Home Audio - What is the "minimally" best I can get for the least amount of money?

[Kovacs]

Hello all,

Background
I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to my PC-TV-monitor speakers, in terms of audio quality and build.

I've realized that my tv speakers really don't compare to the headphones that I sometimes wear.

But, I don't really want to be wearing my headset for most of what I do, which is for watching movies, YouTube videos, and FPS gaming.


Goal
I'm looking to upgrade my home audio from my TV speakers to a surround sound experience, with I'm guessing two bookshelf speakers (to the right and left of me) with a sub woofer (?), for the minimally best, worthwhile quality at the lowest price.


Which one?
I researched this a bit online and it looks like I'd want a bookshelf speaker due to space constraints. Furthermore, from what I've read, it sounds like a sub woofer makes all the difference, as long as they're "quality" ones, though I wouldn't know what that means. Can you please let me know which speakers are the minimally best, worthwhile quality for the lowest price? I know there are a lot of bargain brands out there and many at Wal-Mart and big box stores, but I don't want to just buy something without researching.


Positioning
This home audio setup would be for a small, enclosed room of roughly the size of 12' x 15'. If I can get by with two bookshelf speakers to the right and left of me, I think that I would need sound coming out of the bookshelf 6"- 8" directly to my left at ear level, and speakers to the right of me (either 2 feet right and to the back or "SE" of me at chest level, or about 7 feet away from me to the right at "S-SE" of me at neck level). Are the speakers to close to my ear? If so, I can put the left speaker higher up at the very top of the bookshelf, and the right one 7 feet away on a stand.

If the positioning of the sound can be best achieved some other way (e.g. different combinations of location and number of speakers), please let me know.


Thanks for all of your help in advance. I greatly appreciate it and I look forward to experiencing what all this sound quality is about.

 

[KEW]

You will need an AVR or something to power the speakers, but for $220 shipped, the AA Monitors are your best bet. They put out more bass than you would expect and I think you would be happy with them while you are deciding on what sub to compliment them (and you might decide that the AA's don't need a sub, depending on what shows you watch and your expectation (and if you are in an apartment).

http://philharmonicaudio.com/aa.html

I am confused on your positioning. Are you proposing the left speaker at 6-8 inches away and the right speaker behind you at 7 feet? That is bizarre, but that is how I read it!

A layout of your room would be very helpful!

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I was beat by KEW by few mins. +1

 

[Kovacs]

I am confused on your positioning. Are you proposing the left speaker at 6-8 inches away and the right speaker behind you at 7 feet? That is bizarre, but that is how I read it!

A layout of your room would be very helpful!

Thanks for your response.

To simplify the layout of my room, I'm near one corner of the roughly 12' x 15' room. There's a bookshelf at the corner where I'm thinking of putting the left speaker. The other speaker would pretty much be at the other corner to my right. Is the left speaker too close to my ear? If so, I can put it up at the top of the bookshelf.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

but what is your budget?

 

[Kovacs]

but what is your budget?

Good question. Ideally, I'd want it to be "as low as possible", if that means anything. Archer, I mean KEW, mentioned $220 w/o the sub woofers, and that is a bit steep for me. I definitely wouldn't mind second hand or eBay. Any thoughts on how much second hand, minimally acceptable quality speakers and subs would go for? I will try to make that price my budget.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Your best bet is to start relentlessly scour Craigslist. Ask questions here to help you navigate it. Bear in mind most of stuff will be crap, overpriced or likely both
Don't take this the wrong way, but alternatively you could find better use of your spare time and instead of video games and youtube you could be selling Wordpress templates for example or DJing in Second Life

 

[KEW]

Thanks for your response.

To simplify the layout of my room, I'm near one corner of the roughly 12' x 15' room. There's a bookshelf at the corner where I'm thinking of putting the left speaker. The other speaker would pretty much be at the other corner to my right. Is the left speaker too close to my ear? If so, I can put it up at the top of the bookshelf.

