Posted: 12/9/2015 2:36:44 PM EDT
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Should be pulling the trigger on a tv soon and I'm bored so I'm looking up surround systems. I've never had one, but every time I'm over someone's house that does it sounds incredible. If possibly, I'd like to stay under $300. I already have an amp to power the unit. The room is really a part of my basement, but it is in a corner so its walled on three sides. Dimensions are probably 10x18. Any ideas? |
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When you say "amp" do you mean Surround Sound capable receiver? After that its really about the speakers. Well over 10 years ago I spent big money ($1,500) on some Polk speakers. Great thing is speakers are still great all these years later. Moral of this is put your money in speakers.
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When you say "amp" do you mean Surround Sound capable receiver? After that its really about the speakers. Well over 10 years ago I spent big money ($1,500) on some Polk speakers. Great thing is speakers are still great all these years later. Moral of this is put your money in speakers. I'd think so. It was an amp I used to power speakers throughout the entire house. |
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Depending on what kind of TV you're getting, your receive may or may not be 'ready' for the TV. Things like 4K, 3D, etc. $300 hardly scratches the surface for speakers. You may want to look at Monoprice in that range TV will be standard 1080. Not 3D or anything like that. |
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go to best buy and take a look out their soundbar/sub packages if $300 is all you can swing.
I think you will be disappointed in in a cheap 5.1 $300 system (I just blew $12,000 on a TV and surround sound system but some of that went into putting the speakers in the walls) 
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Get one of those 300W Sony 5.1 surround sound systems from Best Buy for $130.
Those things are easy to set-up and calibrate. They have a calibration mic you place in the middle of the room, then it runs through its test tone program and sets each speaker up to your room acoustics. |
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Remember, cry once, buy once.
My center channel speaker was $300. It was on sale, too. You can still get some decent setups for under a grand. I suggest that you visit the forums on audioholics.com. The people there can point you to some good deals and what will be the best bang for your buck. I also think you should increase your budget. Good speakers can stay with you for a while. I still have some Polk RTA11TLs (not that the model will resonate with you) that I use for my 2-channel system. I got those on clearance in '92. They still sound good. |
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I was looking at this: Yamaha Between new carpets in 5 bedrooms, a 460sq ft deck, a mountain bike, and a tv I'm trying to tone down the spending. |
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I was looking at this: Yamaha Between new carpets in 5 bedrooms, a 460sq ft deck, a mountain bike, and a tv I'm trying to tone down the spending. I hear ya.' Can you wait until your bank account recovers? That's what I'm doing with my scope purchase for my latest toy. It's delayed until at least tax refund time. Maybe a sound bar could be the equivalent of my BUIS. |
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I was looking at this: Yamaha Between new carpets in 5 bedrooms, a 460sq ft deck, a mountain bike, and a tv I'm trying to tone down the spending. Go listen to some stuff before you buy anything. I bet those speakers sound like an AM radio broadcast and the sub sounds like a fart. I'm pretty cheap, but you'd be wasting money on something like that IMO. |
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Should be pulling the trigger on a tv soon and I'm bored so I'm looking up surround systems. I've never had one, but every time I'm over someone's house that does it sounds incredible. If possibly, I'd like to stay under $300. I already have an amp to power the unit. The room is really a part of my basement, but it is in a corner so its walled on three sides. Dimensions are probably 10x18. Any ideas? That isn't a terribly large room. If you go with a home theater in a box type setup you might be ok as long as your expectations are in line with a low cost setup. I'm not a fan of soundbars, but the addition of a subwoofer can really enhance the movie experience. If you already have a receiver you need to do some research as to what functionality it has and make sure the speakers you buy are compatible. If you buy a passive subwoofer and the amplifier only has a subwoofer pre-out it isn't going to work. |
