HTIB - SLS Q-Line Gold - $375 del. (originally $899)

[PJABBER]

I ran across a thread on AVS Forum (great site for audio video) that mentions a particularly good bargain - the SLS Q-Line Gold HTIB for $375 delivered. For the money you get a complete home theater system including center-channel speaker, 4 satellite speakers, 8" subwoofer, and a re-badged Sherwood USA RD-8601 AM/FM receiver.

If you have a receiver and just like the speakers, you can buy those separately for $280.00 delivered.

SLS, a mid-high end manufacturer, apparently utilizes their US made planar ribbon tweeter drivers and woven Kevlar midrange drivers in this system. The system is very well reviewed, especially for the price point. The receiver offers automatic speaker set-up, complete with supplied microphone. If you decide to buy this, be sure to try setting the crossover at 100 Hz, not the more common 80 Hz, as that seems the most common recommendation from those who have bought the system.

SLS had a special manufacturing run for Best Buy and then ran into all kinds of problems dealing with BB. BB clearanced these nice systems out dirt cheap at $299 (originally priced at $899) awhile back and AV-Express bought out the rest of the run and is selling them for $375.

$375.00 - SLS Q-Line Gold 650w 5.1 Surround Sound Home Theater Complete System with free shipping -

http://www.av-express.com/AV-Catalog/HomeTheater/SLSQLineHomeTheater

$280.00 - 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker and Subwoofer Set with Kevlar Drivers, Ribbon Tweeters and 200w Powered Subwoofer with free shipping -

http://www.av-express.com/AV-Catalog/HomeTheater/5SLSSurroundSoundSpeakerAndSubwooferSet

PLEASE NOTE: AV-Express has an Ebay storefront as well and if you buy there using Bing (see other thread in Hot Deals) you can get 20% cash back on these prices! The Bing cash back amount percentage changes regularly, so be sure to check what the current percentage is.

http://stores.ebay.com/AV-Express-Outlet-Store

You can read the full story on AVS Forum here -

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=690931

Manufacturer WWW sites -

SLS Audio

http://buysls.com/
http://www.slsloudspeakers.com/

 

[RBC]

Is this as good as it looks? If so this is on hell of deal!

 

[Nunya]

Receiver does not appear to have any HDMI ports:

http://www.sherwoodusa.com/prod_rd8601.html#

 

[CosmosRewind]

Receiver does not appear to have any HDMI ports

You don't really need them if you pipe everything to your TV, and then run the TV audio coax/optical output to the receiver. Or my lazy approach is to run video to the TV and the higher definition audio directly to the receiver. Hitting an extra button on a remote isn't that hard.

 

[digitaldurandal]

Are these speakers wireless? I am looking for a 5.1 system that is wireless.

 

[PJABBER]

Receiver does not appear to have any HDMI ports:

http://www.sherwoodusa.com/prod_rd8601.html#

You are right, the Sherwood is an OK receiver but it does not have HDMI. You can find it on sale for around $235, but there are better receiver options for $235.

Think of it this way - you are getting $500+ dollars of very good quality speakers for $280 with a receiver worth $235 (I would value it at $150 myself) thrown in for $95. You can probably sell it on Craigslist or Ebay for more than that.

The real audio value is in the speakers and I would probably consider buying them and at that price point matching them to a receiver with HDMI if you prefer to have a little less cable clutter. You can get HDMI passthrough (kind of worthless) in refurbished/B-stock receivers at the $150 price point. Starting at $200 you can find HDMI with repeater functionality and that is where you will likely also see enough other features like Audyssey to consider it worth spending the additional $100.

C'mon, this is a very cheap price point where you are getting speakers that are way above the norm in HTIB. I think it is an excellent value for anyone with a sub-$400 budget and I would even compare it to systems you pay $600+ on clearance for!

Also, they are not wireless. ;-)

 

[digitaldurandal]

Okay I see that the rear speakers aren't wireless I am okay with that and considering purchase after reading the AVS forum post.

