I got BOSE man....

no worries, I will be upgrading that later on.




My family needs help on getting a new sound system for their home. Their home has tall cathedral ceiling and pretty large living room.

The budget is limited(upto $1000), and they would like to have descent sound for the money. Something better than BOSE speakers I got. :D (I don't know why you guys make fun of BOSE so much but I can some "good" sound outta it, but anyways.....)

What's a good solution?? Get a audio receiver and speakers? what speakers?? what receiver? what DVD/CD player?? Or is it better to get all-in-one stereo device? Could you help build them a new sound system?? Help pliz!

Can you clarify...

Is your $1000 budget for just the speakers and subwoofer? For the speakers, subwoofer, and receiver? Or for the speakers, subwoofer, receiver, and DVD player?

Are you willing to buy part of the system now -- such as three speakers -- and add the rest later as finances permit? Or do you need everything now?

How important are aesthetics? Do you want small / mini speakers? Or are larger bookshelf speakers acceptable?

What are the dimensions of the room? What type of floors, and are they carpeted?

What type of TV / display do you have?

Also, can you build the speakers yourself?

It's the best bang for your buck option.

$1000 for all together if possible.

it's for my family. Currently they got nothin.. in sound equipment.

they prefer to have small speakers.. something that do not stand out, as she wants to maintain the style of the furniture. As for power something around 100watts maybe.

yea it's carpeted.. and around 18' x 18' in livingroom area, and has tall cathedral ceiling.

They got a lilly tiny Sony CRT Trinition 30" HDTV.

no.. i don't know how to build speakers. :o


Oh, and DVD player isn't necessary at this moment as they already have a cheap DVD player... but they need a CD player.

IamAnoobieCheez,

Could they use your existing DVD player to play CDs?

I would go for a Panasonic XR-57 (http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-SA-XR57S-Digital-Theater-Receiver/dp/B000FYZQSW/sr=8-1/qid=1160945812/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-6832708-5901510?ie=UTF8&s=electronics) ($279), Hsu STF-2 subwoofer (http://www.hsustore.com/stf2.html) ($399), and the Hsu Ventriloquest (http://www.hsustore.com/vt12.html) ($199). That's about $880, and leaves you some money for shipping, stands, speaker wire, and CD player.

It's not easy to find high quality sound in a mini at low cost. The smaller the speaker design, the more difficult it is to deliver high-quality sound at an affordable cost. The Hsu Ventriloquest (http://www.hsustore.com/vt12.html) is about as good as you can get in that size for under $500. If you can move up in speaker size, then better sound is certainly available. At $199 for the Ventriloquest, it's relatively small investment in speakers, so you can upgrade them later; the STF-2 subwoofer (http://www.hsustore.com/stf2.html) and receiver you can continue use for many years with any new speaker or room setup.

With any mini setup, the subwoofer is a very, very important part of the system. Smaller speakers have smaller woofers, and thus are limited in their ability to put out bass in the mids and lows. Bass is non-directional, so it doesn't really matter where you put the subwoofer, but you need to have one -- and the bigger, the better. If you can't hide the subwoofer behind a couch, and the woman of the house wants something more aesthetically pleasing than the Hsu STF-2 (http://www.hsustore.com/stf2.html), then look at the alteratives from SVS Sound, like the new SB12-Plus model (http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box-sb12plus.cfm), available in a number of different finishes. As always, you pay more for looks.

If the setups above just don't meet your aesthetics needs, then look at the Orb Audio "People's Choice" (http://www.orbaudio.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=32) setup from orbaudio.com. It's a clear step down in audio quality from the Hsu setup, and a bit more expensive at $999, plus $279 for the receiver, but the speakers are very aesthetically pleasing and can be placed just about anywhere, even without stands. Show the woman of the house the Orb Audio site (http://www.orbaudio.com/). The speakers are available in a number of different finishes.

If you wanted a compromise between the Hsu and Orb solutions, you could buy the Orb Audio speakers without subwoofer, and then buy one of the far better subwoofers from Hsu (http://www.hsustore.com/stf2.html) or SVS (http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box.cfm).

If you can move up to a larger-sized bookshelf speaker, and spend a bit more, then look at the SVS system (http://www.svsound.com/products-sys-sbs_black.cfm) for $999 (plus $279 for receiver). The next step up in sound quality would be a 3.1 bookshelf setup from Ascend Acoustics (http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cbm170/cbm170.html), with 2x CBM-170SE, a CMT-340SE center, and a Hsu STF-2 subwoofer for $1008 total (plus $279 for receiver); you could add the two rear speakers later, as money permits.

