[ousooner2]

Ok im in college so its not much but its all i got for now. I know most of you will say to just save and buy something better but i dont want to b/c i'll end up spending it ha.

Ok here it is...lemme know...


~Room Size = 12x20; pretty open too~


4 - Insignia Bookshelves (I can get them for $40 a pair b/c i used to work at BB)

Dayton Sub-120 ($185 shipped from partsexpress.com)

Sanus Bookshelf Speaker Stands - http://www.amazon.com/SANUS-SYSTEMS-...4622548&sr=8-1


Thats a little under $300 for that. Im in need of a reciever too. I dont need it do anything special. Just want the best bang for my buck. Looking in the $200 or sub range. I know im a cheap bastard but thats what college is for haha. Thanks guys!

 

[ousooner2]

TTT. Common I know its not nice, top of the line stuff but i still need yalls help. Thanks to anyone who tries and helps. Im sure someone has some combo with these in it that could help!

 

[justthinking]

I think you should consider HTIB with your budget..

 

[JohnLocke88]



Quote:
Originally Posted by justthinking /forum/post/14177836


I think you should consider HTIB with your budget..

+1 Check for HTIB open Box / Clearance deals at CCity/BBuy. I know that the Polk RM6800 HTIB is $99.99 on clearance at CCity (may be very difficult to find though).


Provided you have time, just hunt down deals. I was able to build a system consisting of Polk RTi8s, RTi6s, CSi3 center and a KEF PSW2150 250 watt sub for all under $400. I'm sure you can do the same. just do your research and hop on clearance deals.

 

[ousooner2]

I already have a HTIB with 2 KLH floorstanders and it sucks for music and everything. I think this setup would still be better than many HTIB's.


JohnLocke88- Where did you get the Polks for that cheap? Store or used of someone?

 

[Lebronze]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ousooner2 /forum/post/14178819


I already have a HTIB with 2 KLH floorstanders and it sucks for music and everything. I think this setup would still be better than many HTIB's.


JohnLocke88- Where did you get the Polks for that cheap? Store or used of someone?

Check out Fry's, they are selling 2 Polk R50's for $119 before shipping


Those will definately sound alot better than any htib/insignia speaker

 

[jnickrand]

I think the Insignia's + the Dayton 120 will blow away anything you'll find in a HTiB for a similar price range.


The Insignia's are great speakers for that price. They actually have a real woofer so you won't be plagued with the horrible performance in the 80-150 hz range like you find in almost every HTiB with small speakers. That Dayton sub is great for the price too.


You really need a center speaker though. At that price I'd just buy another pair of Insignia's and use one for a center and save one as a backup in case one of the others get damaged.


For a receiver, check out the Onkyo 505, search for it on Amazon.com and it's under $200 just like you requested.

 

[ousooner2]

I mean for $500 total with a new reciever...thats not a bad setup right? I've been looking around and there are quite a bit more choices for subs though! Im getting confused on which one's the best...i've tried searching for awhile but they are soo many post in a thread sometimes. Do you think this will sound waay louder and more clear and crisp than the $200 wal-mart Pioneer HTIB and KLH floorstanders i have? I want to listen to rap and rock and feel/hear the bass but i want the vocals clear and crisp.


Edit- About the center channel...i dont have a Blu-Ray but i still order or watch movies from HDcable but i'd rather put that off for now and spend it on a reciever.

 

[jnickrand]

For your budget it'd be very hard to beat what you have proposed. Do some searches for the Insignia bookshelf speakers on this forum, very respectable people like Dennis Murphy give them a thumbs up. They have 6.5" woofers so you'll get good midrange and upper bass extension. The Dayton 120 sub is a good sub for that price range. The other common sub recommendations are:


Velodyne VX10 for about $170

AV-123 xsub for $199 (+ shipping I think)

Bic H-100 for $250 (includes shipping)


I think each sub would provide incrementally better performance, but none will blow the others out of the water. Just my opinion anyways.


edit- yes it'll sound WAY better than a wal-mart HTiB (IMO).

 

[ousooner2]

I want a sub that will rumble and everything....and when it comes to rap, i dont want it to sound like its bottoming out or hollow sounding. Hopefully it wont. I tried a Polk psw-10 today and it didnt sound all to good, didnt get very loud.


Do the Insignia's get a little less muffled as you use them? They sounded a bit muffled when compared with some other bookshelfs but seem to sound clear and toned waaay more! It seemed as it they handled the power better and didnt seem to get to harsh on the highs.

 

[JohnLocke88]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Lebronze /forum/post/14178997


Check out Fry's, they are selling 2 Polk R50's for $119 before shipping


Those will definitely sound alot better than any htib/insignia speaker

Those or the maple Monitor 50s for sale for $80 each, plus shipping (ordering separately for each speaker may reduce shipping costs.

 

[ousooner2]

Yeh but 4 Sigs are the same price if not less, for me, than either of the Polks. I love the floorstanders but i think the sigs will do fine with the sub. Im just wondering if there's a better bookshelf for $70/shipped and under? Prolly not

 

[Raymond Leggs]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ousooner2 /forum/post/14178819


I already have a HTIB with 2 KLH floorstanders and it sucks for music and everything. I think this setup would still be better than many HTIB's.


JohnLocke88- Where did you get the Polks for that cheap? Store or used of someone?

