Okay, so the occasion has come to upgrade to a "real" home audio setup. I've been running off of this: Philips HTS3565D/37 HTIB for a year or so, couldn't pass it up for $40 shipped from Philips. It's been great, but we are preparing for a giant Halloween party for 200+ people, and have already hired a DJ for the event.

So it's the perfect excuse to upgrade to something (a little more) legitimate.

The space: The living room is 23ft by 42ft with 12ft ceilings. The entertainment center is setup in the front right corner.

My budget is $750 or less for a complete 5.1+ setup. I'm completely fine with separate components, but currently leaning toward the Onkyo HT-S6200 or HT-S7200 systems because of the package savings, and very good overall reviews.

We have a PS3 (HDMI), Xbox 360 (Component), and HTPC (HDMI) going to a soon-to-be-replaced 46" Samsung LCD (2xHDMI, 3xComponent).

Help me spend needless money tdub

10/12/2009 3:10:49 PM

Onkyo makes good receivers. I just set up an Onkyo 3200 system with an HTPC for a friend of mine. The only issues we ran into was the lower end receivers don't do HDMI audio and i'd also look into zone B/speakers B options. We noticed our speaker B's only have the ability to output analog audio so no sound from anything digital (aka htpc he has). You should be fine with the higher end 6200 or 7200 systems.

Quote :

"The space: The living room is 23ft by 42ft with 12ft ceilings. The entertainment center is setup in the front right corner. "

Damn that's a big living room. You should have plenty of room to correctly set up the surround sound. The Onkyos allow you to individually tune each speaker in relation to where it is in the room.

10/12/2009 3:33:23 PM

i love my Onkyo receiver & Yamaha speakers. I personally would recommend not getting the HTIB if you can, but totally understand the price factor.

Here's my setup and quick scan of current prices:
TX-SR606 - $350
YAMAHA SW315 10" 250W Powered Subwoofer $200
YAMAHA NS777 for the Front $225x2
Yamaha NS-333 2-Way Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speaker (Pair) $145
Yamaha NS-C444 2-Way Center Channel Speaker $110

For a current total of roughly $1225. Out of your budget I know, but wanted to share my system because I LOVE it.

10/12/2009 3:58:06 PM

I would set aside 3-400 for the receiver. a good receiver will have a good (pre)amp, quality component switching, and adequate inputs. speakers will be the real future upgrades with such a small budget.

that said, I've really enjoyed my cadence speakers that I got from ubid. I paid something like $400 for 4 floor standing speakers shipped. 400-800w RMS, built in 8" subs with seperate but bridgeable inputs, titanium cone tweeters and kevlar mids. they match up real well with my polk cs12 center channel (though the polk is a bit brighter, but ok for dialog).

for music your stuff is only gonna be 2 channels so you only need 2 good speakers for now and can reuse the crappy ones you have for the satellites. I also built my own sub. an inbox amp was ~$99 and a car sub was ~$50, the rest was MDF, screws, pvc, and time.

you make real money now, drop at least 1000. it's not worth it to deal hunt for used stuff to piece together or deal with a subpar setup when the difference is like a day or 2 at work.

[Edited on October 12, 2009 at 4:02 PM. Reason : I'd def go with a denon receiver]

10/12/2009 4:00:44 PM

^ and ^^

$750 is absurdly more than I even want to spend. I'm not an audiophile at all, and honestly don't even appreciate the difference (I've installed and worked with 10k+ setups that I saw no difference in from a 1k HTIB).

And making my own sub/speakers is definitely out of the question. Don't have the time or motivation to do it.

That is a good point about the stereo audio though. Would it be worth getting say the S6200, and then using the ~$250 difference from the S7200 to get two good front speakers?

10/12/2009 4:14:58 PM

Thoughts on Polk Audio Monitor 70's (floorstanding)

a Polk Audio PSW505 12" subwoofer (300w continuous, 460 dynamic, 23Hz-160Hz) front firing

Hooked to a Sony STR-DH700, and reusing my shitty surround speakers.

Total would come to ~$750.00 for the set.