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Those little Sony 5.1 surround sound in a box kits actually aren't that bad for small rooms and the price. I bought one for shits and giggles a few years go for a bedroom TV and it's surprisingly good sounding. I may do this. I don't need the house shaking, I just want directional sound. |
| I used to have a cheap 5.1 system, with the exception that I ditched the passive sub and got a 10" MTX powered subwoofer. It sounded ok, a lot better than the TV speakers. When I got a new 55" TV that I wall mounted, I got rid of the surround sound because I was sick of looking at wires. I went to a 42" soundbar with the powered MTX sub. Sounds great and I don't miss the 5.1 one bit. Plus, I have absolutely no wires visible since I ran everything through the wall. |
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I hear ya.' Can you wait until your bank account recovers? That's what I'm doing with my scope purchase for my latest toy. It's delayed until at least tax refund time. Maybe a sound bar could be the equivalent of my BUIS. Quoted:
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I was looking at this: Yamaha Between new carpets in 5 bedrooms, a 460sq ft deck, a mountain bike, and a tv I'm trying to tone down the spending. I hear ya.' Can you wait until your bank account recovers? That's what I'm doing with my scope purchase for my latest toy. It's delayed until at least tax refund time. Maybe a sound bar could be the equivalent of my BUIS. I could wait. I just want the house complete. |
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I used to have a cheap 5.1 system, with the exception that I ditched the passive sub and got a 10" MTX powered subwoofer. It sounded ok, a lot better than the TV speakers. When I got a new 55" TV that I wall mounted, I got rid of the surround sound because I was sick of looking at wires. I went to a 42" soundbar with the powered MTX sub. Sounds great and I don't miss the 5.1 one bit. Plus, I have absolutely no wires visible since I ran everything through the wall. So would a sound bar work if mounted under a wall mounted tv? How does that work with satellite speakers behind you? |
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I would recommend listening to the Sony 5.1 system in a box and then listen to a JBL, Zvox, HK, and even a Vizio soundbar before making your decision. Those Sony systems are throw away items. Those soundbars are decent quality for the price and can always be moved to the bedroom or wherever when you decide to upgrade future. You will be able to enjoy it long term.
Or just use the TV internal speakers for now until you can afford something you can build from to start with. Like a mid price Denon or Marantz receiver and Paradigm speakers or something. |
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I'd think so. It was an amp I used to power speakers throughout the entire house. Quoted:
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When you say "amp" do you mean Surround Sound capable receiver? After that its really about the speakers. Well over 10 years ago I spent big money ($1,500) on some Polk speakers. Great thing is speakers are still great all these years later. Moral of this is put your money in speakers. I'd think so. It was an amp I used to power speakers throughout the entire house. That doesn't mean it's home theater capable, especially if you bought it for music. At this point in time, it should support HDMI, as well as the latest surround codecs (Dolby, DTS, etc); It needs to be able to decode BluRay sound. You'll also want to make sure that it supports a subwoofer. If it doesn't support those things, you'll be looking at a new one. Got a make/model of the amp for us? At that price range, I'd be looking at something like Onkyo's Home Theater In a Box setups. Looks like the cheapest ones' MSRPs are 400$. My parents TV setup had one of those for years, and it wasn't terrible. Had a few issues, but those are hopefully fixed since a decade ago. Cost only goes up from there. I've got something like 4000$ in my home theater setup, and don't even have a sub yet. |
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$300 will get you a set of 5.1 speaker closeouts from a company I like, Klipsch, with a few bucks to spare.
