Save me from months of research! Beginner seeking help!

[gggooolllooo]

Hey all, i'm new to this site but have been looking into upgrading my entire speaker set up. I have always owned only computer speakers and my first set was Logitech z 2300 until that broke and got replaced with the 623. The 623 is a major downgrade from the range of the 2300.

I am in college and thus my budget is not very high, about $700 max most likely lower, but i'm hoping I can get advise on a speaker set up that blows my computer speakers out of the water (particularly in the bass department)

Details:
I live in a small to medium size room, roughly 20x20 but I do like to get loud on occasion
I also just purchased a 47" 3d tv that would be cool to get a 5.1 system going for but I don't own or know the first thing about receivers and amps

Primarily I would use speakers for music but movie watching also interest me.
It is because of this that I cannot decide between a 5.1, 3.1, or a 2.1.

Pioneer's SP-PK21BS really caught my eye because of its great reviews on its quality for the buck but I can't find it anywhere anymore. I am open to mix and matching as long as the overall quality can blow me away, miles further than the z2300 did years ago.

I am definitely a complete nooblet when in comes to mid-high end audio so any help would be greatly appreciated... thanks!

 

[Matt34]

Do you currently have a A/V receiver or do you plan to run these through your computer?

 

[GranteedEV]

I am in college and thus my budget is not very high, about $700 max most likely lower, but i'm hoping I can get advise on a speaker set up that blows my computer speakers out of the water (particularly in the bass department)

Blowing them out of the water won't be difficult, but.. in my opinion you should focus on getting the best 2-channel first and maybe squeeze a sub into the budget, rather than trying to squeeze 5 okay speakers into your budget. Do pick up a 7.1 receiver so that you can add on in the future. Remember that most music, and TV are 2 channel. Of movies, most use the surround channels for ambient effects, and very few action films will use them beyond that. The front speakers are 90% of the load, so it may not make sense to distribute that load equally towards unused speakers. So if I were you i'd be looking at 2.1

Pioneer's SP-PK21BS really caught my eye because of its great reviews on its quality for the buck but I can't find it anywhere anymore. I am open to mix and matching as long as the overall quality can blow me away, miles further than the z2300 did years ago.

Those are good speakers, but you've got too healthy a budget I just want to clarify though, you will be sitting away from the speakers, right?

 

[shadyJ]

So if I were you i'd be looking at 2.1

+1. Go for 2.0 or 2.1 for now. On a limited budget, a two speaker system will always sound better than a five speaker system.

 

[afterlife2]

Onkyo HT-S7409 5.1-Channel Network Home Theater Package | Accessories4less

 

[gggooolllooo]

I do not own a receiver but was thinking about buying a decently cheap one. Okay that makes sense, ill try and get a solid 2.1 unless there are bookshelves that don't need a separate sub. Does anyone have any specific products they can aim me towards? I mostly listen to rock, indie, and dub-step on occasion. Its important to me to have bass comparable to the z2300

 

[gggooolllooo]

oh! and ill be within fairrrly close proximity for the most part but I do want my system to be able to bang! I listen to music quite loud regularly. And is there any other way to get around buying an expensive receiver? probably not haha

 

[Matt34]

If this is for your computer setup I'd look at a pair of these:

KRK RP8G2 Rokit G2 Active Monitor at zZounds

Don't think you'll need a sub and I guarantee it will have cleaner output than the logitech system you had.

Get a couple XLR to RCA cables and this to connect it all:

Behringer U-Control UCA202 USB Audio Interface at zZounds

If you're looking to fill the entire room with sound for a party you'll want to look at different options (i.e more expensive).

 

[templemaners]

I do not own a receiver but was thinking about buying a decently cheap one. Okay that makes sense, ill try and get a solid 2.1 unless there are bookshelves that don't need a separate sub. Does anyone have any specific products they can aim me towards? I mostly listen to rock, indie, and dub-step on occasion. Its important to me to have bass comparable to the z2300

If you listen loud, especially to music like dub-step, then you will definitely need to budget a pretty big chunk of $ to getting a subwoofer.

oh! and ill be within fairrrly close proximity for the most part but I do want my system to be able to bang! I listen to music quite loud regularly. And is there any other way to get around buying an expensive receiver? probably not haha

Sure - buy a cheaper used/refirbished receiver with preouts and get a pro-audio amp. $400 receiver/$400 pro-amp of that would be better than an $800 receiver, provided the $400 had enough features you wanted. But like I said above, if you get a good subwoofer, most receivers should be able to handle 2 speakers from 80 or 100 Hz up just fine.

Frankly, for a budget max of $700, getting a receiver, two decent speakers, and a quality sub isn't going to happen - at least not without a ton of compromise.

 

[Matt34]

If you want to host parties I'd recommend these:

Mackie Thump TH-15A 2-Way Active Loudspeaker (400 Watts 1x15")

Built in amp/EQ, all you have to do is connect to a source (and put on some ear protection ). I bet you can hit 40hz with authority in a room such as yours.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I concur as others - stick to 2.1
wait until Pioneer SP-FS51-LR back to $130/pr sale
This avr:
Onkyo HT-R590 7.1-Channel 3-D Ready Home Theater Receiver | Accessories4less
about $175 shipped
Sub:
Premier Acoustic PA-150 1000 Watt Powered Subwoo

Make offer for $375 shipped - they normally accept it

optionally upgrade to this avr:
Onkyo TX-NR414 5.1-Channel 3-D Ready Network A/V Receiver | Accessories4less

 

[GranteedEV]

oh! and ill be within fairrrly close proximity for the most part but I do want my system to be able to bang!

Okay. The reason for this is that some speakers, like the EMP E55Tis for example, can certainly get loud, but require a bit more distance for the multiple driver arrays to sum correctly.

