Need advice for separate home theater

I haven't demoed the Polks nor the infities but I have heard great things about Athena's Point 5s (.5) which can be had for a set for ~$200 from ebay. Look for the Onkyo 504 referbished at shoponkyo.com at around $220 and still warranteed for a year. For a sub, maybe start with the H-100 or some of the starting subs from Mirage. If you can expand your budget a little, look at offerings from HSU and SVS (do a search on this forum or the subwoofer forum to find lots of info on them or other subs). This question is asked weekly so if you aren't getting recommendations quick enough, so some searches for HTIB under $500 etc.

You won't find Athena locally as with alot of other internet only brands. If you refuse to by speakers without listening and given your budget I would suggest sticking with the Polk R15s with a CSi25 center or the Infinity Primus 160 with a C25 center, also the Insignias from Best Buy for $50 a pair are very well liked, there is a long thread on these in the speaker forum. The only drawback is they don't make a dedicated center for the Insignias so you'll have to use one of the bookshelves as your center, not a big deal to some.

The R15s go on sale at Frys quite often for $50 a pair and the CSi25 also frequently goes on sale at that price they are an amazing value. You might have to wait a little while for the sale but they do come around once or twice per month.

IMO you can do far better than the 6750 for a speaker system, you're getting small satellite speakers and a underwhealming sub. For a sub I'd stick with the Athena AS-P4000 for $150 or the Bic H-100 for around $250, eather one of these are best in price class and will blow the Polk sub away. Also look at refurbs from shoponkyo for a receiver, you get $10 off your first purchase, factory waranty + free shipping and the 503 receiver is imo the best deal going on a receiver right now for $189.00 delivered. Hope this helps.

The only major difference besides cosmedics is that the 504 has an XM satelite plug. Otherwise the 504 is just the newest version of the 503.

Chris - FWIW, I am very pleased with the sound (and value) of my 7.1 system which has six Polk R15s ($40/pr) and a CSi25 ($60) running off an Onkyo 503 ($189) plus a 150w Onkyo HTIB subwoofer. You will need a subwoofer with the R15s and you should have enough left in your budget if you wait for the speakers to go on sale.

I'd recommned both the R15s/CSi125 and the Infinity setup over the 6750. The 6750 is a sattelite setup and the sub with that system is not going to live up to what you can get in a $150 subwoofer.

The 504 is the updated version of the 503. It adds XM compatability as far as any preformance increase, they are the same receiver and you can get a much better deal on the 503.

PS...I just checked shoponkyo and they have 504 refurbs listed now for $20 more than the 503. Still XM is the only difference so unless XM compatability is worth $20 to you go for the 503. Eather is a great value though.

Yes the AS-P4000 is the best sub you'll find in the $150 range. The next step up would be the Bic H-100 around $250. Check audioadvisor.com o ne call.com and amazon also, there are a few others but those are the main, authorized dealers I'm aware of.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=172282

http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/pr...HASP4000&loc=7

those prices are in the $160s, best I could find though. this sub retailed for $299 originally and then dropped to $149 when I got mine. Seems its creeping back up again

The 504 also adds the A/V sync delay features. Comes in real handy if you have a flat screen HDTV and the audio is ahead of the video. You can adjust the delay so they match up.

What do they mean when they say refurbs do not come with cables, what cables
are missing ?

no speaker wire, audio/video cables, just the power cord comes with these which is most cases is all you would get anyway.

I like the setup being presented here. Namely the Onkyo 503/504, Polk r15s x4, Polk CSi25 center, and Athena AS-P4000 sub. Gives me a nice 5.1 setup, and easily upgraded to 7.1 when I have the money for some kicking fronts. I was wondering about a few things:

1) I can't find that Athena AS-P4000 for $150. I can actually hardly find it at all. Also, I read some reviews and it's apparently missing some internal supports and is light and burps the bass out.
Can't post the link, but add (.) instead of (,) and (/) instead of (>)
forums,audioholics,com > forums > showthread.php?t=26360
Should I shop for a different sub, and if so can you recommend something in the $150 range?

2) I'm leaning towards r15s over r150s, because the r150s have rear firing subs and I might decide to wall mount. They're both instock and the same price at Frys (actually, the r150s are $.01 more).

3) Onkyo 503/504s go for ~$150, $169 from ShopOnkyo and $130+ from eBay.


I guess that last question is the main one, is this ~$500 setup still the deal it was 5 months back?


*EDIT*
Found the Velodyne 5 speaker setup for $199 + free shipping. Comes to roughly the same total as the r15/150s + CSi25 off Frys. So Velodynes, r15s, or r150s?

Also checked around for other subs. People (and by people, I mean Jakeman02) recommend the BIC H-100 for ~$230 shipped. Since I can't find that Athena, is this my main option?

the H-100 is probably the best sub in that price class. if you can't find the athena (it has been phased out for the new P4100), you might consider the velodyne VX-10 for about $150, or one of the smaller cadence subs.

For folks on a budget, the Sony SA-WM250 subwoofer (100 watt powered) can be had for $80-90 at CC or online. I normally do not recommend or purchase Sony myself, but I just picked this baby up for a budget HT setup in my living room, and I am pretty impressed. As long as your room is not too big (it is an 8" sub), this has more than enough punch. I listened to other subs that cost anywhere from $50-100 more, and this one was on par and lots cheaper.

Obviosly, if you have $160-250 to spend on a sub you will find a better quality sub, but you cannot beat this for $80. This sub also got some good reviews and folks seem happy with it.