Need help with starter system....

[crichton]

I have recently decided to upgrade my system from the receiver and stereo speaker setup I had in college to a more respectable home theater system. I have done a bit of research, but am overwhelmed by the shear number of different "budget" speakers on the market. I am asking if anyone has any recommendations for a 5.1 setup. I was looking at a set of towers for the front mains, but not sure if there are any in my budget ( $1500 for LCR and surrounds) that are better than a full set of monitors. Barring any advice to get a full manufacturer's 5.1 system, I have pretty much decided on an HSU sub, as I have heard nothing but good things about them. Any advice would we greatly appreciated, as the town I live in has no audio shop to speak of and I will not be able to demo anything before I buy. I know this is highly not recommended, but completely unavoidable.

Thanks,

Crichton

 

[Exit]

Its less than your budget but I would recommend the SVS SBS-01 speaker system with PB10-NSD with 5.1 being $999 and 7.1 being $1,175. It has a good subwoofer that goes down to 20 Hz. Both the subwoofer and the speakers have gotten good reviews and this represents a high value for the dollar. Also there is a larger 12" woofer available for 5.1 at $1,149 and 7.1 for $1299.

http://www.svsound.com/products-sys-sbs_black.cfm

 

[m_vanmeter]

within your price range, consider systems from
www.hsuresearch.com
www.aperionaudio.com
www.av123.com

and look at the BIC Acoustech series which have received very good reviews.

 

[calnbs]

From my research:

Top budget speakers are:

BIC Acoustech or Venturi
eD

Great bookshelf system:
HSU, SVS

All the above speakers and take a look at Swans at www.theaudioinsider.com as well. They have the Swans 4.1 for sale.

AV123 x-series are also a great buy.

 

[Seth=L]

Indeed, the Swan Diva 4.1s are on sale.

http://www.theaudioinsider.com/product_info.php?products_id=46

 

[Exit]

Oh, if you get interested in the SVS speakers, they are fairly good sized so you would want the check the dimensions of the center channel and subwoofer in particular to be sure you can fit them in your room layout.

 

[crichton]

Thanks for your opinions....

Thank you for your opinions. I have looked into several of the brands you recommended, and have narrowed it down as follows.....

2 Swan Diva 4.1, Diva C2, and 2 Diva R2 total $947

2 AV123 XMTM Encore Towers, XCS Encore Center, 2 XLS Monitors total $1047

2 Elemental Designs A6 6T6 Towers, 6T6 MTMSingle Center, 2 6T6 MTM Pair monitor total $1060

All well within my $1500 budget. Now that I have a rough idea for the speakers, which receiver should I look into?

Thanks
Crichton

 

[calnbs]

I have the Onkyo 805. It is going around the $600ish-800. It is a great buy and I am happy with it. Others will say that it runs "hot". But if you give it enough space to breathe, it should be ok...as mine is only warm. You can easily buy a fan at http://www.buyextras.com/evavcoblfanf.html

Other great choices are Yamaha, Dennon, Harman Kardon, Poineer Elite, and Marantz.

For more information about your speaker choices and receivers, hit www.avsforum.com and the owner's thread to give you a better feel of what you are looking for. For audition, hit the speaker's website and ask for audition...I can't speak for other sites but www.av123.com have a great, friendly forum that is more than willing to help.

Whatever speaker you chose to go with, I am sure you'll be happy with any of the above. Let us know.

 

[3db]

If you have a PSB dealer nearby, I would audition their Image T45/T55/T65 towers. Great speaker with revealing detailed highs and phenomenal mids. Even their bass is good for most types of music.

 

[calnbs]

Almost forgot. After you get your system in....don't waste your money on wires. Just head to www.monoprice.com and get yourself some 12 AWG speaker wires, banana plugs, and HDMI 1.3 (if you need them). Extremely affordable and works well too. I used them for my set up and very happy with them.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=speaker+wire

 

[nybangali]

very helpful

this has been very helpful

 

[crichton]

Thanks

Just wanted to thank everyone for their help I have now moved this discussion to the receiver forum because I purchased the Elemetal desing 5.1 setup. and now need a new receiver to push it.

Again thanks.

My gear:
Sony Bravia 46" 1080p
Sony PS3
A6 - 6T6 - Towers
A6 - 6T6 - MTM Single
A6 - 6T6 - MTM Pair
A5 - 350 Subwoofer

 

[haraldo]

you may want to look at www.bluejeanscable.com

First rate service, good cheap cables, and they have very nice locking banana speaker plugs that's very inexpensive... Actually the connectors looks like they cost much more...