Extreme budget HT audio ($150)

[afterlife2]

These are well regarded I almost bought a pair: http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/for/5221338036.html

 

[Montucky]

If it were me, I'd check out the used market for sure. Hit up local pawn shops, garage sales, Craigslist, etc.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

offer $150
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/ele/5204934032.html

 

[rojo]

offer $150
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/ele/5204934032.html

Now that Kurt's been tempted with options including a subwoofer, I doubt he'll think those would have enough bass.

Here are a few eBay options for mains:

Boston Acoustics CR65 -- asking $60 shipped -- offer $50 shipped and see what happens.
TEAC LS-MC90 or Mission MS-5 -- load up JBidWatcher and try to snipe for $50 shipped

Then continue with the Jamo and $50 AVR thing.

 

[afterlife2]

Check these out too In cherry. I had these and for a little speaker they did well with bass. Offer $55: http://www.ebay.com/itm/191691781909?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[rojo]

Check these out too In cherry. I had these and for a little speaker they did well with bass. Offer $55: http://www.ebay.com/itm/191691781909?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I had those JBL ES20's, too. The cabinets seemed well-built, but they sounded too pinched in the female vocal range for me. I sent them back.

 

[afterlife2]

I had those JBL ES20's, too. The cabinets seemed well-built, but they sounded too pinched in the female vocal range for me. I sent them back.

Not the same speaker Rojo. The one I linked is the E20's.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Now that Kurt's been tempted with options including a subwoofer, I doubt he'll think those would have enough bass.

Based on my own 1st hand experience with pre-gen LSR2325p - these have plenty of volume and bass. Really, Only time they ran out of gas are with trying to play cannon shots on 1812
I know LSR305 are a different beast, but the apple can't fall far from the tree.

 

[Xploration]

I am always on the hunt on craigslist. I would reccomend you doing the same. picked up an integra dtr 5.4 receiver and m&k v-76 for under $150 yesterday. even under $130.

 

[Xploration]

or as mentioned above, check pawn shops and the like. never hurts.

 

[KEW]

I'm curious about the Jamo. It looks like 2006 was when this particular item came out. Amazon Lists the sub that comes with it as being sold by Philips!
I thought Jamo was the bottom line owned by either Harman or Klipsch.
Did it used to be part of Philips?

 

[afterlife2]

Huh which Jamo? There was a Jamo Sub Jman raved about a couple of years ago. I forget the model number.

 

[rojo]

I dunno. It's a 10" sub. Considering the $150 budget, how much better should one expect? B&H claims a range of 35 - 150Hz. At least it's probably not tuned very far below Fs. *shrug*

@afterlife2, we're talking about the Jamo A3Sub.3.

@KEW, Amazon says Jamo A3SUB.3 by Philips.

Found another pair of potential mains. See if you can win these Infinity Reference for $10. Shipping will be ~$35.

 

[TheWarrior]

Jamo is a Danish company owned by Klipsch.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Jamo is a Danish company owned by Klipsch.

Which in turned owned by VOX aka Audiovox aka the destroyer of good brands

 

[TheWarrior]

Ohhhhhhhh....

 

[KEW]

The sub weighs 32.6 lbs which is not what I usually expect from an HTiB sub.
If this predates the "redesign" of Jamo, it might actually be a nice find.
I'm going to check it out this afternoon.

 

[KEW]

Rojo,
You're the man!!!
Not sure when I'll get a chance to listen critically, but they do sound good.
I was frustrated not to find any mention of country of design (not even made in China, which I think is where the Danish Jamo products were made). All it said was "made by Jamo".
As a positive, there was no "Jamo by Klipsch" labeling or anything to indicate Klipsch involvement.
They definitely sound better than a standard $250-300 HTiB. I'll have to listen under better conditions to find out how much better. One weird (bad) thing is the sub played at a quiet level even when the volume knob was all of the way down. When I turned it up, the knob turned smoothly and there was no noise (from corrosion) and sub made some good output. As long as the volume issue is not systemic of something more serious (and there is no logical reason for a sub to turn all of the way down if it is sold as part of a 5.1 system) it will work out great.
Also picked up the Denon AVR-2308ci Rojo spotted. Did not have microphone - he didn't remember it coming with a microphone. I always wonder what percent of receivers with REQ never see use of the REQ feature.
Right now, things look pretty good. It will be next week before I get the chance to really hook everything up and test.
Because of the sub issue, I decided to take the gamble and gave him $40 for Jamo system. That makes cost $115 including receiver. If the quality of the 3.1 system is good enough, I will stick there $35 under budget.

 

[afterlife2]

Congrats. Yep Rojo is the super finder. I know a guy who sells mics.

 

[rojo]

Hey Kurt, I'm super glad the Jamo deal worked out for you. I figured you'd want to get it for the sub, then find some more capable mains. I don't have much faith in HTIB satellites as mains; but if they sound reasonably flat, so much the better! If not, I found a few more options for mains within your $35 remaining budget:

Paradigm (3SE? At 19" tall, they are larger than Titans or Atoms. I think these would be very much worth an audition.)
Atlantic Technology (5.25" sealed mains -3dB @ 85Hz -- manual)
Infinity RS3 -- nugget of info
nice stands
nice rack

Also, the lady with the nice rack has a very nice thermostat. I just bought the Honeywell 9590 (same as the 9580 she's selling but with voice recognition added), and it's bloody fantastic so far. Biggest selling point for me was that it can auto switch from cold to heat as needed. As the nights get cooler, this will save me from waking up to a cold house. If you could talk her down to $100 for it, it'd be a steal, and you'd easily make that back in energy savings over the winter I think. Just schedule it to relax the heating and cooling by 3 degrees or so while you're at work or asleep.