What's new

Total Beginner Need Advice on Speaker Equipment (1 Viewer)

nolegrl

Auditioning
Joined
Sep 7, 2014
Messages
6
Real Name
Keri
I'm looking to purchase a receiver/speaker system for my living room. My current setup is a 32in Emerson TV with no external speakers. I have five gaming systems that require HDMI input and two gaming systems that require component input. I currently have a component switcher and a hdmi switcher to handle all the inputs. I have a NAS for my media (TV shows and Movies) and an Amazon Fire TV as my media front-end.

I'm not sure what a good "budget" price would be on this or even where to start looking or what I'll need. Can anyone give me a good starting point? Thanks!
 

schan1269

HTF Expert
HW Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
17,104
Location
Chicago-ish/NW Indiana
Real Name
Sam
Onkyo NR636(has HDMI upconversion).What speaker type?Tiny, bookshelf or tower?A4L is a great place for a bargain AVR. They currently have the Denon 1910 at a nice price(don't remember how many HDMI inputs it has though). It doesn't "do anything" extra you won't use either.
 

nolegrl

Auditioning
Joined
Sep 7, 2014
Messages
6
Real Name
Keri
schan1269 said:
Onkyo NR636(has HDMI upconversion).What speaker type?Tiny, bookshelf or tower?A4L is a great place for a bargain AVR. They currently have the Denon 1910 at a nice price(don't remember how many HDMI inputs it has though). It doesn't "do anything" extra you won't use either.
This sounds silly, but I'm not sure. This will be for a townhouse that I'm closing on at the end of October, so I'm just doing some up-front research to get an idea of cost and to see what's out there. Are there pros or cons to any of those? If it's just for aesthetics, I would just want something to blend in to my entertainment center. Also, I'm not sure if flooring plays a factor, but my living room is tiled.
 

schan1269

HTF Expert
HW Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
17,104
Location
Chicago-ish/NW Indiana
Real Name
Sam
Bigger speakers...Fuller soundUsually more efficient than their smaller siblings(yes, towers need less power)Ideal if you listen to 2.0 much.You don't have to put it "on" anything.Bookshelf.Sometimes more accurate than their bigger brother. (Less overall driver mass)Great if you have tables or want to wall mount.TinyEasy to "hide". Very little other upside.Outside the box speakers...KEF TOhm WalshMagnepan
 

Al.Anderson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2002
Messages
2,736
Real Name
Al
The more common term for sam's "tiny" is "satellite.

I think bookshelf a good compromise. You aren't paying for the cabinet of a tower, and they have the driver size to reproduce accurately, so you get great sound.

If you are only watching movies you can get away with satellites, but if you are using it for dedicated music listening, definitely stay away from satellites.

Pioneer makes a popular entry level (but decent) speaker. I recently got some (just the bookshelf and center) just to try them out and they aren't half bad. I wouldn't trade my music system speakers for them, but the price is right for an upscale gaing system. There's also a review on the forum.

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-BS22-LR-Designed-Bookshelf-Loudspeakers/dp/B008NCD2LG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1410176365&sr=1-1&keywords=pioneer+speakers

(They are often on sale for about half of what Amazon is currently showing.)
 

nolegrl

Auditioning
Joined
Sep 7, 2014
Messages
6
Real Name
Keri
Al.Anderson said:
The more common term for sam's "tiny" is "satellite.I think bookshelf a good compromise. You aren't paying for the cabinet of a tower, and they have the driver size to reproduce accurately, so you get great sound. If you are only watching movies you can get away with satellites, but if you are using it for dedicated music listening, definitely stay away from satellites.Pioneer makes a popular entry level (but decent) speaker. I recently got some (just the bookshelf and center) just to try them out and they aren't half bad. I wouldn't trade my music system speakers for them, but the price is right for an upscale gaing system. There's also a review on the forum.http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-BS22-LR-Designed-Bookshelf-Loudspeakers/dp/B008NCD2LG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1410176365&sr=1-1&keywords=pioneer+speakers(They are often on sale for about half of what Amazon is currently showing.)
Thank you! I'll go with bookshelf then. I'll check those Pioneers out. Do I need a center speaker as well, or will just those speakers be fine? Entry level is fine for me right now since I'm only used to the speakers on my TV, so I'm sure anything I get will be a huge improvement.
 

schan1269

HTF Expert
HW Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
17,104
Location
Chicago-ish/NW Indiana
Real Name
Sam
The reason I say tiny?You couldn't write the word satellite on some of them...(Orb...for instance).Do you need a center?Yes...Preferably, your center is the same exact speaker as the front two(even I don't follow that, except in one of my 5 surround systems).
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
356,815
Messages
5,123,806
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top