New Speakers! (1 Viewer)

I recently bought a Onkyo 508 and am wondering what to do about speakers. I currently have yamahas YHT-493 package and am wondering what to do with it. Im looking to sell the v367 receiver that came with it in hopes of making up for what I spent on my new Onkyo. Im still just a college kid so I dont have a lot of cash to use right now.


Should I sell just the receiver and use the speakers I have now with the 508 or should I sell them both in hopes of getting something better?

Any suggestions on improving my sounds quality for now? Should I keep the 5.1 system and buy two nice front speakers and use the others as my surrounds?

ANY suggestions would be very helpful.

Sometimes its best to keep what you have and follow the KISS rule, in your current situation education is first and as long as you can get descent sound for the speakers why waste $$$.


My 2 cents

Its the end of the year for college and I will have a summer job so Im gonna have a little bit of money to use. Im trying to educate myself in home theater sound as much as possible there is just sooo much to learn lol. So if i do have say 500 to spend and I have a Onkyo 508 as my receiver. Where should I start looking? And should I keep the speakers I have now or are they basically useless?

Sell the Yammy as a complete system. It will be easier to sell that way.


From here you have a few options. You can go with a pair of nice speakers or a full 5.1 set that are good. Do you listen to more music or watch more movies? That is probably the biggest factor in the route you take.

Music is the most important to me. I want to truly listen to my records and dvdas.. Iv been looking into Onkyos SKS-HT870 system but am having doubts. I can get it for 280.

I don't believe that any HTiB will be a big improvement over what you have now. I was going off your previous post of using the Onkyo 508 receiver and $500 for speakers. Is that still valid?

Ya Im looking to spend no more than 500 I have been doing some more research and I realize now that the Onkyo speakers are def not the way to go. Iv been looking into Boston Acoustics CS2310B system, Klipsch's HD Theater 300, Definitive Tech ProCinema 60.6, and someone had recomended dayton audio but they dont seem to be the quality of the others listed...

Any guidance?


I should probably add that I will be placing this system in a medium to small sized bedroom.

The Dayton 5.1 systems are probably a little lower quality but you can piece together a system. The 6.5" bookshelf speakers (3 pair) and a Dayton sub will out perform the other systems you listed.

Is there anyway you could help me out with your reasoning. What makes you see the daytons as better? What are you looking for when you compare these speakers online? Any help is greatly appreciated I want to learn as much as possible.

The Klipsch have 2.5" drivers in the satellites and a 6.5 inch "sub". It only plays down to 40hz.


Looking at the PE satellite speakers - http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-652 , since these are larger they will play louder. Even if you don't play them loud, they will play at the same volume of the Klipsch with less distortion. Couple them with a 12" Dayton or BIC sub from PE - http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults.cfm?srchExt=CAT&srchCat=620 and you will reach down to almost 20hz. That's a full octave lower than the Klipsch sub. Yes you are paying more but this system will move out of the bedroom and into a medium sized living room and satisfy most people.

Onkyo speaker packages aren't bad for what they are but the HT-540 ($169.99) from ac4l.com will be a little better than the 870.


Other places to look are in the Cleance sections of other well known websites like Vanns and Onecall.com. but you have to be a little lucky and look at the right time.


These Pioneer speakers from BestBuy have gotten rave reviews for the price but I haven't heard them yet (my local store is a mess and they never have them hooked up properly). They're available in-store as well. They look real good on paper and have curved cabinets and quality drivers, etc. two pair of the bookshelves and a center for under $300. And the small towers are only $205 a pair. If you don't like them you can take them back. But don't bother with that Pioneer sub though. Get one from PartsExpress.


The best deals on speakers are used ones on Craigslist. But you really have to know what you're doing.

Awesome thank you for the help Robert J.. Do you think my 508 will be able to power the daytons nicely? What should I look into for the center channel?

Just a suggestion I was looking at the Energy Classic 5 speakers, 5 satellites and a sub woofer for under $400, with excellent reviews at CNET Reviews and at Amazon and other places they rank them as the best, equivalent to a $1,000 system but they are satellites also look at Crutch field for the reviews of the Energy Micro System the Classic 5 little brother. Did not buy them since realized that had extra Polk's floor standing speakers but still mauling it over in my mind, good luck.

Thanks Ralph. Now that I look at most of the satellites they just cant play anywhere near the same Hz as the bookshelves. I think im going to try the Dayton bookshelves and I am still debating on the sub either the Bic 10 or 12.. What should I be looking for in the center channel?

The closest timbre to your L/R Front speakers, say are you just graduating if so Congrats, so is my youngest daughter.

Thanks Ralph.. What wiring do you guys recommend with this set up? And no im just now finishing my freshman year I worked my ass off all year at a pizza place to pay for my education and living and I was able to save all of my tip money from the year so a new sound system is what I have decided to spend it on.

Originally Posted by free02

Awesome thank you for the help Robert J.. Do you think my 508 will be able to power the daytons nicely? What should I look into for the center channel?

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Any decent receiver can power the Daytons. I suggested getting 3 pair = 6 speakers. Use 5 and save one for later. A perfect system uses identical speakers all around so you don't have to worry about timbre matching.

Originally Posted by free02

Thanks Ralph.. What wiring do you guys recommend with this set up? And no im just now finishing my freshman year I worked my ass off all year at a pizza place to pay for my education and living and I was able to save all of my tip money from the year so a new sound system is what I have decided to spend it on.

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You need speaker wire between the receiver and speakers. I buy in bulk from Lowes. You need a sub cable between the receiver and the sub. Even a coax video cable will work. I use RG-6 with F to RCA adapters for my sub.


The rest depends on your other equipment. If you need an HDMI you can get one at Best Buy for $100, one at Wal-Mart for $40 or one from Monoprice.com for $12. They all have the same performance. Besides Monoprice, we like Bluejeans cables as well.

I know which cables I need Im just wondering for speaker wire in particular... Would 16 gauge work well for the speakers to the receiver? Are band names important at all with the wire at this level?

16 ga is the minimum size I would use. Names mean nothing. A magazine tested a bunch of uber expensive speaker cables and snuck in an extension cord from Home Depot. It came in 2nd in blind listening tests.