I listen to music quite loud regularly. And is there any other way to get around buying an expensive receiver? probably not haha

Full on surround systems will have the following features before the speakers:

HDMI inputs and outputs.
Automatic speaker setup (levels / delay)
High voltage preamplifier outputs to drive powered speakers or external amplifiers
Decent power amplifier
Bass management

Dollar for dollar, a good surround receiver covers all of these bases and also allows you to build your system upwards. If you pounce on this:

Marantz SR5004 90w X 7ch Home Theater Surround Receiver | Accessories4less

it could cover those criteria well. It is HDMI 1.3 however, so if you want to watch your movies in 3D, your 3D bluray player should have a separate HDMI output for audio and video, as HDMI 1.3 won't carry the 3D signal.

Realistically, most of us here could easily spend your whole budget on a receiver alone - and consider it an overall unimportant part of the system. So it's definitely tricky.

Overall, I don't think you should get a receiver on your budget. I like matt's idea of large powered studio monitors, though integrating a sub would not be easy. if you ever wish to add a receiver, they could be driven from preamplifier outputs.

I would however not personally go for the KRKs due to their measurement:

these JBLs:
JBL LSR2328P | Sweetwater.com

Seem a bit better to me:

Now listening to music loud is its own issue. Direct radiating tweeters don't normally play well loud. thin, tall, light, mildly braced tower speaker enclosures can have certain resonances which muddy up the sound at high SPLs. 3-way speakers flat out cost more. It's pick your poison with a small budget, even for stereo. I think the 8" midwoofers on the JBL LSRs should do pretty well from an output perspective. It probably won't tear your house down with earthquake bass, but for that you'd need to quadruple your budget and spend it on subwoofers alone.

 

[sholling]

I would plan to pick up an inexpensive receiver like a factory refurbished Denon AVR-1712 for $240 plus shipping. Add a pair of Infinity Primus P163 bookshelves for $225/pr (or cheaper on sale) which leaves you enough for an eD A2-300 subwoofer for $415 shipped. If you're above someone then you'll want to invest in an isolation pad for that sub which will take you just slightly over budget. You can get your cables and interconnects cheap from monoprice.com.

Later you could add a $150 PC251 center and a pair of P153 bookshelves as surrounds.

If you have a Fry's near you then I'd watch for a sale on Infinity P363 towers. They've been blowing them out for $200/pr as loss leaders a lot lately but those sales may be about over.

 

[Matt34]

.

FWIW, I know why WmAx (Chris) did a full set of measurements on the Rokits he came away impressed, but yeah, either choice is a good one.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

just wanted to add that my JBL LSR2325P are loud as HELL, while still crystal clear and have decent amount of bass for most music types . They are rated for 112db then paired
5/8 digit stands for size of woofers in inches. 8" will have more bass, but 5" has a bit better finesse and accuracy

 

[GranteedEV]

8" will have more bass, but 5" has a bit better finesse and accuracy

Is that actually true? I wonder. The 8" would probably provide better directivity control and less FMD AFAICT.....

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Is that actually true? I wonder. The 8" would probably provide better directivity control and less FMD AFAICT.....

Hmm, Lets agree to disagree on this subject and I'm not alone
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/609624-post10.html

p.s: It doesn't really matter -they both great speakers

 

[gggooolllooo]

thanks for all the input, I took a look at all of them. Its looking like I should just go ahead and buy a receiver. The thing about that is I know I will never really want to work up to filling a 7.1 receiver. Now i'm thinking I should buy a receiver and two speakers for the moment and then invest in a sub when the funds become available. Are their no subs around $200 that can match the z2300 in range and volume?

 

[gggooolllooo]

that $415 sub looks amazing though! its def a little on the bigger side. I do have other people who live below me so a smaller sub would sufice but with that said I do enjoy being able to earthquake at will

I know my budget is weak but there's got to be something cheap that is oh so much better than this bastard: Logitech Z623

 

[GranteedEV]

Hmm, Lets agree to disagree on this subject and I'm not alone
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/609624-post10.html

p.s: It doesn't really matter -they both great speakers

I can't agree to that. That's like me saying "12 awg wire will have stronger bass than 16 awg wire". You would raise an eyebrow, no?

There are least a few very really good high end speakers with 8" mids.... Linkwitz Orion (and that one has a very difficult-to-work-with magnesium cone, unlike the JBL), KEF Q900, Gedlee Harper, Vapor Aurora. These designs simply would not be "themselves" if you "shrunk them down", and it's not just about "bass".

So I won't agree to disagree... it's conjecture and while it's fun, it's not in OP's interest IMO. The two possible reasons I can imagine resulting in your suspicion would be

1) Cone breakup is not adequately suppressed (this is actually the case in the aformentioned KEF Q900 and is mostly a cheap-crossover and driver material issue)

2) The tweeter can not cross low enough without leavings its linear comfort zone (the LSR2328P is crossed at 2khz, the LSR2325P is crossed at 1.7khz... it seems they were engineered for different SPLs for sure. At the same SPL, the higher crossed tweeter on the 8" would be under less stress.)

3) The larger box is more resonant. This is of course just nothing more than an assumption.

Additionally, If you look at the measurements of the LSR2325P above, you'll see a big dip in response around 560hz. If I had to guess, this is caused by the resonance of the long throw surround. The larger equivalent surround on the 8" driver will probably pull this issue downwards in frequency, which I see as a good thing in all honesty.

........IMO unless we know these facts I don't think we can use words like finesse and accuracy.... so I have to disagree with your suggestion to agree to disagree. There's nothing we have concrete opinions on to disagree about. We can only guess, and we don't have enough information to make any really useful ones.