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Is 2.1 system on a budget possible?

post #1 of 7
3/13/10 at 5:14pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys. I am new to home theater but I love the sound of good sound. My dad wants to get a speaker system for his new tv in our basement. It does not need to be impressive but cannot sound bad. How the room is set up I don't believe it would be great for a 5.1 system. The tv is in the corner and the recliner sits in front of it ~15 feet away (maybe the diagram below helps describe this).

Anyways, his budget is ~$500-$750. I'm not really sure of the quality of equipment this much money can buy. He wanted a home theater in a box but I have never been impressed with them. The other choices he was thinking of was the few Bose 2.1 systems available here below as well as the Bose 321 system.

Also, blu ray/dvd playback is not a must right now. They don't own any blu rays and have very few dvds.

www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do
www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do

Diagram
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|..tv.....................................|
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|........................................h|
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|.............................chair......|
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post #2 of 7
3/13/10 at 8:54pm
I would suggest getting something like this Onkyo AVR:  http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR507-5-1-Channel-Surround-Receiver/dp/B001VEI290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1268542367&sr=8-1

Then spend the rest on 2 good speakers. 

Do you need small speakers like the ones you linked to?

Oh, and forget the BOSE.  You can do MUCH better.
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post #3 of 7
3/13/10 at 9:25pm
Maybe a soundbar with a sub? Vizio VSB210WS is less than $200 at Tigerdirect.com. I have it without the sub and it's pretty good, though the sub would help a lot.

Edit: That Onkyo receiver looks great for $299!
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post #4 of 7
3/14/10 at 5:19pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the replies.

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Willow View Post

I would suggest getting something like this Onkyo AVR:  http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR507-5-1-Channel-Surround-Receiver/dp/B001VEI290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1268542367&sr=8-1

Then spend the rest on 2 good speakers. 

Do you need small speakers like the ones you linked to?

Oh, and forget the BOSE.  You can do MUCH better.

I like the Onkyo AVR you linked. If we do this, it needs to be right. We don't want anything cheap. Especially since I'm trying to find the best deal and quality for him. Can you tell me what's wrong with the Bose; he keeps thinking they're suppose to be the best.

Yes, there isn't enough room for bookshelf speakers. There is room for 9" height x 7" wide x 7" deep left and right speakers. I am having trouble finding a good pair of satellite speakers. What worried me is not having bookshelf speakers to get full sound. The only decent ones I could find on Crutchfield were Polk Audio or Boston Acoustics. We're going to Best Buy tomorrow night to actually hear some speakers.

Two I found:
www.crutchfield.com/p_107RM7B/Polk-Audio-RM7-Black.html ($80/each)
www.crutchfield.com/p_107OWM3B/Polk-Audio-OWM3-Black.html ($199/pair)
www.crutchfield.com/p_107RM8W/Polk-Audio-RM8-White.html ($250/pair)

From what I've seen on here the SVS sub is real good but out of the budget. All of the Infinity subs have 5 star reviews on Crutchfield, all my Infinity car audio has been great but I haven't heard their home theater equipment. If there are better places to shop please let me know. 8" Infinity sub 150-watts RMS.

Sub:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_108PS28BG/Infinity-PS28-Black-grille.html?search=infinity+subwoofer&ssi=0 ($200)

Budget so far: AVR ($300) + speakers (~$250) + sub( $200) = (~$750).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim-H. View Post

Maybe a soundbar with a sub? Vizio VSB210WS is less than $200 at Tigerdirect.com. I have it without the sub and it's pretty good, though the sub would help a lot.

Edit: That Onkyo receiver looks great for $299!
 
I'm not looking for a sound bar. Rather have speakers with a sub and receiver.

Thanks.
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post #5 of 7
3/14/10 at 6:26pm

Newegg.com is still offerring great deals on Polk/Monitor series speakers (avoid Polk subs, though. You can do better) and a couple of their HT packages, the RM-705 and the RM-510.  But they do come with entry level Polk subs. The savings were supposed to end Feb 28th but they're still on the website. Polks are a little too bright for me but many people like them.

Even in a smaller room with the tv in the corner a 5.1 system can still be used. Smaller speakers like the Energy/Take-5 can be wall mounted a little closer to the tv than ideal but it can still sound decent.

Partsexpress.com is a good place for in-expensive but good performing sub woofers.

It's hard to find good sounding pair of satillites as their smaller size inhibits quality sound unless you spend a lot. They are also usually part of a speaker system and not sold as pairs. I would also recommend a small bookshelf, even one with 4" drivers instead of satillites. They can still be wall mounted in smaller rooms.

The Onkyo 307 is a great choice and the 308, with DolbyHD and DTS-MA decoding will be released soon for the same MSRP. Others to look at are the Pioneer 919, Yamaha 465, Denon 590/1610 and H/K 1600/245/146. But Onkyo is hard to beat for under $300.

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post #6 of 7
3/15/10 at 8:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JMooney5115 View Post

Thanks for the replies.

Quote:


I like the Onkyo AVR you linked. If we do this, it needs to be right. We don't want anything cheap. Especially since I'm trying to find the best deal and quality for him. Can you tell me what's wrong with the Bose; he keeps thinking they're suppose to be the best.

 


 Search this or any HT/Audio forum and you will find hundreds of posts about BOSE.  The only reason people think they are best is because BOSE marketing department says so.  

Quick answer is they are overpriced and under-perform.  If they were were not so grossly overpriced, no one would say anything about them (other than the normal issues with speakers that small).  But since BOSE sells them as if they are the 'best' and prices them accordingly, they have a bad rep with knowledgeable audio folks.

It's best not to turn this into another BOSE bashing thread.  Search and you will find out all you need to know.
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post #7 of 7
3/16/10 at 5:29am
Thank you for a lot of good suggestions  here. I got the same problem and I was able to get new ideas here. Thanks!
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