Wire clutter is not a big deal, are there any other drawbacks to the lack of HDMI.

I plan on hooking this up to a PS3 and a 42in 1080p. I don't know if I will even use the dvd player that comes with it.

Should I expect any issues due to the lack of HDMI when hooking up my ps3? (IE have to purchase another receiver, which I won't be able to afford any time soon) Or will I be happy with my xmas gift to myself with the supplied receiver?

 

[PJABBER]

Okay I see that the rear speakers aren't wireless I am okay with that and considering purchase after reading the AVS forum post.

Wire clutter is not a big deal, are there any other drawbacks to the lack of HDMI.

I plan on hooking this up to a PS3 and a 42in 1080p. I don't know if I will even use the dvd player that comes with it.

Should I expect any issues due to the lack of HDMI when hooking up my ps3? (IE have to purchase another receiver, which I won't be able to afford any time soon) Or will I be happy with my xmas gift to myself with the supplied receiver?

PLEASE NOTE: AV-Express has an Ebay storefront as well and if you buy there using Bing (see other thread in Hot Deals) you can get 20% cash back on the prices I first listed! The Bing cash back amount percentage changes regularly, so be sure to check what the current percentage is.

http://stores.ebay.com/AV-Express-Outlet-Store

If you have a PS3 and a 1080p TV, I would go with just the speakers and pick up a higher end receiver.

It really depends on your budget.

The speakers will do justice to a higher end receiver and I have found that there are audible advantages to going with a fuller Audyssey implementation.

Audyssey is a third party researcher and developer. While a number of manufacturers do try to do something similar with their proprietary implementations, I happen to think Audyssey does it best so I have no problem recommending their implementation over others.

The particular feature that I found most worthwhile was the room correction technology, from best to simplest implementation - MultEQ XT (measures from 8 room positions), MultEQ (measures six), 2EQ (measures 3.) I went with MultEQ as I have a very irregular room with mixed walls with stone, timber and wallboard, but as a budget choice 2EQ is fine.

The other two features that I auditioned and have found very useful are Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume. I have not tried Audyssey DSX, which is supposed to expand the width and height of the soundstage, but you will only find that in more expensive receivers anyway.

I would start my search by reviewing the receivers that have these Audyssey features and then look around for bargain/sale pricing for those particular models. I generally find that manufacturer refurbished or B-stock offerings are excellent values for solid state electronics like receivers as they can carry full warranties and are offered at substantial discounts.

About Audyssey -

http://www.audyssey.com/hometheater/receivers.html

Specific receivers -

http://www.audyssey.com/products/consumer_ready.html

The least expensive of the current models with full Audyssey and HDMI repeater functionality are the identical DENON AVR-590 (found in big box stores like Best Buy) for around $260 and the AVR-1610 (everyone else, usually for a bit more) and the Onkyo TX-SR507 for around $270. You don't really need more receiver than these for these speakers.

Refurbs, B-stock and previous year models should be available at lesser cost. Use Bing and get 20% cashback with an Ebay purchase (see the thread about that for more detail on how to do it.)

FWIW, I chose a Denon receiver for my own use, but Onkyo often offers more bang for the buck in that it is discounted more often or offers a bit more robust feature set for the equivalent price point.

 

[KaBudokan]

The least expensive of the current models with full Audyssey and HDMI repeater functionality are the identical DENON AVR-590 (found in big box stores like Best Buy) for around $260 and the AVR-1610 (everyone else, usually for a bit more) and the Onkyo TX-SR507 for around $270. You don't really need more receiver than these for these speakers.

AFAIK, you won't find either of the Denon receivers for that price from an authorized dealer. I am pretty sure Denon controls the pricing of their models.

I bought a 1610 from Electronics-Expo using their discount code, and somehow was given a price over the phone of $260.xx , but I'm pretty sure that was a fluke. The code has since been reduced and only offers about a $20 discount.