10/12/2009 10:50:44 PM

some guy on cl had a denon avr987 for 400neg. which i is wayyyyy less than i'd ever take for mine. i would offer him 325 cash and spend remaining the 400 on some speakers. the onkyo htib systems are great but you'd get much better results piecing something together.

10/13/2009 1:22:01 AM

^^ Is that with the newegg deal? They're usually about $400/ea. speaker.

Surround sound is mostly just effects. so if you can use your current speakers as rears, that will allow you to put more money toward better fronts. It's ideal to have matching fronts and a center, but rears aren't a huge deal if they don't match.

This is a little more than your $750, but it's a good speaker system for the price. Check out this NHT Verve system. My dad has it, it sounds pretty good. Don't know if you live in this area, but there is a dealer in Cary that has them. You could go listen to them there. It's in the shopping center where the Outback is, near trader joe's. You could always buy the front speakers and sub and maybe get the rears later if you wanted them.

http://nhthifi.com/current/index1.html

check out Axiom Audio and Aperion. Both offer in-home trials of 30-60 days. and aperion pays shipping both ways if you don't like them. They should both have bookshelf speakers in your range. Towers would be out though. They both have great reviews on all of their stuff.

http://www.axiomaudio.com
http://www.aperionaudio.com/home.aspx

you could also check out av123.com (onyx). Last i read though they were a little behind on orders on some stuff. and they're probably out of that price range iirc.



Keep in mind that you have a fairly large room. I think most of these smaller systems would do what you're looking for since you don't seem audiophile-ish. My dad's room with the verve system isn't quite as big as yours. It has 10' ceilings and is smaller, but only has a 3' high wall separating the room they're in and the kitchen. And those speakers have no trouble filling the space, and the entire house really.

[Edited on October 13, 2009 at 2:15 AM. Reason : .]

10/13/2009 2:11:38 AM

^^ive just started scouring craigslist, ill definitely bite on a good receiver if something comes along soon.

^the Polk Monitor speakers have 4 drivers (2 woofers, two midrange) and a tweeter and are rated to 250w each. I think that, with a big front firing sub should be able to fill the space decently

10/13/2009 2:34:10 AM

yep, I agree that they would. Did it seem like I didn't? Oh, when I said "smaller systems" I was referring to those that I was talking about, not the polks. Meaning that even though they're not towers, they should fill the room pretty well.


But don't get tricked into thinking that more drivers = more or better sound. That's just not the case. And keep in mind that good bookshelf speakers sound just as good as lower-end towers. And they can be put on stands, on the wall, or a shelf. Towers have to go on the floor.

[Edited on October 13, 2009 at 11:33 AM. Reason : .]

10/13/2009 11:07:59 AM

I bought the onkyo HT-RC160 shortly after it came out for $370 (amazon has it for 350 now) and also a set of polk rm6750 speakers for $219 (amazon has them for $210 now). The HT-RC160 is comparable to the SR-607 (which newegg has for $399 now). For right at $600 I have been really pleased with this system. My kitchen, living room, and dining room are all open and layed out in an L shape with the living room being in the corner. The L is about 35x35' and 15-20' wide and 10 ft ceilings. During normal operation I don't have problems being in the kitchen or dining room and hearing the sound (subtle nuances, bass, treble).

With those speakers there is a little gap in the midrange bass so the sub gets pushed a little harder than it probably should, but I bought them knowing I could add a couple floorstanding speakers and go to a 7.1 setup in the future (newegg has the monitor 60's for $119 now, tempting). But yeah, if I were you I spend the money on the floorstanding speakers/receiver/sub and reuse the surround speakers knowing you can always upgrade them in the future if you want.

Also I've heard as a general rule (not sure how true it is though), an awesome receiver with mediocre speakers will sound better than a mediocre receiver with awesome speakers. Both the onkyo receivers I mentioned can handle Dolby TrueHD while the sony you mention cannot (I guess it depends on your usage here. If you have blu-ray I imagine TrueHD is something you might be interested in). Cnet reviews are pretty good at pointing out the pros/cons of just about every receiver out there.

