$1000 JBL System (1 Viewer)

[RobSB]

So this is what I've come up with for my $1000 budget surround sound system. 25 x 15' wood floor room, only TV/DVD/VHS watching, little to no music.

Pioneer 811S - 329
N26II Mains - 129
N Center II 99
N26II Surrounds - 129
Sony WM40 Subwoofer - 170
Total - 856

As you can see, I have some room in there for an upgrade. So I was thinking about going with the S Center for 169. It's supposed to be much better. 2 Questions.

1. Will the S Center work with the N Mains and Surround? are they "timbre-matched" or close?

2. Will this system provide enough sound to fill my room decently? I don't want to listen at insane volumes, but I like to pump my DVDs.

3. Do the N26II's come with wall-mounting stuff, or if not is there a place to stick a nail in the back to suspend it to the wall?

4. What do you guys think of this system?

 

[RobSB]

Or maybe I want to upgrade the sub. Don't think I can manage an SVS (damn those sound nice). What's something in between 199 and 599 that sounds good? Somewhere around 299 would be cool. Or should I upgrade the center instead?

 

[RobSB]

Yay for not responding! Cmon, not even a peep out of the JBL guy?

 

[Pablo Abularach]

Rob

So this is what I've come up with for my $1000 budget surround sound system

Ok, you could buy
Pioneer VSX 811s $300
JBL NSP1 with a PB12 $499
add a pair of N38 as mains $230
Total $1030

Or you could go for
JBL S center $128
JBL S26 $340
Pioneer VSX 811 $300
And stay like this for some time until you save an extra $250 to get an SVS 25-31PCi, this is my setup right now except for the receiver Marantz SR6200, and for the money I dont think I could get a better deal.

Hope this helps,
Pablo

 

[MatthewK]

It isn't clear if you want suggestions for a sub $1000 system or if you are only wanting JBL components in a sub $1000 system.

If you are interested in looking at other systems check out the Axiom Epic Micro. You can pick that up (with sub) for under $600. Or you could look at an energy Take 5 setup.

If you are not wanting other suggestions... I apologize for taking the thread off topic. Please disregard the post.

Matthew

 

[Aaron Rosenfeld]

Well, I'm not sure how applicable any of this is because I got it all grey market, but I was able to get the NSP1 set for $225 and a pair of N28s for $126. Both of these prices are with shipping. This together is $351. That leaves $649 for a sub, and checking SVS's website, it appears you can get a 16-46CS without an amp for $479. I've also heard that partexpress.com sells a decent $100 amp. All told, that is $930, a shade under your budget. As I said though, this involved some pretty good deals, and who knows if I'll ever be able to get JBL to honor my warranty. Good luck.

 

[Aaron Rosenfeld]

I just realized that I quoted you the price for the biggest SVS sub in that line. For the smaller, more economical 25-31CS, you can get the passive version for $379, bringing the total to $830. If you are willing to pay just a bit more you could get the 25-31CS with an integrated amp and crossover for $729, which does go a little beyond your budget at $1,180. These are just a few options.

 

[NeilKn]

Rob, we have a Denon 1803 complimented with the JBL S-Center, N38II fronts, and N24II surrounds. The S-Center does have a 1" Titanium tweeter as opposed to the 3/4" Titanium Laminate tweeters on the N series. It also has 4 drivers instead of the N-Center's 3 drivers, having the addition of a midrange woofer, which the N series does not offer. We DO NOT hear any weird or harsh sounds from our choice of setup. The S-Center provides a much fuller and clearer dialog channel than the N-Center provided. It sounds great with the N38II's, which are also 3-way speakers, also having a midrange driver. Of course, we are new to home theater, so what do we know :b . But we know what we do love the sound of ... our choice of speakers. Are they timber matched? We don't know, but they sure sound GREAT
BTW, as for the subwoofer, we went with the $199 Sony SA-WM40, a 125 watt front firing monster. It is sitting on a cement patio block to isolate it somewhat from our downstair neighbor. It is also waiting to be stuffed with the bag of polyfill sitting next to it, which is supposed to make it sound tight like any other $500+ subwoofer ... from what we have read.