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2.0 system for $200ish

Everything that I own is all mostly hdmi. In the future I will be getting a samsung 55 inch led tv. So the receiver will go with that and I'll just replace that with another similar receiver.
 
I think all of these will decode HDMI audio, though not all will decode the lossless formats (if that is a big deal to you). I have marked the ones that will not.

5.1

Denon AVR-1610 (look for refurb)
Onkyo TX-SR507

7.1

Denon 1609 (look for refurb) does not decode blu-ray formats but will decode HDMI audio
Onkyo TX-SR606
Marantz Sr5002 does not decode blu-ray formats but will decode HDMI audio
Harman Kardon AVR1600 (refurb or last years model)

Honestly you cant go too wrong with Onkyo TX-SR606. It won an editors choice award on CNET (and those guys are really really picky). Head on over to their site to check out the video and review

I will say to make sure you get them from an authorized reseller (I believe all the ones I liked to are, but worth checking)
 
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EdGaRRRRR said:
Any that do decode bluray? Cuz I will be going that route.
Click to expand...

still editing my post, lots of receivers to look at, but Onkyo TX-SR606 will. I marked the ones that will not do blu-ray.

Basically it comes down to these choices:

1. Do I need 7.1 or will 5.1 work as long as it does blu-ray formats
2. Do I need it new or will a refurbished one work
3. What wattage do I want/need.
 
1. As long as it does bluray properly 5.1 is fine.
2. Refurbished is fine.
3. Have no idea, whatever works.
 
Im not seeing any specs for a subwoofer. Can one be added later with this receiver?
 
Yeah. But if you look at the back panel you see a line level out marked "sub" - that's usually a sign. :p
 
Lol yea I see now. I really am new to this type of stuff. Thx again guys really appreciate the help!
 
EdGaRRRRR said:
Lol yea I see now. I really am new to this type of stuff. Thx again guys really appreciate the help!
Click to expand...

No problem. Also with purchasing that reciever (which is honestly really really good) you will be able to upgrade your speakers without worry. I have a Integra DTR 5.9 (higher end brand of Onkyo) hooked up to a set of really good floorstanding speakers (way more expensive and much bigger than anything you are probably looking at) and it drives them BEAUTIFULLY

Now that we have the reciever part of the way it comes down to this...whats your budget for passive speakers look like, and are you still looking at only a 2.0 setup (Left and Right only)?
 
2.0 still. I mean I've already gone overbudget with it already. So 150 is the limit for the speakers for now. I went from $200 to $300 and now $450. And that's just audio. I still need money for the i7 I'm building to go along with it.

Edit: Later on I will add a sub. But want receiver and passive speakers for now.
 
EdGaRRRRR said:
2.0 still. I mean I've already gone overbudget with it already. So 150 is the limit for the speakers for now. I went from $200 to $300 and now $450. And that's just audio. I still need money for the i7 I'm building to go along with it.

Edit: Later on I will add a sub. But want receiver and passive speakers for now.
Click to expand...

Good to know. I would suggest some speakers from The Speaker Company. Here is a set of 3 for 149.99 (right under your budget). They do have other options (This is actually the most expensive set) that are cheaper and only two..

In regards to Energy, they have a 5 speaker set within your price range (Crutchfield and Newegg run specials on this set all the time)

The Speaker Company and Energy make GREAT speakers for the price.

Another option is to get some Polk Monitor 40's (which is what I have currently on my bedroom home theater system).

My personal feeling is that the speakers from The Speaker Company or Energy are probably better, but as I haven't compared the two in person I cannot speak for them. I simply know that the folks at AVSFORUM seem to really like them (and those guys are audiophile nuts). With that said I personally have nothing but the Monitor series in both my Home Theater setups and they sound very good. FYI the Polk TSI line is what replaced the Monitor series. I like the looks (and price) of the Monitors better personally.
 
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As far as getting the maximum sound right now - a cheaper receiver and better speakers would have been the way to go. But no big deal your system will still sound good.

