Speakers

[gregl15]

How much does it matter which receiver you have when buying a speaker system to go with it? I am looking at an Onkyo 7.2 receiver (maybe) and trying to figure out what speakers to put with it. I'm kinda on a budget and can't spend $000's but want to have a sweet sound for the system.

 

[Radio Flyer]

What kind of speakers do you want to go along with it. If you're only going to have two floor speakers a 2 channel is all that will be necessary.

Having a good receiver is going to make a world of difference to the quality of sound the speakers put out.

 

[zumbo]

It all depends on how much you want to spend.

I recommend on deciding what speakers you want first. This way, you know right off what kind of power you are going to need.

Then, I would say decide how many components you are going to have to connect to the receiver. This way, you make certain you choose a receiver with enough connections. Most of them have plenty, but you never know.

Next, decide which receiver is going to be easiest to live with. Personally, I believe Yamaha manuals and set-up guides are the easiest to understand. For a first-timer, all manuals can be a pain. No fear, you are at the right place to get help with any brand you choose.

And lastly, you may find that a dealer has the speakers you are interested in, and you are able to cut a deal on whatever brand of receiver he/she sells.

 

[ohskigod]

you can get alot of opinions on this, it's a very open question with ALOT of varialbles.

I'll say this, the Onk is a pretty good reciever, and while i believe it is rated for 4 ohms (I could be wrong), I avoid 4 ohm speakers with recievers as a general rule. People will probably disagree with me on this and as always there are exceptions but if your starting at ground level and new to all this, its a good place to start.

there are more speaker companies that make entry to mid level that will mate well with the Onk than I can shake a stick at. people will offer opinions and many will be valid in terms of what they like, but your going to want to get out there in some stores and listen and see what you like.

also, if your on a tight budget and not sure what you like, dont be afraid of the local used speaker route

 

[zumbo]

Found the price-point for a receiver.

Anyone know how good (or bad) the Onkyo SR-608 receiver is? Or any of the other Onkyos? Reviews on it looked good and has a lot of pretty sweet features on it... 7.2 channels, 1080p upscaling, THx certified, 6 HDMI ports, and more. Just have started looking at whats out there and want to get some input. If not this brand... any other suggestions for the $250-$400 range?

Odd that you want to build a system with two subs, but you have a budget of 250-450 for a receiver.

Do you have an idea of the speaker budget? If so, please inform of arrangement. 5.1/5.2/7.1/7.2

 

[gregl15]

the rec is 7.2, but doubt that I would have 2 subs. I'm not completely set on that rec, but just had seen it and did some initial compares to what's at the big box stores and it seemed to have more options and better features than some others. As for speakers, I'm not looking for top of the line, just something that is more middle of the road that has a good sound and won't break the bank.

 

[WooHoo]

the rec is 7.2, but doubt that I would have 2 subs. I'm not completely set on that rec, but just had seen it and did some initial compares to what's at the big box stores and it seemed to have more options and better features than some others. As for speakers, I'm not looking for top of the line, just something that is more middle of the road that has a good sound and won't break the bank.

You're not helping yourself by not helping us.

You need to let us know (and be realistic) what your specific budget is and what you expect those dollars to buy you. (Speakers, sub, receiver?) Also it would be helpful to know what your room size is and what your listening requirements are. % music, % movies, etc.

Also are you looking for 2.1, 5.1, 7.1?

The more information the better as you will find you've come to the right place to get advice.

 

[zumbo]

the rec is 7.2, but doubt that I would have 2 subs. I'm not completely set on that rec, but just had seen it and did some initial compares to what's at the big box stores and it seemed to have more options and better features than some others. As for speakers, I'm not looking for top of the line, just something that is more middle of the road that has a good sound and won't break the bank.

As mentioned, you seem to think we can assume your budget.

Example. My speakers cost 1k a pair. I consider that inexpensive.

Middle-of-the-road in my speaker preference would be about 5-7k a pair.

 

[fragzem]

Greg, being new here, as I am.. you'll find the guys helpful but try to put a Dollar amount on what you want to spend..

You'll soon find threads (if you haven't already) about speakers that are $25,000 each, etc.. so when someone comes on here, they have no clue what you mean when you say "break the bank".. Maybe you're a millionaire? Or maybe $300 breaks your bank.

