$500 budget, help

does she care about the size of the speakers? A lot of women do.

And to be clear you need speakers, subwoofer and receiver?

i have a onkyo systeme it works great 500 watst sub/ speakers less then 500.00 hope this helps

Lol I agree. Was totally expecting a model # there.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930

No that sub isn't good.

With your limited budget do this.

Yamaha RX-V373 receiver, $177 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882115373

Pioneer BS-22 speakers, $69/pr shipped, buy 2 pair one for fronts, one for surrounds.
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-BS22-LR-Designed-Bookshelf-Loudspeakers/dp/B008NCD2LG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362340566&sr=8-1&keywords=Pioneer+speakers

Bic F12 subwoofer, $198 shipped.
http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-F12-475-Watt-Subwoofer/dp/B0015A8Y5M/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1362340597&sr=1-1&keywords=bic+f12+sub

Total $513 shipped. You can contribute the extra $13.

Then when you get more money add the BS-22 center speaker for $98 to complete your 5.1 system
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-C22-Designed-Channel-Speaker/dp/B008NCD2EI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1362340775&sr=1-1&keywords=pioneer+center+channel

I went through this recently. My only real advice is to decide what you want to end up with and not comprimise or you will end up buying things twice (upgrade). I bought an Onkyo ht-s7409 http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005EP2HKW/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1362344717&sr=8-9&pi=SL75
I got my setup for $400 with shipping

The receiver is great (Onkyo tx-nr609) but it only has Audyssey 2eq (no sub correction). The speakers are good but by no means what anyone would want if the were choosing there own components. At some point in the future i will end up spending a grand on a complete speaker upgrade. For me I am happy with this system because it got me a decent system for a great price. But be aware that if you compromise like i did with the speakers you will end up spending more money in the long run.

I am actually happy I compromised. But in my case waiting for my budget would have meant no speakers at all. At least I got a receiver that can drive really nice speakers when and if I ever get them.

A decent receiver will eat up most of your budget by itself.

If I were starting from scratch I would lean towards the denon avr-1913 receiver http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007R8U5R6/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1362348596&sr=8-1&pi=SL75. That leaves pretty much nothing for speakers however.

If you have time to wait for a deal I would just stalk sites like bens bargains and newegg and when a deal shows up you know what to do. Or like me you could find a htib with a decent receiver and at least jump into a complete system for cheap. It makes the waiting for a deal part way easier to do.

Monoprice 5.1-Channel Home Theater Satellite Speakers & Subwoofer http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-5-1-Channel-Satellite-Speakers-Subwoofer/dp/B00AJHBGUW/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A1IZYUD9B8EI1C $278.58

cnet says "These Monoprice's 9774 speakers are virtually identical to the Energy Take Classic 5.1 speakers, except they're nearly $150 cheaper That makes them the best home audio value we've ever seen. "
here is the cnet review http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-speaker-systems/monoprice-9774/4505-7868_7-35512507.html
and here http://reviews.cnet.com/2300-6467_7-10015759.html

As for a reciever cnet liked this one Onkyo TX-NR414 $229.99 they say The Onyko TX-NR414 offers the best AV receiver value for those with a tight budget, although the step-up TX-NR515 model is worth the extra cash if you can afford it. review http://reviews.cnet.com/av-receivers/onkyo-tx-nr414/4505-6466_7-35137339.html
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-NR414-5-1-Channel-Network-Receiver/dp/B0077V88YU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1362355409&sr=1-1&keywords=Onkyo+TX-NR414

You can get a blue ray player for $60 to 100.00 or evn better if you already have a PS 3 you are all set or you can use any DVD player you currently own one or two inexpensive monoprce hdmi cables and you are all set.
personally for a starter system I would think about the step up Onkyo TXNR515 and the 9774 speakers above profusly thank girl friend and maybe ask her if you all could pony up the extra for the better reciever
=
**********Alternately************ Amazon has this Mono price 250.00 5.1 speaker set for like $102.24 here is cnets take on it the one above should be much better though . .
http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-speaker-systems/monoprice-8247/4014-7868_7-35017874.html
http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-5-1-Channel-Satellite-Speakers-Subwoofer/dp/B007YLQUWK
you will get more bang for the buck with a 5.1 receiver at these price points.
The Denon or the Yammie would also be good google the cnet reviews they are pretty good over there
Personally I've had very good luck with Sony TV's in the past but wouldn't own another of their receivers after having an expensive Sony ES receiver blow out magic smoke after only 3 yrs . Lot's of good suggestions here Google all them see what comes up.

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No affiliation to seller
Edited by tubetwister - 3/3/13 at 4:46pm

That Yamaha looks really good. If you are sure you will not want the extra channels and you dont care about network features like streaming your music library from your computer and using your phone as a remote, go with the Yamaha. The only other real consideration is the quality of the room correction. I really dont have the experience to speak on ypao vs audyssey multiEQ.

Also many of the network features are redundant anyways. I can stream from my network using my Onkyo, Sammy bluray, and vizio smart tv. Same goes for Pandora.

I agree with this to a point... if I were to do that I would have a pair of totem speakers with no receiver, TV, or xbox... The lesson is to not buy junk speakers as in from a HTIB set if you plan on replacing them in the future.

You are on the right track buying a 2.1 first then fill in the rest as you are able. Don't be shy about those Pioneers they handle 80 watts per speaker but don't worry about that most of the time you will only be using a watt or 10.

If you really want to maximize your bang for the buck in addition to stalking the web for new sets follow c-list and audiogon...

I think if you go with the pioneers a nice receiver and a blu ray player you will be surprised with the results enough to quell any upgrade-itis

I was all about the energy take (that the monoprice seems to be equivalent to) system before I discovered this site. After reading how you have to cross over your sub at 120 Hz with that system and how that kills the room response by making the sub output locatable frequencies I have decided it's going to be all or nothing for me. I want to be able to cross my sub over at 80 Hz or less and have timbre matched front sound stage.

Also, to the OP I recomend going to a local stereo place and hearing a polk speaker and a klipsch and a definitive side by side. The different tweeter designs really give each speaker a different sound. I am still not sure what I like better.

those monoprice speakers will pretty much be junk, you will get exactly what you pay for. Dont get me wrong I love monoprice, I probably order from them once a month but speakers need to be made by a speaker company not an unnamed Chinese manufacture. I would go for either those pioneer or some BIC america speakers either the DV62 or the FH65. You always want to spend more on speakers than electronics.

That Yamaha seems to be a great price... not sure why it's so cheap though