Suggestions for Home Theater Speakers Upgrade (1 Viewer)

[JohnRice]

Well, in a way yeah, but I also made the post because it represents a thought process which makes about as much sense as the OP's. Bigger is so much cooler. More watts means louder. 1 box instead of two. Plus, the direction of this thread is like a whirling dirvish.

In the end, my humor usually only makes sense in my own mind. You should probably be thankful it doesn't make sense to you.

 

[bobbyg2]

Well, I'm sure I'm not that bad. Remember, I'm still 15. A kid. I still have a lot of learning and experience to go through yet. Sorry if I sound stupid, but I'm just getting into this hobby. And the last time I went with "quality" ya, it sounded great! But, the volume sucked. I mean literally sucked severely. Last time I will ever buy a $150 system from Wal-Mart. It said "500Watts" on the package but wouldn't even go as loud as my dads receiver (the YAMAHA I have right now) when the Yamaha was a quarter the way up. With 4 speakers! I had 6 speakers (center, fronts, rears, subwoofer) at 4 ohms at supposedly "500watts" and it wouldn't even go as loud as 100 watts at 8 ohms... Sad really. I went with those because:
1. They were cheap
2. They sounded great (better than a $250 SONY)
3. Supposedly they were 500watts.

Last time I go for a 4ohm, 'good sounding", small speaker, system. Small little bitty speakers are in my mind as pieces of crap that couldn't scream loud enough to get the attention on someone that was 2 feet away.

 

[djsHTnut]

The Denon Infinity package is only $599, you said 600 was ok. In any case it seems you have made up your own mind becasue you keep saying you like Onkyo, so just get the Onkyo then.

 

[djsHTnut]

Bigger does not mean better. Onkyo isnt known for making great speakers, they just make them to go with there HTIB. They make good receivers, but the speakers will define the sound more than the receiver. Being the budget you are on your better off finding a pacakge on sale or closeout than getting a HTIB. HTIB speakers tend to be lightweight and cheap with the woofers almost always made up of paper of some sorts, at the prices they sell them they cant put a lot of money into the speakers. Each component has to take some cuts to get the price so cheap.

 

[bobbyg2]

The reviews all said that they were great speakers. They all said that they were the best for the money, sounded better than expensive systems, and they were louder than most. THey even pointed to the woofer as being the best they've encountered.

Anyways, what would you suggest? Know any links to a few good speakers for me to check out?

And about the woofers being made of paper, that isn't true. That $150 system I mentioned above had a woofer that was black rubber or plastic or whatever, not paper. I literally took the subwoofer apart. Why did I? Because it was rattling. The back panel was some flimsy hardened cardboard-type junk. It rattled against the wooden sides. I took it apart and was surprised by how small the subwoofer was. It was about 5" wide. Really small, but it was a pretty good sounding sub woofer. Not bad at all. But it rattled, the only problem. And it wasn't that loud.

 

[djsHTnut]

it was some form of paper, $150 systems from walmart are cheap paper. A lot of people may say it sounds good but you wont know until you hear it. Most people that buy those systems buy them because of convenience and price, so they dont really have anything to benchmark it against. And they say "ohh it sounds better than a system priced 3 times more", but when they hear another system it is at the same store 5 feet away. CC or BB or any of those stores dont setup HTIB's to be tested. They stack all the speakers on the reciever or right next to the tv and it looks easy and simple so people buy them. They only set up component systems in the listening room, and then it still varies because there is no standard by which they set it up. Most of the time the employee who hooks it up sets it to sound like he likes. Sorry if I am venting, but HTIB's really drive me nuts.

 

[JohnRice]

That's the best chuckle I've had today, if not in the last month. This thread truly has a bizarre humor to it.

 

[bobbyg2]

It did sound good though, better than a bunch of the systems I've heard in my lifetime. And, I set it up myself the way I liked it. Not the way that the installer wanted. I don't like people installing my systems, it sounds better to set up yourself.

*EDIT*
Alright, what do you guys suggest for speakers? Stay with the Denon/Infinity? Or do you know something better for that price or below?

*EDIT2*
I'll just reply to this thread when I get the money. See you guys around!

 

[ThomasC]

If you really want to save some money, here's a $300 5.1 system that won't disappoint:

Logitech Z-5500

 

[bobbyg2]

Those are computer speakers

*EDIT*
How would I be able to hook up an HTS to my computer?

 

[dubge]

This is a great thread, I have enjoyed reading it.

 

[gene c]

Ya, I was on vacation last week so I missed it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Any thread that can get a chuckle outta John Rice is O.K. with me! (just kidding!!). But that reference to "minimalist and purists" almost knocked back into last month!

 

[JohnRice]

Thanks Gene. I create fans everywhere I go. I really don't mean to piss people off, it just comes to me naturally.

 

[bobbyg2]

Ya, hysterical. I don't have the money yet, and am going to probably use the money to make my own speakers. I want to see how awesome of speakers I can make!

All I really need to know is what receiver I should use. I'm looking for one

 

[JeremyErwin]

The Onkyo TX-SR-504 looks pretty decent, though it's $220 and up, depending on where you get it from.

 

[gene c]

A little less decent is the Yamaha 5930 @ $160 from J&R.com or the Sherwood 6500 @ $150 from CircuitCity.com. I've seen Sherwoods for around $100 @ Frys in the past.

 

[bobbyg2]

JeremyErwin-
Too expensive. I am not allowed to spend >$200 on a receiver. My mom will kill me.

gene c-
I would like to have a 7.1 receiver because all of my really good speakers that I make will be hooked up to it. I wanted to first make 2 front floor-standing speakers, then a center channel speaker, then a subwoofer, then 4 surround bookshelf speakers. It gives me a little bit more work to do, and more fun. And I was looking into a 110 watt per channel reveiver. So does anyone know a good 110+watt x 7 receiver for about $200?

*EDIT*
Hows this receiver? http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Pione...oductDetail.do

 

[JohnRice]

Bobby, you're discovering all the great secrets of audio. Of course you can make better speakers yourself than people who do it for a living. You're spoiling the fun for the rest of us.

 

[ThomasC]

That's the one I suggested earlier, and I stick by that suggestion.

 

[JeremyErwin]

and there's a reasonably detailed review of the vsx-516 here