Video Asylum

Posted by Harmonia (A) on June 21, 2006 at 12:35:55

In Reply to: Home Theater Packages posted by Sabunabu on June 17, 2006 at 07:32:43:

Their speakers are quite a bit worse than many people's. They are to audio what McDonalds is to fine dining.

The problem I see is that there isn't much at Best Buy or anything new in the $500-700 price range for 5.1 that is going to do a good job either. If your local BB has a Magnolia section, that would be the better place to start. The Sonys you selected look cool but don't sound much better than Bose, which is about the sound quality level of a big boombox. I wouldn't be inclined to buy speakers at BB or CC. But then, I care about sound.

Frankly, under 1K you should go used. But I bet you're not comfortable there. If I had limited funds, I would try to build the system gradually, getting better L/R/Cs and add a sub, then later add the surrounds. (In fact, that's what I did myslef, using Nola Minis and a Thunderbolt sub, now I'm looking for the surrounds.) You probably don't want to do that either.

If you must have a new, complete surround system in a box, check out speaker packages from audiophile companies that have the track record in quality - PSB Image series, Energy Take-5 and Encore series, Velodyne, Omni-Stats, Epos, Polk, Gallo, even online marketers Rocket, Onix etc.

Check out recommendations in The Perfect Vision, which has a great staff for reviewing speakers at all price points. Their list may even be on line, but the current issue I think had the speaker ratings. Check it out at B&N or Borders.

Even if you don't play music through your HT system theres