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New member Username: IgalnassiPost Number: 1 Registered: Jul-06 | Hi there, First off, thanks a lot to all of you out there who lend a helping hand to beginners like me. I have a Sony WEGA and I am looking to buy a 5.1 system. I am very much into music, so I am looking for a system that can provide a good sound for music. I checked out some out of the box systems and the only thing that came close to my liking was the Bose. I have read so many bad reviews about it. People have been telling me that, to get good sound, I need to get the reciever and the speakers seperately. I have very little experience with matching a speaker set with a reciever. My only requirement is that I want the speakers to be small or slim tower type of ones. My budget is around $750. Can someone please suggest a system that sounds good? Again, thank you very much for the suggestions. |
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Bronze Member Username: EtaniyaniLos Angeles, California Post Number: 15 Registered: Jul-06 | If you want good sound for your money, try paradigm. Look into the mini monitors or the monitor 3's. It might exceed your budget a little but definately worth the money. Check out there website as they have a wide range of speakers and prices. The cinema line might be a better fit for your budget. Here's the website, check out there recommended sytems and it will show some prices, but you'll probably be able to get a better deal at some store. Go listen to them and see if you like the sound which i bet you will. Goodluck, and have fun. http://www.paradigm.com/Website/News/Downloads/Downloads.html |
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New member Username: CompumastaPost Number: 8 Registered: Apr-06 | I have heard nothing but good things from paradigm and they are recommended a lot on these forums. Other than that i can only recommend going to your local electronics store and finding a system that sounds good to you. Remember that in general, pay more for your speakers than your reciever because speaker technology changes less often than reciever tech. |
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Bronze Member Username: PolksavagePost Number: 29 Registered: Jun-06 | Mission speaker company out of the uk has a system you can get thats 5.1 for about $500 which sounds amazing. you just need to find a half decent amp for around 3-400 bucks and your rockin |
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Silver Member Username: PraetorianCanada Post Number: 242 Registered: Dec-05 | If I read you correctly, you liked the Bose... now it may not be my cup of tea, but so what? If you liked it, why does it matter what others think? |
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Bronze Member Username: PolksavagePost Number: 45 Registered: Jun-06 | bose are pooh and way overpriced |
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Silver Member Username: PraetorianCanada Post Number: 246 Registered: Dec-05 | Not the point Jim. Igal wrote: "the only thing that came close to my liking was the Bose". He immediately follows up with all the bad reviews Bose gets. In other words, it sounds to me that despite liking the sound the Bose, he let what other people think about them weigh more importantly than his personal taste. Not the best way to shop for audio eqpt im (not so) ho. Cheers! |
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New member Username: Scot_mPost Number: 3 Registered: Jun-06 | Igal - I'm a beginner like you and I recently purchased a Bose acoustimass 16 and set it up in my home for a test run. I really wanted to like the Bose, because my wife and I like the way it looks. I still think it could be the right thing for a lot of people. However, for the past few weeks I have been shopping around (and around and around and around) for something that sounds better than Bose and still fairly small in size. With my wife present, we listened to a Paradigm Cinema 110 ($900 for the package) system yesterday. The speakers are bigger, but still small enough for the wife and sound a lot better than the Bose. I also listened to the Cinema 70 and Cinema 90 speakers, but I was less impressed. Anyway, we are returning the Bose and getting the Paradigm 110s (maybe even 220s). Like I said, we really wanted to like the Bose enough to keep it. The things that bother ME the most about the Bose, that the Paradigms will fix, are... -The auto speaker setup mic on my Onkyo703 receiver doesn't work correctly with the Bose speakers. Every time it finishes, all the rear speakers are shut off. I have to manually adjust them. It just makes me wonder what other problems I'll come across. -Even my wife admits how flat the Bose sound when watching a movie or TV without any action happening. If the bass module isn't doing something, the sound is not very good. This is what I've heard so many people say about the Bose; that it lacks in the mid and low range. I had to prove this for myself and found it to be true. -I can't ever add another speaker without doing some kind of band-aid / work-around approach. The Bose satellite speakers all plug into the bass module and it doesn't provide any extra hookups for expansion. -The bass from the bass module is pretty good on the acoustimass 16. My wife is certainly happy with the bass. It doesn't do the job for me though. I need a sub that really lets me "feel" the movie or song. I know that's a personal taste thing though. So that's my 2 cents. Go take a listen. For $900, I think you'll be a lot more impressed with the Paradigm Cinema 110 system than Bose. Good luck! |
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New member Username: IgalnassiPost Number: 2 Registered: Jul-06 | Michael: I listened to the Bose along with some out of the box systems and bose performed better. Except it only has 2 speakers for the price of twice my budget. If I am spending that much money, I would like it to be at least 5.1. Out of the box systems for me was out of the equation, because of their poor performance. Scot: Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences with us. I will certainly check the Paradigm Cinema series. I have looked at Onkyo recievers online. How expensive do you think the receiver should be? I am sort of leaning towards Yamaha or Onkyo. Any models anyone had good/bad experiences with? I really appreciate all the help you guys are offering. Great stuff! Thanks! |
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New member Username: Scot_mPost Number: 4 Registered: Jun-06 | After much deliberation, I got the Onkyo 703. I decided that for the money, Onkyo gives the most bang for the buck - I could be wrong. I wanted the Onkyo 603,703,803 or 901. I went with the 703 for various reasons. I got it for $599 at circuitcity.com (discount + $100 mail in rebate, picked it up same day at my local store). I could have gotten the 603 for around $395 on sale and it would have done the job fine I think. 703 vs. 603... -The 703 gives you 10 more watts per channel. -703 has on screen setup. That was huge to me and I don't think the 603 has it. -703 has auto speaker setup with a microphone. -703 is THX certified. -703 has a great universal/backlit remote. -Was worth spending $200 more to me than the 603. The 803 ($849 on sale) gives you 5 more watts per channel than the 703 and has HDMI version 1.1. For that, I would have had to pay $250 more than the 703. Also (this could be bad information) a salesmen told me that the HDMI version 1.1 is on its way out and that spending money on a receiver with that HDMI version would be a waist of money. I also could have gotten the Onkyo 901 ($699 on sale). It has 10 more watts per channel more than the 703 and has HDMI version 1.1. But a salesman made a convincing case to me that since the 901 is 2 generations behind the others (603,703,803), that I shouldn't get it. Of the four receivers, he was actually partial to the 703. He felt that it sounded the "cleanest" of them all. But his point was that since the internal components/electronics get better and better each year, getting a two generations old receiver would not be the best. So while it seemed like I was getting more for my money with the 901 - apparently you get what you pay for. Hope this helped |
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Bronze Member Username: PolksavagePost Number: 49 Registered: Jun-06 | http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=42 http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/544799416 Igal try these sites http://www.crutchfield.com/S-v1clC3X1jpM/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=107rm6750b http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=691 these are very good, strong sounding systems from 4 of the best companys in the speaker business. I've heard all but the paradigm system. All you need from their is to choose the proper receiver for your budget. I've found I liked the Yamaha lines the best so far. You can pic up a nice htr-5850 receiver for very cheap right (last years model) now and It has every option you need for these systems Good Luck |