Best Sound System for $500

[smoke111]

Hey guys, my mom wants to get a good sound system for like $500 I am into car audio and do not know much of home audio. Can I get some recommendations on what to buy? 5.1 surround would be nice but it will probably just be used for listening to 2.1 music. Thanks

[Diego]

I would skip the sub with that budget, a cheap one would hurt more than help.

Sherwood RX-4103 2-channel receiver is $90 at www.jr.com

I would look for bookshelf speakers on sale at Best Buy, Curcuit City, Fry's, etc. Athena, Polk Audio, Infinity, Energy.

[daviethek]

Try and spend about 250 on speakers. Quality used are the best bet.You should be able to get a decent pair of Athena, Mission or even Wharfdale. The radio shack ones with the lineaum tweeters also sound OK.. , Athena has a small two way bookshelf new at best buy for 150.00. For decent cheap sound in electronics, I would go with a Pioneer receiver ( close out, sale or discontinued ) and a Sony platter CD at around 125.00. If you have any dough left, try and get a mild upgrade on interconnects and speaker wire. Stay away from rock bottom electronics like KLH recievers, Sony speakers and also Bose products. Entry level of the good stuff will be long term more satisfying than big an cheap. good Luck

[jclin4]

Try and spend about 250 on speakers.....Athena has a small two way bookshelf new at best buy for 150.00.

The Athenas are a good bargain. Another option for high quality bookshelves is the BR-1 speaker kit from parts express, $140 for the pair, including shipping. You have to assemble it yourself, but it is not hard. I've hooked these up to an old Denon microsystem, UDF-88, and found that they are an amazing improvement over the stock speakers.

[matt39]

On a budget that low you just about have to shop at places like Best Buy or Circuit City unless you luck into some good used stuff. Don't despair though, decent introductory sound can be had that will probably be just fine for mom. At BB I'd consider the Sony stereo receiver combined with a Toshiba dvd player for cd's. For speakers take a look at the Athena AS-B1, the JBL bookshelf and the Klipsch bookshelf. At CC consider an Onkyo 8201 stereo receiver and the Infinity Primus bookshelf or the Polk audio bookshelf. I'd stick with the Toshiba for cd's although Samsung or Panasonic are other possibilities. You can even try some high end shops. Look for Denon and Paradigm. The Denon DRA-295 receiver and some Paradigm Titan or Atom speakers would fit your budget combined once again with an inexpensive dvd player for cd's. Denon also makes a combo system consisting of a receiver, 3 disc cdp, and small Mission speakers for about $599 which might appeal to your mom quite a bit because it is stylish, small and has good sound. As far as a sub goes, I would get that later if your mom thinks she wants one (think birthday, Christmas, Mother's Day). Don't be afraid to mix and match either. A combo like the Onkyo receiver, Toshiba dvd, and Paradigm Titan speakers would be a great starter kit. For accessories just use the manufacturer supplied interconnects, some regular 16-12 gauge speaker wire from Home Depot, Lowes or Radio Shack and possibly some inexpensive speaker stands. One last thing, unless this is a surprise take your Mom with you. She may have some preferences of her own especially with the speakers. Hope this helps and good luck!

[bjornb17]

my brother had about a budget of $700, and put together a decent 3.1 system (the 3 front channels and a subwoofer). He got a pair of the better sony floorstanders which they sell at circuit city (the are currently on clearance and you can get them pretty cheap, or you can buy the bookshelf models which are even less expensive and still decent), and then got the matching center channel as well. He also got a velodyne cht-10 subwoofer, which was probably the best addition to the setup. Usually, you can negotiate with Circuit city (i know, i used to work there), and you can get them to give you a good deal. My brother was able to talk them into giving him the center channel for free when he bought the rest of the stuff.

Then he went to harmanaudio.com and bought the HK AVR130 for $197, which is just about the best bang for the buck, anywhere.

[plextor guy]

if you can wait a little. The iFi is supposed to be released shortly. You can save a few bucks by buying another set of 2.1 speakers but the iFi is a more integral solution. Your mom will love it - an iPod and integrated 2.1 system for about 500.

[bjornb17]

if you can wait a little. The iFi is supposed to be released shortly. You can save a few bucks by buying another set of 2.1 speakers but the iFi is a more integral solution. Your mom will love it - an iPod and integrated 2.1 system for about 500.

that actually is a very good solution :)


EDIT: wooohoo my 100th post. i went from newbie to regular in a period of a few days. i guess that's what happens when i dont have much to do at work :)

[astrallionheart]

Order an Onkyo SR503/2 online, it can be had for about $200 + shipping from retail outlets.