You really want the sound to come more from the display. I think having one speaker so close and the other so far would have it's own set of problems. You would have the balance very lopsided with the left speaker as a nearfield setup and all of the reflections in the room coming off of the right speaker. Also at that close, you can run into problems with being able to distinctly hear the woofer and tweeter as coming from two different places. You may be better off with a (dare I say it) soundbar located at the TV if your only alternative is having the speakers in such strange locations. The idea, after all is to give the best illusion of the sound being coherent with the image. With a Soundbar, you don't need amplification (it is usually built in). A soundbar with sub would be good if you can spring for it. Most of these bars only have 3" speakers which greatly limits bass reproduction.
http://www.accessories4less.com/?type=&page=category&action=&id=soundbars&skip_redirect_suffix=&view_id=2f122eb8ac24bd42760b04f7e499c950ebf682e2&mode=&search_query=&category=&thumb_sort=store_price.asc

But getting back to the other option:
If $220 is steep for your budget and that does not include the amplification, you definitely need to check Craigs list. You can generally find a solid AVR for $50 to 75. Do you need HDMI inputs?

I believe you need 5 posts before you can post links, so get that out of the way, then you can post links to what you have found.

 

[Kovacs]

You really want the sound to come more from the display. I think having one speaker so close and the other so far would have it's own set of problems. You would have the balance very lopsided with the left speaker as a nearfield setup and all of the reflections in the room coming off of the right speaker. Also at that close, you can run into problems with being able to distinctly hear the woofer and tweeter as coming from two different places. You may be better off with a (dare I say it) soundbar located at the TV if your only alternative is having the speakers in such strange locations. The idea, after all is to give the best illusion of the sound being coherent with the image. With a Soundbar, you don't need amplification (it is usually built in). A soundbar with sub would be good if you can spring for it. Most of these bars only have 3" speakers which greatly limits bass reproduction.

But getting back to the other option:
If $220 is steep for your budget and that does not include the amplification, you definitely need to check Craigs list. You can generally find a solid AVR for $50 to 75. Do you need HDMI inputs?

I believe you need 5 posts before you can post links, so get that out of the way, then you can post links to what you have found.

Sweet thanks again for your comprehensive response. I'll definitely take a look at Craigslist.

I can use HDMI on my PC and that setup should be no problem for me (at least I don't think). I'm assuming any of the audio inputs can be put directly into the TV or the PC.

 

[Kovacs]

I can't seem to find any soundbars near me on CL. So will something like this work?

Amphion AMW-T365 5.1 Home Theater System

 

[Kovacs]

Here is the link:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/ele/5269466889.html

 

[Johnny2Bad]

If you are serious about maximum sound quality (SQ) and minimal cash outlay you want to massage your budget so that a significant majority of your speaker money goes to the main left and right (L-R) speakers, and bang-for-buck means bookshelf monitors with stands; you should probably build or have built the stands yourself.

You can get stupid cheap deals on centre channel speakers on eBay. I'm talking $15 and $25 for models that retail for a few hundred dollars, from manufacturers with bona fide SW credentials.

5.1 or 7.1
Obviously you get better value out of a 5.1 setup; you just can't divide the kitty when money is a major criteria with 4 vs 2 more speakers over your 3.1 setup.

There is good news here, though. The side or rear channels do not make huge SQ demands on a surround system. Bringing up the SQ on the 2+ additional speakers (ie 5.1 system = 3 + 2 additional) is at or near last priority-wise for maximum value.

So all you *really* need is a pair of speakers that work, aren't too big, and fit your decor needs. Buying used is an obvious strategy here.

You could even consider buying a low-Fi surround system, used, on CraigsList, taking 2 speakers for your side/rear surrounds, and reselling the "extra" speakers as a stereo pair, a LR+Centre setup, etc.

Keep your options open and do what makes the best economic sense. When money is as tight as it seems to be in your case, flexibility, creativity, and a ruthless cost cutting attitude count the most.

 

[markw]

Here is the link:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/ele/5269466889.html

Not to pith on your cornflakes but a reality check is called for: Things like this will be no better than a pair of cheap computer speakers. It may be multi-channel but it'll be like being surrounded by five pocket radios with a minimally preforming bass box, not a subwoofer.

With your budget, if you want anything approximating decent sound, I'd forgo surround sound and look for a two channel solution. And, even then, with your budqet, it'll take a bit of luck to find anything.

So, let us know if you are willing to settle for two channels. Your odds of getting decent sound will be greatly improved.

Even then, headphones still offer better sound for the buck. You may have to spring for some more dinero for a real improvement in overall sound.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Given your budget constraints, here are a couple of options for bookshelf speakers and a sub that have generally received good reviews among audio buffs.

