Suggestions For $700 (1 Viewer)

[John Doh]

I have $700 to spend on speakers alone for my home theater room in my new house. Any suggestions so I can get the most "oomph" for the buck? Thanks!

~ Oh yea, I need a 5.1 speaker arrangement!

~ Oops, one more thing! The room is a perfect rectangle measuring 13'x12'. The TV will be centered on a 12' wall and the couch across from it against the wall centered up. I need the right mix of sound to fill the space, but not overpower the room. Thanks!

 

[David Ruggiero]

Go to jandr.com and get 2 pairs of Jbl S-38's for fronts and surrounds, and Jbl S-center. S-38's are $250 a pair for a total of $500, S-center is $180 so the grand total will be $680 with free shipping. These are what I use with my Harman Kardon AVR-525 and they sound great to me.

 

[MikeKaz]

I second that recommendation, but the s-38's are huge as surrounds

 

[John Doh]

Ok, for the surrounds, how about the JBL N24II's, link provided below.

http://www.jandr.com/JRProductPage.p...uct_Id=2831864

They seem to be of the same construction, and should do what surround speakers do pretty well. Keep in mind my 12'x13' room is not huge and the rear surround speaker are going to be mounted on the wall/ceiling. Thanks!

 

[MikeKaz]

nah, not the N-26's- you want to stay with the Studio series all around. Go with the S-36's which are thin and were made for wall mounting. Don't get them at J&R though, they seem intent on ripping you off for the S-36's at $300, which is more than the S-38's. You might want to check with them and see if that is just a typo. anyhow, you can get the s-36's at

bestpriceaudiovideo

for $200.

 

[CurtisSC]

All the above are good suggestions, but they all left out the sub which would put you over the mark.

I would suggest the HSU Ventriloquist 5 System, I think it will be available in the next couple of months. I got to hear them at Hsu Research a few weeks ago...very impressed, and the listening area was about the size of your room.....but it was half of the entire demo room, and filled the total room pretty well.

http://hsuresearch.com/forum/announcement.php?forumid=2

Another system that comes to mind is the Energy Take 5.2.

 

[David Ruggiero]

Oh, I did forget the sub huh? Hmmmm... ok keep the S-38's for the fronts from jandr.com at $250, add the s-center from etronics.com for $122, and the S-36's from etronics.com for $200, which leaves you around $125 for a Sony Sawm40 sub (discontinued), or it's replacement the Sawm500. You might go a little over $700 with the shipping chaaaaarges but it should be close.

 

[Charles Gurganus]

nht

http://ww1.onecall.com/PID_18153.htm

 

[John Doh]

David R.,

I am a little bit concerned with Sony's speaker quality. I have read in many places, these forums even, that Sony speakers aren't really their strong point. Does that sub you recommended put out enough crisp, low rumble responsive bass to bring a home theater alive!!?? Thanks!

~ One more thing. Is the S-Center and S38 front speakers "Voice Matched" for the best home theater sound? Thanks again!

 

[David Ruggiero]

John Doh said:


"I am a little bit concerned with Sony's speaker quality. I have read in many places, these forums even, that Sony speakers aren't really their strong point. Does that sub you recommended put out enough crisp, low rumble responsive bass to bring a home theater alive!!?? Thanks!"

The sony Sawm40 (and I imagine the Sawm500, it's replacement) is very well regarded for a budget sub. I am very happy with mine, but will upgrade someday to a Svs. Is the sony as good as a Svs sub? No, but for less then $200 it is a very good sub.

"~ One more thing. Is the S-Center and S38 front speakers "Voice Matched" for the best home theater sound? Thanks again! "

Yes all JBL "Studio" series speakers are voice/timbre matched.

You're welcome, hope this helps!

 

[John Doh]

Excellent. Yes, your info has helped tremendously David, and thanks to everyone else for responding as well! Time to go buy, buy, buy!

 

[John Doh]

Let me ask you guys this. I am looking to subscribe to a home theater magazine. I want to find a mag that doesn't only focus on the high, high end components, but more on the budget minded consumer. Also, a mag that not only shows off the newest components, but alot of "How-To" guides and neat little tips here and there. Any suggestions?

 

[WadeB]

Home Theater Magazine, while they do review Lexicon, Meridian, etc. also has lots of reviews about gear you can buy at Circuit City, BB, etc. They usually have a section of the meagazine called "Budget Gear" (I think) to review this stuff. Also they are great for tips, how to etc. They look at problem rooms, discuss set up issues and show how to tweak gear. They once ran an article that showed how to change out a hard drive in a Tivo unit. (not that I know anything about that!)



Sound & Vision is pretty good also, especially if you want to go beyond A/V stuff and get into multimedia and more into music. It's a bit more general and does not have all the how-to that HTM has.

 

[John Doh]

Cool, thanks Wade!

 

[MikeKaz]

You can get a JBL PB12 for about $220 from etronics. It would be a lot better than a SAW40, and even though there have been problems with the amps on this sub i think they have fixed them all on the newer ones coming out.

PB12 at Etronics

 

[John Doh]

Sweet call MikeKaz. I would like to keep all the speakers one make, and that sub looks to kick butt. I'm there, thanx again!

 

[Pablo Abularach]

MikeKaz,

It would be a lot better than a SAW40

Have you compare them?, I'm not by any means doubting your suggestion, I'm in the same boat, I'm between a Sony SA-WM500 (replacment of the SA-WM40) and JBL PB12. I'm looking for opinions, if you have compare them, your opinion is very valuable to me,

Thanks for any info,

John,

I think all the above suggestions are very good, specially the JBL S38, very good speaker for the money, sometimes I do regret not spending the extra $70 and going for the S38 intead of the S26, but none the less, I'm extreamly happy with my current setup. You can beat the value of JBL for $700, specially the Studio series. Now you could just stay with a 5 speakers setup and start saving for a SVS or a HSU which make incredible subs.

 

[MikeKaz]

I own the PB12. I've heard the SAW40...its ok. But the PB 12 really does play very loud for the money, and it is clean sounding. It will definately give you a lot of quality bass especially for a beginner system. I wholeheartedly recommend it as a good bargain sub choice

 

[John Doh]

MikeKaz,

Ok about the PB12. I noticed that the sub has the speaker mounted, facing toward the floor. On some subs built like that, they had an additonal peice of wood mounted a small distance from the woofer so the bass can reflect off of (I'm guessing here). I am going to put the sub I buy on carpet. Now will I get the full effect of this speaker with the speaker firing toward luch carpet, or will the bass response be dampered because of the carpet? Thanks!

 

[dan fritzen]

nht

I agree on your choice of NHT but is that sub NHT? I have them with a paradigm sub but if that one is not is it good?