Budget $1000 theater system

[Kenny Kim]

I'm a newbie and sorry I couldn't get definite answer from research.

I have Benq w1770 and screen ready.
Time for receiver and speakers.

I was looking to get Onkyo receiver with Bose acoustimass 10 but it seems people disappointed with Bose sounds quality for the price.

My budget is around $1000.00 for the speaker system and about $200~$300 for receiver.
I'm looking to get 5.1 system.

What would you recommend? I will mainly watch movie and TV. Oh and Pandora music.

Thank you very much!

 

[lsiberian]

Are you willing to save up more if you could get world class speakers? Would you be willing to have a world class stereo setup and add to that world class setup over time?

I get the idea you want an epic theater experience and if you build your system properly over time you can definitely have that. Speakers in your price range will certainly do the job, but I think fantastic 2-channel setup destroys a mediocre 5.1 setup

 

[rojo]

WaveCrest Audio HVL-1 x 3 = I'm guessing around $330 shipped?
Fluance XLBP bipolar surrounds -- $200
NXG NX-BAS-500 subwoofer -- $270
Denon AVR-X2000 -- $300 shipped?

Info: WaveCrest Audio HVL-1 | NXG NX-BAS-500 | Fluance XLBP | Denon AVR-X2000

Or if you prefer monopole surrounds, just get 5x WaveCrest HVL-1's and drop the Fluance bipoles for about the same price.

You'll still need speaker stands, speaker wire, subwoofer cable, wiremold for the surrounds, and so on.

 

[Kenny Kim]

Thanks for the reply.
so Fluance XLBP goes around the back?
Wave for the front?

Thanks

 

[rojo]

Yep. Bipolar speakers give a somewhat nebulous surround effect -- not as focused as monopoles. They're meant to bounce the sound from the surround effects channels all around. Bipolar speakers wouldn't be desirable for native 5.1 channel music, but for movies they're great.

If you plan to enable virtual surround modes to make all your speakers play stereo content, then forget the Fluance bipoles and get 5 of the WaveCrest speakers instead. (Or just go sit in your car and listen. Same difference.)

If your listening position doesn't have a wall behind it, you'll probably want to use the WaveCrest speakers in the rear for more flexible mounting options. The Fluance speakers are meant to be wall-mounted.

You'll probably get other recommendations from other people as well. Weigh all your options before you pull the trigger. You might consider getting more expensive LCR (or possibly just LR), then adding a better sub later, then finishing with surrounds as an afterthought. Since this is an investment you'll live with for many years, that sort of strategy makes great sense as well.

 

[Lulimet]

I second the Wavecrest recommendation. Very nice neutral speakers and are a good value.

 

[Kenny Kim]

Thanks for the detailed information.
I just looked at Fluance XL series 5.0 theater system for around $800 plus NXG subwoofer for $270. How's that set up?

 

[rojo]

Not bad, but I think the WaveCrests would be more neutral. Gene reviewed the Fluance XL7F towers and claimed there was a bit too much upper bass emphasis. This can be seen in his measurement.

Other independent measurements support this assessment.

As you can see, the response from the WaveCrests is flatter, better-behaved:

The biggest advantage to the Fluance speakers is the mid-tweet-mid config. MTM config speakers can sometimes offer better control of vertical dispersion. If you've got an especially live room, the Fluance speakers might hold some appeal over the WaveCrests for fewer ceiling reflections.

For what it's worth, both WaveCrest Audio and Fluance offer 30-day in-home trials. Fluance will pay return shipping if you're not satisfied, whereas WaveCrest expects the customer to pay for return shipping.

Be that as it may, I would probably still choose the WaveCrest bookshelfs over the Fluance HTIB.

 

[Kenny Kim]

I really appreciate your kind reply. It helps me alot.
Finally is there any special speaker wires? or can I just buy any wire and hook them up to receiver? I know I'm a newbie..

Thank you very much!

 

[rojo]

For speaker wire, go with oxygen-free copper. The cheap stuff is copper-clad aluminum, and is only about 2/3 as efficient as OFC. Here's a very informative article describing what speaker wire to look for. Here is the Cliff Notes version of minimum recommended wire thickness for distance runs in feet:

Speaker Impedance    8Ω    6Ω   4Ω
18 AWG               10'   8'   5'
16 AWG               20'   15'  10'
14 AWG               35'   30'  20'
12 AWG               60'   45'  30'
10 AWG               100'  75'  50'

The speaker wire I linked earlier, the Monoprice 14AWG OFC wire, will be good for running 8Ω surrounds up to 35 feet. It'll be overkill for the mains if they are only ten feet from the receiver, but there's not a thing wrong with a little over-engineering.

For the subwoofer cable, earlier I linked a 15' KabelDirekt Y cable. You might get a solid quality Monoprice RCA cable for a few dollars less. I'm very fond of the fit and finish of the KabelDirekt cables, though; and having a Y cable satisfies my OCD need to fill both RCA inputs on a subwoofer plate amp (despite that it's probably not technically necessary to do so).

 

[rojo]

If you're curious to see the next step up, that would be the Hsu Research Hybrid 2. The Hybrid 2 3.1 package is $1166 shipped, and includes LCR + sub. You'd still need a receiver, and you can hold off on the surrounds until later to help overcome the sticker shock if you wish.

Info: The "Best Of" AXPONA 2015 -- scroll down to "Best Real World Gear: HSU Research". Stereomojo review. Plus there are quite a few links on the bookshelf and subwoofer product pages to other independent reviews.

 

[zieglj01]

My budget is around $1000.00 for the speaker system and about $200~$300 for receiver.
I'm looking to get 5.1 system.

What would you recommend?

This is my curveball recommendation - and good prices

JBL Studio 230 bookshelf - and on sale
http://www.amazon.com/JBL-Studio-230-Bookshelf-Loudspeaker/dp/B00GJXSWZW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430248514&sr=8-1&keywords=jbl+studio+230

JBL Studio 235 center - and on sale
http://www.amazon.com/JBL-Studio-235C-6-5-Inch-Loudspeaker/dp/B00GJYRWK2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430248538&sr=8-1&keywords=jbl+studio+235

HSU Subwoofer VTF-2
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-2mk4.html

If budget is tight, then save up for surrounds