$600 budget living room setup?

Is the $600 just for the speakers or for both the speakers and receiver.

Similar thread: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1433473/new-system

RC-10s can be gotten from Vann's for 220 bucks. The thread shown has some other recommendations. An entry to mid level AV reciever (make sure it has audyssey) can be had for around 300. forgo the sub for now, Any sub you get with your current budget will be crap.

Active monitors can be very good, but they don't leave much room for expansion in the future. I'm partial to audioengine, the 5+, but alot of people like Swans as well.

+1 there. For recievers check out Denon. The 16xx will be a good place to start.

Pioneer SP-FS51 floorstanding speakers $150.00/pair shipped

or

NHT SuperZero bookshelf speakers with matching Super 8 powered sub for $500.00

Plus

Sherwood RX-4109 stereo receiver $100.00 shipped
Edited by ematcion - 10/25/12 at 4:49pm

Let's talk about format and sources.

From the OP this is an A/V system, right?

Do you already have a digital media (Blu ray, ipod, what?) player and if so what is it?

fwiw, pair of boston acoustic a26's $180 at accessories4less

denon avr1612 $190 at accessories4less( has audyssey which helps for best placement of your speakers for sound)

polk psw 505 sub $230 on sale at newegg (good budget sub)

imo the nht super zeros will definitly need a sub as they dont go that low in the bass dept. and the sherwood reciever limits you on any video sources to be added
Edited by smasher50 - 10/26/12 at 2:39am

I think his sources are cable and a BD player. He says TV, music and movies. Assuming you have HDMI connections I have to wonder why not use an AVR and its available HDMI connections.

I also think sub eq would have been a simplier task with an AVR using room eq (audyssey, or the like).
Edited by glangford - 10/26/12 at 2:33am

I'm prone to agree with that.

I recently upgraded from the Sherwood RX-4109 recommended above to a Yamaha RXV-371 AVR, and migrating to effective bass management has IMO made a big SQ difference. My last-year's model Yamaha AVR has built in eq which has been adjusted on considerably, but no automated system tuning. I believe that this year's RXV-373 has Yamaha's YPAO automatic system tuning feature.

It would be interesting to see a well-documented bake-off between the various automated system eq facilities in competitive brand receivers. This is an area where it is reasonable to expect significant SQ differences. For example, is YPAO in a low end Yammy the same product as it is in a high end Yammy? How does it compare with the apparent gold standard in AVR automated tuning facilities - Audyssey XT32? The tests need to be run in a number of different kinds of environments, different numbers of channels, associated components and not just one company's lab test room.

This is an odd situation in that I might even end up recommending spending more for the electronics than the main speakers.;-)

Sticking to what I have experience with, I'd try to get a deal on Infinity Primus P-163s. They are currently selling for under $100 a pair, which is very hard to beat. Unfortunately, that leaves only a couple of $100 for a sub, which is IME pretty lean territory.

I've tried a couple cheap subs, and they are never worth the money. If you must have a sub, take a look at a diy sub package. You can find some at places like Parts Express and the like. All you need is a screw driver to put them together and you get something that is much higher quality than you buy prebuilt for the price.

I agree, the only real evidence I've seen is peoples comments on this forum. I did upgrade my avr, and got audyssey XT (not the 32), but my main reason was more power and features (networking). I didn't notice any real difference. The eq curves were a little different, but I attributted that more to a more powerful reciever and some differences in calibration sensor.

Keep it simple, check out a pair of EarthQuake sound, IQuake-52 for $475 ,2.1 active speakers. These pound without a sub but you can add one.they are powered, so no need for a receiver ,they sound awesome.

What do you mean, no need for a receiver? What happens if you want to hook up more than your ipod, or use it like a "normal" stereo set up?

How did they turn out for you in the end? This sounds like a nice setup.