Foxy

Hey everyone, Im looking to build a decent 5.1 sound system for my 14' x 14' dorm room The general consensus is that HTiB is not the way to go so Im trying to avoid that. My current budget is about $1,000 not including the cabling.

For a sub I've heard lots of rave reviews about SVS, and quite frankly Im a big sub guy So Im hoping I get one those but from what I've been able to find they all seem to blow my budget Are there any other decent 'cheap'ish subs?

Since I only have a budget of about 1,000 I was thinking of a breakdown something like this:
Sub - $300-400
Reciever - $300-400
Speakers - $200-400

As for recievers I've heard a lot of good things about Denon, but also about Onkyo. For my budget, is there a general consensus as to which company makes the better reciever?

Finally, for speakers Im a little lost. I would like to go into Best Buy and ask to listen to some speakers but would like to go in with a little knowledge as to which brands I should be looking at for my price range. Although I very much doubt BB would try to swindle me, I want to at least look somewhat knowledgable

Thanks for any suggestions or advice!

bluray

The problem with listening to speakers at Big Box stores such as BB, CC, etc... is the environment you are listening to them in. You don't really get a good representation of what they actually sound like in a setting similar to your own.

What I have done in the not so distant past is go to actual audio shops (if there are any near you) and listened to things, then gotten them much cheaper online at places like AC4L and others. As an example, my most recent speaker purchase was running $922 + tax at the local audio shop and I snagged it online for $549 delivered.

BlackKat

here's an excellent entry home theatre that meets your budget

PSB Alpha Mini Theatre, $800
Denon AVR-1706 Receiver, $300

Dozer

How bout 6 Insignia speakers(150 bucks) a B stock svs pb10 for around 400. Then u could add a panny sa-xr55 for a lil over 200 and u`d still have money for cables. The Insignias are very cheap, look great and have decent sound.

bluray

Also if u don`t like the Insignias u could bring them back!!! Best Buy gives u 30 days and their definately worth a look.

BlackKat

the Insignia's are one of the best deals I have ever seen for a brand new speaker. They have excellent presence and composure for such a low cost speaker. Beware they aren't magnetically shielded so placement on or very near a CRT tube telivision could cause some problems I kept mine about a foot and a half away from my teli-set, so you will need a center channel. If you get 2 pair Insignia NS-B2111's and a center for around $50-75 that will leave some left over in that department PS the company that makes and markets these speakers as their own, Radiient and yes that is 2 i's, sells these same speakers with an extra tweeter on top for $200 a pair.

The reveivers, even though denon is probably better, Onkyo has a great value. I would take a look at the Onkyo tx-sr504; 7x75 watts, plenty of power for a apartment or dorm, and its loaded with features.

Subwoofers......SVS is probably the best bang for your buck sub. Just check out the site and pick one you like, they are are virtually all good.

Foxy

Hey all, thanks for the amazingly fast responses!

Im leaning towards the idea of picking up those Insignias both Scott and Seth mentioned, the seem to be a great deal. Also, I like the idea of getting used to mixing and matching different companies/parts in the system as opposed to grabbing an entire set from one place

Dozer

I huge sub and dorms don't mix very well. Hsu Research has Canadian distributors so they will be more affordable to you then SVS. HDMI is for video. Unless you have two HDMI sources and only one HDMI input on your display I'd skip HDMI for now. Will you have a roommate? If so, 2 beds and 2 desks don't leave a lot of room for surround in a 14 x 14 room. How much music do you listen to? You may want to consider 2.1 and spend your money on two better front speakers rather than an okay surround system.

bluray

The Insignias are on sale at Best Buy this week for 40 dollars a pair on their website. Thats a steal on a very decent speakers.

Foxy

I'll be living by myself in this 14' x 14' room. It's actually a room in a house we have so the only people I really have to worry about are the people living with me. They shouldn't be too troublesome

I like the idea of the Canadian distributers because shipping and customs can be quite annoying when shipping things.

Generally I will be using the sound system to play Movies and Games. I will be using it for some music but I'd put a much heavier emphasis on movies and games. Maybe like a 75%:25% ratio. Actually, I would like to output the sound from my computer to the speakers as well as I will be outputting the computer to the TV (helps save space too). Right now I have outputs on my soundcard (Audigy ZS 2) for each channel, is it possible to output those to the reciever? If not I'll have to figure something out.