Originally posted by: Continuity28
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Well I don't want to fvck up your finances suggesting things for you to buy, so I'll shut up until you've got some disposable income
Good luck!
Can you recommend a nice set for me then? I'm content with 2.1 but would prefer 5.1+ if the quality is there.
Upper limit is $700. But it would help to know the "best-of" for lower brackets as well. Like 0 - 300, 300 - 500, 500 - 700, etc.
There are a ton of great options out there at a variety of pricepoints but I can give you some options to think about. AVSforum and Hometheaterforum would be a couple good places to look for more opinions.
I think your main decision for 2.1 vs 5.1 should be made on what you listen to most.
For music, 2.1 is the way to go for listening to stereo sources.
For mostly gaming / movies, 5.1 is the way to go.
(ok, duh
)
Also, when you get into "real" sound systems, you have a lot more options for upgrade paths. For example, you could buy a receiver and a pair of speakers. As time goes on and you want to put more money into it, you could add a sub, then center, then surrounds (or move the original pair to surrounds and buy new fronts)... etc.
When doing something like that, it's best to keep all (or at least the front three) speakers the same brand and product line to get a good match for sound.
Ok... so some options?
I'm probably going to kind of assume deal prices on these
5.1
0-300
Logitech z-5500
Klipsch promedia Ultra
Creative gigaworks
Cheap Onkyo HTIB (5XX) (maybe, there are issues)
300-500
Medium Onkyo HTIB (7XX)
Basic "hot deal" speakers + cheap receiver / sub - example Polk R15s for $50/pair x 3 + Onkyo/Pioneer/Etc. receiver <$200 + Dayton 10" - 12" sub ~$150-$200
Set of 5.1 speakers + cheap receiver - example Athena Micra + <$200 receiver
500-700
Slightly better "hot deal" speakers + cheap receiver / sub (keep receiver / sub prices about the same and dump the extra cash into speakers) - more speaker options will open up... like Infinity Primus etc.
There's always something a little better if you spend a little more, and this budget is almost to the point where you can get something along the lines of
AV123 X-Series + a budget receiver.
Also, I'd just like to point out that it would be a good idea to check for used options. I know I've mentioned this before, but a short time ago I just got a $750 3.1 system for my parents that would have cost almost 2k new. (from Craigslist)
http://www.axiomaudio.com/m22ti_main.html
http://www.axiomaudio.com/fms24.html
http://www.axiomaudio.com/vp150_main.html
http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=subwoofers&product=6.1
and an Onkyo 602 to power the speakers
If you're willing to go used, you can move up to a whole other level of options.
Ok... 2.0 / 2.1 options...
0-300
Klipsch Promedia 2.0 (+ sub of your choice if you want)
Klipsch Promedia 2.1
Klipsch iFi (great option if you can find it for ~$200)
Swan M200 (+ sub of your choice if you want)
Maybe some powered monitors (honestly I haven't paid attention too much since I've tended to go towards unpowered speakers once I got past "computer speaker" options)
Pair of speakers + receiver/amp + sub (recommendations would pretty much be the same "hot deal" speakers + a cheap amp + a cheap sub as stated above, just that you're buying 1 pair of speakers instead of a 5.0/6.0 set of speakers)
300-500
Pair of speakers + receiver/amp + sub - from here on up, you just get better and better options for your choices. I would still say stay very cheap on the receiver / sub and try to put as much into the speaker pair as possible. Example - if you can work a pair of
X-LS speakers in there, that would be a strong choice.
500-700
Same as above, but even better options open up...
I still think very low receiver and sub are the way to go and get the best pair of speakers you can get.
Options are going to start opening up for some of the better retail brands and some of the good internet-direct brands.
Lot of options - hard to say what would be best since you have some really good choices starting to get into your range and it would be great if especially at this point and above you did some demo-ing to see what kind of sound you like.
Demo-ing would be great at all these levels to get a good idea of what you want, but once you have a lot of great options out there I think it makes sense to spend more time trying to get something that suits you the best.
Ok, I'm done rambling again
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