I like my RC-10s so I am biased to the Energy C-200s. The Polk and speaker company speakers have good reputations as well. Supposedly the speaker companies are basically high quality Polk clones and the subwoofer (at least the ASW-8 and ASW-10) are high quality Energy subwoofer clones.

But another option (if you want new) is to ask vann's to give you cheaper price on a speaker you like. They offered me a deal on the new Energy CB-20 which some people like quite a bit. But they would do the same thing for other brands I think.

Pete
 
GuyClinch said:
As far as getting the maximum sound right now - a cheaper receiver and better speakers would have been the way to go. But no big deal your system will still sound good.

Pete
Click to expand...

Yeah, the only problem in this case was the need to decode audio over HDMI which moved him into the "newer" receivers that tend to not be so cheap.

Those are really nice speakers you purchased. What price did they give on em?
 
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When i was looking for a receiver I was in the same boat as you. I didn't want to spend much more than 300. I put together a list of receivers and SPECIFIC things in a receiver that I knew i wanted and then got a list of receivers that met them. Then I waited for one of those receivers to meet my price point (The Pioneer 1018 for under 400). I don't know if you are willing to wait to get a good price, but its something to think about.

At first I thought you wanted a whole 2.0 system (amp + speakers) for $200, but it looks like that has changed. If you still want that I'd go with a small t-amp and speakers that are efficient.

my buddy had a t-amp from thinkgeek and some paradigm bookshelf speakers and it sounded great. parts express still sells a t-amp.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-380
that plus those polk monitor 40s would sound pretty good for under $200
 
Right now 5 speaker set up is out of the question. These speakers will be sitting on top of my desk facing me so i only have room for the 2. The thing is with that 3 speaker set up...how would that work in windows? Would that me a 3.0 setup? Or would that be taken care of by the receiver? If the center speaker is low enough(height wise) i might be able to do that set up. But the speakers need to be able to sit on top of my desk and face me. I will not be able to mount them or have them sit on the floor.
 
EdGaRRRRR said:
Right now 5 speaker set up is out of the question. These speakers will be sitting on top of my desk facing me so i only have room for the 2. The thing is with that 3 speaker set up...how would that work in windows? Would that me a 3.0 setup? Or would that be taken care of by the receiver? If the center speaker is low enough(height wise) i might be able to do that set up. But the speakers need to be able to sit on top of my desk and face me. I will not be able to mount them or have them sit on the floor.
Click to expand...

There's no 3.0 setup in terms of audio, so you'll be doing 5.1 without the sub and two surround speakers.

I don't know of any game that has 3.0, so you'll have to select 5.1, but then you'll lose whatever's being sent to the surround speakers.
 
EdGaRRRRR said:
Right now 5 speaker set up is out of the question. These speakers will be sitting on top of my desk facing me so i only have room for the 2. The thing is with that 3 speaker set up...how would that work in windows? Would that me a 3.0 setup? Or would that be taken care of by the receiver? If the center speaker is low enough(height wise) i might be able to do that set up. But the speakers need to be able to sit on top of my desk and face me. I will not be able to mount them or have them sit on the floor.
Click to expand...

kkl1014 said:
There's no 3.0 setup in terms of audio, so you'll be doing 5.1 without the sub and two surround speakers.

I don't know of any game that has 3.0, so you'll have to select 5.1, but then you'll lose whatever's being sent to the surround speakers.
Click to expand...

The receiver will be taking care of all the audio for you so you don't have to do anything setting wise in Windows. The way it will handle the audio will depend on both the source signal (from your computer) and the receiver settings.

If you are just listening to music you will need to set the receiver to whatever settings corresponds to straight stereo, otherwise the center will not play any music. If you are watching a movie with 5.1 it will play it in 5.1 only you will not have the rear surrounds. You can however modify that within the receiver settings.

So to make a long story short you will need to read the manual on this and make the proper settings work for each type of music. Doing 2 speakers or 3 in this instance wont really matter as either way you will may need to make some adjustments so it sounds right.
 
