Best home theater speakers for < $300??

[heat23]

I just ordered the Onkyo 6.1 receiver found here: http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecce/shop/detail.asp?action=detail&amp;dpno=157373#scroll
and how I need some speakers to go along with it!

I am looking for a 5 or 6 speaker set, doesn't have to have a sub, for under $300. I prefer floor speakers for the 2 main speakers. Right now im looking at the Fluance AV-HTB and SX-HTB, but I heard the center and 2 rear speakers are pretty pathetic.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[lancestorm]

At that price, you aren't going to find really great speakers. I think all of them will be up to par with one another. Why not save a bit more and spend money on a nice pair for front left and right. Then add on later.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Under $300? You can get a half-decent _pair_ of bookshelf speakers for that much. You're not going to get a great overall setup though.

ZV

 

[DingDingDao]

Originally posted by: lancestorm
At that price, you aren't going to find really great speakers. I think all of them will be up to par with one another. Why not save a bit more and spend money on a nice pair for front left and right. Then add on later.

What he said.

It's almost impossible to get a set of fronts, a center, and 2 to 3 rears PLUS a subwoofer for less than $300 without it sounding pretty poor. I mean, a good set of surrounds will run you close to $300 alone.
Save your money. Then buy a good set of fronts (L/R). I'd much rather listen to 2-ch stereo from a great set of speakers than surround from a bunch of tinny speakers.

 

[jpeyton]

http://www.fluance.com/fluanceavhtb.html

 

[lancestorm]

Ha! Seriously OP, think wisely and don't fall for this "deal". You should take DingDingDao and my advice... but to each his own. (Would you take advice from someone who compares Bush to Hitler in a signature?)

 

[Ogg]

??

 

[heat23]

well I just live in an apartment, so my living room isnt that big...plus I'm just using this to watch dvds, not music. Just want something good for that. What set of fronts would you recommend for $200 for the pair?

 

[hevnsnt]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
http://www.fluance.com/fluanceavhtb.html

Awesome speakers and in your price range.. Do your research, they get great reviews!

I have them in my living room and love em.

 

[lancestorm]

Now $200 for a pair? What happened to the other $100? For some decent bookshelfs I would say you are going to pay $300 - 500 for the pair. If you are looking floorstanders... about $800 - 1000 minimum for the pair.

 

[lancestorm]

Originally posted by: hevnsnt

Originally posted by: jpeyton
http://www.fluance.com/fluanceavhtb.html

Awesome speakers and in your price range.. Do your research, they get great reviews!

I have them in my living room and love em.

<starting trouble>

You are the same guy that thinks Bose is the elite/ultimate speaker company don't you.

</starting trouble>

I guess my biggest problem with your statement is clarifying how they are awesome. Everyone has different ears. I find it very difficult to believe that this setup has any good qualities other than price. I expect choppy dialogue, no low end, very low sensitivity rating, coloring of the sound to ridiculous proportions, etc... I just don't want this guy to have to be down the road again in a few years looking for another upgrade. Go big now and enjoy.

 

[Zenmervolt]

I have always liked BIC Venturis, and the ones in that link are decent, though they are the basic model. If you can get the DV84 or the DV5312 for under $300, it's really worth looking at.

Of course, this assumes that your receiver is an 8 ohm model.

ZV

 

[heat23]

Originally posted by: lancestorm
Now $200 for a pair? What happened to the other $100? For some decent bookshelfs I would say you are going to pay $300 - 500 for the pair. If you are looking floorstanders... about $800 - 1000 minimum for the pair.

Yea I guess I can spend $300 on a pair of fronts. Let me ask yall something, can I get the same sound out of a bookshelfs as a tower?

 

[DingDingDao]

Suggestion: If your spending limit is fixed at $300, buy a good set of surrounds for that much and use them as your fronts in your apartment. When you have more money, or you move into a house or something, move those surrounds (now fronts) to the rears and buy a nice set of floor-standing speakers.

Oh, what is your main purpose for this setup? Movies? Music? If it's movies, most people underestimate the importance of the center channel. I can't tell you how many people I know have these huge front channel (L/R) speakers and patch their center channel through their TV, completely ignoring the fact that 99% of all dialogue in movies goes through the center channel. How's that background music sound?

 

[DingDingDao]

Originally posted by: heat23

Originally posted by: lancestorm
Now $200 for a pair? What happened to the other $100? For some decent bookshelfs I would say you are going to pay $300 - 500 for the pair. If you are looking floorstanders... about $800 - 1000 minimum for the pair.

Yea I guess I can spend $300 on a pair of fronts. Let me ask yall something, can I get the same sound out of a bookshelfs as a tower?

No.