[Edited on October 13, 2009 at 11:20 AM. Reason : ]

10/13/2009 11:11:50 AM

Fry's (which may be local to you) in the past has had really, really good deals on Polk speakers. You might want to check their ads.

10/13/2009 11:41:17 AM

So I'm looking at these three things for a setup. Thoughts/comments on the items?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120133
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882269004
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290034

11/16/2009 7:14:04 PM

^ Fairly good receiver, but NO reason to buy it if you're going with those kiddy speakers+sub.

11/17/2009 2:53:28 PM

^Well my goal here is too buy some speakers that are serviceable for a couple years, then upgrade when I have a bit more money

11/17/2009 6:31:58 PM

imo there's nothin wrong with those energy speakers esp if you want some thing small and affordable. fyi energy has the same build house as klipsch and mirage.

11/19/2009 1:55:03 AM

Quote :

"http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120133"

I bought this same receiver 3 months ago, and I'm really liking it a lot.

11/19/2009 5:09:25 AM

pretty good deal on some polk floor speakers, rated up to 200W:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290017

11/20/2009 12:53:24 PM

Any local place where I can get a spool of speaker wire? Looks like monoprice is having some delays

11/26/2009 3:34:05 PM

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/MARSR4003/Marantz/Sr4003-Dolby-Digital-Ex/dts-Es-Surround-Receiver-/1.html

pretty tempting. I've bought refurbed Marantz from these guys before and the transaction and item was flawless. I'll buy from them again for sure.

11/28/2009 4:35:29 PM

I'd rather have http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKHTRC160A/Onkyo/Ht-rc160-7.2-channel-Home-Theater-Receiver-Like-Tx-sr607/1.html

-Same Price
-Not Refurbished
-2 More HDMI ports
-1080i HDMI up-conversion on all non HDMI inputs

or for $30 more you could go with the refurb'd 607 which has a total of 6 HDMI ports 90W/C and is Sirius ready.

11/29/2009 7:50:18 AM

^I ended up getting a pretty good deal on the 607 from amazon. $350 for the receiver (new) and got the ipod dock for free which I will probably try and sell.

11/29/2009 4:16:47 PM

Is there any difference between these three spools of speaker wire?
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102569
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023903&p_id=2749&seq=1&format=2
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?recordId=3615&List=List&storeZip=27518&state_1=&langId=-1&store=&storeCity=Cary&rough=Value&productId=100567042&jspStoreDir=hdus&errorViewName=StoreFinderView&city=&storeState=NC&catalogId=10053&catalogId=10053&zip=27606&storeId=10051&distance_1=50

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 5:04 PM. Reason : added third option]

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 5:04 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2009 4:53:08 PM

One of them is a 100 ft spool. I would get the cheapest one, which is monoprice.

11/29/2009 5:52:59 PM

^Yea, I went and measured and I think I am going to end up needing about 65 feet unfortunately, so I would have to get a 100 ft spool of either of the first two.

11/29/2009 6:32:44 PM

Try to avoid Yamaha speakers, and Polk subwoofers are just meh...

You really have too big of a room for your budget, will you be isolating the HT in part of the room? If you spread it all out then its not worth upgrading.

I would take a look at Energy speakers, they make pretty solid neutral sounding speakers, and they have some affordable options. Taking the budget lower, TheSpeakerCompany makes decent low cost speakers. One thing I need to know if if this system will be used mainly for movies or music, a ratio would be good. Also, what kind of flooring/wall/windows & doors/neighbors do you have?

Those Polk speakers offer good value for the price, but are bright speakers, meaning they are more harsh in the higher frequencies. Some people prefer this, others find it irritating and even fatiguing.

I will lay out some options for you;

Energy Take Classic 5.0 Speaker Package
Elemental Designs A2-300 Subwoofer
Onkyo TX-SR506 7.1 Channel Home Theatre Receiver
Cables from http://www.monoprice.com

Jamo E 660 Speaker Package (http://www.wwstereo.com/website/ecommerce/productdetail.aspx?product=E6605.0)
Jamo Sub 300 Subwoofer
Onkyo TX-SR506 7.1 Channel Home Theatre Receiver
Cables from http://www.monoprice.com
[This will be a little over the $750 budget, but if you want floorstanders, is the way to go]

I wouldn't bother reusing HTIB speakers, as they are crap, but you can always drop down to 2 front towers, and pick up a couple bookshelves for the surrounds, as timbre matching is not important for surround speakers.

