is it possible to get a good sat/sub system (5.1) for CHEAP?

[dwlam1]

I've been searching for a nice and affordable home theater speaker system.
My budget is a tight $300.

So far I've found the following:

Polk RM 6750 $399
Infinity TSS450 $299
Kef KLH1005 $299

My understanding of cheap speaker systems is that the typical 8" powered sub will not be the limiting factor. Rather, the satellites are more important because low end systems seem to fall short in the areas of mid bass (?) range, and mid- to high- range clarity.
Can anyone give me some words of wisdom here?

[Florian]

Thats a tough one as i never heard anything that your looking for BUT i my heart would vote for the Kefs. This company brings years of experience with High Enders and has made some uniqe and quite good sounding speakers! I never been much of a fan of Polk and Infinity became *somthing sad* after they got bought out by Harman Kardon.

Cheers

Flo

[dwlam1]

thanks for the opinion.
correction, (not that it'll change the thread much)
it's the Kef KHT1005 that I saw.

[basite]

use the Kef ones

[bubbagump]

If you can catch these on sale, you'll be able to buy six for an in-store pick up price of about $120.00. The non-sale price is $49.00/pair.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7705307&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03043&id=1138085354138

Shop around for a decent 10" sub and you'll have a system that can't be beat at anything close to the price.

[thekid]

I think you understand your problem well. I would put the emphasis on getting 5 good quality speakers and sacrifice a little on the sub for a number of reasons. The sat's will obviously carry the majority of the sound and if they can do justice to bass it will make up for some of the sub's shortcomings, a good center channel is more important-IMO-to a 5.1 set up than a sub because if you can't hear whats going on then what good does all the lower end FX sounds do you and lastly it will be easier to upgrade a sub down the road when your budget changes. Also don't lock yourself into a HTIB type set up, it is very possible to go used and find 5 stand alones for $200 and committ $75-$100 towards a sub.

[audio_dude]

umm...dude, did you just say a dedicated "center channel" speaker is more important?

in fact, its better to have the center channel match as closely as possible to the right and left channels...therefore, the same model of speaker used as a center channel will always sound better!

(though you probably wouldn't notice the difference)

[markw]

I've been searching for a nice and affordable home theater speaker system.
My budget is a tight $300.

So far I've found the following:

Polk RM 6750 $399
Infinity TSS450 $299
Kef KLH1005 $299

My understanding of cheap speaker systems is that the typical 8" powered sub will not be the limiting factor. Rather, the satellites are more important because low end systems seem to fall short in the areas of mid bass (?) range, and mid- to high- range clarity.
Can anyone give me some words of wisdom here?These are hard to beat for an inexpensive HT in a small/medium sized room:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6376628&type=product&id=1077624907950

But, I think you would be better served (for music) looking at Athena Audition AS-B1 or AS-B2 "full range" bookshelf speakers at http://www.audioadvisor.com

[bargugl]

Check out http://www.accessories4less.com. They have quite the deals on some stuff. On the low end, you can pick up two pairs of Advent H-200's and the matching center channel for $150 total. The H-200's are actually nice speakers for the price. They are biampable/biwirable and very solidly built. They are actually the same as the German company's HECO Krypton 200. Audiovox just relabled them as Advent for US sales. HECO is a good company in Europe. You can look up their products, but most of the google results will be in German. In Europe these things actually sell for 200-300 euro a pair.

[Woochifer]

The answer to your question is "NO" if your definition of cheap is $300.

Basically, the minimally acceptable sub/sat system that I've heard was Energy's $600 Take system. The ones I've heard below that price point all made huge sacrifices in the accuracy and extension of the satellite units that I did not find acceptable. And forget about the fart boxes that they call subwoofers at this price point. They do not extend very far into the bass range, and the limited lower extension on the satellite units will typically force you to use a higher crossover point or endure a very wide frequency gap between where the subwoofer leaves off and where the satellite unit takes over.

With a $300 budget, I would stick with finding a good pair of bookshelf speakers, and then gradually add the subwoofer, and matching center and surround speakers (or three more bookshelf speakers) as your budget allows. At $300, there are plenty of very good bookshelf speakers that will give you far superior performance to those limited range satellite units, and set you up nicely for eventually integrating your system with a legitimate subwoofer. In the long run, you'll wind up with a much better performing system that has greater versatility with handling a wide range of different music and movie sources.

With home theater, you can afford to be patient because nowhere does it say that you have to buy the whole speaker package at the same time. All home theater receivers include a virtual surround feature that works with two, three, or four speaker setups.

[thekid]

umm...dude, did you just say a dedicated "center channel" speaker is more important?

in fact, its better to have the center channel match as closely as possible to the right and left channels...therefore, the same model of speaker used as a center channel will always sound better!

(though you probably wouldn't notice the difference)

Sorry if I was not clear.
What I was trying to say was that given his limited budget I would not worry so much about the sub as the other 5 speakers. The sub does not have to "match" the speakers and is the easiest of the speakers to upgrade. I agree with you to make sure the center channel should match the fronts but he needs to be careful not to just get the same 3 speakers going across the front if they are not magnetically shielded.

[The Tahitijack]

The answer to your search for a nice and affordable $300 5.1 system is......yes.

Go to the Klipsch websit and hit the shop link and go to clearance. You find the Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 HT in a box at prices well bellow your budget. I'm talking $180 to $250 and the $180 set up includes speaker stands. I agree with others that these will not deliver the goods as well as a $800 to $1,000 set up, but when you ar ready to move up they can be recycled as pc speakers or dedicated game speakers. I think other manufacturers have similar refurbished products, so you should shop around.

[bacchanal]

The klipsch promedia speakers are good for the money, but aren't they basically the same thing as the promedia multimedia speakers which are designed for near-field type use?

[The Tahitijack]

bac, the answer is yes. That's about the best you'll find for $300, which I suggested could be used as near-field purposes like games and/or computer.

Another alternative is used gear but it may take time to put together a well matched 5.1 system.

[audio_dude]

whoa, tahitijack, did you even read the rest of the thread before posting?

like woochifer says, start with good bookshelfs and build from that, because your budget is so small, you won't be pleased with anything for that price.

[The Tahitijack]

audio_dude
Yes, and I was responding to the original post, not woochifer.

[audio_dude]

then next time say that you are giving a different opinion, cause its kinda confusing

[The Tahitijack]

audio_dude
Sorry if my posts were confusing. I hope this is helpful to you:

My first post responded to the original post asking about a cheep 5.1 speaker set. Bac's counter post questioned the speakers I suggested as best used as near field. In my second post responding to Bac I agreed with him and as I suggested in my first post the $300 "starter set" would eventually be recycled to a computer or game audio system.

[audio_dude]

ahh, sorry 'bout that...but ya, good suggestion, i'd just recomend he get some nice bookshelf speakers then add a sub, center channel, and then new fronts and move the old ones to the back to become the rear channels, then you can have a nice kick ass home theatre
instead of something you'll be regretting a few weeks later