Another College Student needs equipment help (1 Viewer)

[Jason Quillen]

Hey everyone,
I'm a college student and havent really gotten into the bigtime HT equipment, just stuck with the basics. This summer I made enough money that I decided I can get a reciever and some speakers. For the reciever, I've heard great things about the Outlaw 1050 so I was investigating that (and at $499 it seemed like quite a steal). As for speakers, I dont really know what to look for (I ran accross the Acoustic Energy Aegis One speakers, which had some good reviews and a decent price, but I hadn't heard anything about them). I'm looking to spend around $300 - $400.
I'm open to all reciever and speaker suggestions, or anyting else you think I may need. Thanks a lot.
JQ

 

[Dave Morton]

Jason,
The outlaw is a good option at a great price.
For speakers, you can go with home theater direct and the Energy Take 5.2. Both which get great reveiews for the budget minded consumer. I'm assuming you are looking for surround sound. If you just are looking at main speakers, I would suggest Norh's. Any line from that company is good.
hope this helps.
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------ Dave ------
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Link Removed

 

[Nathan Hamstra]

Don't discount the aegis speakers... I've heard very good things about them.

 

[Eric Stuckey]

IMO
Go with any Denon a/v reciver & PSB with your speakers.

 

[Fletcher]

I have the Outlaw and think it is a great receiver. But I think some of the Onkyo budget receivers everyone talks about would be very nice as well. I bought some of the Ascend Acoustic speakers (a pair of CBM-170s and a pair of HTM-200s). I love the pair of CBM-170s that I have. They are great for listening to music. A pair of them cost about $360 though. I wasn't sure if your $300-$400 budget was for all 5 speakers or just the mains? If the budget is for all 5 speakers then I think spending $500 on a receiver and $400 on 5 speakers might be somewhat unbalanced. I would think more money should go into 5 speakers than one receiver. Maybe you can look into just getting main speakers or maybe the mains and a center for now and then add on later. For other budget speakers, you might want to wait for the budget speaker shootout that is supposed to be in the works over at www.cheaphometheater.com .
Many people say good things about the Home Theater Direct speakers as well. Here are some websites in case you don't already know them.
www.hometheaterdirect.com www.ascendacoustics.com
Good luck.
Fletcher

 

[Norm Strong]

You're going to get a wide variety of answers to your question, since you didn't disclose the amount of money you have to spend. We'll need to know the target price and the absolute max price, and what goodies it has to cover. Only then can we give you useful advice.
Of course lack of this info doesn't even slow some people down--or so it seems.
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Norm Strong ([email protected])

 

[Jason Quillen]

Well, I could spend a max of..probably $1,250 (prehaps a little more). That should cover a reviever, right / left speakers, and surround...pretty much everything. At this point though I think I'd spend around $1,000 on reviever and r/l speakers. Surround sound isnt as important cause I'm moving again.
Again, building from the ground up, as I have like...no HT equipment aside from a DVD player.
Thanks,
JQ

 

[Phuong]

When I was in college, I bought a Home Theater in the Box. It wasn't the best, but damn, it did allow us to watch the Super Bowl in surround sound. And I would much rather have that memory than only having two nice bookshelfs and an entry level receiver. You'll have plenty of time to pursue your hobby of home theater. Leave money to other pursuits as well.
Here's what to get for maximum fun...
1 pair of good magnetically shielded bookshelf speakers, with at least a 5.25 inch woofer.
1 damn good subwoofer with at least a 10 inch driver
1 digital surround sound receiver with a crossover point of 80 Hz or lower (sorry, but that means no Marantz). If it has front-panel inputs, even better, so you can connect a camcorder, playstation, etc. Believe me, it's a handy feature
Run the system in 2.1channel mode (STEREO) with LR speakers let to small and SUB on.
The system should cost you around $1200 right there, and it'll take no prisoners.
What a difference good bass makes.
Peace, and happy listening

 

[Phuong]

When I was in college, I bought a Home Theater in the Box. It wasn't the best, but damn, it did allow us to watch the Super Bowl in surround sound. And I would much rather have that memory than only having two nice bookshelfs and an entry level receiver. You'll have plenty of time to pursue your hobby of home theater. Leave money to other pursuits as well.
Here's what to get for maximum fun...
1 pair of good magnetically shielded bookshelf speakers, with at least a 5.25 inch woofer.
1 damn good subwoofer with at least a 10 inch driver
1 digital surround sound receiver with a crossover point of 90 Hz or lower (sorry, but that means no Marantz). If it has front-panel inputs, even better, so you can connect a camcorder, playstation, etc. Believe me, it's a handy feature
Run the system in 2.1channel mode (STEREO) with LR speakers let to small and SUB on.
The system should cost you around $1200 right there, and it'll take no prisoners.
What a difference good bass makes.
Peace, and happy listening