TheSpeakerCompany TSBLA-HT Speaker Package
Onkyo TX-SR506 7.1 Channel Home Theatre Receiver
Cables from http://www.monoprice.com

All of these are pretty solid choices, the best quality speakers will be the Energy, but the budget Jamo and TSC speakers offer good value. The eD sub paired with the Energy speakers is a monster, and will blow away the other options, it is the best in its price range (~$350). If you are in to movies more, go with the first option. I would say the second option for music, as the towers will offer greater mid-range bass and have larger ranges than bookshelves. The last option is really beat on all counts by the first.

Stick with that Onkyo, it has everything you will need, and is a little cheaper because its last year's model.

Monoprice sells wires and connectors for CHEAP, definitely buy from them.

11/30/2009 9:51:20 AM

Quote :

"Onkyo TX-SR506 7.1 Channel Home Theatre Receiver"

Why in God's name would you ever recommend a 2 year old receiver with HDMI passthrough when you can get the 6 month old replacement for only a few bucks more?

11/30/2009 11:17:20 AM

Or try $100 more...?

11/30/2009 1:41:07 PM

I was looking at home theatre systems and decided (after hearing) that I like this one the best for the price.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+BRAVIA+1000W+5.1-Ch.+Home+Theater+System+with+Blu-ray+Disc+Player/9395683.p?id=1218098557911&skuId=9395683&st=bdve500w&cp=1&lp=1

The model number is BDV-E500W.

My question is we have a PS3, 360 and obviously cable which is hooked to the tv using component cables and I was wondering if there would be any problem hooking these up to the home theatre system since it technically does not a receiver. More like a blu ray player with a receiver built in. On the specs it says it has a component and a hdmi output.

11/30/2009 10:02:33 PM

the best buy price is ridiculous

literally 5 seconds of googling and i found one for 479

11/30/2009 10:07:20 PM

Quote :

"there is no way that BB has the best price on this..."

11/30/2009 10:10:48 PM

not buying it from best buy guys......just showing you the link with the specs. Anybody have a answer about me hooking stuff up to it though?

11/30/2009 10:14:10 PM

Quote :

"Or try $100 more...?"

Best price I saw on the 506 was $300. You can pick up a 607 for $330. Or the rc160 I linked to up a few posts comes in at the same $300. And it's better in every way than the 506.

HDMI passthrough is a joke. They might as well not bother to include HDMI ports at that point. It's WELL worth paying a premium of $100 (not that you have to, mind you) to get real HDMI switching.

Sometimes recommending buying last years model isn't horrible advice. This is not one of those times.

11/30/2009 10:54:24 PM

I'm currently using an Onkyo SR606 and am fairly pleased. However, I can almost swear that the latest Star Trek blu ray has the audio lagging by half a second. I can't catch it, and I usually forget about it after the first ten minutes, but I almost swear its there.

I just ordered these puppies:

Polk Monitor 50 floorstanding
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290013

Like Stein stated earlier, Fry's runs pretty good deals on Polks such as this one:

Polk Rti8 Floorstanding
http://www.frys.com/product/3753286?site=sa:Homepage%20Podod1

and if you dig you can find:

INFINITY PRIMUS-P362BK
http://www.frys.com/product/5223687?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

which is a steal provided you can pick them up.

12/1/2009 2:16:34 AM

Amazon has the 506 for $220, 507/606 for about $320,

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR506-Channel-Theater-Receiver/dp/B0015M4G5C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1259675067&sr=8-1

I mean I completely agree that the 607 would be a great choice, but he doesnt have the budget for it.

Please OP if you care about yourself, don't buy a HTIB.

That Energy + eD sub package I linked would be great, and an incredible step up.