ACT NOW! (no, really, they only have 6 left!) |
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All good points. I appreciate it. I may wait a while. I'd rather do it right once. That doesn't mean I want to spend thousands, but we'll see. Home theaters are also something that you can build on incrementally once you have a good base. You have a TV, sounds like. Buy a receiver and two speakers. You now have 2.0 sound. Later on, add a sub. Now you have 2.1. Add a center channel. 3.1. Buy surrounds. 5.1->6.1->8.1->11.1, etc. It doesn't have to be all at once, unless you need that instant gratification. |
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Home theaters are also something that you can build on incrementally once you have a good base. You have a TV, sounds like. Buy a receiver and two speakers. You now have 2.0 sound. Later on, add a sub. Now you have 2.1. Add a center channel. 3.1. Buy surrounds. 5.1->6.1->8.1->11.1, etc. It doesn't have to be all at once, unless you need that instant gratification. Quoted:
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All good points. I appreciate it. I may wait a while. I'd rather do it right once. That doesn't mean I want to spend thousands, but we'll see. Home theaters are also something that you can build on incrementally once you have a good base. You have a TV, sounds like. Buy a receiver and two speakers. You now have 2.0 sound. Later on, add a sub. Now you have 2.1. Add a center channel. 3.1. Buy surrounds. 5.1->6.1->8.1->11.1, etc. It doesn't have to be all at once, unless you need that instant gratification. Yep. I parted mine together. Found a set of relatively inexpensive speakers that sounded good, and upgraded things like the center channel (possibly the best upgrade I made actually!) when I got a little more money. |
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That doesn't mean it's home theater capable, especially if you bought it for music. At this point in time, it should support HDMI, as well as the latest surround codecs (Dolby, DTS, etc); It needs to be able to decode BluRay sound. You'll also want to make sure that it supports a subwoofer. If it doesn't support those things, you'll be looking at a new one. Got a make/model of the amp for us? At that price range, I'd be looking at something like Onkyo's Home Theater In a Box setups. Looks like the cheapest ones' MSRPs are 400$. My parents TV setup had one of those for years, and it wasn't terrible. Had a few issues, but those are hopefully fixed since a decade ago. Cost only goes up from there. I've got something like 4000$ in my home theater setup, and don't even have a sub yet. Quoted:
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When you say "amp" do you mean Surround Sound capable receiver? After that its really about the speakers. Well over 10 years ago I spent big money ($1,500) on some Polk speakers. Great thing is speakers are still great all these years later. Moral of this is put your money in speakers. I'd think so. It was an amp I used to power speakers throughout the entire house. That doesn't mean it's home theater capable, especially if you bought it for music. At this point in time, it should support HDMI, as well as the latest surround codecs (Dolby, DTS, etc); It needs to be able to decode BluRay sound. You'll also want to make sure that it supports a subwoofer. If it doesn't support those things, you'll be looking at a new one. Got a make/model of the amp for us? At that price range, I'd be looking at something like Onkyo's Home Theater In a Box setups. Looks like the cheapest ones' MSRPs are 400$. My parents TV setup had one of those for years, and it wasn't terrible. Had a few issues, but those are hopefully fixed since a decade ago. Cost only goes up from there. I've got something like 4000$ in my home theater setup, and don't even have a sub yet. Yeah, then there is no way that amp will work for that purpose. It is for connecting speaker wire to and that is about it. This isn't a theatre, but rather a tv in my basement. I'd love a theatre, but it just isn't in the cards. |
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Home theaters are also something that you can build on incrementally once you have a good base. You have a TV, sounds like. Buy a receiver and two speakers. You now have 2.0 sound. Later on, add a sub. Now you have 2.1. Add a center channel. 3.1. Buy surrounds. 5.1->6.1->8.1->11.1, etc. It doesn't have to be all at once, unless you need that instant gratification. Quoted:
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All good points. I appreciate it. I may wait a while. I'd rather do it right once. That doesn't mean I want to spend thousands, but we'll see. Home theaters are also something that you can build on incrementally once you have a good base. You have a TV, sounds like. Buy a receiver and two speakers. You now have 2.0 sound. Later on, add a sub. Now you have 2.1. Add a center channel. 3.1. Buy surrounds. 5.1->6.1->8.1->11.1, etc. It doesn't have to be all at once, unless you need that instant gratification. This might be my best option.......So, if I wanted to get a receiver, 2 speakers, and a sub would that be a good base (no pun intended)? |
