Budget Gear

[Doufuss]

<font color='#000000'>OK

It seems that there are a fair amount of people here to whom money is no object. I'd like to put together a forum for guys like me on a strict budget, and still get good sound.

For example, I am currently running a Yamaha 5640 (75wpc:6.1) receiver with a Yamaha sw215 (120w) sub. My speakers are made by Quest (a Canadian company owned by Erickson, who happen to own Harman Kardon and JBL). 2x6&quot; woofers x 1&quot; dome towers plus 1x6&quot;x1&quot; bookshelves. The speakers are a little on the warm side, but I prefer that over a thinner sound. (Prefer...)

Bottom line is, the bottom line. I've spent less than $1,200 bucks on the entire system, and guests in my home are floored by the sound.

The point:  What kind of gear do you have? What influenced your decision? How frugal and resourceful did you get? Can you recommend, without qualification, the gear you currently have?

Help us make sound decisions!</font>

 

[nm2285]

<font color='#000000'>I'm a college student so resources are low (and parental consent is also difficult: &quot;why don't you spend the money on books?&quot.  I do about 90% music so a 2 channel setup is all I really want.

Naturally, like all audio lovers, I want the best equipment.  So, I do a lot of online shopping and looking before buying and have been very fortunate to find every piece of my system at huge discounts and from authorized retailers.

NHT SB2s: $400 retail, $200 paid.  Unqualified recommendation.  Have yet to hear anything that comes even close for the price I paid and only Energy C3s have competed  (they are $150 more retail).  One complaint-inefficient so may not be good for someone on a very tight budget.

Harman Kardon DVD101: $300 retail, $130 paid.  Highly recommended.  If you're using it for mostly music like I am, it's audio output is excellent.  Can't comment much on video, don't use it for that much.  Also, very sturdy and heavy.  Would like SACD for 2 channel listening too, though.

NAD C370: $900 retail orig., $700 retail now, $480 paid.  Uqualified recommendation.  Extremely musical and involving, extremely powerful, seems pretty flat, and very natural.

Pinnacle Digital Sub 350: $1200 retail, $450 paid.  Recommended.  Excellent performer-unbelievable at price paid.  Hits deep and with punch and quickness.  At $1200 I think I'd go with an offering from Velodyne, but at much below, this is a great buy.

Total system price was under $1500 and I am blown away by it (even in the terrible acoustic environment of a dorm room).</font>

 

[Ross]

<font color='#000000'>My den

My living room

best,</font>

 

[CyboLynx]

<font color='#000000'>well iv got a few things going on here ...lol

for movies i have a sony strde585 ....5.1dd, prologic II, DTS $400 cdn (new)....(its not the best but i have 2kids a wife and im on disabilty) ....honest opinion ...well this amp has served me very well ....it seems to have enough power for music and movies is a little weak in the bass.....

now what this amp is powering ....
mains - JBL CF-150's there rated 325rms 98db 8ohm 31hz - 20khz...the 98db rating helps my amp alot ....3way 1inch tweeter 6inch mid and a 15inch woofer ....i paid about $400cdn for the pair used .....(all i can say is WOW ....BASS and clear)

rears - JBL CF-80s &nbsp;rated 100rms 91db 8ohm 45hz - 20khz ....
(replaced the blown tweeters with a set of mirage FRXseries 1inch metal hybrid tweeters) ....paid $150cdn used ....and i dont have a complaint about them ...with the tweeter replacements they sound spectacular and crisp ....(have used them as my mains just to hear them ....

i have a PS2 yep hooked up to the optical input of my amp and it works great for me ....have the remote to lol ....
digital is digital .....($200cdn)

i have a 27&quot; toshiba tv ($400cdn used a few years ago) ...nothing spectacular but its got one solid picture for a compsite tv only ....looks better than some cheaper HDTVs i have seen ...

....

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i also have a QSC MX 1500a poweramp and a Gemini PA-700 preamp i picked for $400cdn .... all i can say is POWERFULL .....and CLEAN ....

its not doing anything right now ....

