I am "beginning" to build my home theatre and I'm already thinking future upgrades. My wife is gonna kill me! :D

I currently have the Bose Acoustimass 10 5.1 system:o. Yeah yeah yeah, it sucks, I know. What can I say, I got it for free brand new from my credit card rewards. Still probably not a good reason to get a Bose, but it's free so whatever. Anyway, I just recently upgraded my receiver to an Onkyo 805 which I have connected to a 1080p Plasma and Blu Ray.

My question is, what should I upgrade first, the speakers, or the subwoofer?? I figure I'll probably replace the center speaker first, and then the L/R after (assuming I'm starting with speakers). Eventually I'll work my way around to the rears and sides. I'm just curious if it would make more sense to replace the center and L/R speakers first with something quality, or do the subwoofer first and then do the speakers. I know the Bose system isn't going to deliver the bass I want, but I'm wondering what you guys think would be the best choice in beginning the upgrade. Any thoughts here would be much appreciated.

I'd start with the front three (center and L/R) then subwoofer then rear channels.

Just my 2 cents

I'd start with the front three (center and L/R) then subwoofer then rear channels.

Just my 2 cents

This is how I have done it as well and it has worked out well for me.

I am "beginning" to build my home theatre and I'm already thinking future upgrades. My wife is gonna kill me! :D

I currently have the Bose Acoustimass 10 5.1 system:o. Yeah yeah yeah, it sucks, I know. What can I say, I got it for free brand new from my credit card rewards. Still probably not a good reason to get a Bose, but it's free so whatever. Anyway, I just recently upgraded my receiver to an Onkyo 805 which I have connected to a 1080p Plasma and Blu Ray.

My question is, what should I upgrade first, the speakers, or the subwoofer?? I figure I'll probably replace the center speaker first, and then the L/R after (assuming I'm starting with speakers). Eventually I'll work my way around to the rears and sides. I'm just curious if it would make more sense to replace the center and L/R speakers first with something quality, or do the subwoofer first and then do the speakers. I know the Bose system isn't going to deliver the bass I want, but I'm wondering what you guys think would be the best choice in beginning the upgrade. Any thoughts here would be much appreciated.

Can't you just sell the Bose on Ebay and start over?

How much are you willing to spend right now?

Uuuhhh You need to do both. The Bose system just isn't good to build upon at all.

Personally I'd start with a nice set of front tower speakers and run a phantom center channel. Some good towers that go down to 40hz or so should make it pretty easy to get by without a subwoofer for a while - especially if you're used to that Bose :D Then get a center channel next. Then I'd get some side surrounds, then the sub.

Of course if you listen to a lot of music, I'd get the sub before the side surrounds. Maybe I'd even get the sub before the center channel, it depends on your priorities.

Just my opinion, I'm sure others would do it differently.

Rather than simply ditching the Bose, you might first try using four of the Bose satellites for L/R-Surround and L/R-Rear [both pair configured LARGE] with the Acoustimass bass module placed center(ish) back, as a shared woofer. One plus: That configuration does not put any crossover choice limitations on your selection of a new, matching L/C/R and subwoofer.

Rather than simply ditching the Bose, you might first try using four of the Bose satellites for L/R-Surround and L/R-Rear [both pair configured LARGE] with the Acoustimass bass module placed center(ish) back, as a shared woofer. One plus: That configuration does not put any crossover choice limitations on your selection of a new, matching L/C/R and subwoofer.

I actually thought about doing this to start when I'm in the market to replace the L/C/R. I'm glad someone suggested it.

As for how much am I willing to spend. I am hoping to spend about $600 or so on the L/C/R and then maybe $400 on the sub. I'm really not set on the prices yet though. I mean I've never bought any of this stuff before, so I really don't know what to expect in terms of pricing and what I get for my dollar. I'd like to get something pretty sweet though. I'm just not sure how much it will cost me to do that.

Thanks for all the input. I would have thought that it would have been a better idea to go with the sub first, but it seems that's not the case. I'm really glad I asked, that's for sure. Soon enough I'll be posting a "Please recommend me a L/C/R to buy for my set up" and I'm looking forward to learning more about speakers so I can get my system sounding good. Thanks again!!!!! If there are any more thoughts, feel free to let me know, as I'm always glad to hear everyone's opinions.

Definitely agree with that advice, nothing beats a solid front three, not all the subs in the world.

AV123 has some sweet deals right now on all their product lines, I'd check them out, particularly, the X series. I have my own preferences for other brands to suggest, but I feel that they are the best to take a plunge into Hi fi with right now. Their finish options, build quality and customer support are all top notch. Theres all kinds of other makes to suggest and pretty soon, your head will be spinning from all the options you have in front of you. Just know that I don't even own any AV123 speakers at this time, I have sold my systems, but the experience from them left such a sweet taste in my mouth that I am very prone to recommend them to others.

Definitely agree with that advice, nothing beats a solid front three, not all the subs in the world.

AV123 has some sweet deals right now on all their product lines, I'd check them out, particularly, the X series. I have my own preferences for other brands to suggest, but I feel that they are the best to take a plunge into Hi fi with right now. Their finish options, build quality and customer support are all top notch. Theirs all kinds of other makes to suggest and pretty soon, your head will be spinning from all the options you have in front of you. Just know that I don't even own any AV123 speakers at this time, I have sold my systems, but the experience from them left such a sweet taste in my mouth that I am very prone to recommend them to others.

I definitely agree with all of the above and I do have AV123 speakers at this time. I am currently waiting on another as I type. I feel I have a really good front three in the x-MTM encore and the x-CS encore and it was just $300 over your budget for the front three shipped! I have been very impressed. However, I must disclose that I am a big fan of the Internet Direct business model with its bang for buck ratio so I may be a little biased. YMMV

+1 on AV123...

