Music System setup for around $1000

why do you want small speakers? I mean, it sounds like just about any standard box set would do you fine if you're going to go small, and if it doesn't say Bose on the box, you will probably be paying substantially less.

Energy Take 5 speakers without sub from newegg for $200 + shipping, these are able to mount on a wall. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rgy-_-82269004

You can get a $200-$300 refurbed receiver from accessories4less on the cheap. http://www.accessories4less.com/make....page=4b6ed36c

ED sub for $350 + shipping. http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...roducts_id=407

Sony bluray player for $114 from amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Sony-BDP-S360-...5554658&sr=8-1

Pass on the Bose, you can do much better for less $$$.

I would be looking into a nice 2.1 system, two bookshelves and a sub woofer.

I am not going to recommend speakers as I am not qualified but I will offer some advice I learned from my first system purchase.

1.) If the choice is quantity or quality, choose quality! (With your budget get a couple of really nice speakers instead of 5 or 7 decent speakers.)

2.) The speakers are where you should spend your money, don't get to caught up in super duper powerful receivers with all the latest gadgets.

3.) The quality of your sound system will increase in direct proportion to the amount of time you spend researching here. Don't get in to big of a hurry!

4.) If you want to buy a system and being happy with it for the next 10 or 15 years NEVER return to this forum again! You will inevitably read a thread about how your new speakers sound terrible compared to X,Y, and Z speaker brands.

Energy RC-10s from Vanns, or Infinity P362s along with a decent sub and receiver and you are in business! Both of these will outperorm tiny satellites - what is the appeal of multiple small speakers?

Energy Micro or Mini series kill Bose even more than the Takes, not as good as the above mentioned speakers, but if you are determined to go 5.1 tiny they're very good choices.

Ron

Since you were very impressed by Bose I am guessing you don't have a ton of experience with different speakers?

I strongly recommend going out and listening to a bunch so that you can figure out what you like. Speakers are like the music that comes out of them, kinda hard to know what you will like by reading about them, but that gets easier once you have a baseline to compare against.

Start with these - some them will be out of your stated price range but it's a worthy exercise:

PSB, Boston Acoustics, Energy, Infinity, Paradigm, KEF, Dali, B&W, Revel. All of these are good, some of them are amazing.

Bring your own music, stuff you are familiar with and a variety inclucing both male & female vocals, electronic and acoustic instruments, and listen through 70-90 watt per channel receivers. If you are at a high end store don't let them play through their fancy electronics, they've already stacked the deck with good room acoustics.

Ron

Onkyo 607 is a nice receiver on the cheap!

The main reason to put "quality over quantity" is that many , many people buy what they can afford at the time and later wish to up-grade. If you spend more on a a 2.1 system then you do not have to worry about selling the cheaper 5.1 system you purchased.

Surround sound is a gimmick(I will get blasted for that comment), spend your money on a quality 2.0 or 2.1 system and up-grade to a 5.1 or even a 7.1 when you have the funds. While saving for the surround speakers you will have to endure listening to some really nice speakers.

Surround sound is the ONLY way to completely experience a movie - and 5.1 SACD sound fabulous




But I absolutely agree with this - more than once i have been exploring an upgrade less than 2 months after making a purchase

Getting a whole package a once can be a pretty easy thing to do. Just wire it up throw in a movie and duck your head while the bullets fly around. Nothing wrong with that.

But... If you want to educate yourself as to what makes a good sound system and/or speakers there really is no substitute for getting out there and auditioning a bunch of stuff. You'll find a lot will be 'meh' to you. But... then one day one place the magic will happen. Ahh. So this is what makes those people crazy about audio. After that you can have a little funeral for your old self and we will welcome a new audiophile to the fold.

Okay, maybe I was a bit dramatic, surround sound makes a huge difference in movies. I have a 5.1 system myself but I do think the need to purchase a 5.1 or God forbid a 7.1 system has prohibited some people from enjoying some really nice speakers.

I also agree with spending more on just a nice pair to start with and add the rest as funds become available. I have wasted too much money getting a bunch of stuff I could afford now instead of focusing on a more meaningful upgrade that would keep me happy for more time.

If you want to get something you know you won't change out for at least a few years then go the 2.0 or 2.1 route and get the best you can with the money you have now instead of wasting it on a 5.1 setup that is gonna sound good for a while but then make you think what if I had these instead later on.

I recently invested in some monitor audio rx6's that set me back quite a bit, but I know I will be happy with them for years. The main front speakers are by far the most important if you love music as you will be using stereo mode if you ever listen to music(well most people prefer stereo for music). For movies having a nice center is important, but not necessary right away, I have done fine using virtual surround on my receiver until I could get the center for my deftech pm1000's, and now I wish I would have saved a little longer from the start and gotten the towers I really wanted instead.

Well anyways that's just how I feel about it but it really is going to come down to whether you just want a whole system now, or are willing to go the slower path with better speakers

Here's two links to forums where I have links to prices and where to find them.

I think these Energy speakers would be a nice 5.0 setup- 2 pairs for rears and fronts being CB-5 speakers and one center channel CC-5. I provide president's day sale links for those two on the Energy owner's thread near the bottom of page 585 post 17534 -http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...30450&page=585. That would come out to $345 for a 5.0 system.

I also like the potential of this setup, but I would have to do more research, concerning if the speakers would work well together. I posted on this thread on page 1 post 7 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1225880.

If you used the same subwoofer for both systems, the BIC f12, there would be about a $200-$230 difference it seems. The CB-5/CC-5 system would be, by far, a smaller on wall speaker system, but from what I understand possibly a very good one.

Just to throw more options into the mix. SVS has some surround packages that would make a great starter system with that budget. Their 5.1 SBS-01 package with a PB10-NSD sub is only $1055 (pre order price) or with PB12-NSD at $1199 (pre order price) http://www.svsound.com/products-sys-sbs_black.cfm

Also check out the Jamo C607 towers and a good sub for just a 2.1 system.

Nice system. You did well! Those Swans go pretty low on their own. A sub will get that last few notes you are missing.

I would recommend getting the matching center channel for your speakers down the road. Having a matching front 3 is really important. The side and back speakers not so much. I don't know what would match your speakers from Swan. There is a thread here for Swan speakers.

As for the sub I would save and get something spectacular. $700 is usually a good level for great bass. You can get good bass for less (like the sub you are looking at). The VTF-3 would be a much better performer for not a whole lot more. I would really read up on subs to get a better understanding of what they do and how they do it. You don't want bloated bass which many poorly designed subs give you.

The STF-2 is a great sub and plenty for that room