12/1/2009 8:47:10 AM

Ive been following this thread since I am a home theater n00b and saw the ONKYO HT-RC160 on sale at NewEgg for $317.99 with free shipping with the code EMCMNLP69.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120146&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL120309&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL120309-_-Receivers-_-LE4B-_-82120146

12/3/2009 9:30:15 AM

^ Definitely a great buy, its virtually identical to the Onkyo SR607. Also guys, Newegg is having a 72-hour special on the Energy Take 5 Speaker System, now only $129!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882269004&Tpk=energy%20take%205

Coupon code is in their newsletter

12/3/2009 9:45:27 AM

^^I posted a link to that same receiver 3-4 days ago. It's only $299 from accessories4less.com. Not quite the same name recognition as newegg, but I've ordered 2-3 things from them and never had any problems.

12/3/2009 12:19:54 PM

best way to bring rear speaker wires up from my crawl space through hardwoods? I need to mount my rears in the corner of hardwood flooring and need a good solution. maybe going through the quarter round?

1/24/2010 11:28:09 PM

FYI, I went with the Onkyo HT-S5200 7.1 system. $399 with free shipping. Apparently still about as good a price as you can get on it.

It is perfect for our space. Fills the room with crisp sound, the powered subwoofer makes a tremendous difference. The only less-than-perfect thing is only HDMI passthrough, but that has been largely a non-issue. Only the x360 doesn't have HDMI output, but everything else is autoswitched through the receiver. Highly recommended as a budget system.

1/25/2010 12:16:41 AM

so do you end up with HDMI and optical audio running to the reciever?

[Edited on January 25, 2010 at 1:17 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on January 25, 2010 at 1:18 AM. Reason : .]

1/25/2010 12:56:52 AM

HaLo - if possible, i'd run the wires up and out of the bottom of the wall. That will be easy to patch. Quarter-round can be filled and painted over, so not bad either if you can line it up. Just watch for tear-out on the quarter-round if you drill from below. May be best to use a small bit from below (to spot it), then drill down with the size you actually need.

And fyi, my parents just went through their hardwood right on the edge for their sub (everything else is mounted on the walls). I've seen the floor with everything moved out; you can't notice the hole at all.

1/25/2010 11:10:23 AM

I am very interested in this package for $550:

http://amzn.to/91ulyF

Denon AVR1610 + Klipsch HD-500

Newegg has a similar deal, except it's the Onkyo TX-SR308 instead of the denon for the same price.


1) Is this as good of a deal as it looks to me? If not, what can I get that's as good or better for the pricepoint or lower?

2) Assuming it is, then Which receiver is better? Years ago, I had an Onkyo receiver that I loved dearly. I know Denon makes good shit as well.

Spec wise they look about equal, although the Denon has 10W more per channel.

4/15/2010 11:03:46 AM

The Denon is better. The Klipsch speaker package is decent. It should be nice for a small room.

4/15/2010 11:23:39 AM

an 8" sub will be underpowered for a medium to large room and the speakers are geared to a small to medium room. Should be fine if the room isnt big. Big/medium/small are all subjective of course.

4/15/2010 11:56:08 AM

Quote :

"The Onkyos allow you to individually tune each speaker in relation to where it is in the room."

so does about any receiver from 1999 onward

4/15/2010 11:58:17 AM

What do you guys do for echo cancelation? I have a pretty big room (its 2 stories tall) and the echo is kind of a drag. I've been holding off on putting anything on the walls until i figure out what would work the best. Its kind of annoying and i dont want to spend anything on decent audio equipment until im sure i can fix it.

4/15/2010 12:40:44 PM

you have to use some sort of sound dampening, it can be thicker curtains, rugs on hard wood floors, strategically placed dampening tools.

basically anything that absorbs sound, not echos. Balance that in the room until it sounds correct to your ears.

4/15/2010 1:55:21 PM

thread is full of lolz

4/15/2010 11:21:58 PM

polk floorstanding speakers are able to be had for excellent deals on newegg off and on. I got my gf a set of R60s for the front for 120/each and R50s for the back for 89/each. a nice CS2 for the front was 89 as well. They're not the best by any means, but excellent for the money and a space as big as hers. sub and receiver were sourced on craigslist

4/15/2010 11:35:04 PM