Recomendations for a 'budget' yet REAL surround sound system - Overclock.net

*soloz2* · 10-19-08

I just sent a PM to another OCN member looking for advise for a $700 'music' setup for a PC where they wanted surround sound. This originally began in the HTPC subforum so I assume that these speakers will need to be equally suited for movies and games as for music. Now, I firmly believe that if you get speakers that a good for music and you have a good receiver, and spend a little time with placement games and movies will sound good as well.

So my recommendations went a little bit over the budget, but not too much over and I picked components that are great buys for the money. I thought this might benefit others who are looking for something similar, especially since Christmas is only a couple months away.

Quote:

unless you plan to listen to DVD-A or SACD in multi-channel there is no need to have surround sound for a 'music' PC. I don't know of any USB DACs that would fit your budget and have 5.1 output. So if that's really what you want you'll be looking at a sound card or a mobo with digital output and getting a receiver.

If you have $700 to spend on speakers then that's a tight budget...

I'd probably go with something like this for a receiver:
http://shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?prod...il=1&ext_war=1
get the refurb model with the extended warranty, which will bring you to $200, or you can get the newer 506 for $199 refurb.

Then for speakers I would highly recommend:
ELT525 series from av123.com You'd be looking at a pair of 525M for the mains with a 525C for the center, or you could talk to one of the sales reps and get 3 525M for left, center, right. You could probably do that for about $500ish
http://av123.com/component/page,shop...art/Itemid,37/
http://av123.com/component/page,shop...art/Itemid,37/
Now, you can get a pair of the towers, a pair of the monitors and a center for $999, but that will put you over your budget ... but well worth it!

Ideally you would want to get a second pair of elt525M's for rear surrounds, but as long as you aren't planning on listening to surround sound music (DVD-A or SACD) then you don't need matching surrounds. (I don't have matching surrounds) So for keeping to a 'budget' I'd get a pair of these Insignia speakers from BB:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1138085354138
Use a 10% coupon to get them. You could find something different if you wanted, but I think you'll be happy with these for the time being.

Now, if you can't get the surrounds just now that's not a big deal. a good receiver will be able to give you simulated surround sound with just the front 3 speakers. The other option would be to get 2 pairs of matching speakers (ELT525M) and set the receiver to a 'phantom' center.

Then for a sub... I know we're already slightly over budget (probably a bit more than slightly with shipping )
There aren't really any great subs under $200 (you actually have to spend quite a bit more...)
but one of these would probably be alright:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=300-633
if you watch, these go on sale for about $160 every few months and are supposed to be pretty good
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=300-392
Alternatively, if you use live 30% back and ebay you can get a TAD Aural Extacy SW10
http://cgi.ebay.com/Aural-Ecstasy-SW...QQcmdZViewItem
I picked one up for about $97 shipped to tide me over until my good subs come. It's pretty decent, would be competitive for the sub $300 price point and for $100 is pretty damn good.
Alternatively, and probably the best idea would be to get the Scamp from Tweak City Audio when it comes out. I don't recall the price, but it's designed to be the absolute best sub for the money and is designed by one of THE best designers in the world (Mark Seaton)
http://tweakcityaudio.com/index.php?...tpage&Itemid=1

Alright, that's my best advice. You'll need to pick up a pair of speaker stands, but they don't have to be fancy. I would recommend ones that you can fill with sand. You'll also need speaker cable... monoprice will be good enough. 14awg should cut it. You don't need banana plugs, just use bare wire.
I hope this helps. Even if you have to skimp on something I would recommend not skimping on the main (left and right) speakers. Get the ELT525M's and you won't regret it! Absolutely the best for the money. And yes, I have listened to speakers from many different manufactures in the sub $1k/pair category and I have a pair of ELT525M's

rduffy123 · 10-19-08

Your links are bad.

*soloz2* · 10-20-08

Links seem to be finicky.

For a budget receiver yet still something good the Onkyo 505 and up would be good. If you had a bit more you could go with a Denon or Marantz.

For speakers the ELT525 line from av123.com
For surrounds you can get by with the Insignia speakers from BB, Model: NS-B2111 | SKU: 7705307 if you can't afford matching rears.
subs, there is always the new x-sub encore that will be coming out from av123 or the new scamp sub from tweak city audio.
On a serious budget you could give the Dayton SUB-100 HT a try from partsexpress, or if you catch a sale the Dayton HSU10, which is supposed to be good for the money and very good for the prices it typically goes on sale.
The TAD Aural Ecstasy SW-100 lists at $500 but frequently goes on sale, if you get it on sale it's a good price, but I wouldn't spend $500 on it.

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Recomendations for a 'budget' yet REAL surround sound system

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