Speakers alone? or need an AVR?

You will need an audio receiver for this. UNLESS YOU BUY SPEAKERS THAT ARE POWERED by a built-in amp.

I would suggest searching around this forum as there have been tons of threads asking this very question. If you have a limited budget start with 3.1 and eventually you can buy the four surround speakers.

You need to decide what you want/need. If you really want to get a receiver, you will need to at least have two front speakers. A center and sub are not necessary if you do not want/need them. But you can add a center and/or sub to the front speakers. That is your choice.

Now, if you do not want to have to use a receiver and simply want something that will give you a bit better sound, provided your TV has R/L analog outputs that can be set to VARIABLE and the TV's own speakers can be turned OFF, with the appropriate adapter(s) you can simply use a good pair of computer speakers (with or without subwoofer) or some powered monitors. There are several options which will give you great TV sound, if that is all you really need. (If your TV has a headphone output, you may be able to use it to connect powered speakers, also.)

You may also want to consider something like what these manufacturers offer:

http://www.zvoxaudio.com/

http://www.soundmatters.com/index.html

$300 will be tough if not impossible. $500 will be tough but probably not impossible. But you'll get what you pay for. If you can skip the center channel speaker, you can put that money toward the front 2 speakers. Are you sure you want a receiver and all that it will entail? You will not simply be able to "plug the TV into the receiver" and be done with it. It is going to require you to connect everything differently. You'll probably need a few cables, speaker wire, etc.. Operating everything will become a little more complicated. Honestly, you are opening up a can of worms, here. Once you start with this, things will never be the same. So, think about whether you are really ready to dive into HT or not. $500 will only get your feet wet.

No offense, but $500 wont get you quality audio gear. That can get you an entry level receiver and two small bookshelves. Check out some speakers from Infinity and Polk to see what fits into your budget.

My budget setup is as follows:

AVR
Sony STR-DG720 ($240 shipped)
Speakers
BIC DV52CLR Center channel ($70 shipped from buy.com)
BIC DV52si 2 up front and 2 rear ($67 shipped for 1 pair)
BIC V80 downfiring sub ($100 shipped from buy.com)


For $550, I was able to get a entry level AVR that passes LPCM via HDMI from my PS3 that I already had. Don't say it can't be done! Yes, the speakers aren't full tower speakers, but are great "budget" minded speakers.

Gluck

True ONLY if you are buying new stuff. For a 7.1 surround setup with HDMI audio capabilities, you are correct, but that's not what we're looking at here.

The OP's sources do not demand a fancy new HDMI receiver. His goal is only to improve on the sound of his internal TV's speakers, and he doesn't need full surround sound to do so. A solid stereo or 2.1 setup will be a VAST improvement over TV's internal speakers.

Ik - My recommendation is to start small with a few quality pieces and then build up from there ad you get more comfortable with what you want/need. As I mention above, the used market is a great place to start, but it entails you doing research to know what you are buying.

Recommendation 1: forget about surround sound and just go with a nice 2-channel. A solid stereo receiver and two nice speakers will sound great. In this situation, you would plug all your audio into the receiver, and all your video direct to the TV. Something like a Denon DRA-297 or an HK 3380 would do the trick fine if you want a new piece, or if you go used there are zillions of options.

Recommendation 2: similar to 1, but instead of buying a stereo receiver you buy an AV receiver so you have the potential to upgrade to multichannel in the future. If you want new, you will be buying entry-level stuff, something like the Yamaha RX-V463, HK AVR 247, or the Denon 1908 would be a great choice at around $300 and give you the option to update to HDMI audio if you get a PS3 or something.

If you want better pure sound quality, buy a high-end used receiver for $200-300, something like a Denon AVR-3803, Yamaha RX-V1500, Harman Kardon AVR 635, etc. fall into that price range off ebay (or check your local craigslist). Then find the best two front speakers you can get, whether it's a new pair of bookshelves, a nicer used pair, whatever.

There is no reason you can't get a dynamite-sounding 2.0 setup for under $500, that will sound a bazillion times better than your current TV speakers and give you room to upgrade in the future by adding a sub and/or a center channel (and eventually surrounds). In fact, if you are committed to watching the used list and do some research to become familiar with older products, you could get a very solid sounding 2.0 setup for $300.

An AV setup that would have cost $2000 five years ago can be had today for under $500 in most cases. Sound quality has not progressed THAT much in five years, what you are getting with the new stuff is the fancy bells and whistles like HDMI hi-resolution multichannel audio, video switching/processing, auto-calibration setup, etc.