I wouldn't do three speakers on a desk unless your willing to elevate the center channel over the monitor.

For the best sound you want to eliminate what they call first order reflections. Thus if you place a center channel right below your monitor - its going to reflect sound right off your desk and muddy it.

Also you want your tweeters to sit right at the your ear level.. so again this is very hard with that third speaker on your desk. If its elevated over your monitor it might work..but it seems like a lot of trouble..Even then its likely your tweeter would be too high but that would still sound better.

Pete
 
So then what speakers should I get? 2.0 and around $150 not including shipping.
 
I'd take a long hard look at these, although Polk and Infinity have speakers in the same price range.

I haven't heard any of them unfortunately, but all three brands are pretty well regarded in terms of sound quality. If you want to determine the "best" you'd probably be better off asking at a dedicated audio forum, as there will probably be more people who have had experience with these and others. Are there any shops near you where you can audition speakers?
 
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EdGaRRRRR said:
So then what speakers should I get? 2.0 and around $150 not including shipping.
Click to expand...

GuyClinch said:
New only right? No size restrictions?

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ENC200

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290010


Those two come to mind. However at only 150.00 you might want to check out Ebay or Audiogon..
I'd go for the Energy but only because I like my RC-10's. I haven't tried the C-200s but people seem to like them.

Pete
Click to expand...

What Pete said. I own the Monitor 40's and they sound great. I know Energy has a great rep, but havent heard them myself. With that said the Monitor series mesh's well with each other so in regards to adding more speakers as long as you stay within the Monitor line you will not have any timbre matching issues.

Both should suit you fine. Keep in mind the depth of these things. The Monitor 40's are by no means small. They are 15 inches tall, 7 inches wide and 12 inches deep :)
 
Would like new speakers. Will have these facing me on my desk about little over 2 feet from me. My ears are about 18 inches above the desk.
 
EdGaRRRRR said:
Would like new speakers. Will have these facing me on my desk about little over 2 feet from me. My ears are about 18 inches above the desk.
Click to expand...

Either the Energy or Polks will work great. They are both about the same size overall and you will have more than enough power to drive them. You may be missing some of the low end bass as neither has really large woofers (compared to a sub) but a sub later on can be had for like 100 bucks from Polk, Energy or Daytona.
 
Somewhat relevant: I just won some Sony SAVA 7's for ~75 shipped and they might apply to you.

After I get them, I'll post a mini-review of them.
 
EdGaRRRRR said:
Looks like ill be getting

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...-90w-X-7ch-Hdmi-Theater-Receiver-Black/1.html
receiver

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290010
speakers

Sound good?
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Depends on if you'd want to return/replace them or not. The speakers are non refundable and non returnable with Newegg. I wouldn't suggest this.

* Return for refund within: non-refundable unless shipment is refused
* Return for replacement within: non-replaceable
Click to expand...
 
Just noticed that The Speaker Company is running a deal for 20 percent off on most speakers using this code: Most15. Also free ground shipping on orders over 50 bucks.

If returning them later is an issue, TSC does have a 30 day return policy on its speakers.
 
The reason why I was going with Polk because I was gonna get the newegg 2 yr warranty. Because even with the warranty it's still cheaper then the energys because they charge shipping and newegg doesn't. Make sense? Once again, sound good? :) thx guys
 
EdGaRRRRR said:
The reason why I was going with Polk because I was gonna get the newegg 2 yr warranty. Because even with the warranty it's still cheaper then the energys because they charge shipping and newegg doesn't. Make sense? Once again, sound good? :) thx guys
Click to expand...

Don't purchase the newegg warranty. You already have a 5 yr warranty with Polk since Newegg is an authorized dealer. This is straight from their website:

Polk Audio Warranty Information

This section contains warranty information to products that were purchased directly from www.polkaudio.com or an authorized Polk Audio dealer.