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Audio snobs will argue for hours over whether a $1,500 speaker sounds as good as a $1,600 speaker, and insist that anything in the $1,400 range belongs in the trash. Personally, I go for value, and for me, that was a nice Sony receiver and a $200 set of Fluance surround speakers, and a $130 sub. I'm thrilled with them, have had zero issues and everyone who has heard them love them, although I haven't had any self-proclaimed "experts" over. |
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I was looking at this: Yamaha Between new carpets in 5 bedrooms, a 460sq ft deck, a mountain bike, and a tv I'm trying to tone down the spending. When I bought my house I also bought one of these speaker sets and installed them in my living room. The sub is powerful enough to rattle the photos on the wall behind it. Are the neighbors going to hear your movie in their own living room? Nope. Are you going to enjoy sound that is superior to the sound coming from the TV speakers? Absolutely. |
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Quoted: Audio snobs will argue for hours over whether a $1,500 speaker sounds as good as a $1,600 speaker, and insist that anything in the $1,400 range belongs in the trash. Personally, I go for value, and for me, that was a nice Sony receiver and a $200 set of Fluance surround speakers, and a $130 sub. I'm thrilled with them, have had zero issues and everyone who has heard them love them, although I haven't had any self-proclaimed "experts" over. And those that can't afford those speakers like to talk shit about audio "snob". I guarantee if you listen to a high end speakers and subs setup, you WILL hear a big difference. Most of us that have higher end gear didn't start out at higher end gear. We progressively upgraded to better and better setups. So we actually have experience. |
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And those that can't afford those speakers like to talk shit about audio "snob". I guarantee if you listen to a high end speakers and subs setup, you WILL hear a big difference. Most of us that have higher end gear didn't start out at higher end gear. We progressively upgraded to better and better setups. So we actually have experience. Quoted:
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Audio snobs will argue for hours over whether a $1,500 speaker sounds as good as a $1,600 speaker, and insist that anything in the $1,400 range belongs in the trash. Personally, I go for value, and for me, that was a nice Sony receiver and a $200 set of Fluance surround speakers, and a $130 sub. I'm thrilled with them, have had zero issues and everyone who has heard them love them, although I haven't had any self-proclaimed "experts" over. And those that can't afford those speakers like to talk shit about audio "snob". I guarantee if you listen to a high end speakers and subs setup, you WILL hear a big difference. Most of us that have higher end gear didn't start out at higher end gear. We progressively upgraded to better and better setups. So we actually have experience. I get it. I had a very nice car audio setup in my car back in the day. I too would laugh at people with shit brand subs. I don't want shit, but I also only need to entertain myself and my wife and she doesn't even think surround sound is necessary so I'm fighting an uphill battle. 
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Quoted: I get it. I had a very nice car audio setup in my car back in the day. I too would laugh at people with shit brand subs. I don't want shit, but I also only need to entertain myself and my wife and she doesn't even think surround sound is necessary so I'm fighting an uphill battle. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Audio snobs will argue for hours over whether a $1,500 speaker sounds as good as a $1,600 speaker, and insist that anything in the $1,400 range belongs in the trash. Personally, I go for value, and for me, that was a nice Sony receiver and a $200 set of Fluance surround speakers, and a $130 sub. I'm thrilled with them, have had zero issues and everyone who has heard them love them, although I haven't had any self-proclaimed "experts" over. And those that can't afford those speakers like to talk shit about audio "snob". I guarantee if you listen to a high end speakers and subs setup, you WILL hear a big difference. Most of us that have higher end gear didn't start out at higher end gear. We progressively upgraded to better and better setups. So we actually have experience. I get it. I had a very nice car audio setup in my car back in the day. I too would laugh at people with shit brand subs. I don't want shit, but I also only need to entertain myself and my wife and she doesn't even think surround sound is necessary so I'm fighting an uphill battle. Hence why earlier I suggested a soundbar. They do a decent job at simulating surround sound while keeping your footprint in your room to a minimum. I think you'd be better served going that direction. Imo |
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Hence why earlier I suggested a soundbar. They do a decent job at simulating surround sound while keeping your footprint in your room to a minimum. I think you'd be better served going that direction. Imo Quoted:
