5.1 Speakers $1000 Budget

I have an HT Omega eClaro Sound card, Polk RM-75 5 speaker kit, a Logitech Z906 & a RocketFish wireless rear speaker kit. Estimate around $680. My room is bigger than yours but I think this setup would sound even better in a larger room. I'm using the Polks as satellites for the Z906 Kit.
 
A few speaker suggestions:

Aperion Audio($720 + Free shipping): 2x Intimus 5B, 2x Intimus 4B, 1x Intimus 4C Center

Ascend Acoustics($738 + $68 shipping): 1x Pair CBM-170 SEs, 1x Pair HTM-200 SEs, 1x CBM-170 SE Center

SVSound($677 + Free Shipping): 2x Pair of SBS-02 Bookshelfs, 1x SCS-02 Center


Subs:

Bic F12 - Normally $190ish
Energy S10.3 - Normally $250ish, from time to time $200 @ Newegg.
Lava Subs 10"(Mentioned by LTech221) - $245 + shipping
HSU Research STF-2 - $349 + $43 shipping
Elemental Designs A2-300 - $415
 
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I honestly think you can't go wrong with this combo...

Jamo S606HCS3 + HSU VTF-2 MK4 = About $1000 shipped.

I am currently saving up for the Jamo S606 speaker set after I heard them at a friend's house not too long ago. They are absolutely amazing for the price.

As for the sub, the sky is the limit as you get what you pay for. After I purchase the Jamo 5 speaker set I am left with around $200 for the sub. Because of this my options are quite limited. You however have a more flexible budget so you are able get one of the awesome HSU subs. With a small sale that is currently going on at the HSU site, you definitely can't do much better than the HSU VTF-2 MK4 in it's price range.

Good luck on your speaker purchase journey.
 
Wow! I've got a lot research to do on these suggestions in the next couple of days. After visiting some of these sites, Aperion Audio that SithSolo1 suggested has a 30 day risk free trial with free shipping both ways. That's tempting because sound is so subjective and I can send them back if I don't like them. What about a put together 5.1 system like this from Aperion Audio?

http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-4B-Harmony-SD,116,70,265.aspx
 
GreenGoose said:
Wow! I've got a lot research to do on these suggestions in the next couple of days. After visiting some of these sites, Aperion Audio that SithSolo1 suggested has a 30 day risk free trial with free shipping both ways. That's tempting because sound is so subjective and I can send them back if I don't like them. What about a put together 5.1 system like this from Aperion Audio?

http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-4B-Harmony-SD,116,70,265.aspx
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with it per se but you don't save any money buying them as a package. The Sub is $449. While their speakers are excellent for the price, their subs are over-priced for the performance you get. Both the STF-2 and A2-300 will beat it hands down and cost less. Even the S10.3 would probably beat it. If it were me I'd get the larger front pair and buy the sub somewhere else.

While not as nice as Free both ways, Ascend and SVS also have good return policies:

Ascend has a 30-day return but you pay shipping both ways. http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/support/30dayguar.html

SVSound has a 45-day return policy but return shipping is paid by you. http://www.svsound.com/bill-of-rights

Edit:
Also wanted to add that matching the rear 2 speakers to the front 3 is not critical for listening. You can shift a sizable amount of money to the front 3 or the sub by going with another brand for the rear two. Something like a pair of http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290026 or even http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290200 would work well in the rear channels.
 
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^ came in to post exactly that. aperion is good, definetly go with them for the front 3.
 
I ordered this morning. Thanks for all of the suggestions. I ended up going with Aperion Audio because of the awesome reviews and the no hassle free shipping both ways if I don't like them. I took you guys advice and spent more on the front stage. Here is what I ended up with:

Center: Intimus 5C Center Channel Speaker $280
http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-5C-Center-Channel-Speaker,109,29,253.aspx

Front Bookshelves: Intimus 5B Bookshelf Speaker X2 $370
http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-5B-Bookshelf-Speaker,108,20,249.aspx

Rear Satellites: Intimus 4B Satellite Speaker X2 $220
http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-4B-Satellite-Speaker,113,20,261.aspx

Subwoofer: HSU STF-2 Subwoofer $392
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-2.html

Total: $1262

Over budget but I didn't want any regrets. I'll let you guys know how it sounds.
 
Even though 5.1 is your choice - And thats OK, i'll play the oddball.

Why not spend the same amount on a set of outstanding loudspeakers for a stereo setup instead? A properly configured Stereo setup with good speakers will provide a superior experiance for most content, and you can still obtain 'surround' if you get a soundcard supporting Dolby Virtual Speaker. Two outstanding speakers will fill a room with audio far better then a bunch of cheaper speakers setup for 5.1 will. For your budget i'd say the higher quality stereo route is the better option.


Whoops, didn't see you allready ordered something. Oh well, food for thought anyways.
 
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Nice, you will enjoy that system for years on end. I can speak for the HSU sub, very tight and musical, it will be a great addition to those speakers.
 
GreenGoose said:
I ordered this morning. Thanks for all of the suggestions. I ended up going with Aperion Audio because of the awesome reviews and the no hassle free shipping both ways if I don't like them. I took you guys advice and spent more on the front stage. Here is what I ended up with:

Center: Intimus 5C Center Channel Speaker $280
http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-5C-Center-Channel-Speaker,109,29,253.aspx

Front Bookshelves: Intimus 5B Bookshelf Speaker X2 $370
http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-5B-Bookshelf-Speaker,108,20,249.aspx

Rear Satellites: Intimus 4B Satellite Speaker X2 $220
http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-4B-Satellite-Speaker,113,20,261.aspx

Subwoofer: HSU STF-2 Subwoofer $392
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-2.html

Total: $1262

Over budget but I didn't want any regrets. I'll let you guys know how it sounds.
Click to expand...

Great choices, IMO. You should be very pleased.
 
Wow great purchase! Congrats. I hear Aperion makes very nice speakers and the HSU is wonderful (I have a STF-1 (very clean and deep sound)). Give us a listening review once you have everything put together. I am also jealous! :p
 
Grats on the purchase.


Way to go, putting everything I will own in the near future to shame.. I'm kidding :p
 
Aperion Audio just sent me an email with my tracking numbers. I thought I'd share:

Dear Todd,

Your shipment is now on its way to you via FedEx Home Delivery. While Kelli was carefully hand-packing your shipment, we all sang a song of farewell and blew confetti about the warehouse. Then we packed your speakers on the truck, snapped to a smart salute and sent them on their way.

So you can obsessively track your package(s), your FedEx tracking information is:
Click to expand...
 
I just wanted to report that I got everything hooked up. I had to wait for almost two weeks for the satellite wall mounts to come back in stock and ship. The sound is crystal clear and amazing. I honestly wasn't expecting it to sound as good as it does. My wife stood in my room for a good long time in amazement. Games, Movies, Music...it all sounds unbelievable to us. I highly recommend my setup to anyone with the same budget in mind. Thanks again guys.
 
That's good to hear, should be quite the setup with those speakers and the HSU sub.

Do you have any pictures of the setup? I'm sure a few of us would like to take a look.
Enjoy!
 
Congrats, that's pretty much the perfect choice for a room that size, including the bumping of the budget, $1000 is just a little too lean for good fronts. And if you have $230 more in the budget i'd recommend upgrading to the Versus Grands if you are really into the music as well as games and movies.
 
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Congratulations! It sounds like your system rocks! I like you never realized what I was missing until I got a nice speaker and sub. I hope you have a lot of fun with your new soundsystem for a good long time.
 
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