Advice for beginner, Surround System under $800

dannyj Unregistered guest	Posted on Sunday, August 21, 2005 - 19:54 GMT I am definately a rookie when it comes to speakers and need a little help.I am college student a budget looking for a good surround sound system to match with my harmon karden avr 335 for around $800 give or take some.I would be using these for mainly watching movies.Not the largest room so quality more than loudness is what I think i'm looking for. Any suggestions would be appreicated thanks.
Edster922 Gold Member Username: Edster922 Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 1603 Registered: Mar-05	Posted on Sunday, August 21, 2005 - 20:26 GMT an HK 335, eh? I'd say you're doing pretty well for a "rookie." ==== http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/ Hsu STF-1, $300 or Hsu STF-2, $400 http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/mfglisting.asp?hdnMfg=Athena+Technologies&MFGI D=218 Athena AS-B2s, 1 pair: $150/pair Athena AS-C1 center: $100 Athena AS-B1s (surrounds): $100/pair or (for maximum music enjoyment), you could do this: - www.ascendacoustics.com 3 CBM-170s (L/C/R), $500 shipped - www.partsexpress.com Dayton 12" sub, $150 shipped - audioadvisor.com 2 Athena AS-B1s (surrounds), $100 The first setup with the Hsu subwoofer will give you great bass performance, the second will sacrifice some musical-bass performance with the cheaper Dayton sub but provide for a better front end (l/c/r) for music and dialogue.
Andy Summers Silver Member Username: Thx_3417 Post Number: 875 Registered: May-05	Posted on Sunday, August 21, 2005 - 20:29 GMT Dannyj JBL control 5 are the best for a small room and you may have little left over for a sub bass unit, well maybe. http://www.djmart.com/jblco5175wat.html http://www.fullcompass.com/Products/pages/SKU--11608/ JBL control 5 http://www.jblpro.com/pub/install/control/ctrl5.pdf I also use JBL control 5, for the past 16 years now, and there a fine book shelf loudspeaker, at the present moment I'm leistering to "John Williams" score for "War of the Worlds" and with a JBL 4645 THX cinema professional sub bass to give lots of slam kick rumble and deep depths of low end when its present on the mix, and the "War of the Worlds" has a lot of precision in it, so there.
Dakulis Silver Member Username: Dakulis Spokane, Washington United States Post Number: 419 Registered: May-05	Posted on Monday, August 22, 2005 - 03:55 GMT I'd go this route as recommended somewhat by Edster. Hsu STF-2, $400 - www.ascendacoustics.com 3 CBM-170s (L/C/R), $500 shipped It puts you a little outside your budget but it's the beginning of a great system and you can upgrade to other Ascend speakers to you can timbre match when you get the additional bucks. I've got 4 CBM 170s, a 170C center and an M&K sub, (similar to the Hsu) in a fairly large room and you'll hear sounds you've never heard before. Good luck.
budget minded Silver Member Username: Cheapskate Post Number: 254 Registered: Mar-04	Posted on Monday, August 22, 2005 - 11:54 GMT for $800 you could get for decent full range speakers that sell for $400 a pair or so and skip the subwoofer. eg. Paradigm Esprit v.3 $400 floor stander RAVE review http://www.goodsound.com/equipment/paradigm_esprit_v3.htm or you could go with the $330 pair epos els-3 that stereophile gave a full class-c rating over speakers 3 times their price and get a cheap subwoofer. you can get a REALLY nice sub cheaply if you don't mind a little bit of DIY work. after i glued an extra layer of 3/4" MDF into the sub box i bought, i have a better cabinet than subs that sell for $500 or more, and for less than $200 in parts. a little more if i would have got an amp for it.
Marc Sherman Bronze Member Username: Rysa4 Post Number: 15 Registered: Jul-05	Posted on Monday, August 22, 2005 - 12:34 GMT Dakulis is on the money here. A sub is very important in an HT set up and by getting three Ascends up front you timbre match as well as have decent quality in a set up where bass extension below 60hz at an 80 hz crossover is meaningless for your mains.
Monologue Bronze Member Username: Monolgoue Post Number: 81 Registered: Feb-04	Posted on Monday, August 22, 2005 - 13:10 GMT Orb Audio (http://www.orbaudio.com). You can start w/ the system w/ the Mod2 center that is $834 (including sub) and upgrade the other speakers over time if necessary (the Orbs are upgradeable and modular). I really like the direct business model speaker companies, you save a lot of $$ and it makes a huge difference in the $800 price range. Not wasting 1/2 your money on markups is critical...
budget minded Silver Member Username: Cheapskate Post Number: 265 Registered: Mar-04	Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - 11:14 GMT hmmm... i don't agree. i have a home theater system AND a sub, and i don't like it. the sub puts too much deep bass out to be useable in my APARTMENT without having neighbors pounding on my walls. even WITHOUT neighbors, i always wanted an 8" sub and NOT the 12" that i bought only because that was the smallest sized cabinet that i could buy at the time. as it stands... my sub is barely contributing to my system because it puts more infrasonics out than audible bass. i have to keep it turned down to the point where it's barely audible as i don't know where to find a "bass rolloff eq". i have no use for frequencies below 40Hz. i don't have any use for infrasonics at all. i'm a bass hater.
Charles Herbert Bronze Member Username: Dodgedifferent2 Sarnia, Ontario Canada Post Number: 62 Registered: May-05	Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 03:09 GMT www.fluance.com i love mine and the price is fairly decent
budget minded Silver Member Username: Cheapskate Post Number: 278 Registered: Mar-04	Posted on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 07:14 GMT EVERTHING in audio is debateable. most people DO like subs, but some of us are bass haters. when it comes to bass, i only want to hear it, not feel it.

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