[ScottL1979]

Okay, I know this is a VERY small budget compared to what many of you guys are used too. But Im just looking for a small starter setup, then will upgrade in future.


Heres my scenario:


small room (less than 15x15)

sitting less than 10' from tv

watch all movies and sports, no music

like to stay under $1500 for entire setup


when I hung up my tv I ran some speaker wire along with the power cable, HDMI, etc.. (everything is run through wall/attic).. but heres problem, I only ran 4 wires. So under my LCD tv tucked away at the moment are 4 speaker wires. The original plan was to hang a Surroundbar. But ya, only 4 wires. I thought I ran 5, but obviously didnt. Way its setup, would be VERY hard for me to go in and do another wire at this point. (wires are hidden behind some crown molding).


SOOO....


Im looking for a 5.1 setup. Im still not opposed to a surroundbar type deal, just not sure how it would work out. So Im thinking more of a traditional setup.


If you were given only $1500 for center, sides, sub, receiver, rears... what would you get? Up front, I personally perfer a "tower" style speaker if possible.

 

[osofast240sx]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottL1979 /forum/post/15477737


Okay, I know this is a VERY small budget compared to what many of you guys are used too. But Im just looking for a small starter setup, then will upgrade in future.


Heres my scenario:


small room (less than 15x15)

sitting less than 10' from tv

watch all movies and sports, no music

like to stay under $1500 for entire setup


when I hung up my tv I ran some speaker wire along with the power cable, HDMI, etc.. (everything is run through wall/attic).. but heres problem, I only ran 4 wires. So under my LCD tv tucked away at the moment are 4 speaker wires. The original plan was to hang a Surroundbar. But ya, only 4 wires. I thought I ran 5, but obviously didnt. Way its setup, would be VERY hard for me to go in and do another wire at this point. (wires are hidden behind some crown molding).


SOOO....


Im looking for a 5.1 setup. Im still not opposed to a surroundbar type deal, just not sure how it would work out. So Im thinking more of a traditional setup.


If you were given only $1500 for center, sides, sub, receiver, rears... what would you get? Up front, I personally perfer a "tower" style speaker if possible.

3 millenia 20 LRC $600, 2 millenia ADP surround $500, onkyo receiver 706 $400
http://6ave.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=PRDMILLENIA20S

 

[Knucklehead90]

The tower preference is easy, the Infinity P362 is one of the best bargains going lately. They can be had on sale for $129 + shipping (each) unless you live near a Fry's outlet. Then you wouldn't have to pay shipping. Check them out here:

http://shop4.frys.com/search?cat=-60272&pType=pDisplay


The center channel matching them can be found on ebay through Harman Audio:

http://search.stores.ebay.com/Harman-Audio_PC350_W0QQfciZ15QQfclZ3QQfsnZHarmanQ20AudioQQfsooZ1QQf sopZ1QQsaselZ26519532QQsofpZ0


They sell the PC250 as well but it isn't near as good as the 350.


Buy a pair of Primus P152 or P162 for surrounds:

http://search.stores.ebay.com/Harman-Audio_PRIMUS_W0QQfciZ15QQfclZ3QQfsnZHarmanQ20AudioQQfsooZ1QQ fsopZ1QQsaselZ26519532QQsofpZ0


And a PS210 or PS212 sub:

http://search.stores.ebay.com/Harman-Audio_subwoofer_W0QQfcdZ2QQfciZ15QQfclZ3QQfromZR10QQfsnZHarm anQ20AudioQQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQsaselZ26519532QQsofpZ0


And an HK AVR 247 to power it all with:

http://search.stores.ebay.com/Harman-Audio_247_W0QQfcdZ2QQfciZ15QQfclZ3QQfromZR10QQfsnZHarmanQ20A udioQQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQsaselZ26519532QQsofpZ0


Of course you may want to get opinions on these. You could get everything I listed above and come in under your budget, it should cost around $1200 if you buy at auction as I outlined above. It would be a very nice setup. All matching speakers, very capable sub and the HK 247 is a very good performer. You could plug just about any receiver in to those speakers and obtain similar results.

