Need a receiver and a subwoofer.

[Dimkaumd]

I know there are similar threads out there and I hate to be redundant, but mine is slightly different!

I have 5 polk speakers, that I installed in ceiling.

Now I just need to get a subwoofer and a receiver. My budget is somewhat tight. I can afford to pay approx $500 for both the receiver and subwoofer.

Any recommendations? Am I sacrificing a lot by spending less on the receiver and sub?


thanks!

 

[Jugernot]

What type of connections do you need? HDMI upconversion? Switching? 7.1 capable for future use?

Jugs

 

[Dimkaumd]

Jugernot, I wish I knew. I know nothing of this stuff. I dont know what HDMI upconversion or switching is. I probably dont need 7.1 for future use though.

Also, is it worth getting a speaker wall plate? If so, any recommendations there?

thx

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I think the speakers are the most critical component of the system.

All five speakers are in the ceiling?

As for subwoofer and receiver choice, I have some subwoofer suggestions in the sticky thread and you should be able to find a decent Pioneer / Onkyo / etc. to fit that budget.

How big is the room?

It would be tough to get a good receiver and good subwoofer together for $500. I would probably end up getting a cheap receiver (you can get a reasonable one for under $200) and then trying to get the best sub possible with the rest of the money.

Examples:

Onkyo 506
http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=91163

Pioneer 518
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...s-_-Pioneer-_-82117254


For the sub

BIC H-100 from ebay (maybe even live search will get you a better deal?)

Basic elemental designs sub
http://www.edesignaudio.com/pr...h=2_41&products_id=406

The dayton subs from partsexpress are on sale now with free shipping
You could even pick up a couple of these on your budget
http://www.parts-express.com/p...cfm?Partnumber=300-635

 

[Dimkaumd]

Thanks YoyoYo. Yup all 5 speakers are in the ceiling. I know its prob not the best set-up. The room is a rectangular shape, approx 13ft by 22ft.

Are you saying the sub is more important than the receiver? I can maybe stretch it to $600, but thats MAX! I also need to buy a TV

Im doing all of this on black friday.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Does that mean you're trying to get in on black friday deals?

Most retail subwoofers aren't very impressive compared to what you can get for the same price from these internet sources.

The subwoofer and receiver are both important, but if I had to sacrifice a bit on one or the other, I'd rather skimp a bit on the receiver than the sub.

To get a relatively full featured receiver that will do audio over HDMI, some speaker equalization, etc. you're looking at $350-ish.

On $500, that would probably look something like

Onkyo 606 ($350 shipped from amazon)
or some other similarly featured receiver

plus a basic subwoofer like the 12" dayton

If you're going to be hooking up a blu-ray player and want to get the new audio formats, you'd want a receiver that can do this.

On the other hand, if your speakers and subwoofer aren't so hot, then it's not going to make as much of a difference that you're listening to those new audio formats.

If you are not getting a blu-ray player, then it's less important to get a receiver that can do audio over HDMI. Of course there are other reasons to get a nicer receiver than HDMI features, but that's probably not going to be as obvious a difference compared to what you'd get from a nicer subwoofer.