5 Speaker set-up for $1000-1500 (1 Viewer)

[Jody C Robins]

I have a friend looking to get into home theater. He has a total of $2000-2500 available to spend, so I'm thinking $500 for receiver, $500 for sub, $1000-1500 for speakers. He does not have room for a 7 channel set-up. He knows he needs to go out and listen to his options, but I'd like to give him a place to start, as far as brands and models. I am a fan of Paradigm and JBL, and I am sure there are online options too. Thanks for your help.

 

[Rick TX]

I recently bought a system along the same lines as your friends budget. I ultimately went with:

Yamaha RX-V1500 THX Receiver $550
SVS PCI 25-31 Sub $549
Klipsch Reference Series Speakers approx $1450
RF-25 (R/L)
RC-35 (C)
RS-25 (Surrounds)

I auditioned Paradigm, JBL, B&W, Polk RTi series, along with several other brands. There are alot of internet brands that ppl around here talk about alot including Axiom and Swan that are worth a look too. With that budget your friend should be able to get a good sounding HT system. Good luck.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

The bang for the buck on some of the internet-only brands is amazing. I would go out and listen and see what retail brands he likes and then come back to the forum for some suggestions as to what internet brands he would like as well. If he's looking for a good neutral sounding system geared mainly towards HT but still great for music I would go for something like this:

Pioner VSX-1014TX (under $400 online)
SVS PCi 25-31 tuned to 22hz ($550) or PB12-ISD ($600)
Swans 5.2 BC mains ($730/pair)
Swans 2.1 BC surrounds ($300/pair)
Swans C3 BC Center ($350)

After shipping you're probably looking at around or slightly over the $2500 budget. You can also usually talk w/ the people at www.theaudioinsider.com and work on package discounts, usually atleast enough to cover shipping. Other online speaker companies that offer great bang/buck are Axiom, Rocket, Aperion, and Ascend.

 

[MikeLi]

Don't forget to check av123.com
They have some great sales going on and can make up some pretty good package pricing if you give them a call. Great speakers.. Love mine.

 

[John Garcia]

Along with AV123, I'd take a look at www.ascendacoustics.com Depending on the sub, you should be able to put together a very nice package in that range.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Plasmadocs (a forum sponsor) also has some great package deals on ascend/svs packages. A 5.1 package consisting of Ascend CMT-340 mains/center (w/ custom stands), CMT-170 surrounds, and a SVS 25-31 PCi comes in at 1799.99.

 

[ChrisCan]

My suggestion

Pioneer VSX-1014TX-K
SVS PB12-ISD
B&W DM 601 S3 x4
B&W LCR 60 S3 center channel

should come in around budget