Also try to decide.. what kind of speakers you'll need? In the wall? in the ceiling? Floor-standing tower speakers? bookshelf sized speakers?

-Pete

 

[jinjuku]

also, if your on a tight budget and not sure what you like, dont be afraid of the local used speaker route

++ That.

As an example. On Clist near me there is a pair of PSB Image 4T's for $200. This speaker 5 years ago was I beleive $700 for the pair. It's a great speaker for $200.

 

[gregl15]

OK.. Thanks everyone for trying to help me here. I am new to this and trying to figure it all out. Let me give some specifics, of what I know right now. We are redoing our living room and doing some redesign as well so all of the specifics have not been figured out (my wife keeps changing her mind). The LR is 22' x 12'. We are trying to determine where the TV should go. I have a 50" Panasonic Plazma HDTV. If we put it on 1 of the short walls, it would be in the middle of built in bookshelves. I would want all of the speakers to be able to be mounted on the wall or put on a shelf. Don't want any floor standing speakers (I have a 2 y.o. and another baby on the way... the speakers have to be out of their reach). I'm not completely sure if I should go with a 5.1 or 7.1 set up. I think my budget would be somewhere around $300-$400 for speakers and the same for a receiver. I am not sure if that is too little to get a good quality set or not and hope you all can get me to reality, if I'm not already there. After this room, then I have to also take care of the playroom / partial "man-cave" - smaller space and only 42" tv, but may be a different conversation.

Oh.. we would be using the system for basically everything... music (iPod mostly), movies, sports.. etc.

Hope this all helps!

 

[jinjuku]

Pics, we need pics...

 

[digicidal]

As an example. On Clist near me there is a pair of PSB Image 4T's for $200. This speaker 5 years ago was I beleive $700 for the pair. It's a great speaker for $200.

I need to move to where you live... all they ever seem to have on CL here are Panamax and other white-van "$4K MSRP" speakers for $300obo... Well, there are the occasional ads for computer speakers or 20 year old polks with trashed woofers. This is the second time I've noticed you posting a fantastic deal from CL in your area... I'm jealous!

To Greg: If your budget is that small for your whole setup I think anything ".1" is going to be out of your budget at the present time. Perhaps you might want to think about just getting a pair of decent bookshelves that have some reasonable bass output and save up and be patient for the rest. I've done this (~6 years suffering through budget Klipsch setup that IMO had non-existent midrange). I think you will find it far more rewarding to put that entire budget into just 2 speakers than what you are likely to get for a full 5.1 setup at that budget.

You could get two pairs of bookshelves and a center in a very budget brand (the Pioneer SP series comes to mind - also here) and be under your budget - but you'd be hard pressed to find any decent sub for that entire budget. The other problem with this setup is that if you are committed to not having anything on the floor - then you are further going to be limited in bass extension in anything that's isn't front-ported - which is another problem. Although I haven't heard them myself - you could pick up a pair of Mordaunt-Short Carnival 2's for a little less than your budget or a pair of Ascend HTM-200's . Then you could save up for a sub of similar budget ($300-400) and have a really good 2.1 setup. Down the road you might decide to move higher up in the product line (whichever one you choose) and get slightly more expensive and more capable speakers.

In any case with a room that large - you're going to either need a very competent sub, to have towers for your fronts, or up your budget even for just a single pair of bookshelf speakers. Again jinjuku makes a great point in that what I've suggested is just some of what's available retail for your budget - you can get some much higher-end speakers for the same if you find a good deal used. However, buying used can be somewhat daunting if you are not already experienced in what you like and what things are worth - since often what people say their speakers are worth is not actually the case.

As a late edition (and not something I would normally recommend to anyone - simply because I don't think you're getting the best sound for the money... but it would easily fit in your budget and space constraints) you might consider something like this or this one. I only recommend it because you've already mentioned listening to music from the iPod and an initial leaning toward Onkyo as a brand. I'm sure that AVR is less than optimal (although comprable to the one you mentioned), but you would still have some room-correction (Audyssey) and would have your full setup for less than your budget and 'pretty decent sound' I would expect for the price. Then in your man-cave you could save more and put in a much more capable (and probably less kid-friendly) setup to really crank up and enjoy!