EDIT: I should elaborate. A bookshelf speaker more likely than not consists of a tweeter and a midrange driver. In cheaper models, this will be a coaxial model (with the tweeter mounted on the midrange driver). Better models will use separate components with a passive crossover built into it to parse out the sound into discrete ranges, so that your high-end sounds come from your tweeter and the midrange sounds from the driver, instead of everything coming out of both speakers and sounding like crap.

A tower speaker will usually also have a bass driver mounted lower on the speaker (on my Polks, they're downfiring), which will allow for greater range in frequency response. This also prevents your mids and highs from getting muddy or tinny.

If you have to choose between a great set of bookshelf speakers or a mediocre set of towers, I'd pick the bookshelf speakers and move them to the rear when I can afford a good set of towers (see my previous post).

 

[hevnsnt]

<continuing trouble>

STFU Noob

 

[Zenmervolt]

You can get a pair of the BIC Venturi DV84 speakers for just about $300. They should be an excellent pair of speakers for the price.

ZV

 

[heat23]

My main purpose for these is for watching movies. Does that change the recommendation for just getting 2 front ones?

 

[Viper GTS]

As others have suggested, spend as much as you can on a decent pair of bookshelf or floor standers.

If you MUST have 5.1/6.1 forget the receiver &amp; pick up one of the two decent boxed sets (Onkyo HT-S650 or S760 or Kenwood HTB-505).

They're decent starter sets, &amp; a good base to upgrade from.

Viper GTS

 

[GtPrOjEcTX]

I'm a fan of these for 2 speaker music listening. Get to listen to them everyday at work

 

[NTB]

That reciever is almost identical to the one sold as part of the Onkyo HT-S760 HTIB, and everything I've read about this package says that it's a great set-up for the price. Take a trip to the local Circuit City, or another electronics store, and see if you can pick up *just* the speaker set: SKS-HT520 The sub in this system is rather large, so if you order it from anywhere, shipping is likely to cost you quite a bit. Might be cheaper to find it at a local store, if at all possible.

Nate

 

[PowerMac4Ever]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
http://www.fluance.com/fluanceavhtb.html

Fluance speakers have been getting good reviews for offering excellent speakers at low prices. I highly recommend them (I own two front speakers that they no longer make). Also, nice choice on the receiver.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: heat23
My main purpose for these is for watching movies. Does that change the recommendation for just getting 2 front ones?

No.

Surrounds are a very minor addition to the movie watching experience, all main action/voice data is sent to the fronts (L/C/R). L/R with a simulated center channel will still be far, far better than the integrated speakers in your TV.

My advice is pick up either of the boxed sets I mentioned, drop $30 on a decent sized spool of speaker wire, &amp; call it good. It will be a whole new world over what you have now, &amp; you can upgrade later if you catch the HT bug. As for wire, 16 gauge or so will be fine, don't pay for Monster or anything like that.

Viper GTS

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: lancestorm

Originally posted by: hevnsnt

Originally posted by: jpeyton
http://www.fluance.com/fluanceavhtb.html

Awesome speakers and in your price range.. Do your research, they get great reviews!

I have them in my living room and love em.

<starting trouble>

You are the same guy that thinks Bose is the elite/ultimate speaker company don't you.

</starting trouble>

I guess my biggest problem with your statement is clarifying how they are awesome. Everyone has different ears. I find it very difficult to believe that this setup has any good qualities other than price. I expect choppy dialogue, no low end, very low sensitivity rating, coloring of the sound to ridiculous proportions, etc... I just don't want this guy to have to be down the road again in a few years looking for another upgrade. Go big now and enjoy.

Can you elitist sound pricks back off a little? You guys get a hardon for banana plugs and 4-way binding posts, while the rest of us just want a set of speakers to enjoy a movie with while sitting next to our women (you remember what those are, right?).

The worst thing about your post is that you state "everyone has different ears", but you insist on giving your professional opinion about speakers that you have not tried. These speakers have had nothing but solid reviews and are an excellent value for the money.

heat23 can get a pair of $300 fronts for now like you suggested, but I assure you that watching movies on those cheaper $200 (or $250 for the upgraded set) Fluance surround sets will be more enjoyable for nearly all movies, because nearly ALL movies are encoded for surround.

 

[3chordcharlie]

You'd be better off with a cheap HTIAB solution, and replacing the speakers as you can afford it. There's no point in buying a decent receiver and crippling it with terrible speakers.

You *might* find a reasonable set of speakers (not *good* but reasonable) in the 400-500 range if you shop the surplus stores and such. But you need at least $1000 budget to expect a 5 speaker set that will really sound good, and then you need a sub.

If you really want the receiver, find the cheapest 5.1 setup you can find, and then start saving to replace it, because it won't do your system (or your movies!) justice at all.