons(never heard) seem nice and Z knows his stuff. None of these are a bad choice.
 
rojo

rojo

Audioholic Samurai
Well, the address is certainly in a commercial zone. I wouldn't think a scam site would list real contact info in their domain registration. Wonder if it'd be worth calling one of the surrounding businesses just to ask whether an audio shop recently moved in nearby? Or if nothing else, if you use a Visa or Mastercard or similar you've got built-in fraud protection.

Well, if the NXG sub doesn't work out, you've still got options. You know, I want not to like the Fluance sub. Typically, speaker companies who sell subs as a means of completing a 5.1 package (Klipsch, Polk, etc.) put very little effort into their subwoofers, and you end up spending too much money on something mediocre. For what it is, though, the Fluance sub looks pretty decent. An F3 of 30Hz and a weight of nearly 40lbs. is uncommon among 10" subs, hinting that effort was put into the build. I'd be interested to see nudie pics and response graphs of it, but haven't had much luck in my searches.

Regardless, I'd still give the edge to the Dayton SUB-1200. Given similar excursion limits, a 12" sub will simply move more air than a 10" sub. Additionally, the Dayton's F3 is lower (25Hz), so you'll hear more of the lowest tones and rumbles.

But, if wife acceptance factor is a consideration, the Fluance sub is definitely prettier.

You might also consider picking up a used sub. A few of these look like a great bargain -- the CSS SDX10 sub, and a couple of Paradigm PS1000 offers, for example. In which province do you live?
 
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zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
Regardless, I'd still give the edge to the Dayton SUB-1200. Given similar excursion limits, a 12" sub will simply move more air than a 10" sub. Additionally, the Dayton's F3 is lower (25Hz), so you'll hear more of the lowest tones and rumbles.

But, if wife acceptance factor is a consideration, the Fluance sub is definitely prettier.
Some how the Fluance does not really draw my interest.
http://hometheater.about.com/od/loudspeakerreview1/fr/Fluance-XL-Series-5-1-Channel-Home-Theater-Speaker-System-Review.htm

http://www.cnet.com/products/fluance-db-150/

I expect the Dayton to be a step above them old RadioShack subwoofers.
 
V

varsis

Audioholic Intern
I'm in Edmonton Alberta. I have been looking a bit but nothing that seems to be good for around the 150 mark. I am thinking about going into an home audio store and testing a few speakers out to see which ones I like.
 
afterlife2

afterlife2

Audioholic Warlord
You can listen to the Pioneers at Best Buy. Maybe they will price match Amazon. Just get the Dayton sub it's really good.
 
afterlife2

afterlife2

Audioholic Warlord
KEW I don't think NHT ships to CA. I think he found another place but they were expensive.
 
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