Denon 590 goes for $350, and the 1610 goes for $379.

Anyway... looks like a nice deal on the speakers.

 

[PJABBER]

AFAIK, you won't find either of the Denon receivers for that price from an authorized dealer. I am pretty sure Denon controls the pricing of their models.

I bought a 1610 from Electronics-Expo using their discount code, and somehow was given a price over the phone of $260.xx , but I'm pretty sure that was a fluke. The code has since been reduced and only offers about a $20 discount.

Denon 590 goes for $350, and the 1610 goes for $379.

Anyway... looks like a nice deal on the speakers.

I just did a simple Google Shooping search to get those prices. If you can find one of the low quotes from an Ebay seller, then you can tack on whatever Bing cash back there is at the moment. It was up to 20% for a short while which means you could have picked something up for less. Have to watch out for shipping costs as well with a lot of on-line retailers. Easier to quickly get an accurate number on Ebay than Google for that.

 

[digitaldurandal]

PJABBER first let me say thanks a lot for all the information you are really helping me out. I may need to get the speakers first and then later see about getting a receiver used somewhere. Unfortunately budget may dictate this. I do currently have a receiver I found but it is seriously old. I wrote the model number down and left it at my dads. I am going to look it up to see what it puts out.

What do I need to check to make sure it will be compatible with the SLS speaker set? If it is I will put off picking up one of the recommended receivers until I can more comfortably budget it.

 

[PJABBER]

PJABBER first let me say thanks a lot for all the information you are really helping me out. I may need to get the speakers first and then later see about getting a receiver used somewhere. Unfortunately budget may dictate this. I do currently have a receiver I found but it is seriously old. I wrote the model number down and left it at my dads. I am going to look it up to see what it puts out.

What do I need to check to make sure it will be compatible with the SLS speaker set? If it is I will put off picking up one of the recommended receivers until I can more comfortably budget it.

If you post the name and model, I or someone else can let you know both the goodness and the limitations of that specific model.

Depending on the age and quality of the receiver you actually might have a better power amp inside than a modern version. Some of the old units were overbuilt with huge amps and very good tuners back when labor and materials were cheap. I love to try some of these out for their sonic qualities and some may have a good lingering resale value. If you are lucky, or not, you might even have an amp that uses vacuum tubes. Hehehe.

But I am wandering a bit here.

Most speakers, including these by SLS, should do fine with almost any receiver, at least as far as stereo play goes, ie CDs, game consoles, etc. You just connect the speakers to the appropriate Left/Right connection on the receiver, plug in a source like a CD player and you are good to go.

The issue which you might encounter is that really old receivers were stereo only and DVDs need surround channels to replicate ambience and surround effects.

You might also see connectors for obsolete devices such as laser disc players, the precursors to DVDs.

Depending on the age of the receiver you will get certain sound decoding capabilities, designed to best replicate the audio features of the movie. All DVDs have Dolby Pro-Logic and/or Dolby Digital encoding, so that would be the first thing to check on the receiver. If you do, then you can use all of the speakers as you will have sufficient channels for all of the speakers that come with this set. Most, but not all, receivers have a dedicated subwoofer connection as well.

Anyway, let me know what receiver you have and what CD, DVD player you are going to use with it and I can help more then. If you shoot me a private message it will remind me to check the thread.

BTW, you are likely to get lots of help on any questions relating to a general topic from the Audio/Video & Home Theater forum here once you identify what you have.

In the meantime, if you have some time, check out this FAQ on AV receivers on AVS Forum for more information than you thought you would ever need or want -

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=968859

 

[ICXRa]

When these went on close out I checked everywhere in my area but no luck. Luckily the one up by my parents had three so I got my dad to go over to Indiana and grab two of them. I set his up when I arrived for Christmas that year and mine when I arrived back home.

I'm amazed these are still around.

