Not sure where to start...

[lsiberian]

Instead of buying the retail subwoofer, you should strongly consider putting together one. I don't mean actual DIY. You can purchase a pre-made/pre-finished sealed cabinet. You only need to cut a couple of holes in it with a jig saw. If you don't have a jig saw, you can buy one cheap, for about $20-$30. You would use a 3 cubic foot cabinet from www.partsexpress.com, an Eclipse SW8200 driver and an O Audio BASH500 watt plate amplifier. This solution costs about $700-$800 total and will exceed the quality of any retail subwoofer for the same price. This is due to the extraordinary driver I have specified which uses the LMS technology from TC Sounds/Audiopluse, the designers of the highest quality subwoofer drivers in the world (measurably). If you were to actually consider building your own cabinet, I can recommend other options that can exceed even this in performance (as you are limited to a sealed cabinet for the pre-made cabinet system).

-Chris

I can tell you for sure without any hesitation that Chris KNOWS what he is talking about and his suggestion is a great one......Stefan you should check out his sub offering..I have built 2 of Chris's subs not the PE ones but ones from scratch and they smoke anything I have heard......

This is the way to go. Home theater is made by the LFE. I must also point out that there are folks that do build custom subs as well. 1 good custom subs will beat 2 commercial subs. I suggest you get a custom box instead. You can probably get a better price by having a cabinet maker build one for you. And you don't have to cut anything.

I estimate 250 for a custom cabinet(design is in DIY area), 50-100 for a good enough(Infinity Perfect 12.1) driver, 200 for an EP1500. Subsonic filter 40 bucks(or crossover 60 bucks)

That's all you need. Plus you have access to the knowledge of everyone here. Especially Chris, Andrew, and the Doctor.

Combined they are a treasure trove of Subwoofer/speaker knowledge.

 

[Exit]

I have got my main speakers on each side of a 61" DLP about 6 feet apart. I found that turning the center channel off sounds better than if it is on. If you can keep your mains about that close together you may not need to spend money on a center channel that may or may not timbre match your mains. That money could go towards a better subwoofer. If you buy a good subwoofer, you can keep reusing it as you upgrade other parts of your system.

 

[lsiberian]

I have got my main speakers on each side of a 61" DLP about 6 feet apart. I found that turning the center channel off sounds better than if it is on. If you can keep your mains about that close together you may not need to spend money on a center channel that may or may not timbre match your mains. That money could go towards a better subwoofer. If you buy a good subwoofer, you can keep reusing it as you upgrade other parts of your system.

I agree with this. Unless you have just an amazing center. But amazing centers are huge in my experience.

Mine took up half the wall.

 

[WmAx]

This is the way to go. Home theater is made by the LFE. I must also point out that there are folks that do build custom subs as well. 1 good custom subs will beat 2 commercial subs. I suggest you get a custom box instead. You can probably get a better price by having a cabinet maker build one for you. And you don't have to cut anything.

I estimate 250 for a custom cabinet(design is in DIY area), 50-100 for a good enough(Infinity Perfect 12.1) driver, 200 for an EP1500. Subsonic filter 40 bucks(or crossover 60 bucks)

That's all you need. Plus you have access to the knowledge of everyone here. Especially Chris, Andrew, and the Doctor.

Combined they are a treasure trove of Subwoofer/speaker knowledge.

There is no reason, nor benefit to a 'custom' box when using the SW8200 driver I recommended. This is a sealed alignment, and this driver will only work properly in sealed applications. The point is no custom anything is needed, for those that don't want to go DIY. All parts are available off the shelf; you just put together the right combination of them to end up with a superior product.

-Chris

 

[Exit]

Sometimes it is far less money to buy a complete 5.1 system than to buy speakers separately. The HTP-351 5.1 (bookshelf) speaker system is $489 at the Audioholics store and it is basically a RBH speaker (high end retail product line) repackaged for internet sales. The subwoofer is good (not SVS good though) and sells for $350 by itself. This gives you an indication of how good a special these are.

http://store.audioholics.com/product/1866/17/emp-htp-351-5-1-speaker-system

IF you want a 7.1 system then look at this deal

http://store.audioholics.com/product/2296/17/emp-htp-371-7-1-speaker-system

For a receiver I would watch slickdeals.net or go to the Onkyo website below to find a refurbished TX-SR606 for $249.

http://store.audioholics.com/product/1866/17/emp-htp-351-5-1-speaker-system

This would leave about half your budget to buy something else or just keep the savings.

You could also buy an SVS 5.1 system for $899 at the site below but SVS subwoofers are generally large and you should check the measurements for a place to put it in your room.

http://www.svsound.com/products-sys-sbs_black.cfm