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I feel a little silly asking this, as I have been an audio reviewer for several years now, but I haven't looked into home theater stuff at all. This request is a serious atempt to get opinions.My older brother is remodelling his family room, and when it is done it will be 25 x 23 feet (hardly ideal dimensions). He wants to retire his very old Marantz reciever and Advent speakers to a different room, and set up a 5.1 home theater system in the new room. The difficult part is that it has to be very low price. He and his wife saw a "home theater in a box" system at Best Buy for $400, which I'm sure is pretty bad (no center channel speaker, the salesman told them that 5.1 meant four speakers and a subwoofer).
So here are the strict limitations:
1. Main speakers must be small, and have to go against the wall. Surround speakers will be mounted to the side walls.
2. Powered suboofer included
3. "Home Theater Surround" reciever to handle 5.1 sound
4. Be able to fill a farily large room
5. No used equipmentHe already has a DVD player and the TV, and will budget for a phono preamp for his turntable later.
And the final limitation...$Probably has to be under $700 for everything, including stands (if the speakers don't get mounted to the wall) and cable. Under $600 would be easier to convince them. The contractor doing the remodeling plans to prewire the room using low priced Monster cable.
I know this sounds out of place in this forum, and I'd have a hard time poutting together a nice 2-channel audio system for that price (though it can be done). Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Thanks to anyone who responds.
Steve
Follow Ups:
first of all, i want to apologize for that guy at best buy that told you a 5.1 didnt have a center channel. ive been working at best buy for a long time now and i must say he deserves to be taken out back and shot for being that stupid. he must be new i guess. anyway, the only system that costs 400$ at best buy is a yamaha package. not too bad, but beware that when you buy a yamaha receiver in a package like that the total harmonic distortion (THD) is .7%, ten times greater that the .06% if purchased separately. if you want .7% you might as well buy sony. if i were buying a system for about $800 i would probably go for the new klipsch quintet package (4 speakers w/ mounts and a center) that retails for 399$ at bestbuy. their horn technology is great. yamaha's new downfiring sub would fit into your budget at 150$ (best sub for the money) and thats always something you can upgrade later. add a yamaha receiver at 299-399 for their 5640 (6.1, 75 watts per channel rms with component video but not S video) or 5650 (80 per channel with svideo) models (both support neo6 with this years line too)and youre done. other alternatives would be JBL's sc150 package or wharfedales package that is available at bestbuy.com (both 5 speakers and sub for 399$ ea.)ps. bose speakers are terrible... paper speakers should not cost that much.
OK, here's a completely different thought. Consider an Acoustic Energy Aego 5.1 system - see www.aslgroup.comThis is a 5 channel system complete with speakers, sub, & processor. I have the 2 channel version in my kitchen, and it's great! The satelites are roughly the size/weight of a baseball. (FYI: My other systems include stuff from Linn, Sim audio, Classe, etc., and I generally can't stand sub/sat systems with small speakers).
The Aego 2 was on the cover of Stereophile about 2 years ago, and got a rave review from Michael Fremer (sp? the analog guy). The 5.1 channel version received 5 stars from What-Hi Fi and won their shootout.
I think it's a little over $1000, and I'm not sure if the processor can take additional sources (for a tuner). And I'm not sure how loud it'll go in a room that big, but I seriously doubt anything else in that price range will touch it for music OR movie sound quality.
...Ken
After a long talk with my brother, and having him do some additional research, he has upped his budget for the system to "under $1000" and probably about $700 to $800. Remember this is for a HT reciever and speakers and cables only. He has DVD player, CD player and turntable that he intends to keep. He found a Sony STR-DE 695 HT reciever that he liked, but still wants more advice. At least he recognized for himself that Bose was not so hot! Two of the first three shops he stopped at kept insisted that they were the best!Thanks!
I don't think you can really beat the sound quality and value of the JBL NSP-1 system. I use the N-24's as rear surrounds and have heard the N-26's, and they are quite good *for the money*. The best part is, mounting brackets are integral so no extra $$$ there.Street price including tax (if any) & delivery is around $300-325.
Then for about $150, I would add this Sony sub, well regarded as an excellent value for its price:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3024345779&category=3275
That would leave around $250-300 for a receiver, which should buy a decent unit. Panasonic, Denon, and Yamaha all sell entry-level 5.1 Dolby Digital/DTS models in this price range.
As for cabling, just buy the decent stuff @ Radio Shack or Home Depot, which will be fine for this level of equipment.
Onkyo has a just released 6.1 receiver for about $275 street price.I'd imagine that last years model can be had for $50-$100 less.
Add a Polk RM6000 HT speaker setup for $300 (on sale at Crutchfield and you're in for $575 plus shipping plus stands for the rears if they are not wall mounted.
