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GregUSC
04-20-2004, 08:54 PM
I have a family room, dining room, and kitchen area (all one big room) and i want to put about 4-5 speakers, one in each of the corners of the room and connect it to a CD player. This is for low volume listening, and i do not want to spend that much. I have a newer Aiwa "boombox" which i will use as the receiver. Keep in mind i do not want to have a rear, front, left, or right channel, i want all the speakers to play the same thing, just as backround music. I need the speakers to be SMALL, because i will be mounting them in the corners. So the question is...what do i need to buy? I have been looking at surround speakers and home theator packages, such as the Harmon Kardon HKT 6 and infinity SAT 450 sattelite speakers. I think i will need a subwoofer as well. Point a newbie in the right direction!!! My budget is around 300

topspeed
04-20-2004, 10:24 PM
I have a family room, dining room, and kitchen area (all one big room) and i want to put about 4-5 speakers, one in each of the corners of the room and connect it to a CD player. This is for low volume listening, and i do not want to spend that much. I have a newer Aiwa "boombox" which i will use as the receiver. Keep in mind i do not want to have a rear, front, left, or right channel, i want all the speakers to play the same thing, just as backround music. I need the speakers to be SMALL, because i will be mounting them in the corners. So the question is...what do i need to buy? I have been looking at surround speakers and home theator packages, such as the Harmon Kardon HKT 6 and infinity SAT 450 sattelite speakers. I think i will need a subwoofer as well. Point a newbie in the right direction!!! My budget is around 300

Let's get the important things out of the way first Greg;

Are you a man of Troy?

Now that we have our priorities straight, here's the problem: Most boom box speakers are hard wired into the receiver and while you can splice the wires and add speaks, you'll likely overload the miniscule amp in the boom box and either trip it's protection circuitry or cause it to clip very quickly. For your budget, I'd check out Cambridge Soundworks. They've got just what you're looking for and will leave you with enough cash to go get a cheap receiver (any Japanese brand will do) that can handle the load.
http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=clearance
CSW is very well built stuff and their customer service is excellent. If you don't like it, return it for a full refund within 45 days. No biggie. Use the Aiwa as your cd/cassette player and if you can't hook it up to the receiver for this purpose, sell it to a buddy and go buy a cd player. It's not like they're expensive.

Good luck and Fight On!

GregUSC
04-21-2004, 03:09 PM
Let's get the important things out of the way first Greg;

Are you a man of Troy?

Now that we have our priorities straight, here's the problem: Most boom box speakers are hard wired into the receiver and while you can splice the wires and add speaks, you'll likely overload the miniscule amp in the boom box and either trip it's protection circuitry or cause it to clip very quickly. For your budget, I'd check out Cambridge Soundworks. They've got just what you're looking for and will leave you with enough cash to go get a cheap receiver (any Japanese brand will do) that can handle the load.
http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=clearance
CSW is very well built stuff and their customer service is excellent. If you don't like it, return it for a full refund within 45 days. No biggie. Use the Aiwa as your cd/cassette player and if you can't hook it up to the receiver for this purpose, sell it to a buddy and go buy a cd player. It's not like they're expensive.

Good luck and Fight On!


Fight on!


So would it sound good if i got 5 of these http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=spk_surround&item=c1mc5zzzz and ran them off my Aiwa? SHould i also get a subwoofer?

topspeed
04-21-2004, 10:05 PM
Fight on!
So would it sound good if i got 5 of these http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=spk_surround&item=c1mc5zzzz and ran them off my Aiwa? SHould i also get a subwoofer?

Greg,
The Newton series generally offers huge bang for your buck although I've never heard these cubes, a design I usually shy away from. I still don't understand how you are planning on powering your system off an Aiwa boombox, regardless of what speaks you use. Look, stop buying TriDelts drinks at Traditions for a few weeks, save a few dollars and get a freakin' receiver if you really want surround. Look for an open box deal at Fry's or J&R's. Good lord, there's a million places in SoCal where you can swing a deal if you try. Patience brother. Understand that a half-assed rig is a band-aid, but a good system will satisfy you for many, many years to come. We waited 25 years for a football national championship, you can wait a little longer to do this right.

Good luck and Fight On!

Bryan
04-22-2004, 04:59 AM
Just a couple notes here. Like the others I wouldn't advise powering the setup with the Aiwa boombox. You want a receiver with five channel stereo. Look around at various yard sales, pawn shops, etc. to see if you can find a used one. The Cambridge speakers are $50 each. Are you going for quantity or quality? With your current budget you can pretty much axe the sub. Personally you may wish to consider going with a used pair of speakers and a used receiver. That can give you a far more pleasant sound, even if it isn't five channel stereo right now.