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  1. #1
    AR Newbie Registered Member
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    Need Good but cheap speakers

    I am buying a new house and finally decided which rooms I would need
    the speakers in. I want 6 pairs in total. 3 pair for the 1st floor and 3 for the 2nd floor of which 1 pair in-wall and 5 in-ceiling. I want to drive them through my two 2 computers that I have on each floor. That means I will have each computer drive 3 pair. I am also running an additional CAT 5 cable for the keypad from the receiver to the Vol. Control. I talked to about the configuration in one of the local shop and he suggested that I can have my computer connected to the receiver through an coaxial wire and adapter. Then receiver will connected to the Speaker selector box and that will connect to the Volume Control and connects to the speaker. Does this sound right?

    Now I have to buy Speakers, Receiver Speaker selector box and volume control.

    First thing first..how to pick good speakers and receiver?
    My budget is $700 for all the speakers. Any recommendation??? Please
    advise.

    Also where should I buy it from????

    I went to the local stores and seems like they seem to be expensive
    there. Heard, one do a lot better on eBay. Is it correct? Are there any
    other online stores where it's cheap and at the same time, reliable?

    Now what Receiver and speaker selector box should I go with? How much will it cost?

    Also, where can I buy the volume control and key pads?

    Please help me..

  2. #2
    Forum Regular Florian's Avatar
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    Ok, 12 speakers. A budget of 700 bucks leaves you with 58 bucks per speaker. Considering materials, labor, winnings etc... this leaves you with a speaker worth 10 bucks a piece. Good sound, nope.

    Sorry to come across kinda hard, but i have no clue how this should add up.

    -Flo
    Lots of music but not enough time for it all

  3. #3
    I put the Gee in Gear.... thekid's Avatar
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    I agree with the previous post based on your budget but....
    I have a pair of Sony SS-MB150's as rear surrounds for a bed room HT. They are small and sound quality is not bad considering their size.
    Certainly better than KLH or similar brands in that price range.
    They regularly go sale for about $50 a pair at Best Buy or Circuit City that would leave you enough money for needed accessories like a couple of inexpensive subwoofers. Sony also makes a larger speaker the SS-MB350 which is in bewtween a bookshelf and floor standing speaker in terms of size. Good luck but your budget leaves few options.

  4. #4
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
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    Are you just trying to setup a delivered digital music server? Are you at all interested in playing other sources such as broadcast and DVDs? And are you at all looking into a multichannel setup?

    You pay for quality, and server-based audio delivery systems like what you're describing generally cost a lot more than comparable component-based systems would cost. And because the music servers use compressed audio fomats such as MP3, the sound quality also takes a hit. Sounds like you're more after automation, centralized control, and convenience more so than performance.

    Like it or not, these types of systems are not for DIY amateurs. You either need to hire your own contractor to install the whole system and do your own research on how to configure and integrate the individual components; or bring in a home audio installation expert and have them spec out, plan, and install the whole system for you. Forget about EBay, unless you know exactly what you're looking for.

    $700 for 6 pairs of speakers won't get you much beyond intercom quality for in-wall speakers. Generally, in-wall/ceiling speakers severely compromise the sound quality compared to similarly priced bookshelf models. A couple of weeks ago, I sat in on an in-wall system demo. The speakers were from Speakercraft, cost about $350 a pair, and IMO sounded worse than most of the $200 bookshelf speakers that I've heard. The straight down angle from the ceiling destroyed much of the imaging and the in-ceiling installation had a detrimental effect on the dynamics of the music.

    If you're going to spend that much on a distributed music server system, you might want to more comprehensively think out what your overall audio system intentions are (i.e. home theater? background music? serious listening?), budget more for the speakers, and considering going with alternatives to in-wall/ceiling units such as on-wall or mounted bookshelf speakers. Ultimately, the speakers more so than any other component (except for maybe the room acoustics) determine the sound quality that you hear. Would be a shame to get the whole house wired together and limit yourself to glorified intercom speakers after all that work.

  5. #5
    AR Newbie Registered Member
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    ok..I have decided to buy only 3 pairs for now (for $700) and will buy rest when I have more money. And this doesn't include the cost of installation etc. Now could you please suggest me the speakers.

    Also, what about Receiver and Speaker selector box? Which one should I buy?

  6. #6
    Forum Regular PAT.P's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Oregonian
    ok..I have decided to buy only 3 pairs for now (for $700) and will buy rest when I have more money. And this doesn't include the cost of installation etc. Now could you please suggest me the speakers.

    Also, what about Receiver and Speaker selector box? Which one should I buy?
    Just go to www.partsexpress.com and check their Dayton brand ceiling and wall speaker.

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