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Decent speakers to use for surrounds under $100?

post #1 of 9
2/1/13 at 7:31am
Thread Starter 
Hey guys I need your help.

My setup is going in my basement which is an open layout. I just purchased a new receiver and blu-ray and went to hook up my older bookshelfs as surrounds and one of them is broken.

I have a budget of $100 maybe $150. I need something small as these are going in my basement ceiling, which is open so they will be mounted to a joist and hanging down. Something that would fit in the cavity between joists would probably work best so I guess I'm looking at more of a satellite speaker. I think a bookshelf even a small one would be too big in this case.

SO...I'm looking for suggestions for some decent satellite speakers to use as surrounds in my 5.1 system preferably under $150.


My current equipment:

Fronts: Paradigm Focus v.3
Center Paradigm CC-170 v.3
Subwoofer: SVS PB10-ISD
Surrounds: ????

Receiver: Yamaha RX-V473
Blu-Ray: Panansonic DMP-BDT220
TV: Panasonic Plasma 46"
Edited by polymath - 2/1/13 at 7:38am
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post #2 of 9
2/1/13 at 7:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by polymath View Post

Hey guys I need your help.

My setup is going in my basement which is an open layout. I just purchased a new receiver and blu-ray and went to hook up my older bookshelfs as surrounds and one of them is broken.

I have a budget of $100 maybe $150. I need something small as these are going in my basement ceiling, which is open so they will be mounted to a joist and hanging down. Something that would fit in the cavity between joists would probably work best so I guess I'm looking at more of a satellite speaker. I think a bookshelf even a small one would be too big in this case.

SO...I'm looking for suggestions for some decent satellite speakers to use as surrounds in my 5.1 system preferably under $150.


My current equipment:

Fronts: Paradigm Focus v.3
Center Paradigm CC-170 v.3
Subwoofer: SVS PB10-ISD
Surrounds: ????

Receiver: Yamaha RX-V473
Blu-Ray: Panansonic DMP-BDT220

Check out the Infinity P163. In some parts of the country local retailers are selling them for like $100 a pair. There is even a favorable Stereophile review of them!
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post #3 of 9
2/1/13 at 7:39am
The rest of your stuff is so nice I'd hate to cheap out on the surrounds. Maybe some Polk Monitor 35's or Andrew Jones Pioneers could be had for around 100 bucks and get the job done, but if it were me I'd be trying to swing some Paradigm Atom or Titans on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Paradigm-Atom-V2-Main-Stereo-Speakers-/330864852570?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item4d0914fe5a&_uhb=1

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Paradigm-Atom-V-4-speakers-Pair-in-Original-Boxed-Opened-NEVER-USED-/230916311694?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item35c3af4a8e&_uhb=1

And if your old speakers were decent part them out on Ebay and you can probably break even.

Usually the joist bay is 14.5" by probably 9.5 or 11.5 by infinity, so I wouldn't limit myself to tiny "satellite" speakers.

Edit: the Infinity recommendation is good too.
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post #4 of 9
2/1/13 at 7:39am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by arnyk View Post

Check out the Infinity P163. In some parts of the country local retailers are selling them for like $100 a pair. There is even a favorable Stereophile review of them!

Thanks for the suggestion, but those are bookshelf speakers and are quite heavy. I really need something smaller to hang from the ceiling.
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post #5 of 9
2/1/13 at 7:41am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bepperb View Post

The rest of your stuff is so nice I'd hate to cheap out on the surrounds. Maybe some Polk Monitor 35's or Andrew Jones Pioneers could be had for around 100 bucks and get the job done, but if it were me I'd be trying to swing some Paradigm Atom or Titans on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Paradigm-Atom-V2-Main-Stereo-Speakers-/330864852570?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item4d0914fe5a&_uhb=1

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Paradigm-Atom-V-4-speakers-Pair-in-Original-Boxed-Opened-NEVER-USED-/230916311694?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item35c3af4a8e&_uhb=1

And if your old speakers were decent part them out on Ebay and you can probably break even.

Usually the joist bay is 14.5" by probably 9.5 or 11.5 by infinity, so I wouldn't limit myself to tiny "satellite" speakers.

Edit: the Infinity recommendation is good too.

Yeah I've actually been eyeing those Atoms on ebay this week. smile.gif

How would I mount bookshelf speakers in the ceiling like that?
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post #6 of 9
2/1/13 at 7:50am
Check out the NHTSuperZero 2.0
http://www.nhthifi.com/Bookshelf-speaker-SuperZero-2-0?sc=12&category=3772

NHT also sells the Omnimount 10 which they say works for those speakers.
http://www.nhthifi.com/Omnimount-10-0-W-C-Mount
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post #7 of 9
2/1/13 at 7:50am
Depends which way you are firing them. They should all have a keyhole on the back, the Polks I have do. The nice thing about those infinities is that they have the port on the front so they can be right on a wall (or a joist in your case) whereas the Polks sit about an inch out from the wall. But if you're pointing them perpendicular to the joists you can throw a screw in the joist and hang them like a picture. If it's parallel you'd need to add a board between them. If you want to fire them down or angle them that might be hard to do without putting eye screws or something into the cabinet, but at 100 bucks I doubt that will be a big deal. You could always fill them in later, it's not like black vinyl is difficult to match.
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post #8 of 9
2/1/13 at 8:44am
Look at Acoustic Energy - a real nice price
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ACENAEGOTSAT/ACOUSTIC-ENERGY-AEGO-AE12-10-T-Series-4in-Satellite-Speaker-Black-Each/1.html
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post #9 of 9
2/1/13 at 11:02am
Thread Starter 
....
Edited by polymath - 2/4/13 at 6:56am
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