 

[gregl15]

digicidal.. thanks for the input and links. So, just want to make sure I'm understanding right, I could use some of these suggestions, like the Pioneers or MS Carnivals and not do a sub right now.. maybe add a center speaker? I wouldn't get any surround sound effect though, right? Just thinking to the future or maybe to tell someone a holiday/bday gift, what could be some suggestions for surround and/or a center speaker that could compliment the suggestions that you included in your msg?

With going to only a couple speakers, like you suggest, should I be looking to a different sort of receiver? Are the Onkyo's good quality? any other suggestions that could be a better deal?

I had started looking at some of the "package" deals where they sell the whole set of speakers and receiver together, but figured that they were not the best quality sound and performance and may not last as long either.

 

[fragzem]

digicidal.. thanks for the input and links. So, just want to make sure I'm understanding right, I could use some of these suggestions, like the Pioneers or MS Carnivals and not do a sub right now.. maybe add a center speaker? I wouldn't get any surround sound effect though, right?

Personally, I can say what I'd do, greg.

In my own world.. I believe the front 3 are the most important. Left, Center, Right. Center is worth costing 1.5-2x the amount paid for L&R combined as it is going to be the most important with vocals from tv, and movies.

I'd (again, me, dunno bout u) buy some cheap $20 junk for the rear speakers (for the surround) until I could afford a nice set of something else. Anything in the rear is nicer than nothing to begin with.

For the sub, I'd buy the front 3 first and decide if I can live with the amount of bass I get. Then I'd either live with it and hold out & save $$$ for a nice sub, or buy a cheap one if I couldn't stand the bass from the front 3 how it is.

Its not uncommon for folks to piece together their system slowly when they're doing it the right way and not buying a $200 HTIB (home theater in the box -- u know, the ones that come with everything and a dvd player)

btw, with your setup and children, from the opinions I get doing much reading here on the forum and elsewhere, you are probably going to want to find a receiver with Audyssey technology. I (for example) bought a refurbished Denon 1610 @ $210 shipped. That's last year's model, this year its the 1611 which is 7.1. Mine is 5.1. Other comparable models are the 590 (2009) and the 591 (2010)

 

[walter duque]

A 7.1 at your budged would be $43.75 per speaker including sub (at a $350.00 budged) Now that's not much and that's what your'e going to get, not much. I would start with 2 decend towers and as budget allows keep adding on and you'll have a good system at the end. It took me almost 3 years to put my 7.2 system together. Now I am happy, well not really I do have the upgrade bug again. Do it right once. Also check the usd market.

 

[digicidal]

digicidal.. thanks for the input and links. So, just want to make sure I'm understanding right, I could use some of these suggestions, like the Pioneers or MS Carnivals and not do a sub right now.. maybe add a center speaker? I wouldn't get any surround sound effect though, right? Just thinking to the future or maybe to tell someone a holiday/bday gift, what could be some suggestions for surround and/or a center speaker that could compliment the suggestions that you included in your msg?

With going to only a couple speakers, like you suggest, should I be looking to a different sort of receiver? Are the Onkyo's good quality? any other suggestions that could be a better deal?

I had started looking at some of the "package" deals where they sell the whole set of speakers and receiver together, but figured that they were not the best quality sound and performance and may not last as long either.

The two HTIB links I provided are definitely some of the better offerings - but no - they will not be perfect (nor will anything else in this range). However, they will offer you room correction (Audyssey) and they will provide you with a full voice-matched, surround sound experience - bass included.

In the future you can pretty easily upgrade the speakers since the receiver provided isn't the normal HTIB crap you'd find in Walmart (although it is not quite as competent as their higher models - but that's to be expected). That being said - it all depends on your pace. I agree with fragzem - which is why I recommeded just getting 2 speakers to start with. You are correct, you will not get surround sound - but you'll have all that you need to get started listening to decent sound. If budget allows I would also recommend getting a good matching center channel - but considering your budget is already going to be stretching to get a decent AVR and 2 decent speakers... probably not right away.

Basically, you can look at my suggestions as heading in two (possibly contrary) directions: One will get your started on a pretty good ~$1500 surround sound system - with the caveat being that you'll only be able to listen to stereo at the moment. The other will give you full surround sound but will be less flexible and may not get quite as loud or be quite as accurate as you would like - but it will be all done in one shot and leave you with some cash left over for 'seed money' when you tackle your man-cave.