 

[Menasor]

I was mostly in the same shoes as you (well mostly budget heh), and this is very similar to what I went with a few months ago. Most of this stuff is available via Ebay from time to time through authorized dealers:



Fronts: Polk RTi8 $400 (I'm not going to suggest RTi10's because they will require external amplification)

Center: Polk CSi5 $200

Rears: Polk RTi6 $200

Sub: Bic H-100 $229

Receiver: Onkyo SR705/706 $400-500



That setup for $1500 is pretty darn impressive




You might also consider the KEF IQ line that's closing out at this time by many online dealers. They're very comparable to the Polk RTi line and is a matter of personal preference most say.

 

[Knucklehead90]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Menasor /forum/post/15478299


I was mostly in the same shoes as you, and this is very similar to what I went with a few months ago. Most of this stuff is available via Ebay from time to time through authorized dealers:



Fronts: Polk RTi8 $400

Center: Polk CSi5 $200

Rears: Polk RTi6 $200

Sub: Bic H-100 $229

Receiver: Onkyo SR705/706 $400-500



That setup for $1500 is pretty darn impressive




You might also consider the KEF IQ line that's closing out at this time by many online dealers. They're very comparable to the Polk RTi line and is a matter of personal preference most say.

+1 on the Polks as well. Either setup would give great sound at a decent price. I think I'd scratch the 706 and get the 606 to save some coin.


How about a link to some of those KEF dealers?

 

[osofast240sx]



Quote:
Originally Posted by menasor /forum/post/15478299


i was mostly in the same shoes as you (well mostly budget heh), and this is very similar to what i went with a few months ago. Most of this stuff is available via ebay from time to time through authorized dealers:



Fronts: Polk rti8 $400 (i'm not going to suggest rti10's because they will require external amplification)

center: Polk csi5 $200

rears: Polk rti6 $200

sub: Bic h-100 $229

receiver: Onkyo sr705/706 $400-500



that setup for $1500 is pretty darn impressive




you might also consider the kef iq line that's closing out at this time by many online dealers. They're very comparable to the polk rti line and is a matter of personal preference most say.

+2

 

[batpig]

$1500 is plenty for a "budget" setup, especially if you don't listen to music, are in a smallish room, and just need some home theater thunder. Do you have an HD audio source (blu ray, PS3, HD DVD)? You should be able to do $300-350 for receiver, $200-300 on sub, and the rest on speakers.


What's the problem with only running four wires? Are those for the two fronts and two surrounds? You can still just use a center, right?


any limitations on surrounds? do they need to be wall-mountable? bookshelf? towers?


if you can do towers in all four corners, a setup of four of these would be a killer start for $500 shipped.

 

[Menasor]

Vanns.com seem to have the lowest prices with free shipping.


A setup of black IQ7's ($600), IQ6C($350), and IQ3's($250) will run $1300. I picked this since they have 6.5" drivers/woofers and it's more comparable to the RTi8/6's 6.25" drivers.


A setup of black IQ5's ($400), IQ2C($150) , and IQ1's ($200) will run $750. However I don't see how this setup with 5.25" drivers/woofers can compare in sound to the proposed RTi setup.

 

[Menasor]

Ah, since you bring up Energy C300's, I think Energy C500's would be pretty comparable to the RTi8 as well.

 

[batpig]

unfortunately the C-500's have disappeared from the wwstereo site, looks like they finally sold out!


look at the bright side: a setup of C-300's at $250/pr shipped leaves a lot more budget for the subwoofer

 

[ScottL1979]

see if this works for you guys to get an idea of what my room looks like

 

[ScottL1979]

sorry pictures pretty much stink, but i just took a few very quick snapshots with my iphone. but I think you can get the idea


also, my tv looks really small in the pictures, but I think its because the wall is bare. Its a 46" Sony LCD and it actually is just about perfect with my seating distance.


in the closet you can see I have my dish network receiver, PC, macbook, ps3, etc all run off my tv. I need a real reciever so I can dump the HDMI switch and do it all right. Is there a receiver that has VGA and/or DVI spots?

 

[ScottL1979]

measured my room, its not a perfect square because of the french doors. But it measures 12' wide and 11' deep. From the middle of my seating area to the front of the tv screen is right at 9'.


With that being said, bring on the suggestions. A buddy suggested some Paradigm Atoms in all 4 corners and said that would run around $600. Then Paradigm cc-290 in center for around $500. But thats not the sub and aren't those pretty expensive?


Like I said, im a total newbie here and really need your opinions

 

[ScottL1979]

Okay, did a little reading and from what Iv seen on google, the Atoms get very good reviews and people are surprised by the quality for the low price.