The speakers sound really good...incredible when you factor in the price.

The sub cannot handle large amounts of LFE so I would either get the two sub package off their ebay store or plan on replacing it with a larger more powerful ~250 watt plus 8" or 10" sub later.

The receiver isn't bad but it's not a Denon either. I have ran all my video connections to my Samsung LCD and ran fiber from my PS3 to the receiver. Sounds fine and gets the job done but again it doesn't have all the features and conveniences of my 3803 on my main system.

I have recommended this system to many of my friends but I believe the lack of name recognition and price scares them away....it's hard for people to grasp what a hell of a deal this is and surprisingly some people still find this to be expensive for a HTIB.

Oh yeah the box is pretty huge, free shipping is a bargain.

 

[share888]

I'm here all week...

 

[Doclife]

How are these speakers compare to the Polk Audio's Monitor line ? If it is equal or better, I might buy it for the lliving room TV. I recently purchase the following speakers from Newegg and it costs me $474 shipped.

Polk Audio PSW10 subwoofer
Polk Audio Monitor 60 (front L&R)
Polk Audio CS1 (center)
Polk Audio M30 (rear L&R)

Thanks in advance.

 

[ICXRa]

I doubt anyone here at least has heard both of these setups and there isn't a good apples to apples comparison between floor standers and mini monitors. My guess is the Polk's will give a larger sound stage due to their size alone.

This setup is really geared toward more of way to get good 5.1 sound without having a lot of bulky speakers all over the place and that they do well.

 

[blamus]

You can never compare HTIB speakers with floorstanders, the SLS are HTIB and I've looked into them last year, when woot was selling the whole set for like $200 or something. these HTIB speakers are really designed for movies (and therefore gaming), of course they play music, but really .... sucks for music, as compared to a real set of hi-fi floorstanding monitors. There is no comparison, mainly due to the different design philosophy.

From what i know, these SLS are special due to the ribbon tweeters, which are used in very hi end hi-fi systems. The mids are probably also their strong point, which is good news for movies, with the duo small mid woofers in MTM arrangement. Mid-bass slam however, would probably be the compromise, with its crossover point relatively high. The sub is not exactly top notch, probably too boomy for hi-fi music, but again, for movies, probably perfect.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

PJABBER - audio crossovers don't operate in the range of MHz (nor does our hearing). I think you meant 100 Hz not 100 MHz.

 

[PJABBER]

PJABBER - audio crossovers don't operate in the range of MHz (nor does our hearing). I think you meant 100 Hz not 100 MHz.

Thank you for noting my mistake. Just corrected my oversight. Comes from jumping from the world of IT to audio and not looking before I leap! ;-)

 

[digitaldurandal]

You can never compare HTIB speakers with floorstanders, the SLS are HTIB and I've looked into them last year, when woot was selling the whole set for like $200 or something. these HTIB speakers are really designed for movies (and therefore gaming), of course they play music, but really .... sucks for music, as compared to a real set of hi-fi floorstanding monitors. There is no comparison, mainly due to the different design philosophy.

From what i know, these SLS are special due to the ribbon tweeters, which are used in very hi end hi-fi systems. The mids are probably also their strong point, which is good news for movies, with the duo small mid woofers in MTM arrangement. Mid-bass slam however, would probably be the compromise, with its crossover point relatively high. The sub is not exactly top notch, probably too boomy for hi-fi music, but again, for movies, probably perfect.

I understand your criticism of the speaker but I have to ask, is there a specific hi-fi floorstanding speaker set at a similar price you would recommend over these or are you just comparing 275$ speakers to more expensive speakers? Personally I cannot spend more than say 500ish total on a set up. I simply don't have the money to justify it. From what I can tell, compared to the 2.1 sound (vizio speaker bar and bass - it was free don't laugh) I have setup without a receiver I am hoping to be blown away, and as long as I have that improvement, I shall be quite happy.