Complete newbie, $500 to spend

[shalashaska]

Hey evry 1
i havnt been rnd alot, and im a complete newbie to audio, and havnt used/heard anything decent
being as that is, i dont have any equipment on me ryte now, tho im moving to a new room, its fairly small, and i have $500 to spare on a decent 5.1 channel sound system

I have no idea whts good and whts not, it shud be clear and loud!
im open to any and all suggestions, so the gurus of audio, guide me

 

[mustang_steve]

$500 is a tough niche to fill. I assume you need the reciever as well?

Assume you will spend $200 on a reciever, but buy it first....do not exceed $200. Go for 5.1, the recievers tend to be more affordable, and at your price point more channels will not be a good bargain. Go for a good name brand too. I myself am a big Yamaha fan.

Use whatever remaining you have left to get the speakers. Look at 5.1 speaker kits at your price range. Hsu makes a good one, although the sub would place it out of your price range....you could however buy that surround kit minus the subwoofer and buy a cheaper sub.

Athena makes good stuff as well.

One good place to buy surround sets is from ebay...you can usually buy discontinued product in unopened boxes for 25% off if you look around enough. Check around first to make sure the brand is reputable...some brands, are what we call "white van" speakers, avoid those as they are possibly one of the lowest values in speakers around, at any price.

Just remember to do your research, and ask plenty of questions. As for "what speaker is best"....go and listen to them. Don't look to be wowed...instead look for pleasing and believeable sound, as well as something that plays cleanly when pushed.

 

[Nick250]

I would echo everything Steve wrote and would suggest two other to possibly ways go.

1. Spend you total speaker budget on the best two front speakers you can ($300 for speakers, $200 for receiver) Your front speakers are the heart of your system IMO. Then build around them as you save up more money.

2. $500 is not enough to get you that much of a system IMO. If you can up your budget some (ahemm, who on this forum has not been down that road ). For example $600 gets you this system from Hsu, and then still spend $200 for a receiver as Steve mentions above. I know this is over your targeted budget but it would be a big leap in sound quality. Good luck.

http://www.hsustore.com/vt12.html

Edit: There is a $200 reveiver thread going on here at the moment.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24007

Nick

 

[Leprkon]

you won't be able to get a top-of the-line system, but you can still get some very decent pieces...

mains ($ 90 to 200 plus ship)

http://www.thetwistergroup.com/product/DV-62SIB D00804.html

or

http://www.thetwistergroup.com/product/DV-52SIB D00803.html
plus
http://www.thetwistergroup.com/product/V-1020 D13265.html

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center ($60 to 85 plus ship)

http://www.thetwistergroup.com/product/DV-52CLRB D00812.html

or slightly better

http://www.thetwistergroup.com/product/DV-53CLR D00813.html

the 53 is better but is pretty heavy
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surrounds ($55 plus ship):

http://www.thetwistergroup.com/product/IS-30 I<>O BLACK D09960.html

also in white, comes with brackets

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DVD player ($ 50 plus ship)

http://www.outlet.philips.com/b2c_redesign/b2c/productdetail.do?productguid=419077EAEF11009F00000000828BD472415B663B9D51030500000000828BD443&productarea=419077EAEF11009F00000000828BD472&scenario=catalog&shop=OUTLET

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receiver ($180 plus ship)

http://www.accessories4less.com/cgi-bin/item/ONKTXSR503S

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speaker wire ($25 at nearest Lowe's)

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=214940-578-PM62122&lpage=none

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interconnect ($ 14 plus ship)

http://www.accessories4less.com/cgi-bin/item/PR131

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this runs you just under $500 to about $600, depending on which options you take. You can get a Onkyo 303 receiver for about $90 less, and if you don;t need a DVD player, have another $ 50 to invest in a subwoofer.

hope this helps

 

[shalashaska]

wow, thnx for the great response guys! as ive stated im very new to audio, so im sure i dont need THE top of the line system

And since im only 17, im on a very limited budget, and to make matters worse, im from out of town (pakistan actually) so i dont think ebaying wud be such a good way to go (ever since ive heard ebay horror stories :/) if i encounter problems

i also considerd wht nick suggested as ive seen alot of ppl here who are on a budget take tht route, tht is buy the front speakers only, but since im going back soon (to pakistan) and since their we dont have such variety, especially at these prices, i fear ill be stuck with the 2.1 setup

lastly i personally think leprekon's specd out system is very good, and its either tht, or the yamaha recierver + athena micra 6 setup which i planned on initially, im gonna be using this in my room, connecting it with my pc, console, and ofcourse for movies etc, so ill let you guys chose which route is betr, the athena micra 6 + yamaha, or the setup leprekon suggested with a betr sub (since i dnt need a dvd)

 

[shalashaska]

Also, how is the z5500 for a personal room setup, i reckon i cud save alot tht way, but i dont wanna go cheap if the diffrence in performace is considerable

 

[shalashaska]

ok, after giving it alot of thought iv specd out this system, i wanted to knw wht the guru's thought of it

Reciever
YAMHTR5830SL Yamaha Audio Video Home Theater Receiver----$146

Front Bookshelf Speakrs
Polk Audio Stereo Bookshelf Speakers-----$86

Sub
POLPSW10 Polk Audio 10" Powered Subwoofer----------$130

Center
JBLEC25SILVER JBL Home Theater Center Channel Speaker----$97

this setup runs me $499 shipped to my door in houston

eitherway, this is the setup ive decided to go for now, i can take diffrent suggestions, but it cnt exceed $500!
ill get the sorrounds later on, please reply urgently cuz i have to order in the next 2 days, thank you