I recently assembled a budget system for my girlfriend. She always has music or TV on, about 70/30 music/TV and enjoys entertaining.
She had an Insignia sound-bar for HT and a Logitech s715i playing from her laptop for music.
Obviously, the bar has not been set too high - it would be easy to get a marked improvement in sound.
I put together a 2.2 sound system for her with a rough target of $500.
This is what I ended up with:
Pioneer BS22-LCR for L & R ($70/pr display models from Frys)
2 ea Dayton Audio SUB-1200 (on sale at $100 each shipped from Parts Express) (thanks to Jman for reviewing these)
http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/speaker-subwoofer-reviews/71766-dayton-audio-sub-1200-subwoofer-review.html
Denon AVR-X1000 ($220 from Accessories4Less)
Admittedly, the prices for the speakers and subs took advantage of special situations, but I think you could reasonably buy these for $600 if you don't have the patience to bargain shop.
I have been using a Denon AVR-1712, Paradigm Signature S-2’s and an SVS SB12-Plus for my home theater (which is used more for listening to music than HT) and began the process of swapping out my system so I could set up hers. First thing I did was swap out the speakers and rerun Auddyssey. The Pio’s are impressive speakers for the price, but they are clearly not in the same class as the Sig 2’s. What surprised me was that once I ran Auddyssey (MultEQ XT), they sounded closer to the Sig-2’s than to how I remembered the Pio’s sounding before Auddyssey. In other words, Auddyssey significantly changed the character of the Pio’s for the better (in my room, anyway).
I originally planned to use a Denon AVR-1513 for $130, but after I replaced the 1712 with it I realized Audyssey yielded a significant gain in fidelity. Perhaps a bit unconventional, but I believe the extra $90 cost of Audyssey was well (especially?) justified in this budget system! I might have saved a few bucks with a lower version of Audyssey, but did not want to gamble since I knew what MultiEQ added.
The second unconventional thing I did was get two subs. Rearranging her LR to accommodate optimal positioning of a sub was not in the cards. Her current layout affords 2 aesthetically symmetric locations for a sub on either side of the humongous 12' wide display cabinet (designed for an old 35"CRT). The bottom line is I did not want to gamble on a single sub behaving well in either of those two positions.
If someone is working with a tight budget. You could drop the second sub and add it on later if you were not happy with bass.
In conclusion, Every time I visit her, I am amazed at how much SQ is had at these prices! It may be partly that there is nowhere that I typically go and hear such good SQ, aside from my home or a live performance (and often not then, depending on seat and venue).
I broke a rule of thumb by spending almost twice as much on the AVR as the speakers cost, but really believe it was key to getting the net SQ obtained. (I have generally spent over twice as much on speakers as on the AVR).
Personally, I think it is fantastic that companies have chosen to produce such competent performers as the BS-22's and the SUB-1200's at prices that leave you scratching your head. At the $100 I paid for the SUB-1200, I am thinking shipping, MDF, amp, and driver would have depleted the budget well before assembly, finishing, double-box packaging, and profit margins for Parts Express & Dayton enter the equation!
Of course I am not saying this system is better than a well researched $2500 system, but I will say that I believe if you went into BB with $2500 and told them to spec out your sound system, it would not compete!
This is also the first time I have recognized such a pronounced improvement from Audyssey. It seemed like it made the BS-22's better than they were. Maybe it was an illusion from the effect of Audyssey on the integration of the subs. Either way, it leaves me wondering if Audyssey should not be considered more strongly for a budget system!
This is a "sleeper system", there is nothing looking at it to suggest it is going to sound as good as it does. However, it repeatedly gets raised eyebrows at first listen!
Notes:
I normally would have set the crossover for the BS-22's at 100Hz, but knowing this is an inexpensive sub and that the BS-22's are no wimp with bass, I put it at 80Hz - still easily within their capabilities.
Also set the AVR to limit volume at -10dB. This fills the room nicely (which includes dining room, kitchen, stairwell, and upstairs hallway) at a volume you have to shout over and nothing gets strained, while protecting the gear from the whims of the occasional drunken "let's crank it up" visitor.
