Budget oriented sites

[maximoiglesias]

Hey guys!!
There are a lot of people out here who also enjoy all this stuff but don't have the bucks to get high end gear.
Is there a magazine, web site or whatever specializing in budget HT gear??

There are plenty of "very good" equipment in the $200 - $400 range.
Recievers, DVD players, speakers, HTIB etc... but it is very hard to find reviews about such budget gear.

Any comments???

 

[BMXTRIX]

There is far more very lousy equpment at the bottom end of the price scale than there is 'very good' gear. But, for reviews of gear, you are much better looking at online reviews. Those companies quite often are the ones that don't advertise, or can't afford to advertise in magazine, and likewise, don't get any coverage in magazines. Yet at the $200 level there are tons of DVD players that get reviews, praise, and flames all over the Internet. Speaker packages, receivers, etc. it all comes down to advertising $$$ for magazines, but for the web, you can pretty much find anything in the world.

I often wish that Audioholics would get some more of the cheaper gear in and give it an honest review from time to time. Say, sub $500 HTIB systems. Or $100 & under DVD players. Cheaper speaker pacakges... Stuff like that. I guess it boils down to REVIEWS are easy to find. GOOD reviews are very tough to find.

 

[j_garcia]

www.audiogon.com - if you know what you're looking for, this is a great resource. As with all used stuff, you should know a bit about what you're after and what it is worth first.

www.ac4l.com www.onecall.com www.jr.com www.bhphoto.com www.audioadvisor.com

 

[maximoiglesias]

Budget

Thanks J. Garcia.
I'll look into those.
MI

 

[gene]

Perhaps you haven't looked hard enough at our reviews page.

We have numerous reviews on budget receivers, HTIB's, DVD players and speakers.

Look at the Pioneer, Helios, and Oppo reviews here:
http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/index.php

and the numerous HTIB systems and budget speakers from Axiom, Athena Technologies, Tannoy, AV123, Bic, etc here:
http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/loudspeakers/index.php

 

[maximoiglesias]

Thanks

Thanks Gene, I'll look into them.
My problem is I live in a country where hifi gear are extremely expensive and with limited availability. So we have to content ourselves with the lowest priced gear which it is still quite expensive here. (example, an $200 reciever here would cost $375 to $400)

Thanks for your help

 

[Jedi2016]

I'm a poor boy myself, so budget stuff is definitely the way to go for me.

Maybe I'm not as much of a stickler as some people, but I find my $90 DVD player and $450 surround system to be more than adequate for my needs. Both Sony, by the way.. I know enough to at least buy brand-name instead of those über-cheap brands I've never even heard of.

All that's left is a television. Hopefully I won't have to spend more than about $2K.

 

[cornelius]

There are lots of great ways to get good sound on a budget.
http://www.affordableaudio.org/

They might have some ideas for you.

 

[JoeE SP9]

The least expensive way to get good sound is to build it yourself. DIY speakers are the easiest way to get involved in the DIY thing.

 

[majorloser]

It would seem a short trip to Florida might be in your future

You need to come over here and raid a Brandsmart in South Florida. I'm sure you can get some cheap flights from DR to Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

Granted, you'd probably fill the overhead compartment on the return flight home.

 

[mustang_steve]

You cna find some info even on this site on good budget stuff.

Thing with speakers...it does pay to spend a bit more. For around $500 you can get a Yahama HTiB with nice sized speakers, that will put out quite a bit of sound. Just add a TV and DVD player. Or, wait until the X-LS HT speaker set from av123 is ready to ship, and buy those, then get a bargain reciever and DVD player.

There are tons of options...but at a $200 price limit overall, your hands will be tied to finding a sale on an Onkyo HTiB. If it's $200 a piece, well you can get some great stuff for those prices, if you look around enough. $200 was what it costed for me to get a Yamaha NS-BP4500 surround speaker set....not very high fidelity or anything, but it will give you plenty of sound, and whoops the grills off of all those little cube speakers.

Honestly, I would say if you are looking for super-affordable, but also intend to listen to music on this system, to go with 2-channel. That way, you can spend on nicer speakers.

I'm a budget audiophile myself...I just have a hard time accepting the thought of dropping $500 or more on a pair of bookshelf speakers. Of course I want them...but when it comes time to throw down the wallet, I get this "Steve....what the hell are you doing?" feeling, and end up backing down.

 

[dannv]

I'm a poor boy myself, so budget stuff is definitely the way to go for me.

Maybe I'm not as much of a stickler as some people, but I find my $90 DVD player and $450 surround system to be more than adequate for my needs. Both Sony, by the way.. I know enough to at least buy brand-name instead of those über-cheap brands I've never even heard of.

All that's left is a television. Hopefully I won't have to spend more than about $2K.

LMAO

dude sony ha ha ha sony is waaaay behind the competition, and what you are paying for IS brand name.

Some of those "brands youve never heard of" put out really good stuff. Do some research.