Pioneer SP-BSS2 Andrew Jones Bookshelf Speakers
Dayton Audio SUB1200 12” subwoofer

This is about a cheap as it gets for something resembling good sound quality. If this is too expensive for you, I suggest being patient and trying to snag them on ebay, where they should sell for roughly half what they cost new.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[herbu]

the AA Monitors are your best bet... and you might decide that the AA's don't need a sub

This, along w/ a used AVR is your best bet. But you need to think about rearranging your room. The speakers need to be roughly equidistant from you.

 

[KEW]

Here is the link:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/ele/5269466889.html

Those are a bunch of low quality 3" full range speakers. It would be wiser to get fewer speakers of higher quality.
I can't say I am familiar with that product, but it looks pretty horrible and it sounds like without the remote, you will not be able to properly test it.

Good question. Ideally, I'd want it to be "as low as possible", if that means anything. Archer, I mean KEW, mentioned $220 w/o the sub woofers, and that is a bit steep for me. I definitely wouldn't mind second hand or eBay. Any thoughts on how much second hand, minimally acceptable quality speakers and subs would go for? I will try to make that price my budget.

That was what my first response was. The AA monitors (which I believe would cover your bass needs well enough) or Wayne's response of the Pioneer speakers with sub. Either way we are talking a minimum of $275-$350 including a receiver from CL.
So, we don't want to play 20 questions with you. Your budget is too tight for us to recommend good products. However, some of us don't have any pride left and will try to steer you in the direction of "less mediocre" products.
But you need to say how much.

Position - if you got stereo speakers, could you locate them near the display? If the locations you propose are your only choice, I do believe a soundbar (with sub) is in your best interest. How far away is your tv/monitor?

Please answer these questions!

 

[Kovacs]

Those are a bunch of low quality 3" full range speakers. It would be wiser to get fewer speakers of higher quality.
I can't say I am familiar with that product, but it looks pretty horrible and it sounds like without the remote, you will not be able to properly test it.



That was what my first response was. The AA monitors (which I believe would cover your bass needs well enough) or Wayne's response of the Pioneer speakers with sub. Either way we are talking a minimum of $275-$350 including a receiver from CL.
So, we don't want to play 20 questions with you. Your budget is too tight for us to recommend good products. However, some of us don't have any pride left and will try to steer you in the direction of "less mediocre" products.
But you need to say how much.

Position - if you got stereo speakers, could you locate them near the display? If the locations you propose are your only choice, I do believe a soundbar (with sub) is in your best interest. How far away is your tv/monitor?

Please answer these questions!

I have a 40" monitor which is about 6 feet away, so it's pretty close. The center of the TV is at/near eye level. It's on a lazy Susan so I can direct the audio to wherever I'm sitting.

The display and lazy Susan are on a maybe 2.5" tall TV stand, so I can put a soundbar there.
Would that emulate a surround sound experience? What if I mount the satellite speakers on the ceiling corners instead of the bookshelf or ear-level?

As for a budget, maybe $90 or sub-$100? I won't mind eBay or CL. I can also build a stand or whatnot if need be.

Thanks for your educative tips and suggestions so far!

 

[Seth=L]

At that budget you should shoot for buying something of quality used, most likely locally.

Not only do you need speakers, but you also need a way to amplify them. A cheap receiver would do the trick (I cannot recommend all these little lepai and other tiny "amplifiers").

Any thrift shops, pawn shops, etc... in your area?

 

[Kovacs]

At that budget you should shoot for buying something of quality used, most likely locally.

Not only do you need speakers, but you also need a way to amplify them. A cheap receiver would do the trick (I cannot recommend all these little lepai and other tiny "amplifiers").

Any thrift shops, pawn shops, etc... in your area?

Yes, but from what I've seen, the pawn shops seem to be similar to or higher than what's seen on sites like eBay. Ultimately, I think I'll have to find listings on CL or eBay to post here, and see if it's audiophile approved

 

[Seth=L]

Yes, but from what I've seen, the pawn shops seem to be similar to or higher than what's seen on sites like eBay.

Yeah, sometimes they are. If you educate yourself to be more knowledgeable on this stuff it's likely you'll find they aren't always high, sometimes they're just the opposite. They're run by humans that make mistakes.

Ultimately, I think I'll have to find listings on CL or eBay to post here, and see if it's audiophile approved

Sure, you could do that. I'd be happy to review anything that you might turn up.