It's up to you and your ears to decide which is the better route for you. I've been saving and building/swapping pieces of my HT setup for about 15 years - but I've also wasted money on things to 'fill the gaps' between what I really wanted and what I could reasonably afford.

I don't personally have an Onkyo, but I've heard plenty of good things about them and if it weren't for the great deal I got on the Denon AVR I purchased I would have probably gotten one of theirs. As with any mass produced electronics - there are lemons no matter what the brand. However, the specs and features in the Onkyo offerings are equal to most and better than many.

 

[Pyrrho]

How much does it matter which receiver you have when buying a speaker system to go with it? I am looking at an Onkyo 7.2 receiver (maybe) and trying to figure out what speakers to put with it. I'm kinda on a budget and can't spend $000's but want to have a sweet sound for the system.

As far as compatibility with speakers go, it only matters if the speakers are inefficient, difficult to drive (e.g., low impedance, either nominally or with very low minimum impedances, etc.), or you like playing it very loud. Otherwise, there will be little difference between different receivers, as far as sound quality goes.

I went from a receiver that retailed for about $600 to one that retails for about $1700 because I wanted additional features. But since my speakers are of normal efficiency and an easy 8 ohm load, there was no change in sound (unless I engage a feature that affects the sound). For actual improvements in sound, you will want to put your money in your speakers (including subwoofer). My speakers retail for well over $6000, and they went quite well with my $600 receiver.

So, if you don't have difficult speakers, just make sure you get all the features you need. Spend any extra money on better speakers, not on a higher end receiver that will be obsolete as soon as they come out with new things. Speakers, aside from making a greater difference in the actual sound, also don't become obsolete, so they are a far better investment.

 

[digicidal]

Spend any extra money on better speakers, not on a higher end receiver that will be obsolete as soon as they come out with new things. Speakers, aside from making a greater difference in the actual sound, also don't become obsolete, so they are a far better investment.

Amen to that, well said. Of course, with a budget that's very small - you are left with two very significant compromises to weigh... quality of sound or type of sound. Full surround sound on your budget will not be of any significant quality - and 2ch will be just that.

I will say when I was in a similar position to yours and had a budget of about $700 for a system... I spent $650 on a pair of decent towers, and $60 on an AVR I bought at a pawn shop. It put a smile on my face for almost a decade - and later when I tried to do a 5.1 on-the-cheap setup... I spent another $600 on much cheaper satellites and sub (Infinity) and after a few months of trying to deal with it... boxed up everything but the sub and went right back to my original pair of towers.

You may have a different preferrence (mine is much heavier on music than movies) - but I think it bears some extra thought on your part. Think of it like video in this analogy... for the same $600 - you can have a 50" TV that is B&W at SD resolution... or a 20" TV that is HD and color. Although the choice might seem obvious - what if you only watch B&W movies from the 30's, 40's, and 50's...

If you're sure that you absolutely must have surround sound because you watch mostly movies and feel that without those extra channels you'll be missing out on too much - then get one of those Onkyo HTIB setups and enjoy. On the other hand if you're much more interested in hearing good, clean, precise sound - then your budget constraint will almost certainly preclude surround sound. And in that case you might be better off just getting a cheap stereo receiver and a pair of ~$600 standmounts...

Of course, I know the desire to have something here and now, and it's been expensive in my case - but there is always a third option: just save your money and deal with the crappy TV speakers for another year and then throw 2 or 3 times as much into a really great setup that you will enjoy for a decade or more.

 

[gregl15]

OK.. All of this has been very helpful so far and I think the message is coming in quite clear. When its all said and done there are a few options I can go with.
1. Get one of those out of the box surround sound sets and have all of the speakers, a bluray player, and pretty crappy sound.
2. Get 2 front speakers, and maybe a center speaker, of decent quality and pay around $400 or so for them to go along with a decent receiver. Then either wait to get the rest of the speakers (save up and get what I want) or get a very cheap set of surround speakers for the back just to have the effect and upgrade when I have the $.
3. Save the $ and deal with just the crappy sound out of the tv.

Did I sum it all up right? Am I missing any other options that you can think of?

I do like option 2 and will probably do that so I get something instead of nothing and get started on my way to better sound. Do you think I would have to replace those front speakers (any of the ones suggested in this thread) in the next few years?