I need a very budget HT set up

How big is your room?

What do you listen to?

Is your budget for just the starter system or for a complete 5.1 sytsem?

Good luck finding better than these for the money:

http://www.amazon.com/Jamo-426-HCS-WENGE-5-Piece/dp/B003GGXGU6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358518655&sr=8-1&keywords=jamo

Pair it with this:

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/DENAVR1612/DENON-AVR-1612-5.1-Channel-A/V-Home-Theater-Receiver/1.html

That's $379. Spend what you want on a sub. Maybe the Polk 505. $189 right now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290130

Total $568 shipped. Slightly over $500 but will shame most HT in a box. The Denon has Audyssey which is important and a lot of people are really happy with the refurbs from accessories4less. I had the Jamo S406 set which was an earlier version of the S426. Most will agree that for the price it is a steal. The Polk 505 is a proven sub for home theater with plenty of output.

This is if you want it all now. If you choose to spend more and piece together later, start with a good 2.0 setup and build from there.

Best of luck..

I think that spending the maximum amount possible on a good-quality pair of speakers is the wise choice, because you will keep them a long time. Lower quality speakers tend to be replaced eventually, so that is money wasted in the long run.

From there you can add a subwoofer (a GOOD 12-inch one with adequate power), and then 3 more speakers.

The Onkyo TX-NR414 is a good starting point. It is only $230 at Amazon and a great deal for that price.

A pair of Monitor Audio Bronze BX-5 speakers runs $750, and will be a good pair to start your system.

A Klipsch RW-12D subwoofer, or a similar one, will be the next thing to get, but those main speakers have enough low bass that you won't feel the need to get one soon.

A pair of Bronze BX-1 speakers and a bronze BX Center will run about $700 to get you to 5.1.

When you finish that system, everything will be high-quality, and not a penny will have been wasted.
Edited by commsysman - 1/18/13 at 7:06am

Definitely go for towers up front if you are going to have a 2.0 setup for a while until you have more money saved up for a sub. Towers put out a good amount of midbass and will keep you happy for the time being with their full sound.

If you are wanting to push the budget to $1,000 for the receiver and fronts, I would recommend these speakers:
Ascend Acoustics CMT-340SE mini towers - $568 - http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cmt340m/cmt340m.html
Then pair them up with these stands for the full tower look - $180 - http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/access/spkstnds/pedstlcmt340.html

I'd rather spend the same money on a better set of bookshelves. That way you have the basis of a system that you can add upon, instead of a temporary solution that you'll end up either selling at a loss later on, or worse, hanging onto.

I agree, I would go with a decent pair of bookshelf speakers and a receiver. You can always build up that system later if you want, but it'll be a good base to build from rather than a complete mediocre 5.1 system that you could never upgrade from. I would get bookshelfs with some decent bass to begin with. Some bookshelf speakers I would consider are the HTD Level Threes, Hsu HB-1, Arx A1b, and Ascend CBM170. Use the rest of your budget to buy the best receiver you can, Denon, Pioneer, Onkyo, Yamaha, Harman/Kardon, Marantz, where ever you can find a deal. A great 2.0 with room to grow will be far superior to a meh 5.1.

Wharefedale is said to be decent. You don't want to mix the front three, but you can mix subs and also use different surround speakers without worries. Yamaha is a good receiver manufacturer.

+1

If you go for bookshelves and then decide your room needed towers (or you find you have more disposable income), that's just your next upgrade and the bookshelves go to the rear.

$500 is a little thin for bookshelves, sub, and receiver, so start with the bookshelves and receiver and add a sub next when you can afford it. The Wharfedale Diamonds you mentioned would be a great choice. Then after you buy a sub, which need not be a Wharedale, then get a Diamond center channel--it's important that the front left/right and center match for a good front soundstage. Then finally the surround speakers can be whatever--don't have to match the front (although there is a little advantage to that).

Seems like you have some good choices picked out with the Yamaha and the Denon.

The 10.1 has a bigger driver than the smaller Diamond.You should get a little better mid bass and maybe mid range response from them. Good thing to have for front speakers. the review of the ushers did not seem very good to me with the comments about the woofer problem.

These are nice and won't break the bank:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004NDN9NK/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

How much money do you have? There are a lot of suggestions here but no decisions. Narrow it down so that realistic suggestions can be made.

That receiver should do very well. The ushers don't require high end amps but do require more wattage than average to push them. They have a sensitivity of 86. That is below average. That is not a bad thing but something you should keep in mind. When you go to get the front 3 that may narrow your choices quite a bit. You want all of your speakers to have a similar sensitivity. If the front ones are much more sensitive than the back then the front ones will be louder when all of them are given the same power. Try to stay within 3 dB. There are many good speakers within this window but keep it in mind. They also tend to be more expensive imo. In my experience most speakers are in the 89-92 category.
Edited by Bond 007 - 1/20/13 at 6:22am

86dB is average for a single midbass driver box. Where Usher differs from many companies is that their specs are honest.

fwiw , the monitor audio bx series or the wharfedale 's would be a great set up. and as for buying used and refurbished electronics i would go refurbished 1st only if the seller is a authorized dealer in that brand. this way you will get some kind of limited warranty. as for buying used its a crap shoot, you really dont know how hard it was used or if there is a hdmi port not working or many other glitches or problems until you get it home and hooked up. but then again you could get a real bargin. if you do go used try to look at newer models of well known brands ( denon , yamaha , onkyo ) and ask "alot" of questions and maybe have them hook it up and give a listen before you fork over your hard earned cash. and as for power goes you wont ever use 130 watts per channel in your life time and it wont play that much louder than a 75 wattper channel reciver. anything from 50 - 100 watts would do fine in your size room