Here is my question though. As you can see, I will probably be placing these on stands and putting them darn near up against the wall. Will this be okay? I assume they are meant to be "closed in" because they are designed to bookshelves or hanging on a wall... just want to make sure it will be okay.

 

[ratracer]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottL1979 /forum/post/15483180


Okay, did a little reading and from what Iv seen on google, the Atoms get very good reviews and people are surprised by the quality for the low price.


Here is my question though. As you can see, I will probably be placing these on stands and putting them darn near up against the wall. Will this be okay? I assume they are meant to be "closed in" because they are designed to bookshelves or hanging on a wall... just want to make sure it will be okay.

The Atoms are nice little speakers but as with any other speaker you would have to experiment with placement to get the most out of them. You also need to take into account the port locations on ported speakers like the Atoms if you're looking to mount on or against the wall.


But: the combination of 2 pr of Atoms and CC-290 would run you about $1K and you still need to account for a sub and receiver; since your focus is on home theater a decent sub and receiver are crucial and getting both would be difficult with the remainder of your budget. Keep in mind that timbre-matching your front and center speakers is also quite important (which would be OK here since Paradigm lists the cc-290 as a recommended center for the Atoms)


CSW is having a clearance on some their new stock of existing models so I would also consider taking a look there.


I would also budget about $500 for your receiver, starting with an HK 254 or Onkyo tx-sr706 and going from there.


That would lead to a configuration similar to:


3 pr Cambridge Sound Works M55 @ 129/pr (google search or sign up for their mailing list to get a 10% off coupon) for the fronts, surrounds, and center. This would leave you with a spare speaker. Or, you could substitute 1 pair of the M55s with a pair of S-305 for the surrounds. M55s are ported but their ports are on the front of the speaker so placement on or against a wall is not a problem.


3 pr Sanus Euro Foundations adjustable speaker stands @ $70/pr from Amazon (again, with a spare stand).


BIC-H100 or a PA-120 sub for $229 shipped from eBay.


HK 254 or Onkyo tx-sr706 receiver.


which would leave you at somewhere around $100 or so under budget which you could use for incidentals.

 

[ScottL1979]

anyone know about the Paradigm CC-190? Its almost half the cost of the CC-290. If I have a CC-190/Atom combo, would that be nice setup up front?

 

[ScottL1979]

bump

 

[markwriter]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottL1979 /forum/post/15487045


bump

One approach you could use is to shop the used/refurbished/on sale/craigslist/ebay markets. Also, you can save money by not spending more than $400 on a receiver. You just don't need that much power in your room, and you could find something used for $150 - $300. Then leverage some of the recommendations so far (Knucklehead's post is particularly good) and find a good speaker package. Here's an example of what I was able to find just on craigslist: In my metro (Phoenix), there are a ton of good receivers on craigslist for less than $250 (Yamaha, H/K, Denon) that would work well. Also on c-list is a four-pack of Infinity Primus 140's for sale for $125. You could think about getting two smallish subs (multiple subs help even out bass response in the room). You could also get another Primus 140, or a 150 for a center channel (bookshelf speakers make better center channels than a lot of actual center channels). Knucklehead mentioned the Primus 362, and it is indeed an exceptionally good tower speaker. His other recommendations are very smart moves, too. Look on the Primus Owner's thread for more information. It performs way above its price point.


Diminishing returns, given what they are, coupled with smart shopping and asset allocation, mean that your $1500 will get you a very very good system...not 'entry level' at all.

 

[chitown_badger]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Menasor /forum/post/15478299


I was mostly in the same shoes as you (well mostly budget heh), and this is very similar to what I went with a few months ago. Most of this stuff is available via Ebay from time to time through authorized dealers:



Fronts: Polk RTi8 $400 (I'm not going to suggest RTi10's because they will require external amplification)

Center: Polk CSi5 $200

Rears: Polk RTi6 $200

Sub: Bic H-100 $229

Receiver: Onkyo SR705/706 $400-500



That setup for $1500 is pretty darn impressive




You might also consider the KEF IQ line that's closing out at this time by many online dealers. They're very comparable to the Polk RTi line and is a matter of personal preference most say.

I have a similar setup, but actually have the RTi10s and love them ($400 for the pair at a Tweeter). I'm running them with the Pioneer 1018 ($364 on ebay with live search cashback). I don't see any need for external amplification at this point...I can't even run them close to where I want to because I live in an apt. I also have fxi surrounds which work well in a small space like mine.