|   Help with speaker choice........ | Scott B
Sep 13, 2001 9:26 AM | | I am setting up a budget home theater. Currently I ahve a Sony STR-DE475 receiver but am looking for speakers. I will be using these speakers for both music and home theater use. I would like to get a complete package (front, surround, center, and sub) for less than $400. What does anybody recommend in this price range. I go some cambridge soundworks movieworks 408 speakers a couple days ago but need to send them back because they are defective. Please steer me in the right direction.
Thansk,
Scott |
| re: Help with speaker choice........ | Rhino
Sep 13, 2001 10:25 AM | | If you're looking to spend less than $400 on a 5.1 system you're gonna be disappointed in the way it sounds, especially with music. I would recommend looking at used equipment to keep the price down, and I would also recommend perhaps skipping the surrounds for now and buying a little better mains and center.
When I first started in home theater I got the JBL NSP-1 package and added a JBL PB-12 sub. The sub was fine, and the speakers worked fine for movies, but were extremely weak for music. They reproduced highs okay, but the mids were weak and they had no bass at all and the mains sounded like they were muffled. In addition, the system cost well over what you're looking to spend, even purchased on the internet at the lowest cost retialer I could find.
I ultimately went with some Ascend Acoustics CBM-170s for my 5.1 system, with the original JBL sub, and the difference is truly unbelievable. Unfortunately, based on your budget, the Ascends are not an option for you. |
| re: Help with speaker choice........ | WEB-TV's Audiophile
Sep 13, 2001 10:42 AM | | $400.00 is really not enough to work with. Since you're factoring in music as well you must reconsider your budget. Speaker cabling will factor in also. Home cinema in a box does fall in your price category but all include amplification. The best of these are: Sony DAvs500:also includes a multi-channel sacd player. Yamaha VS-10:Bargain buy just add TV & DVD A/V speaker packages that are now discontinued like the Energy Take 5 system which is now 5.2 was highly rated & MAY be at lower cost. |
| I agree with the others | NickG
Sep 13, 2001 11:48 AM | | I think you would be better off getting just two main speakers, or two mains with a center for your $400. If it were me I would get a pair of Paradigm Atoms ($185) and the Paradigm CC170 center($200) for now. You could add first a sub, and then surrounds later if you wanted. You could pick similar priced speakers to the ones I mentioned from Boston Acoustic, Ascend Acoustic, NHT, Mirage, Klipsch amoung others, all of which would sound pretty darned good. Figure $50 or so for cables from Radio Shack. Music especially will sound better with speakers like the ones mentioned above.
IMO, YMMV etc. etc.
Regards, Nick |
| re: Help with speaker choice........ | eMmanuil
Sep 13, 2001 2:20 PM | | cant get 5 speakers for under 400 unless they sound really crappy. get a some mains and a center chanel. for cheap but VERY good mains try to find some used Century 800 from PSB. you can prolly get a pair for like $300. they have lots of bass so you can get away without using a subwoofer for now. I bought a pair for 700 3 or 4 years ago, and would not even think to upgrade unless i was willing to spend 1200 + for speakers. |
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