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What home theater speakers should I get?

S

Syborg1211

Diamond Member
I want 5.1 at the minimum, but am also open to 6.1. The receiver I get will depend on what speakers I choose. I have been looking into the entire speakers/sub sets or the speakers sold separately and buy a sub to go with. I would like to save some money, but am willing to pay for quality. Here are some speakers I have been looking at:
Onkyo 6.1
JBL set
Harmon Kardons
cerwin vega speakers with infinity sub or a JBL 12 inch sub

How are any of those? The prices of the Onkyo's and HK's are appealing, but the power of the JBL and infinity is also appealing since I really want some good bass.
 
Originally posted by: Syborg1211
I want 5.1 at the minimum, but am also open to 6.1. The receiver I get will depend on what speakers I choose. I have been looking into the entire speakers/sub sets or the speakers sold separately and buy a sub to go with. I would like to save some money, but am willing to pay for quality. Here are some speakers I have been looking at:
Onkyo 6.1
JBL set
Harmon Kardons
cerwin vega speakers with infinity sub or a JBL 12 inch sub

How are any of those? The prices of the Onkyo's and HK's are appealing, but the power of the JBL and infinity is also appealing since I really want some good bass.
Click to expand...

Budget? Size of room? Measurements with pic (if you're of the female variety that is)?
 
Will start off in a ~300 sq ft dorm room for a year and then move into a much larger room when I move into an apartment the next year. The budget is pretty tentative. I'd say 500 is a good ceiling to start off with =D
 
Originally posted by: Syborg1211
Will start off in a ~300 sq ft dorm room for a year and then move into a much larger room when I move into an apartment the next year. The budget is pretty tentative. I'd say 500 is a good ceiling to start off with =D
Click to expand...

$500 for a sub/speakers/ and receiver or just the speakers? If it's just for speakers try these fluance's for $199 (5.0 - no sub)... They get stellar reviews but I haven't tried them myself... You'd need to buy a sub with that... If you want a more well known (easily available) speakers go with the Onkyo SKS-HT510.... That's 6.1 with sub for less than $300...
 
I love my fluances, I got them last week though, so I cant exactly let you know much more about them, they sound superb and for the price I believe they can't be beat. Only thing you need is a sub, possibly a reciever if you do not already have one. Although I am not an audiophyle so you might want to rely on someone else's opinion if you are.
 
whats your budget? I would recomend the Ascend 5 speaker set up (340c, 4x170) and a SVS subwoofer (25-31PCi tuned to 22hz).
 
Speakers will be used for home theater and music, more often music than home theater. I think it's between the Onkyos and the Harman Kardons. What's the difference between the Harman Kardon HKTS 12's and the HKTS 10's? I see no difference in the specs besides weight and price...
 
Get two sets of the JBL N24 and one N center and a Sony WM40 Sub. Best bang for buck under 500$. You could also substuite the JBL's with Paradyme Atoms or Titans and CC170 center if you can find a seller on Ebay.
 
Originally posted by: DrJohnMarkway
Get two sets of the JBL N24 and one N center and a Sony WM40 Sub. Best bang for buck under 500$. You could also substuite the JBL's with Paradyme Atoms or Titans and CC170 center if you can find a seller on Ebay.
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Sorry. I disagree. I have the JBL NSP1 set (4 N24s and an N center), and they're clear, but for music, they must be about as accurate as a sundial at midnight 🙂D I must have heard that one before. Hmmm.) I'm sure my living space is far from ideal from an acoustic standpoint, but it's not going to be in my current situation. I feel screwed out of the $231 I paid for them, and I think I could have done better. I really wish I had chosen something different. Those Fluance speakers look mighty tempting to me (at $199, they're totally worth a try for me), except that my space doesn't really accommodate the front floor-standers. 🙁
 
If you have a dorm room that small, I say just go for 2.0.

5.1 is nice, but with your budget you could get a really nice 2.0 or 2.1 system, and that's all you really need. I bought 5.1 (Diva 4.1/C3/R3 + Denon 1802 + SVS 16-46CS) and that costed me about $2000, but all I really use are the fronts.
 
