Replace Speakers

[msalamon]

We are doing a basement renovation and had 4 good but fairly basic round speakers installed in the ceiling, connected via Monster XP Navajo White Compact speaker cable to the location where the home theater system will sit.

The basement is almost done and I am now in the market for a home theater system. I was figuring that I would simply get an all-in-one system, with 5.1 speakers, and just replace the included surround sound speakers with my 4 speakers, keeping the center channel speaker and subwoofer. (I don't want to buy a stand-alone receiver and separate center channel speaker and subwoofer b/c of the cost.)

My question: is there generally an issue replacing some/all of the speakers in a home theater system, or do some/all of them use proprietary connections or speakers that make this difficult it not impossible? If there are some that will work and some that won't, what should I look for in selecting an all-in-one home theater system that will allow me to use my speakers?

 

[jcPanny]

HT Speakers

MS,
A couple of the inceling speakers might work OK for the surround channels, but for HT you want a good tonal match across the front, meaning matching speakers. I would suggest reasonable priced bookshelf speakers w/ an entry level receiver and sub. Check out the Onix X-LS speakers from AV123. If this is too much, look for Athena or BIC bookshelf speakers.

 

[msalamon]

Speakers

Thanks. I have matching speakers. If the sound quality is not good, I can always replace them. But the main issue of my post was whether there would be any problems using separately purchased speakers with an all in one home theater system that comes with its own speakers. Would greatly appreciate some insight into that.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

With the exception of 'Brand B' and some oddball Sharper Image packages, every HT system uses standard connectors, and you should have no trouble doing what you want as outlined in post1.

 

[AVRat]

As Rock said, most HTIB setups will work for you. Some of the better ones come from Denon, Onkyo, and Yamaha that have better receivers. The downside is that the included subwoofers are very poor performers. If you have a budget in mind, we may be able to help you get better gear for the price of a full HTIB setup.

 

[dem beats]

As Rock said, most HTIB setups will work for you. Some of the better ones come from Denon, Onkyo, and Yamaha that have better receivers. The downside is that the included subwoofers are very poor performers. If you have a budget in mind, we may be able to help you get better gear for the price of a full HTIB setup.

This is gold. An HTIB should only be your choice if you are going for ease, and because you don't want to spend time auditioning other speakers.

You won't save money in most cases. You won't be satisfied once you have heard what else is out there too.

I was almost dead set on an HTIB before I went to a specialty store and heard some NHT classic 3's then a pair of big maggies run a beautiful Mac tube amp... now you can spend allot going to the extremes, but I would feel confident that no HTIB can compair with what you can get for that same dollar by peicing together different units.

just my .02