Quality home audio for under $1000... how would you do it? (1 Viewer)

Hello!

So I just moved into a new condo and I am looking to put in a nice home audio set up but want to keep it under $1000. Here is a list of my wants:

-be able to stream music from my phone or computer to the speakers
-if rear speakers included that they are wireless as I'd rather not run speaker wires across the entire room
-crisp, clear sound and solid bass


So my options were something like this ( http://www.abt.com/product/82573/Samsung-HTH7730WMZA.html ) which would be pretty ideal for me with the wireless rear speakers and the functionality with my Samsung TV. But I wasnt sure how the quality of the sound would be. I've had other (albeit cheaper) samsung surrround sound systems and it left a lot to be desired from the audio perspective.

But I was also considering going the route of getting a Receiver to power some tower speakers and a sub if not included in the tower speakers (and probably not include rear speakers). I know these systems can get expensive very quickly but I wanted to get some opinions if a system like this can be put together for around $1000 and compete with the functionality of something like the above system I posted. I'm pretty new to this so any advice is helpful. Thank you!

There is nothing at all to fit this goal. Period.HTiB is not, in any form, quality audio.

Sam, thanks for confirming my thoughts about the HTiB sound quality. Any suggestions on a decent set up using a receiver? I've seen pretty decent receivers that are in the $250-350 range. I understand that with everything it would be over $1000 but if you were to put together a budget set up what would you get?

Fellow Chicagoan
Chris

The popular value towers are the Infinity Primus 363's, Polk Monitors and the Pioneer Andrew Jones models (forgot the number) when you see them on sale, which they are quite often. And apparently the new Onkyo towers are supposed to be pretty good too but they haven't released a matching center ot surrounds.

For receivers, we usually recommend factory refubished models from ac4l.com. They come with a one year warranty and 3-5 year extended warranties are very reasonable for avr's under $500. That will leave more money for a better subwoofer like the BIC F12.. I don't think wireless speakers have caught up to the rest of the stuff in terms of function, reliability and perfomance yet. But I have seen wireless subs from Boston Acoustics which gives me hope for the future.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/category/avreceiver/home-audio/receivers-amps/home-theater-receivers/1.html

The Denon E-400 is a good example. With free shipping and a 5 year warranty it's only $300.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavre400/denon-avr-e400-7.1-4k-3d-networking-receiver-airplay/1.html

Forget about surround sound. Get a decent 2.1 system.

It'll sound a helluva lot better than a crappy 5.1 setup.

To add in(I started a thread that is now pinned)...the lowest cost, current, AVR you could even attempt "wireless" with is the Onkyo 838. It is over $1000 by itself.Pre-pro to do this with start at $600(Emotiva/Outlaw). Then you still need amps for the front 3 and wireless modules with amps across the room for the back speakers.WiSA is still a pipe dream. Summit(part of WiSA) offered Aperion their tech...which resulted in a $3500 system...that sucked.Add to that...wireless audio requires line level for transmission.

Wireless isn't the biggest priority. If having wireless rear speakers are that cost prohibitive/low quality I would rather just not do surround for now. Maybe upgrade in the future or I'll just break down and run the wires.

Thanks Gene for those links, those look like some pretty good affordable options. Might be doable for under $1000!

There are multitudes of methods for running wire...1. Deal with it being seen. But buy it in the color of your walls...to blend in.2. Wiremold Cordmate3. Flat adhesive paintable wire (category that has existed 100 years)

Yea I've used the Cordmate before and it looked pretty good... I'll probably do that again.

SO I spent the day researching some more and I made my purchase! Came out to JUST over $1000 shipped. I think it will do just fine for my purposes.

Reciever:
I was going to go with a refurbushed Denon from accessories for less, BUT I ended up getting a Yamaha HTR-4066BL for a little less on Amazon. It has all of the things I was looking for. Its only 5.1 but I really have no intention of needing a 7.1 in the foreseeable future. Also I was able to get it on amazon which was easier for me because I could put it on my Store Card. I was able to get a 3 year protection plan too.

Speakers:
Pretty much went full Polk Audio here. They seemed to have the best combo of price, quality and style of the budget speakers to me.

Polk Audio Monitor 65T towers (2)
Polk Audio TSi100 Bookshelf speakers (going to bite the bullet and run the wires)
Polk Audio CS10 center speaker

Sub:
I took Gene's advice and went with the BIC F12.

I'll let ya guys know how it is when I set it all up. Hopefully it all works well. Thanks for the help!

Chris

Quick question...Why mix Polk series?Why not get the 45B (?? Don't know specific model numbers) over the step up TSi?Or get the TSi 300/400?

schan1269 said:

Quick question...Why mix Polk series?Why not get the 45B (?? Don't know specific model numbers) over the step up TSi?Or get the TSi 300/400?

Click to expand...

That is actually a great point... so great I went and changed my order haha. I didn't even realize that they had those options under that series. Added about $75 to the order but I'd rather have uniformity of course. Thanks for the input!

TSi is a prettier speaker, good choice.