5-Year Limited Warranty on Home Audio Speakers
3-Year Limited Warranty on Powered Speakers and Powered Subwoofers
2-Year Limited Warranty on Outdoor Speakers

Polk Audio home loudspeakers have a 5-year parts and labor warranty. The amplifiers used in our "powered speakers" and "powered subwoofers" have a 3-year warranty. All outdoor speakers, such as Atrium Series, have a 2-year warranty. Signature Series (SR), MM (Mobile Monitor) Series speakers and db Series mobile speakers have a limited 1-year warranty. Polk/MOMO Series mobile speakers are warranted for 3 years; Polk/MOMO and PA Series mobile amplifiers are warranted for 1 year. The XRt12 Reference XM Tuner, SR-H1000 Sirius Tuner, I-Sonic Entertainment System, I-Sonic Entertainment System 2, SurroundBar 360 DVD Home Theater, Surround Bar SDA Instant Home Theater and miDock products have a limited 1-year warranty.

The warranty is VOID if the serial number of the speaker has been removed or defaced. For the precise and legal terms of the warranty on a given product, refer to the owner's manual. An Acrobat Reader file of the owner's manual can be found on each product's web page. If you have any questions about your warranty coverage, or you think you need service, call Polk Customer Service at 1-800-377-7655. We're here to help you get the most from your new audio equipment​

Here is the newegg policy:

Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty Plan

The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge

* This program provides replacement coverage for PC peripheral products and consumer electronics
* The coverage begins after the manufacturer’s warranty ends
* The product will be replaced one time only in case of malfunction
* Shipping expenses will be reimbursed if the product needs to be returned
* Customer Support is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year
* The Contract is fully transferable
* Coverage is provided by Service Net
* See Terms & Conditions for additional details of this plan​

You don't really need to have a 7 yr warranty on speakers. By the time the Polk Warranty is up if they go bad there will probably be something much better on the market worth buying. :D
 
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ok im stumped again...lol. For the final time hopefully. Which speaker should i get out of the 2? The energy or polk? I'm set on the receiver just need speakers now :) thx guys. Shipping would be free with newegg. Energy would be about $34 more for shipping. If the energys are better i'd be willing to pay shipping. I just want the better speaker for the $150 range(without shipping).
 
IMO low-end Polks are a little too constrained and lack detail, but that's just me, and might not relate to this specific model, and I can't say that the Energy won't have their own issues...and I'm used to electrostatics. Low-budget Polks were awesome when I was coming off Logicrap. If your budget is so constrained, it might make more sense to get the Polks as it is...$34 on a $200 budget may or may not seem significant, but you could probably add a fairly decent pair of headphones to the order for that.
 
I dont need headphones. Im just looking for a good entry level pair of speakers. Barely dipping my tip into passive speakers as ive never heard of it until recently. I just want something decent to introduce me into what ive been missing with those shitty logitechs. Later on if i do end up liking receiver+passive speakers combo(which im sure i will) ill bone down and get a higher end setup. But for now entry level is good(that does bluray :) ).
 
EdGaRRRRR said:
I dont need headphones. Im just looking for a good entry level pair of speakers. Barely dipping my tip into passive speakers as ive never heard of it until recently. I just want something decent to introduce me into what ive been missing with those shitty logitechs. Later on if i do end up liking receiver+passive speakers combo(which im sure i will) ill bone down and get a higher end setup. But for now entry level is good(that does bluray :) ).
Click to expand...

IMO I would say the Polks. The 34 bucks in shipping can be saved for something better later on (like some low gauge speaker wire from Monoprice). But I say that admitting I am slightly biased as my setup is currently fully Polk :D
 
Heck, buy $34 bucks worth of pizza if that's what you want. If you can't decide between two relatively equivalent products, and one is $34 cheaper, keep the $34 for something else.
 
Polk it is :). Last question I see some floor standing Polk monitor 50's on newegg for about $170 shipped. Would those sound better then the bookshelf monitor 40's?
 
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