Well said bfdtv. I agree that it is tough on that budget to get anything very good. I also agree that starting with a 3.1 system is the best way to go, second best being spending the entire $1,000 only on speakers. If they want to start with a 5.1 system, I'd either second the SVS system recommendation or recommend that they get Cambridge SoundWorks Newton Series M50 bookshelf speakers all around (if they want real wood veneers) and the biggest HSU or SVS sub they can afford.

Also, can you build the speakers yourself?

It's the best bang for your buck option.
What is with you DIYers that "build them yourself" is always your first suggestion? Has it not occured to you that most people have no clue how to build speakers? Besides which, there is an awfully lot of hubris involved in imagining that a DIY speaker could sound better than one designed by professionals with years of experience. (This comment applies to component mods as well.) :rolleyes:

What is with you DIYers that "build them yourself" is always your first suggestion? Has it not occured to you that most people have no clue how to build speakers? Besides which, there is an awfully lot of hubris involved in imagining that a DIY speaker could sound better than one designed by professionals with years of experience. (This comment applies to component mods as well.) :rolleyes:

Disagreed.
He ASKed nicely.

DIY based on previously tested designs will give you better sound 98% (BS stat) of the time.

Who sheet in your corn flakes today?

That's a good question and I tell you I'm hungry as hell rite now. Speaking of corn flakes I'm gonna get something to eat now...


Thanks for the suggestions guys, especially the bfdtv's suggestion. I will keep that in mind.

Disagreed.
He ASKed nicely.

DIY based on previously tested designs will give you better sound 98% (BS stat) of the time.

Who sheet in your corn flakes today?
It is just that I have lost track of the number of times "build them yourself" has been offered as an answer to those looking for a certain performance/budget. This is fine for those who already know how, but the way to learn is on a single pair of speakers, not a full 5.1 system. Anyone DIYing for the first time is going to go way over budget because of learner's mistakes, and is unlikely to get the results they hoped for right away.

Well, PULLIAMM, when I'm done with the theater you can get one free movie to watch on my first time DIY :p

I started my DIY with a subwoofer and that was it. Now I am in the stages of getting ready for building the 7 other speakers.

As for the mentality that a DIY speaker can't sound better than a commercially designed speaker, more planning goes into designing a DIY speaker than the time it takes to build. Look at some of the build threads of well-established designs such as the Dayton TMWW on htguide, DIY'ers are not just buying pretty speakers putting them in a box and soldering wires together. Having auditioned the Dayton TMWW I can tell you (without bias) that it has been the best sounding speaker I have gotten to hear so far and sounded better than when I auditioned a pair of Martin Logans.



I only offered that option of DIY since he has a small budget and somebody else had already typed all the other options..

Are Polk speakers any good? Are they Nay or Yay?

My parents saw Polk tower speakers at Fry's Electronics store. Each of them costs $279. 279 x 2 for a pair. And wanting to add a one big cubical sub woofer from Polk. I think that's another $300.

The industry collectively bashes Bose because of the accurate statement: "No highs, no lows, gotta be Bose". And also you can get much better speakers for a much better price. :o

No one resonded to this thread in over two months. The OP then asks about Polk speakers and the thread gets "bumped" and I guess sends out an alert?

A Bose Troll adds nothing but regurgitation of a million other posts. Answer the Polk question as opposed to Bose Bull.

A DIY person wouldn't be coming here to ask the questions that the OP is asking. They would be building it themself already or asking about parts and materials for DIY.

Troll.

Since they wanted to hear the sounds before buying it, and not sure where the SVS system speakers are carried at stores we tried the other brand. But thank you deeply for the info, bfdtv. Your information helped us seriously and very beneficial.


After test hearing the sound of Boston speakers they were impressed. They bought the following:

- Boston VR2B (2 floor stand speakers)
- Boston VRCB (Center speaker)
- Boston XB6 (Subwoofer 12" driver)

it's $$$$$$ but we were very impressed with the sound and more than enough to meet their criteria.

Right now they're using the crappy receiver but will be purchasing something like Panasonic XR-57. They'll also be purchasing the Boston rear surround speakers later on to complete the system.

Thanks guys.:)

I'll throw this out there. I'm guessing your family doesn't have ears as sensitive as many on this board do.

I recently got this and I'm happy with it.

Yamaha 5.1 HTR 5930, $161 on sale with 10% off coupon
Polk RM6730 speaker system on Amazon, $267 w/ free shipping. Price has gone up
Existing DVD player to play DVDs and CDs.

the subwoofer in the speaker system was DOA, but Amazon replaced that pretty quickly (overnight!).