[16-0]

I have a spare room next to my theater and am putting an LCD in there and want to have a simple surround system. My budget is only $400-$500. I'm not looking for anything fancy as I will mostly be watching the Sox and Pats in there. Can anyone reccomend a good and affordable box set. I am tempted to go for the orbs as I've heard great things but don't want to spend the $700+ for their intro line

thanks

 

[eugovector]

Is that $400-500 for just the speakers or speakers+AVR?

 

[Jungle Jack]

Hello,
I would cobble together a system via Audiogon and or Craigslist. First, look for a used AV Receiver and then find a pair of tower speakers. You can find formerly 1000 Dollar plus receivers for under 200 Dollars if they do not have HDMI. Just make sure the receiver has multichannel inputs so you can benefit from the new surround codecs (True HD and DTS-MA) that are available from Blu Ray players.

For speakers, look locally for a pair of Floorstanding Speakers. Should be able to find a fairly satisfactory pair for around 300 Dollars used.

I realize you would not have Surround Sound all at once, but you will have a massively better system. As long as you purchase quality Floorstanding Speakers, bass should actually be better than a low price HTIB (Home Theater In A Box) "subwoofer". Especially if driven by a quality Receiver.

As funds permit, add a Center Channel Speaker, Surround Speakers (tons of cheap bookshelves out there that work well when put on stands), and finally a subwoofer.

While this is not the path of instant gratification, it is the path of truly quality sound. A high quaity receiver and quality pair of Floorstanding Speakers will sound better than 6 channels of low quality dreck. Furthermore, if you buy quality components, you should be able to get your money back in the future should you decide to upgrade. HTIB's have next to no resale value.
Cheers,
JJ

 

[16-0]

just the speakers and sub

 

[Jon Liu]

I agree with JJ. You ought to be able to find a good deal on a set of speakers/sub on Audiogon or Craiglist for sure.

 

[16-0]

I spent a good portion of the morning looking at Craigs list and other sites. Nothing jumped out at me. Maybe I'll wait a bit and get the orbs. I already have the Onkyo 876 for the HT room. Would I be able hook up the LCD tv and orbs(if I buy them) to the same receiver? thanks

 

[eugovector]

With the orbs, you will be paying more for the small form factor than the performance (though not anywhere near the extent of Bose). If you can go with bigger speakers, you get much more bang (and boom and sizzle) for your buck.

As far as hooking up the LCD TV to the AVR, what do you mean? You'll of course be able to send video to your display, but do you want to send audio also, and if so, why?

 

[eugovector]

Okay, I think I'm understanding this better. You actually have two systems in two rooms, one room has an Onkyo 876 and speakers, the other room just has an LCD TV no avr or speakers. You'd like to buy speakers in room 2 to be powered by the AVR in room 1. Is this correct?

 

[16-0]

Precisely.
I shoulda been more clear. Sorry

 

[Jungle Jack]

Hello,
Well since you already have a Home Theater and this is just a secondary system, I suppose a HTIB (Home Theater In a Box) makes sense. Onkyo makes some fairly high quality ones. They even make a THX Certified one that is only a couple hundred Dollars more than your desired budget.

You could alternately use Zone 2 from your TX-SR876. Much of this will depend on proximity from your HT to your proposed secondary system.
Cheers,
JJ

 

[16-0]

The control room is actually equidistant between both systems. I've already run the wires from the control room to the TV room (the room in need of speakers)

 

[Jungle Jack]

Hello,
I would really recommend checking out SVS Speakers. They make some excellent speakers and subwoofers at awesome prices. Their subwoofers are some of the best,
Cheers,
JJ

 

[16-0]

I bought the SVS for the HT room. Can't wait for it to get hooked up so I can take the house down and drive my wife crazy
The $1000 is over budget for the TV room and the sub is toooooo big. Space is somewhat limited

thanks

 

[eugovector]

The control room is actually equidistant between both systems. I've already run the wires from the control room to the TV room (the room in need of speakers)

Then yes, you should be able to use zone 2, however, this will limit you to 2 channel stereo, though you could add a subwoofer with speaker level inputs for a 2.1 system. For surround, you'll need to buy speaker switchers for each of from room 1's 5-7 speakers to switch to room 2's speakers, though your levels, distances, etc. will be off.

If you would be okay with 2.1, use zone 2. If you need surround, I'd recommend a separate AVR.
Shoponkyo.com has the 7100 for $530 shipped...I'd say that's your best option for an HTIB right now.

 

[16-0]

Thanks pal.

 

[eugovector]

You're welcome.