Reccomendations for an Affordable System (1 Viewer)

[Nick White]

I've been into the software side of HT for quite awhile now, but being a student, have never been able to afford to jump into the hardware side of things. I'd like to get the ball rolling though, as next year I'll have my own place.

My first concern is music. I'll probably be using any speaker/reciever setup for this purpose, primarily. So 2-channel would suffice for now, but eventually I'd like to expand to 5.1.

I'm starting almost from the ground up. I got an open-box Sony SCD-CE775 last month, so that's my only component so far. My roomate next year will have a DVD player, so I don't need to get one just yet. Mostly what I need reccoendations for are an affordable reciever as well as an affordable pair of speakers. These would probably end up becoming the mains to a future 5.1 system, but for now I just need something for good quality music, and the occasional DVD.

Look at the under $1,000 range for both the reciever and speakers combined... but $500-750 would be ideal. I'm just doing initial research now.. your guys' help will be great. Thanks.

 

[Barry BB]

If you have a $1000 budget for a pair of mains and a receiver then you have some good options. Paradigm Studio 20's run about $600 but you will need to also buy stands. PSB Image 4T's can be found for about $500. The image 2B's are also good, not sure of their price but will be less than the 4T's. The 4T's are towers so you will not need stands which make them about the same total cost as 2B's with stands.

If you spend $500-$600 on speakers that leaves you enough for a decent budget receiver. I'm not curent on budget receiver prices so someone else will need to jump in to help you out.

 

[Jim Williams]

I would choose the Panasonic SA-HE100 receiver. It was one of Sound and Vision's Reviewer's Choice winners for a budget receiver. I have seen it selling for as little as $230 plus shipping.
For speakers I would suggest the Fluance Home Theater Speaker System. There are five speakers in this set for $260. I have seen some good reviews for these speakers. In fact there are several threads in the "Speakers and Subwoofers" forum on these.
Even if you pay retail for the receiver, you are still left with a little more than $400 for a decent subwoofer.