Looking to get a 5.1 system. (1 Viewer)

[Josh*C]

Not only am I new to this site but I am also new to this whole audio and speakers thing. I figured that there would be a lot of audio buffs on this site so I could get some help.
Right now I have a cheap surround sound system and I am looking to upgrade big time. My budget is around 350$ for the whole. From what I have read so far it seems like it is a better idea to put together separate componets to make a system rather than just buying a home theater system as a whole. I've looked into both options but it would be great if I could get some advice from someone who know what they're talking about.
What I'm looking for out of this system is that it can play music pretty damn loud along with being a decent surround sound system for movies.
Before I share what I have found so far I have a few questions. If you get separate components of course your going to need a receiver. Lets say your speakers are 200 watts and you subwoofer and center speakers are 100 watts. If get a receiver that pumps out 200 watts per channel will you like blow up your sub and center? Basically what I'm asking is does the receiver have to be putting out as much power as what the lowest power part of your system can handle?
Ok so here's what I've found. I found these 200 watt speakers. just go to amazon and add this
/gp/product/B000065UTU/sr=1-22/qid=1143392289/ref=sr_1_22/103-4907404-4269466?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=audio-video

I know that wattage has a lot to do with how loud they can go so I thought for the cheap price these would be good. I have also found a cheap 100 watt sub and a 125 watt center speaker. Now what I need is to find a good receiver as well. Any suggestions or changes to this system are more than welcome seeing as I'm not so knowledge able with all of this stuff.
The best systems that are already together that I found were these two. just go to amazon and add this
/gp/product/B0007X7VZC/sr=8-1/qid=1143391687/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-4907404-4269466?%5Fencoding=UTF8
just go to bestbuy and add this
/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7034666&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat40200050004&id=1099395730499
Again all comments on theses systems or suggestions for other all welcome.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Josh*C]

Whoops mabey this is better placed in the speaker forum. If a mod could move it that would be great.

 

[SethH]

Yeah, it'll get moved the speaker forum.

First of all, welcome to the site. You'll have the opportunity to learn lots of great information here.

Out of the things you've posted, I think the system at BB is your best option. Another option to consider is the Athena Point5 system. This system can be had for just under $300, but does not include a receiver. I would then suggest looking for a used Harmon Kardon, Yamaha or Denon receiver.

About wattage . . . speakers may say they can only handle XX watts, but no passive speakers actually produce power, so the wattage rating has little meaning. If you get a 200 watt receiver (which you won't in your price range) it will not blow out speakers rated for 100 watts unless you turn it up loud enough to blow them. Realistically, you will only get between 45 and 100 watts per channel in your price range.

 

[Josh*C]

Thanks for the suggestions.

About wattage it's still a little unclear for me. So what your saying is that the wattage of the speakers just mean how loud they could possible get but only if they are packaged with a capable receiver? So the loudness of your system mostly depends on the wattage of the receiver which would be the most important part? This is one of the more important thing I'm looking at becasue I definatly want my system to be able to thump.

EDIT: These two seem to be the best recivers I found for a resonable price. go to amazon and then add
/gp/product/B000222YRS/sr=1-180/qid=1143322975/ref=sr_1_180/103-4907404-4269466?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=audio-video

again amazon and then
/gp/product/B0009319RQ/sr=1-1/qid=1143404277/ref=sr_1_1/103-4907404-4269466?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=audio-video

Now the second one says it puts out 110 wats through 5 speakers, now would that mean that there wouldn't be a space for a sub or is that just assumed to be there.

 

[SethH]

I would go with the Yamaha between those two.

There is still an output for the sub. Most subs have their own amplifier, so wattage may matter when looking at subs, but most people are more concerned with other specs such as driver size and frequency response.

Just a warning . . . you're probably not going to get a system that really "thumps" in your budget. If that's really your main goal then you may need to consider buying one part at a time. Specifically, you might want to consider putting more money into the subwoofer.

Some good "budget" subwoofers are the Dayton 12" from PartsExpress for about $140, the Acoustech H-100 for $250 and the Cadence X-Sub for about $225.

 

[Josh*C]

Alright if I did piece it together over time how much do you think it would end up costing in total?
Also come to think of it I can use some speakers that I have from a boom box type thing that's lying around my house.
amazon and then
/gp/product/B00004SD92/103-4907404-4269466?v=glance&n=172282
Can those be used as good speakers or just as stop gaps as I'm assuming.

So it seems like a good place to start would be a receiver and a subwoofer and then eventually when I can buy it, a good set of speakers.

 

[SethH]

Those could work as a stop gap. As far as what it'll take to get what you want . . . that's really hard to say. My best advice would be to go to Best Buy and listen to some speakers. Listen to the Klipsch, JBL and Athena . . . and anything else they have there other than Bose. See what you like at a reasonable cost, then let us know what you think. After that we can offer some advice for other things that might be similar or cheaper.

Listen to some small satellite setups as well . . . if you like them then you'll be able to save yourself some money by getting the smaller speakers.

 

[Josh*C]

Sounds like a plan. Thanks a lot for your help. I'll probably have a few more receiver questions in the next few days and I'll just post them here.