+1 on probably being biased as well, that's what I'm currently running too :D

For around $600, I'd get a set of front towers for $500 and a nice center channel for $200. That adds up to about $600, right? :D If you're used to that little Bose system, I think you'll be blown away by the low end power of a good set of towers with your Onkyo 805.

After that, you just have to decide if the surrounds are more important to you than the sub, or visa-versa.

The X MTM's are $399 right now, the X CS is $129, thats $529+ shipping, that really should add up to around $600 after shipping, add $70 to that if you want to do a real wood finish (not satin black).

The X MTM's are $399 right now, the X CS is $129, thats $529+ shipping, that really should add up to around $600 after shipping, add $70 to that if you want to do a real wood finish (not satin black).

Shipping was around $300 for these three!:eek: Still, it is an absolutely smoking deal IMHO!:)

Yikes, I thought it would be around half that, it'd be nice if they gave you an instant shipping quote with a calculator like many other places do, I don't want to fill out an account just to see how much shipping would be, especially when it is 30% of the order, lets hope its cheaper than that to him.

Okay, it sounds like I'm getting a lot of great advice here and from what I'm reading, it seems like the message is, "spend a little more and get the good stuff." (Thank you Joe Dirt).

Where are you guys pulling these deals from if you don't mind my asking? Is there a couple good websites to use when purchasing speakers? I shop almost completely online for this kind of stuff, so any help here would be huge.

For my living area, I'd like to go with black enclosures and not maple or cherry or any other kind of wood. The black will just match better. From what I've seen, the wood is sometimes more expensive. I assume that's because it's wood (wood is more expensive than plastic), but I'm hoping it's not because sound quality is better with wood. Can someone clarify this for me?

Okay, lets say I'm in the market for new speakers. I want to do the L/R together and then the center or if it's better to do the center first, then that way but I think it sounds like the L/R would be the first thing to do. Let's say I want to spend around $600 on the L/R. What is the best deal I can hope for on what speakers? I don't care how big they are or anything like that. I just care that they sound amazing, they are black, and they kick serious a$$. :D I guess my biggest question is whether or not that is even a reasonable amount to spend on L/R or if I should plan on spending more. I mainly use my system for movie watching, and very little music listening. Therefore, I need something that will deliver in that realm. Also, I know absolutely NOTHING about speakers for the most part (or surround sound in general), so I think anything I got suggested would sound pretty amazing to me. I want something I'm not going to have to upgrade for awhile too. I'm not looking to have the best system around or anything, just something that when I turn it on, my friend's will be like, "Damn dude." We all know how great it is when that happens.

Anyway, sorry to bombard you guys with newbie questions, but I've gotten some really sound advise from here already and I'm really curious to hear what you all think.

www.********** its an internet direct company so the only place to order is through them.

They will kick arse.

Another company worth looking into is Ascend.
http://ascendacoustics.com/

I assume that's because it's wood (wood is more expensive than plastic), but I'm hoping it's not because sound quality is better with wood. Can someone clarify this for me?


Pretty much all speakers are made from MDF. The only difference between the "wood" ones is rather than just painting them black they apply a vaneer to them. No audible difference, only aesthetic.

have you looked at ascend acoustics the cbm 170 se are well liked, reviewed.
you could call them and they could recomend you something that would work for you
it would depend on you preference of music, ht. what you should do first
but you have an 805 so that will drive most anything nicely

Another company worth looking into is Ascend.
http://ascendacoustics.com/

Also a very good option. I have considered them many times and have gotten a few quotes from Mr. Fabrikant(?) himself. Excellent guy and very highly praised speakers as well.

Pretty much all speakers are made from MDF. The only difference between the "wood" ones is rather than just painting them black they apply a vaneer to them. No audible difference, only aesthetic.

Correct!

Uhoh! You've opened up the "which speakers should I buy" can of worms! Now everyone will be parading through recommending the speakers they own (just like I did earlier in this thread ;)). Unfortunately that's primarily what happens in the speaker forum if you ask for suggestions. The problem is, there are just too many options, not one of them necessarily being "right" or "wrong" just different. I ended up just buying something and trying my hardest to never go back to the speaker forum again to avoid be reminded of all the other options out there :)

Correct!

Man are we ever on the same page in this thread! :p

You could get a set of Infinity Primus P362 towers: http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?search=infinity+primus&i=108P362BG
And a PC350 center channel: http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?search=infinity+primus&i=108PC350BG

Or some Elemental Designs A6 6T6 towers: http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_42&products_id=96
And an A6 6T6 center: http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_42&products_id=616
With their package builder, that comes out to $590.75.

Just a couple of suggestions, there's about a hundred more :D There's really no right or wrong, just what you like best.

Uhoh! You've opened up the "which speakers should I buy" can of worms! Now everyone will be parading through recommending the speakers they own (just like I did earlier in this thread ;)). Unfortunately that's primarily what happens in the speaker forum if you ask for suggestions. The problem is, there are just too many options, not one of them necessarily being "right" or "wrong" just different. I ended up just buying something and trying my hardest to never go back to the speaker forum again to avoid be reminded of all the other options out there :)


Yeah, I realize everyone is probably going to suggest what they have or like or whatever, but that's fine by me. If I get a few good suggestions to compare and make a decision on my own after that, I'll be really happy. The biggest thing is having a starting point. I've gotten a few good suggestions already, and it's a great place to start when looking into what speakers to get. It's helping me with ruling out other things to look at.