In 90% of situations, the five-year-old setup that cost $2000 at the time will blow away the brand-new $500 setup, even though they both cost $500 today. I would ALWAYS go with the higher-end used setup over the low-end new setup unless you specifically need the new features, like HDMI audio or something.

Trust me, once you start, you won't look back. Listening to even a decent 2-channel rig will be miles better than your TV speakers and make movies and music so much more enjoyable.

Since his DVD player doesn't have HDMI, he may not even need it, although it might not be a bad idea for future-proofing. Do you have a satellite/cable box, ikonos? How do you currently connect it to your TV?


Infinity Beta10s and 20s can be had pretty cheap right now on close-out.

One good place to buy used is through Harman Kardon direct off ebay. They sell factory refurb receivers direct through the ebay seller ID "harmanaudio", these are direct from HK with full manufacturer's warranty and all original accessories.

You can buy a used HK AVR 340 for around $200 that will sound fantastic (or a used HK AVR 247 (for $250ish) or 347 ($300ish) if you plan to get a PS3 soon and will want HDMI audio). Then you spend whatever you can on speakers, if you can only afford two get the best two you can. The Infinity Betas ($100 for a pair) would be a great start and will sound way, way better than your TV speakers, and you'd have only spent around $300 total. Or if you want to spend a little more you can get these Energy C-200's. Then, build from there.

A bit of advice: if you decide to go this route, invest $50-80 in a good universal remote like a Harmony 520, 550, or 670. One button push and everything turns on, you can put away all your other remotes and it will control everything you own. There is NO WAY my wife could figure out how to watch a movie on my system if I didn't have one of these.

Do the Harmony's work with the PS3 (blu ray) since the PS3 is bluetooth and not IR? Thanks!

Personally I prefer the Polk, but try to listen to both.

Also, www.audiogon.com is an awesome website for buying used audio stuff.

Oh come on, for $500 he could a ht in a box that you and I hate but he'd love for years.

I said it wasn't impossible. But I wouldn't steer him to a HTiB. As has been pointed out, a receiver and 2 speakers would do him great.


The Beta series Infinities I linked you to are a better speaker than the M series Polks, IMO.

HERE is a receiver possibility. It is becoming a bit dated and has been discontinued (I'm not sure they would even really have it in stock), but for your purposes it would work fine. It has digital amps so it is small, lightweight, and generates less heat. It has some nifty "power steering" features that allow its amps to be combined to power one pair of speakers.

What is your max budget, ikonos? Do you want the receiver to last a while and be the one you build your future HT around?

If you do not envision yourself getting a hi-def audio source of some sort -- PS3, blu ray, HD DVD -- there is no reason to worry about HDMI compatibility other than using fewer cables. Standard DVD, HD cable, etc. only use standard Dolby Digital or DTS which any receiver can handle. There is no reason in that case to not just go video direct to TV, audio direct to receiver.

You should be able to find a kick-ass receiver for $200-300 if you don't need HDMI. Craigslist and ebay are flooded with high-end units from people who are upgrading to HDMI receivers, or that harman ebay store is a great option too.

I would think for now spending $400 on speakers, and only $100 on a random receiver would be more in line with offering you the best upgrade path.

Yeah, but if wants to be future-proofed, he probably wants HDMI. His DVD player is 7 years old. He'll be upgrading that soon, I suspect, probably to a BR player.



I don't know about that.

If you are going to run a 2 channel system, you really don't even need an AVR. As someone pointed out, a stereo receiver will probably work OK since analog audio connections will be fine for 2-channel. The only issue would be that your DVD player will drop the LFE channel when its analog outputs are utilized.

What do you think your time-frame for upgrading might be, ikonos. Because if you want to buy matching speakers down the road, you have to be concerned with your particular series being discontinued. Speaker manufacturers "upgrade" their speakrs every 3 years or so. Moving your speakers to rear duty at some point and buying new speakers for the front is a decent plan. Matching the rear speakers is not nearly as important as a matching front soundstage.

Honestly, as I pointed out earlier, I would hold off on everything and buy some powered monitors or computer speakers for ~$200. Receiver technology is changing rapidly. In a year the newer receivers are going to be more capable than even the current new ones.

If you're in Houston this is a kick-ass receiver:

http://houston.craigslist.org/ele/716017746.html

(BTW how hot is it there? I'm a Rice alum and I'm enjoying my SoCal weather )

If you'd rather get the better speakers and upgrade the receiver later, then any cheap unit will do.

Like this one: http://houston.craigslist.org/ele/713319329.html (although I would bargain down on that)

Or, as sivadselim and I have pointed out, a simple stereo receiver will do fine as well.