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Audio snobs will argue for hours over whether a $1,500 speaker sounds as good as a $1,600 speaker, and insist that anything in the $1,400 range belongs in the trash. Personally, I go for value, and for me, that was a nice Sony receiver and a $200 set of Fluance surround speakers, and a $130 sub. I'm thrilled with them, have had zero issues and everyone who has heard them love them, although I haven't had any self-proclaimed "experts" over. And those that can't afford those speakers like to talk shit about audio "snob". I guarantee if you listen to a high end speakers and subs setup, you WILL hear a big difference. Most of us that have higher end gear didn't start out at higher end gear. We progressively upgraded to better and better setups. So we actually have experience. I get it. I had a very nice car audio setup in my car back in the day. I too would laugh at people with shit brand subs. I don't want shit, but I also only need to entertain myself and my wife and she doesn't even think surround sound is necessary so I'm fighting an uphill battle. Hence why earlier I suggested a soundbar. They do a decent job at simulating surround sound while keeping your footprint in your room to a minimum. I think you'd be better served going that direction. Imo Either it's going to be soundbar or I piece something together. |
| OP start small and build your set up over time. To start you have $300. Buy a pair of Polk Monitor 40 from newegg those are gonna be $150. I looked around on newegg and found a Harmon-Kardon 5.1 receiver for $200. That would put you fifty dollars over budget, but would give you something to build on over time. |
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Yeah, then there is no way that amp will work for that purpose. It is for connecting speaker wire to and that is about it. This isn't a theatre, but rather a tv in my basement. I'd love a theatre, but it just isn't in the cards. When I say home theater, I really just mean surround for your TV (and presumably BluRay?). If you're going to piece together a system, receiver + L/R + sub is probably the most common setup to start with. If you really don't care *that* much, I'd still recommend something like this. Currently 400$ on amazon, and will get you a starter setup. Even with that, you can easily swap out components later to upgrade. |
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Quoted: And those that can't afford those speakers like to talk shit about audio "snob". I guarantee if you listen to a high end speakers and subs setup, you WILL hear a big difference. Most of us that have higher end gear didn't start out at higher end gear. We progressively upgraded to better and better setups. So we actually have experience. Quoted: Quoted: Audio snobs will argue for hours over whether a $1,500 speaker sounds as good as a $1,600 speaker, and insist that anything in the $1,400 range belongs in the trash. Personally, I go for value, and for me, that was a nice Sony receiver and a $200 set of Fluance surround speakers, and a $130 sub. I'm thrilled with them, have had zero issues and everyone who has heard them love them, although I haven't had any self-proclaimed "experts" over. And those that can't afford those speakers like to talk shit about audio "snob". I guarantee if you listen to a high end speakers and subs setup, you WILL hear a big difference. Most of us that have higher end gear didn't start out at higher end gear. We progressively upgraded to better and better setups. So we actually have experience.  |
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Quoted: Ah, there's one! Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Audio snobs will argue for hours over whether a $1,500 speaker sounds as good as a $1,600 speaker, and insist that anything in the $1,400 range belongs in the trash. Personally, I go for value, and for me, that was a nice Sony receiver and a $200 set of Fluance surround speakers, and a $130 sub. I'm thrilled with them, have had zero issues and everyone who has heard them love them, although I haven't had any self-proclaimed "experts" over. And those that can't afford those speakers like to talk shit about audio "snob". I guarantee if you listen to a high end speakers and subs setup, you WILL hear a big difference. Most of us that have higher end gear didn't start out at higher end gear. We progressively upgraded to better and better setups. So we actually have experience. What I got from your statement and followup: "I can't afford decent speakers, but mine sound just as good and everyone agrees. Never mind the fact that they've never listened to a decent quality setup in their lives. But take my word for it."  |
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I may do this. I don't need the house shaking, I just want directional sound. Quoted:
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Those little Sony 5.1 surround sound in a box kits actually aren't that bad for small rooms and the price. I bought one for shits and giggles a few years go for a bedroom TV and it's surprisingly good sounding. I may do this. I don't need the house shaking, I just want directional sound. I agree with VBC. I got a $300 Sony Bravia all in one system as a prize at my work in 2008 or so and still use it. Something like this. Mine came with larger standing floor speakers though. |
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Cheap VS Expensive is always you get what you pay for.