No wonder it sounds bad a Puny DVD-player all in one HTIB receiver Can't drive a pair of floorstanders without clipping even if they are Funky old KLH !

 

[carolinablues]

Dbsw?

 

[JohnLocke88]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Lebronze /forum/post/14178997


Check out Fry's, they are selling 2 Polk R50's for $119 before shipping


Those will definately sound alot better than any htib/insignia speaker

Quote:
Originally Posted by ousooner2 /forum/post/14182436


Yeh but 4 Sigs are the same price if not less, for me, than either of the Polks. I love the floorstanders but i think the sigs will do fine with the sub. Im just wondering if there's a better bookshelf for $70/shipped and under? Prolly not

Well retail? Probably not, but I got my RTi6s at Frys for $99.90 a pair. Just shop around till you drop and you'll find your horizons expand quite a bit.

 

[jnickrand]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ousooner2 /forum/post/14182436


Yeh but 4 Sigs are the same price if not less, for me, than either of the Polks. I love the floorstanders but i think the sigs will do fine with the sub. Im just wondering if there's a better bookshelf for $70/shipped and under? Prolly not

You could try searcing for Polk R150s. I have them and I think they sound pretty damn good. They started at $179 for the pair, then went down to $49 a pair at Fry's, and now they're back up to $179 at Fry's. I think you can find them on Amazon.com for about $80-90 a pair.


The 3 subs I listed above are all probably better than that Polk sub you listened to, with the Bic H-100 probably the best. But as you can see, as you start going for better sounding stuff it's pretty easy to have your budget get blown out of the water.


I've found that sometimes with the lower end gear you might have to EQ to your taste more than some of the higher end stuff. If the insignia's sounded muffled perhaps you'd like their sound a bit more if you boosted the treble 2-4 dB's.

 

[ousooner2]

Dang that pick up for RTI6's at 100/pr was nice! I wish I could come across something like that. Will the Monitor 50's sound better than the sig bookshelfs? Is the TSI better or worse than the Monitor series, what about the RTI series?


Which sub is better...the Bic is a little to much..


Velodyne VX-10c

Dayton Sub-120


Edit- By the way, Since i used to work at BB, i might still be able to pick up Klipsch for the good deals we got. I loved the sound of this setup while playing Transformers! I could get this setup...


F2's - $260/pr

C2 - $100

S2's- $160/pr ( i think i could pick up surrounds for cheaper though!)


So roughly $500 for that setup but you can get this but you could also go with the Athena setup from audioadvisor.com (LS-500 towers, LS-100 rears and forgot what center). But of course, now where at $500 and i dont have a sub or a reciever, whereas for $500 i could get the whole sigs + sub+ reciever setup for around $500. AHHH so many choices, i just dont want to get it wrong ya know!

 

[Lebronze]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ousooner2 /forum/post/14184715


Dang that pick up for RTI6's at 100/pr was nice! I wish I could come across something like that. Will the Monitor 50's sound better than the sig bookshelfs? Is the TSI better or worse than the Monitor series, what about the RTI series?


Which sub is better...the Bic is a little to much..


Velodyne VX-10c

Dayton Sub-120


Edit- By the way, Since i used to work at BB, i might still be able to pick up Klipsch for the good deals we got. I loved the sound of this setup while playing Transformers! I could get this setup...


F2's - $260/pr

C2 - $100

S2's- $160/pr ( i think i could pick up surrounds for cheaper though!)


So roughly $500 for that setup but you can get this but you could also go with the Athena setup from audioadvisor.com (LS-500 towers, LS-100 rears and forgot what center). But of course, now where at $500 and i dont have a sub or a reciever, whereas for $500 i could get the whole sigs + sub+ reciever setup for around $500. AHHH so many choices, i just dont want to get it wrong ya know!

Check this out: http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/p...anding/series/


Also, I would tend to stray away from the lower model klipsch, they are expensive and you cant find a deal like you can on the polk.


If this is for a college room, do you immediately need a subwoofer? when I lived on campus, having a subwoofer was a big no-no.

 

[ousooner2]

Well im a junior so i live in a house. I've just come across a post that says the Insignia's wont do very well for music though. That scares me b/c im looking for something thats about 1/3 Gaming, 1/3 Music, 1/3 Movies.


I have a $100 BB card so thats why i'd like to spend it while i do this...plus i can get real good deals on stuff from working there previously. I might end up getting the Pioneer VSX-818 reciever from there for about $175. When i play 360 i like to play loud, I like to hear everything and feel everything but i know i can do way better than what i have now. The bass really isn't that bad b/c of the 12's in the floorstanders but their underpowered and not that good to start with. Budget is only $550 or so, which sucks, but i dont think i can do much better than this with everything including reciever.

 

[JohnLocke88]

Fry's has periodic "we're crazy" sales on Polk Products; R150s down to 49.99 a pair, Monitor 50s for $160 a pair, most of the old RTi stock got blown out, but they brought back the RTi8 in stock for some advertised specials, but at my local store, they still have a bunch (which means they may end up on the website/in-store clearance-ing them out again.)


In terms of the Polk line up, (high to low) it goes LSi, RTi A, RTi, TSi and Monitor, then the R series.


If you are partial to getting something at best buy, then you have the distinct advantage of being able to demo the speakers before you buy them.


I'd imagine a forum like this is most helpful for when you have to buy something sight-unlistened to.