It's an insane deal, with 75W/channel, meaning 450W total with all channels firing. At this price point, it even beats out the $500 VSX1014TX, the Pioneer receivers is a 7.1 solution that puts out 430W, or a maximum of 61W/channel theoretically...whereas the Onkyo's 480W amp theoretically puts out 80W/channel (even though they market it as 75W/channel). Tests have shown it to be much closer to 80 (around 79.7W/channel in practice!).

Price/Performance, Onkyo is almost unbeatable. Although, I have heard their older receivers "color" the sound; though I'm not sure if this applies to their newer receiver as well.

I have an old Sony receiver right now...I'm glad I only paid $150 for it about 5 years ago. Sound and Vision has tested various Sony receivers from $300 to $1000, and none of them outputted greater than 35W/channel sadly. AVOID SONY.

[Woochifer]

What are you trying to get for $500? The amplifier? CD or DVD? Speakers (and how many of them)?

If you do not intend to go with surround sound, then I would just get a two-channel integrated amp or receiver, add the CD player, and add a pair of bookshelf speakers and be done with it.

The Cambridge Audio 340A stereo integrated amp is a nice 50 wpc unit that's well built and very simple to operate. It costs only $250. A good basic pair of bookshelf speakers like the Paradigm Titan will run you around $200 a pair.

[Woochifer]

Order an Onkyo SR503/2 online, it can be had for about $200 + shipping from retail outlets.

With Onkyo (and most other manufacturers), you need to make sure that any online vendor is an authorized dealer. If you buy from an unauthorized source, then the warranty is invalidated.


It's an insane deal, with 75W/channel, meaning 450W total with all channels firing. At this price point, it even beats out the $500 VSX1014TX, the Pioneer receivers is a 7.1 solution that puts out 430W, or a maximum of 61W/channel theoretically...whereas the Onkyo's 480W amp theoretically puts out 80W/channel (even though they market it as 75W/channel). Tests have shown it to be much closer to 80 (around 79.7W/channel in practice!).

I doubt that Onkyo will output 450 watts with "all channels firing." Generally, the output specs are done with one or two channels driven. On the all channel driven tests using the FTC output tests, multichannel amps typically output far less (S&V's newer output tests use the less demanding single frequency test rather than a full bandwidth test). Differences of 20 or so watts/channel between different receivers are meaningless because most speakers can be driven to 95-100 decibels (which is very loud) on only 10 watts of output. It's not a question of quantity as it is about quality.


Price/Performance, Onkyo is almost unbeatable. Although, I have heard their older receivers "color" the sound; though I'm not sure if this applies to their newer receiver as well.

I wouldn't call them "almost unbeatable." They're definitely a viable manufacturer that makes quality gear, but they got plenty of competition in their price points and in some areas they come out ahead and in others they come up short.

Older receivers color the sound more because they maintain completely analog signal paths that go through sets of manual switches and controls. All of those controls in the signal path add their own coloration to the sound. Newer receivers have more limited analog signal paths, and any sound processing is typically done in the digital domain, which typically has a narrower potential for coloration.

[J*E*Cole]

I think you should start with a quality receiver like a Harman/Kardon AVR135. You can find them online now for about $300 or less, and then get a pair of Infinity bookshelf speakers, (again online can be found for under $200) and you will have a good foundation on which to add things to later, because I have a Harman/Kardon receiver and it's just awesome. You'll probably have enough left over for some decent speaker cables, and both H/K and Infinity are desiged and manufactured by Harman International. I use Infinity floorstanders (Alpha 50's all the way around and the Alpha Center, as well as an Infinity sub.) I couldn't be happier with the sound. H/K is serious about sound, and don't let the lower wattage ratings fool you, they use "true" measurements, and you'll find that this AVR135 at 55wpc will easily blow away most of those digital 100wpc types that are so common. Then you could later add some Beta 40 's or 50's and move your bookshelfs to the surrounds.

Good luck...

[cgII]

Given the restrtictive budget, could you not opt for somthing like a Denon micro system?

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/DM31E3.pdf

This paticular kit has been a What Hi-FI? (British Hifi specialist magazine) 5 star winner for many years now.

For stereo appilcations only, but if you had more cash you could opt for the more expensive DVD solution:

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/dm71dvse.pdf

Hope this helps,

Chris