I want to get 5.1 to take to apartments after this year at dorms.

I still don't know the difference between the Harman Kardon 10's and 12's...

Will the sub on the Onkyo system hit hard? I want a pretty powerful sub... Maybe I could just get the Onkyo system and replace the sub if I don't like it? What subs should I get, or should I not change the sub out in fear of mismatching the speakers and sub?
 
Originally posted by: Syborg1211
Speakers will be used for home theater and music, more often music than home theater. I think it's between the Onkyos and the Harman Kardons. What's the difference between the Harman Kardon HKTS 12's and the HKTS 10's? I see no difference in the specs besides weight and price...
Click to expand...


Did you check out the Energy Take 5.1s and 5.2s? Critically acclaimed and from a real speaker manufacturer - not jack of all trades companies. Do yourself a favor and demo them out before buying anything.

Onkyo makes pretty good electronics (receivers especially), HK do decent receivers and other things too. IMO, neither do speakers that well nor do they have the heritage to back it up. You'll notice that many reputable audio shops carry HK and Onkyo electronics - especially for HT - but don't carry their speaker lineups unless a customer specifically asks for it. That's because other companies do it better for the same money or less. So do it better for the same money and check out these two setups.

Stereophile's review of the Take 5.2s ...

Liquid Theatre's review on the Take 5.2s ...

Home Theatre and Sound's review on the Take 5.2s...

Take 5.1 review ...

Take 5.1 review ...

While we're at it you should read up on some of the decent articles that deal with Home Theatre in general ...

Various articles

In any case the Take 5.2s are the newer versions of the 5.1s - there may be limited availability of the 5.1s nowadays.

Paradigms and PSBs are also very good too.

 
i know when i'm in the mode to buy something, the last thing i want to hear is advice to hold back on my purchase. however, it is probably the best thing for you to do now. for $500, pretty much the only 5.1 speaker setup you could get will be some out-of-the-box HT deal. as others have said, $500 is probably the right amount to spend on two fronts if you want to cross the threshold into "good" HT. I've got Paradigm Monitor 5's and my dad just picked up Klipsch SF-2's - each pair goes for about $500-$600. With the Klipsch especially (they're floorstanders), you'll get plenty of bass to tide you over until you get a sub. just tack on the other speakers when you move out of your dorm room and you'll wind up with a great setup a year from now rather than a mediocre setup right now.
 
Originally posted by: Syborg1211
I want to get 5.1 to take to apartments after this year at dorms.

I still don't know the difference between the Harman Kardon 10's and 12's...

Will the sub on the Onkyo system hit hard? I want a pretty powerful sub... Maybe I could just get the Onkyo system and replace the sub if I don't like it? What subs should I get, or should I not change the sub out in fear of mismatching the speakers and sub?
Click to expand...

Well, if you want your sub to hit hard and fast then I wouldn't want to live around you in your next apartment unless you live a thick concrete building!

Mismatching the sub isn't as much of a worry. You'll be spending time fiddling with the crossovers to meld them seamlessly together. What's really more important are the characteristics of the listening/viewing room that you plan to throw your 5.1 setup into. That will have much more effect on your sub response seeing that you will have one sub instead of maybe two to help balance out the bass response and dillute the standing waves. Proper placement is key. If and when you do get your system you should really consider going through a reputable dealer/high end shop in your area that will offer the best combo of pricing and service.

Really.

The reason why is that they will take the time to help you setup your system properly if you are serious about getting the most of your system. You can do this yourself too with some specialized software that's available that will assess your room response and give you tips on where to get the best performance.

Something like this ...

But if you are looking for a real good sub then you should look into something like an SVS or an Adire Rava. The investment is worth it like other posters have said. In the case of HT getting to a particular quality level will carry you over for a long, long time.

SVS Subwoofers ...

and

Adire Audio

It may be more than what you wanted to spend but it's definitely something to consider.
 
Hmm I'll look into that expensive stuff, but I'm a college student so I dunno about that nice stuff just yet.

Will the Onkyo sub hit harder than the sub in my Logitech z560s? I want a set that can outdo my 560s by a good margin, but from what I hear any regular speaker beats the best multimedias?
 
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