Home Theater on a budget

[nightflier]

sj,

The best advice we can give is to start smaller and build up. We can't in good conscience recommend bad equipment to you and much of the HTIB stuff is not that impressive. However if you were willing to spend that $1500 on a partial setup made up of used equipment, that you could perhaps replace later with something higher-end, you would fare much better.

You could for example purchase a used pair of 2-3 year old tower speakers and add the matching center channel. This is by no means hi-fi, but it gets you started and you can then build from there as your budget allows. Start with eBay , they have pages of listings for these. Narrow your search to brands like Polk, Infinity, Definitive Technology, Boston Acoustics, NHT, B&W, KEF, Wharfedale, which all make decent entry-level lines. Anyhow, starting with a good pair of tower speakers will make a world of difference in filling that large room with sound.

For the sub, you don't need to have the same brand. Some companies like Outlaw Audio, HSU and SVS make very good and reasonably-priced entry-level subs. Make sure you check their B-stock sales on the websites. For the rears, you also don't need the same brand, although a smaller speaker from the same manufacturer will make slight improvement in the continuity of sounds, but this is not crucial at your budget.

Speaking of Tweeter, I thought they were going out of business. From what I could tell, they are really re-inventing themselves into a service-oriented business and have dropped a lot of the brands that made them a decent place to shop. Like so many similar stores, such as Magnolia, they are severely reducing their selection of higher-end equipment. I don't really think they are what they were when they started in this industry. They will probably disappear, so purchasing from them may not provide the service and support you may need over the time that you will own their gear.

[sj22]

Thank you NightFlier
When I buy through ebay, apart from looking at the feedback for the seller etc., what else could be wrong with the speaker that I should specifically ask about

-Shaw