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and on my computer im running a set of B&amp;Ws 301s i believe .... paid $100cdn for them ....nice nice sound from such a small speaker ....they were demo speakers at a local AV shop ....and im powering them with an old 100wpc solid state SCOTT ....buit sometime in the 70-80s ....yet to find any info on it ...but all i know is it has quite the power ...
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i had a JBL Ncenter channel &nbsp;....and i also had a set of JBL N24II's ....used them for my center and surrounds ....

they just never sounded right to me in my setup ....tried to use them as mains on the scott ...my qsc ...my sony ...i hated them ....they were not my ears flavor of speaker ...they hurt in about an hours time of listening to them ...and they didnt do to good at surround ...IMHO ....

i also have a set of energy 3.1e speakers doing nothing right now ....i find them really weird listening to them ....cant explain havent given them 30min yet ....just cant get into there sound ....

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sofar with my equipment i like what i hear and my friends jaws drop ....they hear things in the music they havent herd ....and when im alone i swear i can feel the music running threw me ....i love it ....

i love proligic II music....i turn my rears facing the back wall about a foot away and listen to music like that ....i set my rears on my reciever to behind and low cuz there at ear level ....and i just feel like im engulphed in sound like a big warm blanket ...

on average i listen to music about 18 hours a day if not more .....no joke ...i listen to music when i sleep ...i cant sleep with out it ...the wife has learned that i sleep on the coutch cuz i love music so much i cant leave it ...lol

i listen to all sots of music ....clasical to rap ....country to punk .....

so for about $2000 i think i have some toys to play with ....

i also have misk drivers in my basment ....crossovers ....there just cheap ....but ya never know when your gonna need them ...</font>

 

[zipper]

<font color='#000000'>This is right up my alley, being the thrifty(cheap) bastard that I am.
I've got a Yamaha 3300 (6.1,130wpc) that listed at $1499 but I got the floor model for $599 @ Good Guys.Rather proud of that.
Got 4 Klipsch KB 1.1's on closeout for $45 each,which was my system combined with a Boston PV500 sub($300) for a while. Not a stellar deal on the sub but saved $50 none the less. Also got a Klipsch center channel on closeout for $120.That setup actually sounded better than when I went out and bought a pr of Boston 950's for $180 a piece($400/pr off retail) which is what I use for my mains now along with 2 of the 1.1's for rears.
&nbsp;Got a Mitsubishi 6030 DVD/CD player for $120($80 off) along with a JVC 32&quot; TV for $320($110 off).
&nbsp;All in all not a bad setup for a high-fivin' white guy.Still looking to upgrade whenever possible. The ex got to keep the Klipsch Fortes along with an older high-powered Pioneer receiver,Pioneer Elite 65(?)inch hi-def TV &amp; an assortment of other fairly high end stuff.
&nbsp;So I guess I got about $2100 into my &quot;system&quot; &amp; ,trust me, I didn't get to do it all at once.
&nbsp;Looking for new mains &amp; an outboard to drive them now.Geez, I got this awful itch I can't get rid of!

</font>

 

[Doufuss]

<font color='#000000'>Zipper

That itch is endemic to this forum, and there is no cure. You've done some excellent shopping. When I walk into the electronics store and ask for the sales guy to demo this or that, I've always done my homework and will carry flyers etc. to force these guys to deal. Thrifty? SFW!

I forgot about dollars for mine. Quest 665 towers $140 | Quest QB6 bookshelves $0 | Yamaha SW 215 $290 | Yamaha HTR 5640 $330 | NoName centre $0 | Sony slv-d300p $290.00 | RCA 7018 32&quot; $400

grand total of........................ $1190.10 cdn (about $800usd)

Bookshelves were a giveaway with any receiver purchased. I'd been looking at both for months. Saved $250.

Sorry about your losses. As a semi humorous and completely insensitive aside, a friend had this to say after a particularly nasty exchange with his ex -

&quot;Next time, I'll find a woman I hate, and give her a house&quot;

good luck</font>