Alternatively check out the HK online store for deals on HK, JBL and Infinity refurbs.... They also have a complete system (receiver, dvd, speakers) for $288
1. The all-in-one-box system may not be all bad. Last year I set up a Sony system that cost $499 + tax at Costco. It included a Sony DVD player that also plays SACDs (and regular CDs). This was for the livingroom of a beach condo that I am a part owner of. The room was smaller than your friend's room. Mine was about 16 X 14 with one side open to the kitchen/dining area. This system has tiny satellite speakers with a powered subwoofer. A 23 X 25 room probably requires larger speakers, though, for realistic car crashes etc. In a smaller room, this system sounded quite good. This option does free up his current dvd player for another room.2. For better speakers, look at the Radio Shack ones with the Lineaum tweeter. Now they are labelled RCA, previously Optimus. I use a pair for video now. I bought the cheaper ones with a unidirectional tweeter instead of the usual dipolar pattern because RatShack had them sitting on the checkout counter for $19 each. The dipole versions retail for $150, but are almost always on sale. I think June is the best sale month. Expect to pay between $49 and $75 each. I hated these in my music system as they sounded shrill. Hooked up to my TV they sound great; the forward high end sharpens up dialog so that my 47 year old ears can make it out at normal listening volumes. 3 X 75 = $225. In my opinion, much good money is wasted on rear speakers. They don't need to be A/V shielded so you can use any smaller speakers lying around. Even mediocre car speakers may be overkill. A pair of nice 6 X 9 speakers is about $50 on sale. Cut out some 1/4" plywood baffles, make a pair 6 X 9 holes in the sheetrock, and mount them covered in decorator fabric (high WAF). A decent surround sound A/V receiver can be had for $250 or so, less if you can tolerate refurbs from www.ubid.com. If you find several choices, I would study the remotes and see which are laid out more logically. Also pick up the receivers and give extra points for the heavier units, usually means the better power supply. The common name brands, Sony, Pioneer, Yamaha, HK, Denon sound similar enough most people can't tell them apart. (Flame bait) Sherwood makes nice ones too. There are multiple choices for powered subwoofers. They start around $100. For a larger room, two would be better, but we are getting close to the budget limit. Parts Express sells a nice kit for $349 or so when your friend has more money to spend. 225 + 50 + 250 + 200 = $725 (for 2 subwoofers)
3. Whatever you choose, how much care you spend setting it up determines how well it will sound. As a reviewer you probably have access to a Radio Shack SPL meter and a home theater set-up DVD. I bought a Discwasher setup DVD from Parts Express for $9. They also have inexpensive speaker stands if you need them for $29/pair. These are OK for smaller speakers, if my Optimus 12s were any larger, I don't think they would fit. Find time for you and your friend to spend about 3 hours with no one else home so you can try out various speaker locations and louder than usual volumes.
rtbarr
I'd suggest visiting audiogon for better quality but used equip. You can easily get items at 50% off retail so the 600 dollar budget will get much more for the money. It takes a bit more time and effort, but it'll provide much more value that a Best Buy theater in a crock approach.Look for older models such as the Kenwood Stage 3 (doesn't have dts but does have DD) that can be had for a song or perhaps a more recent model (say, last year's) of Denon receiver. Put these with a modest set of speakers (e.g., Atlantis) and some basic speaker wire and you are set. AND, this system won't sound as if it is all from the same large cardboard box.
As a reviewer, you should know about buying from the used market and so it would take some of the mystery out of it for your brother. Believe me, my brother did the circuit city bose in a box approach with Sony receiver (because his tv is sony and he only wanted 1 remote...really, this was his logic) and it sounds like it -- very disappointing considering he paid retail and did not get value for money.
good luck.
If it was for me, then both a higher budget and the possibility of used would be in the mix. But this is for my brother's family. Used is not a choice. They are neiither audiophiles nor videophiles. They simply was a "home theater" system. My first recommendation was to go 2-channel, as I know I cna put a decent system together within their budget. But they want 5.1 surround.I will probably try to increase their budget slightly and go for something like a Polk speaker system with a Denon receiver, but even that will be a stretch.
Otherwise, thanks for the response.
You might have him look at close-outs from outfits such as Audio Advisor as an alternative possibility. Not used but still highly reduced and better than paying full retail for a new model (but still good equip that comes with factory warranty). I picked up a Kenwood System 3 DD receiver/amp for about $300 this way for a spare bedroom system -- not bad, came with a nifty rf-based remote/touchscreen, and it retailed at $3,000 when it first came out.Anyway, Audio Advisor (and others) often have a special of the month closeout that might also give some value for the money and avoid the worry of used equip.
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