Wondering whats a good system? (1 Viewer)

[Peter^Par]

Hey everyone I am new to this forum, and I am just wondering if the Bose SL28 system is any good? I have had someone tell me not to fall for the Bose scam... lol... What surround sound system do you guys/girl suggest I get, keeping the systems around the budget $2,000 range. Is 2,000 dollars average? I am not looking for some billionaire's dream home theater, just something that makes the living room shake and gives crisp bad butt surround sound

Thanks,
Peter^Par

 

[Lynn Johnson]

Such an open ended system...but, with $2,000 in your budget, you can get a really nice sounding setup. One thing some other people are going to suggest is to read the primer - it's a great start. Anyhow, assuming you don't need a TV, I would probably lay down about $1,400 of that money on speakers(+sub), then about $400-$500 on a receiver, and the rest on the wiring/cabling. Assuming that none of the speakers are going to be DIY, I would suggest picking up an SVS 25-31 PCi sub. It will MAKE your home theater! As for speakers...not really sure. You may even want to look to get used speakers, as you might be able to stretch your dollars some. And receivers, well, I have always had a thing for Denon, and I've never been disappointed. Harmon Kardon is also well thought of on this board, but check around. As for cables, go to Home Depot for the speaker wire and get some 12 gauge for cheap. Good stuff! That should at least give you a start. Good luck!

 

[Adam.Gonsman]

Hi Peter, welcome to the forum.

Stay VERY far away from Bose. They're trendy overpriced junk. End of story. (although I'm sure someone on he can/will disagree)

As for average, I don't think there's any such thing as an average price. $2000 wouldn't cover my receiver and mains at retail price and there are many on this forum that will laugh at how "scrawny" my system is. Yet there are many that seem quite happy at the price range you're talking and some even lower.

Much has to do with how long you've been at this. The longer you're in it, the worse the "bug" gets and the higher standards you tend to have. It becomes an addiction. You've been warned.

My first suggestion to you would be to go visit a couple B&M's in your area to get a feel for what's in your price range and what that stuff sounds like. Keep in mind, that what you look at there can probably be had cheaper on the net so you may want to look at stuff that overshoots your budget by 10% to 15% if you intend to order online.

In that price range, you're probably still looking at a satellite system or maybe full range bookshelfs up front. And don't skimp on the sub! Especially if you end up going satellite.

I am not well versed in what sounds good in these categories of speakers so I'm not gonna make any specific brand recomendations. But this should give you something to go on till someone else catches this thread.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

and there are many on this forum that will laugh at how "scrawny" my system is

And they will be banned if they do. This is not the newgroups or those 'other' sites.

Hi Peter. Welcome to HTF!

I'm not familar with the SL28 system, does that include a DVD player?

A fairly complete system can be had for about $700 in the Kenwood HTB-509 system. This has a budget receiver, 5 speakers and a self-powered sub, a progressive-scan, multi-disk DVD player. The nice part is you dont have to make any choices.

If you want to put the pieces together yourself, there are lots of options.

DVD Player: How about an XBox with the DVD player remote for $230.

Receiver: Look at the
Receiver Comparison Chart to see what you get/skip for the money. I'd budget about $500 for a receiver.

Speakers: There are many good sets such as the Energy Take 5 + 1, Def Tech, Velodyne, etc. With the above suggestions, this gives you $1200 for speakers and a sub.

Get a favorite DVD and a favorite music CD and go out and audition. Tastes in speakers are like tastes in beer/ice cream. Just because I like one brand does not mean you will like it as well.

Good Luck.

 

[Khoa Tran]

I don't think 2000 would be an average price.....i started out with 2400 but now a few months later it has grown to 7000....it's just that once you get into this area there's not really a limit to how much you'll spend if you want more that is.

 

[Adam.Gonsman]

Personally, if it were me, I would stay away from the package deal like the Kenwood Bob mentioned and go for his second listing with where to look for individual components. I learned the hard way about 8 years ago when I bought a little Aiwa Pro Logic Package. This was my first home theater system. It was about a $600 setup and didn't seem too bad overall except the speakers were junk, the decoding was terrible and the sub under powered. Ok, so it was bad overall.

The trouble with buying a package deal like that is that most companies don't make all good components. What I'm saying is that Kenwood makes some pretty nice reasonably priced receivers but they make (in my opinion) terrible speakers. So even though you'll feel like you're saving money right off, you'll end up pitching the speakers that come with it and buying some Def Techs or something anyway.

So I guess what I'm saying is buy your receiver from someone who makes good receivers and sells lots of them and can give you a good price because receivers are what they deal in. Buy your speakers from someone who makes good speakers and sell lots of them. And so on. You'll find that you may spend a little more money, but you'll get exponetially more for what you spend.

A package like the Kenwood HTB-509 should not be confused however with the deals that some places run where they'll have a sale on a real receiver bundled with a set of real 5.1 speakers. Tweater and a number of other stores have deals like this going almost all the time and may be something you want to look into. It might save you a little over buying the stuff completely seperate and would also help narrow choices as the packages are generally matched pretty well.

Also, if you get a nice receiver in the $400-500 range, it should be beefy enough to handle some nice bookshelf size speakers or even some of the smaller towers down the road if you decide you want more than the satellites can offer. This will give you somewhere to go without completely starting over when the upgrade bug bites you the first time.