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Best HT setup for ~500$?

BassBomb

BassBomb

Diamond Member
First off I have

JVC MX-GT700 that I have had for almost 6 years now.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/i...1MAQNFCMEL._AA280_.jpg
330W RMS

110W RMS x2 Subwoofers
55W RMS x2 Midrange + Tweeter

I use this stereo connected to my computer by AUX to listen to music + for gaming. I listen to Drum and Bass mostly. I don't really watch movies on my computer ever. I am interested in sound quality (of course with a budget).

Bass is awesome with this, but I was looking to getting a 5.1 PC Speaker system.

Would it be worth my time to look into a 5.1 system? Logitech Z5500 Seems to be the front runner at the moment but I have not seen any others.

5.1 also may pose some problems in the way my room is laid out. Would I be able to increase/decrease volume/delay on certain satellites to compensate for the distances?

I will post pics of my room to show what I mean once my parents return with my camera.

EDIT
Logitech is the front runner for me.
Any other options that would come out to ~500$ and be a better solution?
 
I would take a Z5500 in a heartbeat over the 3-piece stereo setup you have. Personally I have never found those to perform anywhere near on par with even a simple 2.1 HTIB, but thats just me and I don't know how the specific unit you have compares, but typically those style units never perform anywhere near what they are rated.

Another option to consider over the Z5500 is an Onkyo HTIB like the SR600. I can guarantee it will smoke the JVC you have and comes with alot more inputs and the flexibility to change out the speakers later. You can find the SR600 for around 200-250 or so, though possibly less if you look hard. I can pretty much guarantee it will be a significant upgrade.
 
DnB for life baby. Know any good new CD's or artists? My favorite CD's lately have been DJ Fresh - Escape From Planet Monday and Pendulum - Hold Your Colour. I like the trancey-sounding DnB that Pendulum puts out a lot.

Let me know if you know any good new stuff like that. We could take this to PMs if necessary. =)

I too am about to upgrade my audio equipment, but it appears I will be going a different (more $$) route.
 
My system definatley pounds The Z5500 seems like the best option if I did upgrade, HTIB are about 200 clicks more where I am
 
Did you take a look at the sticky thread to get an idea of what kind of HT system you could get for $500 (or a 2.0/2.1 system since music seems to be a big part of your usage)?
 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Did you take a look at the sticky thread to get an idea of what kind of HT system you could get for $500 (or a 2.0/2.1 system since music seems to be a big part of your usage)?
Click to expand...

I took a look, most of the items are out of my price range ( I am in Canada too)
makes it somewhat difficult.

Probably the best I saw were the Infinity bookshelf + floorstanding for the prices listed in the states.

www.bestbuy.ca lists them for 200 and ~500 which is way too much.

US prices you list were 100 + 150 for 4 speakers which would leave money for center sub and a reciever.

Reciever I could always use an old JVC reciever we have in our house

RX-8000V is the model
 
If you already have a working receiver, that takes a big chunk out of the startup cost to getting a "real" system going.

There can be some issues trying to hook up to a receiver and get surround sound from a computer when gaming though.
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=1940133&enterthread=y
Card recommendations in there are outdated, but the general info is still applicable.

I don't know if your integrated audio for whatever system this is for supports DD or DTS encoding, but that would take care of the issues.

You'll be able to adjust the levels of any speakers connected to take into sensitivity / distance / etc. differences you were concerned about.

If sound quality is your primary concern and music is a big part of what you're going to be listening to, I would suggest checking out the section on giving yourself an upgrade path.

$500 would get you a pretty nice 2.1 set going with your existing receiver.

 
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