Another thing to keep in mind is what is the RMS and frequency range of the speaker and is it matched to the reciever/amp? Remmeber that 800W stereo you got is 800w/how many ever channels you have so you cant go hooking up 800w speakers to it. Also get a discrete powered sub woofer. Makes a huge difference in sound quality. |
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http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-300-Theater-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B001XURGSK/ref=sr_1_1?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1449757354&sr=1-1&refinements=p_89%3AKlipsch%2Cp_36%3A-30000 But if you do want to look at piecing it together...I'd still look at Klipsch speakers.  |
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Quoted: What I got from your statement and followup: "I can't afford decent speakers, but mine sound just as good and everyone agrees. Never mind the fact that they've never listened to a decent quality setup in their lives. But take my word for it." Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Audio snobs will argue for hours over whether a $1,500 speaker sounds as good as a $1,600 speaker, and insist that anything in the $1,400 range belongs in the trash. Personally, I go for value, and for me, that was a nice Sony receiver and a $200 set of Fluance surround speakers, and a $130 sub. I'm thrilled with them, have had zero issues and everyone who has heard them love them, although I haven't had any self-proclaimed "experts" over. And those that can't afford those speakers like to talk shit about audio "snob". I guarantee if you listen to a high end speakers and subs setup, you WILL hear a big difference. Most of us that have higher end gear didn't start out at higher end gear. We progressively upgraded to better and better setups. So we actually have experience. What I got from your statement and followup: "I can't afford decent speakers, but mine sound just as good and everyone agrees. Never mind the fact that they've never listened to a decent quality setup in their lives. But take my word for it." There's nothing about my current system that makes me want to spend $20k putting in a high-priced one, even though I've listened to dozens of "better" ones (and have gone through a multitude of PC, TV and music systems without finding anything that sounded remotely close). I'll stand by my statement that the Fluance AVHTB set is a fantastic system for the price, which is still slightly over what the OP was asking for But it's always fun to watch audiophile purse swinging and dong measuring |
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Quoted: I had about $80k in the bank when I purchased them, I had returned from contracting in Afghanistan shortly before There's nothing about my current system that makes me want to spend $20k putting in a high-priced one, even though I've listened to dozens of "better" ones (and have gone through a multitude of PC, TV and music systems without finding anything that sounded remotely close). I'll stand by my statement that the Fluance AVHTB set is a fantastic system for the price, which is still slightly over what the OP was asking for But it's always fun to watch audiophile purse swinging and dong measuring Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Audio snobs will argue for hours over whether a $1,500 speaker sounds as good as a $1,600 speaker, and insist that anything in the $1,400 range belongs in the trash. Personally, I go for value, and for me, that was a nice Sony receiver and a $200 set of Fluance surround speakers, and a $130 sub. I'm thrilled with them, have had zero issues and everyone who has heard them love them, although I haven't had any self-proclaimed "experts" over. And those that can't afford those speakers like to talk shit about audio "snob". I guarantee if you listen to a high end speakers and subs setup, you WILL hear a big difference. Most of us that have higher end gear didn't start out at higher end gear. We progressively upgraded to better and better setups. So we actually have experience. What I got from your statement and followup: "I can't afford decent speakers, but mine sound just as good and everyone agrees. Never mind the fact that they've never listened to a decent quality setup in their lives. But take my word for it." There's nothing about my current system that makes me want to spend $20k putting in a high-priced one, even though I've listened to dozens of "better" ones (and have gone through a multitude of PC, TV and music systems without finding anything that sounded remotely close). I'll stand by my statement that the Fluance AVHTB set is a fantastic system for the price, which is still slightly over what the OP was asking for But it's always fun to watch audiophile purse swinging and dong measuring Don't forget to tell yourself than a VW Beetle is just as good as a Porsche 911. |
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The soundbar isn't a terrible idea, but the other option as someone else mentioned is to build up over time.
Spend the 300 on the best stereo speakers you can. That would probably blow away any sound from a soundbar or 300 5.1 system. That gives you a good base to build from. After that, you can add surrounds, subwoofer, etc as funds allow. One speaker that I think you can completely do without is the center channel speaker. I've run 4.1 with with a phantom center for years and the dialog generated by two extremely high quality stereo speakers blows away what I've heard from most centers. These are supposed to be good for the price: Pioneer SP-FS52-LR. Right in your budget. |
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Quoted: Go to best buy and take a look out their soundbar/sub packages if $300 is all you can swing. I think you will be disappointed in in a cheap 5.1 $300 system. (I just blew $12,000 on a TV and surround sound system but some of that went into putting the speakers in the walls) What did you get? |